Posted by Peter on February 27, 1999 at 15:27:51:
Her book was my first _real_ intro to the enneagram (I found out about the thing from a couple of magazine articles I read), and it was a reasonable enough intro. Maybe the description of the Fives inner experience was a bit extreme, but otherwise it was a good introduction. And it was (in part) responsible for a string of about three days which were among the healthiest of my life - if only I could recapture that, then...
Anyway, there was a little section there giving some advice on what to do and what not to do. There were a couple of don'ts that stuck in my mind, and I've recently been reminded of one of them.
One of these was not to turn the Enneagram into a game (of the 'She must be a Four - look at her hair' variety). The other one was not to tell people that they are a certain type.
Both of these pieces of advice struck me as being eminently sensible - the enneagram is, after all, something that by its very nature deals with deep issues, and people can be _so_ sensitive over these issues... If the enneagram is to be used on a personal level (as opposed to a vehicle for discussions over wing theories, MBTI correlations, and typings of celebreties/fictional characters), then a certain level of sensitivity needs to be used, or people will get hurt. Now a very healthy person shouldn't get hurt too much, but most people (regardless of type) aren't that healthy, and are well within their rights to get hurt...
Anyway, I shall stop my rant here, as I am in danger of turning into a 1 and discovering a new career in 'thought for the day' broadcasts :)
Peter (still a 5w4, by the skin of his teeth - and has _yet_ turned into his mother...)