about  the Enneagram

language and a framework for why humans do what we do

What is the Enneagram?

With many personality tests, you get a label. You learn you’re an achiever or extravert or lion. But what do you do with that information? Enneagram is not a label- it is a tool for growth and compassion.

The Enneagram outlines nine primary ways people engage in the human experience (ennea means 9 in Greek). It gives language and a framework for why we do what we do. These insights help us move forward in wholeness, freeing us from the passions and fixations of our types.

The Enneagram Symbol

The Enneagram Symbol is a visual picture of the energy and interaction of the Types. The circle reminds us we are all connected.

To some extent, we each hold and display all nine Types. However, we rest in one number as our core Type. Our Enneagram Type is the primary lens through which we experience the world. When we know our Type, we uncover and explore what we are afraid of, what we desire, and what makes us feel vulnerable. Knowing our Enneagram Type helps us name our shadows with compassion and take steps to live more deeply into our gifts.

Enneagram Types connected to our core Type by arrow lines reflect our tendency to energetically “move” in different circumstances. In times of stress, we tend to be “pulled” with the arrow, compelled toward behaving like the Type at the end of that arrow line. In relaxed or secure states, we tend to let our guard down and open to the energy of the Type at the end of the arrow line pointing towards our Type. Like our core Type, the Enneagram Types at the end of our arrow lines are important parts of who we are. In fact, learning to integrate those two Types in times other than stress and security is a key component of moving forward in wholeness.

Start with my course

Enneagram can be an intimidating journey. I designed my Break Out of the Box Enneagram Course to walk with you for each step of learning and discovery. It is a self-paced and in-depth way to learn your Enneagram Type and move beyond patterns that have kept you stuck.

Be patient with your journey of self-discovery. Finding your Type can take awhile. It is a difficult task to peel back layers of behaviors and ask why we do what we do. But, the journey is worth it. As Richard Rohr says, “Enneagram is not meant to put you in a box. It is meant to help you see your box, so you can be freed from it.”

Recommended Resources

There’s always more to learn. Here are some of my favorite places for exploration and discovery.

Of course, there’s my book, Out of the Box & Into the Wild: An Enneagram Journey through the Triads of Nature. But it is just one of many great resources out on the market today. Below are some others.

Podcasts

Websites

Beginning Books

Leadership & Relationship Books

Music & Poetry

Organizations