What is your Enneagram Type?

Hello all, have any of you ever heard of the Enneagram Personality Typology? The Enneagram is a personality system which groups individuals into one of nine types. It is a system I have used for much of my personal growth.

The core of the Enneagram is to describe the primary focus of an individual's personality structure (their ego) and how each person's particular focus of attention causes them to look at and react to the world in a particular way. It is often used by Christian organizations to help practitioners understand what about their personality gets in the way of them connecting with God. On a practical level it helps individuals understand their particular fixations and how habits of mind can lead to particular frustrations in life.

One of the premises of the Enneagram is how we look at the world is often a habit. That our reactions are by default and we often make decisions unconscious of these patterns. And, by making the same decisions over and over we reinforce our world view and this often brings us problems.

The Enneagram helps us understand our habits of mind and helps us realize our way of looking at the world is not the only way of looking at the world, from a very basic emotional level. If we can monitor how we look at the world, through an awareness of our habits of mind, we can uncover new ways of viewing things and maybe relieve stress for ourselves.

Let me break it down to a personal level. My Enneagram Type is a Four. Four's basic personality focus is on envy, or what is missing in life. Fours from birth believed there was something missing in themselves, that they lacked something inside themselves that everyone else has.

They often fear that they have no identity or personal significance and therefore, in order to reinforce their personal significance they embrace individualism and are often profoundly creative and intuitive.

They are often on a quest to figure out every internal emotion and motivation, thinking if they can figure out what's wrong they can fix what's missing. They like to be special and often will seek attention or love to fill up inside themselves what they feel is missing.

As humans are prone to do Fours reflect their own insecurities on the world and see in everything else what is missing - their mates don't give them enough love, their city isn't cool enough, their job doesn't have enough meaning. Really, it's all about them and what is going on inside of them.

You can probably see there are downsides to this and in order to grow Fours need to realize they don't have to do anything to be special. Fours need to realize they are whole and holy just like everyone else.

When Fours shift their view and open their eyes to new perspectives they realize they have everything they need. They are enough, their spouses and friends are enough, etc. At their best Fours help others realize their specialness and place in this world.

Fours at their best use their deep understanding for emotions (which they have built during their quest to find their place in the world) to help others understand themselves. Their specialness becomes authentic, just part of who they are, not forced.

For me, realizing these things about myself, as a Type Four on the Enneagram, has helped me with a lot of growth and struggles. It has helped me to see the world as more good, more complete and myself as part of the goodness and completeness of the world. It has helped me realize my wholeness.

Some of you by this point are probably thinking you didn't realize Lori's middle son was such a wacko! Some of you already knew that and might be a little intrigued by the Enneagram. It is not a cult, it is not something to put you in a box, it is something to help you understand yourself and others and maybe help you through frustrations in life.

If you are interested in learning more about it check out these sites:

• http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/ This one has a free sorter and is probably the simplest of all the sites and most clear to understand.
• http://www.9types.com/ If you use this one, make sure to click on the Type Descriptions, the diagrams can be a little confusing.
• http://www.enneagramcentral.com/index.htm This one is new to me, but looks like it might have some interesting information.

You can also just do a Google search. Also note if you take one of the indicator tests that it might come out and say, "You are this type, but you could be this type too." Make sure to review both types to see which really fits.

While I presented sort of a deeper theoretical approach, it doesn't have to be that deep and can just be a good topic of conversation and understanding. I would love if anyone takes it to share it with the whole group or just share it with me!