WHAT IS THE ENNEAGRAM?
The Enneagram is a an ancient tool with some origins in several traditions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and more). At its base level, it’s a personality typing tool, but unlike others such as the Myers-Briggs, Strengths Finder, or DISC Profile, it doesn’t test or measure how you do tasks. Rather, it helps to describe your personality and how you were uniquely made by God. The Enneagram helps us understand how we, individually, relate to God, ourselves, and others. It’s a tool often used in spiritual direction to determine gifts, weaknesses, core struggles and dominant emotions. It helps us understand why we respond the way we do when we are healthy and unhealthy, when we are joyful and when we are stressed.
The Enneagram is a tool we can use to identify our false and true selves - or how we uniquely bear the burdens of sin and how we uniquely bear God’s image to the world. The Enneagram helps us turn away from the false self and become more of who God made us, and intended us to be.
There are nine types in the Enneagram, all identified by numbers 1 through 9. If you are not sure about your Enneagram type and would like to learn more, your spiritual director can help you investigate the nine types and aid you in your discernment.
Like most everything, the Enneagram is only a tool. There’s no inherent, divine power in the Enneagram - it is not the Gospel, nor is it God. It’s just a tool provided to us to help us understand ourselves better and to propel our spiritual formation. Many people have connected with this tool and have found it helpful in their formation, but others don’t resonate with it as much. There is no pressure to use the Enneagram, specifically in Direction, one way or another.
HOW DOES THE ENNEAGRAM WORK IN SPIRITUAL DIRECTION?
Each of the nine Enneagram types have specific strengths, weaknesses, lies they believe about themselves, truths they need to hear, and practices (or spiritual habits) that can help them connect better with God.
Once your Enneagram type is identified, your spiritual director can often provide you with more tailor-made spiritual practices for you to incorporate into your daily life that can help facilitated a better connection with God and deeper transformation into the image of Christ. Those practices may used during the direction sessions themselves.
I WANT TO KNOW MY ENNEAGRAM TYPE, WHERE DO I START?
That’s exciting! Even once you find your type, the Enneagram is a lifelong journey of discovery.
There are lots of “tests” you can take, many of them are online. But one of the most thorough and sustaining ways of discovering your Enneagram type is with a companion on your journey — a spiritual director.
If you ask most directors, they’d tell you the online tests are fine and can be an okay starting point, but the best way to start is to prayerfully and quietly read about each of the types, and see what God might be saying to you about each type. This is where the director comes in. Spiritual directors are trained to come alongside you and help you discern the voice of God and help facilitate that connection. With the help of a director who’s familiar and trained in the Enneagram, you will likely have a better chance of finding your type, and avoid mis-typing yourself.
If you’d like to meet about finding your Enneagram type, or would just like to learn more about your type and how it can help you in your spiritual journey, just click below to book an appointment!