The Body-Centre Patterns: Eight, Nine and One
Where you are: Module 2 · Lesson 9 of 30 · about 25 minutes (reading 13, practice 12). In Lesson 8 you read the map of all nine patterns. Now you read three of them more closely: Eight, Nine and One. You also start the hypothesis card that you will keep for the rest of the course. You test a pattern against your own events, never against a colleague.
What you'll be able to do
- Describe Eight, Nine and One as Chestnut and Paes teach them, and separately as Riso and Hudson teach them.
- Say where each pattern's attention may go and one way it may show in a manager's week.
- Start your hypothesis card: one pattern or "not sure", one event that fits, one that does not, and what would change your mind.
- Explain why you choose the pattern you doubt most, not the one you would like to be.
One group, two names
Chestnut and Paes put Types 8, 9 and 1 in the body centre (PDF page 16). Riso and Hudson call the same three types the Instinctive Triad (PDF pages 55 and 315). A triad is a group of three. These are two names for one grouping in two books. Their reasons and descriptions differ, so we keep them apart.
Type 8
- Chestnut and Paes. The passion is lust and the virtue is innocence. Lust here means excess: a passion for excess in all kinds of stimulation, and an impatience to have desires met (PDF page 224). The book describes a pattern of "being in charge", which a person can do in a skilful and confident way, or in a bossy or pushy way (PDF page 222).
- Riso and Hudson, "The Leader". They say Eights are driven by the fear of being dominated, harmed or controlled by others (PDF page 318). Their Key Motivations line includes wanting to be self-reliant, to have an impact and to stay in control (PDF page 313).
- Course summary (ours). Attention may go to power, fairness and control. A possible manager hook: deciding fast and bluntly, so that the team stops raising problems. A misuse risk: calling a direct colleague "an Eight", or excusing harshness as "natural leadership".
Type 9
- Chestnut and Paes. The passion is sloth and the virtue is right action. Sloth here is not laziness. It is a reluctance to take important actions for yourself that are needed in the moment (PDF page 252). The book lists patterns such as neglecting what is important to you and finding it hard to say no (PDF pages 250 to 251).
- Riso and Hudson, "The Peacemaker". Their Key Motivations line says the type wants serenity and peace of mind, harmony, to keep things as they are, and to avoid conflict and tension (PDF page 354).
- Course summary (ours). Attention may go to other people's wishes and to harmony, while your own wants are forgotten. A possible manager hook: agreeing in the meeting and not following through. A misuse risk: reading a calm colleague's silence as agreement.
Type 1
- Chestnut and Paes. The passion is anger and the virtue is serenity. The book connects this pattern to the need to be right and to do the right thing (PDF page 27). It lists patterns such as criticising yourself, requiring perfection and following the rules (PDF pages 28 to 29).
- Riso and Hudson, "The Reformer". Their Key Motivations line says the type wants to be right, to have integrity and balance, and to be beyond criticism (PDF page 393). They write that, at one of their Levels (taught in Lesson 15), Ones "may succumb to the fear of being imbalanced, corrupted, or 'bad'" (PDF page 403).
- Course summary (ours). Attention may go to errors and to what could be better. A possible manager hook: correcting a team member's work before asking what they meant. A misuse risk: calling a careful colleague "a One".
What you can and cannot see
The books describe an inner motive under each visible behaviour. For example, Riso and Hudson describe hidden anger under the calm of a Nine and under the order of a One (PDF page 57). A manager cannot see anger that is hidden, so this idea cannot be checked from outside. That is one more reason to use these descriptions only as questions about your own events. And a pattern is never read from how a person looks, sounds or dresses, or from their gender, age or nationality.
Pick the pattern you doubt most
Riso and Hudson warn that people tend to pick the type they would like to be, not the one they actually are (PDF page 58). So on your card, choose the pattern you doubt most among the three, or write "not sure". "Not sure" is a complete answer.
The hypothesis card
The hypothesis card is this course's design, not the authors'. You start it here and keep it for the whole course. Later lessons add to it; they do not start a new one. Keep it with your private record.
| Line | What you write |
|---|---|
| Pattern | One pattern (a number, and one author's name for it), or "not sure". Written as a test: "I am testing whether…". |
| An event that fits | One event from your own record or recent work. Facts first. |
| An event that does not fit | One event where you responded in a different way. This line is required. |
| What would change my mind | One observation that would make you drop or narrow the idea. |
A card is a tool for testing, not a description of who you are. Do not write "I am a Nine". Write "I am testing whether this pattern helps explain some of my reactions". Use roles, not names, for other people, and keep confidential facts out. If this work makes you distressed, stop and talk to a suitable professional. If anyone may be in danger now, use your workplace emergency process or local emergency services. This course does not diagnose.
Worked example
Three model cards, each from a fictional manager. None is the "right" one.
A card that fits.
- Pattern: "I am testing whether Pattern 1 helps explain some of my reactions."
- Fits: "I rewrote a team member's draft email twice before I sent it."
- Does not fit: "On Thursday I sent a report with a small typo and let it go."
- What would change my mind: "If I let small errors go in most reports for a month, I will drop it."
A card that does not fit.
- Pattern: "I am testing whether Pattern 8 helps explain some of my reactions."
- Fits: "I chose the meeting time alone and told the team afterwards."
- Does not fit: "On Wednesday I asked the team three questions before I decided, and I took their answer."
- What would change my mind: "More events like Wednesday's." Note after two weeks: "I think this idea does not fit me. That is a useful result."
A card with "not sure".
- Pattern: "Not sure."
- Fits (maybe Pattern 9): "When asked which day I preferred for a review, I said 'whatever works for you'."
- Does not fit: "I told a supplier that I could not accept the delivery date."
- What would change my mind: "Whether I say 'whatever works for you' in many choices, or only that time."
Each card has an event that does not fit, each is written as a test, and no card names a colleague's pattern.
Your turn
Do this privately. Nobody collects or checks it.
Part 1. A supplied record. Anwar supervises a warehouse team. Here are three entries from his record. Write a hypothesis card as if you were Anwar, in the first person.
- Monday: a colleague asked Anwar to take over a task. Anwar said yes at once and did not mention that he already had a full day. By Wednesday he was still carrying it on top of his own work.
- Wednesday: Anwar told his manager, calmly and at once, "I cannot take that on this week."
- Thursday: at 9.00 p.m. Anwar corrected the formatting of a team member's report himself, and did not tell the team member.
Choose one of Eight, Nine or One that the entries let you test, or write "not sure". Fill in the four lines.
Part 1b. For each of Eight, Nine and One, write one line: an entry that gives you a question to test, or "nothing here to test yet", plus one entry that does not fit or does not bear on it. Do not say why Anwar did anything.
Part 2. Your own card (private). Start your own card with the same four lines, using one event from your own record or recent work that fits and one that does not, or "not sure".
Check your work. Two good cards for Part 1:
- Pattern 9: "I am testing whether Pattern 9 helps explain some of my reactions." Fits: "On Monday I said yes at once and did not say I was busy." Does not fit: "On Wednesday I told my manager at once that I could not take on more." Change my mind: "If I say no easily in most requests for a month."
- "Not sure": Fits (maybe One): "On Thursday I corrected a report myself at 9.00 p.m." Does not fit: "No event in my record goes against it yet." Change my mind: "Whether I correct other people's work often, or only that time."
Part 1b, a good answer: Eight: "nothing here to test yet" is clearest; Monday does not fit (he did not state his own limit). Nine: Monday may fit; Wednesday does not. One: Thursday may fit; Wednesday does not bear on it.
Your card meets the criteria if: the pattern is a first-person test or "not sure"; there is an event that does not fit (or "not sure", which is complete); the facts come from the entries (nothing says why Anwar corrected the report, or whether it needed it); nobody else is classified; and there is a "what would change my mind" line. Pattern 9, Pattern 1 and "not sure" are all acceptable; the key does not say which is true. Answers that do not meet the criteria: "Anwar is a Nine" (an identity claim); a card with no contrary event; "he corrected it because he cannot trust anyone" (a motive not in the facts); typing the colleague who asked for help.
For Part 2, check the same shape. If you could not find a contrary event, write that, put "not sure" on the pattern line, and look for one over the next week.
Extra practice (optional)
A fourth entry arrives. Friday: in a team meeting, Anwar decided the weekend roster at once, spoke bluntly and did not ask the team first. The team did not raise problems with it. Rewrite your Part 1 card to take this into account: keep, narrow or drop the idea, or change it to "not sure".
Key. A good answer for someone who tested Pattern 9: "Friday does not fit: I decided at once and did not wait for agreement. I narrow the idea: it may help explain how I answer colleagues' requests, not how I make roster decisions. Pattern 8 may be worth testing, or I am not sure." Friday may fit Eight only as a question, does not fit Nine, and does not bear on One. The facts do not say why Anwar decided at once, or why the team stayed quiet.
Knowledge check
Which description is attributed correctly?
Which card line breaks a rule of this lesson?
You read all three patterns and you like the idea of being a One. What should your card say?
Answers explained.
- D. "The Leader" and the fear of being dominated, harmed or controlled are Riso and Hudson's (PDF pages 312 and 318). A gives Chestnut and Paes a name and a passion that are not theirs. B gives Riso and Hudson a virtue: right action is Chestnut and Paes's. C gives Riso and Hudson's term to Chestnut and Paes.
- B. It types a colleague and plans around the label. A, C and D are the kind of line the card asks for.
- C. Riso and Hudson warn that people tend to choose the type they would like to be. A follows that habit. B is invented: no book says that. D waits for a certainty that the course never asks for.
Key takeaways
- Chestnut and Paes call Eight, Nine and One the body centre. Riso and Hudson call them the Instinctive Triad. Their descriptions stay separate.
- Each pattern has an attention habit, a possible manager hook and a misuse risk. These are author descriptions and course summaries, not measurements.
- The hypothesis card has four lines: pattern (or "not sure"), an event that fits, an event that does not, and what would change your mind.
- Choose the pattern you doubt most. Never type a colleague.
- Next, Lesson 10 reads the heart-centre patterns, Two, Three and Four. You add to the same card.
Sources
- Chestnut, B. and Paes, U. (2021) The Enneagram Guide to Waking Up. Hampton Roads Publishing. PDF pages 16 (the body centre), 27 (Type 1: the need to be right and to do the right thing), 28 to 29 (Type 1 patterns), 222 ("being in charge", skilful and confident or bossy or pushy), 224 (lust as excess), 250 to 251 (Type 9 patterns), 252 (sloth as a reluctance to take important actions for oneself). The printed page number is the PDF page minus 13.
- Riso, D. R. with Hudson, R. (1996) Personality Types: Using the Enneagram for Self-Discovery (revised edition). Houghton Mifflin. PDF pages 55 and 315 (the Instinctive Triad), 57 (hidden anger under the calm of a Nine and the order of a One), 58 (people tend to pick the type they would like to be), 312, 313 and 318 (Type 8, The Leader: Key Motivations and the fear of being dominated, harmed or controlled), 354 (Type 9, The Peacemaker: Key Motivations), 393 and 403 (Type 1, The Reformer: Key Motivations, and the fear of being imbalanced, corrupted or "bad"). PDF page numbers are used because the printed pagination was not checked.
- Rules of this lesson that are ours, not the authors': the hypothesis card and its four lines; choosing the pattern you doubt most; the course summaries, manager hooks and misuse risks; and the rule never to type a colleague. These are this course's design, not tested methods.
- Anwar, Lubna and the model cards are this course's own fictional examples, not the authors'.