Enneagram workshop

Last Saturday I attended a workshop on the Enneagram. The Enneagram is an tool for assessing your spiritual type. You can take a simple test to tell you which of the nine types you mostly identify with.

The workshop, on Bainbridge Island, consisted of telling us about the nine different spiritual types. They're quite ingenious, and they seem to really differentiate between different types of people. Upon hearing the different types, something immediately clicks and you recognize these types in yourself and others you know.

I discovered I'm a "2". That means I fall into the "Helper" category. Here's what the Enneagram says about twos:

Twos are empathetic, sincere, and warm-hearted. They are friendly, generous, and self-sacrificing, but can also be sentimental, flattering, and people-pleasing. They are well-meaning and driven to be close to others, but can slip into doing things for others in order to be needed. They typically have problems with possessiveness and with acknowledging their own needs. At their Best: unselfish and altruistic, they have unconditional love for others.

I'd say that's probably pretty accurate for me. I hasten to add that within each type, there are various levels of health, so there can be unhealthy twos as well as healthy twos, and hopefully you move up in health as time goes on.

You can find a good Enneagram website at www.enneagraminstitute.com. I find the whole Enneagram concept fascinating and very helpful in understanding myself and others. It's not the Gospel, but it is a very helpful tool.

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