We live a large portion of our lives on autopilot, essentially going through the motions. But the better we know ourselves and our habits of thinking, feeling and behaving, the more opportunities we have for making authentic choices and for being more effective in living a meaningful and satisfying life.
This is where the Enneagram comes in. The Enneagram is a system for determining and describing our basic temperament or personality. You may be familiar with the MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator) or comparable systems. The Enneagram is similar to those, but it’s also quite a bit more comprehensive and multifaceted than many of them. Although it takes a bit of effort to fully grasp, there are plenty of books, websites, and classes available that explain the Enneagram from various perspectives.
If you’re wondering whether or why you should bother, click the title to read 5 Reasons to Study the Enneagram or Buddhism, the Enneagram, and Neuroscience. You can also visit ninepaths.com.
If you’re resistant to being typed, check out Do You Object to Being Typed?
At the upcoming Monthly Meeting of the Mind (& Brain), you will get an overview of the centers of intelligence (Doing, Thinking, and Feeling) and the three stances (Aggressive, Withdrawing, and Compliant) which combine to form the 9 Enneagram types. You will also have an opportunity to determine your stance and possibly your type.
If you’d like to get a head start, you can download the Stance Keyword Comparison Checklist and the short version of the Riso Hudson Enneagram Questionnaire.
Panel of All 9 Types
Most Enneagram panels consist of people of the same type. This is great if you want to dig deeper and learn a lot about a specific type, but it doesn’t help you get a big-picture perspective of the Enneagram.
At this Monthly Meeting, you will have an opportunity to hear directly from a panel composed of the 9 types. They will tell you:
- how understanding their type has made a difference for them
- what they want you to know about them
- what they like and dislike about being their type
- how they would respond in a variety of different situations
- and more!
I learned about the Enneagram 20 years ago when I was working as a substance abuse counselor. Within a few months, I trained to become a Certified Enneagram Instructor. Not only did the Enneagram help me get a handle on my own autopilot (System 1) behavior, it turned out to be an amazingly effective tool for working with my clients. Even though the work I do now is based on the most recent understanding of the mind and brain that neuroscience and psychology can provide, I still find the Enneagram to be invaluable when it comes to understanding how people operate and what gets in their (our) way.
Whether you already know something about the Enneagram or are simply curious, you really won’t want to miss this.
Please note that the location for this Monthly Meeting of the Mind (& Brain) is the Church of the Good Shepherd at 7834 Tennyson St. NE (87122).