Before reading the type descriptions, you may wish to take a test to determine your own enneagram type. Or you may want to read the type descriptions first, and see if you can figure it out that way. Either way, here are some links to helpful tests.
From the Riso-Hudson Enneagram-Institute Site: Free Sample RHETI
There is also a free QUEST test available at the same web page. You may purchase the full RHETI or the QUEST/TAS for a more accurate assessment of your type, as well as the Instinctual Variants Test.
Eclecticenergies.com also has a couple good enneagram tests. One of them is the traditional test, without the instinctual variants, and one is a newer test that includes the instinctual variants: Enneagram Test
Type 1, The Perfectionist
Triad (Corner): Instinctive (body centered, doing)
Core Issue: Anger (underexpressed)
Personality runs on: Frustration (Idealism and perfectionism leads to frustration)
Values: Competency (vs. positive outlook or emotional reactivity)
Style: Compliant to superego (vs. withdrawn or aggressive)
Passion:
Virtue:
Need:
Description: Grounded, bodily presence. Perfectionistic, controlled. Superego runs the show. Strong need to do the right thing without compromise. Undercurrent of frustration and resentment. Can be highly critical of themselves and others. Usually don’t realize the extent of their anger and resentment, although others are usually aware of it. Hide their anger behind “shoulds.” “You should do that because it’s right,” “You shouldn’t do that because it’s wrong.”
Under stress, can become melancholy and moody like average level Type 4.
At their best, learn to accept themselves, others and the world as it is, learn to let go of control and become playful, joyful and spontaneous, like a healthy 7.
Healthy Ones embody the serenity prayer (a good prayer for all types, but especially the types who run on frustration): “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
People of this type: Hilary Clinton, Mohandas Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, Sidney Poitier, Harrison Ford, my mother.
An exercise for Type 1: Observe your thoughts and reactions as you enter a room full of people. Notice how quickly your mind makes judgements about others. Write them down. Ask yourself if each judgement is true. How do you know? If there is something wrong, is it YOUR problem?
Type 2: The Helper
Triad (Corner): Heart (image, feeling)
Core Issue: Shame
Personality runs on: Rejection
Values: Positive Outlook
Style: Compliant to superego demands to be loving and helpful
Passion: Pride
Virtue: Humility
Need: To be needed
Description: Twos are friendly, outgoing, helpful, and aware of the needs of others. The superego message of 2s is that they should “be helpful and loving.” One of the most outwardly emotional types, Type Twos overexpress their feelings, particularly love and sadness. When average to unhealthy, Twos need to be needed, and will praise and flatter others so that others will come to like them and rely on them.
Twos are very in tune with the needs of other people and try to meet those needs. And they expect others to be equally in tune with their needs, and to pay them back. When fixated they keep score, and when not paid back get resentful and manipulative. Twos seem to take on self-destructive behaviors like overeating, drinking too much, or smoking. They internalize their hurt feelings, and somaticize easily. This can lead to actual physical illnesses in which others are forced to take care of them.
Alternatively, under stress, Twos can become angry and forceful, like average level Type 8.
When in the presence of others, it is almost impossible for Twos to figure out what their own needs are. When they move to Point 4, they learn to withdraw from people in order to figure out what their own needs are. They realize that they are human and their motivations aren’t always pure. They are willing to seek help and input from others. At their best Twos learn to feel their feelings and take care of their own needs directly, like a healthy 4.
Healthy Twos attract people. They are the people who leave their doors open and seem to have people wandering in and out and making themselves at home.
Examples of this type: Mother Theresa, seeing eye dogs, Mary Kay Ash, Mr. Rogers, Leo Buscaglia, classic codependency, the Jewish mother stereotype “After all I’ve done for you…!” Kathy Bates (watch Ambulance Girl (healthier) or Misery (very unhealthy)), the father in the movie Shine (unhealthy), Danny Glover, Alan Alda.
An exercise for Type 2: At the beginning of a commercial flight on an airliner, the flight attendants give a little safety speech. Included in this speech is something like this: "In the case of rapid depressurization of the airplane, the oxygen masks drop down. Put the oxygen mask on yourself first." There is a reason for this - you won't be any good to others if you, yourself, are passed out from lack of oxygen.
For twos, this is a difficult concept. So, try this:
Go somewhere you can be alone, where there is no one else who has needs that you feel the need to fulfill. Right now, you are not responsible for taking care of a child, feeding your spouse, helping at church, or feeding the starving children in India. Trust that there is a higher power who will take care of everyone else, that there is a bigger plan, that there is enough love to go around, even without yours.
Ask yourself what you (YOU) want, right this minute, for yourself? Do you want a bubblebath? To take a walk? A cigarette? To eat massive quantities of fudge brownie ice cream?
Do you want the love you feel you deserve? How can you love yourself without doing things that are self-destructive? Imagine loving yourself and meeting your own needs the way you meet the needs of others. You deserve the best.
Type 3: The Achiever
Triad (Corner): Heart (image, feeling)
Core Issue: Shame
Personality runs on: Attachment
Values: Competency
Style: Aggressive
Passion: Deceit, Vanity
Virtue: Authenticity, Veracity
Need to: Be successful
Description: Threes are the “human doings” of the enneagram. They set goals and work toward them. They are able to set their feelings aside and just get the job done. Being in the center of the feeling triad, they are the most out of touch with their heart feelings. Thinking and doing take center stage. Threes are very good at self-promotion, and adjust themselves and their personalities to meet the needs of their target audiences. Image is very important, and Threes maintain a smooth, competent façade, even when their inner worlds are falling apart.
When fixated, a Threes are completely out of touch with the desires of their own hearts. They are living someone else’s dream. They are afraid of looking inside themselves, and don’t spend any time cultivating their inner lives. Their whole sense of self-esteem depends on their accomplishments in life; on their success. They don’t see themselves as having value apart from what they do. Often Threes will talk about having overcome some kind of huge obstacle on their way to success.
Threes want to excel no matter what the setting. In the corporate world, Threes will try to be the best executive there is, and will work hard on rising to the top. In spiritual work, a three may try to be the best meditator around.
Under stress, Threes can totally burn out and become avoidant, passive, unmotivated, like average to unhealthy Type 9.
When healthy, Threes learn to get in touch with their own feelings, their own hearts. They learn to separate their own hearts desires from the desires of those around them. They follow their own dreams, gain purpose in life from who they are not what they do. They learn some healthy doubt at point 6, and learn to be loyal to others. They see that there is a bigger picture out there than their own personal goals.
People of this type: Oprah Winfrey, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bill Clinton, Tom Cruise, Michael Jordan, Paul McCartney, Reese Witherspoon, “The Talented Mr. Ripley.”
An exercise for Type 3: Stop doing for a time every day. Ask yourself: “who are you without your actions?”
As written in the New Testament, Matthew 6:25-29: "I tell you not to worry about your life. Don't worry about having something to eat, drink, or wear. Isn't life more than food or clothing? Look at the birds in the sky! They don't plant or harvest. They don't even store grain in barns. Yet your Father in heaven takes care of them. Aren't you worth more than birds? Can worry make you live longer? Why worry about clothes? Look how the wildflowers grow. They don't work hard to make their clothes. But I tell you that Solomon with all his wealth wasn't as well clothed as one of them.
What would happen if you took some off of work and let God handle the details? Spend some time every day or every week doing something that has no purpose whatsoever other than your own personal enjoyment. Even spiritual work can become another quest for success for the 3 so be aware of that. What does it mean to just relax and be?
Type 4, The Individualist
Triad (Corner): Heart (image, feeling)
Core Issue: Shame
Personality runs on: Frustration
Values: Emotional Reactivity
Style: Withdrawn
Passion: Envy
Virtue: Equanimity
Description: Creatures of emotional extremes, fours are awash in a stormy sea of emotions. They are all about relationships and seem to be always beginning, ending, or analyzing relationships. They feel frustrated in their search for connection to others. As children, they didn’t feel like the parents really understood them or were there for them emotionally. Whether or not this was really true is beside the point. They feel like they were born into the wrong family and continue to seek out people who will nurture them, mirror them, and rescue them from their suffering.
Fours are not content with the ordinary, in any sense of the word. They like to look stunningly beautiful or completely unique. Their living quarters must be tasteful or artistic. Ordinary emotions won’t do, they like to have the highest of emotional highs and lowest of lows. They live their lives moving between ecstacy and despair.
The passion of the Four is envy. Ironically, they envy certain qualities of other people, such as their happiness or their relationships, while at the same time feeling disdain for those same people’s ordinariness.
Fours are so identified with their feelings that they believe they ARE their feelings. They believe that they are flawed, different or special and form their identities around these feelings. They tend to view people of other types, especially 3s or 7s, as shallow, and themselves as deep. The problem is that fixated fours don’t really feel their feelings. They create all the drama precisely to avoid feeling the real pain of their lives, and so are as shallow as every other fixated type.
Fours withdraw from others, often with high drama, so that others come and find them. They also withdraw to protect themselves from getting their feelings hurt. When unhealthy, they are so reactive that others feel they need to walk on eggshells around them. They also can become overly helpful and intrusive, like average to unhealthy Type 2s.
When healthy, fours learn to stay with the ordinariness of their real feelings – to actually feel the real pain, grief, sadness that comes with living. As a result they are also able to feel happiness and joy. Healthy fours learn to stop identifying with their feelings, gain some objectivity, and be ordinary. As Don Riso said in a recent workshop, referring to his nine levels of development of the types, “A four at level 3 (healthy range) can shop at K-Mart. A four at level 4 (average range) can’t.”
When fours stop identifying with their pain, and start feeling it and letting it go, they become extremely gifted at seeing the beauty in all of the raw emotions of life. If they have an artistic streak, they use their understanding of emotion and their aesthetic sensibilities to create works of art, and are able to put those works of art out there for others to experience.
At their best, Fours find dry land on which to stand, incorporate objectivity into their psyches, and gain wisdom like a healthy 1. They learn to ground themselves in present reality instead of dwelling on past suffering. They achieve equanimity. And when 4s incorporate the healthy side of 2, they can be magnificent therapists, helping others navigate through their own difficult feelings.
Examples of this type: Johnny Depp, Nicholas Cage, Anthony Hopkins, Cher, Frasier, Judy Garland, Sylvia Plath, Prince, Bob Dylan, Edgar Allan Poe, the Goths, the Drama Queen, France.
An exercise for Type 4: Notice when you move from reality into fantasy. What is in your fantasy world that is not in your real world? What emotions do you feel there? Spend some time in your imagination.
Now breathe deeply into your belly. Feel your body. Pay attention to your feet, your legs, how your body is supported by the floor or the chair. Now breathe deeply into your chest, into your heart space. What emotions do you feel now? Try to discern your real feelings from your imagined feelings.
Type 9: The Peacemaker
Triad (Corner): Gut
Core Issue: Anger
Personality runs on: Attachment
Values: Positive Outlook
Style: Withdrawn
Passion: Sloth
Virtue: Action
Description: Nines are in the center of the Gut, or Instinctive Triad, and as such are the most out of touch with their instinctual energy, particularly anger. Nines have a relaxed, grounded, bodily presence. They are in the Positive Outlook triad, and can range from being quietly optimistic to outright ebullient.
Nines merge with others, taking on the energy of those around them. This helps them to understand others, but they become out of touch with their own feelings and desires. It is very difficult for them to make up their minds, or to discern what is important.
Nines avoid direct conflict or direct expression of anger, and can be quite passive-aggressive. When pushed, they can dig in and become immovable objects. They are attached to an inner state of peacefulness, and withdraw to protect that state. Under stress, can become reactive and paranoid, like average to unhealthy Type 6.
When relaxed and healthy, nines are able to use their tremendous gift for seeing the big picture and understanding all sides of a conflict to mediate between people and help people resolve conflict. They are also able to stand up for themselves and be direct about their own needs. They gain a healthy assertiveness, and therefore do not need to resort to passive aggressive behavior.
At their best, Nines discern their own goals and engage in direct action to meet those goals, like a healthy Type 3.
Examples of this type: Ronald Reagan, Whoopi Goldberg, William Hurt (The Accidental Tourist), Pleasantville, Walt Disney, Garrison Keillor, Marge Simpson, Canada, Austria.
An exercise for Type 9: Look around you and notice what is here. Is there something that needs to be done? Is there someone who needs to be attended to? What is important in this moment, in this place? Ask yourself what is keeping your from taking care of what needs to be taken care of.
Triad (Corner): Heart (image, feeling)
Core Issue: Shame
Personality runs on: Frustration
Values: Emotional Reactivity
Style: Withdrawn
Passion: Envy
Virtue: Equanimity
Description: Creatures of emotional extremes, fours are awash in a stormy sea of emotions. They are all about relationships and seem to be always beginning, ending, or analyzing relationships. They feel frustrated in their search for connection to others. As children, they didn’t feel like the parents really understood them or were there for them emotionally. Whether or not this was really true is beside the point. They feel like they were born into the wrong family and continue to seek out people who will nurture them, mirror them, and rescue them from their suffering.
Fours are not content with the ordinary, in any sense of the word. They like to look stunningly beautiful or completely unique. Their living quarters must be tasteful or artistic. Ordinary emotions won’t do, they like to have the highest of emotional highs and lowest of lows. They live their lives moving between ecstacy and despair.
The passion of the Four is envy. Ironically, they envy certain qualities of other people, such as their happiness or their relationships, while at the same time feeling disdain for those same people’s ordinariness.
Fours are so identified with their feelings that they believe they ARE their feelings. They believe that they are flawed, different or special and form their identities around these feelings. They tend to view people of other types, especially 3s or 7s, as shallow, and themselves as deep. The problem is that fixated fours don’t really feel their feelings. They create all the drama precisely to avoid feeling the real pain of their lives, and so are as shallow as every other fixated type.
Fours withdraw from others, often with high drama, so that others come and find them. They also withdraw to protect themselves from getting their feelings hurt. When unhealthy, they are so reactive that others feel they need to walk on eggshells around them. They also can become overly helpful and intrusive, like average to unhealthy Type 2s.
When healthy, fours learn to stay with the ordinariness of their real feelings – to actually feel the real pain, grief, sadness that comes with living. As a result they are also able to feel happiness and joy. Healthy fours learn to stop identifying with their feelings, gain some objectivity, and be ordinary. As Don Riso said in a recent workshop, referring to his nine levels of development of the types, “A four at level 3 (healthy range) can shop at K-Mart. A four at level 4 (average range) can’t.”
When fours stop identifying with their pain, and start feeling it and letting it go, they become extremely gifted at seeing the beauty in all of the raw emotions of life. If they have an artistic streak, they use their understanding of emotion and their aesthetic sensibilities to create works of art, and are able to put those works of art out there for others to experience.
At their best, Fours find dry land on which to stand, incorporate objectivity into their psyches, and gain wisdom like a healthy 1. They learn to ground themselves in present reality instead of dwelling on past suffering. They achieve equanimity. And when 4s incorporate the healthy side of 2, they can be magnificent therapists, helping others navigate through their own difficult feelings.
Examples of this type: Johnny Depp, Nicholas Cage, Anthony Hopkins, Cher, Frasier, Judy Garland, Sylvia Plath, Prince, Bob Dylan, Edgar Allan Poe, the Goths, the Drama Queen, France.
An exercise for Type 4: Notice when you move from reality into fantasy. What is in your fantasy world that is not in your real world? What emotions do you feel there? Spend some time in your imagination.
Now breathe deeply into your belly. Feel your body. Pay attention to your feet, your legs, how your body is supported by the floor or the chair. Now breathe deeply into your chest, into your heart space. What emotions do you feel now? Try to discern your real feelings from your imagined feelings.
Type 5: The Deep Thinker
Triad (Corner): Head (thinking)
Core Issue: Fear, anxiety
Personality runs on: Rejection
Values: Competency
Style: Withdrawn
Passion: Avarice
Virtue: Nonattachment
Values: Competency
Style: Withdrawn
Passion: Avarice
Virtue: Nonattachment
Description: Fives are the intellectual heavyweights of the enneagram, but can have a very faint physical presence. Of all the types, they are the most likely to want to live exclusively in their minds. They don’t feel at home in the world, or even in their own bodies. If Type 4 feels like they were born into the wrong families, Type 5s feel like they were born onto the wrong planet. They feel alien, and indeed others can perceive them as a bit odd or eccentric.
Fives are often fascinated by the dark side of life, and can be extremely cynical. There is often a precocious awareness of death, and a sense that nothing really matters anyway. They lose the sense of a divine purpose, and try to substitue their own knowledge for the direct experience of the divine.
Fives are often known for being collectors, whether their collections consist of insects, books, or knowledge. Not only do they collect, but they also hoard. Their passion is avarice, or stinginess. They fear that there is not enough in the world to go around, so they hang on to what they have. This applies to Fives emotionally, as they withhold feelings from others, and with all the gifts and talents that they may have. Fives often try to make up for their insecurities by becoming an expert or guru in some narrow subject matter. Then they feel secure enough to venture out into the world.
Fives are thin skinned and sensitive, and withdraw from people so as not to be overwhelmed by their needs, demands and emotions. A competency type, Fives prefer to set their own emotions aside to get their work done, and then process them later in private.
Under stress, can become scattered and overextended, like average level Type 7. Instead of focusing on their area of expertise, they may fly into all kinds of various interests.
Healthy Fives learn to loosen their grip on their emotions and talents, and interact in the world. They learn to open their big hearts and love other people. They become grounded in their bodies, and not only think about things, but get things accomplished. At their best they inhabit their bodies and hearts fully, and put their work out into the world, like a healthy 8. They start to believe that there is enough of them and their resources to go around, and stop hoarding their feelings and talents.
Examples of this type: Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Stephen King, Stanley Kubrick, Vincent Van Gogh, Howard Hughes, Jodie Foster (watch Contact for a good example of Type 5), the Buddha, Edward Scissorhands, “Dr. House,” “Ebenezer Scrooge,” British humor such as Monty Python, Finland.
An exercise for Type 5: Look around you at your surroundings. Really see what is out there. What have you seen before, and what have you never noticed. Is there anything that gives you delight? Is there anything that needs to be done? Can you connect with your doing center, move your body, and do what needs to be done?
Fives are often fascinated by the dark side of life, and can be extremely cynical. There is often a precocious awareness of death, and a sense that nothing really matters anyway. They lose the sense of a divine purpose, and try to substitue their own knowledge for the direct experience of the divine.
Fives are often known for being collectors, whether their collections consist of insects, books, or knowledge. Not only do they collect, but they also hoard. Their passion is avarice, or stinginess. They fear that there is not enough in the world to go around, so they hang on to what they have. This applies to Fives emotionally, as they withhold feelings from others, and with all the gifts and talents that they may have. Fives often try to make up for their insecurities by becoming an expert or guru in some narrow subject matter. Then they feel secure enough to venture out into the world.
Fives are thin skinned and sensitive, and withdraw from people so as not to be overwhelmed by their needs, demands and emotions. A competency type, Fives prefer to set their own emotions aside to get their work done, and then process them later in private.
Under stress, can become scattered and overextended, like average level Type 7. Instead of focusing on their area of expertise, they may fly into all kinds of various interests.
Healthy Fives learn to loosen their grip on their emotions and talents, and interact in the world. They learn to open their big hearts and love other people. They become grounded in their bodies, and not only think about things, but get things accomplished. At their best they inhabit their bodies and hearts fully, and put their work out into the world, like a healthy 8. They start to believe that there is enough of them and their resources to go around, and stop hoarding their feelings and talents.
Examples of this type: Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Stephen King, Stanley Kubrick, Vincent Van Gogh, Howard Hughes, Jodie Foster (watch Contact for a good example of Type 5), the Buddha, Edward Scissorhands, “Dr. House,” “Ebenezer Scrooge,” British humor such as Monty Python, Finland.
An exercise for Type 5: Look around you at your surroundings. Really see what is out there. What have you seen before, and what have you never noticed. Is there anything that gives you delight? Is there anything that needs to be done? Can you connect with your doing center, move your body, and do what needs to be done?
Type 6, The Troubleshooter
Triad (Corner): Head (thinking)
Core Issue: Fear
Personality runs on: Attachment
Values: Emotional Reactivity
Style: Compliant
Passion: Fear
Virtue: Courage
Description: Sixes are the troubleshooters of the enneagram. As members of the thinking triad, they are the most out of touch with the quiet, higher thinking center and their own inner guidance. Their minds spin out of control, on future possibilities, usually imagining the worst. As a result, they are anxious and wary of their surroundings. Physically, there can be a palpable anxiety to them, and many have a wide-eyed, surprised look.
Tom Condon, a leading enneagram teacher and NLP (neurolinguistic Programming therapist), and himself a Six, talks about how Sixes show themselves scary movies, and then add scary narration. “Sixes like to scare themselves.”
To calm themselves, sixes attach themselves to things outside themselves, that they think can give them security, such as groups, rules, authorities, and belief systems. They rely on these sources of security while at the same time remaining a bit distrustful of them. Sixes can be quite opinionated and defensive about their opinions. There is an ambivalence, a push-pull, to Sixes. They can be outwardly friendly and accomodating, while inwardly distrustful of you.
One of the gifts of the Six comes directly from their insecurities and abilities to dream up worst case scenarios. Sixes make excellent troubleshooters. While others may be surprised by disasters and not know how to respond, Sixes often have already worked the possible scenarios through in their own minds, and know exactly how to react. And in a crisis situation, it is good to have people who react immediately, instead of studying the problem for days. (Think about the government “response” to Hurrican Katrina.)
Sixes are often described as being either phobic (reacting in fear) or counterphobic (reacting against their fear). In reality, all sixes are on a continuum of phobia-counterphobia, with one style dominating more at different times in their lives. An example of counterphobic behavior would be to act against the fear of heights by going bungee jumping off a tall building.
Under stress, in addition to becoming more and more anxious, ambivalent, and attached to more and more outrageous belief systems. They can also become workaholic and image conscious, like average level Type 3.
At their best, Sixes connect with their own inner guidance and learn to trust themselves, instead of looking outside themselves for security. They gain a view of the big picture, learn to relax and feel positively supported by the universe, like a healthy 9.
Examples of this type: Ellen DeGeneres, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Johnny Carson, Woody Allen, Malcolm X, Mel Gibson, Bruce Springsteen, Marilyn Monroe, fundamentalist belief systems.
Exercises for Type 6: Think about how you feel supported in life. In what ways have you looked outside yourself for support? What belief systems have made you feel secure? If you wish, write down your observations.
Now think about how you have disowned your own inner guidance by looking outside yourself for security. Have you missed opportunities for growth because of fear? Have you ignored your own hearts desires because of fear? In what ways have you reacted against your fears?
To access your own inner guidance, you must learn to distinguish between opinions and real guidance. Opinions need defending. Your own inner guidance comes from a quiet place, and will just feel right. You won’t feel the need to defend it; you will just know that it is right for you. To access your own inner guidance, you will need to learn to quiet your overactive mind, connect with your body and heart, and your higher thinking center.
Triad (Corner): Head (thinking)
Core Issue: Fear
Personality runs on: Attachment
Values: Emotional Reactivity
Style: Compliant
Passion: Fear
Virtue: Courage
Description: Sixes are the troubleshooters of the enneagram. As members of the thinking triad, they are the most out of touch with the quiet, higher thinking center and their own inner guidance. Their minds spin out of control, on future possibilities, usually imagining the worst. As a result, they are anxious and wary of their surroundings. Physically, there can be a palpable anxiety to them, and many have a wide-eyed, surprised look.
Tom Condon, a leading enneagram teacher and NLP (neurolinguistic Programming therapist), and himself a Six, talks about how Sixes show themselves scary movies, and then add scary narration. “Sixes like to scare themselves.”
To calm themselves, sixes attach themselves to things outside themselves, that they think can give them security, such as groups, rules, authorities, and belief systems. They rely on these sources of security while at the same time remaining a bit distrustful of them. Sixes can be quite opinionated and defensive about their opinions. There is an ambivalence, a push-pull, to Sixes. They can be outwardly friendly and accomodating, while inwardly distrustful of you.
One of the gifts of the Six comes directly from their insecurities and abilities to dream up worst case scenarios. Sixes make excellent troubleshooters. While others may be surprised by disasters and not know how to respond, Sixes often have already worked the possible scenarios through in their own minds, and know exactly how to react. And in a crisis situation, it is good to have people who react immediately, instead of studying the problem for days. (Think about the government “response” to Hurrican Katrina.)
Sixes are often described as being either phobic (reacting in fear) or counterphobic (reacting against their fear). In reality, all sixes are on a continuum of phobia-counterphobia, with one style dominating more at different times in their lives. An example of counterphobic behavior would be to act against the fear of heights by going bungee jumping off a tall building.
Under stress, in addition to becoming more and more anxious, ambivalent, and attached to more and more outrageous belief systems. They can also become workaholic and image conscious, like average level Type 3.
At their best, Sixes connect with their own inner guidance and learn to trust themselves, instead of looking outside themselves for security. They gain a view of the big picture, learn to relax and feel positively supported by the universe, like a healthy 9.
Examples of this type: Ellen DeGeneres, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Johnny Carson, Woody Allen, Malcolm X, Mel Gibson, Bruce Springsteen, Marilyn Monroe, fundamentalist belief systems.
Exercises for Type 6: Think about how you feel supported in life. In what ways have you looked outside yourself for support? What belief systems have made you feel secure? If you wish, write down your observations.
Now think about how you have disowned your own inner guidance by looking outside yourself for security. Have you missed opportunities for growth because of fear? Have you ignored your own hearts desires because of fear? In what ways have you reacted against your fears?
To access your own inner guidance, you must learn to distinguish between opinions and real guidance. Opinions need defending. Your own inner guidance comes from a quiet place, and will just feel right. You won’t feel the need to defend it; you will just know that it is right for you. To access your own inner guidance, you will need to learn to quiet your overactive mind, connect with your body and heart, and your higher thinking center.
Type 7, The Enthusiast
Triad (Corner): Head (thinking)
Core Issue: Fear, anxiety
Personality runs on: Frustration
Values: Positive Outlook
Style: Aggressive
Passion: Gluttony (for experiences and mental stimulation)
Virtue: Sobriety – “I have enough.”
Description: Sevens are upbeat and energetic, and have minds that don’t quit. The Seven mind is always busy making connections between different ideas, which can make them seem scattered, but also funny and entertaining. Sevens are good at brainstorming new ideas and beginning new projects, but can have trouble with followthrough. In average levels of health, Sevens can seem ADD and manic, and many sevens get asked if they have been diagnosed with these disorders. While sevens like to live in the world of ideas, they also like to implement those ideas in practical ways.
Sevens are highly extroverted and focus virtually all their attention at the world around them. They like to keep moving, and woe unto the person who gets in their way. Sevens are easily frustrated by others who can’t keep up, and by the world itself with all it’s pain and imperfections. Because sevens are quick learners, they tend to study one thing for a while and then move on before things get too difficult or boring. This gets to be a problem when they can’t ever decide what they want to be when they grow up.
Sevens are often thought of as shallow and pain avoidant, but this isn’t quite accurate. When fixated, all types are equally shallow, and all types try to avoid pain. Average sevens are impatient with pain. They are very sensitive and feel their pain very strongly, and just want it to go away so they can move on. The seven basic fear is that they will be trapped in pain. Sevens tend to have a high tolerance for physical pain, but little tolerance for emotional pain. Sevens are an aggressive type, and as such, don’t have a strong connection to their heart energy.
Under stress, the idealistic seven can become critical and perfectionistic, like average level Type 1. This type who is usually guilty of “excessive happiness” can become absolutely miserable to be around, launching into critical tirades that can wound everyone around them. On the positive side of the connection to 1, being at 1 narrows the worldview of the seven down to their immediate surroundings, and sevens do what needs to be done to improve their own little world, rather than trying to fix all the problems in the whole world.
When relaxed and healthy, sevens start to accept reality the way it is, start to believe that they have enough of everything, and can gradually let go of the need for constant stimulation. They learn to develop their inner lives. At their best Sevens focus their energies and bring projects to completion, like a healthy 5.
Examples of this type: Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, Carol Burnett, Lucille Ball, Geraldo Rivera, Larry King, Craig Ferguson, JFK, Anita Roddick (Body Shop), Steven Spielberg, Peter Pan, Leonardo DaVinci, Optimists International, Brazil, the Renaissance Person, enneagram author Michael Goldberg.
An exercise for Type 7: Find a way to get out of your head and to stop living in your future plans. Do Tai Chi and really be present and feel your body. Or take a walk and feel the air moving in and out of your lungs. Breathe deeply into your belly and into your heart space. Smell the flowers and trees, or the dust. Look at what is around you right now. Be with the experience that you are living right now.
One of the simplest ways to learn to turn off the spinning mind, is also one of the most difficult for sevens, who like to stay in motion. It is called mindfulness meditation: Sit quietly and notice your breath. Notice where your mind goes. Stop the thoughts and focus on your breath. After a time you will learn to turn off the spinning of the mind and be with your present experience.
Triad (Corner): Head (thinking)
Core Issue: Fear, anxiety
Personality runs on: Frustration
Values: Positive Outlook
Style: Aggressive
Passion: Gluttony (for experiences and mental stimulation)
Virtue: Sobriety – “I have enough.”
Description: Sevens are upbeat and energetic, and have minds that don’t quit. The Seven mind is always busy making connections between different ideas, which can make them seem scattered, but also funny and entertaining. Sevens are good at brainstorming new ideas and beginning new projects, but can have trouble with followthrough. In average levels of health, Sevens can seem ADD and manic, and many sevens get asked if they have been diagnosed with these disorders. While sevens like to live in the world of ideas, they also like to implement those ideas in practical ways.
Sevens are highly extroverted and focus virtually all their attention at the world around them. They like to keep moving, and woe unto the person who gets in their way. Sevens are easily frustrated by others who can’t keep up, and by the world itself with all it’s pain and imperfections. Because sevens are quick learners, they tend to study one thing for a while and then move on before things get too difficult or boring. This gets to be a problem when they can’t ever decide what they want to be when they grow up.
Sevens are often thought of as shallow and pain avoidant, but this isn’t quite accurate. When fixated, all types are equally shallow, and all types try to avoid pain. Average sevens are impatient with pain. They are very sensitive and feel their pain very strongly, and just want it to go away so they can move on. The seven basic fear is that they will be trapped in pain. Sevens tend to have a high tolerance for physical pain, but little tolerance for emotional pain. Sevens are an aggressive type, and as such, don’t have a strong connection to their heart energy.
Under stress, the idealistic seven can become critical and perfectionistic, like average level Type 1. This type who is usually guilty of “excessive happiness” can become absolutely miserable to be around, launching into critical tirades that can wound everyone around them. On the positive side of the connection to 1, being at 1 narrows the worldview of the seven down to their immediate surroundings, and sevens do what needs to be done to improve their own little world, rather than trying to fix all the problems in the whole world.
When relaxed and healthy, sevens start to accept reality the way it is, start to believe that they have enough of everything, and can gradually let go of the need for constant stimulation. They learn to develop their inner lives. At their best Sevens focus their energies and bring projects to completion, like a healthy 5.
Examples of this type: Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, Carol Burnett, Lucille Ball, Geraldo Rivera, Larry King, Craig Ferguson, JFK, Anita Roddick (Body Shop), Steven Spielberg, Peter Pan, Leonardo DaVinci, Optimists International, Brazil, the Renaissance Person, enneagram author Michael Goldberg.
An exercise for Type 7: Find a way to get out of your head and to stop living in your future plans. Do Tai Chi and really be present and feel your body. Or take a walk and feel the air moving in and out of your lungs. Breathe deeply into your belly and into your heart space. Smell the flowers and trees, or the dust. Look at what is around you right now. Be with the experience that you are living right now.
One of the simplest ways to learn to turn off the spinning mind, is also one of the most difficult for sevens, who like to stay in motion. It is called mindfulness meditation: Sit quietly and notice your breath. Notice where your mind goes. Stop the thoughts and focus on your breath. After a time you will learn to turn off the spinning of the mind and be with your present experience.
Type 8, The Boss
Triad (Corner): Gut (instinct, doing)
Core Issue: Anger
Personality runs on: Rejection
Values: Emotional Reactivity
Style: Agressive
Passion: Lust
Virtue: Innocence
Description: Eights are a force to be reckoned with. They are strong and independent and resist being controlled by anyone. As Sandra Maitri writes in her book, The Spiritual Dimension of the Enneagram, Eights have a “need to be against.” Their psyches tell them they need to be strong so no one messes with them. There is a grounded, big, palpable, bodily energy to them. They often seem bigger than they actually are.
Eights are the type in the Instinctive triad who overexpress their instinctive energy, particularly anger, although they often overexpress sexual energy as well. Their passion is Lust, which means that they like everything big – they like big experiences, big meals, and building big buildings.
As a result of incidents as vulnerable children, or as a result of how they are wired, Eights have developed a heightened sensitivity to injustice, and react strongly to perceived injustice. As a result, they are natural champions of the underdog, fighting for the rights of the oppressed. Rules aren’t as important as justice. Think of Oscar Schindler, and how he bent the rules to help the Jews in WWII.
Because of this trait, there is confusion between Type 6 (especially counterphobic 6) and Type 8. But the reactions of Type 6 are more often based on fear, anxiety or projection. They may get angry to deal with their fears. They reactivity of the Eight is straight from the gut and is related to what is happening in the present. Eights can have big, angry reactions. You know when an Eight is angry.
Under stress, Eights pull back from the battle to regroup, and withdraw into their heads, like average level Type 5.
Healthy Eights: At their best, they open their hearts and connect with, and accept, their own vulnerability becoming truly generous and interested in helping others, like a healthy 2.
Examples of this type: Russell Crowe, Frank Sinatra, Howard Dean, Lyndon B. Johnson, Oscar Schindler, Roseanne Barr, Susan Sarandon, Paul Newman, Donald Trump, Winnie Mandela, Golda Meier.
An exercise for Type 8:
Triad (Corner): Gut (instinct, doing)
Core Issue: Anger
Personality runs on: Rejection
Values: Emotional Reactivity
Style: Agressive
Passion: Lust
Virtue: Innocence
Description: Eights are a force to be reckoned with. They are strong and independent and resist being controlled by anyone. As Sandra Maitri writes in her book, The Spiritual Dimension of the Enneagram, Eights have a “need to be against.” Their psyches tell them they need to be strong so no one messes with them. There is a grounded, big, palpable, bodily energy to them. They often seem bigger than they actually are.
Eights are the type in the Instinctive triad who overexpress their instinctive energy, particularly anger, although they often overexpress sexual energy as well. Their passion is Lust, which means that they like everything big – they like big experiences, big meals, and building big buildings.
As a result of incidents as vulnerable children, or as a result of how they are wired, Eights have developed a heightened sensitivity to injustice, and react strongly to perceived injustice. As a result, they are natural champions of the underdog, fighting for the rights of the oppressed. Rules aren’t as important as justice. Think of Oscar Schindler, and how he bent the rules to help the Jews in WWII.
Because of this trait, there is confusion between Type 6 (especially counterphobic 6) and Type 8. But the reactions of Type 6 are more often based on fear, anxiety or projection. They may get angry to deal with their fears. They reactivity of the Eight is straight from the gut and is related to what is happening in the present. Eights can have big, angry reactions. You know when an Eight is angry.
Under stress, Eights pull back from the battle to regroup, and withdraw into their heads, like average level Type 5.
Healthy Eights: At their best, they open their hearts and connect with, and accept, their own vulnerability becoming truly generous and interested in helping others, like a healthy 2.
Examples of this type: Russell Crowe, Frank Sinatra, Howard Dean, Lyndon B. Johnson, Oscar Schindler, Roseanne Barr, Susan Sarandon, Paul Newman, Donald Trump, Winnie Mandela, Golda Meier.
An exercise for Type 8:
Type 9: The Peacemaker
Triad (Corner): Gut
Core Issue: Anger
Personality runs on: Attachment
Values: Positive Outlook
Style: Withdrawn
Passion: Sloth
Virtue: Action
Description: Nines are in the center of the Gut, or Instinctive Triad, and as such are the most out of touch with their instinctual energy, particularly anger. Nines have a relaxed, grounded, bodily presence. They are in the Positive Outlook triad, and can range from being quietly optimistic to outright ebullient.
Nines merge with others, taking on the energy of those around them. This helps them to understand others, but they become out of touch with their own feelings and desires. It is very difficult for them to make up their minds, or to discern what is important.
Nines avoid direct conflict or direct expression of anger, and can be quite passive-aggressive. When pushed, they can dig in and become immovable objects. They are attached to an inner state of peacefulness, and withdraw to protect that state. Under stress, can become reactive and paranoid, like average to unhealthy Type 6.
When relaxed and healthy, nines are able to use their tremendous gift for seeing the big picture and understanding all sides of a conflict to mediate between people and help people resolve conflict. They are also able to stand up for themselves and be direct about their own needs. They gain a healthy assertiveness, and therefore do not need to resort to passive aggressive behavior.
At their best, Nines discern their own goals and engage in direct action to meet those goals, like a healthy Type 3.
Examples of this type: Ronald Reagan, Whoopi Goldberg, William Hurt (The Accidental Tourist), Pleasantville, Walt Disney, Garrison Keillor, Marge Simpson, Canada, Austria.
An exercise for Type 9: Look around you and notice what is here. Is there something that needs to be done? Is there someone who needs to be attended to? What is important in this moment, in this place? Ask yourself what is keeping your from taking care of what needs to be taken care of.
