When we rest in this expression of life -- the one point of the enneagram -- we sincerely and completely love the experience of magnificence. It is the most important thing in the world to us. Our minds naturally and happily generate visions of how the next moment could ideally occur for us at the highest possible level.
A colorful sunset. A captivating piece of music. A beautifully made film that inspires people to action for justice. A delicious meal served at the exact time when we are hungry.
In those moments, when we are abiding in the energy of the one point, we feel completely free and indescribably happy, especially if what we first imagined as a potentially magnificent moment occurs in physical time and space. Our bodies feel light, and the qualities of sweetness and joy fill us up and radiate out of us. We are truly at peace as we watch the sublime energy of the universe take physical form in relationship to us.
When life doesn't match our inner vision of magnificence, we can encounter dark and difficult places inside -- paralyzing disappointment, bottom-less pit hopelessness and an ever-present critical voice that venomously attacks us and/or others. In short, we have landed in hell and we don't see any way out. We can get stuck in that dark space, upsetting ourselves and those we love.
How do we end up in such a negative place?
Since we naturally love magnificence, we live our daily lives with high ideals and standards. We set the bar high and that makes us feel good inside. We have a habit of setting extremely high expectations for ourselves. These expectations can appear unattainable or inhuman to other people but to us it feels natural to aim so high. If and when the outcome doesn't match what we strived for, then the spiral into disappointment and self-criticism begins.
Fortunately, a powerful and effective way exists to help us out of this darkness and judgment and back to lightness and peace -- the sincerity that exists in our hearts, which gets completely eclipsed in the darkness.
Open questions such as -- What is sincere about me right now? Can I notice my sincerity in that moment when I had a hard time? Did I do my sincere best in that situation based on what I understood in that moment? How do I feel inside when I notice my sincerity?
When we directly feel our own sincerity, especially if we can feel it somatically, as a sensation in our own bodies, we relax and recognize that we are not alone in this moment. There is something bigger here right now. There is a force of life and it has more capacity than I do. We connect with this wondrous mystery of life.
Sincerity links all of us back to our true nature without any Herculean effort. Sincerity includes our innocence, our goodness, our wholesomeness and our light-hearted imagination. It shows us how we naturally grow and learn. It helps us to be more ourselves but with safety and compassion. When we are living life from the one point, sincerity is an essential healing balm and a path to witnessing the unfolding magnificence in this moment right now.
"As long as you are not in touch with your intrinsic nature, which is the nature of everything, there will be the nagging sense that something is not right. That nagging feeling is the seed of the fixation of ennea-type One. You feel that something is imperfect about you because you are looking at something else and not seeing your perfection. Then follows the activity of comparison, judgment, and trying to make yourself and your situation better so that they will feel perfect. But they will never feel right, you see, until you just relax and discover what your situation really is."
~ A. H. Almaas, From Facets of Unity: The Enneagram of Holy Ideas, ch. 14