The Ennegram

By Wendy DeMoss

I've discovered a secret that gives new meaning to the phrase "just my type."

I have attended panels made up of people who represent each of the nine numbers of the Enneagram, an ancient system of divining one's personality.

Every week participants in the Enneagram (pronounced any-a-gram) sessions share their unique ways of thinking, feeling or doing.

I am struck by the accuracy of the system in that members of each panel display similar traits.

For example, the Three panel was filled with success-oriented, competitive people who have a hard time knowing their feelings.

The Eight panel participants were the most aggressive and rebellious toward authority. True to form, two had been in jail. They were also direct, honest and highly likeable.

Enneagram experts say you may feel a kinship with some of the panels, but one in particular will ring more true for you than the others.

I connected most strongly with the Seven panel. In fact, I left the building in tears after seeing my patterns so clearly reflected in others.

However, I also identified strongly with the direct and often blunt nature of the Eights, the lover of isolation in the Fives and the image-conscious Threes. With some panels - like the Fours who feel they never have enough or the paranoid Sixes - it was hard to find a common thread.

"It points the way to who you really are," says Sharon Berbower, Enneagram teacher and leader of the weekly panels in Berkeley, Calif. "It can save you years of therapy." She notes the system can be so revealing it's been described as "telling you more about yourself than you ever wanted to know."

Once you know your Enneagram number, experts say, you have the quickest and most accurate description of benefits and challenges of your behavior patterns.

And in coming to understand your number, there is an opportunity for the true self to come forth.

"When people face their type squarely, they see how its excesses, incorrect perceptions and wrong judgments limit them," say Enneagram authors Kathleen Hurley and Theodore Dobson.

Although an adult's core personality may not change, the individual can become a healthier, more productive version of his or her type.

Today it is used by individuals, groups, educators, therapists, spiritual advisors and business consultants to improve communication and relationships and lessen misunderstandings.

The nine personality types are arranged on a nine-pointed star-like diagram. This layout shows key relationships between the types including the changes in personality that occur in situations of stress and ease.

In times of difficulty we take on either the positive or negative characteristics associated with the type in the direction of the arrow pointing away from our number type. During periods of security, our guard drops, and we relax into the behavior patterns of the type in the direction of the arrow pointing toward our number type.


FEELING TYPES
Based in the emotional center, they focus on meeting other people's expectations to earn approval or win success. Their inner work is to relax their image and find equanimity.

The Helper Twos focus on personal relationships. They can be supportive, positive, and empathetic, but often let themselves become overextended. Strengths: caring, popular, communicative. Challenges: privileged, naïve, or dependent. Famous Twos: Bill Cosby, Gwyneth Paltrow, John Travolta, Mia Farrow, Mother Theresa, Mister Rogers.

The Performer Threes strive for success. They work hard, dress well, maintain a fine image. Always on the go. Strengths: successful, energetic, high achievers. Challenges: overworked, impatient, competitive. Famous Threes: Tom Cruise, Tony Robbins, Diane Sawyer, Oprah Winfrey,Werner Erhard.

The Romantic Fours are aesthetic and idealistic, often drawn to music, poetry or dance. Guided by strong emotions, longing and sadness. Strengths: artistic, authentic, compassionate. Challenges: envious, uncooperative, moody, withdrawn. Famous Fours: Paul Simon, Martha Graham, Jessica Lange, Sting, Joni Mitchell, Keats.

MENTAL TYPES
Based in the intellectual center, they focus on figuring things out with information, ideas, plans, strategy and systems. Their inner work is to manage fear and doubt or future planning and to integrate mind and body.

The Observer Fives are perceptive thinkers who seek both knowledge and personal autonomy. They need a lot of privacy. Strengths: scholarly, analytical, self-reliant. Challenges: isolated, overly intellectual, detached. Famous Fives: Bill Gates, Georgia O'Keefe, Chopin, John LeCarre, Jim Lehrer.

The Loyal Skeptic Sixes can be intellectuals or warriors. They figure out what can go wrong and they move through fear to courage. Strengths: loyal, attentive, problem-solvers. Challenges: suspicious, pessimistic, doubtful. Famous Sixes: John Lennon, Woody Allen, Julia Roberts, Freud, Jane Fonda, David Letterman.

The Positive Planner Sevens are full of new ideas and plans for different activities. Quick thinking and fast-talking, they are good at inspiring and persuading. Strengths: adventurous, positive, fun loving. Challenges: self-absorbed, unrealistic, uncommitted. Famous Sevens: Joseph Campbell, Barbra Streisand, Robin Williams, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy.

BODY TYPES
Based in the instinctual center in the belly, they focus on body rhythms and being in control of their environment. Good at gut-level knowing, their inner work is to manage their anger and stay awake to priorities.

The Protector Eights are assertive about how things should go. They are intense, direct and can be passionate about truth and justice. Strengths: enthusiastic, generous, powerful. Challenges: excessive, angry, vengeful. Famous Eights: Martin Luther King, Golda Meir, John Wayne, Donald Trump, Frank Sinatra.

The Mediator Nines can see all sides of an issue. They like to be comfortable. Usually peaceful, they occasionally blow up. Strengths: balanced, accepting, harmonious. Challenges: stubborn, indecisive, shrink from conflict. Famous Nines: Bill Clinton, the Dalai Lama, Corazon Aquino, Ronald Reagan, Julia Child.

The Perfectionist Ones have high standards for themselves and others. They want to do the right thing in all respects, from good manners to social reform. Strengths: honest, responsible, improvement-oriented. Challenges: resentful, rigid, judgmental. Famous Ones: Nelson Mandela, Hillary Clinton, Pope John Paul II, Katherine Hepburn, Martha Stewart.

Wendy DeMos is a freelance writer specializing in stories on artists as well as life's creative and spiritual dimensions. She can be reached at wendydemos@cyberus.ca , www.cyberus.ca/~wendydemos or (415) 376-7676.