monthly

ennea
ennea
g
ram
October 2009
Issue 163
On the Nature of Enneagram Subtypes
Enneagram Interactions at Work
In Tis Issue
untrue to type
Michael Goldberg
page 4
listening perspective
Barbara Whiteside
page 5
sacred ideas of type 9
Stephen Hatch
page 7
boundary between 5 & 4
Kirby Olson
page 12
[Authors note: I wrote the following article about four
years ago as an introduction to the enneagram subtypes.
Tats why its pretty basic at the beginning. But I thought it would be a good article for
introducing the enneagram to newcomers, as well as something that will provide food
for thought for veteran enneagrammers.]
P
eople new to the enneagram often wonder how there can be only nine core
personality types when there are so many dierent kinds of people. Te rea-
son is that there are many ways we can use to further dene the nine types in
order to account for the great diversity of temperament. We can, for example, see
which of the two points on either side (the wings) is most dominant. We can also
look at the relationship of each enneagram point with each of its two connecting
points.
But I nd that the most powerful way to account for diversity within each
type is to look at how each type operates within three
arenas in life, which we may call subtype arenas. Whats
of particular interest is which of these arenas is most dominantthat is, which one
most attracts our attention. When we know both our enneagram type and our
dominant arena, we can determine our enneagram subtype. Because there are nine
enneagram types and three subtype arenas, theres a total of 27 possible subtypes.
In this article, I explore the nature of the enneagram subtypes. Some of the
ideas that I propose are controversial, because theyre based on propositions that
diverge from the received wisdom of the eld. But I hope to make a convincing
case for the approach Im taking, because I think it has certain advantages over the
paradigm currently in use.
Please note that, while my main focus in this article is on the subtypes, I also
devote quite a bit of time to discussing both the enneagram types and energy
centers. I tried an approach that was more lim- CONTINUED ON PAGE 15
CONTINUED ON PAGE 19
W
hich Enneagram styles get along best at work?
How well do the dierent Enneagram styles
work together? What are the dynamics that pre-
dictably arise between individuals of two styles, and what can
we do to improve these relationships?
Te answer is simple: No Enneagram style gets along best
with any other style. Individuals of the same style sometimes
get along very well and sometimes not at all. Individuals of
each Enneagram style can work well with every other style,
and they can also have diculties. However, our Enneagram
style and that of the other person are excellent predictors of
the dynamics of the relationship, both when it works well and
when it doesnt. In addition, the Enneagram provides excel-
lent guidelines for what we can do to improve our relation-
ships with individuals of all nine styles.
Because there are 9 dierent Enneagram styles, with forty-ve
dierent sets of predictable interactions between themeach En-
neagram with every other style plus each style interacting with in-
dividuals of the same stylethere are 45 dierent sets of possible
interactions between the styles. And at work, there are often three
dierent kinds of interactions to consider: general interactions between two individuals;
the manageremployee relationship; and interactions during the all important perfor-
mance review, the time when the stakes are high and eective
interactions are so important. In all, there are 135 sets of sig-
nicant work interactions possible (45 dierent interactions x 3).
While this number of possible work interactions can
seem daunting, there is hope when following three basic
principles:
Principle 1: Make yourself easy to work with for everyone by
engaging in type-specic self-development activities
Know why others likely enjoy working with you and hon-
or these qualities; recognize how everyone may encounter
diculties when they work with you, and make a rigorous
commitment to your on-going growth and development.
Principle 2: Work eectively with individuals of each style by
understanding their reactivity triggers and choosing behaviors
that do not trigger negative reactions.
Learn the trigger reactions for each style, then make a
choice to engage in behavior that does not ignite their En-
neagram-based reactivity and, therefore, generate unneces-
sary conict.
Principle 3: Understand the predictable work dynamics between the styles, and en-
gage in behaviors that enhance these relationships.
Ginger Lapid-Bogda, Ph.D.
Susan Rhodes
2 october 2009 enneagram monthly
A
utumn in the San Francisco Bay area is
the best season of all. Tats my subjec-
tive view, and feel free to disagree if you
happen to be a cold-blooded (ectothermic) type
who can stand saunas or likes baking in the sun.
For me, achieving a minimum of thermal homeosta-
sis in summer requires giving in to lazyness. At the
same time, as a good Seven, I dont know how to be
lazy gracefully, and pay for it by suering boredom.
Oy vey! Life is so complex, and to the horror of the
glutton in me, there are no free lunches but merci-
fully the thought of chestnuts and a merry re in the
cold season make up for the summer hardships. I look
forward to some happily homeothermic months.
In this Issue:
One way or another we seek comfort and happi-
ness. Its one of the trends hard-wired into our na-
ture, a gift if it were, that insures that we strive for
fulllment. Mind you, that tendency does not come
with guarantees of fulllment, for that, we have to act
skillfully and hope for the best.
Ginger Lapid Bogda has studied Enneagram
Interactions at Work for a long time and compiled
many observations of how well dierent Enneagram
styles work together. What are the dynamics that pre-
dictably arise between individuals of two styles, and
what can we do to improve these relationships?
Her conclusion was this: No Enneagram style
gets along best with any other style. Individuals of
the same style sometimes get along very well and
sometimes not at all. Individuals of each Enneagram
style can work well with every other style, and they
can also have diculties. However, our Enneagram
style and that of the other person are excellent predic-
tors of the dynamics of the relationship, both when
it works well and when it doesnt. In addition, the
Enneagram provides excellent guidelines for what we
can do to improve our relationships with individuals
of all nine styles.
Ginger breaks this down by discussing typical in-
teractions among the types and between people of the
same type. She also talks about the nature of the rela-
tionships of colleagues, bosses and underlings. It may
look daunting, but Ginger found several principles
that bring it all together with great ease and clarity.
A lot has been said On the Nature of Subtypes
and you would think there is not much left to say.
Well, not so fast... Susan Rhodes has been pondering
on that subject and has a take that is signicantly dif-
ferent in several areas from the mainstream, should
such an animal even exist...In Part I of this two-part
article, she delineates the current theory on the sub-
types, focusing particularly on their association with
only one of the three energy centers, the body cen-
ter. She points out that unlike the other two energy
centers (the head center and heart center), the body
center has no higher counterpart. [Tis had bothered
me too until Francis Lucille attributed the sense
of beauty to the body center, for me that was the
missing higher counterpart] Terefore, the ener-
gies connected with the three subtype arenas of self-
preservation, sexuality, and sociability are doomed
to remain the product to non-spiritual, instinctually-
based motivations. Using our current model, we have
no way to see the activities done in the subtype arenas
as motivated by any sort of higher purpose or intent.
She hopes to remedy the situation by providing an
alternative model to be unveiled in Part II.
Untrue to Type: Dionysus and the Repair of Imagi-
nation Is an interesting and insightful observation
of how the enneagram community drifted so much
into the camp of Apollonian scientism, and I apolo-
gize for using that word, its only scientism when sci-
ence is pressed to deliver answers it was not designed
to supply... Michael Goldberg notes correctly, in my
view, that the Apollonian view alone leaves a whole
side of knowing untapped. Any form of knowing if
deprived of completeness (i.e. the opposing point of
view) turns into a parochial caricature of knowing.
In other words, if we get caught in the quest of
self-improvement that aims to rene and shine up
our xation so that you dont get caught with your
number showing, we remain with the eort of dont
thinking of the pink elephant.
To the contrary: the more productive work is done
to undermine our xation, to loosen its hold and to
destroy its faith (a xation being a true believer).
Michael points out that the human condition is
not entirely addressed by Apollonian crisp and de-
tached reason but growth needs to be fertilized with
the unpredictable and messy insights and passionate
engagement la Dionysus.
A similar concept is also found in Vedic philoso-
phy which speaks of seven realms above and seven
below the earth/human plain. Te higher realms are
heavens where the virtuous get time o for good
behavior while the lower realms are for doing
hard time. After enough karmas are cashed in
or paid up, its back to Bhu-Loka the earth realm
with its freedom of choice and the option to do
good or bad and even achieve liberation.
Barbara Whiteside wrote about how to see and
hear your child in the last issue and Listening from
a Type Perspective is a companion piece along the
same line of thinking. Barbara points out how we
must not only listen to but what it takes to actually
hear, what the other is saying. To achieve that, we
have to be aware how our lters are set up that screen
and rearrange everything we hear through our own
perspective. Tats common, its human nature after
all and thats what makes up our personality. But we
need not remain blind to it.
We may not be able to change our nature, and
why should we? After all, we are who we are and
its more likely that we can be an integrated version
of ourselves than nd integration trying to become
something we are not. So, it makes sense to become
more aware of who we are instead of being apologetic
about it; part of that includes recognizeing our own
bias when we listen to others. Its a skill we better
learn if we want to have a hope of connecting to
people in a reciprocal and meaningful way.
Stephen Hatch opens the portal to a broader vi-
sion with Sacred Ideas of Type Nine, Sacred Back-
drop, Sacred Self-forgetting, Sacred Bliss. He takes
samples from several disciplines and sages that de-
scribe essential qualities of the Nine in particularly
poignant ways. As many people have noted,
Nines hold a special place in the enneagram g-
ure. Tey are at the top and thus best positioned to
have a birds eye view of all the types beneath; masters
at relating to all points of view they may fall prey to
a passive/receptive/adaptive stance. At times this can
require a little help to focus and direct energy in a
specic direction instead of dissipating by ailing in
a overwhelming array of options. Unlike Sevens who
tackle arrays of options with vim and vigor, Nines are
more likely to get lost in the ow of the same.
Te Permeable Boundary Between 5 & 4 has
been haunting Kirby Olson for some time. Tere
must be something unsettling to stand straddling the
gap at the bottom of the enneagram and stare down
into a void. Im scared of heights and can relate to
that feeling. Its instinctive, and shifting your weight
from one foot to the other does not help in this case.
Its still an abyss beneath.
Hmmmit may be purely a coincidence, but
nearly half the authors that have supplied the EM
with the 1000+ articles published in the past 15 years
have been either Fours with a 5 wing or Fives with a
4 wing. Interesting that these bottom of the ennea-
gram types seem to be our most prolic writers.
Kirby studied most all literature available on the
enneagram. He nds that no sooner does one author
oer a commentary that answers his questions about
the nature of the types (and satises his wish to be
certain of his own type) than another authors gums
up the works by suggesting an opposing opinion,
leaving him wondering once again, Am I a particle
or a wave?
From the Editor
WORKSHOPS WITH
JUDITH SEARLE
GREAT WRITING AND GREAT ACTING:
AN ENNEAGRAM PERSPECTIVE
Cincinnati:
January 30, 2010
Los Angeles:
March 27, 2010
New York City:
April 17, 2010
Information: 310-393-5372
www.judithsearle.com
enneagram monthly october 2009 3
contents enneagram monthly
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For subscription and advertising rates see back cover.
Volume 15, Number 9, Issue 163
Enneagram Interactions at Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ginger Lapid-Bogda 1
On the Nature of Enneagram Subtypes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Susan Rhodes 1
From the Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jack Labanauskas 2
Untrue to Type: Dionysus and the Repair of Imagination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Goldberg 4
Listening from a Type Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barbara Whiteside 5
Sacred Ideas of Type Nine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stephen Hatch 7
Sacred Backdrop, Sacred Self-forgetting, Sacred Bliss
Te Permeable Boundary between 4 & 5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kirby Olson 12
Teachers Listing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Subscription Forms and Ad Rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Visit our web site! www.ennea.org with the updated Index by Author 19952007 and Index by Subject 19952007
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4 october 2009 enneagram monthly
I
ts easy to see why the enneagram community was
seduced by the dazzling Olympian god Apollo.
Hes good looking, sure, so tall and classically
handsome (like a Greek god) with long, dark curly
locks. More central, his personality and powers seem
a perfect t for the enneagram.
Apollo is the god of the Sun, and his bright light
brings the world into sharp relief. Tat makes for
clear and unambiguous descriptions of type.
Apollo is condent and certain, a linear and logi-
cal thinker. He is without guile, a straight arrow, ear-
nest, without a whi of cynicism. And, relevant to
our purposes, he is a superb and orderly categorizer.
Apollo loves science and the scientic method and
has been its principal proponent in the history of
western civilization. For him the nine types are well
researched, well described, modern scientic types,
as found in the DSM-IV-TR. And Apollo continues
to inspire and guide the latest scientic enneagram
research, using brain waves, polygraphs and MRIs,
facial recognition technology and even handwriting
analysis.
Like Linnaeus, the Swedish botanist, an Apollo-
nian, the enneagrammers developed an exquisite and
meticulous taxonomy: subtypes, levels, wings triads,
antipodes, countertypes and more.
Apollo delights in enneagram tests which authori-
tatively distinguish the types. And he cherishes those
enneagram charts which sharply contrast the nine,
with the precise words lled in the proper boxes.
Recently my friend misplaced his keys; he wrote
on his facebook wall What kind of a self-pres One
am I,[to lose my keys]? Im not much of a facebook
poster but I responded with a small essay that began
What kind of a self-pres One? Tere are 9 sub-sub-
types of Self-Pres One Apollo at play.
Serious about self-improvement, Apollonians ad-
vocate the hard work and practices necessary to mas-
ter the xation and move up the developmental lad-
der, step-by-step, toward the higher aspects of type,
while turning away from the murky lower aspects,
the xated habits, and the annoying quirks. And, in
fact, progress like personal growthfrom hard work
and a clear vision is the guiding principle for Apol-
lonians.
Inevitably, Apollo became the god of the ennea-
gram.
Far from Apollos light, his provocative, towheaded
younger brother Dionysus is an unconstrained force
of nature. Contrary to Apollo, Dionysus chooses in-
sight over reason, and passionate engagement over
scientic detachment.
Dionysus guides transformation and metamor-
phosis, and, ultimately, initiation into the myster-
ies. He connects humans to their spark of the divine.
(Dionysus was the only god born of a mortal woman,
and he remains close and available to humans. Apollo
is rather more aloof and dispassionate.)
Where Apollo sets up clear distinctions and cate-
gories, Dionysus dissolves barriers and makes connec-
tions. For example, Dionysus can admit one ennea-
gram type to experience the inner world of another
(no small thing, but not scientic).
Apollo generates crisp, authorative answers in
bullet points and power points. Dionysus method is
elsewise: to raise unsettling questions, or tell stories
and midrashim, that have to be wrestled with, where
the correct answers may not be so tidy; but he in-
tensies and expands experience, and opens one to
unconventional sources of wisdom.
The Enneagram Fixation
Te problem with a xation is not that it is wrong,
or unreasonable, or unproductive. (Tey frequently
are none of these.) Te problem is that it is a paro-
chial and limited point of view.
Each of the xated are devotees of a single-values
set, certain of the truths of how the world works,
which is the source of all the trouble that a xation
causes. Each type sees the world in their particular,
singular way, and does not easily imagine or partici-
pate in alternatives.
Each of the xations is, at its core, most crucially,
a failure of imagination.
For example, the Eight is a failure of imagination
about power; when xated, Eight knows only how
to ramp it up or, possibly, down. A xated Eight has
little time for subtlety or nuance, for imagining an in-
direct or circumscribed course, let alone considering
the philosophical implications of his actions.
Te Seven, for her part, is a failure of imagination
about imagination itself. Sevens imagination is rig-
idly stuck on the upside, unable to seriously consider
alternatives, as for example, the downside.
Te repair of failed imagination- the core problem
of a xation- is the principal work of Dionysus.
Each xation needs more images, more possibili-
ties, the kind that come from lifes adventures, lived
and told in stories and fables, and especially from in-
timate engagement with the other eight.
Yet, as we focus on upgrading our own xation,
frustrated by its unforgiving lower aspects, yearning
for the saintly higher aspects, ambitious for personal
mastery, (prominently on oer in weekend ennea-
gram seminars), the other frames of reference- the
crucial other numbers which are the way out- fade
into the distance, and become even more inoperative,
inaccessible and unavailable.
Evolving within the developmental silo of your
own type does nothing for the essential problem of
being stuck in a type, which remains, no matter how
evolved you hope to become, a problem of limited
perspective.
We become then more stranded in our type, not
less. Nothing is so xating as an enneagram type try-
ing to evolve.
Dionysus teaches this dark secret: the real work of
the enneagram is not self-improvement to rene and
shine up your xation so that you dont get caught
with your number showing.
Quite the opposite: the work is to undermine
your xation, to loosen its hold, to destroy its faith.
(A xation is a true believer.)
My good friend Odysseus intensely engages each
of the nine enneagram types on his journey, in order
no less, taking them to himself as he goes. By the end,
he is wise to them all. As a consequence, he earns
the famous epithet, anthropos polytropos, the man of
many turns (tropes, ways of being, mental models).
No longer xed on a single perspective, he moves eas-
ily between frames of reference. Odysseus has learned
the Dionysian lessons: he is versatile, uid and mul-
tifarious.
1
__________
1
Goldberg, Michael J. Travels with Odysseus: Uncommon Wisdom
from Homers Odyssey, CI Press, 2006
Untrue to Type:
Dionysus and the Repair of Imagination
Michael J. Goldberg
The only combined
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The Enneagram Intensive (Part 1) of
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Apollo is the god of the Sun, and his bright
light brings the world into sharp relief. But
it is Dionysus who guides transforms and
connects humans to the divine.
enneagram monthly october 2009 5
Te rst duty of love is to listen. -- Paul Tillich
I
ntrapersonal listening is about listening to our-
selves. When we learn to listen to ourselves from
a non-judgmental, compassionate, empathic
stance, we begin to see more clearly the habits of
thinking and feeling that inuence our behavior. As
we listen carefully to our thoughts, feelings and our
body sensations, we begin to see where our atten-
tion goes, and the passion and xation from which
our focus of attention stems. We become more and
more aware of the pervasive inuence of our passion
and xation, and how subtle that inuence can be. I
believe that the Inner Observer or Witness resides
in this place inside us, where we can observe and
listen to ourselves from a willing, spacious, open
Presence.
What about listening to others? Interpersonal lis-
tening involves an interaction between two or more
people, and Type comes into play at both ends. Our
Type inuences both how we like to be listened to
and how we listen to others. In this article, I would
like to explore the possibility of Type as a predictor
of how we like to be listened to and how we
listen. Tough the focus of this article and many of
the examples are in the parent-child relationship, I
believe that similar dynamics may occur with people
of all ages because I am talking here more about
Type similarities and dierences, not about age, de-
velopmental, or gender inuences (though those are
important too).
First, I would like to give you a sense of how I
began to think about this many years ago.
When I took Tomas Gordons Parent Eective-
ness Training 1987, I thought I had struck gold.
What a dierence it made to actually give my full
attention to my then 11 year old, the oldest of three,
and actively listen to try to get a sense of what was
going on for her, to mirror back her intense feelings
and, in the process, show her that I truly got it. It
seemed like our relationship changed overnight for
the better. My middle daughter was so easily upset
when she couldnt get it right, and active listening
worked well with her too, diusing her frustration.
But with my youngest, these otherwise eective
listening techniques did not work as well. When I
active listened, she would stop sharingit was as
though she became lost because I had taken her feel-
ing away from her by saying it out loud. So I decided
to experiment and see what would happen if I simply
sat with her, didnt make too much eye contact, and
passively listened without verbally reecting back.
Tankfully, it workedshe kept talking and these
moments seemed to end with us feeling closer and
her seeming to feel more solid inside herself.
I found I-statements useful too, because they
gave me a way of saying what I needed or valued
without judgments or evaluations of others. Some-
times, when I would say to my kids, Hey girls, I feel
really worried that Im not going to be ready to teach
my class tonight because the kitchen is so messy that
I cant get dinner started right away, they actually
came in and cleaned up their mess. And I liked the
idea that homework was not my problemthat is,
that I could become their consultant and problem-
solve with them their problem of homework, but
that I didnt need to own the problem. What a relief
this problem ownership concept was for my chil-
dren and me. In spite of the skills not working like
textbook, I was sold and within a year I became a
Parent Eectiveness Training instructor. Tat was 21
years ago.
One of the biggest challenges I faced in my work
was with what appeared to be Type-specic dier-
ences in how we like to be listened to and how we
listen. After certifying as an Enneagram Teacher in
the Narrative Tradition nearly ten years ago, I began
to help parents Type themselves. What I had been
seeing clinically in my parenting workshops began
to make sense to methat is, the correlation be-
tween Type and listening style.
Good, eective listening has essentially three
components: encoding the feelings of the person
who is being listened to and putting it together with
the content, then feeding this impression backthat
is, what is the person feeling and what is it about.
Not all Types are inclined to want their feelings
fed back to them, at least not initially or in the same
way. Being in touch with ones feelings is important,
but so is being able to think clearly and take ap-
propriate action. A Four may really need her feel-
ings mirrored back while a Five may feel her privacy
invaded and may respond better to her thoughts,
rather than her feelings, being mirrored back initial-
ly. Sometimes a Seven will need to describe bodily
sensations before getting a sense of what he might be
feeling. A Nine might respond better to non-verbal
passive listeningthat is, listening without the ac-
tive, reective, mirroring feedback.
It is important that we adapt our listening to the
person we are listening to. Eights have reported hat-
ing to be actively listened to as they experience it
as too passive, not constructive, condescending and
patronizing. Tey seem to want a little more action
in active listening. It helps if we know the Type of
the person we are listening to, though paying close
attention will also inform us about whether we are
eectively listening.
How does our Type play into our ability to listen
well? Will particular Types be inclined to have pre-
dictable diculties in listening and a tendency to use
certain roadblocks? I think so. Here are my observa-
tions and thoughts, drawing from my experience
in working with parents. Perhaps it doesnt come as
a surprise that I have found these same tendencies
when working with adults in my private practice.
Type One parents, with their attention going to
error to be corrected, often moralize, preach, or ad-
vise in their desire to get their child to do the right
thing. Frequently they have a great deal of diculty
listening to a point of view that is, in their opinion,
wrong. I know a One mother who couldnt listen
to her teenage daughters explanation of why getting
Bs was acceptable to her. Te teenager understood
it would limit her college options, but she believed
that there would be a college for her, she thought
there was more to life than just getting good grades,
and she liked having time to participate in drama
and sports and to socialize. She didnt agree with
her mom that the most important aspect of her life
was grades. Once the mom learned to listen from an
unbiased stance, the daughter responded by talking
more freely with her mom about many aspects of her
life. Te power struggle over grades diminished and
daughter and mother felt closer. None of this could
have happened if that mom hadnt been willing to
Listening from a Type Perspective
Barbara Whiteside
Workshops
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Working with your Enneagram style
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A free workshop brochure and catalog of
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One of the biggest challenges I faced in
my work was with what appeared to be
Type-specifc diferences in how we like to
be listened to and how we listen.
6 october 2009 enneagram monthly
see how her belief in her right point of view was
inuencing and limiting her ability to truly listen to
her daughter.
Two parents, with their attention going to others
needs and their pride in believing they know whats
best for others, frequently give advice to x their
childs problem. Tey also sometimes report that
they take over doing things for their childrenthat
is, if the child was upset about getting a project done
on time, mom or dad might take them o the hook
and do it for them. Tese parents often get one of
two responses from their kids (perhaps reecting
their Type)the child welcomes the help and be-
comes overly dependent, or the child rebels, refusing
to accept parental help, guidance, or anything reek-
ing of the parents over-involvement.
Trees, with an orientation toward action, can
be impatient with the listening process, and in those
cases they short-change the need to feedback feel-
ings to their child, and rush to solve the problem.
I know a Tree dad (social subtype) who was dis-
heartened when his son didnt enjoy being engaged
in life in the same way his father did. He was ex-
tremely frustrated that his son wasnt more like him.
He balked at the idea of listening to his sons issues
without doing anything because it felt futile. After
much frustration, he decided to give listening a try.
It was in the car on a long drive with his son that
something began to shift, and he began to get past
his own preference for action to take in what his son
was telling him. By then, the dad also had a sense
that his son might be a Five and he was working to
accept this. Its been slow going, but the dad is be-
ginning to hear his son, perhaps for the rst time.
Fours seem able to listen to the feelings their chil-
dren express, but they can get stuck in their ability
to help them move forward. Often they report a bias
toward feelings and they push their kids to express
feelings, even when their child is not inclined in that
way. Sometimes, they over use the phrase, Yes, and
how did that make you feel? Also, Four parents can
add feelings or exaggerate feelings because of their
self-referencing back to their own sense of how they
might feel, rather than having the reective distance
necessary to listen well to their children.
Five parents, with their attention going to avoid-
ance of intrusions, and possibly due to being a think-
ing type, can nd it very dicult to feed back feel-
ings that are expressed to them, or even to keep up
the energy that is necessary to listen to an emotive
child. Tey can feel overwhelmed. However, Fives
often report feeling condent in their ability to help
the child logically work through the issue.
Sixes, with their attention going to worst-case
scenario, can project onto their child or the situa-
tion and lose their objectivity, analyzing the situa-
tion and their childs feeling from their biased per-
spective that can entirely miss the point.
Unlike Sixes, Sevens, with their attention going
to positive options, often make light or joke about
the situation being shared. It is not unusual for them
to report having diculty in settling down to lis-
ten, feeling overwhelmed by their childs negative
feelings, and diverting into more upbeat and posi-
tive conversations or actions, and also missing the
point.
Eights, with their attention going to power, tend
towards an authoritarian parenting style. Tey can
be impatient with the whole listening process. Tey
just want to tell their child what to doand, as pro-
tectors, they often will want to take power into their
own hands and bring justice to a situation in which
they felt their child has been wronged.
Nine parents, with their attention going to ex-
ternal pulls, frequently express a sense of empathiz-
ing so much with their childs feelings that they lose
sense of their own needs, becoming permissive par-
ents with their kids running the show. I remember
a Nine mother
sharing that she
had been at the
park with her
three little boys.
She gave them
a ve-minute
warning that
they needed to
leave soon as
she was expect-
ing the plumber
at four oclock
at home. Te
boys balked at
leaving the park
and she got
so involved in negotiating with them to avoid any
conict, that she lost track of time. Tey arrived at
home to a notice from the plumber reading Sorry
I missed you. Needless to say, she was angry with
her boys, but mostly at herself for not holding her
ground.
I think it is a mistake to think about this too
narrowly. It is not just Ones that get preachy, or
Twos that advise, or Eights that order, or Nines
that reassure, or Sevens that divert, etc. Parents of
all Types give advice to their children, usually with
the parents type-bias embedded in the advice. Te
problem with advice as a roadblock to communica-
tion is that it has these risks: (1) what works for
one doesnt necessarily work for another, therefore,
our advice to our child might not work for him/
her; (2) we often give advice to what we think is
the problem (the presenting problem), but by not
listening, we often never hear the real issue; and
(3) we dont help our children become independent
problem solvers, in touch with their own deepest
values and needs, because we own the problem by
giving advice.
I think that, when we come from a xated state,
we inevitably fall into the trap of road blocking
communication. Almost by denition, when we are
xated in out Type, we will have a dicult time
listening well and our bias will come into play, and
we can see it in the roadblocks. If good listening re-
quires, as the humanistic psychologists suggest, the
characteristics of acceptance, empathy, and genuine-
ness, then we really need to be listening more from
a dispassionate, neutral, non-judgmental stance, and
less from our Types bias.
Tom Gordon says it well in this quote: To un-
derstand accurately how another person thinks or
feels from his point of view, to put yourself mo-
mentarily into his shoes, to see the world as he is
seeing ityou as a listener run the risk of having
your own opinions and attitudes changed. In other
words, people actually become changed by what
they really understand. To be open to the experi-
ence of another invites the possibility of having to
reinterpret your own experiences. (Parent Eec-
tiveness Training, p.70)
In my prior article [last issue], I focused on See-
ing Our Children. I believe that, initially, the En-
neagram is about seeing others and ourselves clearly.
When I think about why panels are such an eective
way to teach the Enneagram, it comes to mind that
the audience is asked to listen to the panelists from a
non-judgmental, accepting, empathic place. It is this
listening from our Essence, and being listened to, that
we begin to heal, both others and ourselves.
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Fours often report a bias toward feelings
and they push their kids to express
feelings, even when their child is not in-
clined in that way.
Nine parents frequently express a sense
of empathizing so much with their childs
feelings that they lose sense of their
own needs, becoming permissive parents
with their kids running the show.
Sevens, with their atention going to
positive options, often make light or
joke about the situation being shared.
enneagram monthly october 2009 7
N
ines are generally the most grounding,
peaceful and content of all the Enneagram
types. Tey can merge with whatever is go-
ing on in their environment, ever remaining a happy,
stabilizing presence. It makes sense, therefore, that
in their core, Nines embody the aspect of the Divine
that serves as a Sacred Backdrop to all of the occur-
rences of life. While the Eight expresses the expan-
sive, omnipresent quality of the Ultimate Mystery,
Nines manifest the same Reality viewed as a back-
drop, a horizon against whichor a ground out of
whichevery thing and every event occurs. In a
sense, their essence is the most fundamental of all of
the aspects of the Divine for providing a place where
things can manifest themselves. Tey are like the sky
out of which the clouds of creatures appear, a hidden
ground that is pregnant and thus full of potential.
Nines may nd sitting meditation practices a natural
t, especially those methods which involve identify-
ing with the spaciousness that serves as the backdrop
out of which all thoughts, perceptions and beings ap-
pear.
Using a more active metaphor, we might also say
that Nines embody the spiritual river or bay owing
underneath and supporting each creature and event,
the ultimate Reality on which they all oat like boats
on water. While our ordinary consciousness treats
life as though it were a busy harborwhere the boats
are often packed so tightly together that the under-
lying water rarely appears, Nines identify with the
underlying Reality without which no creature would
nd support. Trough their peacefulness, Nines ex-
emplify the divine medium in which all of these boats
are able to interact in a unied, harmonious ow. For
this reason, they may seem to engage in a constant
stream of activity. However, unlike the Sacred Flow
of the Seven, which usually becomes a foreground ob-
ject of awareness, Nine ow always has a backdrop
quality that enables other things and activities to be.
In addition, Nine ow always arises out of a hidden,
stable ground of being, a reality more fundamental to
their essence that establishes all activity in peace. For
Sevens, by contrast, Sacred Flow is the fundamental
reality.
A major quality of the Sacred Backdropin both
its spacious and owing formsis blissfulness, or
Sacred Bliss. In the Hindu tradition, this is called
ananda. Tis bliss comes not so much from an ec-
static experience that sticks out from the rest of exis-
tence, but from the fundamental reality of just-being.
It is an embodiment of the fact that everythingat
its coreis fundamentally lled with contentment.
Because healthy Nines are supremely in touch with
this bliss, challenging situations can more often than
not seem to them like water o a ducks back. Per-
haps more than any other type, Nines are able to
embody a natural ability to let go, perceiving as they
do that the spiritual ground out of which all things
appearincluding even challenging situationsis
divinely peaceful.
A third Sacred Idea of the Nine is Sacred Self-
Forgetting. Accordingly, in their humanity, Nines are
especially skilled at losing themselves in union with
Divine Reality, becoming a sort of hollow bone
through which the Great Mystery can work. However,
unlike ordinary Nines, transformed Nines consciously
choose this self-forgetting. As the saying goes, you
have to know you are somebody before you can be a
nobody. In addition, a Nines self-forgetting also man-
ifests divine Self-forgettingor rather, a consciously
chosen Self-emptyingwhich enables the Ultimate
Reality to merge with all things as a means of em-
powering them to manifest their own true nature. In
this capacity, Nine energy is like the phenomenon of
alpenglow, which lights up the mountain peaks be-
fore sunrise in lavender and red while the sun remains
below the horizon, humbly hidden from the need for
recognition, at least from the perspective of an ob-
server situated on the ground.
When Nines lose touch with their essence, they
form an ego that constricts in on itself and creates a
substitute for the Sacred Backdrop. Instead of em-
bodying the underlying ground of all things, they
shrink into an individual self that fades into the
background. When they look within, instead of see-
ing the pregnant fullness of the Sacred Backdrop or
divine river, they see only emptiness. Afraid of this
emptiness, they try to ll the seeming hole with a
whole host of activities that are non-essential to their
core essence. Tey putter around, moving from task
v
9 Ways to be Divine
Exploring the Sacred Ideas
of the Enneagram
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Professor of Religious Studies,
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Sacred Ideas of Type Nine:
Sacred Backdrop, Sacred Self-Forgetting, Sacred Bliss
8 october 2009 enneagram monthly
to task, all the while avoiding their innermost ground
which they invariably mistake for emptiness. In their
relations with others, untransformed Nines feel ig-
nored, and they in turn ignore themselves. To make
up for this loss of self, they passively merge with the
concerns of others.
In addition, when Nines lose touch with their di-
vine core, they downplay the supernaturally blissful
nature of their essence. Tey may in fact think that a
word like bliss is too extraordinary for their rather
mundane view of themselves. However, because they
are fundamentally content most of the timea con-
dition that is less common among the other Ennea-
gram typesthe rest of us experience them as any-
thing but ordinary.
Readings on the Sacred Ideas of the Nine
While Eight energy embodies the omnipresent and
expansive nature of divine spaciousness, the Nine mani-
fests the Sacred Backdrop aspect of this same spa-
ciousness. Rather than spreading its inuence through-
out the environment, Nine energy serves as the divine
groundor skyon which all other things appear.
Teologian Karl Rahner has this Sacred Idea in mind
when he calls God the Horizon of Being. Rather than
vying for attention in the foreground, the Nine knows
how to empower all thingsaccommodating them all
from a backdrop position. Rather than drawing atten-
tion to itself, Nine energy puts the focus on all of the be-
ings that arise out of its spacious letting-be. In this sense,
the Nine aspect of the Ultimate Mystery is the most fun-
damental of the types for revealing the sacredness of all
things. However, for the transformed Nine, this ability
to serve as a backdrop has become intentional and con-
scious rather than non-intentional and unconscious.
*
Stephen Hatch Eckhart Tolle speaks of the Sacred
Backdrop in terms of the sky-like space-consciousness
that undergirds all things.
*
Some people never forget . . . the shift in iden-
tity from being the content of their mind to being
the awareness in the background. When you are no
longer totally identied with forms, consciousness
who you arebecomes freed from its imprisonment
in form. Tis freedom is the arising of inner space.
It comes as a stillness, a subtle peace deep within
you, even in the face of something seemingly bad . .
. Suddenly there is space around the event. Tere is
also space around the emotional highs and lows, even
around pain. And above all, there is space between
your thoughts. And from that space emanates a peace
that is not of this world, because this world is form,
and the peace is space. Tis is the peace of God . . .
Object consciousness needs to be balanced by
space consciousness for sanity to return to our planet
and for humanity to fulll its destiny. Te arising of
space consciousness is the next state in the evolution
of humanity.
Space consciousness means that in addition to be-
ing conscious of thingswhich always come down
to sense perceptions, thoughts, and emotionsthere
is an undercurrent of awareness. Awareness implies
that you are not only conscious of things (objects),
but you are also conscious of . . . an alert stillness
in the background while things happen in the fore-
ground . . .
Space consciousness has little to do with being
spaced out. Both states are beyond thought. Tis
they have in common. Te fundamental dierence,
however, is that in the former, you rise above thought;
in the latter, you fall below it . . .
[A] sense of contentment, peace and aliveness . .
. is the invisible background without which . . . ex-
periences would not be possible. Whenever there is
beauty, kindness, the recognition of the goodness of
simple things in your life, look for the background to
that experience within yourself. But dont look for it
as if you were looking for something. You cannot pin
it down and say, Now I have it, or grasp it mentally
and dene it in some way. It is like the cloudless sky.
It has no form. It is space; it is stillness, the sweetness
of Being and innitely more than these words, which
are only pointers . . . So when you appreciate some-
thing simple, . . . sense the inner spaciousness that is
the source and background to that experience . . . It is
the spacious womb of all creation, all form . . .
Actually, it is not you, the person, who is looking
and listening, but the alert stillness itself . . . All cre-
ativity comes out of inner spaciousness . . .
[S]tillness is in the background . . . When con-
sciousness is no longer totally absorbed by thinking,
some of it remains in its formless, unconditional,
original state. Tis is inner space . . . It is the lumi-
nous space in which the world arises and subsides.
Tat space is the life that I Am . . . It is the underlying
I Am, . . . the substratum, the underlying background
to every experience, thought, feeling . . .
Eckhart Tolle, Spiritual teacher
*
Stephen Hatch While Buddhist insight medi-
tation envisions Sacred Backdrop as a spacious ex-
panse, Christian contemplatives sometimes view it as
a owing river that underlies and supports all things.
Like some Asian harbors, the water may not be visible
owing to the various boats crowding the water. One
could walk from boat to boat without ever coming
into contact with the underlying river or sea. How-
everall the whileit is truly present, supporting all
of those boats without ever needing to be acknowl-
edged. Te following description of centering prayer
illustrates this principle. Tis method makes use of a
sacred word that points like an arrow to the river
of Gods presence rather than to the boats. Te ba-
sic method involves gently thinking the sacred word
whenever one gets hooked on a thought, and then
letting the thought go into the silence of the River.
*
Centering prayer as a discipline is designed to
withdraw our attention from the ordinary ow of
thoughts. We tend to identify ourselves with that
ow. But there is a deeper part of ourselves. Tis
prayer opens our awareness to the spiritual level of
our being. Tis level might be compared to a great
river on which our memories, images, feelings, inner
experiences, and the awareness of outward things are
resting. Many people are so identied with the or-
dinary ow of their thoughts and feelings that they
are not aware of the source from which these mental
objects are emerging. Like boats or debris oating
along the surface of a river, our thoughts and feel-
ings must be resting on something. Tey are resting
on the inner stream of consciousness, which is our
participation in Gods being. Tat level is not im-
mediately evident to ordinary consciousness. Since
we are not in immediate contact with that level, we
have to do something to develop our awareness of it.
It is the level of our being that makes us most human.
Te values that we nd there are more delightful than
the values that oat along the surface of the psyche.
We need to refresh ourselves at this deep level every
day. Just as we need exercise, food, rest, and sleep, so
also we need moments of interior silence because they
bring the deepest kind of refreshment.
Tomas Keating
*
Stephen Hatch In the following passages,
Tomas Merton, the famous Trappist monk, speaks
both of the hiddenness of this Sacred Backdrop, and
of its all-pervasiveness.
*
To be one with One Whom one cannot see is to
be hidden, to be nowhere, to be no one; it is to be
unknown as He is unknown, forgotten as He is for-
gotten, lost as He is lost to the world which neverthe-
less exists in Him. Yet to live in Him is to live by His
power, to reach from end to end of the universe in the
might of His wisdom, to rule and form all things in
and with Him. It is to be the hidden instrument of
His Divine action, the minister of His redemption,
the channel of His mercy, and the messenger of His
innite Love.
*
I disappear from the world as an object of inter-
est in order to be everywhere in it by hiddenness and
compassion. To exist everywhere I have to be No-
one.
Tomas Merton, Trappist monk
*
Stephen Hatch Some modern Christian theolo-
giansmost notably, Paul Tillich, John A.T. Robinson
and John Macquarrie, refer to God as the Ground of
Being or as Being Itself. For them, to speak of the
existence of God is meaningless because it implies that
God is a being rather than Being Itself. To ask if Being
exists would be redundant. Rather, God as the Ground
of Being is a Sacred Backdrop, one who lets be.
In the following passage from a Hindu/Buddhist,
we see that our identication with the Sacred Back-
drop enables us, in union with the Divine Presence,
to become the hidden source out of which all things
arise.
Nines manifest Reality viewed as a back-
drop, a horizon against whichor a
ground out of whichevery thing and ev-
ery event occurs.
enneagram monthly october 2009 9
I make the eort
to maintain a ground of oceanic silence
out of which arises the multitude
of phenomena of daily life . . .
I often fail in these aspirations . . .
But I make the eort.
Ram Dass, spiritual teacher
*
Stephen Hatch Te following Taoist text from the
Tao Te Ching speaks of Sacred Backdrop in terms of the
nameless, hidden Tao. Tis passage also makes reference
to another Sacred Idea of the Nine: Sacred Self-Forget-
ting.
*
Te Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.
Te name that can be named is not the eternal
name.
Te nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth . . .
Terefore the sage goes about doing nothing,
teaching no-talking.
Te ten thousand things rise and fall without
cease,
[Te Tao is ever] Creating, yet not possessing,
Working, yet not taking credit.
Work is done, then forgotten.
Terefore it lasts forever . . .
Te Tao is an empty vessel; it is used, but never
lled.
Oh, unfathomable source of ten thousand things!
Oh, hidden deep but ever present!
I do not know from whence it comes.
It is the forefather of the emperors . . .
Tirty spokes share the wheels hub;
It is the center hole that makes it useful.
Shape clay into a vessel;
It is the space within that makes it useful.
Cut doors and windows for a room;
It is the holes which make it useful.
Terefore prot comes from what is there;
Usefulness from what is not there . . .
Empty yourself of everything.
Let the mind rest at peace.
Te ten thousand things rise and fall while the Self
watches their return.
Tey grow and ourish and then return to the
source.
Returning to the source is stillness, which is the
way of nature . . .
Te greatest Virtue is to follow Tao and Tao
alone...
Terefore wise men embrace the one
And set an example to all.
Not putting on a display,
Tey shine forth.
Not justifying themselves,
Tey are distinguished.
Not boasting,
Tey receive recognition.
Not bragging,
Tey never falter.
Tey do not quarrel,
So no one quarrels with them.
Terefore, the ancients say, Yield and over-
come.
Is that an empty saying?
Be really whole,
And all things will come to you . . .
Te great Tao ows everywhere, both to the left
and to the right.
Te ten thousand things depend upon it; it holds
nothing back.
It fullls its purpose silently and makes no claim.
It nourishes the ten thousand things,
And yet is not their lord.
It has no aim; it is very small.
Te ten thousand things return to it,
Yet it is not their lord.
It is very great.
It does not show greatness,
And is therefore truly great . . .
A truly good man is not aware of his goodness,
And is therefore good.
A foolish man tries to be good,
And is therefore not good.
Lao Tsu, 6
th
Century B.C.E.
*
Stephen Hatch A second Sacred Idea of the Nine
aspect of the Divine is Sacred Self-Forgetting. Tough
it is the Source of all things, the divine presence forgets
itself and merges with them. However, while the Nine
often forgets the self unconsciously, the Divine does so in-
tentionally and consciously. Tus, Divine self-forgetting
is often called self-emptying by spiritual writers.
*
On a visit to the East Coast, Suzuki Roshi arrived
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at the meeting place of the Cambridge Buddhist So-
ciety to nd everyone scrubbing down the interior in
anticipation of his visit. Tey were surprised to see
him, because he had written that he would arrive on
the following day.
He tied back the sleeves of his robe and insisted
on joining the preparations for the grand day of my
arrival.
David Chadwick on Shunryu Suzuki
*
When you give, . . . do not let your left hand know
what your right hand is doing.
Matthew 6:3
*
Te primary phenomenon given by faith is pre-
cisely the self-emptying of God . . . Insofar as in his
abiding and innite fullness he empties himself, the
other [the world] comes to be as Gods very own real-
ity . . . [H]e creates by emptying himself, and there-
fore, of course, he himself is in the emptying . . . He
possesses the possibility of establishing the other as
his own reality by dispossessing himself, by giving
himself away . . . God goes out of himself . . . Because
he can do this, because this is his free and primary
possibility, for this reason he is dened in scripture
as love.
Karl Rahner, Catholic theologian
*
We are Gods prayer. We are, in fact, Gods
thought. And God is hopelessly lost in thinking us
. . . Be quiet and self-forgetful, dear friends. Dont
miss out. You must know for yourself that Someone
is thinking you . . . each creative moment. Te only
good choice is to love and trust yourself in God.
Richard Rohr, Franciscan friar
*
God has no self apart from me, no self be-
fore he met me, no self into which he retreats leav-
ing me in myself. God of his nature companions
me, is for me. God isby nature, by denition
thinking-about-me, thinking-about-you, think-
ing-about-the-world. God isby nature, by
denitionbeing-for-me, being-for-you, being-
for-the-world. Te statement of Angelus Silesius, If
God stopped thinking of me he would cease to exist,
is strictly orthodox: God, by denition, is thinking-
of-me . . .
Now the thing we most want God for, the thing
we most want there to be, is a reality that combines,
nay identies, its own being with being-for-me,
or otherness with for-me-ness, or being with
lovingness. Now the fascinating thing about our
complaint that God is not more visible is that if
he were, if we could take him in our mental sights,
he would not be this strange being that equates be-
ing with being-for, because this identity, which we
passionately and desperately desire to be a reality, is
inconceivable to us! We only perceive lovingness in
denite people who have plenty of interests other
than ourselves. Te lovingness that is not such a
quality in a person but is the being of the person
that is right o the scale. But we want it!
Sebastian Moore, Benedictine monk
*
Stephen Hatch Buddhist teachers think of
this self-forgetting and self-emptying in non-theistic
terms. Tey revel in the fact that our thoughts and
perceptions arise from a spacious awareness that is
empty of all self.
*
Having courage to look into your own mind, you
realize Aha! No mind. It is unsubstantial, it is not
a xed, solid thing. Tere is no self, no ego. When
we are rst asked to nd the thinker, we all say, Ob-
viously I am the thinker, I have all these thoughts.
Who produces these thoughts but me? But when we
look more closely, we nd ourselves wondering, My
God, where are these thoughts coming from? I dont
know! Tey seem to be coming out of nowhere, out
of empty space. Tey come like bubbles, rising up.
Tey appear and then disappear . . . Tere is no one
here, just space! Te self is emptied of the self.
Dennis Genpo Merzel, Zen roshi
*
Stephen Hatch In the following passages, wil-
derness explorer John Muir writes about his experi-
ence of self-loss within the joy-lled landscapes of
Californias Sierra Nevada Range.
*
You cannot feel yourself out of doors; plain, sky,
and mountains ray beauty which you feel. You bathe
in these spirit-beams, turning round and round, as
if warming at a camp-re. Presently you lose con-
sciousness of your own separate existence; you blend
with the landscape, and become part and parcel of
nature.
John Muir at Twenty Hill Hollow,
19
th
Century wilderness explorer
*
It is a bright sunful day, two or three oclock in
the afternoon. You are facing northward with spray
driven about you, but you do not feel the spray
the sights and sounds and tremendous energy of the
crowd of waters preventing all knowledge of your-
self.
John Muir at Yosemite Falls
*
Stephen Hatch In an interview with Luther-
an minister Tomas Mails, Lakota holy man Frank
Fools Crow speaks of the importance of human self-
emptying in allowing the Creator to heal and work
through us.
*
Tomas Mails: Te great holy man, Black Elk, said,
I cured with the power that came through me. Of
course it was not I who cured. It was the power from
the outer world, and the visions and ceremonies had
only made me like a hole through which the power
could come to the two-leggeds. If I thought that I
was doing it myself, the hole would close up and no
power could come through. Ten everything I could
do would be foolish.
As Fools Crow and I discussed the matter of how
a person serves the Higher Powers, I asked, Do you
agree with Black Elk that the medicine person is a
hole that Wakan-Tanka [God] and the Helpers work
through to help people?
Frank Fools Crow: We [Black Elk and I] talked
about this several times. We agreed that the Higher
Powers had taught us this same thing. We are just
holes. But as I have used hollow bones for curing,
I have decided that it is better to think of medicine
people as little hollow bones.
*
Stephen Hatch Self-forgetting and self-emptying
are spiritual practices that are best done consciously.
However, Nines also have a tendency to practice a
rather unspiritual self-forgetting. Tat is, they forget
who they really are at their coretheir spiritual iden-
tityand therefore view themselves as unimportant.
Tis tendency can, however, be transformed spiritually
when it is taken up into a higher Reality. A modern
Su reveals how the divine core of the worldwhich
he calls Life, the heart of the world and the soul of
the worldhas forgotten who she really is. Since the
Divines self-consciousness is bound up with human
spiritual evolution, it makes sense to realize that our
cultural self-forgetting of the Oneness underlying all
things has in turn led to Divine self-forgetting. Tis
self-forgetting is the result of our current immersion in
materialism and our corresponding failure to view the
physical world in its spiritual Oneness. In the follow-
ing passage, Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee reminds us that
we will only return self-consciousness to the soul of the
world when we give up the ego-centered I.
*
Our spiritual practice, our aspiration and aware-
ness, are part of the lifeblood of the planet . . . We
are needed to help life to awaken from a dream that
is destroying it . . . But if we are to live the real po-
tential of our spiritual practice, we need to break free
from the focus on our own individual journey. We
need to reclaim the simple truth that spiritual life is
not about us, and open to a larger, all-embracing
vision. If spiritual life is not about the whole, it has
lost its true nature; it has instead been subverted by
the ego and its patterns of self-concern . . .
Just as the individual can forget her true nature
and real purpose, as many of us have painfully expe-
rienced, so can life itself forget. Life is an interde-
pendent living organism that reects the collective
consciousness of humanity. As humanity has be-
come obsessed with materialism and forgotten the
sacred nature of life, so has life forgotten its own
sacred nature, its primal purpose of divine revela-
tion. We need to redeem this desecration, give back
to the world an awareness of its divine nature. Tis
is the work of the mystic. Te mystic, the spiritual
seeker, belongs to the core of life, to the mystery
of lifes revelation. We carry within our spiritual
centers the secrets of life, and we know the deep joy
in recognizing lifes need for what is real, what has
been hidden within the heart. Part of our purpose is
to give these secrets back to life: to help life become
aware of its true nature.
Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, Su teacher
*
Stephen Hatch Te third Sacred Idea of the
Nine is Sacred Bliss. Tis is a basic sense of well-
being that arises from self-loss and union with the Di-
enneagram monthly october 2009 11
vine. Because Nines so often live in what A.H. Al-
maas calls non-conceptual positivity, they often dont
relate to the word bliss. Tey generally think of their
reality as rather ordinary. However, as a motivating
factor in sharing their gifts with others, it is important
for them to realize how special they are. Applying the
word bliss to the Nines fundamental experience of
contentment can help in this regard. Te reading below
comes from the writings of a famous Hindu guru.
*
Bliss is Gods consciousnessHis being, His
supreme quality, His innite life. Feeling an ever-
increasing bliss in attentive meditation is the sur-
est sign of His presence. Te greater the bliss, the
deeper the contact with God. Tere are two ways
of experiencing bliss: by sabikalpa samadhi and by
nirbikalpa samadhi.
In the sabikalpa state, the meditating devotee be-
comes so inwardly immersed in bliss that thoughts,
feelings, memory images, all sensibilities of the
world, fall from the consciousness. Just as one who
is deeply engrossed in reading an interesting story
does not see or hear what is going on around him,
the devotee becomes so absorbed in the enjoyment
of bliss within that his awareness is wholly absent
without . . .
In nirbikalpa samadhi, or complete union, the
yogi enjoys simultaneously the transcendental bliss
of the Absolute beyond creation as well as Spirits
blissful omnipresence in all universal manifesta-
tionsthe unmanifested ocean of Spirit and Its
manifested waves of creation in the universe. In
this state, with closed or open eyes, while walk-
ing, talking, sleeping, meditating, the devotee con-
sciously contacts the all-pervading bliss as summum
bonumtranscendent, but also immanent in all
creation. He realizes that blissconscious, intel-
ligent, everlasting, all-pervading, ever new joyhas
frozen itself into . . . physical creations. As one be-
comes immersed in bliss by deeper and deeper silent
meditation, he nds the fountain of bliss spraying
through the pores of his consciousness, thoughts,
feelings, and sense-perceptions.
Paramahansa Yogananda, Hindu mystic
*
Stephen Hatch On its most fundamental level,
Sacred Bliss is the practice of just being, and of rest-
ing in God. It is also a sort of spiritual sleep. All of
these terms may appeal to the Nine in all of us.
*
Contemplation . . . is a resting in God. In this
resting or stillness the mind and heart are not active-
ly seeking Him, but are beginning to experience
tastewhat they have been seeking. Tis places
them in a state of repose, tranquility, and profound
interior peace.
Fr. Tomas Keating, Trappist monk
*
Stephen Hatch As the above passages imply,
peace is another way of expressing bliss. Tis makes
sense, since Nines are often called peacemakers. In-
deed, Richard Rohr says that perhaps Nine is the only
Enneagram type that wont blow up the world. But
working for peace in the external world must begin
with inner peace if it is to be lasting. In the rst pas-
sage below, Christian spiritual master Francois Fenelon
writes eloquently of divine peace. In typical Nine fash-
ion, he connects peace to self-forgetting. In the second
passage, Tomas Merton reminds us that peacefulness
is a part of our very nature.
*
Remain in peace, because peace is the will of
God for us, in whatever state we may be. Tere
is, indeed, a peace of condence which even great
sinners ought to have in their sorrow for their
sins. Teir very contrition should be peaceful and
mingled with consolation. Remember those good
words which touched you so much: Te Lord is
not in the earthquake . . . God is never anywhere
but in peace; and wherever peace is not, God is not
there, although we may imagine we see Him there
by deceiving ourselves with ne pretenses . . . God
is only found in peace. As soon as peace is lost God
retires . . .
I wish very much that your heart may be in the
peace of pure abandonment [to God], which is an
unbounded and unchanging peace . . . Te thing
that I desire for you more than all the rest is a pro-
found forgetfulness of yourself. We wish to see God
within us, and we must only see ourselves in God
. . . Rest in Him Who tranquilizes all things, and
Who is Peace itself. Bury yourself in Him until you
lose yourself in Him, and nd yourself no more. It
is in the forgetfulness of the I that peace dwells.
Wherever the I creeps in, it throws the heart into
convulsions . . . Happy is he who gives himself to
God without reserve, without reection, without
even thinking that he is giving himself!
Francois Fenelon, 18
th
Century spiritual director
*
Ahimsa (nonviolence) is for Gandhi the basic law
of our being. Tat is why it can be used as the most
eective principle for social action, since it is in deep
accord with the truth of human nature and corre-
sponds to our innate desire for peace, justice, order,
freedom, and personal dignity . . . Since ahimsa is in
human nature itself, it can be learned by all.
Tomas Merton, Trappist monk
*
__________
References:
Some people never forget . . .: Eckhart Tolle,
A New Earth: Awakening to Your Lifes Purpose. New
York: Plume, 2006. pp. 30, 226, 227, 228, 229, 235,
236, 238, 239, 241, 242, 243.
Centering Prayer as a discipline . . .: Tomas
Keating, Open Mind, Open Heart: Te Contemplative
Dimension of the Gospel. Amity, NY: Amity House,
1986. pp. 34-35.
To be one with One . . .: Tomas Merton, Te
Silent Life. Tomas Merton: In My Own
Words. Liguori, MO: Liguori, 2007. p. 54.
I disappear from the world . . .: Tomas Mer-
ton, Honorable Reader. pp. 106-107.
I make the eort . . .: Ram Dass. Quoted by
Elizabeth Roberts and Elias Amidon in Life Prayers.
San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1996. p. 10.
Te Tao that can be told . . .: Lao Tsu, Tao Te
Ching. Translated by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English.
New York: Vintage Books, 1972. Excerpts from chap-
ters 1, 2, 4, 11, 16, 21, 22, 34, 38, 43, 66, 73, 78.
On a visit to the East Coast . . .: David Chad-
wick, To Shine One Corner of the World: Moments with
Shunryu Suzuki. New York: Broadway Books, 2001.
p. 47.
Te primary phenomenon given by faith . . .:
Karl Rahner, Foundations of Christian Faith. New
York: Seabury Press, 1978. p. 222.
We are Gods prayer . . .: Richard Rohr, Radi-
cal Grace: Daily Meditations. Cincinnati: St. Anthony
Messenger Press, 1993. pp. 206, 207.
God has no self apart from me . . .: Sebastian
Moore, Te Inner Loneliness. New York: Crossroad,
1982. pp. 33, 41.
Having courage to look . . .: Dennis Genpo
Merzel. Te Eye Never Sleeps: Striking to the Heart of
Zen. Boston: Shambhala, 1991. pp. 7-8, 13.
You cannot feel yourself . . .: John Muir at
Twenty Hill Hollow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
In A Tousand Mile Walk to the Gulf. Te Eight
Wilderness Discovery Books. Seattle: Te Mountain-
eers, 1992. pp. 182-183.
It is a bright sunful day . . .: John Muir on the
edge of the gorge between Upper and Lower Yosemite
Falls. John of the Mountains: Te Unpublished Journals
of John Muir. Edited by Linnie Marsh Wolfe. Madi-
son: University of Wisconsin Press, 1938. p. 125.
Te great holy man, Black Elk . . .: Frank Fools
Crow, Fools Crow: Wisdom and Power, by Tomas
Mails. Lincoln, NE: Council Oak Books, 2001. pp.
30, 31, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40.
Our spiritual practice . . .: Llewellyn Vaughan-
Lee, Awakening the World: A Global Dimension to
Spiritual Practice. Inverness, CA: Te Golden Su
Center, 2006. pp. xiv, xv, 1, 11, 13, 14, 28-29.
Bliss is Gods consciousness . . .: Paramahansa
Yogananda. Te Divine Romance. Los Angeles: Self-
Realization Fellowship, 1986. pp. 413, 414.
Contemplation . . . is a resting in God . . .:
Tomas Keating, Contemplative Prayer in the
Christian Tradition: An Historical Perspective. In
Finding Grace at the Center. Still River, MA: St. Bede
Publications, 1978. p. 36.
Remain in peace . . .: Francois Fenelon, Te
Spiritual Letters of Francois de Salignac de la Mothe
Fenelon, Volume 1. London: St. Anselms Society,
1892. pp. 252, 306, 319, 390-391.
Ahimsa (non-violence) is for Gandhi the basic
law . . .: Tomas Merton, Seeds. Edited by Robert
Inchausti. Boston: Shambhala, 2002. pp. 143-144.
12 october 2009 enneagram monthly
T
heres no clear boundary between Five and
Four. Fours with Five-wings are virtually in-
distinguishable from Fives with Four-wings.
For instance, the very popular Eclectic Energies test
(eclecticenergies.com) gives this as a summary of the
Five-Four distinction:
Intellectual Fours tend to mistakenly type them-
selves as Fives, and a heavy wing can certainly exac-
erbate this tendency. Fours, however, unlike Fives,
tend to be self-revealing and comfortable with emo-
tional expression.
Meanwhile, Fives, especially with the Four wing,
sometimes mistype themselves as Fours. Such Fives
recognize that they have strong emotions and dont
identify with the often extremely cerebral portrait
of type Five. But, Fives, unlike Fours, always retain
some degree of discomfort when it comes to the ex-
pression of their emotional states the language of
emotion is not their native tongue.
Riso & Hudson indicate that both of these types
are drawn to surrealism.
Judith Searle has written at length about literature
and type in Te Literary Enneagram, and her types for
Four often think of suicide as a grand theatrical ges-
ture. Anna Karenina actually throws herself under a
train. Searle comments, At their unhealthy extreme
Fours are more likely than most Enneagram styles
to attempt suicide, usually to punish others for not
loving the Four suciently (136). However, when
Searle discusses the Fives, she also includes suicidal
tendencies as an aspect of the Five. In the novel Tur-
tle Diary, William, who is described as being a Five
with a Six-wing, thinks of suicide:
I had been thinking of it [suicide] right enough,
I often do, always have the idea of it huddled like a
sick ape in a corner of my mind. But Id never do it.
At least I dont think Id do it. Well, thats not true
either (176).
I have thought about suicide, but never terribly
seriously. Its a comfort to think that I dont have to
put up with life, but always prefer to go on rather
than to check out. But the very fact that its an op-
tion, is very pleasant! However, as we have seen, its
not determinative!
In her article Te Gap at the Bottom of the En-
neagram, that appeared in EM September 1997,
Searle writes about Four and Five as possessing an
empty space, and links the two together so tightly
that there is almost no distinction. Furthermore, she
identies Edgar Allen Poe as an example of a Five,
although he is placed in the Four category in Risos
Personality Types. She says it is on account of his
fascination with horror as a genre, but Poes horror
stories are often to do with macabre revenge fantasies
due to an insult. Te Cask of Amontillado for in-
stance, has to do with what seems like a sexual Fours
payback for an insult thats never precisely named.
He walls up the insulter and gets the last laugh. Poes
Te Raven, is both precisely planned out (almost
gleefully vish as he writes about how he composed
it) and yet it is about missing a loved one (fourish).
Meanwhile, Poe also had a nearly unknown humor-
ous side to his work (see the volume entitled Te Oth-
er Poe, which reprints many quite droll stories that he
squibbed and which were just as popular in his own
day as his horric stories).
Every time a new book comes out, I look to see if
anyone has yet demarcated a boundary between the
two zones that can help me nd my own designation.
When Te Positive Enneagram was recently pub-
lished by Susan Rhodes I jumped at the chance to
get a copy of the book because it had three tests in
the back. However, they proved to be inconclusive,
because rst I thought, aha, I am a Five, taking the
test as I am now, but then, wondered, what if I took
the test as I was at 25, and came out a Four. On the
other hand, the subtype test was clear in both cases:
I remained a Sexual. Tat helps, as I can now look
through the sub-types of Four and Five at only the
Sexuals, I thought, and see which one ts (however,
they both t, depending on my mood.
And then theres the other problem which is that
I have also been convinced that I am a Social and a
Self-pres by other books or tests David Fauvres
test at enneagram.net convinced me I am a Social Four,
but in conversations with Elizabeth Wagele she has
said that she thinks were both Self-pres). I almost
feel a bit like Penelope of the Odyssey, weaving a vast
picture every day, only to have it unwoven during
the night, only in my case I swear I am not deliber-
ately unraveling it. Maybe Sisyphus with his boulder
would be a better analogy.
Te Riso-Hudson tests try to dierentiate be-
tween wanting to minimize (5) and wanting to maxi-
mize emotions (4). But of course if youre used to
being dragged screaming into drama by your emo-
tions, anybody over the age of three would start to
minimize like crazy.
So that doesnt help, since I dont think they are
mutually exclusive.
Alan Fensins out of print book Your Secret Self
(Avon Books, 1993) claims that the mother is un-
bearable for the Five, and that this is the source of
the vish xation. My mom was a fairly overbearing
One, and bugged me a lot (although I did like her,
and wanted her approval, too). But he also claims
that Fives cant handle small talk, and that they are
cold in their interactions. Im not cold, and I like
chit-chat, especially if its mindless and amusing. I
also like to gossip.
Fensin meanwhile claims that a missing father is
the source of the Four xation.
My dad was around, and friendly, but he was of-
ten reading the newspaper, or watching Te Rockford
Files while half-asleep in his rocker.
In Eli Jaxon-Bears From Fixation to Freedom, he
overturns Fensins focus on the mother as the key trait
of the Four. Jaxon-Bear writes, Fours most often
xate on the loss of the father. Te exception to this
is when the mother is perceived as the dominant part-
ner (155). So my mom was clearly the dominant
partner (my dad was a Nine, or a very ninish Tree
and not very present, except when I was playing sports
with him). My dad worked as a sports professor at a
state college, and would come alive when throwing a
football, baseball, or hitting a badminton birdie. My
mom worked as a reading teacher in rst grade. I got
a lot from both of them, but probably my mothers
values are more dominant in my case. My dad was
always there, a bit distant, but always available. Tey
were both from small-town Iowa, born in the early
1930s, and had a very small-town common sense, but
were open, and wanted to be part of the twentieth
century, too. Tey golfed, and went to national parks
in RVs, and read widely in their elds. Often when
Im reading about the traumatic relationship of many
people to their parents, I just cant relate. My parents
didnt drink or smoke, or fool around, or hit us, and
never failed to eat their vegetables.
It seems to me that those who had incredibly trau-
matic childhoods have a stronger understanding of
their numbers. For those of us from milder back-
grounds, the delineations are not so clear.
After many years of thinking about the types,
and nding them of use in analyzing others, Ive nar-
rowed my number down to 4 or 5, in spite of one
scholar who typed me as a Nine (Mary Bast). I have
not always been a loner, but I do like to be alone. I
could happily spend a year in solitary connement
so long as I received books. Im not a One, Two, or
Tree, as they have too much get up and go (I like to
go to bed late, and get up late). Te 1s, 2s, and 3s,
have a lot of pep, or it seems to me. Te 6s, 7s, and
8s are quite amiable in their own way, and dont like
to be alone. Ditto for Nines. I like a few hours a
day around other people, and then I like to be alone
to read or study. Plus, I identify most strongly with
the poet-artists-theorists. Looking through the list, I
am somewhere in that crew. So perhaps the distinc-
tion between Five and Four is that the Fives think,
or analyze, and the Four emotes, or feels. But Jaxon-
Bear overturns that distinction, too. Te dichotomy
in Four is called analytic/disoriented unlike the
disoriented Four, the analytic Four attempts to stay
in the realm of thought. Sometimes male Fours, be-
cause they wish to avoid the deep feelings that are
not considered manly, appear on the surface to be
analytical. However, just below the surface is the full
torrent of the Fours emotional sea. It often bubbles
up at inappropriate times (159). Ive often felt
that the description of Fours tends to focus on the
females of this category. Te male examples, such
as Prince and Michael Jackson, tend to be extremely
overblown emotionally. Try being Prince when you
are not on stage and see if you can keep your job
in an insurance oce, or get respect from a tenure
committee. Its not that you cant cry in academia
(where I work as a humanities professor), but if you
found yourself crying, you certainly wouldnt do it
in the faculty lounge, or certainly not every day, and
certainly not on the Deans shoulder.
By bubbles up does Jaxon-Bear mean the true
Four will cry suddenly and all day long? Well, of
course I cry. I cried for two straight weeks after my
The Permeable Boundary Between 5 & 4
Kirby Olson
enneagram monthly october 2009 13
fathers funeral. But then that would be appropriate
crying, right? I cry sometimes when I see a beauti-
ful work of ballet, or even a perfect goal in soccer,
or when a spiraling football arcs into the hands of a
wide receiver. Tat would be appropriate, though,
right? So here the question is displaced on to the
appropriate meaning of appropriate. I might shed
a tear or two over a perfectly executed Hamlet, or
a wonderful rendition of Lear as he holds his dear
dead Cordelia in the closing moments of his play, and
thinks about what love really is for the rst time in
his life (in Judith Searles Te Literary Enneagram she
makes Lear comprehensible as a Twothe only time
Ive ever understood Lears motivations in thirty years
of thinking about the play).
Te examples of Five on the other hand tend to fo-
cus on male gures. David Byrne, Albert Einstein, the
Unabomber, Ezra Pound, and others, are all male g-
ures, but gures to which I cant quite relate, partially
because they seem so self-enclosed, as if they dont
need others, and can never be anything but razors.
I have been to various experts (o to see the wiz-
ard). A Seven told me on the basis of an email that
I had to be a Four, because I wasnt mental enough
to be a Five, or rather that because I am mental Id
have to be a Four. (Im a political centrist, and this
expert was way out to the left in terms of wanting a
total redistribution of income, and felt I was mental
for not sharing his economic philosophy.) I believe
that government should be Lockean, and that the four
fundamental rights (these were listed in Locke as life,
liberty, health and propertyJeerson took out the
last two and appended pursuit of happiness prob-
ably because he was a Seven) are all more important
than control of the workplace, which is how Marxism
seduces, but never actually delivers. I never gured
out why this expert pinned me down as a Four, except
he said I came up with comparisons easily and quick-
ly, which revealed quick access to my imagination (I
do have that!). But if Fives are all about Horror, dont
they have access to imagination, and dont they actu-
ally feel overwhelmed by imagination?
So lets turn to exemplary gures. Riso and Hud-
son claim that Bob Dylan is a Four. Jaxon-Bear says
that Dylans a Five. Sandra Maitri claims Dylans a
Five, and then uses him as an example of a Five, in
her book, Te Spiritual Dimension of the Enneagram.
Dylans sense of self-enclosure is evident as he re-
frains from making eye contact with his audience
during concerts (207). But many others claim that
he is a clear Four.
Michelle Pfeier is described as a counterphobic
Five with a Six-wing in Tomas Condons Movie and
Video Guide (114). But then, in Jaxon-Bears book,
she is described as a Sexual Four (165).
Reading the various books and trying to nd
clarity, one comes across dierent categorizations of
key persons, and one begins to wish for a maa-style
sit-down between the various capos of the Ennea-
world, so that they can agree on common designa-
tions. Whats dicult is that readers are looking for
traits that are clear and specic, and thus minute
enough to be certain. Tings like likes anchovies on
pizza are not general enough. More enormous traits
like quiet, or vengeful, might depend on what point
of life one was in, whether there was a baby sleeping
in a backroom, or whether one has something to be
vengeful about, like having ones signicant other sto-
len by ones best friend.
Some experts tell you that you should think
of yourself in your early twenties (Susan Reynolds
Everything Enneagram Book), and others tell you to
think of yourself in your mid-twenties. Still others say
think about yourself as you are now, or as you have
been generally. But how are you supposed to do this?
How can you focus specically on something thats
general? Lives are enormous, and you can easily nd
common themes if you go looking.
I think I am for instance quite sensitive, and there-
fore, vengeful, but also, forgiving. I never act on the
revenge. In rst grade when a teacher shocked me
with insensitive comments regarding my handwrit-
ing, or scolded me about forgetting my homework,
it would take days to recover. I would draw a tor-
ture tunnel beneath my desk, dragging the teacher
through shark-infested pools, having her face re-
breathing dinosaurs, and facing gladiator-combat
with Wiccan giants, until she nally apologized or I
began to feel sorry for her. I never openly asked for
an apology, and got over the insults in time without
her awareness of ever having insulted me. I generally
ended up having good memories of my teachers.
In high school my brother said I could never play
soccer, so I began to secretly practice, and three years
later was All-League twice in a row. I dont think he
ever knew my motivation was to prove him wrong.
Had he never said this to me, I would probably have
never played soccer, and certainly not at the level I
attained.
I have that Ill show you, quality of the Sexual Four
(listed in Helen Palmers classic book as the sole crite-
rion of the SX 4). But Im rarely open about it. I nurse
small insults, and turn them into accomplishments.
I was once told by an uncle that I would probably
never publish a book since few manage this. I loved
this challenge, and started writing, and eventually
started publishing books. Ive now published a half a
dozen, and have written several more (I would rather
write them now than box them up and get them pub-
lished, because the secretarial aspect of publishing is
an enormous chore, and one that I prefer to avoid
in favor of creativity itself, as now I no longer have
anything to prove).
I do remember that one of the great promises of
writing was that I might be able to support myself
without ever having to talk to anybody. Tats vish,
no? (Btw., Its not true. You have to meet people, es-
pecially publishers, and charm them. You then have
to meet potential readers, and charm them, too. I did
not know that, as Johnny Carson used to joke.) And
its not too awful. I can go in front of people. Im
scared to do it, but I force myself through it, and of-
ten nd it to be a positive experience. I write poetry
and have published it in the top journals, and write
novels, and have been reviewed in the top journals,
but I have half-forgotten that the original motivation
came from what I took as a child to be a challenge, or
at least to be stated as a relative impossibility. I also
write literary criticism. My favorite writer early on was
Richard Brautigan. Is he a Five or a Four? He was a
loner, but one who had access to his imagination. He
committed suicide. If you read biographies of him,
it doesnt seem like anybody ever really understood
him, or knew him. He did try to stir up envy among
his colleagues, especially envy over his tremendous
sales. He sold millions of copies of books, even his
terrible poetry books, while much better poets were
barely publishing (poet Michael McClure has reect-
ed on this side of Brautigan in several articles). I like
the hilarity of Brautigan, and sometimes the brutally
funny qualities of Charles Baudelaire, with his com-
bination of wit and penetrating intellect. But I cant
stand Marcel Proust, as he gets too overly emotional
and is seldom funny. (Judith Searles book doesnt
tackle humorists or work on the qualities of humor
according to type, but she has recently written to me
that that is her newest project!) Fives have an interest
in science. I have no interest in science, and could
not be a scientist, unless it also impinged on creativity
(how poets minds work, for instance, on a neuronal
level). But I can spend all day on Sudoku puzzles,
so I am not averse to the puzzle-mania of the Five.
One of my favorite poets is Marianne Moore, who
Elizabeth Wagele places into the Five category, but
who was certainly odd as heck, with her tricorn hat,
and her relish for bizarre plants such as Te Camper-
down Elm and unique animals such as Te Jerboa).
Philip Larkin, too, seems to have traits of both Five
and Four and you can nd him listed on both sides of
the invisible curtain.
Could we have a maa-style sit-down, please, and
decide a clear boundary between Five and Four? Da-
vid Daniels writes, Romantics are the most feeling
and emotional typewanting more from others and
having diculty keeping their personal boundaries.
In contrast, Observers are the most detached type
wanting less and keeping more self-contained with
clearer personal boundaries (Essential Enneagram
64). I feel that I am constantly struggling between
these two motivations of wanting to keep boundaries
and wanting to let go of them. Teres a push-pull
between these traits.
My wife is a Four, and this summer we spent time
watching David Fauvre and his wife go over the Mi-
chael Jackson biography in enormous detail in an
online video. I confess that I cant stand Jacksons
high feminine voice, although he seems like a nice
guy. I just cant relate. My wife could relate to him,
and found him enchanting. Te few gureheads I
genuinely relate toare virtually unknown especially
within Ennea-circles. Tere is a once-famous surreal-
I am a Five, taking the test as I am now,
but then, wondered, what if I took the
test as I was at 25, and came out a Four.
Still others say think about yourself as
you are now, or as you have been general-
ly. But how are you supposed to do this?
How can you focus specifcally on some-
thing thats general?
14 october 2009 enneagram monthly
ist writer in French circles named Philippe Soupault.
I think I am very similar to him, but the last book
of his that was translated into English was done in
1926, and few have read him since (Ive read all his
eighty books). A wonderful poet named Henry Jean-
Marie Levet wrote 11 poems in 1906 and then died
from some obscure disease, and Ive translated his
entire work (they are online at http://jacketmagazine.
com/18/levet.html). I love to live inside those poems,
delighting in their contours and jests and melancholy.
When looking through the gures in enneagram
books I perceive enormously famous rock stars and
lm stars whose work I generally cant stand to spend
time within, but rarely any of the lesser known poets
whose work I like better. I love the quiet French
humorous poets and writers such as Levet. For those
of us who cant nd an enneagram number (it might
be something like 30% who have never been certain?)
do these kinds of analogue gures help us to gure
out our number? It might do this if all the major
enneagram gures would agree on a type, and would
give very specic reasons behind their thinking, so
that we could all understand the logic. My wife likes
all the surrealist painters and stars listed as Four with
a Tree-Wing (especially Warhol, Dali, and Michael
Jackson). Im terribly interested in surrealism, but
those three feel a bit fraudulent and too commercial
for my taste, and prefer something that is more re-
condite like someone talking to themselves about
nothing, a group of which really do exist, especially in
France and in Spain.
Speaking of Spain, it is good to remember that
the enneagram was originally (in its most recent in-
carnation) from South America, and that both Oscar
Ichazo and Claudio Naranjo were Spanish speakers.
To what extent this has colored the enneagram is hard
to determine. While Ichazos work is hard to nd,
Naranjos Character and Neurosis is probably the clas-
sic of the whole eld although it is rarely mentioned
in the literature. Naranjo has an edge over many en-
neagram interpreters in that he is an M.D., and a
psychotherapist. His book correlates the enneagram
with various personality theories including DSM III,
MBTI, body types, and others, diving deep into the
20th and 19th century literature. Tis may make it
the best book of all in terms of clarity and depth. For
the Five he lists anhedonic as a major characteris-
tic, and masochism as a major characteristic of the
Four. Furthermore, he lists INTP as the correlative
of the Five, and INFP as the correlative of the Four.
While I have trouble with those two types (I cant de-
termine which is which for me), a book called Writing
and Personality by Tiberio and Jensen argues that the
INTP writes like a scientist cold, clean, and fac-
tual, whereas the INFP tends toward poetry and put-
ting more warmth and personality on the page. I am
therefore an INFP, which would also link me closer
to the Four. Using Naranjo I am perhaps a bit more
on the Four side of things. Unfortunately, Naranjo
has apparently abandoned American ennea-circles in
disgust at what he perceives as the rampant commer-
cialization of the eld and the lack of rigor.
I feel my own self is something like Andorra
somewhat forgotten and on the border between
France and Spain. I know clear Fives and clear Fours.
I belong to a border state perhaps more like the
Basque in search of some kind of country I can
call my own. Te various maps and descriptions of
the nine reigning states dier in confusing ways. Ev-
ery map has something useful. Too often, however,
they disagree on boundaries. Te key gures are
placed in dierent categories. Te traits dier from
book to book. Which maps are the most authorita-
tive? A map is meant to help us locate ourselves,
and give us some sense of where we are going, where
we have been, and some sense of self-denition, and
it shouldnt just make us feel lost. I feel lost in look-
ing through most of the enneagram books. Naran-
jos is a bit better delineated than most. Few refer
to it, but its the classic, and I think the whole eld
should begin its clarication with a survey of the
boundaries Naranjo drew. His book is the Ur-map,
and it would be helpful if all subsequent writers re-
membered that. Which is not to say that even it is
perfectly clear, but its perhaps the most helpful for
those who are trying to achieve self-denition, with
a country, and a fag, of our own.

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enneagram monthly october 2009 15
ited in scope, but soon realized that I needed to talk
about all three topics in order to present a coherent
picture of my ideas. Te reasons for this should be-
come clear as we proceed.
Te article is divided into three parts: Back-
ground, Part I, and Part II. Te Background sec-
tion introduces the topic and provides the context for
further discussion. Part I focuses on current assump-
tions about the types, the enneagram energy centers,
and the subtypes. Part II proposes an alternative
view and some ideas for working with the enneagram
based on that view.
Background
I became interested in the enneagram as a means
of looking at individual dierences in motivation. As
a cognitive psychologist, Id long been interested in
looking at how variables like sex, age, and cultural
dierences aect our psychology. I was also interest-
ed in the eects of our basic disposition or character,
so I studied the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
to gain insight into that dimension of the psyche.
Based on a Jungian approach to typology, the
MBTI generates 16 personality proles. One thing
that I like about the MBTI is that these proles are
pretty value-neutral. Tis means that the MBTI
proles simply distinguish individuals on the basis of
temperament. Tey arent designed to evaluate the
character of the individual by reference to any par-
ticular set of moral, psychological, or spiritual stan-
dards. As a result, the MBTI system can be used in a
wide range of contexts.
When I rst heard about the enneagram, it took
me a while to see why I should study it. One reason
is that the enneagram only delineated nine personal-
ity types, while the MBTI delineated 16, so the en-
neagram seemed to oer a less detailed breakdown.
Another reason is that the enneagram seemed less
objective than the MBTI. Unlike the MBTI pro-
les, most of the enneagram proles seemed mildly
to moderately negative in focus.
Although the negative focus initially put my o,
I eventually learned enough about the enneagram to
appreciate its three great assets: (a) a focus on moti-
vation, (b) a geometric dimension, and (c) a way of
combining dierent aspects of type that makes it pos-
sible to distinguish many more than nine types.
Over time, I came to realize that these advantages
far outweighed the disadvantage of seeing the ennea-
gram types described in mostly negative terms. I real-
ized that the types themselves were more basic than
any of the descriptions that people generated. So I
could study them directly and gradually generate my
own (more value-neutral) descriptions of the types.
With this in mind, I began to delve more deeply
into the enneagram. I saw that the negative descrip-
tions of type arise out of two related assumptions: (a)
that enneagram types = personality types and (b) that
personality is inherently unregenerate. Tat means
that, in moral terms, the personality self is sinful and
in psychological terms, its pathological.
How did the personality come to gain such a neg-
ative reputation? It wasnt clear to me at the outset.
But after some investigation, I began to understand
why the enneagram proles seemed to focus so much
on the negative aspects of human nature.
In some ways,
the reasons for
this negative focus
may be traceable
to a single person:
George Gurdji-
e Gurdjie was
the rst person
to publicly pres-
ent teachings on
the enneagram.
He was a spiritual
teacher of some
magnitude whose inuence is still strong more than
half a century after his death.
Gurdjie was not a retiring mystic, but a spiritual
master with an iron will and magnetic personality.
He had an extremely robust and provocative style of
teaching. His confrontational style was designed to
eect a radical transformation in those students who
were willing to submit themselves to its rigors.
Gurdjies approach is based on an ancient model
of the relationship between a spiritual master and his
disciple. It assumes the presence of three elements:
a true spiritual master, a deeply committed aspirant,
and the shared goal of eecting a radical and perma-
nent restructuring of the inner self of the student.
Since most teachers and students have tradition-
ally been male, this approach is a very masculine in
nature. Its based on a slay the dragon view of life
thats quite direct and adversarial. Te ego or person-
ality self is viewed as an enemy of the higher good and
is ruthlessly attacked in order to strip away its defens-
es so that the disciple might realize its limitations.
Tis approach has its uses, but its risky. And in
the wrong hands, it can be disastrous. As Jungian
scholar James Hollis observed in an interview for
What is Enlightenment? magazine, the ego is a neces-
sary formation for the creation of identity, conscious-
ness, intentionality, and purposeall of which are
pluses.
1
But he says that the ego is also malleable.
It can be dominated by inuences of both the inner
psyche and the outer world if it lacks the strength and
resiliency necessary to maintain its integrity.
So from this perspective, what we need isnt to de-
stroy the ego, but to support it. With proper support,
the ego can develop in a healthy way. It can help us
function in the world without interfering with our
ability to be inwardly attentive to the energies of the
[higher] Self.
An integrated ego-personality helps us develop
both inner balance and outer poise. It can support
us in nding our lifes calling. And this, as Hollis
observes, has very little to do with ego in the selsh
sense.
Today, the idea of slaying the ego seems harsh and
out of step with the times. Tis is because the con-
sciousness of the collective is changing, and we now
have ways of working with the psyche that are both
more eective and less wrenching than the methods
of the past.
If we can work with the self is a gentler way, why
not do it? Why make the task of changing harder
than it needs to be? To ask such questions is not to
criticize Gurdjie or his methods, but simply to ob-
serve that teachings intended for one era may not be
appropriate for another. If Gurdjie were alive today,
I doubt very much whether he would take the same
approach he did during the early part of the twenti-
eth century. He would adapt his approach to t the
times.
Te decades since Gurdjies death have seen
some major shifts in consciousnessnot just among
the spiritual elite, but across a broad swatch of the
public. Were now living in a post-Newtonian world,
where were told that theres order in chaos, time isnt
real, and everything is interconnected. Te actual
implications of the new physics may not have sunk in
yet, but the intuitive sense that separatism and dual-
ity are illusions is denitely in the air. Many people
sense that were on the brink of a real shift in perspec-
tiveof a completely new way of being in the world.
Tis new paradigm is holistic, inclusive, and dynamic
in nature. It takes us beyond the old good vs. bad
dualities. It helps us see beyond our apparent dier-
ences to the underlying unity of all life.
Te transition from the old paradigm to the new
is, like all transitions, somewhat awkward and con-
fusing. I see the enneagram as a tool that can help
us bridge the gap between the old and the new. I
suspect that this is the real reason that enneagram
suddenly appeared on the public scene a couple of
decades ago.
Whats strange to me is how such a revolutionary
tool as the enneagram has become constrained by a
way of thinking that is not of the present, but of the
past. Of course its possible to use the enneagram to
catalog our qualities, neatly dividing them into good
and bad categories. But when we do this, we split
ourselves in two. Te bad qualities begin to seem
like the ones that we actually experience in ordinary
life while the good qualities recede into some elu-
sive realm of spiritual transcendence. We reject ordi-
nary life as gross and impure, looking for deliverance
elsewhere.
Tis kind of thinking is dualistic. It splits the
psyche and makes it hard to be completely present
in the moment. It can cause us to lose momentum,
falling under the weight of our accumulated sense of
sin.
Why not instead use the enneagram to cultivate a
sense of inner wholeness and integrity? To see how
seeming limitations (our individual points of view)
can instead be viewed as areas of specialization when
seen from the perspective of wholeness?
If we look at each point of view as an area of spe-
cialization, then the enneagram subtypes become key
to understanding the many faces of type. Tey also
give clues we can use to discover our dharma or pur-
pose in life. Ill talk more about this later.
Nature of Enneagram Subtypes.... CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
16 october 2009 enneagram monthly
To recap, I see the enneagram in its ability to help
us see our true worth and relate to one another in an
intelligent way. Realizing who and what we really are
is the challenge for the coming era. Focusing on what
is false about us doesnt really help us see what is real.
And its seeing the real that gives us the courage to
leap into the unknown.
My intention in writing this article is to share a vi-
sion of the enneagram that I nd both inspiring and
evocative. Tis is what I talk about in Part II of the
paper.
Part 1: The Received
Wisdom
Before leaping into new territory, I have to spend
a little time talking about how we came to inherit the
current vision of the enneagram, particularly how it
came to have such a negative focus. So this section
is about what Im calling the received wisdom in the
eld. Ill talk about the received wisdom regarding
the nature of the enneagram itself, the types, the en-
ergy centers, and the subtypes.
The Enneagram and the Types
If you ask someone to describe the enneagram,
youll get dierent answers depending on who you
ask.
Basically, there are two major views of the ennea-
gram. In one view, its a map of a life process. In the
other, its a map of the human psyche.
2
Gurdjie taught his students a process-oriented
version of the enneagram, and its this enneagram
that Fourth Way (Gurdjie) students consider the
real enneagram. Arica founder Oscar Ichazo later
adapted Gurdjies process-oriented enneagram to
look at dierences in human temperament or person-
ality. Nowadays, its Ichazos version of the ennea-
gram thats the most well-known.
Actually, Ichazo didnt just teach one enneagram,
but many. Which enneagram he taught depended one
what aspect of human nature he wanted to emphasize.
But there are two of his enneagrams are now the best
known: (a) the enneagram of the emotional passions
and (b) the enneagram of the cognitive xations.
One reason for the focus on these two particular
enneagrams may be that they are the ones of most
interest to one of Ichazos most inuential students,
Dr. Claudio Naranjo.
In the 1970s, Naranjo was a student of Oscar
Ichazo. However, within a decade, he became
an inuential teacher of the enneagram in his own
right. Many of the people who became later become
prominent in the enneagram community started out
as Naranjos students.
Naranjo also wrote several books on the ennea-
gram. All of them focus primarily on the deciency
motivations (core neuroses) associated with each en-
neagram type. Figure 3 summarizes the categories
he developed for characterizing the dierent types of
psychological imbalance that can be mapped to each
enneagram type.
Naranjo goes into great depth in Character and
Neurosis and his other books to describe the person-
ality disorders associated with each point. But he
provides little or no description of the balanced per-
sonality.
I didnt understand why until it dawned on me
that, unlike James Hollis, Naranjo does not seem to
believe that its actually possible for the personality
self to become balanced. Tis is evident from many
passages in his books.
3
His philosophical perspective (which seem akin to
that of both Gurdjie and Ichazo) is that personality
is inherently awed. While its aws can be exposed
and its limitations can be transcended (via spiritual
work), the ego-personality self can never become a
fully integrated and functional part of the psyche.
If this were true, it would be rather discouragin-
news, since most of us spend a lot of our waking
hours functioning at the level of the ego-personality.
Even spiritual masters cant stay in meditation all the
timethey still spend a lot of time functioning in
ordinary consciousness.
I dont think that the ego-personality is by nature
distorted or wrong-headed. Its simply limited. In
order to function properly, it has to know its own
limits and look beyond itself (to the larger psyche) for
support and guidance. It doesnt have to disappear, it
just has to come into alignment with a deeper inner
purpose.
If this kind of alignment is possible, then the per-
sonality healed of its wounds and stable in its foun-
dation might become the very vehicle by which to
create a better life.
I nd the idea that the personality self can be inte-
grated into the larger psyche tremendously encourag-
ing. It provides a real impetus to do the work that
makes this kind of integration possible.
But what kind of work is this? Is it the same for
all of us? I doubt it. I think the kind of work we
need to do must depend on the kind of person we
are. And the kind of person we are is revealed by our
enneagram type.
However, its awfully hard to nd an enneagram
author who focuses solely on the opportunities for
integration at each enneagram point of view. Kath-
leen Hurley and Ted Dobson characterize the ennea-
gram as a way of describing nine compulsive ways
of dealing with the world.
4
Sandra Maitri speaks of
humanity as imprisoned in the labyrinth of our own
ego structures.
5
Don Riso and Russ Hudson say that
the basic fear of each type is what set[s] in motion the
mechanism of personality.
6
Tey describe the per-
sonality self as a collection of conditioned reactions,
fears, and beliefs that develops as the result of early
loss and conditioning.
7
Descriptions like these are common. Tey imply
that our enneagram type depends entirely on the na-
ture of the conditioning received in childhood. Tis
may be true, but its not a foregone conclusion. Its
just as possible that type is innate (pre-personality).
If type is innate, then the motivation it provides is
not really personal, but comes from the deeper (or
higher) psyche. Tis is a bit scary to contemplate, but
its exciting, too.
I tend to regard enneagram type as innate. My
training as a cognitive psychologist tells me that al-
though early conditioning is extremely powerful, it
cant actually create basic psychic structures such as
the personality. It can only aect the functionality of
such structures.
Te idea that type might be pre-personality
doesnt seem to be discussed much in the enneagram
community (at least not in print). But A. H. Almaas
surprised an audience at the 2005 International En-
neagram Association by casually mentioning that he
sees type as innate. He said that this is why type is
with us for lifewhy it doesnt go away in response
to the work we do on ourselves.
If our enneagram type is actually innate, then it
has to be something more than an ego defense mech-
anism. From a systems perspective, it has to serve
some purpose in sustaining the larger system that
gives rise to it. Its this real purpose of the enneagram
and the enneagram types that interests me, not its
ability to provide what Naranjo calls an organizing
map for...[a] set of [character] pathologies.
8
Gurdjieffs Energy Centers
Like the enneagram types, the energy centers are
a central concept in enneagram studies. Teyre par-
ticularly relevant to an understanding of the enneagr
m subtype behaviors.
Gurdjies concept of the energy centers. Tere
are various ways that Gurdjie characterized the en-
ergy centers within human beings. One way was to
divide each of the three centers into three sections or
levels (the intelligent, the motivational, and the me-
chanical), and each of these levels into two polarities
(negative and positive). I used the color shades in
Figure 4 to depict these six qualities of each center.
Another way was to characterize the physical cen-
ter as having three centers of its own: an instinctive
or instinctual center, a sexual center, and a moving
center. See Figure 5.
A third way was to characterize the centers as high-
er and lower manifestations of the energy in question.
In this case, the physical center is said to have only a
lower form while the emotional and mental centers
Mental
center
Emotional
center
Physical
center
Figure 4. Gurdjieffs Three Energy Centers
(at Three Levels and Two Polarities).
8 - anti-social /
sadistic
9 - over-adaptative
1 - obsessive-
compulsive
7 - hedonistic/
narcissistic
6 - anxious

4 - depressive-
masochistic
5 - schizoid/
withdrawn
3 - Type A
overachieving
2 - histrionic Personality
Disorders
by
Enneagram Type
Figure 3. Naranjos Character (Personality)
Disorders by Enneagram Type
enneagram monthly october 2009 17
are said to have both a higher and lower form (see
Figure 6). Te lower centers are those that we use to
function in everyday life. Te higher centers are those
that only become active as the result of inner work.
Tere are several other potential variations on this
theme. Tis is because Gurdjie was a moving target;
he like to take his students by surprise, so he present-
ed his teachings in dierent ways at dierent times.
However, the scheme shown in Figure 6 is the one on
which most modern enneagram theorists base their
ideas, as well see below.
9

Personality Enneagram Energy Centers
Teres no indication that Gurdjie ever taught
anything akin to the personality enneagram devel-
oped by Oscar Ichazo. Gurdjies enneagram was
strictly process-oriented. So Gurdjie never created an
illustration like Figure 7.
Howev-
er, fty years
later, when
Oscar Ic-
hazo and his
s uc c e s s or s
began using
Gurdj ieff s
p r o c e s s -
oriented en-
neagram as
a tool for
looking at
personality
types, they
combined Gurdjies theory of the centers with the
personality enneagram to develop a theory of per-
sonality thats intimately intertwined with Gurdjies
theory on the centers.
10
Out of this perspective has come the idea that
there are nine personality types, each of which be-
longs to a certain center. What this means is that
each center is dominant for three of the nine ennea-
gram types.
Te three points that make up each center are
called a triad:
Points 8 9 1: The Body Center Triad. Te energy
of these points is natural, unassuming, and unself-
conscious. People whose home base is at Points 8, 9,
or 1 have the potential to be particularly attuned to
the wisdom of the body (to be aware of their gut
instincts) and to the natural rhythms of life.
Points 2 3 4: The Heart Center Triad. Te en-
ergy of these points is feminine, emotional, and inter-
personal. People whose home base is at Point 2, 3, or
4 have the potential to be particularly attuned to the
emotional states of others and the feeling dimension
of life.
Points 5 6 7: The Head Center Triad. Te energy
of these points is masculine, linear, and detached.
People whose home base is at Point 5, 6, or 7 have
the potential to be particularly aware of ideas and the
mental dimension of life.
At the same time that each point belongs to a given
center, each of these centers is paradoxically said to be
within each of us (as shown in Figure 8). However,
the center thats home to our enneagram type tends
to exert more inuence than the other two centers.
So if my type is Two, Tree, or Four, for example,
although Im subject to the inuence of all three cen-
ters, the heart center is likely to be more inuential
than the other two centers.
How Gurdjieffs Centers Show Up at
Each Enneagram Point.
As I mentioned above, Gurdjie sometimes em-
phasized the dierence between ordinary perception
and subtle (expanded) perception by talking about
the energy centers as having higher and lower aspects.
However, as shown in Figure 6, he only attributed
higher aspects to two of the centers: the mental cen-
ter and the emotional center.
11

When Oscar Ichazo and his successors developed
the personality enneagram, they favored this version
of Gurdjies teachings as the cornerstone of their
work. Tey devised ways to characterize the proper-
ties of each point by reference to ve energy centers:
the mental or head center (higher and lower), the
emotional or heart center (higher and lower), and the
physical or body center.
12

For the head (mental) center at each point, the
lower aspect was termed a cognitive xation and the
higher aspect, a Holy Idea. For the heart (emotional)
center at each point, the lower aspect was termed a
passion and the higher aspect, a virtue.
13
Te body
(physical) center at each point was conceived to have
only one level of functioning, which is equivalent to
the lower aspect of the other two centers.
However, the body center was con-
ceived to have three sub-centers, and its
these sub-centers that describe the three
areas of life in which the body center can
be involved. Te rst area is self-care
and personal comfort. Te second area
is sexuality, transformation and intimacy.
Te third area is social participation and
political organization.
For a given individual, one of these
arenas of activity is assumed to be more
compelling than the other two. Tis
dominant arena is what determines a
persons subtype. I discuss these in more
detail below, but for now its sucient to
note that the three colored circles in the
Figure 9 are the subtype arenas and that
these circles roughly correspond to the
three colored circles in the earlier Figures
(5 and 6) that describe Gurdjies physical center.
(I say roughly, because although only Gurdjies
sexual center clearly matches the sexual subtype and
Gurdjies instinctive center is a pretty good match
for the subtype that focuses on self-care, its harder to
see the exact relationship between Gurdjies moving
center and the social subtype, although it could be
argued that the moving center is about moving out-
ward into the social world.)
The Enneagram Subtypes
For each enneagram type, I was taught that the
three subtypes each represent a preoccupation of one
of three areas of life:
Self-preservation subtype: here the focus is said
to be on satisfactory self-survival.
Sexuality or intimate subtype: here the focus is
said to be on gaining satisfaction through intimate
relationships.
Emotional
center center
Physical Mental
center
Higher
emotional
center
Lower
emotional
center
Lower
mental
center
Higher
mental
center
center
physical
(Lower)

4
6
5
8
7
9
1
2
3
Body
Center
Head
Center
Heart
Center

4
6
5
8
7
9
1
2
3
Body Center
Head Center
Heart Center
Body Center
Head Center
Heart Center
Body Center
Head Center
Heart Center
Body Center
Head Center
Heart Center
Body Center
Head Center
Heart Center
Body Center
Head Center
Heart Center
Body Center
Head Center
Heart Center
Body Center
Head Center
Heart Center
Body Center
Head Center
Heart Center
Figure 7. The Three Enneagram
Energy Centers.
Figure 6. Gurdjieffs Two-tiered Version of the
Three Centers.
Figure 8. The Three Energy Centers at Each Enneagram Point.
Figure 9. The Two-tiered Model of the
Enneagram Energy Centers.
Figure 5. Gurdjieffs Three Centers
(Showing the Three Sub-centers of the
Physical Center).
mental
center
(Holy Ideas)
emotional
center
(Holy Virtues)
mental
center
Higher Higher
Lower
center
physical
(Lower)
(subtype behaviors)
emotional
center
Lower
(passions) (fixations)
18 october 2009 enneagram monthly
Social subtype: here the focus is said to be on
gaining satisfaction via group participation.
I was also taught that enneagram subtypes, like
enneagram types, are stable throughout life. And I
was taught that the enneagram subtypes describe a set
of behaviors that reects the passions associated with
each persons enneagram type.
According to Helen Palmer, the subtype focus of
attention is revealed by a behavior that is motivated
by instinct dominated by the passion of type.
14
San-
dra Maitri echoes Palmers statements, saying that the
passion of our ennea-type comes out most strongly in
[the]arena of life [that is our subtype], attributing
this denition to Claudio Naranjo.
15
Te subtype is determined by combining the en-
neagram type with the subtype arena. For each of the
nine types, there are three subtype arenas, so there are 27
subtypes in all. Figure 10 shows one common way of
labelling the subtypes; the same labels are shown from a
point-oriented perspective in Figure 11.
16

Both type and subtype are often said to be personality
structures that develop as a response to trauma during
early childhood. Tis view is, for example, reected in
Don Riso & Russ Hudsons assertion that the Instinc-
tual Variants [aka instinctual subtypes] indicate which
of our three basic instincts have been most distorted in
childhood.
17
Tus, the enneagram subtypes are considered to be
major elements in the ego defense system described by
the personality enneagram. So when we study both type
and subtype, what were learning about are the workings
of this ego defense system. Te idea is that by learning
how this defense system works, we can begin to disman-
tle it (or perhaps allow it to be dismantled).
Within this general framework, there are some dif-
ferences of opinion about the nature of the subtypes.
Helen Palmer and David Daniels teach that subtypes are
entirely a subset of type, an idea that I believe originated
with Ichazo and Naranjo. However, Don Riso and Russ
Hudson teach that subtypes are a system in their own
right. Its for this
reason that the two
viewpoints dier in
their terminology;
Palmer & Daniels
refer to the subtypes
as instinctual subtypes
while Riso & Hud-
son call them instinc-
tual variants.
Although Riso &
Hudson make a plau-
sible case for why they
think that subtypes
are an independent
way of looking at
human activity, their
observations came
long after the term
subtype was rmly es-
tablished. Tats one
reason I refer to the
subtypes in this ar-
ticle. Its simply more
familiar to people in
the enneagram com-
munity.
Whatever their dierences, both positions have in
common the idea that subtypes are instinctual in na-
turethat they arise in the physical (body) center. Tey
also share the view that the subtypes operate in con-
cert with the emotional passions and the cognitive
xations. Tis is signicant, because it means that the
subtypes have no existence independent of the com-
plex of attitudes and behaviors that we associate with
an unbalanced personality.
I nd this view of the subtypes hard to accept. In
Part II, I talk in greater detail about the reasons why
and delineate an alternative theory about the nature
of the enneagram types, centers, and subtypes.
Stay tuned, continued in next issue. . . .

Self-preservation
subtype

anxiety
me-first
security
daultlessness refuge
warmth
family
satisfaction
appetite
Sexual
subtype
heat/jealousy
aggression/
masculinity/
competition/hate confidence
strength/
suggestibility
possession/
union
inadaptibility
ambition
prestige
shame totems
duty
sacrifice
friendship
participation
Social
subtype
seduction
famininity beauty
surrender

4
6
5
8
7
9
1
2
3
SP=appetite
SX=union
SOC=participation
SP=anxiety
SX=heat/jealousy
SOC=inadaptibility
SP=me first
SX=aggression/
seduction
SOC=ambition
SP=security
SX=masculinity/
feminiity
SOC=prestige
SP=dauntlessness
SX=competition/hate
SOC=shame
SP=refuge
SX=confidence
SOC=totems
SP=warmth
SX=strength/beauty
S0C=duty
SP=family
SX=suggestibility
SOC=sacrifice
SP=satisfaction
SX=possession/
surrender
SOC=friendship
Figure 11. Traditional Subtype Descriptions by Enneagram Point.
Figure 10. Traditional Labels for the 27 Subtypes.
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enneagram monthly october 2009 19
Because the productive as well as the less produc-
tive interactions between the styles is highly predict-
able, anticipate these and make a commitment to
engage in behaviors that support an eective work
relationship.
Te following is an example of how these three
principles work, based on the following story of two
lawyers with serious interpersonal issues, Robert and
Howard.
Lawyers at Work
Robert and Howard were both senior attor-
neys at a large frm and could not tolerate be-
ing in the same room together. Because Robert, a
Three, and Howard, a Six, avoided all contact with
each other whenever possible, their hostile rela-
tionship was not such a huge problem for them;
it did, however, pose an enormous dilemma for
the frm. Robert, a rainmaker, provided one-third
of the frms revenue, while Howards area of le-
gal specialization made it necessary for him to be
involved in 95 percent of the frms cases, includ-
ing many of Roberts. As a Three, Robert dismissed
Howard because he felt annoyed by what he per-
ceived as Howards perpetual worrying and pessi-
mistic attitude. Howard, a Six, perceived Robert as
a showman, with more bravado than substance.
They worked together when they were absolutely
forced to do so.
Had Robert and Howard been able to under-
stand how they were each contributing to the situ-
ation, the dynamics between them, and what to do
to de-escalate the situation, they would have saved
the rm a great deal of money and spared themselves
undue stress and frustration. Te following informa-
tion about how to do this is excerpted from a sec-
tion of the Enneagram Learning Portal (Interactions
at Work), a subscription-based portal that is part of
the new Te Enneagram in Business website that al-
lows you to follow all three principles at the click of
a button.
Principle 1: Make yourself easy to work with for ev-
eryone by engaging in type-specic self-development ac-
tivities.
For Robert, an Enneagram Style Three,
to make himself easy to work with.
Others want to work with you because you are prob-
ably
OptimisticYour overall optimism and can-do
attitude, even in the face of challenges, encourages
others to feel and do the same.
Condent and enthusiasticYour self-con-
dence makes you the kind of person others like to
associate with, and your enthusiasm is contagious.
Results and achievement orientedOthers
know they can count on you to get things done well.
Intellectually bright and pragmaticBecause
your mind works quickly and your ideas are prag-
matic, others are drawn to working with you.
Well-organized and focusedYour ability to
focus on concrete goals and to organize the work
accordinglyboth eectively and ecientlymakes
you a reliable and valuable partner in work.
You can create challenges for others as a result of your
potential to be
AbruptWhen your eective interpersonal style
turns to abruptness or coldnessusually, when you
are stressed or overworkedothers want to stay away
from you.
CompetitiveWhen your competitiveness is fo-
cused on your peers or when people begin to see you
as overly competitive in general, others are likely to
feel distrustful of you.
Overdriven and overfocusedAlthough drive
and focus are assets, being overdriven and overfocused
gives the strong message that you dont have time for
other people and that nothing will get between you
and your goals.
Frustrated and agitated when something takes
too long, insurmountable obstacles arise, or oth-
ers dont do their share of the workBecause you
normally appear somewhat relaxed at work and treat
obstacles as something you can easily overcome, oth-
ers can be taken by surprise and not know what to do
to help when you become frustrated, agitated, and
very angry about such things.
Not completely genuine in how you present
yourselfWhen you mask your true feelings and
thoughts in an eort to always appear condent and
successful, others perceive this and may wonder if
you are sincere and genuine.
Self-development activities for Robert:
Deeply explore your inner thoughts, feelings,
and experiences in order to become more genu-
inerst and foremost, be honest with yourself.
It is likely that you have thoughts and feelings that
you are somewhat aware of but do not share with oth-
ers. You may focus on work or activities instead of al-
lowing yourself time to fully experience your feelings.
Spend more time honestly exploring your reactions
so you are more conscious of them every day. Allot
10 to 15 minutes each evening for reviewing the days
events and your feelings about them. When you feel
something during the day, but immediately dive into
work, stop and explore your reactions for 5 minutes.
In addition, dont keep your feelings to yourself; dis-
cuss your emotional reactions with others.
Go more with the ow of events and experi-
ences and become less driven to continuously try
to make things happengo with the ow.
Ask yourself this: Do I really believe that I can make
everything happen if I focus on goals and then plan how
to get there? Will things fall apart if I dont? You may
believe this to be true. However, you can certainly
understand that this belief is both unrealistic and
somewhat grandioseeven if you dont intend gran-
diosity. When you fully grasp the concept that there
is a natural ow and that you cant actually redirect it,
use this realization as a reminder when you go into
hyperdrive. Youll begin to go more with the ow of
events.
Learn the dierence between doing and being,
and appreciate yourself for who you are rather than
for what you dosit still for 10 minutes.
Do this right now. Most Trees cant tolerate the
thought of doing what they dene as nothing and
have little concept of how to sit still for more than
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2009 The Enneagram in Business.
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Visit The Enneagram in Business Public Portal
Join The Enneagram Learning Portal
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Sections include:
Access state-of-the-art approaches and resources for Enneagram business applications
Learn about the Enneagram, its subtleties and dynamics, and how to differentiate between types
Find out how the Enneagram is being applied by topic, industry, and country
View our professional services; meet Senior Members of the Enneagram in Business Network
Go online for books and training tools; register for Train-the-Trainer and other certification programs
Learning Portal Memberships: $150 per year Corporate memberships available
Read Jerry Wagners witty and poignant
description of the polarities of each
style and learn his powerful methods
for psychological integration.
An Enneagram in Depth Highlight
Click two buttons on the Interaction Grid to find out how the 9 styles
interact at work when it is productive and difficult and learn what
you can do to improve general interactions, the manager-employee
relationship, and the performance review.
An Interactions at Work Highlight

Ginger Lapid-Bogda, Ph.D. &

Enneagram Interactions.... .CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
20 october 2009 enneagram monthly
two minutes. If you have this reaction, this activity
is just what you need in order to learn how to be.
Simply sit or stand where you are, and do nothing for
10 minutes. Experience what happens. Do this every
day, and you will discover being rather than doing.
For Howard, an Enneagram Style Six, to
make himself easy to work with.
Others want to work with you because you are prob-
ably
DedicatedPeople can usually count on you to
be dedicated to your work, the customer, and the co-
workers on whom you depend and who depend on
you.
Humorous and cleverIt is likely that you amuse
people with spontaneous insights that allow people to
laugh at human nature and all its foibles. Tis creates
comic relief for challenging situations at work.
LoyalYou consistently demonstrate your loy-
altyto your coworkers, bosses, and the organiza-
tionand show others that they can count on you,
especially in turbulent times.
Team orientedMost Sixes feel that the teams
they are on are more like tribes in which each mem-
ber matters and the team as a whole is greater than
the sum of its parts. Team members can count on you
to put the team rst.
Sincere and approachableYour warmth, un-
derstanding, and sincere desire to engage others with-
out pretense makes others feel they can easily talk to
you about things they might not feel free to discuss
with others.
You can create challenges for others as a result of your
potential to be
Problem focusedAlthough you may work hard
not to come across in a negative way, the fact that you
anticipate problems and issues so readily and then
bring them to discussion quickly can cause others to
perceive you as pessimistic or not suciently future
oriented.
Continually worriedEven when you dont dis-
cuss your concerns with others, they can sense your
worry both by the way you say things and through
your nonverbal signals, such as a furrowed brow. Tis
can aect others in several ways: they can be con-
cerned for you but not know what to do; they can
feel frustrated or impatient if they perceive you as
not moving forward; or they can begin to doubt your
ability to handle situations.
Projecting onto othersYou may not be aware
that you project your own thoughts, feelings, moti-
vations, and concerns onto others, believing these
sometimes incorrectlyto also be those of the other
person. When your projections are armative ones,
others may wonder why you are so overly positive;
when the projections are negative attributes, others
often feel falsely accused.
Highly reactive when concernedYou may
react more quickly to events than other people do.
Others may not have had time to consider their own
responses, yet they still feel they have to address your
reactions immediately. In addition, some of your
strong reactions may feel like overreactions to others.
Doubtful and/or suspiciousYour tendency to
doubt other people, particularly when they perceive
no reason for the questions or speculations you raise,
can cause them to perceive you as unnecessarily suspi-
cious. Suspiciousness often becomes a vicious circle;
you may suspect others and then they in turn wonder
about you, which makes you even more suspicious
of them.
Self development activities for Howard...
Learn to dierentiate between an insight and a
projection (something based on imagination).
Pay close attention to your degree of reactivity.
When you are trying to discern whether something is
a pure projection (something youve created in your
mind) or a true insight (something that is completely
objective and accurate), pay attention to your internal
reactivity. If you are highly emotionally reactive, what
youre experiencing is probably a projection rather
than an insight. If you are not highly emotionally re-
active, it is more likely to be an insight. Ask several
other whom you trustand who are dierent from
youabout their reactions to and interpretations of
events to which you have strong reactions. Compar-
ing their responses and yours can be helpful to you in
dierentiating between an insight and a projection.
However, dont assume that others are correct in their
responses and that you are wrong; simply factor their
responses into your conclusions.
Trust your own inner authority rather than
looking to someone or something outside yourself
for meaning and certainty.
Make a list of 10 things you absolutely know to
be true. Because you probably have a great deal of
insight and wisdom, although you may doubt these
insights when it comes to your own life, it can help if
you make a list of 10 things you absolutely know are
true. Begin by brainstorming 25 items, then review
this list and shorten it to the top 10 items. Put this
list in several places where you can review it daily
e.g., on your computer, by your telephone, and on
the bathroom mirror. Use this list as a guidepost for
your behavior.
Have faith in yourself and in others to be able
to handle whatever occurs.
Anchor your faith in yourself in your body.
Tere have certainly been times when you have made
excellent decisions that have worked exceedingly well.
Select one of these times, remember what you de-
cided and how you acted, then anchor this memory
somewhere in your body (such as your stomach, your
shoulders, or your heart area). Te next time you be-
gin to doubt yourself, put your attention into that
part of your body, remember the experience located
there, and allow this memory to give you more faith
in your capacity to make wise decisions.
Principle 2: Work eectively with individuals of each
style by understanding their reactivity triggers and choos-
ing behaviors that do not trigger negative reactions.
If Robert understood the following triggers that
ignite a Sixs reactivity and then chose to behave in
ways that did not ignite Howards triggers, Robert
and Howard would have a far better working rela-
tionship.
What Robert needs to know about Howard:
Reactivity Triggers for Sixes
Trigger 1: Pressure
Sixes put continuous pressure on themselves to
make things go well, to reduce the potential for prob-
lems, and to keep their commitments. Consequently,
they may perceive any pressure from otherseven a
simple questionas intense pressure, and they may
react with anxiety and/or anger.
What Robert can do to avoid this trigger in Sixes
Phrase requests to Sixes as something you would
like their help with, if they can provide it.
If Sixes respond as though you are pressuring
them, particularly when you are not intending
to do so, honor their feelings and reassure them
that there is plenty of time to consider the is-
sue.
Before discussing non-urgent issues with Sixes,
read their body language. If they appear to be
already feeling stressed, wait for a more oppor-
tune time.
Trigger 2: Lack of genuineness and warmth
Sixes, like the other two Head Center styles (Five
and Seven), have concerns about trust. Sixes, in par-
ticular, sense whether they can trust others based in
part on the other persons genuineness or realness and
his or her interpersonal warmth. Both factors make
Sixes feel safer.
What Robert can do to avoid this trigger in Sixes
Be sincere and honest in your interactions with
Sixes.
Smile, be warm, and use responsive body lan-
guage.
Even if your natural style is not interpersonally
warm, make sure to maintain eye contact with
Sixes, but do so in a receptive rather than overly
direct way.
Trigger 3: Being told theyre imagining some-
thing
Although Sixes can be quite insightful, they can
also create negative scenarios that are based primarily
on their own fears, thoughts, and motivations, pro-
jecting these onto others. While dierentiating be-
If you are highly emotionally reactive,
what youre experiencing is probably a
projection rather than an insight. If you
are not highly emotionally reactive, it is
more likely to be an insight.
While diferentiating between an insight
and a projection can be a challenge for
Sixes themselves, they become defensive
and/or agitated if someone tells them
theyre imagining something.
enneagram monthly october 2009 21
tween an insight and a projection can be a challenge
for Sixes themselves, they become defensive and/
or agitated if someone tells them theyre imagining
something.
What Robert can do to avoid this trigger in Sixes
Never tell Sixes they are imagining something;
instead, ask them for the data behind their per-
ceptions, making sure to do so in a non-accusa-
tory manner.
If Sixes accuse you of doing something you dont
believe you have done, listen to them completely
before you respond, then give them your per-
spective.
When Sixes express a great deal of anxiety and
concern, say, Tat certainly makes sense from
your perspective. Id like to oer some addition-
al thoughts about what might be occurring.
Trigger 4: Lack of commitment and loyalty
Trying to prove that others can count on them,
Sixes make every eort to prove their loyalty and
commitment to their work and personal relationships
as well as to teams on which they participate, to their
bosses, and to their organizations. Sixes look for this
same behavior in others.
What Robert can do to avoid this trigger in Sixes
Make sure your words and actions indicate sup-
port for the team, whether you are a team mem-
ber or a team leader. Explain your intentions
and thoughts before you do something rather
than having to justify them afterward.
Stand up for Sixes when they feel threatened at
work. Tis means making overt, public displays
of supportif you truly feel that wayand pro-
viding support for Sixes behind the scenes, such
as listening or oering advice.
If Sixes accuse you of not being loyal or com-
mitted, nd out exactly what they mean before
defending yourself, then determine whether
there is something you can do to improve the
situation.
Trigger 5: Abusive use of authority
Sixes relate to authority gures with ambivalence,
hoping and expecting that they will keep Sixes and
others protected and safe and simultaneously being
concerned that those with power may wield it in an
abusive manner. Sixes also seek solace and support
from others at work when they perceive powerful in-
dividuals as acting abusively.
What Robert can do to avoid this trigger in Sixes
When a Six wants to discuss concerns about au-
thority with youwhether you are the authority
gure or a coworkerlisten without discount-
ing the Sixs perspective.
When Sixes want you to take action against au-
thority gures whom they consider abusive, be
clear about what you think, feel, and are willing
or unwilling to do. Sixes prefer this clarity to being
promised support that is then not forthcoming.
Realize that when Sixes are concerned about
abuse, they are likely feeling highly anxious.
Help them reduce their anxiety by aiding them
in understanding alternative, and equally legiti-
mate, perspectivesif there are anyand help-
ing them to consider various options for action,
some of which do not entail either passive with-
drawal or confrontational action.
If Howard understood the following triggers that
ignite a Trees reactivity and then chose to behave
in ways that did not ignite Roberts triggers, Howard
and Robert would have a far better working relation-
ship.
What Howard needs to know about Robert:
Reactivity Triggers for Threes
Being in a position of potential failure
Trees focus on reaching goals, achieving success,
and avoiding failure. When they feel they may be in a
situation where failure is looming, they go into over-
drive, try to circumvent the situation to prevent it
from occurring, and/or become anxious and angry.
What Howard can do to avoid this trigger in Trees
IIf the Trees work product or results are in any
way dependent on your work product or any be-
havior on your part, make sure that your work is
of good quality and that your behavior supports
the Trees success.
IListen to the Trees concerns about work or
work relationships, and help them problem-
solve when issues arise.
IAvoid discussing failures; frame concerns as
ways to achieve better results or to become more
ecient and eective.
Not looking good professionally
Trees not only want to be successful, but they
also want to appear that way. Tey work very hard
to appear self-condent and professional; they try to
make it look easy even when they are actually putting
forth a great deal of eort. Trees become quite agi-
tated when they believe their image is being tarnished
and like to be around others who appear condent
and professional, believing that this reects positively
on them.
What Howard can do to avoid this trigger in Trees
INever embarrass Trees in public. Ask them
challenging questions and give them feedback
when others are not present.
IIf you work with or for a Tree, or if a Tree
works for you, make sure you maintain a profes-
sional image at all times and keep your compo-
sure under duress.
IWhen Trees share concerns or anxieties with
you, take this as a sign of respect, listen closely,
and oer support and ideas to help them prob-
lem solve.
Being blamed for the poor work of others
Because Trees abhor failure, they will do what-
ever is necessary to make their work eorts success-
ful. Tis includes redoing the work of others that is
sub-par, which they resent but do anyway. However,
in situations where they end up being blamed for
the inferior work of others, they become very dis-
tressed.
What Howard can do to avoid this trigger in Trees
IIf you are on a team with a Tree, do everything
you can to achieve an excellent work product.
IIf you manage Trees, try to make sure they
work with others who are highly competent and
motivated. Make certain you know what work
Trees have done as opposed to what others have
done, and communicate this to third parties.
IIf you have a Tree manager, make sure your
work is good and also that it looks good. Your
Tree manager will perceive your work as a re-
ection on him or her.
Not receiving credit for work they have done
Trees like to be acknowledged for what they have
done. Tis does not mean they want excessive ap-
plause or eusive accolades in public. Tey just want
to know they have done well and that others respect
them for it. When this does not occur, they can be-
come very de-motivated.
What Howard can do to avoid this trigger in Trees
ITell Trees you appreciate their work, whether
you are their manager, peer, or subordinate.
ITe more specifc you can be about what the
Tree did and the eect of his or her behavior,
without going into excessive detail, the more the
Tree will appreciate what you say.
IMake sure you dont take credit or give some-
one else credit for work the Tree has done.
Having to discuss emotional issues at length
Although Trees are one of the three Heart Cen-
ter styles (along with Twos and Fours), they dont like
to dwell on emotions at length, whether the feelings
are theirs or anothers. Discussing emotions at length
distracts them from their work and goal focus, even if
lengthier discussions might be benecial for them or
the other person.
What Howard can do to avoid this trigger in Trees
IDiscuss emotional issues when Trees are not
overworked or exhausted.
ITink through beforehand what you want to
discuss so you will be focused during the discus-
sion: keep the agenda shortunless they want
to extend the time -- and emphasize practical
solutions.
ITry not to do anything that could elicit in
Trees the feeling that they have done some-
thing terribly wrong. Use a problem-solving ap-
proach framed in terms of making things better
rather than if pointing out what is wrong.
Principle 3: Understand the predictable work dy-
namics between the styles, and engage in behaviors that
enhance these relationships.
If both Robert, a Three, and Howard, a Six,
understood the predictable relationship
dynamics between Threes and Sixes as
well as how to enhance these relationships,
Howard and Robert would have a far better
working relationship.
When Threes and Sixes Work Well Together
Trees and Sixes at work often have complex rela-
22 october 2009 enneagram monthly
tionships. Because Trees and Sixes are on arrow lines
to each other on the Enneagram, it is quite common
for Trees to have a number of Enneagram style
Six characteristics and vice versa. Tis movement
although it doesnt change the basic or core char-
acteristics of their types, it simply provides possible
new dimensions to the personalityenables Trees
and Sixes to understand each other well and to also
appreciate one another. For example, Trees often
cite their respect for the insight, thoughtfulness, and
depth of Six coworkers, and Sixes frequently have re-
spect and admiration for the ability of many Trees
to appear so at ease and condent and to take action
so readily. Most often, when Trees show movement
to incorporate some aspects of style Six, they tend
to become more incisive in their thinking and ver-
bal expression, more focused on the importance of
teaming, and more expressive of their anxiety when
they feel it, something they typically try hard to not
display. Most typically, when Sixes show movement
to incorporate some aspect of style Tree, they tend
to appear more condent, goal-focused, and results-
driven, which provides an antidote to their tendency
to analyze excessively before taking action.
Trees and Sixes can also appreciate one anoth-
ers humor, with the Trees humor, which focuses
on emergent topics, being bolder or more direct in
nature, and the Sixs humor being more cerebral,
caustic, and oblique. While Trees tend to be most
amusing when they are relaxed or slightly tired
otherwise they tend to be more serious or become
sarcasticSixes tend to be funniest when they are
slightly stressed and somewhat frustrated, using hu-
mor as a way of blowing o steam. Both Trees and
Sixes tend to make jokes about human interactions,
specic individuals, or the existential nature of being
human, so their content areas overlap and support a
mutually enjoyable relationship.
Trouble Spots between Threes and Sixes
Trees and Sixes can also have a volatile relation-
ship, one that may not be immediately apparent
even to them. Although they can admire and enjoy
one another, at the same time, they can experience
one another as troubling and/or annoying. In many
instances, their response to each other triggers some-
thing deep inside them that they believe at rst has
everything to do with the other person and little to
do with themselves.
Trees, consciously and unconsciously, make a
concerted eort to appear condent, successful, at
ease, and optimistic, trying to cover or hide feelings
of anxiety, stress, and uncertainty. In addition, their
results orientation creates a forward movement in
them that has them generally assume there will be
few obstacles in their path and when these arise, they
can be dealt with at that time. Sixes, by contrast, are
advance problem-solvers, creating anticipatory sce-
nariossometimes instantaneous ones and at other
times, through a more extended analytical process.
Teir proclivity is to plan in advance in order to re-
move so they can feel prepared. Sixes want to be able
to choose the best path or to clear the way to achiev-
ing the desired outcomes, and this is not something
they can easily hide from others. In fact, Sixes often
verbalize their thought processes and even when they
are less vocal about them, their concerns and inner
reactions to their anticipatory planning often shows
in their behaviorfor example, not wanting to move
to action before these concerns have been discussed,
the appearance of tension on their faces through a
furrowed brow, tense facial muscles, or concern in
their eyes. Its not that Trees are never anxious; they
are but they purposely hide it. Its not that Sixes arent
successful or condent; they simply use anticipatory
planning as the road to success and their questioning
orientation can make them appear uncertain.
All of this is to say that Trees can become quite
irritated with what they perceive as the Sixes cant
do attitude. Trees often interpret the questioning
as holding them back. In addition, because Trees
work hard to hide their own anxiety, they can be-
come incredulous at why someone else might not be
so concerned about their public image and keep their
concerns to themselves. Te other side of this is how
Sixes can perceive Trees. Sixes, who tend to appear
very human, including showing both their foibles
and their strengths, can perceive Trees as disingen-
uous and supercial, and, therefore, untrustworthy.
Trust is as essential to Sixes in work relationships as
appearing successful and associating with condent
people is to Trees. Tus, both Trees and Sixes can
dislike in the other the areas in which they have not
acknowledged or fully developed themselves.
How Threes and Sixes can enhance their
Relationship
Trees can work to be more forthcoming with
Sixes about their own anxieties and Sixes can work
on stating their concerns in a more action oriented
mannerfor example, rather than raising something
in the negative, they can say the same idea with a so-
lution attached. Instead of a Six saying, What if we
dont have the money to fund such a project?, Sixes
can say, money could be a concern, but we could
fund the project in this way.
Trees and Sixes can learn to recognize the dy-
namic between them that could deteriorate into a
negative spiral. Te more Trees push forward with-
out considering various obstacles, the more Sixes
feel a need to articulate them. Te more Sixes raise
concerns, the more Trees feel compelled to move
forward. However, when Trees begin to name ob-
stacles early on and when Sixes make suggestions
about moving forward, the dynamic between them
becomes synergistic rather than combative.
Trees and Sixes can learn a great deal from emulat-
ing one another, and these areas of development make
both individuals more eective. Trees can learn how
to access their insights from Sixes, simply by watching
how they do it and then spending more time analyz-
ing situations. Sixes can learn how to move beyond
their tendency to analyze situations in great detail
and move to action more quickly by emulating how
Trees focus on precise goals, then plan against these
goals and not against every possible contingency.
Summary
Robert and Howard can use the Enneagram to
resolve their own interpersonal issues, for their own
good and for the benet of the rm. Because Robert
and Howard work in dierent legal areas of specialty
in the rm, their direct managerscalled practice
leaderscan also use the Enneagram to understand
both the interactions between Robert and Howard
and then how to coach each of these lawyers to im-
prove the relationship. In addition, the practice lead-
ers can use Interactions at Work on Te Enneagram
Learning Portal to understand the dynamics of their
own Enneagram styles with Robert and Howard in
the manager-employee relationship and during the
performance review, should they need to raise these
issues during that time.
__________
Ginger Lapid-Bogda, Ph.D., has worked as a
consultant, trainer, and coach for over 35 years and
is the author of three Enneagram-business books:
Bringing Out the Best in Yourself at Work, What Type
of Leader Are You? and her latest book, Bringing Out
the Best in Everyone You Coach (November, 2009).
In addition, she has certied over 500 profession-
als worldwide; provides state-of-the-art Enneagram-
business training materials available in multiple
languages; and conducts both Train-the-Trainer
programs and a coaching certicate program. Te
EnneagraminBusiness.com provides comprehensive
Enneagram-business information as well as e-learn-
ing opportunities on the Enneagram Learning Portal.
ginger@theEnneagramInBusiness.com.
Threes and Sixes understand and appre-
ciate one another. For example, Threes
often cite their respect for the insight,
thoughtfulness, and depth of Six co-
workers, and Sixes frequently have re-
spect and admiration for the ability of
many Threes to appear so at ease and
confdent and to take action so readily.
Threes appear confdent, and optimistic,
trying to hide feelings of uncertainty.
Sixes, by contrast, are advance problem-
solvers, creating anticipatory scenari-
osinstantaneous ones or through a
more extended analytical process.
The more Threes push forward without
considering various obstacles, the more
Sixes feel a need to articulate them. The
more Sixes raise concerns, the more
Threes feel compelled to move forward.
enneagram monthly october 2009 23
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