Posted by Ryan on June 29, 1999 at 00:14:30:
In Reply to: Re: Does dysfunction mask type? posted by Hal on June 28, 1999 at 16:45:26:
> I'm with Dave on this one. Why is it that humanity should be equated with enneagram type? Why should it be that we lose our humanity when we lose our fixations? This would imply that the essence of being human is being flawed. If this is so, I'd rather not be human. I know that you completely disagree with the idea of transcending type, Ryan, so I may be barking up the wrong tree. But I've come to consider (maybe even embrace) the possibility that my true self is not my enneagram type. I am not my thoughts, feelings, actions, or fixations. You seem to be saying that if you shed your fixations, you shed yourself.
If we all shed our fixations (our personality, by my definition), how would we be unique? Yes, I do believe being human means being flawed. Maybe this comes from too much of a Judeo-Christian upbringing, or through some kind of gnostic influence I've picked up, but personally I'd prefer to remain human and have hopes and fears. I would like to excel at some things, but recognize that others are better than me at other things. I would like to be happy sometimes, sad other times, and angry once in a while as well. It's like the analogy I make of a roller coaster ride versus an Interstate drive through Kansas. I know which I'd rather do.
Ryan