Unveiling the Enneagram – Arica 2

Arica Psychology II

DOMAINS OF CONSCIOUSNESS

One important area of study in the second level of the Arica school involves learning about the Domains of Consciousness.

Understanding Ichazo’s theory of the Domains may provide more insight into the way the Ego-fixations manifest themselves and the approaches one can take to minimize the fixations. They represent material directly related to the Enneagram of Personality Types which is not being used in the general Enneagram community partially due to the lack of a transmission process. In addition, there is no evidence that the theory of the Domains was used by Gurdjieff or his followers.

The Hypergnostic Systems describe how people are composed internally, while the Domains describe our relationship with the external world. Human society and our activities in the world are divided into these Nine Domains, and these specialized areas are connected with the needs of our psychic life.

The Nine Domains of Consciousness according to Ichazo’s Arica Theory are the following:

1. Sentiments
2. Health and Security
3. Creativity
4. Intellectual
5. Social Interaction
6. Work and Activities
7. Position and Authority
8. Laws and Morals
9. Spiritual

Ichazo states that there is a natural dichotomy within each domain. Individuals and societies tend to value one side of the dichotomy over the other, but in reality, both are equally valid. These dichotomies are not opposed to each other, but are instead complimentary, each one supporting the other in a circulatory way. Ichazo describes this as two poles on an axis: If the axis is broken and we become fixated on one extreme, then that extreme becomes negative.

When people develop their ego-fixations (what is often called their Enneagram “type”) they become primarily fixated in certain domains, with a tendency towards one of the dichotomous positions of those domains:

1. Ego-Resentment, the Over-Perfectionist, becomes fixated in the Domain of Sentiments
2. Ego-Flattery, the Over-Independent, in Health and Security
3. Ego-Go, the Over-Efficient, in Creativity;
4. Ego-Melancholy, the Over-Reasoner, in the Intellectual Domain;
5. Ego-Stinginess, the Over-Observer, in the Domain of Social Interaction
6. Ego-Cowardice, the Over-Adventurer, in Work and Activities;
7. Ego-Planning, the Over-Idealist, in Hierarchy and Authority;
8. Ego-Vengeance, the Over-Justicemaker, in Laws and Morals,
9. Ego-Indolence, the Over-Nonconformist, in the Spiritual Domain.

Each dichotomy has a positive and negative characteristic, as shown in the following list of the Dichotomies of the Domains:

1. Sentiments: +Self Control -Callousness / +Sensitivity -Touchy
2. Health & Security: +Routine -Meticulous / +Flexibility -Negligence
3. Creativity: +Knowhow -Cunning / +Fantasy -Daydreaming
4. Intellectual: +Reasoning -Sophistry / +Overview -Superficial
5. Social Interaction: +Sociable -Meddling / +Privacy -Alienation
6. Work & Activities: +Labor -Overwork / +Amusement -Loafing
7. Position & Authority: +Self-Respect -Superiority / +Modesty -Inferiority
8. Laws & Morals: +Morality -Puritanism / +Tolerance -Hedonism
9. Spiritual: +Spirituality -Fanaticism / +Realism -Scepticism

In the Arica school, the Domains and their Dichotomies are studied through the use of characters, theater and examples from life.

The Characters corresponding to the Dichotomies of the Domains are given as follows:

1. Heartless/Gushy
2. Fussy/Messy
3. Schemer/Bullsh*tter
4. Argumentative/Shallow
5. Busybody/Loner
6. Workhorse/Idler
7. Pretentious/Loser
8. Self-Righteous/Libertine
9. Believer/Doubter

Imbalance in the domains leads to “invaders”

Enneagon of the Invaders:

1. Jealousies
2. Fears
3. Lies
4. Envies
5. Hatreds
6. Worries
7. Rivalries
8. Remorses
9. Prejudices

The stress of the imbalance in the Domain opens the Doors of Compensation:

1. Toximania
2. Psychosomatic Illness
3. Over-exertion
4. Crime
5. Phobia
6. Panic
7. Gluttony
8. Cruelty
9. Sensuality

According to Ichazo, it is necessary to balance the Dichotomies and not become fixated at the extremes. A person can spend some time at one point, and then balance it with the other point. This allows a person to maintain control and order in their approach to life. Ichazo also states that this balancing of the Dichotomies of the Domains allows the manifestation of true Will, which comes from the spirit. This Will is not the same as our ordinary “will” which is just the result of anxiety or desire.

It is necessary to realize that, although people tend to fixate in the Domains corresponding to their Tri-fix, each individual exists and lives in all nine Domains, so each of these areas must be dealt with by each person.

An individual in the Arica school engages in the observation of the “karma” which has built up in all these domains. “Karma” is defined within Arica as the negative and positive rememberings associated with each area; it is an accumulation of energy connected with a painful experience, coupled with a compulsion to repeat that experience through imbalanced, irregular behavior.

By remembering and letting go of the Karma within each domain through a methodical process of “Karma cleaning”, the student is able to achieve a complete, thorough and technical purification from unconscious, unprocessed materials which might be causing undue influence on their psyche and behavior.

Ultimately, the aim of all this is to become independent of the Domains and the Systems in order to be able to work with the Higher Self. In order to do this, it is necessary to understand Protoanalysis/Fixations.