First off, today I’d like to wish a Happy 50th Anniversary for Earth Day! Really I need to say Happy 4.543 billion years Birthday!!

 

I had an interesting image. So many people have mentioned on social media how hard it’s been to have a birthday while being isolated with shelter in place. Especially for little ones. How do you have  a birthday party when you can’t invite friends and family?

 

A couple of days ago I saw a parade of cars pass by house. Honking horns all decorated with streamers, balloons, and signs that said Happy Birthday. I instantly thought, “now why didn’t I think of adding the decorations to my car when I dropped off gifts and cake for a friend’s daughter’s 12th birthday?” Driving a black tinted car and honking horns in a quiet neighborhood (yes, I did that) made me look like some kind of stalker rather than someone celebrating a birthday. Although, I did get the planned result, an embarrassed pre-teen!

 

Back to my image.

 

What a birthday party we are giving the Earth this year! We aren’t polluting the skies with airplanes and jet fuel. We have less cars on the road. Less businesses are producing pollutants. We have all slowed down in life and learned to stop and smell the roses. I would say, more people wave to me if I’m on a walk than I’ve seen in years. We’re all connected in a way we’ve never been before because we all have similar challenges in life.

 

Earth is getting a reset. There has been an energy shift that is resonating with every living creature on this planet. While we may find this time hard, Earth is celebrating. We’ve given her a gift she’s needed for a very long time.

 

So what to share today?

 

Enneagrams

This week I learned all about enneagrams. Ok, not all about them. I’ve only scratched the surface.

 

I’d heard about this personality test a couple of years ago and it’s always been on my “To Do List” (along with the Myer and Briggs personality test – another test for another time). For whatever reason, I always come up with one excuse over another why I would take the test “later”. This week, after listening to the Holderness Family Podcast, I  took the leap so I could follow along with what they were talking about.

 

I was shocked and amazed at the results. So much was explained about myself by just answering 40 questions.

 

What the heck is an enneagram? Check out these two short videos.

 

What is an Enneagram? (This is an overview about the enneagram as a whole)

~ Abbey Howe

 

 

A Brief Introduction to the Enneagram (this is an overview of each personality type)

~ Alison Wellington

 

I found The Enneagram Institute to be one of the more detailed websites explaining how enneagrams work, the character traits of the different personality types, and what they look like when in relationship with another. I’m sure there are plenty other websites out there, however, this was the one I gravitated to.

 

 

What is an Enneagram?

In a nutshell, an enneagram is a personality test that is designed to determine what personality type, out of 9 personalities, most resonates with who you are. This is determined by taking a quiz of how you would respond to various situations. The results are based on finding out what’s the motivation behind the things you do.

 

I’m going to now confuse and scare you away with an infographic found on Paul Paiva’s website, CoCreative Intimacy. This was the most detailed picture I found that explains how the enneagram works.

 

www.CoCreativeIntimacy.com

~ Paul Paiva

 

Yes, a TON of information on one picture. Hopefully, I can break it down for you.

 

 

9 Personality Types:

The 9 different personality types are listed around the outside of the circle and each personality type has an underlying motivation. They are:

1. The Reformer – to be perfect
2. The Helper – to be needed
3. The Achiever – to succeed
4. The Individualist – to be special
5. The Investigator – to perceive
6. The Loyalist – to be secure / certain
7. The Enthusiast – to avoid pain
8. The Challenger – to be against
9. The Peacemaker – to be indolent

 

 

The Centers

There are three centers of the enneagram. Each center consists of three different personality types that all have similar traits of the center. And each center also has a coping mechanism a person falls back on when they’ve lost connection with their core self. These include:

• The Feeling Center (Heart)
  • Types 2, 3, & 4
  • coping mechanism is shame
• The Thinking Center (Head)
  • Types 5, 6, & 7
  • coping mechanism is fear
• The Instinctive Center (Gut)
  • Types 8, 9, & 1
  • coping mechanism is anger or rage

 

The Wings

We are not all only one personality; our personalities are a blend of all nine types. One usually ends up dominating over the others. Most people also have a personality type located on either side of the dominate one that they also identify with. This is considered “second side” of your personality, your wings. Combined, they give a more in depth overall picture of who you are.

 

 

The Arrows

I found this really interesting. In the middle of the enneagram are a bunch of arrows. What they signify is what direction a personality type tends to go when one is either under stress or growing.

 

When someone is stressed, they tend to go in the direction of the arrow and pick up the unhealthy personality traits from that type. This is called direction of disintegration. When someone goes in the direction of integration, or growth, they tend to adapt the healthy traits of the personality type opposite the arrow that is pointing at their type.

 

I know it’s kinda confusing. For instance, looking at the infographic above, under stress a Type 2 adapts the unhealthy traits of a Type 8 and when a Type 2 is growing, they adapt the traits of a Type 4.

 

 

Instincts

I’m just found out about this. It looks as if there’s another test, called the Instinctual Variant Questionnaire,  you can take to determine where your instinctual drives lie that also affect your personality. These three instincts are:

 

• the Self Preservation (“Security”) Instinct
• the Sexual (“Attraction”) Instinct
• the Social (“Adaptive”) Instinct

 

I’m quite interested in learning more about this because the spreadsheet I used to do my Fourth Step, “made a moral and fearless inventory of ourselves”, actually broke down our resentments into asking what part of ourselves were threatened. It included all three of these instincts.

 

Everything has come around full circle. Love it!!

 

 

Who Are You Phoenix?

My three top scores included:

• Type 2 – The Helper 86%
• Type 3 – The Achiever 77%
• Type 6 – The Loyal Guardian 74%

 

My personality is controlled through my heart, I have a desire to feel needed and loved, I’m a people-pleaser, many times putting other people’s needs before mine. I can be manipulative to get my need met and become overbearing and clingy. When stressed I can become aggressive and dominant.

 

I look forward to learning more about my type so I can harness the gifts I have.

 

 

For More Information

Testing

• Your Enneagram Coach – free test
• Enneagram Personality Test – free test
• Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator – $12 test
• Instinctual Variant Questionare – $12 test

 

Articles

• What is The Enneagram?
• How The System Works
• The Nine Enneagram Type Descriptions

 

Podcasts

• Love Thy Neighborhood Presents: The Enneacast
• Your Enneagram Coach
• Typology
• The Enneagram Journey
• Enneagram and Coffee

 

A more in depth explanation by Ian Cron; author, speaker, and counselor who hosts the Typology podcast.

The 9 Enneagram Personalities Explained

~ Ian Cron

 

 

And Now For A Little Fun

Since you now have a general understanding of enneagrams and I’ve been posting quarantine parodies. Here’s one that covers the different enneagram types in quarantine.

The Enneagram Types in Quarantine

~ Frank James

 

 

 

What Enneagram Types are the Cast of Friends

~ Abby Howe

 

Have fun learning your type!

 

Rising from the Ashes

 

~ Phoenix