the passions and personality type
The passions are derived from the human need for evolutionary survival. The objective of evolution is survival of the fittest, where individual survival or the survival of the family unit containing the group’s genetic code, is favoured before the needs and survival of other human beings or species of plants and animals.
There are nine strategies for survival identified by Sufi and Christian tradition. These are set out below.
Type One: Self-righteousness (intolerance)
Focus of attention: error, order and organisation, following the rules, right and wrong, standards and quality, responsibility, duty, obligations, work before pleasure; people who have not earned or deserved their success; punishment and reward.
Language: should, must, ought to, right, wrong, responsibility, good, bad, perfection, policies.
Somatic characteristics: Tension in the body, especially in the neck, causing vocal constriction.
Type Two: Pride, prejudice or privilege
Focus of attention: potential powerful relationships that I can influence in order to gain status, privilege and power; heretic burning; entitlement; humiliation; eliminating competition from my focus of power/emotional connection; getting attention by demanding presence.
Language: connection, need, inspirational, strong/weak, service, falling in love, help, potential; we; us.
Somatic characteristics: pneumatic posture, poor boundary definition, physical touch, emotive language, ‘strutting’ when walking.
Type Three: Deceit or vainglory
Focus of attention: looking successful by fudging or distorting margins of the truth; delegating responsibility and claiming credit; being productive and efficient; achievement and exaggerating their importance; public acclaim; reframing failure in the positive, eliminating any failure, competition, all about me; usurping other people’s hard work and success
Language: achievement, success, winning, goals, efficiency; completion of tasks; doing.
Somatic characteristics: body image through exercise and diet, appearing graceful and effortless.
Type Four: Envy
Focus of attention: the ‘completeness’ of what others have that I don’t; other people’s happiness and relationships; beauty; other people’s drama and intensity; what is missing; despair and loss at never finding the perfect relationship, attention demanding by withdrawing; love; romance.
Language: dramatic use of language, high standards, elite performance, extraordinary, not the same, not the ordinary, the ideal, lost, abandoned, alone; love; connection; ideal; special; passionate.
Somatic characteristics: dramatic presentation in walking, talking and dressing to attract and become the centre of attention.
Type Five: Avarice or greed
Focus of attention: the power that comes with needing nothing; powerful and secret information that can be used against another; withholding information or affection; blackmailing; compartmentalizing relationships; observing rather than feeling; relativization of truth.
Language: logical, rational, systems, patterns, detachment, correct tools for the trade, simplicity, clever thinking, considered.
Somatic characteristics: withdrawn or withdrawing, withholding of affection or communication, emotionally detached, reclusive; clinical; cold and detached; superior; condescending; prone to autism.
Type Six: Incontinence or cowardice
Focus of attention: what can go wrong; negative thinking; contrary argument; self-deprecation; procrastination; subversive intrigue leading to sociopathy; verbal incontinence.
Language: What about? Have you thought of? No. Not today − maybe tomorrow: not possible. But. Why? What if? Real or reality?
Somatic characteristics: Scanning the environment; furtive behaviour; physical demonstration of elevated levels of fear/terror (eg. sweaty palms, incontinence); panic attacks; anti–authoritarian outbursts.
Type Seven: Conceit or gluttony
Focus of attention: concerns me, my ideas, my plans, my options; over-emphasizing my thinking as opposed to yours; delusions of grandeur; know–it–all avoiding commitment or responsibilities; trivializing truth, meaning, or love; scamming and deal-making; avoiding pain by indulging in self-indulgent pleasure.
Language: ideas, plans, option, opportunities, travel, trapped, fun, yes; deals I and me.
Somatic characteristics: upbeat, active, loose, laid-back, loud voices; conceited; condescending; fast speech; moving quickly between ideas; restiveness; acute discomfort around enclosed spaces; highly agitated in authoritative environments; short attention span.
Type Eight: Lust
Focus of attention: controlling others and their resources through the use of power and aggression; my strengths and my enemies’ weaknesses; right and wrong; injustice; vengeance; controlling others’ behaviour; authoritative; directive; action rather than strategy.
Language: right/wrong; power; strong/weak; justice; remember; control; strengths/weaknesses; my way or the highway; boss; in charge; chain of command; ground zero; rally the troops.
Somatic characteristics: physical characteristics associated with heavy drinking, eating, fighting, working or sex; heavy gait.
Type Nine: Indifference or laziness
Focus of attention: avoiding conflict; narcotizing discomfort; routines and processes; talking and listening; excessive comfort; reducing emotional or intellectual activity; sitting on dissent; reducing passion, excitement and intensity.
Language: reasonable; calm; mediate; negotiate; process; systems; procedures; listen; responsible; mindful; points of view.
Somatic characteristics: slow moving and speaking; indecisiveness; long rambling sentences; heavily modulated tone of voice; sleepy; tedious and long explanations.