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Enneagram stances: how to develop your repressed center of intelligence
In its simplest form, the Enneagram teaches that humans have three centers of intelligence: doing, thinking and feeling. Most of us don’t use all of them to the same extent. We are very skilled in using one of our intelligences and (unconsciously) underuse another. One key of becoming a well-rounded human being is to integrate and balance the three centers of intelligence. A first step is to explore which center you repress. The answer might surprise you, but holds some…
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Natural and adapted personality styles
Have you ever been answering questions in a personality type test and thought: ‘well, that depends on the situation’? Do you sometimes feel like different persons at work and at home? Well, most of us do. One way to look at this is by becoming aware of the distinction between ‘natural’ and ‘adapted’ personality styles. Natural personality style Your natural personality style is your ‘default’ way of doing things: how you are without putting effort in it. It is how…
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The most beautiful Sufi quotes for each Enneagram type
Sufism, the mystical worldview of Islam, is a source of wisdom. I collected quotes for each Enneagram type that can guide us on our individual paths of growth and spirituality. Whatever your religious orientation is, Sufism can teach us insights that are mind-boggling and heart-stirring. All we need is an open mind and an open heart. One Sufi scholar, Hazrat Inayat Khan, described Sufism as “not a religion nor a philosophy, it is neither deism nor atheism, nor is it…
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Core values of all Enneagram types (and how to use them to type someone)
Each Enneagram type has certain values and themes that they particularly care about. These can present themselves as causes they are preoccupied with, as more invisible guidelines for their behavior, or simply as subjects they spend a lot of time thinking about, consciously or unconsciously. Below is a list with the core values of all Enneagram types. Below that, we’ll have a look at how you can use these to type yourself or someone else. Type 1 core values Type…
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The ultimate Enneagram graphic: all triads in one image
Have you been looking for an image that combines all Enneagram triads in one image? Here it is. The Enneagram Triads Centers of intelligence (body, heart, mind)Hornevian groups (compliant, withdrawn, aggressive)Harmonic groups (positive, competency, reactive)Object relations (attachment, rejection, frustration) These are four different ways in which the nine Enneagram types can be grouped in sets of three (hence triads), based on similar characteristics. Each of these different groups or triads are valuable, as they can teach us something about the…
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Enneagram types as ‘rage faces’
Who is the person who thought of matching each Enneagram type with one of these so-called rage faces? They are all hilariously accurate. I sometimes use this image to introduce people to the Enneagram: it’s recognizable and funny and a gross oversimplification of the types, and therefore really useful. This piece of brilliance dates back to the heyday of rage faces. I found a slightly different version to have been posted on the subreddit r/psychology on March 16, 2011. On the same day,…
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Why does Enneagram type Three get so much hate?
In the real world, Enneagram Threes are many times the people who are most looked up to, as they are often successful in what they do. In much of popular Enneagram discourse, however, Three is the type most demonized. Why do people hate Enneagram Threes? Threes are portrayed as fake. They want other people to admire them and sell their soul to become successful, or just to appear successful. They lie, they pretend, they cheat. They are narcissistic, image-oriented, self-promoting, competitive, and…
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How do Enneagram types score on the Big Five personality traits?
It can be difficult to make meaningful comparative statements about different Enneagram types. We can for example say that, on average, type Sevens are more extraverted than type Fives. But the Enneagram offers no straightforward backup for this, and we all know that persons of the same type can differ wildly – its many layers are one of the strengths of the Enneagram. The Enneagram is not based on a certain set of personal characteristics with every person scoring differently…
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Answers to the 4 most common criticisms of the Enneagram
These are the four most common criticisms of the Enneagram – and answers to each of them. 1. “Personality type models put you in a box. I know myself already.” Thinking in terms of boxes can be problematic. Knowing your ‘box’ can in fact become an excuse: “I can’t help it, this is how I am!” But all Enneagram teachers will tell you a variation of this quote from Enneagram patriarchs Don Riso and Russ Hudson: “the Enneagram does not…
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3 reasons why the Enneagram is the best personality type system around
I don’t think that certain personality typology systems are better than others: they simply focus on different aspects of our personalities. Still, I do have a favorite one: the Enneagram. Here are three reasons why I think the Enneagram is better than other systems for personality typing. 1. What vs. why Many personality type models, including the MBTI, give you a description of your personality. They tell you how you behave and think. The Enneagram is about motivations: it tells…
