quite personal, with many different views or interpretations. Many see spirituality as equivalent to a religion and believing in a God. For others, including myself, these are matters that are not necessarily connected with each other. One example is Buddhism, where believing in God is not part of the spiritual doctrine. Some nonreligious people lead spiritual lives. Conversely, not everyone who is part of a religious group follows a spiritual way of life.
Spirituality is, in a broad sense, how people experience themselves as part of a greater whole, when they feel a connection and unity with everything or seek to realize it within themselves. I also see it as when people welcome the Higher Self into themselves. This Higher Self may be God or Allah or even the Higher Self that is present within you. This can be the desire to live following your true self, your essence, and it’s based on higher values or virtues. An example of the latter is when people choose to live out of love. Love is the highest value on which they base their lives, and they strive for it above all else. The goal that people pursue — especially the ways in which they articulate that goal — differs from person to person. People who believe in God may formulate their aspirations in this life in order to feel closer to God. People who don't believe in God articulate it as something akin to becoming free. How one pursues this goal may make little difference at its core because if the goal is to feel closer to God, then the question is, “What stands between you and God?” If the goal is to become free as a person, then the question is “What stands between you and being free?” The answer is the same: You alone stand in the way: your ego.
Two sides of the same coin
The psychological and spiritual aspects are two sides of the same coin. In spiritual traditions, the Lower Self, or ego, is always investigated and interrogated, precisely because this is the beginning and therefore the starting point for transforming into higher values. It’s perfectly plausible that the reason a spiritual orientation arose in people is due to the daily observation that people suffer mainly from the ego. Many people want to suffer less, so humans have been searching for the How for thousands of years. What can people do to suffer less? Only the language in which things are expressed is different. In these differences you can see the changes on earth from place to place over the course of time.
With the development of science in recent decades, people’s mental well-being (or lack thereof) has become a specialized field of psychological research. The methods of development in this case are called therapy. It’s not difficult for the spiritual practitioner to recognize in various other therapies the core of what is practiced in one's own spiritual practice. The guru is now called a psychotherapist, one who also focuses on meaning and the pursuit of developing higher values in the client — simply because it makes everyone happier as people!
The psychospiritual Enneagram
It’s not a case of either-or; the Enneagram has both psychological and spiritual elements:
The psychological map charts your inner self — your ego.
The spiritual side maps your Higher Self.
The method provides insight into how to move from one to the other — the path of transformation from the Lower Self to the Higher Self.
Above all, the Enneagram extends the invitation to every person to achieve the Higher Self within themselves by learning to face the Lower Self within themselves. One is not separate from the other!
Being human
The Greek word for “human” or “humanity” is anthrôpos, which, in the ancient Greek sense, stood for “he who looks up” and “he who is destined to the higher.” Being (or becoming) truly human was about opening oneself to the higher, but also to others and caring for the well-being of others. It meant being a good person.
WHATEVER WORKS FOR YOU!
The fact that you picked up this book and are reading it may indicate that you’re also on a quest — a quest for your own development or a quest based on your profession. Maybe you’re looking for a tool that can help you, your customer, or your organization and employees. This quest might have many different reasons or goals, but you’re reading this Enneagrams For Dummies to gain insights quickly as well as an overview of whether the Enneagram might mean something to you — and if so, how.
I tell you in the main text what the Enneagram is and what it has to offer — the model and method side, and the psychology and spiritual side. Those are the perspectives from which I wrote this book.
The Enneagram is nothing more or less than one of the many means of transportation on the journey to development. It’s a tool for self-management. For me personally, this tool has helped me so much that I enjoy helping other people benefit from it as much as I do. Everyone is different, however, and what works for me might not for work for someone else. Perhaps the most important advice is to go discover what works for you!
The path that the Enneagram offers is learning to relax your type and welcoming your true self and the higher virtues you have within. At the end of the path, your ego or your type is no longer in charge. The Enneagram provides a path to life based on awareness. You then have knowledge of yourself and your own limitations and qualities, and with knowledge of others, but also becoming more receptive to what is there and what’s present in you and in your life — a life with more balance, more tranquility, more joy, more wisdom, more peace, and more love.
A Helpful Summary
Here's a final overview as you prepare to start your journey
What is the Enneagram?
Symbol with various meanings
Symbol in which your psychological and spiritual structures are summarized
Map of your inner self
Model that distinguishes nine personality structures
Method of practice for personal development
Method in which the path of development is different for each of the nine types
The benefits of using the Enneagram for development
Getting to know yourself and discovering who you are
Getting to know others and discovering how they’re different
Acknowledging recognition, acceptance, and appreciation for yourself and others
Allowing compassion for yourself and for others
Building a bridge between people so that they can have more understanding of, and for, each other.
Fostering meaning and appreciation of your life (including your past, your parents, and your ex, for example).
Connecting with yourself, which leads to connecting with others
Gaining an inner balance and becoming less easily unbalanced by outside forces
Experiencing inner peace
Becoming a freer person, with your happiness less dependent, or no longer dependent, on people around you or on situations, for example
Having more fun and pleasure in your life
Chapter 2
Before You Get Started
IN THIS CHAPTER