Patterns of Motion

All types are not created equal—at least in terms of how they relate to the three Centers of Intelligence and, therefore, how they are out of balance. The way we move around our triad can be described as a particular pattern of motion. Some of the types have one pattern of motion and some of the types have a different pattern of motion.

I call the types connected by the lines of the hexad (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, and 8) Exterior types because they’re located at either end (the exterior) of their respective centers:

8 and 1 in the Doing center
2 and 4 in the Feeling center
5 and 7 in the Thinking center

I refer to the types connected by the lines of the triangle (3, 6, and 9) as Interior types because they’re located in the middle (interior) of their respective centers.

Exterior Types

Exterior types are pretty straightforward. A Type 2, for example, could have a 1 wing or a 3 wing (meaning it could be strongly influenced by one of the types on either side). Or it could be a straight-up 2 with no wing. And as is true with all types, a 2 can be high-functioning, low-functioning, or somewhere in between. What is true for all Exterior types—but not true for Interior types—is that each Exterior type always has the same stress point and the same security point. All 2s, for example have 8 as their stress point and 5 as their security point.

Interior Types

The three Interior types are a little more complicated. Like Exterior types, an Interior type can have a wing—or not. And like Exterior types, Interior types can be high-functioning, low-functioning, or somewhere in between. But Interior types don’t all have the same stress and security points because these three types don’t relate to their Home center the same way the other types in that center do. They entangle the function of their Home center with the function of their Security center, which results in two versions of each type.

Nearly everyone recognizes the two different kinds of 6s, which are usually referred to as phobic and counterphobic. As I was getting to know 9s better, I began to identify two versions of them—and then two versions of 3s.

One kind of 6 entangles the function of the Home center (Thinking) with the function of the Security center (Doing). This is what’s called the counterphobic 6; it’s often confused with Type 8. The phobic 6, on the other hand, entangles the function of the Thinking Center with the function of the Feeling Center and is often confused with Type 2.

One kind of type 9 entangles the function of the Home center (Doing) with the function of the Security center (Feeling). The other kind of 9 entangles the function of the Home center (Doing) with the function of the Security center (Thinking).

One kind of type 3 entangles the function of the Home center (Feeling) with the function of the Security center (Doing). The other kind of 3 entangles the function of the Home center (Feeling) with the function of the Security center (Thinking).

Center Relationships

Of course, your type doesn’t change when you move to your Stress or Security point. If you’re a 2, you won’t turn into an 8 or a 5. Your core motivation will remain the same. You’ll still be a 2.

Here’s a cheat sheet that outlines how each type relates to the Centers of Intelligence. But why bother to sort all this mess out? The answer is that we need to know how we access the centers automatically before we can consciously or intentionally bring them—and ourselves—into balance.

More to come.