L'Ennéagramme

Self knowledge

The first step in training is to accept one's own Type. This can take some time, since we are used to observing others rather than ourselves. Sometimes, people who have read a lot on the Enneagram take longer to recognise their personality Type. Why? In the same way as we don’t hear our own voice as others hear it, our image of ourselves is sometimes encumbered by what we think we are or want to be. And it is not uncommon to seek to confirm a preconceived idea about our Type.

Self knowledge is therefore above all acceptance of oneself. It is true that the Enneagram describes 9 defence mechanisms and that some of them can seem disagreeable to us. But they have served us well and it is not possible for us to change without accepting them at a fundamental level; only then can we assign them to their proper place.

Initial training in the Enneagram will therefore help us to begin observing ourselves in a precise and objective way.