The center stackings are how one’s locus of attention is distributed amongst the three centers: Self-survival (SUR), Interpersonal (INT), and Purpose (PUR). The first center in the stacking is given the utmost attention and energy as it provides the biggest hit of aliveness; it cannot be turned off and will always require consideration even when engaging in the other centers. The second center in the stacking is something that is given open consideration; it can be turned on and off based on whether or not the first center is providing the hit. The last center in the stacking incorporates high standards of consideration before any energy is invested into tracking that realm (“energy pickiness”); it must accentuate the feelings of aliveness that come from the first and second centers or else it is ignored or forgotten.

Your instinctual archetype is created by choosing one expanded instinct in each center. To read more about those, Click Here.

The 6 Stackings

SIP – SUR/INT

• Interacts directly with reality
• Attention is fixed on the unfolding of the present moment between objects
• Focus is placed on how things affect them in the present moment rather than the long-term
• Contextualizes their relationships through the present physical reality
• Relationships serve their greater need for survival of the self
• Daily life is made up of how relationships affect your resources
• We are all separate humans with our own particular needs
• Relationships are vessels that help us intensify sensual and material satisfaction
• Classic romance, “Let’s build a life together”
• Higher power is something unseen that helps strengthen your relationships through mutual seeking
• How to build a life with those around you
• Everything that happens can be its own story
• Romanticizing your hometown, home, state, or residence
• Having your home away from home with “the crew”
• Creating and working out the details of a new tribe
• Insinuations of a mysterious force and the desire to learn specific lessons from it
• People offer specific experiences to the senses
• Sensuality being advertised to others
• Religion and spirituality are personal but can be shared in a designated space
• Beautiful scenery, bustling neighborhoods, cityscapes, societal organization
• Interpersonal struggle creates the beauty of the world which is worth defending and/or romanticizing
• Overidentifying with purpose leads to absurdity, so get involved in the moment and savor each detail
• Each life story is its own arc
• Interpersonal relationships change our reality in precise ways that can be tracked
• Personal skills are valuable and act as a gateway to others
• Purpose and meaning solidifies our lifestyle
• Get your hands dirty and live a little

Self-survival dominants with interpersonal secondary are tracking how interactions with others may affect the desired hit they receive from their physical world. This center stacking is able to turn their meter for interpersonal on and off based on how much it fulfills or feeds into the dominant realm. For this reason, they view the interpersonal realm as a place to explore as a beneficial addition to their dominant locus of attention: the self-survival realm. The realm of materials and how they relate to or affect the self is given the utmost care and attention and this center stacking may forego interacting with others if it threatens their ability to track self-survival. Since this center stacking has purpose in last place, the first two centers must be aiding in a hit of aliveness for the individual to fully engage in tracking the purpose or reason behind all things. When something goes wrong or disconnects the individual from the hit in the first two realms, then managing or tracking purpose becomes acutely stressful and not worth the attention it requires. This center stacking needs to know that any spark of intrigue in the purpose realm directly supports their relationship to their own physical world.

SPI – SUR/PUR

• In their own physical bubble
• Attention is fixed on how the future may inhibit or enhance the present moment
• Uses their purpose to fulfill their survival needs and desires
• Contextualizes the purpose behind reality through how it enables bodily survival
• Meaning serves their greater need for survival of the self
• The earth has come alive through meaning
• Artistic interpretations of what the surrounding environment is doing
• Nature has a secret and it must be acknowledged
• Reality is organized according to the personal meaning of the subject. People are outliers
• Messages and meaning originate from the senses or the physical realm
• Vast, busy natural landscapes and large sweeping complexes that mesh together or show spiritual meaning (especially if FD)
• What’s happening to the body is reflected in higher truths
• Our sensual perception of the mysterious matters more than embracing the unknown
• Sadness or other repressed feelings about people
• People are ornaments of the complexity of the earth and they can have meaning assigned to them
• There’s always meaning in the chaos of nature
• Humans are mysterious shadows cast from something higher and unseen
• The “how” we got here and what we are experiencing is more important than the “why”
• The physical world is the easel and deciding which purpose to paint onto it is what creates reality
• People and relationships are intriguing paradoxes that blip in and out of existence
• In their own little world, hovering slightly above the ground instead of being firmly placed in it
• Uses own frame of reference to understand the world
• Scavenges purpose for their own bodily consumption
• Wants events to be significant to all other surrounding events

Self-survival dominants with purpose secondary are tracking how the reasons or meanings behind things may affect the desired hit they receive from their physical world. This center stacking is able to turn their meter for purpose on and off based on how much it fulfills or feeds into the dominant realm. For this reason, they view the purpose realm as a place to explore as a beneficial addition to their dominant locus of attention: the self-survival realm. The realm of materials and how they relate to or affect the self is given the utmost care and attention and this center stacking may forego tracking the purpose of reality if it threatens their ability to track self-survival. Since this center stacking has interpersonal in last place, the first two centers must be aiding in a hit of aliveness for the individual to fully engage in tracking people, relationships and how others are connected to them. When something goes wrong or disconnects the individual from the hit in the first two realms, then managing or tracking interpersonal relationships becomes acutely stressful and not worth the attention it requires. This center stacking needs to know that any spark of intrigue in the interpersonal realm directly supports their relationship to their own physical world.

ISP – INT/SUR

• Interacts directly with people
• Attention is fixed on the unfolding of the present moment between people
• Contextualizes their present physical reality through relationships
• Uses their survival instinct to invigorate their interpersonal interactions
• The physical world serves their greater need for interpersonal relationships
• Life is a never-ending rotisserie of relationships
• My world of people is what keeps me alive
• Reality can be shifted to meet relationship needs
• Interacting with others in a physical space is the point of existence, if there is one
• The world turns on the backs of humanity
• Reality is a sandbox of intrigue that we must build our connections on top of
• The body exists to express our fondness to one another
• Emotions and interactions with others are formed into symbols and codes
• Uses the senses to prove that people, relationships, and interactions are sovereign
• Everything can be a “moment” as long as it involves people
• The stories of how people affect each other are meant to be never-ending
• Who we are as people is significant because we can affect the life trajectory of others
• There’s power in what you do because it changes others
• Purpose is seen as flashing concepts that induce emotional responses that others can perceive
• We are all pieces on a chess board that have our own rules, movements, and stats
• Carefully picks their setting as mood is planned for ahead of time
• Society has endless intricate interpersonal realities that we cannot see but should explore
• Meaning should be carefully chosen through each individual and how it can alter their feelings towards others
• The point of existence can only be found if you contextualize it through your current closest humans
• Symbolism is rampant through never-ending expressions and feelings about people

Interpersonal dominants with self-survival secondary are tracking how interacting with the physical world may affect the desired hit they receive from their interpersonal relationships. This center stacking is able to turn their meter for self-survival on and off based on how much it fulfills or feeds into the dominant realm. For this reason, they view the self-survival realm as a place to explore as a beneficial addition to their dominant locus of attention: the interpersonal realm. The realm of human relations and how they affect all other interactions is given the utmost care and attention and this center stacking may forego interacting with the physical realm if it threatens their ability to track interpersonal. Since this center stacking has purpose in last place, the first two centers must be aiding in a hit of aliveness for the individual to fully engage in tracking the purpose or reason behind all things. When something goes wrong or disconnects the individual from the hit in the first two realms, then managing or tracking purpose becomes acutely stressful and not worth the attention it requires. This center stacking needs to know that any spark of intrigue in the purpose realm directly supports the feelings they receive from tracking their interpersonal relationships.

IPS – INT/PUR

• Ungrounded wondering of relationships and people
• Attention is fixed on the future and how it may inhibit or enhance current relationships
• Contextualizes the meaning and purpose behind reality through relationships
• Uses significance and purpose to create emphasis on their interpersonal relations
• The world of meaning and significance serves their greater need for interpersonal relationships
• Explaining purpose to others, trying to grasp what others mean to them through interpretations and implications
• The energy is like spontaneous bubbles that flash into existence and contain emotions inside of them that were generated from relationships
• The mood that exists between the self and others is all that matters
• The significance of daily life between people
• What does it mean to have a home, a life, a routine, a relationship with others?
• Reality is here to use as a tool to promote meaning in relationships
• Relationships provide the basis to a happy and fully lived life
• Thoughts and opinions of people surpass all other ideas
• What matters most in life is entirely intangible and made up of many different meanings and experiences with others
• Art is something that can be perceived, felt, imagined, played out over time, and created through raw conceptualizations without the need to tie it down to physical objects
• Ideas and meaning from interpersonal relationships are top priority
• We are in a container together that only includes the meaning and feelings towards each other (Even CY IPS has this)
• Tracking how the purpose of each relationship in their lives changes the mood
• Comparing the different hits from interpersonal relationships
• Tracking how people change over time and how they could be in the future and why that matters
• Turning chaos into meaning, and meaning into interpersonal standards
• Being alone is an experience that should be used to consider how to better your relationships
• Changing feelings about people and tracking why they changed
• Energy of following their desires for others rather than anything tangible or real that might symbolize it

Interpersonal dominants with purpose secondary are tracking how the meaning or purpose behind things may affect the desired hit they receive from their interpersonal relationships. This center stacking is able to turn their meter for purpose on and off based on how much it fulfills or feeds into the dominant realm. For this reason, they view the purpose realm as a place to explore as a beneficial addition to their dominant locus of attention: the interpersonal realm. The realm of human relations and how they affect all other interactions is given the utmost care and attention and this center stacking may forego interacting with meaning and purpose if it threatens their ability to track interpersonal. Since this center stacking has self-survival in last place, the first two centers must be aiding in a hit of aliveness for the individual to fully engage in tracking the physical world and how it enables survival. When something goes wrong or disconnects the individual from the hit in the first two realms, then managing or tracking self-survival becomes acutely stressful and not worth the attention it requires. This center stacking needs to know that any spark of intrigue in the self-survival realm directly supports the feelings they receive from tracking their interpersonal relationships.

PSI – PUR/SUR

• In their own mental bubble
• Attention is fixed on the unfolding of the present moment and what it means for the future
• Contextualizes their present physical reality through meaning and significance
• Uses their survival instinct to create emphasis on meaning and purpose
• The physical world serves their greater need for significance
• The earth is the easel for meaning to blossom
• The point of life is to gather purpose from experiences
• Needing an explanation for why things work
• In search of the key that unlocks the secret of why reality came to be
• The struggle of trying to learn the reasons behind things
• Marveling over the details that lead to paradoxes
• The senses should be used to get as close to understanding higher truth as possible
• People are markers of important moments and happenings that have occurred
• Tracking patterns, tessellations, models and what they represent and why
• Everything that has ever happened can be explained and pinpointed back to a purpose
• All things can be dissected and interpreted further
• Relationships pop into existence unexpectedly and bring meaning through how they are experienced
• Reality is determined by the meaning, codes, and information hidden within it
• The body can be used to send a message of higher meaning
• Space and perspective is to be played with
• Objects represent something bigger than themselves
• Mind-bending, lost in details, overwhelmed by information
• Organizing structures based on their importance
• Despite people having their own “stats”, there is always an unseen higher truth that plays out through their actions
• Puzzles, paradoxes, enigmas, mysteries, anomalies

Purpose dominants with self-survival secondary are tracking how interacting with the physical world may affect the desired hit they receive from the meaning or purpose behind reality. This center stacking is able to turn their meter for self-survival on and off based on how much it fulfills or feeds into the dominant realm. For this reason, they view the self-survival realm as a place to explore as a beneficial addition to their dominant locus of attention: the purpose realm. The realm of meaning, purpose and what is lurking in the backdrop of reality is given the utmost care and attention and this center stacking may forego interacting with the physical realm if it threatens their ability to track purpose. Since this center stacking has interpersonal in last place, the first two centers must be aiding in a hit of aliveness for the individual to fully engage in tracking people, relationships and how others are connected to them. When something goes wrong or disconnects the individual from the hit in the first two realms, then managing or tracking interpersonal relationships becomes acutely stressful and not worth the attention it requires. This center stacking needs to know that any spark of intrigue in the interpersonal realm directly supports the hit of meaning they receive from tracking the purpose realm.

PIS – PUR/INT

• Ungrounded wondering of purpose and meaning behind everything
• Attention is fixed on relationships and what the hidden significance behind them must be
• Contextualizes the people in their life through what meaning and significance it inspires
• Uses their relationships to create emphasis on meaning and purpose
• People serve their greater need for significance and answers to grand questions
• Stories about people with no endings
• We should all readily change ourselves based on what resonates in the moment
• Reality is a placeholder for people to create their own higher meaning
• Expanding meaning into infinite possibilities
• Floating, flying, traversing, expanding, lifting
• Metaphorical and poetic
• Hides symbols and meaning in all forms of art: visual, spoken, performative
• The physical reality is the icing on the cake and can be altered at will
• There is endless meaning to explore within people and relationships
• The physical plane is only here to bounce ideas off of with others
• “I can be anyone and transform myself based on any new higher truth”
• Morphing, flowing, blending, melding, in flux – ungrounded
• Content with finding meaning in whatever is in front of them at that moment
• There’s something bigger out there than all of us
• Life is for creating more puzzles and complexities
• Inspiring people to use their imagination and find their own purpose
• People hold the answers deep within their own minds
• Interactions with others inspire us to actualize our intentions
• The senses can be interpreted numerous different ways all based on perspective

Purpose dominants with interpersonal secondary are tracking how interactions with others may affect the desired hit they receive from the meaning or purpose behind reality. This center stacking is able to turn their meter for interpersonal on and off based on how much it fulfills or feeds into the dominant realm. For this reason, they view the interpersonal realm as a place to explore as a beneficial addition to their dominant locus of attention: the purpose realm. The realm of meaning, purpose and what is lurking in the backdrop of reality is given the utmost care and attention and this center stacking may forego interacting with the interpersonal realm if it threatens their ability to track purpose. Since this center stacking has self-survival in last place, the first two centers must be aiding in a hit of aliveness for the individual to fully engage in tracking the physical world and how it enables survival. When something goes wrong or disconnects the individual from the hit in the first two realms, then managing or tracking self-survival becomes acutely stressful and not worth the attention it requires. This center stacking needs to know that any spark of intrigue in the self-survival realm directly supports the hit of meaning they receive from tracking the purpose realm.

---

Inner Cycle
SIP – IPS – PSI

SPIRALING INWARD

This cycle tends to move deeper into the energy of their valued realms. The goal is to become aware of the potential instinctual hits that are hidden in plain sight. Focus is always being reined in. There needs to be a feeling of “capturing” the worship object, then tinkering with it to figure out how to deepen the instinctual high.

ZOOMED IN

The energy focus of this cycle is zoomed in on the specifics of their valued realms. They see one part of the whole object and the picture “cuts off” any remaining fields.

JAGGED ROUTE

The shifting in energy and focus with this cycle is often unpredictable. There is a willingness to “roll with the punches” as they come. No need to expand or relate objects to other objects – everything happens as it should. Be along for the ride to find the diamond in the rough.

ANCHORED

When this cycle finds its worship object or hit of energy within their valued realms, they desire to anchor to it. The feelings of aliveness reside in that specific box where it was found, and the person believes they must anchor to it.

---

Outer Cycle
SPI – ISP – PIS

SPIRALING OUTWARD

This cycle tends to broaden their energy scope to see where more opportunities await. The goal is to become aware of the potential energy that is found in the grand scheme of things. Being focused on the eternal aspect of the realm gives the biggest hit. The worship object is to be referenced, included, and optimized into the greater plan.

ZOOMED OUT

The energy focus of this cycle is zoomed out on the conceptual makeup of their valued realms. They see multiple parts of the worship object and the picture tries to include how it changes over time and perspective.

SMOOTH ROUTE

The shifting in energy and focus with this cycle is smooth and for lack of a better term, “syrupy”. The desire is to make the feelings of aliveness available under all circumstances, so individual or broken apart routes to get there are a threat. This cycle wants to find their desired hit in multiple circumstances and objects – a diamond can be found anywhere if you create the right circumstances.

UNTETHERED

When this cycle finds its worship object or hit of energy within their valued realms, they desire to recreate it in every part of their lives. The feelings of aliveness reside everywhere so long as you can awaken yourself to the shift in perspective. Or as I call it, “the cosmic goop”.

---

-Attribution for the original theory of “flows” or “cycles” in the classic enneagram instincts goes to David Gray in his theory of syn-flow vs. contra-flow.
-If you’re interested in the original enneagram instincts and stacking as well as the “zone stems” by David Gray, Emeka Okorafor, & Joseph Stalteri, please visit their website here.