The Enneagram describes 9 broad personality types with very definite characteristics, motivations and strategies used to operate in the world. These 9 basic types are further divided into several sub classifications making for a very sophisticated and accurate system. Whether our particular type is innate or due to childhood conditioning is still debated, but research in neuroscience suggests it is most likely a mix of both. Getting to know the Enneagram is a journey of self-discovery. Imagine a bizarre scenario in which people of the nine types enter a room full of giraffes and cocktails. You will be surprised to know how each type will naturally gravitate towards a totally different area of attention. We all are aware of certain character traits in ourselves. It could be a tendency to be melancholic, perfectionist, lazy or (fill in the blanks). There are also hidden patterns which are so deeply ingrained in our very perception of reality that it is almost impossible to know them, like the proverbial fish in the water. The Enneagram helps us to explore these blind spots in ourselves and provides a coherent narrative of the underlying motives and assumptions that govern our lives. The same is of course true for our relationships with others. It is important to note here that all types are inherently value neutral and all have great untapped potential waiting to be awakened if we overcome the limiting biases of our type. No type is better than the other and each has unique strengths and weaknesses. In short: The Enneagram is a dynamic map of human ego-patterns. It describes nine ways of loving, nine ways of fighting, nine ways of working and nine ways of transformation. WHAT ARE THE APPLICATIONS OF THE ENNEAGRAM? The Enneagram is great for everyone who works with people. It is used successfully by therapists, leaders, social workers, writers, coaches, corporations and even national and state governments across the world.It is used for/in personal development, self awareness, team building, script writing, counselling, criminal psychology etc. The Enneagram, unlike most other systems of psychology, requires the active participation and involvement of the person being typed. The best way to type your personality is to attend a one hour typing interview session with an Enneagram teacher. Here, at Enneagram India, we are qualified and readily available to assist you in initiating this process. Human beings are complex and we at Enneagram India only partially rely on online tests however they can give you indicative results which you can use to further self-reflect and/or consult a teacher. We recommend the 10 minute sampler test here. http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/dis_sample_36.asp #.Up2glcRJOa8 To get the most accurate results, be brutally honest! MY PERSONALITY KEEPS CHANGING. HOW CAN I BE ONE NUMBER MY ENTIRE LIFE? According to the Enneagram, our primary type remains the same over a lifetime once the personality is fully developed around the age of 25. However, we may exhibit healthy and unhealthy patterns of the same type over time and move along the dynamic lines that connect us with other types. Note that our possibilities within our type range from one extreme to another, the purpose being the unfolding of our highest potential. IS THE ENNEAGRAM SCIENTIFIC? The Enneagram is validated by several Neuroscience research projects. As Dr.David Daniels, clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioural sciences at Stanford medical school says “ (the Enneagram is) “based on the premise that our brains are literally pattern machines, we can easily see that we have patterns for everything from doorknobs to worldviews. Our personality pattern stands out as one of the most fundamental of such patterns.” The Enneagram describes nine patterns of human behaviour that are found across class, caste, race and age. We live as individuals in an increasingly individualistic world and the notion of nine types categorizing a collective of 6 billion human beings may seem almost unreal to you. However, when we live our individual lives, we may be unable to step aside and see ours and others’ patterns of functioning as clearly and it may seem to us that it is random and chaotic rather than governed by a pattern. Research in brain chemistry has demonstrated that it is possible to identify type based on the composition of the three main neurotransmitters – dopamine (the action hormone), serotonin (the feel good hormone) and Norepinephrine (the stress hormone)
These links are for further reading if you are interested in scientific research on the Enneagram.
1) Dr.David Daniels - http://drdaviddaniels.com/
2) Enneagram and Brain Chemistry - http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/articles/NArtTina.asp #.UoX5AvlJOa8
While the Enneagram is scientific, it also takes the understanding of the human condition beyond science and psychology. Just as describing the feeling of falling in love as a mere “biochemical state” is not fully satisfactory for us as human beings, so is the Enneagram type map of our brain chemistry only one part of what the Enneagram reveals to you about yourself and others. Many Enneagram teachers consider the Enneagram as an integration of science, psychology, mysticism and metaphysics. The language of science itself is therefore, not sufficient to describe the Enneagram. IS THERE LOGIC TO WHY THESE PATTERNS ARE WHAT THEY ARE? What the Enneagram provides us is the map of our ego structure. Through the course of human evolution, the ego developed into its current complex form to protect us from the physical and social dangers of early human civilization. We learnt to anticipate threats and developed different strategies to cope with predators and more powerful members in the group. If we zoom out for a moment and examine the patterns in nature, we will find them consistent in the way leaves sprout in a particular species of trees to get maximum sunlight, the 28-day cycle of the moon, or how patterns of pine cone spirals adhere to the golden ratio. Similarly, our ego structure from ancient times, albeit more complex than leaf patterns or pine cones forms the scaffolding of our personality patterns. It remains the fundamental backbone over which there are many overlays of individuality, culture, gender etc. In a harsher environment than most of us reading this inhabit today, we learnt to secure our place in society and the love of others through unique survival strategies such as seeking to be creative and unique (Type 4), being perfectionist, productive and sincere (Type 1), helpful and attentive to the needs of others (Type 2), strong, invulnerable and protective of the weak (Type 8), performance oriented and crafting appropriate self-images according to the situation (Type 3), gaining knowledge and expertise in a particular field (Type 5), being loyal, stable, watchful and ready with plans (Type 6), being active, entertaining and inventive (Type 7), bringing people together and creating harmony in the group (Type 9). WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THE THREE CENTERS? According to the Enneagram, there are three centres of intelligence – the head, heart and gut/body. Under each centre, there are three Enneagram types. On first impression, we might judge a person as emotionally oriented (heart), cerebral (head) or driven by a “gut instinct” (gut/body). Often one mode of relating to the world dominates even as all of us have access to all centres of intelligence. Scientific research has long established that all mammals, including human beings are divided into 3 centres of intelligence – the head, heart and body. The Enneagram types are divided into 3 varying types for each centre of intelligence. The 8, 9, 1 are the body/gut types, 2, 3, 4 are heart types and 5, 6 and 7 head types. Affective neuroscience demonstrates that mammals have three aversive reactions when their Three basic needs are not met as show below:
1) Fear/Anxiety (Type 5, 6, 7): When our needs for security are not met, we experience, threat, challenge and a sense of danger. Fear and anxiety is driven by the Head Centre of intelligence – which scans the environment and makes life certain and secure for us.
2) Distress/Panic (Type 2, 3, 4): When we experience a loss of connection or bonding with others, we feel distressed or in panic. The Heart centre seeks out our need for bonding and love
3) Anger/Rage (Type 8, 9, 1) When we are not being treated fairly or are being denied what we want or what we are entitled to, we experience anger and rage, which is driven by the body centre that is responsible for sensing what is wrong with the environment and how we need to change it in order to meet our needs. DOES THE ENNEAGRAM APPLY ACROSS CLASS AND CULTURE? HOW CAN ONE GENERALIZE? The way Enneagram types are expressed may have subtle cultural and gender overlays. However largely, these factors don’t change the core of the person’s pattern. All human beings have 206 bones and developmental psychology has proved that irrespective of race or culture, human beings who go through similar behavioural changes according to the developmental stage they are in. The same is true for the Enneagram. As an example: a type 4 ‘feeling type’ male may more consciously hide his emotional side than a type 4 female because in his respective society's imposed expectation of male behaviour he shouldn't openly show his emotional vulnerability. Our male type 4 may outwardly comply with this expectation but inwardly he is nevertheless a type 4. The same is true for class and culture. Society may impose different codes of behaviour on people but their inner structure and filter through which they perceive the world remains the essentially the same. I FEEL THAT TYPING MYSELF LIMITS ME? ISN'T THE ENNEAGRAM REDUCTIONIST? It is always your choice – whether you want to type yourself or not. Regardless of your Enneagram type, culture, race, or gender there is something, an essence, or individuality that is innately you and that which transcends type and escapes any attempt at classification. And yes, it could also be argued that knowledge systems can never satisfyingly reflect something as complex as the human personality. Nevertheless, we found the Enneagram to be highly useful for navigating the human psyche. The Enneagram is an effort to bring order into the chaos of our inner world, its function can therefore best be compared to that of a map, a great map for sure, but even the greatest map is only a reflection of the actual territory, the territory itself is inherently vastly richer in texture, colour and topolography than any map can ever be. However, nobody would argue against the usefulness of maps in finding your way. When we at Enneagram India underwent our training in Menlo Park California, our co-participants were from countries as diverse as Israel, China, Switzerland, Japan, Ireland, Singapore, Brazil, Canada, India and Portugal and yet when members of the same type got on to a panel discussions, the similarities were as striking as their distinct individual personalities. A person living in a refugee camp in Eritrea and a doctor in Sweden with the same Enneagram type will have similar patterns, expressed according to the context of their environment. Their individuality will be distinctly different because they had such vastly different experiences but the way they interpret these vastly different experiences and the way they react to the challenges in their respective lives will nevertheless follow similar patterns. CAN THE ENNEAGRAM BE A PATH TO PERSONAL GROWTH? As we discussed earlier, the agenda of the personality type at the most basic level is that of survival. As human beings, we are often faced with a profound restlessness and anxiety – a base feeling over which the lure of modern life can fuel itself. We are seeking perfect careers, cars, vacations, friends, marriages, money etc and it seems somehow that mere acquisition doesn’t give us happiness as much as put us back on the conveyer belt of incessant seeking and gratification. All human beings live, by design, under the trance of the ego and its agendas because of a programming that has developed over tens of thousands of years. Some of us privileged human beings live in a world where our survival is not regularly threatened and we are privy to more comfort than was ever imaginable in human history. Cures have been found for life threatening diseases and there are very few things that science can’t do. And yet, certain restlessness and a feeling of deep dissatisfaction remains in many of us. Material acquisitions and success can only temporarily alleviate this deep yearning for a more fulfilled existence.One of the first steps out of this heady trance is self-awareness – the recognition of our unconscious drives and motives to get to know our Real Self, our essence. Neuroscientists have established that the brain is inherently plastic, its wiring can be changed and more beneficial connections can be established over time. In this process, self-awareness plays an important role. The brain recognizing some of its own patterns is the first step for such a transformation. Many great masters and teachers of humanity emphasized the importance of self-awareness for lasting and effective transformation, an insight that is confirmed by cutting-edge psychology. Of course such a deep transformation cannot be achieved over the course of a single workshop, it requires a longstanding commitment. Not everyone is committed to such an effort and this is totally fine. The Enneagram works to whatever depth one wants to take it. It is a powerful tool to assist committed meditators and spiritual seekers of any tradition, faith or religion in their journey towards the ultimate reality or a great way to improve the efficiency of the sales team in your company; it works for a 1-day workshop as well as for a lifetime commitment. What we do with the Enneagram is entirely up to us. CAN I ATTEND AN ENNEAGRAM WORKSHOP? We will be announcing workshop dates shortly. You can also choose to attend an individual typing session. Be sure to check our page for updates.
