Five Videos on the Enneagram to Watch

I sometimes wish I’d become a librarian, because they have contributed a lot to my enjoyment of life, and to my knowledge base. Especially when I was a child, a good recommendation was gold to me. So, in the spirit of sharing resources, here are a few videos I’ve come across that you might like.

Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile recently came out with a series of videos to promote their excellent book, The Road Back to You. In this one, the authors talk about the Enneagram and church. Cron used to pastor a church, and Stabile’s husband is a pastor, so this is 2:55 of wisdom from the trenches. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rJTiFVI3RE

At 1:40:38, this video’s a bit of an investment, but really interesting. Peter O’Hanrahan, a faculty member of Enneagram Worldwide and the most soft-spoken Eight I’ve ever met, discusses the history of the Enneagram: http://www.typologycentral.com/forums/vbtube_show.php?tubeid=253

From enneagram.co.uk, we get a great bit of insight on how the Enneagram can help us to resolve conflicts by understanding how others experience things differently than we do and react from their own inner drive (2:58): http://www.typologycentral.com/forums/vbtube_show.php?tubeid=86

Here’s a short video (3:38) from Leslie Hershberger about each Type’s idealization or self-concept and how that shows up for each of us. I like how she points out that there are nine Enneagram Types but billions of people, so you will “do” your Type uniquely:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6n9-sv-498

And finally, the Inner Critic doll video (1:15). This is the one I’d really love to get your feedback on, because I just don’t know how to feel about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPxjycCY6Ig

Please let me know how you liked or didn’t like any of these videos. Also, please share resources that you’ve found helpful!

Book Review: “The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery”

Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile have done it. They have made self-awareness and spiritual growth seem less daunting with the way they have approached the Enneagram in their new book, The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery, available next Tuesday.

Who knew that a Four (Cron) could make you laugh out loud? But I did repeatedly. The book often reads like a comedy. But, as any good comedy writer or consumer knows, there’s got to be a deep heart at the center or the story falls apart. This book has plenty of heart, which makes sense – both authors are Heart Types (Stabile is a Two). While I and my fellow Head Type writers tend to focus on the facts or mechanics of the Enneagram, Cron and Stabile populate their book with hilarious personal stories that make you think, “Oh, yah – I know a guy/gal like that” and humanize a system that can sometimes be reduced to a list of traits.

The book begins with the wise words of St. Augustine, which always knock me out: “Grant, Lord, that I may know myself that I may know thee.” This is the core idea behind the book. We cannot fully know ourselves unless we know God, and vice versa. This quote is the reason I titled my audio program “Know Yourself to Know God.” In other words, the authors had me from the first page.

In the introduction, Cron refers to the origins of the Enneagram as “sketchy,” which I found refreshing and hilarious:

If its sketchy origins weren’t enough to spook the mules, there is no scientific evidence that proves the Enneagram is a reliable measurement of personality. Who cares that millions of people claim it’s accurate? Grizzly Man thought he could make friends with bears, and we know how that turned out.

We in the Enneagram community tend to view this model as sacrosanct and take it WAY too seriously. Elsewhere, the authors make sure to point out that the Enneagram is not THE answer, but a helpful roadmap on the road back to you:

That’s how I see the Enneagram. It is not infallible or inerrant. It is not the be-all and end-all of Christian spirituality. At best, it is an imprecise model of personality . . . but it’s very useful.

Amen.

The brief introduction of the Enneagram in the next chapter, “Finding Your Type,” does a deft job of providing the basics of the model without freaking readers out. The Enneagram is a complex, in-depth model that does a knock-out job of describing and helping to explain human behavior, but it can quickly become overwhelming to the novice. The authors are skillful at providing the bare bones, just enough to understand what’s going on in the rest of the book – and, hopefully, whet readers’ appetites for more.

From there, the authors explore each Type, starting with a list of 20 statements that capture the essence of what it’s like to be that Type. That’s a nice touch. Readers then get a look at each Type at its healthy, average and unhealthy levels, followed by a vignette starring that Type. We then get a look at the deadly sin of the Type and how it plays out in a person’s life, an “all about” section outlining the primary personality features and what the Type looks like as a child. Then we see how the Type shows up in relationships and at work – so helpful for loved ones and coworkers. Next come the Wings and stress and security points. And finally, my favorite part: Spiritual Formation, complete with 10 excellent recommended Paths to Transformation. Wonderfully spiritual and practical at the same time, these recommendations exemplify why I love this book and will recommend it forever.

The final chapter offers a beautiful quote from Thomas Merton, another of my faves, that reminds readers why this work with the Enneagram is so important. It’s not just about us understanding ourselves; it’s also about letting others be who they are and loving them in every moment. The authors speak of destiny on the last page, which you know from my tagline is what I’m all about, and this quote thoroughly cements my admiration and respect for them:

We owe it to the God who created us, to ourselves, to the people we love and to all with whom we share this troubled planet to become “saints.” How else can we run and complete the errand on which God sent us here?

Get this book. It comes out next Tuesday, and you can pre-order it before then as well. Here’s the link: http://amzn.to/2dsS76s. Read it immediately, and repeatedly. Buy copies for everyone you care about. You can entrust your own and your loved ones’ spiritual transformation to these two sets of loving, experienced hands.

Oh – almost forgot. They have a delightful, insightful podcast as well. You can listen to it here: http://theroadbacktoyou.com/ AND they’ve written a companion study guide for “The Road Back to You” that I haven’t read but am sure is equally amazing: http://amzn.to/2dsQJAO.