Category : PULSE Enneagram

BEACHs, PULSE Conversations, PULSE Enneagram, Social Exchange, UVI PULSE webinars
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Wednesday’s UVI-PULSE Webinar

This week on Wednesday I will be doing a webinar for the University of the Virgin Islands. You can register on their website.  UVI-PULSE.  This week I am going to talk more about the nine different approaches to the world that can be learned by studying the Enneagram.

I think it will be of interest to anyone who wants to develop their understanding of the nine positions on the Enneagram circle and how you can use the PULSE grid to find out where someone is at the moment.  I will also talk about how you can predict where they might go and how you can help people move when they get stuck.

It should be fun.  There will also be a short ebook available to people who register.

Any exposure to the cultures of the nine points is help full.  It can take only an hour to know how they work and a life time to fully understand.  I always say start anywhere and go everywhere when you are learning a complex concept like the BEACHs.  I hope you join us to expand your knowledge and add to the conversation.

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Blog post, PULSE Conversations, PULSE Enneagram, PULSE Revival, Social Exchange
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Looking for PULSE Stories

If you are familiar with the PULSe Frame and have used it to resolve an issue I would love to hear from you. In my new book we wanted to include some stories from other users of the PULSE approach.

The book is called “Mapping the Space Between Us” and has seven chapters.

1. Here be Dragons  – Moving into the unknown
2. The Travelers’ Creed – GHOST and other protocols
3. A Guide for Travelers – Ethnographies of the nine positions
4. EPS – Enneagram Positioning System
5. Plotting the Course to Common Ground with PULSE
6. Internal Guidance with SHIFT
7. The Map is not the Territory.
The book reflects the work I have done with PULSE but my editor is looking for more stories to explain how, when, where and with who(m) the PULSE Conversation frame has worked around the world.
If you have a story that you could share for inclusion in the book please send it along.
Also, please watch for an announcement about the future of PULSE.  Rumours of its demise may have been premature.  More to follow….

Please email your stories to me drnancylove@gmail.com

Thanks.

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PULSE Enneagram, Social Exchange
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Keep Moving – The secret to youthfulness

I attended a concert last night.  Cyndi Lauper opened for Cher.  Cyndi is 60 and still having fun and entertaining others.  Cher is an icon.  She looks Fabulous at 68.  These ladies love what they do.  Cyndi had a lot to say to the old folks who remembered the things she was talking about and to the young ones in the crowd she said “Look it up.”  in her delightful Queens’ NY accent.  It was a great evening.

What keeps them so youthful?  I think it has a lot to do with attitude.  They are very different people.  If I were to observe for direction and orientation, and I did, I would identify Cher’s orientation as past.  She talked about her past accomplishments and much of her show was spent reminiscing with video of her from the past. Rather than move toward the crowd, she moved away.  I know that sounds strange but she didn’t engage that much.  Between songs she disappeared to change costumes.  She looked fabulous and reminded us that that was what she was there to do. Cher has always been a differentiator.  She works at adding beauty to the world … her own. And there is a melancholy about her that she hides with costumes and fabulous acts on stage with her.

Cyndi on the other hand, is present oriented. Her album is remastered and rereleased to freshen it up.  Although she talked briefly about the past, she responded to the audience in a very present kind of approach and she sang from her heart for us, songs we knew and songs we were less familiar with. She was sharing in the here and now.  She knew where she was.  She entered through the crowd wearing a red serge jacket and a tan hat as a tribute to the Mounties.  She also did one or two songs in a Calgary Flames jersey. She moved TOWARD the audience.  We could not escape her. She was in our faces and we all loved it.  Cyndi is a take charge kind of girl who is going to make sure that girls and everyone else have fun.

In both cases the youthfulness comes from a strong sense of self and a willingness to keep moving, to keep doing what you did when you were young so that you can maintain that feeling.  When it stops being fun I know they will stop.  Cyndi does it because she can.  She is doing musicals and taking shows on the road because she loves it.  I think Cher does it for others … her fans … who adore her and remind her how fabulous she really is.

Thanks to both of you for crushing the ‘granny’ stereotype.

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BEACHs, PULSE Conversations, PULSE Enneagram, SHIFT Happens
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The Wizard of OZ and PULSE

I am not sure why but this morning I have been thinking about the movie “The Wizard of Oz.”  I think at the Academy Awards they recognized the 75 th of anniversary of the film.  I remember P!nk singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”  Maybe that is why it is with me.

The characters …Scarecrow, Tin-man and Lion … were all searching for something.  Even Dorothy was looking for a way home.  These characters represent our Head, Heart and Body.  Scarecrow was looking for a brain. What the Wizard gave him was evidence of his already being smart with a diploma.  The diploma gave him the confidence to move forward.  The Tin-man was looking for a Heart, ways to connect with other people.  The Wizard again gave him evidence that he already demonstrated the compassion he was seeking. The Lion was looking for courage.  He wanted to be brave in the face of present danger.  The Wizard gave him a medal as evidence that he had already demonstrated courage and bravery. Confidence, compassion and courage.   Head, heart and body.

Dorothy, too, discovered that she had had the power to return home all along.  All she had to do was click her heels together three times and say …”There is no place like home.”  Like Dorothy we all  have  the power we need within us to make a change and make a difference.  We can demonstrate confidence, compassion and courage under certain circumstances but we may not be very good at recognizing our own strengths.  Think about a time when you had the confidence to make a change and the compassion and courage to make a difference.

BE the Wizard today.  Give someone else evidence that they already possess confidence, compassion and courage.  Do it by noticing for them what they may not recognize in themselves.  Tell them their own story from a different perspective.  They will smile.

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PULSE Conversations, PULSE Enneagram, SHIFT Happens
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Independent Spirit – SHIFT

So let’s continue the SHIFT approach to evaluating and perhaps adjusting your life to meet your needs with a discussion of what Independent Spirit means.   The middle finger represents relational intelligence.  I have chosen to use independence as a scale for measuring relational intelligence because having a sense of independence is so important to be able to manage yourself in any relationship.  An independent spirit means that you are fully aware that you deserve to be treated well, to have respect and consideration as well as to give it to others.  It means that you make decisions based on your own AND the others best interests. That way you are better prepared to manage the space between you and the other person.

It is less likely that you will become lost or stuck in a relationship that is toxic if you have a great measure of self-esteem to work with.  No doubt that self-esteem will come from high scores on all of the scales.  It is important to know who you are and that you can stand on your own two feet. Know, too, what you have to offer in the relationship whether it is a work environment or not as well as what you can gain from being in the relationship.

Learning about yourself in relation to others is important.  There are many psychological tests and self-help books that can help you with that.  I love the Enneagram for helping me understand the space between me and others and how I can manipulate my responses to get the responses that serve us both. Manipulate might be a strong word but it really means that you can adjust what you are doing to improve the interaction and make it healthy for both of you.

Some might argue that interdependence should be the top of the scale for relational intelligence.  Maybe …. But a measure of  independence is a prerequisite for healthy interdependence.  Let’s start there.  Are my needs being met in the relationship?  If not renegotiate the relationship or leave it all together.  This may sound a little one-sided.  The other question of course is are THEIR needs being met?  If not what can I do to meet those needs and maintain the relationship?

You have heard me talk about the five As before.  Relational well-being really needs all five.  Appreciation, affection, approval, acceptance and allowing for both parties to gain a level of independent well-being within your relationships.

What I mean by independent spirit is better understood if you consider life as a talk show. You would be Oprah.  You are in charge of who the guests are on the show.  You control the conversation and when appropriate you give them the stage but you always maintain that independent decision-making about what’s good for the show.

It is the middle finger.  Use it if you need to to get what you need to maintain your relational well-being.

 

 

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BEACHs, Blog post, PULSE Enneagram, SHIFT Happens
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SHIFT – A Sharp Mind

The first scale for measuring well-being on the SHIFT hand from the last blog, SHIFT Happens, is the scale for mental or intellectual well-being. It can be found on your pinky finger. How sharp are you today? That is the first question. Are you feeling on top of things mentally or are things a little foggy and dull today? On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate your mental well-being today?
Scales are personal. Only you can determine what they mean for you. Generally speaking you have an average day that ranks around a 5 on your scale, a day where nothing gets missed and things go well. Nothing too exciting happens.  You answer questions that are asked of you and you accomplish routine tasks in routine ways.
Then there are days where a spark of curiousity illuminates the ideas in your head and you can hardly stand how brilliant you feel. Usually someone notices that you are ON and that lights you up again and away you go. The ignition is usually based in curiousity and the fuel is satisfaction of the curiousity, a new idea or a synthesis of thoughts that create new packaging for old ideas. A 10 day on the scale from 1 to 10, where your ideas are at your fingertips … literally.  You have a sense of feeling encouraged and motivated and in the groove.
And then there are days where you can’t even string a sentence together. On those days you tend to rely on your other modalities or intelligences to get you through. Some days all of the scales are close to the palm of your hand, at a 1 on the scale. On those days it might take the igniting of one intelligence to pull the scales up for all of them. Mentally it is curiousity. If you can find something to be curious about you can improve the scale almost immediately. Sometimes I just get curious about why I am feeling so dull minded. That can be enough of a spark. I write about it because words and language serve our mental wellness. Or I read something that might provide a spark.
Rest is important. We are dullest when we have had little rest. Energy is important and we can take energy from that spark of curiousity. Nutrition is important. There are many studies about brain food. Exercise is important. Sudoku or cross words or brain teasers give us a work out. Water is important. Hydrate you r brain. That three o’clock drop in mental capacity is best served by a tall glass of water. My First Nations friends always remind me that water is the first medicine. To improve on our sharpness scale it is important to keep hydrated.  Rest, Energy, Nutrition, Exercise, Water = RENEW for brain health and wellness.

Keep the mind Sharp so that we can SHIFT our integrated scales toward greater personal well-being.

A Sharp Mind – Pinky

A Happy Heart – Ring

An Independent Spirit – Middle

A Fit Body – Index and

A Trusting Soul – Thumb

Use your fingers to do your own check in now.

Watch for the next blog on ideas for improving your Heart well-being on the Happy Heart Scale.

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PULSE Conversations, PULSE Enneagram
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Staying Green

If you are familiar with PULSE conversations you know that they provide you with tools to move people from the RED Zone of retaliation and anger to the GREEN Zone of connection and collaboration. I have often written about it when I talk to mediators and negotiators because in those circumstances people enter the conversation ready for a fight, in the Red Zone.

Recently I was working with a coaching client on his approach to an up coming difficult conversation. What I realized that we were doing together was creating a strategy for STAYING in the GREEN zone from the beginning. So we talked about how to avoid triggers and word choices that would make it impossible for the other person to take offense and move to red. It was an enlightening exercise for both of us.

We took turns playing the roles. I read to him what he had prepared and he could hear immediately what words might trigger an unfavourable reaction. Then we talked about remaining curious rather than accusatory, asking questions rather than giving opinions, listening for tense orientation and matching it for best opportunity to connect, matching and mismatching to move them to the purpose of the meeting, being clear about that purpose from the beginning and in fact following closely the PULSE structure to insure a positive outcome.

This is a very different purpose for the PULSE frame and associated skills but a very useful one for anyone in leadership who needs to deliver news in a way that won’t incite riots. How do you work with someone to have them come to understand some hard to hear news without triggering emotional responses that can negatively impact the working relationship? There are deliberate steps to follow and effective tools at your disposal. GHOST, POWER and HEART to name 15…..

I am hosting 40 hour PULSE Course in October and November. The first 16 hours are on line at your leisure, at your own computer with me providing feedback as you finis the modules. You receive a link and a password the first week in October. Then November 14, 15, 16 I have room for three more people to work with me on the practice part of the program in St Albert at the office. If you are interested or would like to recommend the program to someone else, let me know.

I am leaving for Europe today. I will blog when I can. Europe always inspires me. France and Italy this time. Au revoir ….

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PULSE Enneagram
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A Soft Spot for School Administrators

Today I had a nice chat with a school administrator interested in what we do at PULSE.  I decided to reprint the email I sent to him because it provides  information that others may like to have.  Comments welcomed…..
“It was nice to chat with you today.  I just wanted to follow-up with a few items as promised.  The dates of the 2 day workshop that is an open enrolment opportunity is April 12 and 13 at the Petroleum Club in Calgary.  That particular workshop is focused on collaborative teams and the attitudes, skills and knowledge that you will receive from the presentation seem to me to be a good fit for the situation you find yourself in.  There may be a mix of industry and government people in attendance.  As discussed we will charge you our government rate.
Alternatively we could offer a separate, education focused seminar to you and three or more other colleagues at your campus.  You would have greater input into the content of this type of seminar as we would be free to customize the program.  As I mentioned on the phone I taught G&T and have grand-son at Janis Academy who is Autistic spectrum.  With my experience as a teacher, vice principal and principal before I became a mediator, in the court system and with government agencies and now as a trainer and author on conflict resolution along with your knowledge of the situation on the ground,  you and I should be able to find the right combination of questions and answers and opportunities for experiential learning to meet the needs of all of those involved.
Our training always involves using the tools to teach the tools so everyone comes away with applicable and timely tools to put to immediate use.  they come away with an understanding of what to do, how to do and why to do it.  They come away with a protocol, and a process for effective and meaningful conversation … no matter the purpose or the participants.  Students, parents, staff will all respond differently when you put these simple principles to work. AND we include 30 minutes of follow on coaching after the program.
I also want to mention the webinar series that begins in February as an alternative or a supplement to the two-day face to face seminar in April.
February and March we are also offering Mediation Certification with the Alberta Arbitration and Mediation Society.  The first 4 sessions are webinars that provide the basic Concepts that support mediation and why it works.  Than the Concepts course is followed by three days of Practice, where you would practice the skills of a mediator with the guidance of qualified mediator coaches.  As I mentioned, these courses lead to certification with the ADRIC.
The Sociology in the Workplace seminars I spoke about are being given to sociology classes at Mount Royal University Monday and Tuesday of next week.  The same presentation has been given to the Calgary Change Management Think Tank where it was entitled … “What gets you up in the morning?”  I think this could provide your staff with a nice introduction to another way to consider or filter the behaviours they see in the building.  I would offer you that one hour presentation for free for your staff.  We only need to find a time that works.  As I mentioned it provides a sociological construct based on a three by three matrix of people and how they relate to others and the world.  People are moving with you, away from you or towards you.  They are also oriented to the past, the present or the future.  put these 3×3 on a grid and you have the nine sets of Beliefs, Expectations, Assumptions, Concerns and Hopes, the BEACHs of the human experience in society.
Finally I want to mention our Principals; Faces of Change book.  I will drop a copy by your office Monday or Tuesday.  There is also a five-day seminar that we have developed to accompany the book but it doesn’t sound like a perfect fit for your situation at the moment.  I would appreciate though, if you could read it through and provide feed back as to the value it has for school administrators and ways the you could see us distributing it to other principals.
I am excited by the possibility of working with people who are on the ground in education.  Over the past number of years I have worked with government departments here and in the US but my heart is still in education.  If there is a way that I can help make that path easier for you, your colleagues, the students and parents at your school I would be honoured to be invited to do so.
Thanks again for the call ….


PictureDr. Nancy Love

403-614-2692
Calgary, St Albert, Vancouver
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Blog post, PULSE Enneagram
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PULSE and the BEACHs 2012

Next week I am heading to Hawaii for three glorious weeks of writing.  I want to thank all of you for responding to the writing on the blog and providing valuable feedback for what will be the BEACHs book.  Any further comments you have on the BEACHs would be welcome and timely right now.  I am working hard to complete this two-year project.  There have been distractions and set backs and …well you know what its like when a project is not your first priority… it just doesn’t happen.  I guess I have been waiting for the book to finish itself…. That is not happening so I am off to commit my time in the sun and on the BEACH to the completion of the book.

It is not a hardship to write in Hawaii.  It is such a beautiful place.  This year getting away from Canadian winter isn’t as compelling as it usually is.  It has been mild. But there are no BEACHs here in Alberta.  NONE.

2012 will be a great year.  Leap years often are for me.  It is a purple year.  A year of peaceful productivity.  I am so looking forward to spending more time with you on the blog, in our new Red Team – Green Team webinar series and in person when I can.  This first month is about organizing and setting goals, which is critical, and about planning the year using the PULSE Frame so that the goals are achievable and the plans are sustainable.

Evaluating the ongoing projects and setting milestones for them is important for me.  Also important is the addition of a new project or two that will add value to what we already do.  I have made lists of things I want to know more about, things for completion and things to begin.  I need a new five-year plan this year, too.  Not sure what that will look like yet but it will definitely include more time here in the office in St Albert.  I really like it here.

Hope everyone had a great holiday season.  Happy 2012.

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PULSE Enneagram
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A Story of the Evolution of the Enneagram

One of the very important considerations for the study of the Enneagram is its long history of a method for understanding the world in which we live and the human experience within it.  When you examine that history you see that Pythagoras and Socrates and Plato used the symbol in their pursuit of wisdom and knowledge.  George Gurdjeiff is often cited as the first to use the symbol in the way that it appears in modern times.  He lead the Seekers of Truth in the early 1900s on a quest for answers to the questions of the universe.  He was a cosmologist, studying the cosmos through ancient writings.  The I Ching, the Bible, the Koran, the Talmud, any evidence of man’s consideration of the universe and how it works came under the scrutiny of Gurdjeiff and his followers.  The Symbol represented what is known and contained a juxtaposition of the rule of 3 and the rule of 7.  Mathematics is better understood using the symbol.  The science of Systematics evolved from that particular preoccupation of Ouspensky, one of Gurdjeiff’s Seekers of Truth.  The symbol has been applied to many areas of study which is what Gurdjeiff and his followers intended. 

In 2008 at the Atlanta Conference of the IEA, I was mesmerized by Patrick O’Leary’s rendition of the Evolution of the Enneagram theory.  He presented a systematic overview from a scientific perspective looking at the Evolution of the Enneagram as you would the evolution of any theory. He himself was involved from the beginning and has met everyone along the way except for Ouspensky and Gurdjeiff who were alive around the turn of the 19th century.  He is a founding member of International Enneagram Association, the IEA. 

Speaking to the principles of and the evolution of theory, Patrick explains that it is a process of trial and error.  Biologically, genes change in their molecular constitution.  It is a random experience.  Nature tries out the new arrangement.  If it works it is passed on. If not it is eliminated.  Evolution’s second principle he says comes from environmental stress.  Those that weather the stress test are passed on and those that don’t disappear.  Analogously, the Evolution of the Enneagram has been a trial and error of ideas. Some ideas have found support and have stood the test of time but most have not. 

Patrick’s first experience with the Enneagram occurred in 1971.  It was the end of the 1960s which was a decade of phenomenal intellectual exploration which coincided with his own experiences as a graduate student in four different programs. In 1971 he was completing a degree in theology with the Jesuits working toward ordination as a priest in a program that rested on previous study of philosophy.  For him it was what he describes as “intellectual hell” with very little practical and/or scientific connection until he signed up for a course called “Religious Experience” being taught by a Jesuit priest who he had known as his high school math teacher.  The teachers name was Bob Ochs.  Bob took a sabbatical at Esalen in California at the end of the 1960s.  The experience had changed him.  Once a staid high school math teacher he now dressed in bell bottoms and flowered shirts and he was cool. 

Fifteen students gathered in Bob’s apartment sitting in a circle on the floor to begin a journey into Religious Experience. They were interested in anything that would uncover the mysteries of life.  Patrick had done the Myers Briggs, Gestalt, and the Encounter Groups and as a Jesuit he was required to do 30 days of intersections, with one half day in contemplation.  Patrick wanted something more, something that he could grab hold of to explain how he could relate to another human being.  Bob Ochs had the students sit on pillows and do breathing exercises.  They learned about Zen and meditation all of which was mind expanding and wonderful.  Somewhere in the process Bob began to talk about an Enneagram theory of personality that was unlike anything that Patrick and the other students had heard before.  He identified the different types of personality by a number and described each in enough detail that the students were hooked. 

Jerry Wagner was also a student of Religious Experiences with Patrick. Jerry and Patrick convinced Bob to offer Religious Experience 2 which became a course about the Enneagram and so they spent an entire year meeting twice a week for three hours learning about Enneagram.  Bob talked a lot about his own perspective.  Over the centuries and millennia of knowledge, scientists find names for things according to their body of knowledge and their needs of the moment.  Somewhere in the late 1800s and early 1900s a young man by the name of George Gurdjeiff gathered information from a variety of sources.  That was the beginning of the Enneagram as we know it today.  In the 1970s, Gurdjeiff’s vision was transmitted to Oscar Ichaso and the Arica Institute in Chile was born.  In 1971 Claudio Naranjo who had been with Oscar at Arica took his understanding of the Enneagram and brought it to Esalen but Claudio, the psychologist, put an entirely different spin on it.  1972 Bob Oches, after having heard Naranjo at Esalen, brought the Enneagram to Chicago, to the Jesuits who were studying there and there was an explosion on the understanding of the Enneagram.  In 1984 Patrick wrote the next book that systematically put all of the information in one place. 1987 Don Riso wrote the second book that spawns an industry and a knowledge explosion.  1988 Helen Palmer intuits the entire Enneagram into a book and disseminates it.  In 1994 she hosts a conference at Stanford, presenting her work.  The conference brings together those who had written about the Enneagram and those who were interested.  1500 attended which provided another explosion, and more ‘gene’ carries to carry the Enneagram even further into the process of evolution.  In 1995 – the International Enneagram Association was founded to complete a mandate from the 1994 Stanford participants to continue the evolution.  1996 the first conference of the IEA in Chicago was put on by Patrick O’Leary and Jerry Wagner.   2006 a conference in Italy provides the multination event and an opportunity for another explosion of ideas. The 2008 IEA Conference has 19 countries represented.

Others present a different history.  The Arica school suggests that Pythagoras was the originator of the Enneagram and that it was originally a Pythagorean seal.  It represents mathematics at its best.  Oscar Ichazo who founded the school at Arica was the first to identify it as a psychological tool.  Gurdjeiff was attempting to explain a cosmology, a working of all things, not only how people work but how the world works, how do the components of the universe work together.

Another principle of evolution is that it continues. Survival of the species is still by trial and error.  Ideas, theories like those of Pythagoras and Gurdjeiff evolve.

Through trial and error applications of the mutated ideas survive or not, and Oscar Ichazo’s psychological interpretation mutated by Claudio Naranjo and transmitted to the US at Esalen in California has caused an explosion of interest and spawned many new ideas.  My own sociological perspective, the Ethnography of the nine sub cultures represented in this book is another one of those evolutionary events that began with the cosmology of Gurdjeiff.

The Evolution of the Types

The Enneagram of Personality typing describes nine differentiated personalities.  The types and the numbers actually make sense to me.  One is PERFECTION, singular.  Two is CONNECTION, relationship between 1 and 2..  Three is SUCCESS, good, better and now BEST.  Four is DIFFERENTATION, separating from the others.  Five is DETACHMENT moving away to find room to think.  Six is SECURITY moving with the others to find a safe place to fit in.  Seven is EXCITEMENT, performing for attention and to have fun.  Eight is POWER, wanting to dominate and rule and Nine is PEACE wanting to see everything and include everyone is a peaceful perspective.

Although there has been agreement on the core essence represented by the numbers on the Enneagram, authors over the past few decades have chosen their own descriptions as the Evolution continues.  Here are descriptions of each of the types from Riso and Hudson, Palmer and Daniels, Reynolds and Wagner as well as some commonly used other description.  Riso and Palmer were among the first to write about Enneagram in the 1980s and Jerry Wagner was with O’Leary in the Chicago group of 15 with Bob Ochs.  Susan Reynolds has more recently published works on the Enneagram.

Connection BEACH 2

 In recent editions of their works, Riso and co-author, Hudson describe the 2 point personality as the Helper while Palmer and her co author David Daniels choose “the Giver”. The type has also been called the Caretaker, the Loving Person, and the People Pleaser.  Twos seek love.  Jerry Wagner identifies the passion or sin of the 2 as pride and the divine idea as love.  The Two point personality is described as generous and healing when they are healthy and possessive people pleasers on the unhealthy side.  Riso & Hudson and others have identified nine levels of health for each of the nine types.  Riso & Hudson identify the lost childhood message of the 2 as “you are wanted”.  What’s missing for people on this BEACH is CONNECTION.

Success BEACH 3

Riso & Hudson call the 3 point the achiever.  Palmer and Daniels refer to it as the Performer.  The Succeeded and the Effective person are also used.  Reynolds call the 3 personality type King of the Hill because of their deep seated need for prestige and to be envied.  The Passion or Sin associated with 3 according to Wagner is deceit and the divine idea is efficiency.  On the high side 3s are inspiring examples of excellence and authenticity.  On the low side they pursue success and status without regard for others.  Riso and Hudson identify the lost childhood message of the 3 as “You are loved for yourself”. What’s missing for people on this BEACH is SUCCESS.

Differentiation BEACH 4

The 4 point on the circle represents what Riso and Hudson refer to as the Individualist and what Palmer and Daniels refer to as the Romantic or Tragic Romantic. The artists as the original person are also used to describe this unique personality. Reynolds used Creative Seeker to describe 4s.  Wagner identifies envy as the passion or sin associated with 4 and the divine idea as uniqueness.  On the high side 4s model creativity and have intuitive powers.  On the low side they are moody, melancholy and self conscious.  Riso and Hudson identify the lost childhood message for 4 as “You are seen for who you are”.  What’s missing for people on this BEACH is DIFFERENTIATION.  They are seeking ways to be different and to be noticed.

Detachment BEACH5

The 5 point on the circle represents the Investigator according to Riso and Hudson and the Observer according to Palmer and Daniels.  The Thinker and the Wise Person are also used to describe this type.  Reynolds uses Masterful Hermit to describe 5s.  Wagner identifies their passion or sin as avarice because of their apparently stingy nature and associates wisdom as the divine idea for this type.  On the high side they are visionary intellectuals and inventors.  On the low side they are eccentric and isolated.  Riso & Hudson lost childhood message for 5 is “your needs are not a problem”.  For people on this BEACH what is missing is Detachment.  They seek solitude and time to think and consider.

Security BEACH 6

Point 6 is referred to as the Loyalist by Riso & Hudson and the Trooper by Palmer and Daniels., although 1988 Palmer referred 6 as the Devil’s Advocate.  It is sometimes referred to as the Loyal Sceptic or the Team Player.  Reynolds uses Loyal Guardian to describe 6.  Wagner identifies fear as the passion or sin and faith or trust as the divine idea.  On the high side 6s are full of courage and commitment. On the low side 6 struggles with anxiety and rebelliousness.  Riso and Hudson’s lost childhood message for 6 is “you are safe”. People on this BEACH are seeking Security.  For them it is what is missing from the world.

Excitement BEACH 7

Point 7 on the circle represents Riso and Hudson’s Enthusiast.  Palmer and Daniels call the 7 point Epicure.  The Materialist and the Joyful Person are also used.  Reynolds describes type 7 as the Optimistic Dreamer.  Wagner attaches gluttony as the sin or passion and joy as the divine idea for 7.  On the high side 7s become highly accomplished and are high spirited.  On the low side they can be distracted, way laid, impulsive and impatient.  Riso & Hudson’s lost childhood message for 7 is “you will be taken care of”.  What’s missing for people on this BEACH is Excitement.  They are seeking to have fun and be joyful.

Power BEACH 8

The Challenger is the name for point 8 given by Riso and Hudson.  Palmer and Daniels call it the Boss.  The Leader and the Powerful Person are also used.  Reynolds describes 8 as the Dominator.  Wagner attaches the sin or passion of lust and the divine idea of power or strength to the 8.  On the high side the 8 is magnanimous as a leader.  On the low side 8s are controlling and intimidating.  Riso and Hudson’s lost childhood message for 8 is “you will not be betrayed”. What’s missing for people on this BEACH is a sense of Power or control over their situation.

Peace BEACH 9

The 9 point is labelled the Peacemaker by Riso and Hudson.  Palmer and Daniels call the 9 point the Mediator.  Others use the Preservationists and the Peaceful Person.  Reynolds describes 9 as the Peaceful Lamb because 9s avoid conflict at all costs.  Wagner identifies indolence as the passion or sin for 9 and peace as the divine idea.  On the high side 9 brings people together.  On the low side 9 is passive and stubborn.  Riso & Hudson’s lost childhood message for 9 is “your presence matters”. What is missing for people on this BEACH is Peace and contentment.

Perfection BEACH 1

Point 1 is known to Riso and Hudson as the Reformer.  Palmer and Daniels preferred Perfectionist.  1s have also been called the Critic and the Good Person.  Reynolds refers to 1 as the Evangelical Idealist because of their concern with high standards and moral principles.  Wagner attaches the passion or sin of anger to 1s and the divine idea of goodness.  On the high side 1 lives with integrity and reason.  On the low side 1 is resentful and perfectionistic.  Riso & Hudson’s lost childhood message for 1 is “you are good”.  People on this BEACH are seeking Perfection.  That is what is missing from the world.

All of these authors and others describe in great detail these types and provide integrated models of the human psyche with an emphasis on creating a full spectrum model of human growth and development.  From Jesuits like Wagner there are also spiritual overtones which harken back to the original work of Gurdjeiff as he searched for the answers to the questions of human psyche and everything else as he studied the ancient spiritual texts.

Others have researched the connection between Enneagram at the divine.  I have myself, written about the connection between the spiritual illusions as identified by Neale David Walsch author of Conversations with God.  I connected  illusion of judgement with point 1 the perfectionist; the illusion of conditionality with point 2, the helper or giver; the illusion of failure with point 3 the performer; the illusion of condemnation with point 4, the romantic; the illusion of ignorance for point 5, the observer; the illusion of requirement for point 6, the loyalist; the illusion of insufficiency for point 7, the enthusiast; the illusion of superiority for point 8, the boss; and the illusion of disunity of point 9, the peacemaker.

*Insert chart from Blog June 26, 2008*

As you can see from the chart I also connected them with qualities described by Riso and Hudson that each of the numbers strive for in order to reach an evolved or enlightened state.

The nine points and personality types are the tip of the Enneagram of Personality Iceberg.  The 9 types are categorized into three instincts:

  1. Heart or emotional instinct: type 2, 3, 4
  2. Head or intellectual instinct: type 5,6,7
  3. Gut or Physical instinct: type 8,9,1 (Reynolds 08 p. 87)

Authors also describe the instincts or centres with similar yet differentiated language.

All of that to say that although this book is based on thinking that began with a study of the conversation and the use of the Enneagram the evolution away from the personality typing is intentional.  I want to identify a stance… a place where people look at the world, a perspective that can change depending on input from the environment – internal or external.

So I have identified the BEACHs – Sets of Beliefs, Expectation, Assumptions, Concerns and Hopes.  Beliefs are what people hold to be true.  Expectations are what they seek in a given situation.  Assumptions are what they base their actions on.  Concerns are what they fear, what keeps them stuck and Hopes are what move them forward.  Each set has a title for the BEACH

Perfection, connection, success, differentiation, detachment, security, excitement, power and peace are the titles for the BEACHs … the places of and perspectives on the world.

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