Christian Origins of the Enneagram

The word Enneagram comes from the Greek, "Ennea" means "nine" and "gram" means "model". The Enneagram describes nine personality types, ways in which we think, feel and behave. This model is a profound way of understanding ourselves because it describes our unconscious aspects, motivations, strengths and weaknesses and preoccupations. More importantly, it accurately describes nine blocks to our experience of God. The Enneagram is based on the work done by the early Christian Desert elders. These men and women, who lived in the first five centuries of the Common Era, were concerned with how individuals experience God within themselves. One of these elders, Evagrius Ponticus, described eight of the nine habits of mind (fear was left out), which prevent our realization of God. He was a member of the community of aesthetics who lived and studied at the Alexandrian Mystery School, which was established by Clement of Alexandria and Origenin 399 A. D. This movement. was dedicated to experiencing God by purifying the heart of negative emotions through prayer and meditation. Orthodox Christian monks kept this tradition of inner purification alive throughout the ensuing centuries. Another teacher who contributed to an understanding of our internal experience of God was Gregory Palamas, a canonized saint who taught that the nature of God is "essence" which is manifested in our individual souls. The person who brought an understanding of these esoteric (meaning "inner" or "interior") teachings to the West was George I. Gurdjieff. He studied with the Greek monks of Mount Athos and created an Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man in Paris the 1920's, where he taught ideas from the Orthodox monastic tradition. He called his system of inner growth the "Fourth Way" because it transcended the traditional spiritual paths of the yogi, the monk and the fakir. It was left to Oscar Ichazo, a South American psychiatrist, to bring all this knowledge together to create the Enneagram of Personality in the late 1960' s. He laid the nine passions (anger, pride, deceit, envy, avarice, fear, gluttony, lust and sloth) around the nine-pointed symbol of the Enneagram ( which was first drawn by Pythagoras ). Thus he created a map for understanding how human beings lose their connection to God and find it again. The Enneagram is a transformative symbol that evolved out of traditional Christianity, however, it speaks to all people because it provides essential information needed to heal the soul. The Enneagram teaches that. by understanding and transforming our primary fixation, we can experience our "essence," elevate our consciousness and experience the grace of God, at the same time appreciating the magnificence of our true nature. A Different Christianity by Robin Aims (Praxis Institute, 1995) traces the path of mysticism that includes the seeds of the Enneagram if readers are interested in learning more about this esoteric or inner tradition of Christianity. Note: Gayle and Tom Laird who teach An Invitation to Meet Yourself, Enneagram workshops at Spiritual Directions, are certified teachers through Kathleen Hurley and Theodorre Donson. This training is particularly oriented towards spiritual development based on the Christian origins of the Enneagram. Visit the web site, The Enneagram in the Healing Tradition (www.hurleydonson.com.) to learn more. Information for this commentary was gleaned from the article What are the Real Origins of the Enneagram? by Kathleen and Theodorre. We have permission to duplicate this article. Contact us at (403) 220-0270 or email: innerwrk@cadvision.com.

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