We are all driven by a deep inner restlessness. We may feel this restlessness as a sense that something is missing in us, although it is usually difficult to define what it exactly is. We all have sorts of notions about what we think we need or want – a better relationship, a better job, a better physique, a better car and so on. We believe that if we acquire that perfect relationship or job or new “toy”, the restlessness will go away, and we will feel satisfied and complete. But experience teaches us that the new thing will make us feel better for a short time only. The new relationship may be wonderful, but it never quite fulfils us in the way we thought it would. So, what are we really looking for?
If we reflect for a moment, we may realize that what our hearts yearn for, is to know who we are and why we are here. But little in our culture, encourages us to look for answers to these important questions. We have been taught that the quality of our life will improve primarily if our external fortunes improve. Sooner or later, however we realize that external things, while valuable in themselves, cannot address the deep restlessness of our soul.
So where do we look for answers?
Many of the currently available books on personal transformation speak movingly about the kind of person that we would all like to be. They recognise the vital importance of compassion, community, communication and creativity. But as beautiful and attractive as these (and other) qualities are, we find it extremely difficult to maintain them or to put them into practice in our daily lives. Our hearts yearn to soar, yet we almost always come crashing down painfully on the rocks of fear, self-defeating habits, and ignorance. All too often our good intentions and noble hopes simply become new sources of disappointment. We give up on ourselves, return to familiar distractions, and try to forget about the whole matter.
Are the vast majority of popular self-help books misguided or wrong? Are human beings really incapable of living more complete and fulfilling lives? The great spiritual and moral teachers throughout history have always insisted that we have the potential to achieve greatness – that we are in fact, divine creatures in some real sense.
Most self-help books are not necessarily wrong, but perhaps incomplete and the self-help methods are usually based on the author’s prescriptions that worked for him. Any effective approach to growth must therefore take into account the fact that there are different kinds of people. This diversity explains why what good advice for one person is, can be unsuccessful for another. There is no one fir for all approach.
Awareness is needed in many areas – in education, the sciences, business, the humanities, as well as spiritual and transformational work. The main filter that we use to understand ourselves and the world around us, to express ourselves, to defend ourselves, to deal with our past and anticipate our future, to learn with, to rejoice with, and to fall in love with, is our personality type. These filters can bring our light or our shadows, and they are unique. Do you know yourself? Have you discovered your personality type?
“As a practitioner of the Integrative Enneagram, The Silver Leaf Company is using Integrative Enneagram’s content under a practitioners license as well as reading materials from “The Wisdom of the Enneagram”. The Silver Leaf Company is an independent group and applies the Enneagram as a self-development tool for individuals and groups.”