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Enneagram: The Scientific Guide to Self-Discovery and Personality Types, The Road to Increase Spirituality and Empathy. Build Healthy Relationships and Stop Overthinking. Go back to Being Yourself
The truth is... Many of us grow up believing that there are two primary categories of people in the the good ones and the bad ones. But what if I told you there are nine primary perspectives in the world, all of which can look at the same item and see nine different things? The Enneagram is more than just a personality test—it’s a powerful tool for personal growth , spiritual transformation , and emotional balance . It allows us to look at ourselves through the eyes of others, and it allows us to see others without the veil of personal judgment. Furthermore, it’s a method by which we can increase our capacity for empathy and compassion, creating a better world for ourselves and those around us. And that's what you'll learn in This Book .
Here's just a tiny fraction of what you will find in this ...and much, much more!
The Enneagram is a personality assessment theory that describes these nine perspectives in great detail, tracing nine different types of behavioral patterns back to nine different developmental roots. Even if you have no experience with spirituality and consider yourself a skeptic you'll be able to understand the Enneagram, because it’s based in real scientific studies done over time in humans as they’ve changed through the ages. Furthermore you'll increase your self-awareness and discover your core identity .
Learn all about the Enneagram with the wisdom of this text!
Here's just a tiny fraction of what you will find in this ...and much, much more!
The Enneagram is a personality assessment theory that describes these nine perspectives in great detail, tracing nine different types of behavioral patterns back to nine different developmental roots. Even if you have no experience with spirituality and consider yourself a skeptic you'll be able to understand the Enneagram, because it’s based in real scientific studies done over time in humans as they’ve changed through the ages. Furthermore you'll increase your self-awareness and discover your core identity .
Learn all about the Enneagram with the wisdom of this text!
- GenresNonfictionPsychology
169 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 11, 2019
Curious take on personality typing. I've seen many over the years - quadrant based like Myers-Briggs, colors, lenses, ...colored lenses,... invariably based around the number four, which I always thought rather constraining. Well....this one starts with nine! and then goes geometric. I can see why this has a cottage industry selling it- jargon, complicated layers, tertiary analogues...
The subtitle says "The scientific Guide to...", well, it's rather proud of itself and you can read it faster than I can type it all out. BUT...in the introduction, the author says, "Like any personality typing system, the Enneagram is not a scientific method; it is subjective, and impossible to measure with any standard of precision or accuracy." So...a scientific guide to a nonscientific subject. (And it is impossible for any system to peg personality. The soft sciences can try, but all they can do is guess with statistical averages.)
Now, building on the nine (which aren't interconnected...look up "enneagram" and you'll see the arrows), there are "wing types, which are the adjacent numbers as influencers...how they came up with that idea is just one of hundreds of questions. And there are variants of the enneatypes and wing types. The author says "Some theorize that these variants are genetic remnants of our hunter-gatherer ancestors, reflections of the behavioral patterns that arose in the years before civilization." I'm curious as to who the "some" are. But not that curious. Anyway, nine types, eighteen wing types, each with their own names. AND the nine are grouped into triads! "It’s important to note that these triads are not meant to be interpreted in an exclusionary sense, which means that an Observer, for instance, as a part of the head triad, should not be presumed incapable of connecting with their own gut instincts or heart-felt emotions " Which clears things up quite well, right?
But wait! there's more! "For each enneatype, there are nine distinct possible levels of health." So we're tracking 81 flavors of types, not including variants, with three triads. Keeping up?
Based on the incredibly scientific single question typing provided, on the surface, I seem to fit into their "Reformer" category ("keen eye for small details and can see the big picture; this is the type that would recognize the one missing nail that could lead to the structural collapse of an entire eight-lane bridge. They want everything to be as good as it possibly can be, and hope to spare others from unnecessary pain and disappointment wherever possible (though they sometimes miss the mark here).", however, all the subtext stuff is way off for me ("idealists, optimists , and dreamers who believe in the possibility of a better world and a brighter future"). Reformers are "wonderful at quickly recognizing inefficiencies, inconsistencies, errors, and preventable delays; what’s more, given enough time and informational resource, Reformers are usually great at devising sustainable solutions for the problems they discover." BUT...I don't fit the "typically raised in environments where their perfectionism was rewarded." Not a perfectionist.
As to Observer, another of the types, "learned early in life that their minds were both their most secure fortresses and their most effective weapons for self-protection, so they’ve come to value knowledge, rationality, and logic very highly." Well, that works, too.Except..."Vice: Avarice and selfishness (desire to hoard knowledge and resources for the self in case of future scarcity problems). Ego fixation: Stinginess, retention. " Nope, nope, nope and nope.
Or, "Type 6 – The Loyalist Also known as: the devil’s advocate, the troubleshooter, the loyal skeptic, the questioner, the guardian, the pessimist, ". Going to give that a "check". "Loyalists are future-minded and focused on anticipation of that which is virtually impossible to foresee; typically, they are acutely aware of their surroundings, and have a highly developed sense of intuition." Okay, ixnay on the intuitionay... flies in the face of logic and reason. The author says "It is widely believed that Loyalists are the most common of all the enneatypes. (though this would be virtually impossible to measure with any certainty)." How is any of this certain?
The author does recommend seeking a "licensed Enneagram coach." Imagine my not surprised that there is an international organization that has accreditation programs. Seriously, they'd have to, and those people would have to do this full time to keep it all straight. The author says "The Enneagram isn’t only used for personal growth. It is often used by companies, organizations, schools, and religious institutions as a tool to improve group dynamics, encourage team-building, and remedy conflict." Of all the claims in this book, that one is a head scratchier (okay, most of this is): I have never seen or heard of this used anywhere but the one instance where I heard of it in the first place. I'm not a managerial hermit. As I said, I've seen lots of these typing systems. Just not this one.
Bottom line, like all of the other typing theories, if you think it works for you, then that is good. Just be aware that jargon means nothing to the layperson - "I'm a Gold", "I'm a Yellow" (different system), "I'm a thinking sensing judging introvert" - and don't think this is the only one. I've seen that a lot too.
The subtitle says "The scientific Guide to...", well, it's rather proud of itself and you can read it faster than I can type it all out. BUT...in the introduction, the author says, "Like any personality typing system, the Enneagram is not a scientific method; it is subjective, and impossible to measure with any standard of precision or accuracy." So...a scientific guide to a nonscientific subject. (And it is impossible for any system to peg personality. The soft sciences can try, but all they can do is guess with statistical averages.)
The origins of the Enneagram theory are shrouded in mystery. There is some evidence to suggest that it originated in Alexandria, in the 4th century BC, evolving from the theories of Christian mystic Evagrius Ponticus (also known as “Evagrius the Solitary”)Rather dramatic, that, and the typo should have been caught - Common Era, not Before Common Era!
Now, building on the nine (which aren't interconnected...look up "enneagram" and you'll see the arrows), there are "wing types, which are the adjacent numbers as influencers...how they came up with that idea is just one of hundreds of questions. And there are variants of the enneatypes and wing types. The author says "Some theorize that these variants are genetic remnants of our hunter-gatherer ancestors, reflections of the behavioral patterns that arose in the years before civilization." I'm curious as to who the "some" are. But not that curious. Anyway, nine types, eighteen wing types, each with their own names. AND the nine are grouped into triads! "It’s important to note that these triads are not meant to be interpreted in an exclusionary sense, which means that an Observer, for instance, as a part of the head triad, should not be presumed incapable of connecting with their own gut instincts or heart-felt emotions " Which clears things up quite well, right?
But wait! there's more! "For each enneatype, there are nine distinct possible levels of health." So we're tracking 81 flavors of types, not including variants, with three triads. Keeping up?
Based on the incredibly scientific single question typing provided, on the surface, I seem to fit into their "Reformer" category ("keen eye for small details and can see the big picture; this is the type that would recognize the one missing nail that could lead to the structural collapse of an entire eight-lane bridge. They want everything to be as good as it possibly can be, and hope to spare others from unnecessary pain and disappointment wherever possible (though they sometimes miss the mark here).", however, all the subtext stuff is way off for me ("idealists, optimists , and dreamers who believe in the possibility of a better world and a brighter future"). Reformers are "wonderful at quickly recognizing inefficiencies, inconsistencies, errors, and preventable delays; what’s more, given enough time and informational resource, Reformers are usually great at devising sustainable solutions for the problems they discover." BUT...I don't fit the "typically raised in environments where their perfectionism was rewarded." Not a perfectionist.
As to Observer, another of the types, "learned early in life that their minds were both their most secure fortresses and their most effective weapons for self-protection, so they’ve come to value knowledge, rationality, and logic very highly." Well, that works, too.Except..."Vice: Avarice and selfishness (desire to hoard knowledge and resources for the self in case of future scarcity problems). Ego fixation: Stinginess, retention. " Nope, nope, nope and nope.
Or, "Type 6 – The Loyalist Also known as: the devil’s advocate, the troubleshooter, the loyal skeptic, the questioner, the guardian, the pessimist, ". Going to give that a "check". "Loyalists are future-minded and focused on anticipation of that which is virtually impossible to foresee; typically, they are acutely aware of their surroundings, and have a highly developed sense of intuition." Okay, ixnay on the intuitionay... flies in the face of logic and reason. The author says "It is widely believed that Loyalists are the most common of all the enneatypes. (though this would be virtually impossible to measure with any certainty)." How is any of this certain?
The author does recommend seeking a "licensed Enneagram coach." Imagine my not surprised that there is an international organization that has accreditation programs. Seriously, they'd have to, and those people would have to do this full time to keep it all straight. The author says "The Enneagram isn’t only used for personal growth. It is often used by companies, organizations, schools, and religious institutions as a tool to improve group dynamics, encourage team-building, and remedy conflict." Of all the claims in this book, that one is a head scratchier (okay, most of this is): I have never seen or heard of this used anywhere but the one instance where I heard of it in the first place. I'm not a managerial hermit. As I said, I've seen lots of these typing systems. Just not this one.
Bottom line, like all of the other typing theories, if you think it works for you, then that is good. Just be aware that jargon means nothing to the layperson - "I'm a Gold", "I'm a Yellow" (different system), "I'm a thinking sensing judging introvert" - and don't think this is the only one. I've seen that a lot too.
September 8, 2021
The introduction to the types was a bit general and vague. Good thing the last few chapters were able to redeem the whole book.
October 20, 2019
So this wasn't a bad book, I've just got the same info for free from websites before. Not seeing a wealth of new information and the writing style didn't speak to me. Kind of a "meh" style book.
December 27, 2024
preface:
i don’t think the study of enneagram (or other typology systems for that matter) are inherently unscientific like others here have wrote—it is after all a branch of psychology. there’s also the big 5, another typology system praised and acknowledged by many in the psychiatric/medical psychology field, however, it’s pretty vague (and in my opinion lacks nuance, but that’s just me i suppose. personally i’ve learned much more about others and myself through jungian typology and enneagram. this isn’t the most relevant, but i thought i would mention it since some reviews assert that it is entirely unscientific and i don’t share the same view.
moving onto the review: this book is not a good intro to enneagram. if i would have read only the first few pages, i might’ve thought it was passable, but the author shows their lack of any true depth of knowledge in enneagram. it seems like they just did a google search for “enneagram type descriptions” and just copied and pasted from there along with the whole spiel of “this is gonna change your life!” for several pages.
overall, that wasn’t even the part that bothered me the most. it was the test. a test about getting a group across a river. and one of the answers (which i believe was meant to allude to e4)
was talking about “considering the river’s feelings about being swam in”. another answer was talking about rescuing a pregnant woman, and then an elderly person, and then all of your friends, and then you’re stranded because you martyred yourself. i wonder who that could be talking about (e2). another answer talked about “showing off their bathing suit” while people are struggling to get across a hypothetical stream, and another talked about diving into it to show off.
beyond portraying only the most incredibly exaggerated, and shallow caricatures of the enneagram types (spreading misinformation which only serves to discredit the original works), instead of explaining any of the original works in a more accessible way to readers, the author instead chooses to write a fairly useless and inaccurate test with only one question saying it should be enough to know what type you are.
i wouldn’t recommend this to anyone who is becoming a hobbyist/has legitimate interest in enneagram. everything they wrote here is available online for free in better and more accurate quality. save yourself a buck or two and simply look up the enneagram descriptions. naranjo and ichazo are the ones who popularized enneagram in the united states so they have some of the most “true to theory” descriptions, but if you’re looking for a lighter read with the bare minimum, “crystal knows” has some surface level stuff that doesn’t suck. also, i know this one is kind of controversial, but don richard riso and russ hudson had some very good descriptions. i think they misunderstood one factor (the directions of disintegration/integration being interchangeable i believe?) and got a bad rap from it it.
i don’t think the study of enneagram (or other typology systems for that matter) are inherently unscientific like others here have wrote—it is after all a branch of psychology. there’s also the big 5, another typology system praised and acknowledged by many in the psychiatric/medical psychology field, however, it’s pretty vague (and in my opinion lacks nuance, but that’s just me i suppose. personally i’ve learned much more about others and myself through jungian typology and enneagram. this isn’t the most relevant, but i thought i would mention it since some reviews assert that it is entirely unscientific and i don’t share the same view.
moving onto the review: this book is not a good intro to enneagram. if i would have read only the first few pages, i might’ve thought it was passable, but the author shows their lack of any true depth of knowledge in enneagram. it seems like they just did a google search for “enneagram type descriptions” and just copied and pasted from there along with the whole spiel of “this is gonna change your life!” for several pages.
overall, that wasn’t even the part that bothered me the most. it was the test. a test about getting a group across a river. and one of the answers (which i believe was meant to allude to e4)
was talking about “considering the river’s feelings about being swam in”. another answer was talking about rescuing a pregnant woman, and then an elderly person, and then all of your friends, and then you’re stranded because you martyred yourself. i wonder who that could be talking about (e2). another answer talked about “showing off their bathing suit” while people are struggling to get across a hypothetical stream, and another talked about diving into it to show off.
beyond portraying only the most incredibly exaggerated, and shallow caricatures of the enneagram types (spreading misinformation which only serves to discredit the original works), instead of explaining any of the original works in a more accessible way to readers, the author instead chooses to write a fairly useless and inaccurate test with only one question saying it should be enough to know what type you are.
i wouldn’t recommend this to anyone who is becoming a hobbyist/has legitimate interest in enneagram. everything they wrote here is available online for free in better and more accurate quality. save yourself a buck or two and simply look up the enneagram descriptions. naranjo and ichazo are the ones who popularized enneagram in the united states so they have some of the most “true to theory” descriptions, but if you’re looking for a lighter read with the bare minimum, “crystal knows” has some surface level stuff that doesn’t suck. also, i know this one is kind of controversial, but don richard riso and russ hudson had some very good descriptions. i think they misunderstood one factor (the directions of disintegration/integration being interchangeable i believe?) and got a bad rap from it it.
February 11, 2020
+ this is an alright intro to the enneagram but not much more than that.
+ the writing style is light on jargon (good) and detail (not so good)
+ the enneagram isn't scientific (shouldn't detract from it) and the author admits as much so this being called “the scientific guide” appears misleading
+ again, this is alright but i reckon you'll find better intros to the enneagram that are both simple and juicy (suzanne stabile's books come to mind) or comprehensive (beatrice chestnut, richard rohr, etc.)
+ the writing style is light on jargon (good) and detail (not so good)
+ the enneagram isn't scientific (shouldn't detract from it) and the author admits as much so this being called “the scientific guide” appears misleading
+ again, this is alright but i reckon you'll find better intros to the enneagram that are both simple and juicy (suzanne stabile's books come to mind) or comprehensive (beatrice chestnut, richard rohr, etc.)
July 21, 2021
This was a very good book for someone looking for a practical introduction to Enneagrams. It does have a very brief test, but recommends seeking out one of your own for more thorough/accurate results (which I agree with). I really appreciated this books very realistic and relatable suggestions. It was an easy read and was very easy to understand. I did think the history and and how Enneagrams were discovered was a bit shallow in my opinion, but perhaps I just picked up the wrong book for that or there isn't that much information to be had. Either way, it was informative if not super in depth.
March 4, 2020
~4.5 stars.
This book is an interesting introduction to the Enneagram theory. The writer develops each type, their strengths and weaknesses and explains how one can grow to a healthy version of their type and reach their maximum potential. I found lots of typos that were annoying but otherwise, I really liked this work.
This book is an interesting introduction to the Enneagram theory. The writer develops each type, their strengths and weaknesses and explains how one can grow to a healthy version of their type and reach their maximum potential. I found lots of typos that were annoying but otherwise, I really liked this work.
August 27, 2020
Pretty interesting to learn about something new, I had never heard about Enneagram before.
Think a shorter title would have been better. Enneagram: A short introduction, for example. Instead of something that sounds like it could be divided into seperate titles for a series.
Think a shorter title would have been better. Enneagram: A short introduction, for example. Instead of something that sounds like it could be divided into seperate titles for a series.
June 13, 2019
Very interesting read
March 3, 2024
The worst book ever to learn about the enneagram. Just read the fundamental text by Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson, not this dumbed-down drivel
August 16, 2020
110% - 5 Stars
The title is just so long...
That being said - This is a well written guide through the enneagram personality system. If you are looking to learn more about it, this is a good beginner's walkthrough.
The title is just so long...
That being said - This is a well written guide through the enneagram personality system. If you are looking to learn more about it, this is a good beginner's walkthrough.
June 5, 2022
Wow I’m like sincerely surprised that this book doesn’t have at least a 4.2 average on here.
This dude dug into my soul. Like. I was crying.
I was always skeptical of enneagram because I was stupidly devoted to MBTI. For 5 years I studied the MBTI and it still barely makes sense. But 5 years of heavy introspection made identifying my enneagram a breeze.
The enneagram is actually heavily psychological in the therapeutic sense. The MBTI (I know no one asked me to compare and contrast but 🤷🏻♀️) seems to be mostly used in occupational psychology but the enneagram is like “let me uncover your childhood trauma and help you heal”
And the issue though, I suppose, is that some people 1) don’t want to face their issues (you know those people who you might be “friends” with and they’re running in circles repeating their negative patterns and when you try to point out what’s really going on, they get triggered and make you an enemy?) 2) genuinely don’t have trauma??
Also there must be more than 9 types of childhood wounding. And the “wings” don’t make total sense (like why can’t a 5 wing with 7? 7 is supposed to be a stressed out expression of 5 but maybe for some 5’s it’s their healthy expression?! 5 is extremely curious and 7 is exploratory. It seems logical that a truly healthy 5 will want to explore not just in their minds but in real life)
I feel like I enjoyed the book because I happen to fit a type but I can see how some people don’t resonate. Also I think if you see it as a theory that is up for editing (like a rough draft) then it’s easier to take the good parts that make sense and fix the areas that seem shaky.
Chapter 4-“what made you this way?” is super juicy and overall this book is a must-read for people interested in self-knowledge and growth. (It’s not that long. If you don’t like it, you wouldn’t have wasted much time.)
This dude dug into my soul. Like. I was crying.
I was always skeptical of enneagram because I was stupidly devoted to MBTI. For 5 years I studied the MBTI and it still barely makes sense. But 5 years of heavy introspection made identifying my enneagram a breeze.
The enneagram is actually heavily psychological in the therapeutic sense. The MBTI (I know no one asked me to compare and contrast but 🤷🏻♀️) seems to be mostly used in occupational psychology but the enneagram is like “let me uncover your childhood trauma and help you heal”
And the issue though, I suppose, is that some people 1) don’t want to face their issues (you know those people who you might be “friends” with and they’re running in circles repeating their negative patterns and when you try to point out what’s really going on, they get triggered and make you an enemy?) 2) genuinely don’t have trauma??
Also there must be more than 9 types of childhood wounding. And the “wings” don’t make total sense (like why can’t a 5 wing with 7? 7 is supposed to be a stressed out expression of 5 but maybe for some 5’s it’s their healthy expression?! 5 is extremely curious and 7 is exploratory. It seems logical that a truly healthy 5 will want to explore not just in their minds but in real life)
I feel like I enjoyed the book because I happen to fit a type but I can see how some people don’t resonate. Also I think if you see it as a theory that is up for editing (like a rough draft) then it’s easier to take the good parts that make sense and fix the areas that seem shaky.
Chapter 4-“what made you this way?” is super juicy and overall this book is a must-read for people interested in self-knowledge and growth. (It’s not that long. If you don’t like it, you wouldn’t have wasted much time.)
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews