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Crimson
Member
Canada
403 Posts |
 Posted - 24 Mar 2012 : 03:33:10 AM
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Here's a question for you all -- Where and how were you taught the Enneagram? And is there anything that was unique about it?
I learned it in a religion class back when I was in grade twelve. It was done in a Catholic context, but I don't think the religious elements of the class detract from what the Enneagram is about.
I was taught that the first major point of the Enneagram, is that the personality is a defence mechanism, and that each personality type revolves around an avoidance. Furthermore, for that person to grow, they must move against their Enneagram arrow.
And lastly, this probably isn't of my own lesson learned in school, but I contend that people only have one personality type, which means I don't buy into any of this tri type stuff.
Your experiences? Thoughts? |
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Sinking
Member
USA
397 Posts |
Posted - 24 Mar 2012 : 03:38:11 AM
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My friend mentioned it to me, so I taught myself using books. I probably learned more from eidb to be honest.
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A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. It don't make any difference who the guy is, so long as he's with you. I tell ya... I tell ya a guy gets too lonely, and he gets sick. |
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lovemyth
Member
USA
2934 Posts |
Posted - 24 Mar 2012 : 03:54:58 AM
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i read it in a book.
no um. the whole story. i picked up a used book at a college book sale. it was cut! horror writers on horror film (highly recommended).
in it was an essay about the film...some film or another that turned out to totally suck. but anyway she or he interpreted the entre movie in jungian terms. so i got fascinated with this thing- jung in general. then from there i went MBTI and from there the enneagram.
i learned it on the internet and in books. various sites and these boardies as well as boardies i never knew who's posts will last forever in virtual world, or until the site cancels thier uh servers or whatevr.books. mostly r+h some palmer and naranjo. some other things to out there that weren;t too noteable. take a bunch of information and mash it up and see what we come up with.
so that's how i learned. i actually think you are the only person i know who was taught it through school. which musta been interesting
oh tri-type. i'm not into it. yet anyway. maybe i will. maybe i won't.as far as i understand it at this point it just seems coloring to me. like the energy threads. descriptors and so on. but maybe i am wrong. i also don;t really necessarily believe in the enneagrm itself. so i already don;t necessarily take any of this as seriously as some others might. interesting possibility though. interesting interpretation.
-beeotchy for fun and profit-
current lololo8 status:
do you like my eyebrows? they are very grieco. |
Edited by - lovemyth on 24 Mar 2012 04:00:59 AM |
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Crimson
Member
Canada
403 Posts |
Posted - 24 Mar 2012 : 04:05:13 AM
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One of the big reasons why I took this religion class in school, was because it was held on one full Sunday a month, and in exchange, we would get spares the rest of the time. The full days were needed so that we could group work, and share it with the rest of the class.
We mostly worked out of the Maria Beesing book, which I still believe to be the best Enneagram book out there.
I learned more about the human mind in these four sundays, than I did in all my years in university. |
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lovemyth
Member
USA
2934 Posts |
Posted - 24 Mar 2012 : 04:27:40 AM
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how do they combine the religious teaching with the enneagrm? i always thought that was interesting that some mainline religion brings into it this. they do that or the other opposite which is the ennegarm is the devil- or don;t note it at all. never read beesing. are you seeing major crossover or opposition to what you've learned?
does the background you have orient you towards a spiritual view?
-beeotchy for fun and profit-
current lololo8 status:
do you like my eyebrows? they are very grieco. |
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Stormy
Member
United Kingdom
15282 Posts |
Posted - 24 Mar 2012 : 04:37:30 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Crimson
Here's a question for you all -- Where and how were you taught the Enneagram? And is there anything that was unique about it?
This topic has some responses:
So, what piqued YOUR interest?
- [Stormy] |
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sunny
Member
USA
9393 Posts |
Posted - 24 Mar 2012 : 1:00:40 PM
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I read Don Riso's book back in the '80s and read everything I could find for the next 20 or so years (by different authors). When I discovered on line forums I started attending workshops and participating on-line.
So, the way I see the E is a result of learning/experiencing as much as I can, and synthesizing it. It's been a 6ish process.
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Edited by - sunny on 24 Mar 2012 1:02:55 PM |
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Sinking
Member
USA
397 Posts |
Posted - 24 Mar 2012 : 2:22:52 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by JoL
I read Don Riso's book back in the '80s and read everything I could find for the next 20 or so years (by different authors). When I discovered on line forums I started attending workshops and participating on-line.
So, the way I see the E is a result of learning/experiencing as much as I can, and synthesizing it. It's been a 6ish process.
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How long did it take for you to realize your type?
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A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. It don't make any difference who the guy is, so long as he's with you. I tell ya... I tell ya a guy gets too lonely, and he gets sick. |
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sunny
Member
USA
9393 Posts |
Posted - 24 Mar 2012 : 2:31:27 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Sinking
quote:
Originally posted by JoL
I read Don Riso's book back in the '80s and read everything I could find for the next 20 or so years (by different authors). When I discovered on line forums I started attending workshops and participating on-line.
So, the way I see the E is a result of learning/experiencing as much as I can, and synthesizing it. It's been a 6ish process.
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How long did it take for you to realize your type?
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A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. It don't make any difference who the guy is, so long as he's with you. I tell ya... I tell ya a guy gets too lonely, and he gets sick.
I thought I was a 4 for more than 20 years.
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Sinking
Member
USA
397 Posts |
Posted - 24 Mar 2012 : 2:33:37 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by JoL
quote:
Originally posted by Sinking
quote:
Originally posted by JoL
I read Don Riso's book back in the '80s and read everything I could find for the next 20 or so years (by different authors). When I discovered on line forums I started attending workshops and participating on-line.
So, the way I see the E is a result of learning/experiencing as much as I can, and synthesizing it. It's been a 6ish process.
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How long did it take for you to realize your type?
--------
A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. It don't make any difference who the guy is, so long as he's with you. I tell ya... I tell ya a guy gets too lonely, and he gets sick.
I thought I was a 4 for more than 20 years.
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What made you change your mind? I'm curious because I thought I was a 4 too.
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A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. It don't make any difference who the guy is, so long as he's with you. I tell ya... I tell ya a guy gets too lonely, and he gets sick. |
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sunny
Member
USA
9393 Posts |
Posted - 24 Mar 2012 : 5:45:03 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Sinking
quote:
Originally posted by JoL
quote:
Originally posted by Sinking
quote:
Originally posted by JoL
I read Don Riso's book back in the '80s and read everything I could find for the next 20 or so years (by different authors). When I discovered on line forums I started attending workshops and participating on-line.
So, the way I see the E is a result of learning/experiencing as much as I can, and synthesizing it. It's been a 6ish process.
-----------------------
How long did it take for you to realize your type?
--------
A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. It don't make any difference who the guy is, so long as he's with you. I tell ya... I tell ya a guy gets too lonely, and he gets sick.
I thought I was a 4 for more than 20 years.
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What made you change your mind? I'm curious because I thought I was a 4 too.
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A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. It don't make any difference who the guy is, so long as he's with you. I tell ya... I tell ya a guy gets too lonely, and he gets sick.
It was a process, but included sitting on a 4 panel...where I noticed I was not like the others, meeting with a couple of teachers, and participating in forums.
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Crimson
Member
Canada
403 Posts |
Posted - 24 Mar 2012 : 6:48:59 PM
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The stuff I learned just tended to reference a lot of scripture. What may or may not be as a result of religion, was the emphasis on how people need to use the Enneagram for change and personal growth, and to see where a person's flaws affect their thinking.
I find that a lot of other Enneagram books tend to be shallow, and not foccus on how a person needs to grow. |
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lovemyth
Member
USA
2934 Posts |
Posted - 24 Mar 2012 : 7:58:15 PM
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there are cooperation books (how to deal with other types) and also basic characteristic sorta tomes but there is a lot of self help psychology stuff. also a lot of straight spirituality stuff.
-beeotchy for fun and profit-
current lololo8 status:
do you like my eyebrows? they are very grieco. |
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Narc
Member
1205 Posts |
Posted - 24 Mar 2012 : 8:16:48 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by JoL
I thought I was a 4 for more than 20 years.
quote:
Originally posted by Sinking
What made you change your mind? I'm curious because I thought I was a 4 too.
quote:
Originally posted by JoL
It was a process, but included sitting on a 4 panel...where I noticed I was not like the others, meeting with a couple of teachers, and participating in forums.
That's a fourish thing to say... And most likely the others sitting on the 4 panel were not 4's.
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pinecone
Member
576 Posts |
Posted - 24 Mar 2012 : 9:18:09 PM
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| I learned about it from my mom when I was in high school ... but for years, I thought I was a 4. |
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Desdemona
Member
USA
15358 Posts |
Posted - 26 Mar 2012 : 11:18:17 AM
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I also thought I was a 4 at first. Then, when I identified as 7, I thought 7w8.
I was introduced to the E by a friend, at which point I started reading about it and attended a workshop, then was introduced to the EIDB by the same friend, and I've been here ever since.
7w6cp Sx/sp
ENFP
Dramatic/Mercurial/Idiosyncratic Style
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sunny
Member
USA
9393 Posts |
Posted - 26 Mar 2012 : 1:34:31 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Narc
quote:
Originally posted by JoL
I thought I was a 4 for more than 20 years.
quote:
Originally posted by Sinking
What made you change your mind? I'm curious because I thought I was a 4 too.
quote:
Originally posted by JoL
It was a process, but included sitting on a 4 panel...where I noticed I was not like the others, meeting with a couple of teachers, and participating in forums.
That's a fourish thing to say... And most likely the others sitting on the 4 panel were not 4's.
To clarify: they were (mostly) 4s. I was different from the 4s on that panel.
I'm not different from others in general in the same way that I was different from the 4s I've met.
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Crimson
Member
Canada
403 Posts |
Posted - 26 Mar 2012 : 3:35:36 PM
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| At the risk of sounding like a jerk, but if you thought you were a certain type for YEARS, then you probably didn't learn the Enneagram right for a long time. |
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pinecone
Member
576 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2012 : 12:55:58 AM
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Are you talking to me Crimson? If you are, you're right, I didn't. I initially stuck with the "baby" literature (R + H, no Almaas or Gurdgieff), though I did occasionally pick up better info from the adults around me at the time (my mom, her best friend, and my Godmother (who worked for Palmer in the very early days and remains a close friend)). If anything, I was tacitly encouraged to be lazy about it ... there was always a bit of snobbery in my family related to the fact that "we" had "a real Palmer connection" from the very beginning--unlike "those" wanna-be Middle Americans/East Coasters/foreigners who get their California "Bay Area" New Age spiritualism 5th-hand (whenever they can scrape together enough cash to escape whatever schitthole they live in and go on a retreat in "our backyard"). The message was: "noodle around for as long as you like, pretend you're a four, whatever ... worst comes to worst we could always call Helen." So yeah, I was lazy. Really lazy. Really, really, lazy. And spoiled. I'm trying to make up for lost time now. 
But also, when I say "years," I don't mean that I was steeped in the tradition and lofty enneagrammatic self-inquiry every day. There were also years, many years, when I just didn't consider the enneagram at all. I don't think I gave it a second thought when I was in college, for example. |
Edited by - pinecone on 27 Mar 2012 01:17:03 AM |
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sunny
Member
USA
9393 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2012 : 01:35:29 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Crimson
At the risk of sounding like a jerk, but if you thought you were a certain type for YEARS, then you probably didn't learn the Enneagram right for a long time.
Yes. Everything I knew was from reading books initially. Also, I have always tested as a 4, but that's because of my instinct stacking (sx/sp) which is 4ish.
For that reason I see the instincts as being important to learn about in order to avoid mistyping.
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Edited by - sunny on 27 Mar 2012 01:40:51 AM |
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Crimson
Member
Canada
403 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2012 : 02:13:31 AM
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Pinecone - I was talking to JOL.
Maybe I just lucked out in how I learned the Enneagram. I remember going through a test, and finding that my scores were high for two of the types. I had a talk with my teacher, who probed further. But I knew which type I was, when in class, my teacher listed the unhealthy tendencies of the types, and that's where I saw myself. |
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sunny
Member
USA
9393 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2012 : 02:28:46 AM
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Some people are more difficult to type than others. For example, when there has been extreme trauma in childhood, when there is a strong wing, or when the instincts and E-type are at odds, it won't be as clear.
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.ron4
Member
11625 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2012 : 02:44:19 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Crimson
At the risk of sounding like a jerk, but if you thought you were a certain type for YEARS, then you probably didn't learn the Enneagram right for a long time.
Good point.
I was recommended the Enneagram by R&H and knew my type the first day of reading
and I knew nothing about the instincts at that point. I learned everything from the books
and discussing the "E" here on the board.
The enneagram has always struck me as something christian in its approach for change
for self good and spiritual growth.
Ron, type 4
"If you wanna make the world a better place take a look at yourself and make a change". |
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Crimson
Member
Canada
403 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2012 : 04:18:04 AM
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Childhood trauma would probably make it easier to explain why somebody is a certain type, since personality is a defense mechanism.
It's not that some personalities are harder to type. It's that you just need to learn how to do it right. |
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the_imperfectionist
Member
Ireland
31 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2012 : 07:22:14 AM
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I worked with a girl who was studying organizational psychology and she used me as her guinea pig which I loved! She introduced me to Myers-Briggs, the Insights Discovery Profile (I guess that's also Myers-Briggs?) and the Enneagram. The latter was the only one that really made me feel exposed  so I became facinated. I did the Tritype test but felt it wasn't me at all.
Enneagram Type 1w2
Self Pres/Sexual
INTJ |
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Sinking
Member
USA
397 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2012 : 11:35:21 AM
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In my opinion unhealthy people are easier to type, because they fall into obvious patterns.
Type is a big contributer too. 9 is hardest to type, while 8 is usually easy.
Is it easier to find type, or instinct?
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A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. It don't make any difference who the guy is, so long as he's with you. I tell ya... I tell ya a guy gets too lonely, and he gets sick. |
Edited by - Sinking on 27 Mar 2012 11:43:11 AM |
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The Way You Were Taught The Enneagram
