# Ichazo's descriptions of the holy ideas



## Octavarium (Nov 27, 2012)

Since I was posting about the holy ideas last night, I thought I'd post Ichazo's brief descriptions of them, as quoted by A.H. Almaas in his book _Facets of Unity_. I'd be very interested in any thoughts/comments about these, and also whether anyone finds them useful in the typing process, or whether they reflect the type you are (Maitri mentions in _The Spiritual Dimension of the Enneagram_ that one way of typing yourself is to ask yourself which holy idea is most lacking in your consciousness).

*Point One: HOLY PERFECTION*
The awareness that Reality is a process, moving with direction and purpose. Within this movement each moment is connected by the process with the one goal, and thus is perfect.

*Point Two: HOLY WILL, HOLY FREEDOM*
The awareness that Reality, moving with direction and according to fixed natural laws, flows with a certain force. The easiest way to deal with this force is to move with it. This is true freedom.

*Point Three: HOLY HARMONY, HOLY LAW, HOLY HOPE*
The awareness that there are no exceptions to the natural laws which govern the Cosmos, and that these laws are completely objective, operating as an inter-connected unity. The highest law is the totality of Reality itself. Certitude in the objectivity and total applicability of those laws is true hope.

*Point Four: HOLY ORIGIN*
The awareness that all individuals are born as the result of natural, objective laws; that these laws continue to operate within them throughout their lives. Because all the laws are interconnected, each individual always has an intimate physical connection with the Totality of Reality—the Cosmos. From this springs true originality.

*Point Five: HOLY OMNISCIENCE, HOLY TRANSPARENCY*
The awareness that because every individual is intimately connected with the entire cosmos by the operation of objective laws within their own bodies, there is no separateness or alienation except as a mental hallucination. Because the cosmic laws govern every aspect of ourselves, there is no possibility of hiding from the Cosmos, or avoiding the results of natural processes. When we understand this, we are completely at peace with our past.

*Point Six: HOLY STRENGTH, HOLY FAITH*
The awareness that the Cosmos is a self-regulating mechanism, existing in a state of balance, and as long as the objective laws which govern this balance are respected, an individual can exist in a state of harmony with Reality, moving toward his own personal fulfillment. Faith is a Holy Idea, not a belief. It is the certitude that each of us has an Essence and that this Essence coming from God, belongs to God.

*Point Seven: HOLY WISDOM, HOLY WORK, HOLY PLAN*
The awareness that Reality exists as a succession of moments, each experienced as ‘the present,’ and that it is only by existing in the present that the constant unfolding of the Cosmos [can] be experienced. Only by working in the present can real work be done and real results achieved.

*Point Eight: HOLY TRUTH*
The awareness that the cosmos objectively exists now; that this existence is its own definition, and continues whether an individual understands it or not; and that the individual experiences the truth of Reality most completely when he views each moment fresh, without preconceptions about what should be happening.

*Point Nine: HOLY LOVE*
The awareness that though the laws which govern reality are objective, they are not cold, because these cosmic laws inevitably lead to the creation of organic life, and Life itself, like all natural phenomena, fulfills a cosmic purpose. As soon as the mind’s word mechanism is destroyed, love, the natural condition of the mind, appears. Love begins the moment man contemplates the Creation and says “Thank you, God.” All men feel this somewhat, no animal can feel this at all. Man alone can know that all comes from God.


----------



## enneathusiast (Dec 15, 2012)

I think the problem with the holy ideas is not only their vague descriptions but that they are a piece of a larger puzzle that doesn't make much sense in isolation. Let me quote Ichazo talking about type 9 in an old interview to offer a better idea of how it fits together in terms of ego fixation, ego trap, and holy idea.



> Let's take one ego type and see how this schema works. The indolent type of person [fixation: indolence] may be very energetic in his relations with the outside world but he does not take responsibility for cultivating his essence. This fixation roots in an especially *keen awareness of the absence of love and therefore of a sense of lacking being*. The indolent type goes looking for the love and meaning he feels deprived of; he becomes a continual seeker, but never a finder. This is his trap [trap: seeker]. He is always searching outside of himself for what can only be found within. But in a perverse way the seeker is ignorant about himself. He believes he knows all about other people and he doesn't hesitate to tell everyone else. The hell of the indolent is the worst of all the fixations because it leads to inner paralysis and indecision. The ego-indolent is always working very hard seeking, but until the last moment before the fixation breaks, he vacillates and never quite takes the responsibility for his own life.





> [the idea of holy love] Love starts in the moment a man contemplates the creation and says, "Thank You, God." The Holy Spirit really takes care of the universe; it is the active principle of love in all things. And it is only by getting in touch with this spirit that the indolence of the ego is transformed into active love. Holy love breaks the indolence and removes the feeling of separateness. With holy love comes the awareness that although the laws which govern reality are objective, they are not cold, because they lead to the creation of organic life that fulfills a cosmic purpose.


What might be useful to note is that the individual doesn't notice the holy idea missing but an alternate interpretation of it. For instance, what I've bolded in the first paragraph of the Ichazo quote. Type 9 doesn't notice holy love missing but "an absence of love and therefore of a sense of lacking being" and subsequently falls into the trap because he's not aware of what's really missing.

Another good example is type 1 where the trap is perfection and the holy idea is holy perfection. Type 1 doesn't notice that holy perfection is missing (the acceptance of things as they are). Instead they fall into the trap of seeking perfection in terms of how they think things *should *be.

What I'm trying to say is that people generally won't recognize that the holy idea is lacking. They'll reinterpret what's lacking as something else that they then begin chasing (e.g, type 1 lacks acceptance but doesn't see that, chasing perfection instead). That's the trap that keeps them stuck in the ego fixation.


----------



## Brains (Jul 22, 2015)

Octavarium said:


> *Point Eight: HOLY TRUTH*
> The awareness that the cosmos objectively exists now; that this existence is its own definition, and continues whether an individual understands it or not; and that the individual experiences the truth of Reality most completely when he views each moment fresh, without preconceptions about what should be happening.


This take on Holy Truth is by far the best I have ever come across - so many seem to be some "all is one and without distinction" kind of garble lifted from Buddhism that feels put in there because the concept had to be stuffed somewhere. This, however, is an amazing mindset.


----------

