The Enneagram And Spirituality (And Why You Need To Learn It)

[LfcCharlie4]

Personality is something hardly talked about in many Non-Dual circles, but understanding yourself relatively speaking can not only help you in your awakening process, and understand why you behave certain ways, are attracted to ways of being etc, but can help you truly understand yourself as a 'Human' (incoming No-Self bandwagoners, sorry!) and from there 'design' your ideal life and well, the life of your dreams. 

The Enneagram has 9 types from 1-9 and most people often have a dominant wing type as well as their ONE main type, everyone has a main type. 

Here's some articles and an online test, although online tests aren't all that. 

https://www.enneagramworldwide.com/the-enneagram/

Test (best I found) - https://www.truity.com/test/enneagram-personality-test

I've mentioned it a couple times on here before, but was watching Alex Becker's recent video (great Entrepreneur but of course has never had an awakening, and doesn't understand the true nature of happiness, and that it can't be found in any THING, would say he's Orange/ Green atm, but gives AMAZING Biz advice) about how Minimalism & Dopamine Detoxes and only working on his Biz and having nothing else in life (literally) made him the happiest, and it was the PERFECT example of an Enneagram 5. Now, of course this advice is brilliant, but not everyone will become a Minimalist Monk with no possessions or hobbies outside of work and live their happiest lives, because we are all UNIQUE beings! There is NO 'right' way to live, it is SO dependent and unique on us as individuals to decide what kind of life we truly want and desire. 5's are VERY intellectual, minimalist, simple and enjoy being alone, I spoke with @electroBeam and could tell he was a 5 and he confirmed it, Ramaji is also a 5!

For example, I run my own business and want to grow it to 7/8 figures, but I don't want to go to the extremes of having no possessions and no friends or hobbies, that just doesn't work for me, like it works for Becker, but this comes from understanding yourself relatively speaking, which the Enneagram helps massively with. 

I first learned about this working 1-1 with Ananda Devi (Ramajis partner) and discovered I am a type 7, which explained so much! Type 7s are always chasing joy, happiness, enjoyment, excitement, basically anything positive. Russell Brand is the perfect example of an extreme 7. The 'deadly sins' (enneagram not Christian term) of a 7 is that we find it hard to slow down, do nothing, and actually sit with negative feelings and truly feel them, instead the default is to escape them through any means necessary. 

This explained why I used to always struggle to meditate deeply, or when I felt resistance and boredom I would instantly turn to my PS4 or Porn as an escape, or at one point Weed, and why I was always looking for that next 'high' whether it was the rave at the weekend or some sort of intense workout, and why I would NEVER let myself get bored. 

This taught be to learn to sit with my emotions as they arose and truly investigate and feel them, instead of escaping and this was SO key in my own Spiritual journey! As it prevented me from even escaping in endless Non-Dual videos and books, and actually face the demons head on and 'do the work' so to speak. 

The Enneagram also helps you understand what life you desire to live, and that there really is NO one size fits all approach to life, a true understanding of the Enneagram will certainly correspond with SD stage Yellow, as you understand the different perspectives and realities people operate from, and what they as individuals want, crave and what motivates them etc, it can be such a helpful tool in so many areas of life, which is why I am working 1-1 with Ananda now solely to master this incredible tool as right now I'm quite the novice! 

So, I recommend everyone to describe a bit about their personality, take the Enneagram test ( https://www.truity.com/test/enneagram-personality-test ) and read up on the 9 types and see what one resonates with you most and take it from there, then you can dive deep into yourself for personal, professional and spiritual growth! 

We are all The Absolute, yet simultaneously, we are all unique beings, with unique personalities and that's what makes life so fucking beautiful! 

Some of us dream to work all day every day, some of us wish to raise incredible families, some of us wish to travel to world, and some of us wish to live our days in a Monastery or in a simple style, knowing this can help us SOOO much. 

If you prefer videos, I will link Ananda's YouTube series on the 9 Enneagram types. In regards to books, make sure to check, a lot are written from a Christian perspective!

 

[LfcCharlie4]

Just wanted to add, The Enneagram is an incredible tool for understanding people and developing your relationships, helps you understand what your partner, friends and family really want and are really like! 

[loub]

Took the test. Am a four apparently. Though not sold on it enough for the twenty $ yet.

I have been interested in these personality type things (MBTI, Big Five, etc...) for some time, and they revealed solid insights to me, but even though they were helpful vessels for understanding myself, understanding myself always happens beyond any such labels. They function as observations that can only capture still lifes of something very lively and changing. From there I proceed in my true, intimate and direct investigations.

I have recently come to a point from where seeking just no longer seems viable. The end of exclusive identification (not entirely solidified) and the understanding that I am nothing in particular has produced a great sense of freedom and peace. My behavior and daily conduct however has not changed that much, which was expected because the separate self's conditioning runs deeper in the body. I will now give my body the time it needs to catch up and heal on it's own term out of a desire to conduct my behaviour with love, and peace at it's source rather than the goal. This desire feels so warm and deeply affectionate I just teared up a little.

Anyway, I started putting closer attention to personality and what it is made of. Different people who have gained mastery in this path report different results. Adyashanti says that at the end a very basic personality structure will remain. Matt Kahn says that once one has completely transcended the world she comes back into the body and back into the personality under the realization that there is absolutely no separation between the Absolute and Relative. Peter Ralston however seems to imply that at the end of what he calls transformation there are no attachments left whatsoever.

I am curious to see how all this will unfold in my life, thus far it a mystery I am excited to uncover. I would like to hear your opinion on personality.

Have a good day, my friend

[Espaim]

I have a really bad time typing myself in any of those systems. I think "maybe I'm X" then 2 hours later "no, it's clearly Z" and never get anywhere. Typing other people has been a hobby of mine for some time though.

I can see the value in learning some of this theory.

Did the test and came up with: Enneagram 8 - The Challenger

Currently on stage 5 (https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/type-8/).

MBTI (from the same site): ENTJ- The Commander

It seems like the first result influenced a lot in the second though hahaha.

Edited May 14, 2020 by Espaim

[tsuki]

5 hours ago, Espaim said:

I have a really bad time typing myself in any of those systems. I think "maybe I'm X" then 2 hours later "no, it's clearly Z" and never get anywhere. Typing other people has been a hobby of mine for some time though.

It's the hallmark of enneagram type 6. I'm a type 6 myself.

MBTI and enneagram are not behavioral, but cognitive and can't be reliably tested.
I suggest typing yourself after you've learned the system as a whole, by inspecting your experience.
This is an awesome channel that goes through the enneagram types:

https://www.youtube.com/user/LaursenBo/videos

And here's one for MBTI:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmDcT_Pujk8vOcxk_IcnxtQ

Edited May 14, 2020 by tsuki

[Toby]

On 12.5.2020 at 2:47 PM, LfcCharlie4 said:

5's are VERY intellectual, minimalist, simple and enjoy being alone

That is not true. It depends what dichotomy and subtype a type has. A social (dichotomy) sx/soc (subtype "stacking") 5 could easily be mistaken for a 7.

On 12.5.2020 at 2:47 PM, LfcCharlie4 said:

This explained why I used to always struggle to meditate deeply, or when I felt resistance and boredom I would instantly turn to my PS4 or Porn as an escape, or at one point Weed, and why I was always looking for that next 'high' whether it was the rave at the weekend or some sort of intense workout, and why I would NEVER let myself get bored. 

This taught be to learn to sit with my emotions as they arose and truly investigate and feel them, instead of escaping and this was SO key in my own Spiritual journey! As it prevented me from even escaping in endless Non-Dual videos and books, and actually face the demons head on and 'do the work' so to speak.

This is more a sexual subtype thing than 7 imo. Sexual subtypes of any type could display this behaviour.