January 7-9, 2005
The Enneagram is a comprehensive psycho-spiritual typology that has its roots in several ancient wisdom traditions, as well as in the findings of modern psychology. It is a remarkable system used to describe basic personality types that shed light on our most important psychological dynamics, as well as on the deeper spiritual yearnings of our soul. As we know from our experience, there are different kinds of people — each with their own set of strengths, vulnerabilities, perceptions of the world, and spiritual potentials. The Enneagram can help us to become more clear about those differences as well as to understand ourselves more profoundly.
Most of us originally discover the Enneagram as a typology; it draws meaningful distinctions about the nine different ways that people approach their lives and relationships. More profoundly, the Enneagram is a map of wholeness, a way of recognizing and investigating different aspects and dimensions of our inner experience. In this workshop, we will go beyond describing the different behaviors of the nine types and look more deeply into the very foundation of our sense of self. We will use exercises, music, and discussion to deepen our Presence and to explore the interface between our ego consciousness and the realms of freedom and vastness that are our True Nature.
When we are truly living in the Now, we perceive reality as a magnificent, dynamic unity. The Holy Ideas highlight nine fundamental perspectives on this non-dual reality: They reveal how the world appears to a consciousness no longer distorted by the ego’s sense of separateness. By contemplating the nine Holy Ideas and the corresponding nine Virtues, we are brought into a deeper communion with the depth of our Being and with the truth of Reality.
“Most of our unhappiness comes from the habits, fears, defensive patterns, and the self-defeating reactions that our personality backs us into. We can find a way to relate with our personality. When this happens, we have much more inner freedom. Over time, our personality structures can go from being heavy, wrought-iron structures to something more light and flexible. The personality will still be there, but it is no longer constricting or causing so much suffering.” —Don Riso and Russ Hudson
Russ Hudson is one of the principal scholars and innovative thinkers in the Enneagram world today. He is Executive Director of Enneagram Personality Types, Inc., and co-founder of The Enneagram Institute. He has been co-teaching the Enneagram Professional Training Program since 1991 and is a Founding Director and former Vice-President of the International Enneagram Association. He is co-author of The Wisdom of the Enneagram, Personality Types (Revised Edition), Understanding the Enneagram (Revised Edition), and The Power of the Enneagram. He also assisted Don Riso in writing Discovering Your Personality Type and Enneagram Transformations. These five best-selling books are available in British, German, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Dutch, Hungarian, and Portuguese editions. He holds a degree in East Asian Studies from Columbi and he’s so smart and the workshops are so excellent, we keep inviting him back.