THREE: The Domain of Imagination
How do you want to be seen by others? How do you think others want to see you? How do you make the truth of your own being evident? How does it manifest in the world? These are some of the questions of the Enneagram Three space, the Domain of Imagination.
Objects in the world are not perceived directly. In order to perceive a real object or phenomenon, we must create and interpret an image that translates raw sense impression into something that we can understand. Perhaps you have had an experience of looking at an unfamiliar painting or photograph where the intended image is not immediately apparent, especially if it is distorted, composed from an unexpected angle, or made with unusual colours. It takes your brain a few seconds to “snap into place” and “see” what you are “looking at”. Before that snap, it’s all just colour blobs and lines. After the snap, it is an “image”, something that represents an object in the world, or at least something in the artist’s mind.
At Enneagram point Three, the Domain of Imagination, our work is to see beyond the image to the underlying reality, in other words, to the truth of the matter. An image is a representation of a reality that reveals some quality to us when we interpret it. An image is a manifestation, an incarnation, a mirroring of the real thing behind the image. It is also an approximation; “the finger pointing at the moon is not the moon.” We can use an image to address and interact with something real, but the image is not the reality.
At Three, we are asking Pilate’s question, “What is truth?” As long as we treat this as a real question and not just a dismissal, there is some possibility of finding an answer.
Polarities
At Three, we work through the imagination with the polarities of Skill vs. Fantasy. This can be as simple as a child’s game of “let’s pretend” or as sophisticated as the fantasy and skill on display at Disneyland.
Pairs of descriptive phrases for this domain are:
| Fantasy | Skill |
| Image | Manifestation |
| Pretense | Make it real |
| Dreaming | Working |
| Fake it | Make it |
| Telling Stories | Getting Results |
| Abstract | Concrete |
| Concept | Technique |
| Spirit of the law | Letter of the law |
Any job or project requires that we have a dream or a vision, but also the skill or technique to execute it. Most of these pairs are variations on this basic theme. One that stands out as different is the pair “Fake it/Make it”, taken from the phrase “fake it till you make it”. This can imply deceit – acting as if you can do something when you can’t. It can also describe how you learn to do something and gradually build a skill in the doing. A former student of mine once said, “Imitation is the first step in learning”.
Spirit of Creativity
When the poles of Fantasy and Skill are contemplatively held as equal, the spirit that can arise in this domain is the Spirit of Creativity. This is the spirit of the brand new, something that comes into the world that has never been here before.
The one thing we are all called to help create is ourselves. Mostly, we walk around projecting an image of ourselves to ourselves and the world. This limited image reveals, even to ourselves, only a small part of who we really are. The work of the heart, as manifested at Three, is to create this being of “me” that already exists in the eye of God. No image, however skillfully developed, will ever reveal the complete truth of our being, because in this life that is not possible. But what we can do is open ourselves to the developing love that allows our true selves to shine out from the image in the most undefended way that we can.
This leads to the question, “What are we here to do?” We are beings of flesh and blood, but also of spirit. We are here to help create something that can exist in no other way because its creation requires lived experience in this world. Just what that is will be unique to each one of us. Otherwise, why has more than one of us been created? We must work for the further creation of soul and love and the ongoing evolution of the cosmos. To paraphrase C. S. Lewis, we play around with our small vices and nurse our petty grievances when we are called to be co-creators of the world. “We are far too easily pleased.”
Inhabitants: The Lies
When we cling to either of the poles of this domain, the inhabitants that move in are called The Lies. Either we pretend to have a skill that we don’t or else we are able do something skillfully, but we do not allow for a dream or inspiration. This is the lie of the snake – a misappropriation of true knowing. Either “it looks like I know” (Fantasy without requisite Skill) or “I think I know” (Skilled, but without inspiration, and so without meaning).
The sin of the Domain of Imagination is Deceit. This is often manifested as “spin” – not exactly a lie, but a story told with a slant to make it reflect a little better on the teller. I was once in a workshop where someone claimed that one of the workshop presenters had, in another setting, leaned over to her and “hissed in my ear, ‘Li….ar!’” This woman was a Three and had done a lot of inner work; she was very aware of her foibles and was actively working with them. She told this anecdote with humour and admitted she might not have had the details exactly right. But, even so… You can’t “hiss” the word “liar”, because it has no “s” in it. The story was true, but polished up to make it a better story.
Totems
The Law is a totem of the Three space. In one sense, a law is just a description of how things are. (Gravity. It isn’t just a good idea. It’s the law!) A law establishes a general principle out of particular observations and tells us the truth about something. All this type of law requires is acceptance. If it’s raining out, it’s raining out. All the rain asks us is to accept it. It’s not necessary to like or dislike it. But when the rain is flooding the house through a leaky roof, it does no good to pretend that it’s not raining. It needs to be seen for what it is in order to respond appropriately.
In another sense, the law is an expression of an ideal and those in the legal profession are the interpreters of that ideal. Cases where there is a conflict between the letter and the spirit of the law are evidence of the breakdown of polarities at Three.
Art is another totem of the Three space. The real place of art is when skill and fantasy are held in tension.
Other totems of Three include movies, TV, and theatre; actors; virtuosity and special skill; Disneyland; and the Olympics.