New Meetup group

Things are starting to happen in the UK Enneagram world. As part of this there is a new Meetup group in the Northwest of England for Enneagram teachers and anyone interested in learning more about it. It will be a place for teachers to post classes and people to get together for discussion groups. Join the group here. There are also Enneagram Alive Meetup groups in other parts of the country.

What Nines know: Every behaviour has a positive intention

Nines are the easygoing peacemakers of the Enneagram. The pre-supposition that every behaviour has a positive intention goes without saying. Nines can see everybody's point of view (though often with the exception of their own) and are good at finding points of agreement in negotiations.

They can sometimes take this too far in making excuses for bad behaviour. Nines have a tendency to idealise others and only see the good things, refusing to believe the bad. They have no difficulty in seeing the positive intention but may gloss over how well behaviour matches it.

Healthy nines can accept the flaws in people while still staying non-judgemental and understanding the positive intentions behind people's actions. So, if you are stuck in conflict, why not try thinking like a nine and see the world from many different places at once?

The Enneagram and NLP Presuppositions

I coach using both the Enneagram and NLP. They are different systems which work well together in a complement-ary way. The Enneagram helps us to understand who we are and why we do the things we do, and with NLP we can replace patterns of self-defeating behaviour with more productive ones. To do this, it helps to understand what the purpose of the original behaviour was, and what benefits if any it is still giving us. The Enneagram can help us to quickly get to the roots of that behaviour.

One of the great things about the Enneagram is the realisation it brings home that people can see the world in very different ways. It can help us to understand where they are coming from and communicate with them better. It can also help us to see where the limits of our own point of view are.

This can be achieved in NLP using the presuppositions. You take a presupposition, such as "there is no failure, only feedback" and look at your situation bearing in mind the truth of the statement.

It occurred to me recently that some presuppositions fit well with the mindsets of certain Enneagram types: they are things that this type already knows to be true. Although you never become a different type, it can be useful to see the world through their eyes.

With this in mind I plan to do a series of blog posts looking at presuppositions through the eyes of different Enneagram types.

Free coaching still available

Due to some technical difficulties with the first couple of sessions there are still free coaching sessions available via Live Ninja.

These are different to the free introductory sessions that I offer, in that they are meant to be a complete coaching session rather than an introduction to a longer set of sessions. You can even use it for a free Enneagram typing interview.

Book now, either on the LiveNinja website or through the widget on the Enneangel website.

Free coaching session or typing interview - limited places!

I've been looking into the idea of offering live coaching online via video. There are various sites where people can buy and sell all sorts of services this way and I am trying out LiveNinja.

What does this mean for you? Well, while I am trying it out I am offering a free coaching session or Enneagram typing interview to the first three people who book it through LiveNinja, either directly on their website or through the widget on my website.

Enneagram Intensive training in the UK

If you would like to take your Enneagram training a step further, Enneagram Europe is putting on Enneagram Intensive training this November in Dorset. You can find details at the Enneagram Europe website.

Sad news...

Sad news for the Enneagram community as Don Richard Riso passes away.