Presentation – Claudio Naranjo

This project, which I formulated long ago and proposed to develop with a series of disciples in collaboration with other volunteers, matured slowly over time. One of its intentions was to include an autobiography written by one of my disciples — someone who had made a rich journey of transformation and was willing to produce a document involving a public confession, in view of the sincerity that such a biographical account would require toward his family and acquaintances.

The usefulness of such an exercise of “transparency” through the publication of one’s own autobiography is something I came to believe in through prior experience, and indeed it became a rewarding process for the participants.

Naturally, the presentation of the various characters through these two complementary modalities — that of the psychological essay (scientific) and that of narration (humanistic) — would speak to both hemispheres of the reader’s brain.

Surely, the 27 chapters that make up this treatise on the psychology of the enneatypes will be of particular interest to academic psychologists. Yet I also hope that the 27 exemplary biographies will resonate with any reader seeking to find among them his or her psychospiritual siblings; for it greatly helps one’s self-awareness to encounter another

person who resembles us deeply, who has had the courage and humility to face their shadow, expressing their “descent into the infernos” in words.

The project of this work matured into nine volumes, each dedicated to three enneatypes corresponding to the nine passions recognized by Ichazo’s protoanalysis. This effort continued until David Barba proposed that we set specific publication dates. That decision implied more active editorial work than I had previously offered my collaborators, as I had left much of the prior supervision to the co-authors themselves. My teaching activities and other unfinished books demanded my attention — and it was thanks to David Barba, from Ediciones La Llave, that I did not continue postponing the completion of these nine volumes until it was too late for my guidance to matter.

Having myself surpassed 85 years of age, I cannot help but feel that the completion of this work coincides with the end of my life, and that gives this task a certain sense of “fulfilled mission.”

Curiously, during my first years teaching this subject, I never felt it was my duty to develop it or claim any special merit. Only later, faced with the commercialization of the Enneagram and the charlatanism of imitators of my early work in Berkeley — the originators of the international Enneagram movement — did I begin to take more seriously my own contribution in having offered a sounder and more transformative teaching.

Only recently, with the retrospective vision that decades allow, have I come to feel that, as Ichazo predicted, it would fall to me to be a mediator of this knowledge for the Western world of our time. I hope that setting all these understandings into writing will be more of a help than a hindrance to their deep comprehension, although I have often thought that I shared the concern of the Egyptian god Thoth, who feared that the gift of writing would turn humans into mere repeaters of words, distancing them from true wisdom.

I imagine that, in this case, my future readers will be divided between those who will use our effort for their own transformation and those who will prefer to dedicate themselves to academic, cultural, or material enrichment.

I only have left to thank all those who have contributed to this ninth volume of the series, for their tolerance of my criticisms, and to wish them that the success of what they have produced brings them the satisfaction of serving the vast process of self-knowledge that characterizes our generation. I especially thank Grazia Cecchini for taking over as editor at a moment in my life when my teaching activity and my other unfinished books demand of me.

As a Prologue – Suzy Stroke Interviews Ramón Resino

“I have left behind reproach and vengeance, and I live in peace.”

Ramón Resino and Suzy Stroke — both now deceased — were luminous pillars in Claudio Naranjo’s SAT Program, where their passionate dedication and human warmth deeply influenced generations of psycho-spiritual seekers. Ramón, with his overflowing strength and his ability to transform anger into tenderness, became a living example of the integration of Enneatype 8, showing through his example that true strength is born from the vulnerability we dare to assume.

Suzy, with her wise and loving presence, her compassionate gaze and warm humour, knew how to open spaces of trust where each participant felt seen and accompanied in the most intimate part of their process.

This interview, conducted during the Symposium on the Psychology and Transformation of the Enneatypes (Pilas, Seville, December 4–8, 2008), captures the encounter between two great souls whose humanity and charisma remain a source of inspiration for all who continue along the path of self-knowledge and compassion that both embodied with courage and joy.

Interview

Suzy: Ramón, Claudio has asked me to interview you a bit about your life process, your path of transformation. We could start with how your character was formed, mainly in childhood. How do you see it today, with your current perspective?

Ramón: I’m the eighth of ten siblings, and my parents gave us a refined education. I didn’t see myself as an E8. When they talked about the E8, I thought they meant the brother who came after me — may he rest in peace — he was revolutionary, active, and I identified him with the strength of the E8.

I didn’t see myself as an E8. So, what could have made me strong, consistent? I found nothing, except survival. In my house you had to fend for yourself. Everyone studied early in the morning, but each had their own space. Any older brother — and I was the eighth — felt entitled to discipline me and give me orders. I had to be sharp and self-sufficient to get by; otherwise, I felt constantly invaded.

Suzy: Wasn’t there violence?

Ramón: No, never. But at school they subjected me to another kind of stress. From the moment I entered school, at six years old, they made me believe I was gifted. Every year they advanced me by two or three grades. The Marist brothers said: “This child is very

intelligent, he’s wasting time here.” When I reached twelve, I was exhausted from having to meet expectations.

That later affected me when I was nineteen, when my father died, and I told myself: “Now I’m going to be self-sufficient.” At home there was a custom: the women stopped studying so the men could go to university. But I refused that custom and combined university with work. I wanted to try everything.

Suzy: Did you feel there was something missing?

Ramón: No, I had everything — good education, good food. But there was one serious thing. Serious, and I realized it later: I was raped many times. There was a part of me that even liked it, because I felt chosen.

Suzy: At what age, more or less, did that happen?

Ramón: From two years old, three, four… until one day my mother surprised the woman who was raping me with her lover. That woman was the one who raised me.

I was breastfed by two women: my mother, who nursed me until the next pregnancy, and the nanny. But the nanny — the woman who cared for me — was sent back to her village to give birth. When I was born, she was already pregnant, but she stayed with the child, as she was single, which was a disgrace. She stopped nursing her own baby when I was born, because my mother’s breasts were sore, so I was the one who nursed.

That same woman, with her lover, who was also a soldier, abused me and my brother. I don’t remember physical harm; the confusing part was that I remembered feeling pleasure. Later, as an adult and with awareness, I understood the harm they did to me and how they stole my innocence. I associate all that with how the Marist brothers said I was very intelligent, alert, precocious.

Suzy: Of course, so early.

Ramón: Today I hold no resentment toward that woman. I was able to find her, and we talked about what happened. Not toward her, nor toward her son. I love him very much; he’s my same age. He was born the same day I was — only she had to give up her mother to serve us.

And so my childhood went by, and no one knew of this pain, nor did I realize it then, apart from the pleasure I felt for everything sexual. Only as an adult did I understand that they had stolen my innocence, and that it had been so serious that I had to build power to face life.

Suzy: It’s as if she had placed you on a level of pleasure before your time — and perhaps that led you to an addiction to pleasure.

Ramón: Yes, an addiction. I don’t know if it came from precocious sexualization or from being breastfed by two women. My mother, when she saw me in the street as a child, people would say: “Madam, your child looks like the Pelargón ad!” (a brand of baby formula at that time). And my mother, proud, would reply: “Breastfed by his mother’s own hand!” But she didn’t know what was going on. I was overflowing, full of vitality. So I grew excessively, and that intensity shaped me.

Suzy: That explains very well why you are a sexual subtype. Your story is very different from others.

Ramón: When my companions in my SAT group heard me, they said: “Now I understand why you were mistreated!” Yet I don’t know mistreatment; only a few corrective slaps from my father, educational ones, punctual and firm. Really, I only remember one or two, and they were deserved. My father didn’t raise us harshly, but with discipline, not rigidity. He didn’t mistreat us — only used much rigour.

Suzy: And now, looking at your life… how old are you?

Ramón: I’m 58.

Suzy: Well-lived years! Then, looking at your 58 years, tell me about moments that marked your life, either to inflate your ego or to humble it.

Ramón: The experiences I’ve told you from childhood, from that early context and how they rushed me and subjected me to stress in every stage — it was excessive. Later in my adult life something curious happened: the people I have loved, especially one man I loved deeply — when I recognized love, detachment, generosity — they died. When I was a close friend of my father and admired him… He died instantly of a heart attack on the night he turned seventy. I lost him. He left in peace, and we were all around him. But oh, just as I was finally beginning to open myself, to recognise him…! My father was starting to become tender in his contact, because he had always been firm, very austere… I lost him to a sudden heart attack.

I sought refuge in my brother, the one after me, who was my close friend. I mentioned before that he was devoted to revolution with conviction. He was younger than me, and he was the only one with whom my mother would lose her composure in contact — even though he was a revolutionary — the only one who knew her secret, her strategies, her weapons… He was a good friend.

One day I was informed of an accident. He died along with three other people, his intimate friends, his beloved… The one who fought for life was him, until late in the afternoon. But we didn’t get there in time. He was the only one I could recognize physically; from the family, we all loved him equally. I had found him, and once again I lost love. Or rather, the expression of love, not love itself, because I have felt it many times, but where I did, I didn’t dare to express it.

These things can’t be said in just any conversation, but I was always forewarned. Not by them — by the energy, the spirit… Some have attributed to me a certain capacity to intuit such things. I didn’t believe it, and later regretted not believing it.

Suzy: Which you later verified.

Ramón: Yes, it was like a gift that they were warning me, and I didn’t want to listen — through my own pain — and later it happened. This ability to perceive when people close to me are about to pass has continued, even now, not only with friends. In my work, in certain jobs I’ve done, I’ve been warned that this or that person was nearing the end of life.

Suzy: How about self-sufficiency? And possessiveness?

Ramón: Today, in the group of Sexual 8s, we talk a lot about our self-sufficiency and agree in recognizing it as a character trait. There’s a kind of thinking that goes: “If I can do it alone, if I can manage by myself, why do I need others?” So I find it difficult to work in a team, to follow the order or rhythm of the group.

If I want someone or something to belong to me, I have the capacity to take it, to make it mine. I possess it. That trait remains. What has changed is that, above all, I now have a strong sense of belonging to myself. I am so convinced that I can manage by myself that I feel it’s useless to bother others for help. Before, I wasn’t aware of this inner strength in me; I only became conscious of it thanks to the SATs and my work with Claudio.

I’ll confess something to you: Did you know that in September my blood pressure was covered by the clouds? I went to have some tests done, and my blood pressure was 24 over 12.

Suzy: And you didn’t feel it?

Ramón: After the appointment, I got up feeling calm and went to work. They told me, “But you’re crazy, you’re insane!” And now I’m going through an entire medical process — they’re regulating my blood pressure, and at this stage, without coffee, without salt, without all that hyperactivity I used to have, I’m now truly feeling the real rhythm in which I used to live.

Suzy: Ah, of course — in comparison…

Ramón: It’s like jet lag, as if I were constantly living with the clock set to a different hour.

Suzy: Incredible. What an experience!

Ramón: Yesterday, when I went to the cardiologist for the first time, I felt something similar to fear. When he told me my blood pressure numbers, I answered: “No, I don’t feel anything,” and he replied: “Of course not, you don’t feel it because your body has grown used to functioning like that.”

Main Contrasts among the Subtypes of E8: Self-Preservation, Sexual, and Social

The Self-Preservation 8 directs its strength toward securing physical survival, material resources, and comfort. They defend themselves fiercely from any threat of deprivation, and their protective instinct often extends to those they consider their own. However, they may turn cruel or inconsiderate toward those they perceive as weak, invasive, or unable to stand on their own. They frequently confuse care with control, or affection with possessiveness. They seek pleasure and comfort, but sometimes this search becomes a kind of prison that isolates them from reflection and from openness to their own vulnerability.

The Sexual 8, a character known for its possessiveness, takes the intensity and vitality of E8 into the relational sphere, where passion, desire for fusion, and domination intertwine. Their way of subduing others is emotional and erotic, oscillating between total surrender and constant suspicion, in a rhythm of “I need you, but I watch you.” This subtype tends to become possessive and demanding, as if the intensity of passion were the only proof of love and loyalty. Yet in the depths, they fear being betrayed or falling into the hands of another.

Their sexuality, for the Sexual 8, is not mere pleasure but a form of confirmation of power, attractiveness, and control over the other. That desire, however, can become an obstacle that prevents them from distinguishing between real love and compulsion for dominance.

Finally, the Social 8, or Complicity subtype, expresses its impulse through leadership and group protection. They feel called to be a guide, protector, and figure of authority, defending their own with a blend of charisma and vigilance that can appear both inspiring and tyrannical. The Social 8 observes loyalties, analyses power dynamics, and ensures their relevance as a means of calming their internal distrust. Their drive for justice and protection often turns into rigidity, justifying control through speeches of responsibility that, in

practice, suffocate others’ autonomy. They live their value through being the constant reference point of the group.

Comparing the three subtypes: the Self-Preservation 8 seeks power in material security and pleasure; the Sexual 8 seeks it in relationship and emotional intensity; and the Social 8 projects it through collective leadership. All three subtypes channel strength and passion differently, yet share the same struggle with vulnerability and the human need for genuine connection.

Visceral Rage

In all subtypes of the E8 there is a kind of anger that is not just any anger: it is an ancient, visceral, and brutal fury that awakens whenever something is perceived as an injustice or any attempt to limit their desires. It can appear as protective rage toward their loved ones, as vengeful fury against betrayal, or as a frontal rejection of norms they deem absurd.

If this rage is not recognized and channelled, it turns against themselves or those they love most, and can take violent or destructive forms that leave deep scars in their relationships.

The unconscious fixation of the E8 is revenge: a conviction that one cannot trust anyone, and that if they do not take what they need, no one will give it to them — a harsh, merciless sense of justice. Although they believe themselves invulnerable, this fantasy of vengeance fuels their distrust and their sense that life is a battleground where one must always fight not to be trampled.

Behind this, all three subtypes share identification with the figure of the authoritarian father, assuming and introjecting the role of aggressor. Thus, they internalize a mode of authority that submits rather than frees. Yet deep down, the fear of betrayal and humiliation continues to operate, leading to abusive attitudes.

All three subtypes also display notable differences in how they channel anger, power, sexuality, pleasure, relationships, and their deep-seated mistrust.

The Self-Preservation 8

The Self-Preservation 8 is the most withdrawn and isolated, with a very defensive attitude — though they may not be aware of this defense, as it manifests more as indifference toward others and the world. They rarely show overt rage or aggression at first. They seek

to secure pleasure, control of resources, and satisfaction of basic needs, even if this leads to utilitarian and dominant relationships — approached with pragmatism that can at times feel cold or inconsiderate.

Perhaps this subtype is the hardest and most resilient among the E8s. Yet, their lack of awareness of their body’s limits often leads them to self-destructiveness, and they are often dominated by a constant pursuit of intensity.

The Sexual 8

The Sexual 8 desires intensity in relationships, mixing passion with power, but also a need to dominate the other — often becoming possessive, jealous, and sadistic on the emotional level. Their anger becomes a tool of relational domination: they subdue, provoke, and constantly test the limits of their partner, seeking confirmation of their power.

Their aggressiveness merges with eroticism, and sexuality becomes a field of conquest where pleasure is loaded with tension, challenge, and the wish to subdue or humiliate the other to feel they have earned the right to intimacy. They oscillate between genuine surrender and episodes of demanding fidelity and absolute attention — with a harshness that wounds, always imposing their desire as law within the relationship.

Relational sadism can manifest as the impulse to emotionally break the other, to see if they resist — only to later “reward” them with warmth and passion. It is a dynamic of attraction and fear, where power is continually reaffirmed.

The Social 8

The Social 8 channels their strength toward the group, seeking to be leader and reference point, with a desire to enforce justice that can at times transform into tyrannical control — convinced they know what is best for everyone, even when it overrides others’ will. Their rage is expressed through imposition of their vision upon the collective: they feel entitled to dictate rules and punish those who do not comply, becoming capricious and demanding leaders.

Their tenacity, often disguised as righteous protection, conceals a deep fear of being irrelevant or of having no value to the group, or of being betrayed. To avoid such exclusion, they develop a compulsive need to dominate and control social bonds, displaying charismatic seduction while secretly manipulating to keep their allies under control.

They are capable of grand, protective gestures and of absolute loyalty, yet when they feel unreciprocated, they can become vengeful, using information and relationships to maintain their power. Nepotism, favoritism, and manipulation become tools to secure their position, sustaining an image of strength and leadership that hides a profound mistrust toward the world.

Distrust and Inhibition of Vulnerability

This distrust is the air E8s breathe. Though they present themselves as people of clarity and straightforwardness, behind that toughness lies a deep fear of being betrayed, used, or humiliated. Therefore, they build walls and hide behind a strong façade, avoiding appearing soft or needy at all costs.

For all of them, showing vulnerability feels like the risk of being hurt or exploited. They prefer to maintain their hard shell, though this hardness isolates them from the sincere connection and tenderness they secretly long for yet fear.

The Self-Preservation 8 maintains control defensively, fearing that if they relax, someone will take what is theirs. They can be rigid, harsh, and inconsiderate toward those who invade their space, making it clear that they are not to be trifled with.

The Sexual 8 experiences this distrust in relationships, blending passion with vigilance, attraction with control, in a constant tension that can turn possessive and emotionally suffocating for the partner. There is also a powerful thrill in risk-taking, which they seek repeatedly.

The Social 8 extends this distrust to the group, evaluating alliances, sensing betrayals, and exercising leadership that sometimes borders on tyranny — always justified as “necessary to maintain stability for all.”

Love, Sexuality, and the Difficulty of Surrender

Loving is a dangerous territory for the E8, though they desire it intensely. Love implies surrender, and surrender involves risk: depending on someone else, feeling vulnerable. In the E8, this awakens a constant conflict between the desire for deep connection and the fear that such connection will turn them into an emotional hostage.

According to Claudio Naranjo’s Three Loves framework, the E8 tends to express erotic love most easily — a passionate, possessive love that exerts control within intimacy, using sex as affirmation of power and vitality. Their intensity can become possessive and dominating, hindering true encounter with the other.

In admiring love, they feel respect and attraction for strong and courageous people, generating loyalty toward those they recognize as members of their “clan.” Yet their capacity for admiration is often limited by their nihilism and distrust, which can turn into excessive expectations toward the other, demanding no weakness or error.

Compassionate love is the hardest for the E8, because it requires opening to pain and tenderness, disarming the armor of invulnerability they have spent so long building.

The Self-Preservation 8 experiences sexuality as a space of physical pleasure, seeking to confirm their vitality, though they may maintain control even in intimacy — separating sex from affection and using the body as a territory that reaffirms autonomy. Among the three loves, this subtype finds compassionate love the most accessible after erotic love, since it aligns more closely with their nature.

The Self-Preservation 8’s compassionate love manifests as attachment to concrete needs, which drives them to care for others’ survival and basic well-being — always in their own way, with a deeply subjective sense of “caring for their own.”

The Sexual 8 seeks fusion and intensity in partnership, with passion that can turn into a power struggle, mixing tenderness with demand. They oscillate between wanting to surrender completely and fearing exposure, generating relationships filled with constant tests of loyalty that can become exhausting. Their need to be loved turns into an excessive and selfish demand for exclusivity.

The Social 8 integrates sexuality into their sphere of leadership, using charisma and presence as tools of attraction. Even in intimacy, they seek to maintain their position of strength, avoiding displays of weakness. For them, surrender becomes another arena of power. Among all the E8s, this subtype most easily blends admiration with love, expressing it through ideals of justice, equality, and fraternity.

Somatic Manifestations

The E8’s body is a reflection of their character: solid presence, assured steps, rough voice, and broad movements that occupy space naturally. Their visceral energy is expressed in a

posture that clearly says they need no permission from anyone — radiating an assertiveness that can be intimidating to others.

The Self-Preservation 8 tends to have a strong, resistant body, often tending toward sturdiness, as if their physical solidity were a declaration of power and abundance. Their walk is firm, their steps heavy, marking territory and making clear that the space they occupy is theirs — and anyone crossing it should beware.

The Sexual 8 radiates magnetism, with sensual but firm gestures, an intense gaze that can disarm or challenge, and a physicality charged with animality and aggressiveness. They use their body to seduce and dominate, never renouncing their power even in the most intimate moments.

The Social 8 stands upright, with an alert gaze and movements that project personal authority. Their physical demeanor conveys respect — and often intimidation. They use their bodily presence as a tool of command, sometimes turning it tyrannical when not challenged.

Their anger and drive to act are reflected in their jaw tension, in the stiffness of the chest, and in the way they walk with decisive strides. Every movement seems to say “don’t stop me,” showing both their capacity for advance and the fear of slowing down.

Traps of Character and Its Integration

The E8, in any subtype, becomes trapped in their compulsion for excess, domination over others, and denial of vulnerability. They believe survival depends on staying strong and dominant, living with intensity, imposing their will, and never letting anyone subdue them — though this power impulse becomes a trap that isolates and hardens them.

Their deep fear of being hurt or betrayed hides behind a shell of raw intensity that blocks tenderness, compassion, and genuine surrender. It fuels confrontational relationships and mistrust, creating conflicts that could be avoided, and drives them into the compulsion of always having to be right and in control.

This compulsion often originates in childhood experiences of injustice, abandonment, or betrayal, where an unconscious fantasy of vengeful justice arose: “If you hurt me, I will crush you.” That fantasy feeds a desire for revenge that infiltrates their worldview, making them distrust their mode of protection — even when it turns cruel and unjust toward those around them.

As the book will show, the specific paths of integration to overcome these patterns vary for each subtype:

• The Self-Preservation 8 can learn to transform their pursuit of pleasure into generosity, sharing without possessiveness.

• The Sexual 8 must learn to differentiate the intensity of love from real love, cultivating tenderness and openness as expressions of strength, not weakness.

• The Social 8 is called to discover that their value does not depend on leadership, but on their capacity to serve the common good with humility.