Enneagram, Part 1

The Enneagram (a word derived from the Greek language, meaning "nine points") is an increasingly popular tool that supports people in understanding themselves and others. It interprets how differences and similarities in personality affect people's relationships, the workplace and thoughts and feelings.

Because it answers the age-old question, "Why do people do what they do?", this knowledge moves people toward healing. The Enneagram presents nine personality types by investigating our unconscious motivations as human beings. In the process, human behavior becomes understandable.

The nine types are:

	One, the Worker — an intense, hard working, focused perfectionist.
	Two, the Helper — an empathetic, service-oriented, flattering rescuer.
	Three, the Motivator — an image-oriented, accomplished, efficient performer
	Four, the Individualist — a self-absorbed, sensitive, creative overanalyzer.
	Five, the Observer — a noncommittal, deliberate, reflective loner.
	Six, the Networker — a responsible, opinionated, community-oriented moralist.
	Seven, the Visionary — an analytical, entertaining, self-indulgent visionary.
	Eight, the Activator — a competitive, practical, passionate maneuverer.
	Nine, the Universalist — a secretive, unemotional, affable problem solver for others.

Would you like a more complete description of the nine types? Follow this link (there will be another link to bring you back to this spot in the text): Descriptions of the Nine Types

Why Learn the Enneagram?
People make relationships, and personality makes people what they are. That's why understanding your personality and others' can enhance relationships and promote healing.

Of all the tools available to understand personality, the Enneagram is the easiest to grasp and make use of. Describing nine personality types, in the hands of Hurley and Donson the Enneagram is easy to learn, fun and interesting. The Enneagram describes how personality affects our journey through life with all its ups and downs, and it offers practical suggestions for improving our success and satisfaction.

While the Enneagram acknowledges that every person is unique, it also says that one of the nine personality types described above has become your "operating type." This is the foundation of your way of dealing with the world. Each person's uniqueness is the result of the many other factors that are a part of our formation, such as genetics, education both formal and informal, birth order, body type, cultural influences, etc.

Understanding Yourself
Some people feel that acknowledging one type as their own is limiting. Actually, the opposite is true. By seeing oneself through the "lens" of one Enneagram type, people finally understand aspects of themselves that have been mysteries for years. Qualities and habits they dislike but thought were innate now are seen as changeable. Most importantly, a path for improvement, relief from self-destructive patterns, change and growth becomes clear. Each of the nine types has its own unique path to fulfillment!

Also, the core of each Enneagram type is a gift to be discovered — a surprise delight at the core of our beings. Often in daily life we don't see it or only have glimpses of it because we are preoccupied with responding to life's cares and anxieties. Taking time to learn about oneself through the Enneagram reveals this gift and the joy associated with it.

Understanding Others
The Enneagram describes nine different ways of being in the world. Your way is only one of them. Others are different, and the Enneagram makes those differences understandable. With understanding comes the possibility of communication, compassion and improved effectiveness. There are nine different sets of values people live by; nine different ways they evaluate what is good and bad, right and wrong, pleasurable and distasteful; and nine different sets of needs people expect others and life to fulfill. The Enneagram makes sense out of all the impressions of people you have gathered over your life.

Each type describes a limited good which the person who espouses it claims is absolute. Therein lies the core difficulty people have in enjoying life completely. Mistaking a limited good for complete wholeness means the reality of a satisfying life will always elude us. Until the clear mirror of the Enneagram shows us our faulty perception, we can't see our problem and not seeing it, we don't even know we can solve it.

What Are the Benefits of Learning the Enneagram?
By using the Enneagram, you can:

	Uncover motivations in others and yourself.
	Move around relationship roadblocks.
	Improve communication both at home and at work.
	Identify your self-harming behaviors and discover healing for them.
	Eliminate self-defeating patterns of thinking, feeling and acting.
	Achieve your goals.
	Apply practical insight to create effective relationships.
	Create a personal spirituality.

How Does the Enneagram Work?

	The Enneagram reveals patterns in people's thinking, feeling and behaving.
	Previously mystifying words and actions become understandable and clear.
	It shows how people are patterned more than we would at first think.
	It shows where those patterns are both helpful and self-harming.
	It points the way to making new choices.

Why Is the Enneagram Gaining Popularity?

	This system is so accurate that people easily recognize themselves and others in their lives.
	It clearly names and describes the issues which, if worked upon, produce maximum personal benefit.
	Its application is diverse — business, psychology, team building, personal relationships and spirituality are but a few examples.
	It unravels the hidden dynamics of relationships with far greater ease and clarity than any other model.

And, in the unique way in which Kathy Hurley and Theodorre Donson teach the system, it’s understanding of human behavior is comprehensive yet simple to understand, remember and use.

Do you want to learn more about the Enneagram? Choose one of these four ways:

	Read a book about the Enneagram
	Listen to audio cassettes about the Enneagram
	Read another article on this website on the Enneagram: Enneagram, Part 2
	Attend an Enneagram seminar or training program

For More Information Contact

E-mail: ERI@hurleydonson.com

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