A visual + diversity of opinion

Hello, again. I've decided to step it up a small notch and include some images -- quite exciting! As you can see, this one is from the Enneagram Institute website.

As is only appropriate, this first image is the Enneagram symbol, complete with more-harmful-than-helpful (in my opinion) one-word descriptors of each of the nine types. I say they're more harmful only because I think reducing each type to "The ______" is often confusing for folks just learning about the Enneagram. For instance, upon seeing that the Two was called "The Helper," my mother immediately decided she must be a Two, since she is all about helping people. Of course, each type is much too complicated to be summed-up in one word, since the reason Twos are so helpful is different from the reason why Ones might also be helpful in certain situations, or Fives, or Eights. It's more about where your thoughts and actions are coming from--what that filter is--and less about how you seem to be acting on a surface level. That said, I understand why it might be appealing to have a quick reference point for each of the types. I just prefer to give more context.

The other thing to note about these type descriptors is that different people have used different words to describe the types. For instance, Helen Palmer, on her website Enneagram dot com, uses these descriptors (and descriptions, if you click on the links), instead:

1 The Perfectionist
2 The Giver
3 The Performer
4 The Tragic Romantic
5 The Observer
6 The Loyal Skeptic
7 The Epicure
8 The Protector
9 The Mediator

One of the main reasons I like the 9 types website so much is that it takes the writings of a whole bunch of Enneagram "experts" and puts them all in once place so you can see how different people view the dynamics of the types, and what things certain people choose to focus on (for instance, Enneagram in the workplace vs. in relationships vs. self-transformation work vs. "how to get along with a One/Two/etc.").

That's all for now. Next up: why I'm taken with the Enneagram.