The Enneagram
The Science of Personality
The Enneagram personality typing system is used by TLC Whole Health Center to help get insight into our individual psychology. We invite you to familiarize yourself with the Nine types of the Enneagram to facilitate your journey of self knowledge. The Enneagram personality system, which combines modern Trans-personal Psychology with the Sacred Geometric figure above, identifies nine distinct Psychological Types. The best way to identify your own type is to read about all Nine types. Additional information about the nine types can be gotten from the links below.
Enneagram Type 1
Enneagram Type 2
Enneagram Type 3
Enneagram Type 4
Enneagram Type 5
Enneagram Type 6
Enneagram Type 7
Enneagram Type 8
Enneagram Type 9
How Well Do You Know Yourself?
Once you have read about the nine types ask yourself which type is most like you. You might identify with several of the types, but one in particular should stand out. This will be a test of how well you know yourself. There are tests available on the websites links to help you determine your Type. Recognition of our type is most useful if it is based on a realization that comes from ourselves, rather than on a test or someone else's opinion. Although these may be true, they will not be as helpful as directly realizing what traits we have in ourselves.
Chief Feature
Each of the nine Enneagram personality types has what is called a "Chief Feature". Our Chief Feature is a basic world view, a way of paying attention that puts a "spin" on the world. The Chief Feature is a conditioned state within ourselves, an attitude we have adopted in response to the world which affects our goals, social interactions and choices. The outcome of most situations is determined by our Chief Feature. Although Chief Feature parallels the development of our personality, the Enneagram implies another level within human psychology beyond cultural upbringing.
Relationships
If you have a partner, give some thought to his or her Type. As you become familiar with the types, identify, privately to yourself, representatives of types amongst your acquaintances.
Cosmology
What distinguished the Enneagram from other personality typing systems is that the nine different personality types constitute a totality, a Microcosm of the human viewpoint. It is not merely a set of personality types. The Enneagram is the model for a Cosmos, having both universal application and implications. Applied to psychology, the Enneagram model immediately suggests that a finite number of personalities exist, something like the colors of the light spectrum. Thus we see that, like colors, human consciousness naturally diversifies itself into personality types according to universal principles. We know that white light can both be refracted into the colors of the spectrum and combined back together again to produce white light. Likewise, human personalities are fragmented forms of a Unified Consciousness. That Unified Consciousness is embodied once again by any consciousness who transcends the condition of their particular personality type. The Enneagram design reveals not only how our individual consciousness is unified with other personalities similar to ours, but with all existing personalities through our shared consciousness.
The Design of the Enneagram
G. I. Gurdieff, who introduced the Enneagram symbol to the West in modern times, said that it should be thought of as kinetic, in motion. The basic figure of the Enneagram is a circle, the symbol for Unity, with nine evenly spaced points along its circumference. The nine lines connecting the points show the relationship between the parts and their relationship to the Whole. The inner triangle represents the Law of Three, the creative, generative Principle. When applied to human psychology, the inner triangle represents our three Primary Centers: an Intellectual center, the Emotional center, and an Instinctive/Sexualcenter. Depending on which point of the triangle your personality type falls with, you are an Emotional based type, an Instinctive type, or an Intellectual type.
In order to help you in the best possible way, TLC Whole Health Center invites you to become familiar with the system of personality types based on the Enneagram. Use the Enneagram tool at the right to familiarize yourself with these different personality types. Please read the description of all 9 types. You can continue to explore and learn more by visiting some of the following helpful websites:
1. http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/
5. http://www.enneagramworldwide.com/
Familiarize yourself with all 9 personality types before you begin to consider which personality type best describes you. This will require being somewhat objective about yourself. If you have a partner you will want to give some thought to his or her personality type. Both of you can read up on the different types and take one of the tests available on the websites. Ultimately, though, you will want inner recognition of your own type. For further study of this ancient system of personality typology, the following books are recommended:
1. Understanding Enneagram, by Helen Palmer
2. Enneagran in Love and Work, by Helen Palmer
3. Spiritual dimension of enneagram, by Sandra Mitra
4.The Essential Enneagram, by David Daniels,M.D.
We appreciate your efforts to help with this process.
Thank you!