Conservation

Introduction

The Conservation Instinct derives from the digestive system, and is responsible for conserving our bodies and maintaining physical satisfaction. The conservation instinct perceives through sensations and the viscera, receiving Feelings, as it is intimately close with the Earth and with physical reality as a whole. In general, it interprets reality within the frame of likes or dislikes, which serves the basic function of taking or repulsing anything conducive or harmful or displeasurable to survival. The existential attitude which plagues the conservation instinct is the horror of death, which turns into an existential sadness or depression. At higher levels this becomes a search for immortality and a feeling of godlikeness in oneself.

From this instinct comes the Historical Ego, which remembers states of being and what needs to be done to get food. It is our sense of everyday activities like walking, sleeping, cooking, shopping, etc. It continuously, but subconsciously, asks the question "How am I?" It is concerned with the physical state of the body and the sensory sentiments around it. It uses Analogical reasoning, which assess how things have been and how they will continue to be over time. It seems to have a great attention to detail and is very concerned with what it thinks of its environment. This instinct develops into the psychic poison of greed, referring to the type's need for ever more food and material gain for the sake of satisfying the digestive system. Greed derives into three separate poisons. The first is avarice, which develops the Historical Ego into Ego-Vengeance (Over-Justice-Maker,) the second is greed, which develops into Ego-Indolence (Over-Non-Conformist), and the third is possessiveness, which develops into Ego-Resentment (Over-Perfectionist.)

References

1. Ichazo, O. (2023). The enneagrams of the divine forms perfect, eternal, unchanging truths (transcribed by American Pragmatist), Arica, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GzIWVuKR6rpLgznI8T8RfU-BkBWHWcufQZF4oBKUioE/edit?tab=t.0 

2. Ichazo, O. (2024). The enneagrams of the fixations: The original teachings, Arica, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Puteue12lR_8YWmNfpOFrhutLtnUbbZEvAPM5za2T10/edit?tab=t.0