• Remembering
    David Daniels

    • David Daniels Personal Bio
    • David Daniels Formal Bio and Enneagram Contributions
    • How David Daniels Discovered the Enneagram
    • David Daniels and the Enneagram in the Press
    • David’s Recommended Resources
    • Quotes from David Daniels, MD
    • “Ask David” Archive
    • David’s Blog Archive
    • “David’s Weekly Thoughts” Archive
  • The Enneagram &
    Getting Started

    • What is the Enneagram?
    • Getting Started with the Enneagram
    • The Enneagram’s Basic Propositions
    • Descriptions of the 9 Enneagram Types

      • Enneagram Type 1
      • Enneagram Type 2
      • Enneagram Type 3
      • Enneagram Type 4
      • Enneagram Type 5
      • Enneagram Type 6
      • Enneagram Type 7
      • Enneagram Type 8
      • Enneagram Type 9
    • History of the Enneagram as We Know It Today
    • Quick Tips for Each Enneagram Type
  • Enneagram
    Articles

    • VIEW ALL ARTICLES
    • The Enneagram, Transformation
      & Growth

      • Why the Enneagram for Development?
      • The Enneagram Triads
      • The 5 As of Transformation
      • What is Integration? Insights from the Enneagram
      • The Enneagram and How We Actually Change
      • The Pause and Miracle of Receptivity
      • The Pause in a Fast-Paced Day
      • Using the Enneagram to Understand and Manage Anger
      • The Enneagram, Loss, and Grief
      • Inspirational Enneagram Stories
    • The Enneagram
      & Neurobiology

      • Our Neurobiology and the Enneagram
      • Nature AND Nurture: Acquiring an Enneagram Type
      • Temperament and the Enneagram
      • Scientific Study of the Enneagram
    • The Enneagram &
      Spirituality

      • Enneagram’s Holy Ideas: Essential Spiritual Qualities
      • For What Are We Remembered?
      • Integrating Our Enneagram Essence in Our Lives
    • The Enneagram for
      a Better World

      • Why the Enneagram and What Really Matters
      • Greed to Generosity and Enneagram Types
      • Enneagram and Saving Our Lives and the Planet
      • A New Paradigm: The Enneagram Prison Project
      • Enneagram Prison Project and Teaching in Prison
      • Forgiveness: How It’s Truly a Path to Freedom
      • The Roots of Violent Behavior
      • Who Exactly Are the “Good Guys” with Guns?
      • Losing Robin Williams: 7 4 1 Triad
    • The Enneagram &
      Important Topics

      • Enneagram’s Narrative Tradition
      • Enneagram Typing and Children
      • First Enneagram Global Summit
      • Russ Hudson and David Teaching the Enneagram
  • Growth &
    Wholeness

    • The Universal Growth Process
    • Universal Growth Process by Enneagram Type
    • Fundamental Breath Practice by Dr. David Daniels
    • Growth Practices

      • Growth Practice for Everyone – All 9 Enneagram Types
      • Enneagram Type 1 Growth
      • Enneagram Type 2 Growth
      • Enneagram Type 3 Growth
      • Enneagram Type 4 Growth
      • Enneagram Type 5 Growth
      • Enneagram Type 6 Growth
      • Enneagram Type 7 Growth
      • Enneagram Type 8 Growth
      • Enneagram Type 9 Growth
    • “Personality and Wholeness in Therapy” by Dan Siegel, MD

      • An Overview of the PDP Model and the Enneagram
      • Enneagram Type 1 Wholeness
      • Enneagram Type 2 Wholeness
      • Enneagram Type 3 Wholeness
      • Enneagram Type 4 Wholeness
      • Enneagram Type 5 Wholeness
      • Enneagram Type 6 Wholeness
      • Enneagram Type 7 Wholeness
      • Enneagram Type 8 Wholeness
      • Enneagram Type 9 Wholeness
    • Weekly Reflections for Each Enneagram Type
  • The Enneagam
    & Relationships

    • The Enneagram, Relationships, and Intimacy
    • BOOK RESOURCES: The Enneagram, Relationships, and Intimacy
    • The Enneagram, Love, and Relationships
    • Enneagram Types in Relationship and 45 Combinations
    • Why Do We Love?
    • Touch, Love, and Enneagram Types
    • A Separate Self and Love
    • Dao and Enneagram Practices for Relationships
  • Enneagram Test
    & Resources

    • Take the Essential Enneagram Test: Discover Your Type
    • Enneagram Resources for University Students
    • Stanford Enneagram Test & Guide
    • Essential Enneagram Books
    • Enneagram Audio & Podcasts
    • Enneagram Videos & DVD
    • The Narrative Enneagram (TNE) Training
    • International Enneagram Association (IEA)

What is the Enneagram?

What is the Enneagram? An Overview from Dr. David Daniels

What makes us tick? Why do we do the things we do? What did I observe across 30+ years as a clinical therapist? What have I observed as a facilitator of hundreds of self-development workshops? Well, all of these questions can be answered by my sharing with you an AMAZING, ancient system of typologies rooted in, I believe, our own evolution and is one that describes the human condition from the inside out.

It’s a system I stumbled on years ago. of which I had no knowledge of prior, and one that profoundly changed my life once I had encountered and understood it. At first it was difficult for me to publicly own this remarkable system because of its connections to spiritual life and paucity of research backing. Since I had come from a heavy academic, medical background steeped in empirical science and its methodologies, I remained a “closet” follower for a good 18-months before “coming out.” Because this system is so powerful, so deep, so life enhancing, I just could not do anything else but finally own it publicly.

Diagram of the Enneagram, Understanding the Nine (9) Personality Types with David Daniels; Meaning, Definition, & DescriptionThis ancient system I am talking about is called the “Enneagram.” I believe it’s truly the MOST PROFOUND tool I’ve ever come across in my 50+ years as a doctor, therapist, professor, lecturer, teacher and author to help people find, build, and sustain amazing, loving, intimate and fulfilling relationships.

It’s been many years since my first encounter, nonetheless those years have been filled with exploring how each Enneagram type helps or hinders each of us and the important relationships in our lives.

So now, What is the Enneagram?
The Enneagram gifts us with a powerful and dynamic personality system that describes nine distinct and fundamentally different patterns of thinking, feeling and, acting. “Ennea” means nine in Greek. As the Penta-gon has five sides then its easy to follow that an Ennea-gon would have nine. “Gramma” is the Greek word for drawing. Hence Ennea-gram: The drawing of a nine-pointed figure.

What’s so interesting about this system is that it diagrams for us the possibility that human nature is comprised of nine complex, intelligently organized structures. It teaches us that the way in which we are organized, individually and collectively, might not be as random as we may have thought. The Enneagram defines for us that there are nine distinctive views of the world as seen from the human perspective. This perspective is channeled through a set of lenses if you will that are relatively specific. While providing an interesting chance for specialization, they can also greatly limit our experiences and perceptions. With this system in place, we are each looking for a definitive slice of reality, and are not sensitive to nor are we searching for the full 360-degree view.

The Enneagram’s Basic Propositions

As we were growing up, one of these nine sets of filters developed in us and patterned the way our mind, heart, and body adapted and strategized to as best it could, assure a satisfactory, rewarding life and to protect the aspects of our essential self that felt threatened. Underneath each patterned filter, Enneagram type, is something I have coined “The Basic Proposition.” It’s a belief, THE SET of beliefs about what we need in life in order to have our three basic needs for love, security, and self-worthiness, met. These underlying beliefs shape and then drive our focus of attention (in Enneagram terms we call this “habit of mind”), which drives how and where we direct our energy. In Enneagram terms we call this “the driving emotion of type.” While the development of The Basic Proposition is a necessary and very organic process in our personality’s development, these patterns and their not-so-expansive, all the way down to limiting qualities don’t tend to naturally audit themselves (and expand) as we grow and make our way into the world. Instead, woven into the fabric of our very being, they tend to continue to operate, mostly non-consciously and automatically, in their rudimentary, elementary form. Despite where we go, who we meet, or what we may now need, they by and large tend to not serve us as well, left to run automatically, as they were originally intended.

Lastly and before we embark on getting to know the types, remember that we, as human beings, all share in common having put a structure or type in place. When we forget this shared, mutual reality, we invite stereotyping and finger-pointing — the bane of the darker side of human existence, whether it be doing so using race, religion, nationality, or in this case, type. This has been enough reason for some to refute typologies altogether. However, wisdom applied in context and for the purpose of building self-awareness, understanding, and compassion for self and other, is in my book, an application well purposed and much needed.

A personality typology that has this capacity is worth checking in to. I’ve bet my career on it.

If you are new to the Enneagram or somewhat familiar, but unsure about your type, purchase a copy of the Essential Enneagram or take the Essential Enneagram test online. This user-friendly paragraph assessment is accurate, validated, and reliable. It provides a process for self-discovery and includes all of the key type discriminators in order to distinguish each type from every other type.

Since the Enneagram is about the internal structure of our world, self-discovery is key. It really is an “inside job,” as my colleague, Helen Palmer (author), often reminds us. Enjoy the process!


Learning about each of the Nine Enneagram Types

Please visit the individual pages on this website for more definitive descriptions of each of the nine types, grouped here by their center of intelligence:

HEAD CENTER:  TYPE 5   |   TYPE 6   |   TYPE 7


HEART CENTER:  TYPE 2   |   TYPE 3   |    TYPE 4


GUT/BODY CENTER:  TYPE 8   |   TYPE 9   |   TYPE 1


Need help finding your Enneagram type? Take the scientifically validated Enneagram paragraphs test online or through the paper-back book version found in Dr. David Daniels’ The Essential Enneagram.

To find out more about the paragraphs test as well as an Enneagram Discovery Interview process, click here.


The Essential Enneagram 25th Anniversary
AUDIO BOOK
Available on AUDIBLE, or on AMAZON


The Essential Enneagram 25th Anniversary PAPERBACK and KINDLE
Available at BARNES AND NOBLE, BOOKSHOP.ORG, or on AMAZON


The Enneagram, Relationships, and Intimacy PAPERBACK and KINDLE
Available at BARNES AND NOBLE, BOOKSHOP.ORG, or on AMAZON

The Enneagram Relationships and Intimacy book cover

Enneagram Types Relationship Matrix, $15

Enneagram Types Relationship Matrix book cover

Learn more about using the Enneagram and the PDP Model together.

Personality and Wholeness in Therapy

The Essential Enneagram Online Test, $10

The Narrative Enneagram Essential Test
The Legacy of David Daniels, M.D.

Feel free to get in touch! We welcome your ideas and inputs about how to further share the Enneagram, including getting started, accurate typing, and the Enneagram for bettering relationships—all of which David cared so much about.


If you would like to hold a workshop, training, or a book club series with Suzanne Dion, David’s co-author of The Enneagram, Relationships, and Intimacy please reach out.

Learn and Grow with the Enneagram
  • Remembering David
  • David’s Enneagram Books
  • The Essential Enneagram Test
  • Quotes from David Daniels, MD
  • The Enneagram, Love, and Relationships
  • The Universal Growth Process
  • Our Neurobiology and the Enneagram
  • The Enneagram Triads
    • Personality and Wholeness in Therapy by Dan Siegel and the PDP Group
Connect

Address: San Francisco Bay Area, U.S.A.


Contact Denise Daniels: +1 650 868 3895
Contact Suzanne Dion: +1 831 359 0332


email: denise@denisedaniels.com
email: suzanne@drdaviddaniels.com


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