The Enneagram is a geometric
figure that maps out the nine fundamental personality types of human nature and
their complex interrelationships. Growing from ancient roots and usage in many
different spiritual traditions, it was taken up and developed further by modern
psychology.
The word Enneagram comes from the Greek for “nine—ennea—and “figure” - grammos, which means it
is a nine-pointed figure.
It is a tool to understand human motivation and
behaviour better, mainly by inducing self-knowledge. Personality develops in
order to protect and defend our essential being, or essence. By adopting coping
mechanisms in childhood we survive in
the physical world, but get cut off from our essential nature. The Enneagram as
tool directs us to the depths of our soul and shows the way to deeper meaning
in life.
George was introduced to the
Enneagram during his training as spiritual director and finds it of great
help in his work. For me the journey with the Enneagram started when a book by
Riso and Hudson fell into my lap in a second hand bookstore. I was intrigued by
the complexities of the system on the one hand, but the wonderful clarity on
the other hand on finding your “type” and understanding what shaped us into who
we are.
Over the years we have used
the Enneagram to help us through difficult patches personally and as a couple. Because
it has a strong intellectual basis, one sometimes feels confused with all the
elements that have to be kept in mind. This is where attempting to portray the
nine types through art, might play an important role in opening up the
Enneagram to us on another level, because we grasp something beyond cognitive
understanding when we allow art to speak to our inner selves.
It was in approaching our
exhibition title, Your Signature, My Life, which
was to be held at the National Arts Fesitival in Grahamstown, that the
Enneagram presented itself. We were searching for a suitable structure to work
with. As a comprehensive model of the human condition, it made perfect sense to use the Enneagram. By exploring each
personality type’s core issues, weaknesses and strengths, we created nine
sculptures, each portraying a typical
characteristic or signature as first impression and a more nuanced, or even hidden life, or essence.
In doing
so, we tried to show how life leaves an imprint, or signature, on us, which may
seem to shape us into what we are and can be. But beyond the signature, there
is an existential and spiritual dimension to humanity, where, when explored,
will lead us to a more profound truth about ourselves and our place in the
world.
 |
| Type 2: The Helper |
We
worked in ceramic clay, wood , steel and found objects. The ceramic artwork was
done by me and the wood and steel
artwork and mountings by George.
In
the following posts I will briefly explore each type and use images of the
sculptures to illuminate them. For more information
about the Enneagram, the Enneagram Institute has a wonderful website at www.enneagraminstitute.com
We find the
following books comprehensive and helpful and use them all the time:
Helen
Palmer, The
Enneagram (HarperCollins
Publishers, 1991)
Don Richard Riso
and Russ Hudson, The Wisdom of the Enneagram (Bantam Books, 1999)
Richard Rohr and
Andreas Ebert, The Enneagram A Christian Perspective (The Crossroad Publishing
Company, 2009)
Matilda
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