Why do a course when I could do it online?
The word ‘Enneagram' is becoming so widely known now that many people make the mistake of thinking it’s ‘just another personality boxing thing’. There are many online questionnaires, hundreds of books - why go to a workshop when I can tick some boxes, read all about it, and … well, what’s all the fuss about?
The fuss is about the power of communication to heal, of guided self-exploration, witnessing, listening, speaking, discovering the deep truths of oneself and others through mutual enquiry in safe and non-judgemental space. The fuss is about the extraordinary accuracy of the Enneagram as a tool for personal growth.
The two real reasons for coming along to a workshop:
It is simply not possible to discover your Enneagram ‘type’ through a questionnaire*. It’s not about behaviours, nor even about reactions and beliefs. It’s about what drives you from within, what your underlying view of the world is, and why you behave the way you do. Often that’s completely hidden from our own view. No questionnaire can elicit it. All of us like to help others, for example, but only one of the nine types feels worthless unless everything they’re doing is for others, and is so good at it that they don’t realise what’s going on inside.
*Fact. The best questionnaires have been tested, and none of them is more than 80% accurate - and how are you to know if you’re in the 80 or the 20?
If you’re serious about personal growth, even simply about understanding yourself and others better, you know that any number of books or online discussions won’t do it. The head can’t change the head, when in fact we’re a composite of thought, emotions, responses and values. A workshop with a skilled leader can lead you to the point of ‘Aha!’ about yourself. That’s an experience of liberation, hope, maybe a little ruefulness - and the impetus to continue gently exploring and growing, with a very good compass in your pocket. And a whole load more compassion through the power of understanding.