Riso D.R. - The Wisdom of the Enneagram: The Complete Guide to Psychological and Spiritual Growth for the Nine Personality Types

THE WISDOM OF THE ENNEAGRAM

The Complete Guide to

Psychological and Spiritual

Growth for the

Nine Personality Types

Nine distinct personality types...

Nine different perspectives on life...

Nine ways of being in the world...

EACH TYPE HAS EXTRAORDINARY GIFTS

AND PREDICTABLE PITFALLS

1. THE REFORMER

Can lead through integrity and reason

OR be hindered by perfectionism and resentment

2. THE HELPER

Can shine with generosity and healing power

OR struggle with people-pleasing and possessiveness

3. THE ACHIEVER

Can become an inspiring example of excellence and authenticity

OR blindly pursue success and status

4. THE INDIVIDUALIST

Can model creativity and intuitive power

OR be held back by moodiness and self-consciousness

5. THE INVESTIGATOR

Can demonstrate visionary intellect and inventiveness

OR become increasingly eccentric and isolated

6. THE LOYALIST

Can exemplify courage and commitment

OR struggle with anxiety and rebelliousness

7. THE ENTHUSIAST

Can become highly accomplished and spirited

OR be waylaid by impulsiveness and impatience

8. THE CHALLENGER

Can be a powerful, magnanimous leader

OR control and intimidate others

9. THE PEACEMAKER

Can bring people together and heal conflicts

OR be held back by passivity and stubbornness

BEGIN YOUR JOURNEY INTO SELF-KNOWLEDGE

BY TAKING OUR TEST.

Praise for

THE WISDOM OF THE ENNEAGRAM

The Wisdom of the Enneagram is a very important book. By combining the horizontal types of the Enneagram with a system of vertical levels of awareness, Riso and Hudson have produced one of the first truly integrated models of the human psyche. In addition to the importance of this pioneering work itself, it goes to point up the utter inadequacy of anything less than a full-spectrum model of human growth and development. Highly recommended.

Ken Wilber, author of The Marriage of Sense and Soul

I highly recommend this book, not only to anyone on the path of personal transformation, but to anyone who wants to understand the complex inner world of others, whether a spouse, family member, co-worker, or friend. The questionnaires were fun and illuminating. I received some very helpful information about myself, felt challenged to grow, and experienced a deepening of compassion. Perhaps the most profound contribution of The Wisdom of the Enneagram is reflected in the word wisdom. The authors clearly communicate the complexity of human nature, the spiritual yearning resonant in all of us, and the ascending levels of our possibility. But they do not leave us there. They offer a clear path for personal and spiritual evolution.

Harville Hendrix, Ph.D., author of Getting the Love You Want

Don Riso and Russ Hudson thoughtfully engage the richness and depth of the Enneagram, and conjure with its power as a tool of transformation. The Wisdom of the Enneagram is filled with its own wisdom and depth. Youll find yourself returning to it over and over again and discovering new treasures.

Tony Schwartz, author of What Really Matters

The Wisdom of the Enneagram is not only a clear and comprehensive description and discussion of this ancient personality typology, but also a major and original contribution to its use and further development. Don Riso and Russ Hudson have designed simple, practical guidelines and tests that make it possible to determine ones own personality type and use this knowledge for healing and psychospiritual transformation.

Stanislav Grof, M.D., author of The Adventure of Self-Discovery

The Complete Guide to

Psychological and Spiritual

Growth for the

Nine Personality Types

THE

WISDOM

OF THE

ENNEAGRAM

DON RICHARD RISO

AND RUSS HUDSON

We dedicate this book to

the Ground of all Being,

the One from Whom we have come,

and to Whom we shall return,

the Font of wisdom and Light of lights,

the Maker, Renewer, and Keeper of all things.

May this book which comes from our hearts,

speak to the hearts of all who read it.

PREFACE: BEINGS OF LIGHT

WE ARE ALL DRIVEN by a deep inner restlessness. We may feel this restlessness as a sense that something is missing in us, although it is usually difficult to define exactly what it is. We have all sorts of notions about what we think we need or wanta better relationship, a better job, a better physique, a better car, and on and on. We believe that if we acquire that perfect relationship or job or new toy, the restlessness will go away, and we will feel satisfied and complete. But experience teaches us that the new car makes us feel better for only a short time. The new relationship may be wonderful, but it never quite fulfills us in the way we thought it would. So what are we really looking for?

If we reflect for a moment, we may realize that what our hearts yearn for is to know who we are and why we are here . But little in our culture encourages us to look for answers to these important questions. We have been taught that the quality of our life will improve primarily if our external fortunes improve. Sooner or later, however, we realize that external things, while valuable in themselves, cannot address the deep restlessness of our soul.

So where can we look for answers?

Theres a part of every living thing that wants to become itself, the tadpole into the frog, the chrysalis into the butterfly, a damaged human being into a whole one. That is spirituality.

ELLEN BASS

Many of the currently available books on personal transformation speak movingly about the kind of person that we would all like to be. They recognize the vital importance of compassion, community, communication, and creativity. But as beautiful and attractive as these (and other) qualities are, we find it extremely difficult to maintain them or to put them into practice in our daily lives. Our hearts yearn to soar, yet we almost always come crashing down painfully on the rocks of fear, self-defeating habits, and ignorance. All too often our good intentions and noble hopes simply become new sources of disappointment. We give up on ourselves, return to familiar distractions, and try to forget about the whole matter.

It seems to me that before we set out on a journey to find reality, to find God, before we can act, before we can have any relationship with another it is essential that we begin to understand ourselves first.

KRISHNAMURTI

Are the vast majority of popular psychology books misguided or wrong? Are human beings really incapable of living more complete and fulfilling lives? The great spiritual and moral teachers throughout history have always insisted that we have the potential to achieve greatnessthat we are, in fact, divine creatures in some real sense. So why do we find this state so hard to recognize and live up to?

We believe that most self-help books are not necessarily wrong, but merely incomplete . For example, even with a basic topic like weight loss, there are many possible reasons why a person might have a weight problem or issues with fooda sugar sensitivity, or excessive fat in the diet, or nervous eating to repress anxiety, or any number of other emotional issues. Without identifying the specific core issues that are causing the problem, no solution is likely, no matter how great the effort.

The self-help authors prescriptions are usually based on methods that have worked for him or her personally and reflect his or her own psychological makeup and personal process. If a reader happens to have a similar psychological makeup, the authors method may be effective. But if there is little match, the reader may be misled rather than helped.