Sometimes my life feels like it’s divided into various halves. There’s life before my father died, and life after my father died. Another perspective is my life before I became a dad myself, and my life ever since. And yet another angle is life before I dove deeply into the Enneagram, and life ever since.
“The Enneagram Is not a tool for self-absorption, but instead is a map for self-liberation,” Christopher Heuertz writes in his book, The Sacred Enneagram. “The sacred map isn’t fatalistic, it’s not deterministic, it’s not a horoscope or predetermined course that doesn’t allow for a personalized twist. It’s a compassionate sketch of possibilities and opportunities.”
Take your own journey along this sacred map, and you’ll discover, as I have, the additional clarity it provides on why you think, say, and act in certain situations; and those abounding possibilities referenced by Heuertz in the quote above.
For example, as an Enneagram Type 4 with a 3 “wing,” I have a tendency to both believe that I’m somehow unique or special and that something is missing, that something is inherently wrong with me. It’s not a fun paradox for daily living!
I didn’t have as much perspective on this ingrained behavior until I began studying the Enneagram, which also reinforced my abilities to be creative, disciplined, emotionally balanced, and self-renewing. The sacred map illuminates the worst and the best of me, coupled with fresh insights about what habits to cultivate and which ones to starve in order to live most of my remaining years bringing out the best.
Learn Your “Type”
Check out the Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator (RHETI v2.5) if you’ve never taken an Enneagram assessment. It’s a great starting point.
But remember that no personality “test” can ever fully describe you, but the Enneagram will give you more than enough insight and prodding to help you continue to grow in self-awareness and joy.
For some examples on the Enneagram in action, check out this series of posts on mindfulness that incorporates the Enneagram.
