Instructor: Rev. Dr. George Gordon
In Brief
The Enneagram is a comprehensive psycho-spiritual typology
that has its roots in several ancient wisdom traditions as well as in the findings
of modern psychology. Most of us originally discover the Enneagram as a
typology: It draws meaningful distinctions about the nine different ways that
people approach their lives and relationships. But more profoundly, the
Enneagram is a map of wholeness, a way of recognizing and investigating
different aspects and dimensions of our inner experience.
From The Enneagram in Business
More than a personality typology, the Enneagram is actually
a profound map that illuminates the nine different architectures of the human
personality. It is also the most powerful and practical system available for
increasing emotional intelligence, with insights that can be used for personal
and professional development.
Emotional intelligence is a combination of two factors: intrapersonal
intelligence, which is the ability to understand, accept, and manage oneself,
and interpersonal intelligence, the capacity to work effectively with a wide
variety of other people.
Dr Gordon’s Explanation of
Enneagram as Tool for Spiritual Transformation
The most attractive aspect of the Enneagram is that it is an
effective bridge between spirituality and psychology. The basic premise behind it is that we each
doubt God in one of nine ways. The way
in which we doubt God is the primary factor that shapes the structure of our
personality. An inner “Wow!” went off in
me when I discovered the validity of this concept. I have found this to be true personally, and
the more I study the Enneagram, the
more clearly I have been enabled to see the nature of the obstacles in my
personality to growth in my relationships with God, with others, and with
myself. It has also helped me grow
tremendously in my relationship with Jesus Christ.
I want to share with you two concepts that help in putting
the value of the Enneagram in
perspective for not only our emotional growth, but also our spiritual
growth. For years, it has been my
understanding that spiritual growth was a two-step process: Step 1 was “Death to the old self”; Step 2
was “Being born anew in Christ.”
However, according to my more recent studies including the Enneagram, I have come to believe that
it is a three-step process. The actual
first step is “Awakening to the old self.”
Most of us are only aware of the symptoms of the old self
and not of its basic nature. We cannot
significantly die to our old self unless we have some grasp of its nature.
Charles Wesley made almost this exact point in a sermon
entitled, “Awake, Thou That Sleepeth” delivered on April 4, 1742 at Oxford University.
The Enneagram is a tool that helps us
awaken to or to perceive more accurately the true nature of the old self or the
false self as some schools refer to it.
I prefer to call it the operant self.
It is old in the sense that it is different from the new self in
Christ. It is false in that it is not
the self that God wishes for us to incarnate.
I prefer the term operant self, because it is operating within us
whether we realize it or not.
Many personal and spiritual growth programs have discovered
that persons can make good progress in their intended growth until they reach a
certain point, and then mysteriously, they seem to hit an obstacle which will
not allow further growth. That obstacle
is the operant self or personality type.
According to Enneagram theory,
there are nine different operant selves and each of us is dominated or
obstructed by one of them.
Embedded within each of the operant selves is a “chief
feature” which orchestrates the whole personality. This chief feature has also been referred to
as the spiritual pre-occupation or the emotional passion. The apostle Paul was probably referring to
this concept in Romans as sin with a capital “S.”
There is much discussion about the source of the operant
self or personality type and its embedded chief feature. Many authorities lean toward heredity as the
source (nature) while others emphasize the role of early childhood environment
(nurture). The influence of nurture can
be divided into two sub-categories referring to whether the person adopted a
certain stance toward life as a method of coping with their circumstances or
they learned it from someone else.
The Enneagram,
then, is a diagnostic tool for discerning and identifying the characteristics
of the old self or operant self. It is
metaphorically an “MRI of the soul.” It
helps us “awaken” to the old self—step 1 of the spiritual transformation
process.
Cost is $5 per session, $2/session for students Total of 12 sessions
Location TBD - Overland Park likely
Schedule:
Sat., Oct 6th 8:30 - Noon
Thurs., Oct. 11th and 25th 7:00 to 9:00
Thurs., Nov. 8th and 15th " "
Thurs., Jan. 10th, 17th, 24th and 31st " "
Thurs., Feb. 7th, 14th, and 21st (maybe trade Valentine's Day for
the 28th)
If interested, Contact: ptbeatty@aol.com
Rev. Dr. George Gordon has a
Th.D. in Pastoral Care and the Psychology of Religion. Served as the Minister
of Congregational Care and Pastoral Counselor for Country Club Christian Church
for 33 years. Certification as a teacher in the Association of Enneagram
Teachers in the Narrative Tradition (AETNT http://www.aetnt.com ).
