Welcome to the enneagram.
Introduction
At various times in our lives we seek to know ourselves more deeply. Sometimes something happens that we don`t understand that propels us into self-development work. Sometimes a friend suggests a course such as the enneagram and doesn`t want to go alone. That was my introduction to the enneagram in 1995. That course came at an important juncture in my life. Sometimes I feel people discover the enneagram at just the right time for them. I certainly did.
The enneagram is an ancient form of personality typing which helps us to understand ourselves and the unconscious mental and emotional habits which drive our behaviour.
Each one of us is unique but when we understand the themes and issues we face we begin to change. Knowing is change in itself.
What is the enneagram?
The enneagram (from the Greek ennea, nine, gramma something written) proposes there are nine basic types who fall into three centres:
Heart
Instinctual or Gut
Head
It is based on the work of the three Christian spiritual writers: John Cassian, John Climacus and Evagrius(4-6th century) who formulated the list we know as the Seven Capital Sins: a list which still holds a potent energy today. Through the pioneering work of several modern enneagram teachers this tool for transformation is now available to all regardless of background. It is taught at the workplace, in hospitals, parishes, retreat houses of different faiths and to assorted groups throughout the world.
The basic principle of the enneagram is that:
- each of us has one of nine possible `filters` which sets the tenor of our whole lives, a habitual focus of attention so deep it is usually hidden from conscious awareness.
- this filter was not developed at random, but to protect a specific aspect of our essence (higher or divine self) which was particularly vulnerable in the infant.
Though our personality developed as a strategy to help us cope with the outer world as infants, by the time we are adult it can be an automatic biased perspective. The way we view others and interpret events is coloured by it; our choices and actions are often based on it.
The unique and heartening aspect of the enneagram theory is that our `false` personality reflects, as in a mirror image, our highest self. It is not an enemy to be conquered but our best friend, showing us which lessons we need to learn and how to learn them.
My thoughts, in enneagram theory, are hooked into a system that highlights certain objects and not others. For a Type Six doubtful areas are very clearly in the foreground. For a Type Nine it is other people`s agendas rather than what I want. For a Type One what is in error makes the loudest claim on my attention.
The enneagram is about naming not blaming or shaming. There comes a time in our lives where we need to go inside. That`s how to grow.
We are all the types on the enneagram but more in one centre than the other two and more one type within that centre than the other two. By attending a workshop and identifying our space on the enneagram we learn about our compulsions and our strengths. We also interact with those who have different compulsions and strengths and learn how to gain access to their gifts.
Some questions to consider that the enneagram uncovers:
What is your gift and how do you over-use it?
What do people most appreciate about you?
What irritates people about you?
It is best to treat the enneagram as a diagnostic system. It is not therapy and you decide your type. The more you delve into it the more useful it is.
The best way to discover and explore your space on the enneagram is with a group. Why? Because if you read a book you don`t get the flavour of the other types as well as your own. You don`t experience the energy, speech style etc of your own and other types. It is easy and enjoyable to uncover your type in the aural-oral tradition, which means you experience it with others, partly by telling stories from your life on certain themes e.g. you and authority; you and conflict, in pairs and trios and partly by listening to information about the nine types. There are short meditations and exercises as well.
To transform something first you have to know what is so and this is a major part of the enneagram`s value. When we recognize the personality`s automatic reactions we can use them as reminders of our essential qualities. We then regain the ability to respond to life from an unbiased perspective in tune with our real selves. It is not a question of transcending or subduing the personality but of befriending it and learning which way it points us.
By understanding the different types we not only understand ourselves better but others too. The enneagram is an exercise in compassion, first towards ourselves and, as importantly, towards others.
The enneagram takes 14 hours over three days. Usually there is an evening meeting for two hours on the first day; six-eight hours on the second and four hours on the third.
Getting to know ourselves is a life-long process. The enneagram is an invaluable tool in this process.
For my article in Enneagram Monthly (1st Oct 2007), click here
About Veronica Whitty
I was introduced to the enneagram in 1990 and went on a course in the UK in 1995.I did another course in the UK and then went to California for a year in 1996 to complete Helen Palmer`s Teachers` Training /certification course. When I returned to the UK I came to live in Newcastle and began running workshops in the North East and throughout Britain and Ireland.
I have attended Helen`s advanced teachers` workshops in Zurich in 2000 and Bristol in 2006 and am authorised to teach her latest advanced material.
I went on to complete Tom Condon`s Professional training and attended a Riso/Hudson workshop. I now incorporate the work of several writers and my own work in workshops.
I am a member of the International Enneagram Asssociation and the Association of Enneagram Teachers in the Oral/Narrative Tradition.
If you would like a private consultation as an introduction to the enneagram please contact me.
Cost: £30 for an hour and a half.
Workshops cost £100 per person for three days.
Private work for those who know their enneagram space/type costs £40 per hour.
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