What in the world is the Enneagram???

John sat at the coffee shop that Tuesday morning unsure what his next move was.  Work was slowly squeezing every last drop of enthusiasm out of his body, his relationship with his parents felt dry and predictably disappointing, his friend circle was comprised of a fairly even mix of what he considered ‘consumers and decomposers,’ and his love life was, well, much like the wintry weather he found himself staring at as he sipped his latte.

Lately, he had been listening to TedTalks focused on self-help and an occasional sermon on YouTube. These were insightful and led to a temporary spike in clarity and motivation… until the next wave of discouraging thoughts flooded in or perhaps the heaviness in his chest returned after a frustrating encounter at home or work.  John did have one friend he trusted, Jenna.  Jenna could relate to John’s experience of life and she too often found herself with head in hands wondering, “Where did everything go wrong?” or its twin thought, “How did I get here?”

With a bell jingle, John looked up to see Jenna walking into the coffee shop.  Instead of her normal head nod and half smile, Jenna almost skipped to John’s table wearing a bright smile and equally brightly-colored blouse.  John noticed her as attractive; a new thought, as she was always just ‘a friend.’  After a short greeting and John’s inquiry as to how she was doing, Jenna proceeded to share with John about a new development in her life.  She had heard about this thing called the Enneagram.  The Enneagram was a personality typing tool, and she became so intrigued after researching more, that she decided to find a Coach who could help her to expedite her learning!

For the next two hours Jenna captivated John with the story of her discovery of both Enneagram  (ennea- means nine, grammos- figure in Greek) and herself….for the first time, really.  She shared about what she was beginning to learn about her Core motivations, fears, longings, and weaknesses.  She explained how there were nine basic types and how differently each personality type perceives the world.  Jenna shared with her friend how she never knew why she made the choices she made and naturally she assumed others were thinking and feeling similarly to her when in reality they were spurred on in distinctly different ways.  She explained that her Coach was helping her to understand what her main type was and how she could identify when she was moving into an unhealthy place.  Not only that, but also Jenna was starting to recognize the dark sides of her personality type and how to move into thinking, feeling and acting in ways that created freedom and peace for her.  John heard Jenna explain that the Enneagram wasn’t a magic button but a really helpful tool to build self-awareness, others-awareness and even God-awareness.  John and Jenna had never talked much about faith matters before, but, clearly, Jenna was growing in her understanding of God, and it seemed to be brightning her light, sort of speak.

John immediately began to understand the implications of such a framework.  He knew this meant he was not alone in his way of thinking, feeling and acting.  He also knew that he was most likely very different in his motivation than the people he was living and working with daily.  John couldn’t remember when he felt such a profound sense of hope and of peace, and the funny part was that he still had no idea what his number profile was or how to apply the wisdom of the enneagram to move into a healthier place. So much more to learn!

Despite his limited understanding of the Enneagram, he was encouraged. John could clearly see the difference in Jenna as she walked into the coffeeshop.  He intuitively felt the truth of what she was sharing about how we are each wired in different, yet finite ways.  John began to think about the coffee he regularly ordered from the cafe.  A brief stint as a barista led him to research coffeebeans a few years earlier, and he knew there were about nine (9) basic types of coffee beans produced in the world.  Depending on your palate, you may prefer the full-bodied, earthy Ethiopian bean to the sweeter, more nutty flavored Peruvian bean.  John wondered if this was how Enneagram worked. Perhaps we are each a different ‘bean’ and once activated (read: ground) we have a certain flavor.  By adding in a splash of cream and a bit of sweetner ~topped with a shaving of mocha and a shake of cinnamon~ your unique personality blend is created! John shared his developing analogy of Enneagram with Jenna who absolutely loved it.

John knew what he needed to do next….. “Jenna, could you share the contact info for your Enneagram Coach? I think it’s time I discovered my flavor too.”