The Sacred Enneagram

I finally bit the bullet that everyone was shooting and took an online test or two to find out my enneagram. It is a pretty popular subject right now, but really, this is what got my attention:

But "The Sacred Enneagram" by Christopher L. Heuertz helped me dive deeper into it, after I made my Pinterest board. He has all kinds of good tidbits in it, like "Identity answers the question, "Who am I?" while dignity answers the question, "What am I worth?" and three basic human lies: I am what I have, I am what I do, and I am what other people say or think about me. Also that "Sabbath is for rests, retreats are for reflection, vacations are for recreation, and sabbatical is for renewal."

1. There are nine "Types" and you fall into one more strongly than the others, with a "wing" (one of the numbers next to your main one), and a "strength/virtue" (one you lean towards when you are growing and healthy, which is one of the lines out from your type) and a "stressor/vice" (one you lean towards when you are stressed and unhealthy, which is one of the lines out from your type). The nine are summarized in Heuertz's book as:

Type 1 strives for principled excellence as  moral duty
Type 2 strives for lavish love through self-sacrifice
Type 3 strives for appreciative recognition through curated success
Type 4 strives for the discovery of identity for faithful authenticity
Type 5 strives for decisive clarity through thoughtful conclusions
Type 6 strives for steady consistency through confident loyalty
Type 7 strives for imaginative freedom for inspirational independence
Type 8 strives for impassioned intensity for unfettered autonomy
Type 9 strives for harmonious peace as congruent repose

2. Each Enneagram type also falls into a section and a triad. 8,9,1 is gut/body/instinctive prone to anger, 2,3,4 is the heart/feeling prone to shame, and 5,6,7 is the head/thinking section prone to fear. 8,2,5 are relationists, 9,3,6 are pragmatists, and 1, 4,7 are idealists.

Heuertz's book then goes on to say that those in the Gut/body section need to face the lie that they are what they do. They need to surrender power and control to God, and to be still in prayer to best hear from God. Those in the heart/emotion section need to face the lie that they are what others think or say about them, surrender affection and esteem, and have solitude in prayer to best hear from God. Lastly, those in the head/mind section need to face the lie that they are what they have, surrender security and survival, and be silent in prayer to hear from God.
In the Idealist triad, REST is very important to connect to God. In the Relationist triad, CONSENT is very important to connect to God, and in the Pragmatic triad, ENGAGEMENT is very important in connecting to God

3. I found this very practical for myself (although I still find myself wondering if maybe I am a different one?) especially for knowing my weaknesses and what to work on. I also really loved it in talking to other people: "What's your type? Oh! you are Elastagirl for Disney Enneagram!" It creates a common ground when you've both learn specific vocabulary. And lastly, I really liked this application:

I made sure to copy it down for my husband's enneagram type :). We also recently did the test on howwelove.com which identifies ways we have been wounded in the past, and how it affects how we love each other. It was also, like the enneagram, a good tool for communication and healing.