Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 923 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
How the Enneagram System Works - Ask Gramps

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. Thank you for joining us for our five days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 923 of our trek, and it is time for our Philosophy Friday series. Each Friday we ponder some of the basic truths and mysteries of life and how they can impact us in creating our living legacy.

As we continue on this trek called life, sometimes we have questions about life, so our Friday trek is a time when we can “Ask Gramps.” Gramps will answer questions that you would like to ask your dad or granddad, but for whatever reason are unable to. No matter how old we are, I know that all of us would like the opportunity to ask Dad or Gramps questions about life in many areas.

Starting last week, we began a new series delving into what makes each of us respond as we do to life situations. Understanding this and how others may interpret life through their paradigm will allow us to interact with each other with love and compassion. We started last Friday with an overview of the Enneagram specifically from a Biblically based perspective.

Each week we will explore a little deeper the aspects of why the enneagram is such a powerful tool in understanding yourself and learn how it can help you to understand others that you interact with and impact. As a review, the tool that we refer to as the Enneagram (Any-a-Gram) is a circle with 9 interconnected points (“ennea” refers to 9 and “gram” referring to a drawing). See a representation of it below.

As I mentioned last week, throughout our personal life and business careers over the past 40 years, Paula and I have both used and marketed personality profile tools such and DISC, Myers Briggs, and Profiles International hiring and management tools. While we think these tools are very useful, especially in a business or ministry situation, we also found that they were somewhat limited and focused primarily on outward personality traits and not core behavior traits.

When I discovered the depth of the Enneagram, it opened up a new horizon of understanding of myself first and also helped me to understand others better. The Enneagram is the most useful tool of this type I’ve encountered for personal growth. Keep in mind, though, it is still only a tool and cannot replace or usurp the precepts that are found in God’s word.

So the questions for the next several week or months will be:

“Hey, Gramps, why do people act and react to situations and circumstances in life differently? How can I gain wisdom to better understand myself and others so that I can love, serve, and minister to them on a deeper level?”
How the Enneagram System Works


This explanation covers the basics that you will need to understand how the Enneagram works and will be especially helpful for beginners. As you will see, only a few simple concepts are needed to begin your journey of self-discovery. The Enneagram, however, is ultimately subtle and complex, as you will appreciate the more you use it in your life.
· Structure
The Enneagram’s structure may look complicated, although it is actually simple. It will help you understand the Enneagram if you also sketch it yourself.

Draw a circle and mark nine equidistant points on its circumference. Designate each point by a number from one to nine, with nine at the top, for symmetry and by convention. Each point represents one of the nine basic personality types.

The nine points on the circumference are also connected with each other by the inner lines of the Enneagram. Note that points Three, Six,