International Enneagram Association, Co-Founder, and History

David Daniels’ Leading Role in Co-Founding the International Enneagram Association (IEA) and the First IEA Meeting at Stanford University

The International Enneagram Association is a Great Resource

The International Enneagram Association (IEA) is a growing and vibrant association for Enneagram professionals, teachers, authors, and students.  It offers conferences and community groups on all continents and fosters an environment of growth and learning. As a lead founder of the 1st IEA Conference and a co-founder of the IEA, David would be so delighted to see the growing membership worldwide where you can both learn and contribute.

Visit the IEA website and become a member of the IEA >>

David Daniels, MD and His Role in Founding the International Enneagram Association (IEA) at Stanford University

The first meeting of the IEA took place at Stanford University, August 4, 1994 (pre-conference panel day) and August 5-7, 1994 (presentations and panels). In David Daniels and Helen Palmer’s welcome, they included both the theme and acknowledgments.  The original presenters of the modern Enneagram are also listed.

The IEA’s First Conference Theme:  “Coming Together”

Welcome…   It is a pleasure to announce the First International Enneagram Conference, celebrating the internal convocation of modern Enneagram studies. The conference will be held on the Stanford University campus, August 5–7, 1994.

The conference brings together leading authors and contributors to the Enneagram as well as the many Enneagram teachers and students for the common purpose of building a base of cooperation, communication, and collaboration.  We want this unique gathering to serve as an opportunity to express diverse points of view, reconcile differences where appropriate, and explore the many dimensions of the Enneagram system.  Above all, we envision a time of joining together to further our own personal and spiritual growth.

Theme…   It is a privilege to be holding the First International Enneagram Conference on the campus of Stanford University. The leading authors and contributors to the system as well as many Enneagram teachers and students have gathered here for the common purpose of building a base of cooperation, communication, and collaboration.

We want this unique event to serve as an opportunity to express diverse points of view, reconcile differences where appropriate, and explore the many dimensions of the Enneagram. Above all, we envision a time of joining together to further our own personal and spiritual growth.

Acknowledgements…   The First International Enneagram Conference is the result of the dedication and cooperation of many people: The Conference planning Committee; our Conference Managers: Ann Duvall and Erica Richter; the many invited participants; the numerous individuals who submitted presentations, and our Stanford Co-Sponsors: Dr. Alan Schatzberg, Chairman, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford School of Medicine; and Professor Michael Ray, Professor, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Stanford University.

Together they have created a unique opportunity to experience the Enneagram in both the psychological and spiritual domains through a kaleidoscope of seminars, panels, and presentations. Around the theme of “Coming Together,” the program content will range from theory and assessment through the Enneagram’s many practical applications.

Dedication…   The First International Enneagram Conference is dedicated to those men who brought the Enneagram into the modern era of the Twentieth Century–G.I. Gurdjieff, Oscar Ichazo, and Claudio Naranjo and to a future for the Enneagram that will honor its full power and possibility.

As conference co-directors, Helen Palmer (Author and Director, Center for Enneagram Studies) and David Daniels (Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Stanford University) we invite you to attend the conference and participate in the workshops and events that have been planned, each of which expresses an aspect of the diverse international interest in Enneagram studies.”

First IEA Conference – Featured Presenters (in alphabetical order)

  • Maria Beesing, The Enneagram: A Cosmic Perspective
  • Patricia Burbank, The Enneagram and Personal Growth: Working in a Group Setting
  • John Burchill, The Enneagram and Christian Spirituality: Growth Through the Retreat Experience
  • William Callahan, The Enneagram for Youth
  • Tom Condon, Tools for Change: NLP, Hypnosis, and the Enneagram
  • David Daniels, The Enneagram in Personal Development and Therapy
  • Arthur Deikman, The Enigma of the Observing Self
  • Ted Dobson, Reclaiming the Repressed Center
  • Andreas Ebert, Walking the Enneagram Circle
  • Jake Empereur, The Enneagram and Somatic Reality
  • Bonnie Fowke, The Enneagram in Management
  • Don Fowke, The Enneagram in Management
  • Bob Frager, Becoming a Spiritual Warrior
  • Joel Friedlander, The Enneagram of Body Types
  • Arther Hastings, The Enneagram, the Seven Ray System, and the Enneagram
  • Russ Hudson, The Psychic Structure: Psychological Models of the Personality Types
  • Kathy Hurley, Reclaiming the Repressed Center
  • Eli Jaxon-Bear, The Enneagram and Self-Realization
  • Margaret Frings Keyes, Out of the Shadows: The Action Archetypes of the Enneagram
  • Michael Kilgroe, Point Groups in Action
  • Barbara Metz, The Enneagram and Christian Spirituality: Growth Through the Retreat Experience
  • Sandya McCracken, The Personality, Self-Awareness, and Leadership Course at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business
  • Claudio Naranjo (by video), Enneatypes in Clinical Practice
  • Patrick O’Leary, The Wings Don’t Fly
  • Helen Palmer, Intuition and Type
  • Mel Risman, EnneaGestalt Work
  • Don Riso, The Psychic Structure: Psychological Models of the Personality Types
  • Richard Rohr, The Enneagram and Christian Spiritual Direction
  • Kathleen Speeth, Beyond the Enneagram
  • Charles Tart, The Enneagam: A Tool to Be Developed and Transcended
  • Clarence Thomson, Narrative, Parable, and Trance
  • Bernard Tickerhoof, The Enneagram and a Spirituality of Paradox
  • Jerome Wagner, Cognitive Therapy, Schemas, and Enneagram Styles
  • Susanne Zuercher, Everything is Compassion: Thomas Merton and the Enneagram

Following the 1994 conference, the IEA Founding Committee was Formed

The International Enneagram Association (IEA) was conceived at the first International Enneagram conference held at Stanford University in 1994. The following winter, a group of early Enneagram teachers founded the IEA. These founders included:

  • Maria Beesing
  • David Daniels
  • Theodore Donson
  • Andreas Ebert
  • Russ Hudson
  • Kathy Hurley
  • Patrick O’Leary
  • Helen Palmer
  • Don Riso