The narrative tradition and self-observation

Up until the end of the twentieth century, working with the Enneagram was exclusively oral. In these early times, people would meet in the desert and, over several weeks, guided by a spiritual master, would work on their passions and their virtues, according to the spiritual language of the era. They would act on this recommendation by the Desert Fathers: "If you want to find peace in this world and hereafter, at every opportunity say: who am I? And judge nobody" (Words of the Ancients. The Apophthegms of the Desert Fathers.” Seuil - 1974). In this ancient quotation we find two of the foundations of working with the Enneagram: knowing oneself better and being better able to accept one’s differences from other people, going beyond instant judgements.

For a very long time the system was considered so powerful that a form of tacit agreement has always existed which prohibited any form of written publication that would risk sullying the richness of the approach and reducing its profound impact. It was in the early 1980s that authors (Beesing, Nogosek, O’Leary) dedicated a first book to the subject: "The Enneagram, a Journey of Self Discovery" (1984). Since then, publications have proliferated and there seems to be no end in sight.

In our application of the Enneagram, the narrative tradition is assumed to be at the heart of learning about and discovering the model. Essentially it is through meeting and listening to people of other Types that all the richness of each one can be understood and discovered in all its subtlety and with all its nuances. Extraordinary or everyday stories told by all kinds of people add richness to what otherwise would only be theoretical teaching. It was Helen Palmer, a Doctor of Psychology and international expert in the Enneagram, who developed the so called panel method. During the training, people who have recognised themselves as the same Type come freely in front of the group to form a panel and answer questions posed by the leader whose goal is to bring out, in a climate of great respect, the energy and quintessence specific to the Type being questioned.

From the very start of training, emphasis is placed on the importance for each participant of setting up their Inner Observer. This involves training ourselves to observe, in our everyday lives, in a neutral, impartial and benevolent manner, the reactions, feelings and thoughts that come to us automatically, in order to help us improve our awareness and freedom of action. In the words of Fritz Perls (the founder of Gestalt Therapy): "Awareness cures". Experience with panels shows us that people who put this observational method in place often achieve marked, significant developmental progress. And the raised awareness of some strengthens and supports that of others.