What is the Enneagram?
“The enneagram is a multi-layered symbol of transformation that provides a structure and a process for self-knowledge. It opens up a way for the complete development of the human being — mind, heart and body.
The beginnings of the enneagram have been clouded by time. It was certainly an oral teaching, and Georges Gurdjieff introduced it to the modern world as a system of sacred movements he learnt from an Eastern monastic tradition. The enneagram we know now has been developed and written down since Gurdjieff’s teaching. It continues to be an evolving symbol that people gather around to share their stories – for the path to transformation will always be found in our immediate experiences.
Working with the enneagram can be a lifelong journey. We start by understanding our ‘type’ and recognizing the automatic patterns that control our day-to-day existence. Yet the enneagram does not simply show us our compulsive behaviour, it also reveals our innate gifts. This gradual awakening takes us deeper into the symbol, towards a rediscovery of the individual expression of love that is our authentic self.
The enneagram helps us to connect with the great natural laws that govern how energy, including our microcosmic consciousness, moves in the macrocosm. It gives us the tools we need to change and evolve with all of life — to make conscious choices rather than react automatically. The enneagram asks us to suspend judgement of good and bad, to be kind to ourselves and acknowledge that we all receive exactly what we need for growth in each moment.”
“The enneagram is a relational symbol and opens the door to many levels of understanding, revealing that which it is necessary to know in order to become fruitful. Truly, it makes us fertile and speaks to where we are.
Our birth initiated us to earthly existence, and our soul growth initiates our individual gift to the world. We meet fellow pilgrims, at many different stations and moments in our lives. Yet we all are travelling, some blindly, some awake. The enneagram symbol is a bearer of ferment and communicates mysteries, if the heart and mind of the recipient is ready.
To give some direction to the interior work of soul life, the enneagram presents us, not only with soul virtues, soul strengths, but also with a direction and with a sense of destiny.”
– Carol Ann Gotch – Prairie Jubilee Elder