Enneagram

So I am compelled to confess that after Jane asked the excellent question about the research behind the enneagram, half of me was off to the internet to find the answer while the other half stayed focused on the call - and I noticed that I missed some of the important pieces of the conversation and so I commit to not doing that again - will turn my computer OFF (or at least turn it to the wall).

So it is not a robustly validated instrument - though there have been two completed studies to date (at least) with one underway.  The research is listed on the enneagram website:  www.enneagraminstitute.com.  I am going to do a summary of the research and will post it on this site.  Meanwhile, I have signed up for "the inner critic" for October 3-5 in the Catskills and am planning on doing part 1 of the training (like L1 in strozzi, required for certification) in Minneapolis in November.

Where I am with the enneagram generally:  I am seeing it as a useful lens to understand my own personality and that of those I coach (not deep into using it yet as a coaching tool - the book Deep Coaching a resource that I just purchased).  As I mentioned, I am finding the shadow stuff particularly useful in the enneagram and am seeing better how I am seeing, what assumptions I am making - particularly about anger, which is a quality that I detest and deny in myself which is real and powerful and I am (finally?) about to accept and hold as true of me.  (I am a 1, 2, 3 - a two with strong 1 and 3 wings).  As with anything developmental, when we fundamentally question what we see the whole world becomes shaky and unformed for a bit before it reforms into something new, and that seems to be where I am.  I will keep you posted on the research and the connection with the enneagram and the somatics - the tests for the enneagram are on the site and in addition to Deep Coaching the other good resource is The Wisdom of the Enneagram.

Great to talk with all last night, looking forward to posting more and continuing the conversation!