It is true of us all, whatever our work, that we are artists so long as we live to the concreteness of the moment and do not use it to some other purpose.
M.C. Richards
Often referred to as the Individualist, the Type Four individual wants desire deep connections with their own inner worlds and with others and feel most alive when they authentically express their feelings and experiences.
Their primary need is the “Need to be Special (Unique).”
The four personality emphasizes the subjective world of feelings in creativity and individualism, in introversion and self-absorption, and in self-torment and self-hatred. In this personality type, we see creative artists, romantic aesthetes, withdrawn dreamers, people with powerful feelings who feel different from others because self-consciousness blocks them from getting outside themselves.
Envy is referred to as the Passion of Type Four. This envy is not the type that is aimed at what other’s possess. It is the longing for the substance that they think lies behind other people’s meaning experiences. It is envy in how their perception of other’s satisfaction in life’s deepest experiences.
The fixation of the four is Melancholy that leads to fantasizing. Their addiction is fantasizing and longing creates a painful loop of dissatisfaction and frustration. They resent themselves first feeling that they should know better or that in every situation they could have done better. They tend to beat themselves up, always finding fault with themselves and finding themselves lacking.
The Main Theme of Four
- Feeling lost, abandoned and separated
- Believe they are deficient and has some unknown tragic flaw in themselves
- Seek meaning and emotional depth to acquire what feels missing
- Need to feel personally connected to everything
- Chronic disappointment
The Core Wound
Felt estranged, alienated, misunderstood, different, so they search for an ideal self that will be seen as lovable and acceptable.
Center of Intelligence: Heart
Interpersonal Coping Style
Withdrawn – They withdraw because they do not believe they will be able to fully express themselves or have the ideal relationships they long for
The path of Integration for a Four
The path of Integration for a Four is to One. With integration, the four begins to understand that rules and regulations apply to them too. At one they have a deep knowing that their messy fantasies and exaggerations need boundaries to be healthy and structure can be a container for self-discovery.
The path of Disintegration for a Two
The way of Disintegration for a Four is to Two. Along this path, they give themselves away. They succumb to the appeal of toxic emotional fusion in an attempt to draw the attention they desire.
The Awakened Four
An awakened Four brings forth the virtue of equanimity, or balance. They are no longer swept by strong feelings and deep pains. They rest in even-minded, balance-hearted composure and clarity.
Wings
The four with a three wing is an Aristocrat – social, ambitious, accomplished, possessing of creativity and drive, with a desire to improve, goal oriented. They are adaptable, sensitive to others and want to make something of themselves in the world. They have a strong need for attention and admiration, a strong sense of the romantic. They can become self-inhibited, and alienated from others, depressed and hold secret envy of others.
The four with a five win is the Bohemian – observant of their environment, has intellectual depth and intensity, is profoundly creative, intuitively insightful, emotionally sensitive, and has a highly personal way of self-expressing. When unhealthy they become secretive, preoccupied with thoughts, reclusive, alienated and pessimistic.