The Virtue of Continuous Right Action

Right Action, [the virtue of Type Nine], describes the activation of higher being that knows (in a new way) what is most important, what is the highest and best next-right-thing for all; it’s a kind of compass. The virtue of Innocence describes a spontaneous, moment-to-moment, creative expression of divine interbeing and intelligence. Right Action, as a Way of being-in-the-world, adds the important notion that the Way (to live in alignment with the laws) is both now and continuous, as the “circle of life” goes on. ….

Vishnu is the Hindu God known as “the preserver,” representing the third or reconciling force in the triad of Brahma-Shiva-Vishnu. As he describes his role in the Bhagavad Gita, “Whenever the Sacred Law fails and evil raises its head, I (Vishnu) take embodied birth. To guard the righteous, to root out sinners, and to establish Sacred Law, I am born from age to age.” Rather than advocacy for war, this is Vishnu’s commitment to addressing both tyranny and chaos, as needed, to re-make the world. The fact that he is born from age to age speaks to the necessity of this role in preserving the world by continually updating and renewing it, through challenge and change, and through the laws themselves.

In Taoism, the Tao is un-nameable as a concept because it is a Way to live in accord with the nature of Reality that can only be Realized in practice. It is the Way to harmonize extremes of yang and yin that threaten to destabilize the whole (like tyranny and chaos), in order to continually realize the Unity underlying diversity. This is not so conceptually different from Vishnu’s role to establish harmony and Sacred Law, the Way of Jesus, or the Buddha’s notion of a Middle Way and the nature of the Eightfold Path that leads to liberation. As we have seen, the alchemical process and Carl Jung’s path of psychological individuation also link to the journey-line and the integrated laws of the Symbol. To incarnate the redemptive pattern inherent in the laws, to be a vehicle for continuous renewal (eternal life), is the Way of the hero embodied in “the philosopher’s stone” that Gurdjieff equated with the Enneagram.

Another thing we know about Right Action is that it is fully understood only at the last stages of the journey, when all lower centers of intelligence are free of ego and the higher centers are aligned with the Source and Flow of Creation, in service of the whole system. Right Action is a little different from the other eight virtues. The other virtues are more like qualities of Being. You can be Humble, Courageous, or Innocent. How do you be Right Action?

Just as we considered the possibility of trusting higher mind and received wisdom when we are firmly situated in the higher heart, perhaps we can finally trust our actions once we have achieved a mode of right being, in partnership with a non-dual Way of knowing (the holy ideas), and most particularly, the holy idea at point 9, Holy Love that unites all of Creation. Perhaps these are the summary skills that help us with the most difficult aspect of living the laws: holding the shadows with the light and embracing the chaos within our orderly understanding of things? The most essential Right Action required to restore the disparate parts to harmony and continually renew the kingdom is related to this higher understanding of love.

Excerpted from The Enneagram Symbol: Mapping the Journey of Personal, Social, and Spiritual Evolution, used with permission.

Dr. Jennifer Joss is a psychologist by training, a coach and consultant by profession, and a Hermetic philosopher at heart. She has been involved with the evolution of people and systems for 30 years, in non-profit as well as for-profit organizations, across diverse industries. Jennifer integrates psychology and neuroscience, systems dynamics and leadership development, with the wisdom of spiritual and mythic traditions, and inner technologies that have guided people for centuries.

Jennifer holds a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Stanford’s School of Education and graduated from Harvard with high honors in psychology. As a certified Enneagram and Enneagram in Business professional, she has used the Enneagram to help people and teams personalize learning and map transformation. Jennifer’s 30-year relationship with the Enneagram Symbol somehow lured her into a deep and life-changing exploration of its meaning which, although still unfolding, led to the 2023 book: The Enneagram Symbol: Mapping the Journey of Personal, Social, and Spiritual Evolution. Learn more about Jennifer and her work at: www.jumpingcurves.com