Blog Articles About The Enneagram
Enneagram Stereotype - Type 7's are happy
The Epicure, The Enthusiast, The Adventurer, The Visionary, The Dreamer, The Joyful Person and The Futurist are all labels used by authors to describe Enneatype 7. The common thread seems to point to someone with a positive anticipation of the future that seeks out new and exciting possibilities. Does this approach to life lead to happiness or an endless pursuit of happiness?
President George W. Bush's Enneagram Type
People tend to type President George W. Bush as some combination of 6, 7, 8 or 9. Let's take a look at each of these Enneagram personality types to see why people may type him as they do.
Enneagram Stereotype - Type 2's are helpful
"The Helper" is by far the most popular label given to Enneagram type 2 by the Enneagram authors, yet all nine types are helpful in their own way. In his book Ennea-Type Structures, Claudio Naranjo gets closer to the reality when he labels Ennea-type II as Egocentric Generosity. He goes on to describe the seductiveness of type 2 in this way.
Enneagram Stereotype - Type 5's don't have feelings
Don't confuse emotional expression and feelings. Lack of emotional expression on the surface can belie a richness of feelings within. Just because someone doesn't want you to see their feelings, don't assume they have none or that they're not very aware of them. Sometimes the most emotionally expressive people are those least in touch with their feelings.
We Have All 3 Centers, Not Just One
Generally, a person is identified as body-based, heart-based or head-based depending on their enneatype and which center that enneatype is in. Are we just body, heart or head or are we all three? The answer seems obvious to me.
Michael Jackson - Enneagram Personality Type 4w3
Michael Jackson's personality can easily be understood by two themes traced back to his childhood: a childhood that demanded focus on performance excellence and a childhood lost because of it. Together they help describe his personality as an Enneagram type 4 with a 3 wing (4w3).
Martin Luther King, Jr. - Enneagram Type 8w9
Without justice there can be no peace...
- Martin Luther King Jr.
I can think of no more succinct way to describe the Enneagram 8 with a 9 wing style than the above quote by Martin Luther King, Jr. - type 9's desire for peace and type 8's desire for justice.
Enneagram Stereotype - Type 9's are Pushovers
Enneatype 9 is often described as "going with the flow", "not rocking the boat", "going along to get along." It's said that when pushed too far they can become stubborn and "dig their heels in." What could possibly underlie this sort of behavior?
Enneagram Stereotype - Type 6's are Fearful
The Enneatype 6 is most often described as the "fearful" type. Some people identifying as type 6 don't necessarily identify with this fearful aspect. Seems the adjustment to the label was to describe a "counter-phobic" type vs. a "phobic" type. Perhaps the label of this as a "fearful" type is missing the mark.
What exactly is the Enneagram?
I've found the Enneagram to be two very different things.
- A symbol used in the Gurdjieff tradition to understand universal processes.
- A system of nine personality types which takes the Enneagram symbol as its logo.
It's strange how often the two differences get mixed up into one.
