The Wisdom of the Enneagram: The Complete Guide to Psychological and Spiritual Growth for the Nine Personality Types

I’ve been studying Emotional Intelligence for about 7 years. I try to strengthen my level of calm in parenting, leadership presence, and in life decisions. Candidly, I seek to better understand my gaps, so that not only can I practice techniques to “treat the symptoms“ such as focused breathing, meditation, and practicing “awareness of the now”, but also so that I can understand where these gaps come from. In the early days, I examined some self help books, and they were “ok” for treating the symptoms, but it wasn’t until I was given two major recommendations, that I started to understand the source. The first was “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle, which unlocked the understanding of ego for me. And the latest, and hands-down the most insightful for me, is “The Wisdom of the Enneagram”. I’m a seven, and time and time again I found the book to be mind-blowingly accurate. Due to this, it was also validating, bringing a sense of katharsis and explanation that I had never experienced before. It’s a heavy read, but if you are truly seeking an understanding of who you are, get it. This is a large book, but read the entire thing, at least for the number you end up being. It is now in my top 5 recommended books, and it is number 1 if you are seeking deep self-awareness. Special thank you to my friend, Adam for recommending it. Below is an AI generated summary (Gemini’s was the best one from Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude, and Grok). "The Wisdom of the Enneagram" by Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson presents a comprehensive guide to the Enneagram, a system of personality typing that describes nine interconnected personality types. The book delves into the core motivations, fears, and patterns of each type, explaining how these influence our perceptions, thoughts, and behaviors. Beyond simple categorization, it emphasizes the Enneagram's potential for self-discovery and personal growth, providing tools for understanding our strengths and weaknesses, recognizing our automatic responses, and ultimately, transforming our limiting beliefs and behaviors. The authors move past basic type descriptions to explore the levels of health within each type, highlighting how we can move from unhealthy, reactive patterns toward greater integration and wholeness. The book emphasizes that the Enneagram is not about putting people in boxes, but rather about understanding the underlying motivations that drive us. It explores the interconnectedness of the types, illustrating how each type relates to others through wings (adjacent types that influence our personality) and the "lines of connection" which show how we change under stress and in security. By understanding these connections, we can gain insight not only into ourselves but also into our relationships with others. This deep dive into the nuances of each type, including subtypes based on instinctual drives (self-preservation, social, and sexual/one-to-one), provides a more accurate and individualized understanding of the Enneagram than simpler introductions. Ultimately, "The Wisdom of the Enneagram" offers a path towards self-awareness and spiritual growth. It encourages readers to use the Enneagram as a tool for self-observation, allowing them to identify their core fears and desires and consciously choose more fulfilling ways of being. By understanding our type's patterns and working with the specific practices and suggestions provided, we can move towards greater integration, compassion, and freedom from the limitations of our personality structures. The authors emphasize that the goal is not to change our type but to transcend its limitations and embrace our full potential.

I've read three other books on this subject, including the complete ennegram, and this was by far my favourite one and the one I regularly reference in my studies of it. It was the most helpful, most resourceful, and most clear. Other books take liberties, overly simplify, or leave a lot to be desired in their descriptions. They basically only give information in a single viewpoint, that feels restrictive on learning all the angles. But this books goes into multiple angles, and touches each element throughly, as well as gives an insightful peer into profound topics in a way that properly acknowledges them. It doesn't ever brush over any one explanation, even if it's brief. It gives solid points, supporting evidence, and tracable references. Nothing feels lacking nor rambling in this book. Which with the other ennegram books were recurring themes. The other ennegram books gave more of a breezy introduction to the subject, and gave explainations in a way that feels more like rambling than actual solid claims or points. This book was both successful in satisfying the objective of learning, as well as the concept of musing. It gives all the roots and stable footing for a thought, then allows healthy pondering. It gives the tools, and guides the reader to consider a craft, without forcing them into any one specific area. There is no forced or biased narrative. But a recount of exisiting material, and collecting them all together in a clear, informative manner. It's both very logically written, as well as tastefully sprinkling deeper references in a soulful manner. When something is open ended, it is not by a lack of detail, but as an encouragement to weave the deeper meaning from the reader's prospective. Wonderful reference book. 10/10

This is the first book review I have shared, and I am doing so because I was so moved by this book that I really want to encourage others to read it. I found it absolutely profound. Discovering my type through this framework has been a revelation. Reading about my type in this book felt as if someone had entered my inner world and articulated it to perfection, and more than that helped me understand it to then navigate it better. I’ve had a spiritual awakening with this book, and the Enneagram more broadly, which is always a welcome development in my self knowledge journey.

追記： このコメントは旧和訳版のものです。アマゾン側の変更により原初のコメントとして表示されています。現在、この原書は日本語翻訳版として、２分冊完訳版として発売されています。 残念なことに、日本語訳書と原書のレビューが混じっています。訳書は複数に分冊して発行する予定だったらしいですが、基礎編が出版されただけで、続きは出版されませんでした。 原書は翻訳されている「基礎編」の２倍の内容です。残念なことに、基礎編に含まれている内容は、それ以前に翻訳されて出版されたリソ＆ハドソンの書籍と内容が重複する部分が多く、両著者のファンの方には目新しい内容が少ないかと思います。 基礎編で訳出されていない部分こそ、原書の真髄です。９つのタイプごとに「心理的、精神的な成長」を促す方法について触れられています。翻訳でも一部は訳されていたと思いますが、気づきを促す短い実践がいくつも紹介されています。 英語が読める方であれば、原書のThe wisdom of the Enneagram: The complete guide to psychological and spiritual growth for the nine personal types(https://amzn.to/2rlYJrj)をお読みになることを勧めます。日本のアマゾンからも、「ペーパーバック」を選べば、購入できるようです。心理学というより、精神的分野の言葉遣いが多少含まれています。それを除けば、辞書を引きながらでも理解できる英語です。（ただし、精神的分野の様々な概念を軽くでも理解していないと、読み取るのが難しい部分も含まれています。）

If you want to learn anything about Enneagram, this is the book. It is by sheer luck that I landed on this after completing a course on Enneagram, and I knew nothing about the extremely powerful authority these authors have on the subject - there can't be a better book about Enneagram. There is EVERYTHING IN IT about Enneagram and this is all that you need. I strongly recommend this to anyone who is interested to gain a deep understanding about enneagram. Warning: this book contains serious stuff and is not superficial. So if you are looking at something as an instant learning, this is not the book.

This books in amazing. Such in depth explanations and truly helps you understand yourself and others!!! LOVE IT!!

Het boek over the Wisdom of the Enneagram is zeker een aanrader, daarom was het zo jammer dat het boek enigszins beschadigd aankwam. De kartonnen envelop zelf was overigens intact, waardoor ik vermoed sat de leverancier hem met duidelijke vouw in de achterkaft gepost heeft. Ik heb het boek nodig voor een cursus vandaag, anders had ik het teruggestuurd. Dus boek zelf 5 sterren, de leverancier krijgt er 2 (één voor de snelheid van levering).