Enneagram Made Simple

At first, the Enneagram can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be! Here is a quick and simple overview for anyone who wants to know the what, how, and why of this powerful tool. 

What is the Enneagram?

The modern Enneagram is a powerful tool used for personal understanding and growth. It is not a static personality label, wrapping people into a box with a nice bow on top. More accurately, the enneagram unwraps the boxes we’ve built around ourselves, allowing us to break free of self-inflicted limits. The Enneagram depicts 9 distinct styles of human character rooted in CORE MOTIVATION. Its wisdom enables one to understand WHY people engage and interact with the world in the way they do. Its power lies in the inherent map to becoming our most authentic and balanced selves.

Ancient History:

The Enneagram is an ancient, complex, and meaningful symbol used in psychology, cosmology, mathematics, and spirituality. It’s hard to pinpoint its exact origin. We see hints of its wisdom in Homer’s The Odessey in 700 B.C. It’s 9-point figure is seen in ancient mathematics. And the seven deadly sins compiled by St. Thomas Aquinis in the 13th century closely follow the passions of the Enneagram. CrossPoint Ministry makes this statement, “A true and accurate understanding into the origins of the Enneagram requires significant research across a broad arena of sources, as well as a willingness to accept some nuance and mystery. The modern Enneagram, in both Christian and secular use, in many ways, bears little resemblance to the earliest iterations of the Enneagram and many of its subsequent versions.“

Modern History:

In the 1970s, two European psychologists Oscar Ichazo and Claudio Naranjo developed the modern Enneagarm utilizing their work in psychology. Naranjo then presented the Enneagram to a small group of students in California, which happened to include Father Robert Ochs, a Jesuit priest on sabatical from Loyola Seminary. Father Ochs taught the Enneagram to to seminarians, priests, and leaders in the church as a dynamic tool for not only personal growth and knowledge, but also spiritual maturity. It has since been adopted by secular and religious practitioners and has improved countless lives and relationships of those seeking lasting transformation.

How it works:

Identifying your number is a very personal job! No one can tell you your number because no one knows your core motivation except you. Some tests can be helpful as a starting point, but be careful to only use a test that has been well vetted and offers a 1-1 consultation for the resutls. Here is my option: LIVING WELL ENNEAGRAM TEST
Once you discover your number, you will have access to 4 extremely important things:

1. Your core motivation
2. Your core fear
3. Your weakness/blindspot
4. Your deepest desire

Of course, you’ll have more than just these “core four” elements, but this is where you’ll start. When you have this level of self-knowledge, you will suddenly see how your number is a lens in which you see everything in your world. And, spoiler alert, not everyone is seeing the world through the same lens as you.

Why it works:

The Enneagram is a customized map that will allow you to take a journey to becoming your most authentic and healthy self. When you know yourself on a deep level, you “wake up” to what’s really going on, how you are self sabbatoging, and the path to get what you truly desire. Simply put, the Enneagram is a powerful tool for personal and spiritual growth. When understood properly, the Enneagram will help you to become who you were created to be.

FREE Resource for Enneagram

Hello, Enneagram a FREE Mini-Course for Enneagram beginners

Click the above link and sign-up for a completely free mini-course that will walk you through the numbers and get you started on your enneagram journey!