Head Triad

According to Ichazo, the Adaptation Instinct is our instinct to orient ourselves within our environment through thinking and anticipation. It develops from the needs of the nervous system and the brain. Its felt center is in the cranial cavity.

The innate non-verbal question projected here is “Where am I?” This question must be answered constantly by the organism in order to orient itself in relation to its surroundings.

Because the organism must learn from experience in order to adapt successfully to its environment, attention becomes concentrated in this center and an artificial Ego or “I” develops that is concerned with understanding and anticipating reality.

Ichazo calls this the Security Ego, since its fundamental concern is to establish safety through comprehension and anticipation.

The Security Ego is subdivided into three egos: Ego-Stinginess, Ego-Cowardice, and Ego-Planning. These correspond to points 5, 6, and 7 respectively on the Enneagram symbol.

The instinctual poison which develops in this center is Fear. This poison then differentiates into the three root poisons corresponding to the egos: Avarice (Ego-Stinginess), Fear (Ego-Cowardice), and Gluttony (Ego-Planning).

When insecurity occurs in this instinct during childhood, fixation can occur in one of these points, producing three “types”: Over-Observer (fixated in Ego-Stinginess), Over-Loyalist (fixated in Ego-Cowardice), or Over-Idealist (fixated in Ego-Planning).