The Insight Out Group

The Enneagram (any-a-gram) is a system that describes the constellation of motivations, defenses and behaviors we call personality.  In this system, there are nine types and three subtypes within each of those nine, so there are 27 possible combinations of thinking, feeling and doing that influence our approach to the world.  

It is the habitual patterns that arise from the motivations and defenses of our dominant type however, that are the most resistant to deconstruct or change.  This is because the ones that are closest to ‘home’, so to speak, are both most familiar, most connected to the ways we have come to know as ourselves and the ones that we believe we can’t live without.

If we can decode the messages, assumptions, assessments and triggers however, we are far more able to interrupt those patterns, create space and make wiser and healthier choices.

In addition, while we all have one dominant type, it is extremely valuable to understand the nature and proclivities of all nine types so that can can enhance our own self awareness and become sensitive to the ways in which we and those with whom we live and work employ the other ‘strategies’ to influence outcomes and ‘bend’ reality.

To that end, we offer monthly classes to groups of 10 or more who are interested in studying this powerful tool for personal and professional development.

Please contact Jane Strong: janeastrong@gmail.com to learn more about this class.

ENNEAGRAM INSTINCTS & SUBTYPES
One of the key elements of the Enneagram which is extremely important in terms of growth and development is understanding how the three  instincts and 27 subtypes influence the ways in which we spend our attention and energy.

In addition to the mental and emotional traits that inform our beliefs about ourselves and the world around us, the instincts and subtypes play an integral role in each of our unique paths forward.

When the passion of each type combines with one of three instinctual drives shared by all social creatures, the two combined create an even more specific focus of attention that reflects a particular insatiable need that drives behavior.  This is called the subtype.  

These subtypes thus reflect three different “subsets” of the patterns of the nine types that provide even more specificity in describing both our habitual personality clearing a path designed to offer more freedom and growth.  In addition, the sequence of these subtypes within our type also tell us how we spend too much energy and attention on certain aspects of life and not enough on others.

This complex map and compass becomes clear as the work progresses with each aspect mirroring some part of one’s outer life.

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