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www.thevillagenews.co.za
24 February 2021
So who are you, really? Writer Elaine Davie
F
or all you know, you could be a prince(ss) in the guise of a frog – or the other way round – looking for love in all the wrong places. If this sounds like your own play script, perhaps you need to turn to the ancient mathematical wisdom of the Enneagram to clear up the confusion. After all, it has a pedigree of success stretching back through millennia of human development. Great builders as they were, this system was incorporated by the ancient Greeks into their architectural designs which have stood the test of time. It was familiar to the renowned mathematician Pythagoras and to philosophers Plato (‘The worst of all deceptions is self-deception’) and his student Aristotle (‘Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom’), who internalised the same mathematical principles. Even the structure of Homer’s Odyssey is said to have been built around its nine numbers. Even more amazingly, all the major faiths of the world, from the Jewish Kabbalah to Buddhism, incorporate the same principles. More recently, they became cornerstones of the work of Freud and Jung. In present time, the study and implementation of the Enneagram is gaining traction around the world, but as is often the case, South Africa is lagging behind.
According to practitioner, Karin Wellman of Stanford, “It’s not about who we are, but how we are: it’s about being completely authentic. It’s not putting people in boxes, it’s breaking down walls of unconsciousness. When Buddha was asked who he was, his reply was, ‘I am awake’.” For Karin, the Enneagram has limitless applications. She herself uses it as a business tool. As a master coach she counsels corporate executives not only in South Africa, but thanks to the world-wide-web, around the globe. Since relocating to Stanford with her husband and family a year ago, she has also been acting as a tutor at Hermanus Varsity, which she describes as an amazing experience. “I just love the students,” she says, “they’re so determined. Even lockdown didn’t dampen their enthusiasm.” Which is why she will be running two full-day Enneagram workshops on 12 and 13 March at the Varsity Hub to raise funds for the institution. Participants will need to complete an online assessment before the time, which she will use to prepare a comprehensive report prior to the workshop. Because of Covid-19 restrictions, each workshop will be restricted to about 25 participants who, on the day, will be divided into smaller groups of four or five people who will work together for the day. “It becomes a very rich experience
when people are given the time and space to share their lived experiences with one another. I have been doing this for the past 27 years and I’m still learning. In fact, it’s an all-consuming passion. Every time a participant has an Aha! moment, it’s a thrilling experience for me. The system has absolutely nothing to do with judgmentalism; instead it results in deeper self-awareness and a better understanding of how we impact on others, leading to a stronger sense of tolerance and empathy,” she explains. “I’ve had insight into literally thousands of profiles and each one is unique, just as in a family no two siblings are the same. In fact, working with whole families can be amazing. We all choose our own Enneagram type instinctively at about the age of four, and under pressure, we always revert to type. It’s a childhood survival mechanism: to thrive, we need to develop the characteristics that make us stand out from our siblings for our parents’ attention and love.” Karin comments that in a workshop or private consultation, when participants are able suddenly to recognise the child in themselves, they say it’s like emerging from a trance or regaining their sight. Some have said that this discovery has literally saved their marriage. They are no longer in a box, they are out! “You can imagine, if you belong to
the type that needs structure in their lives, that needs to be perfect in a perfect world, and you are never able to achieve this, you can beat yourself up unmercifully. These are the people for whom fierce self-discipline is the norm, who constantly judge themselves (and everyone else), who may develop eating disorders in the hope that one day they will be perfect, worthy of love.
obfuscated by words. As Karin says, “It allows us to reach a state of balance and self-understanding, where we are not constantly operating on auto-pilot, but are able actively to decide what we want and to reach out to ourselves and others with love.”
"When they finally realise why they are doing these things, they are motivated to turn the very same characteristics into strengths instead of perceived weaknesses.”
Booking for either of the two Enneagram workshops by Karin Wellman on 12 and 13 March can be done by contacting Christine on christine@hermanusvarsity.co.za, or for further information call Karin on 083 600 4623. Please book well in advance so that you can complete the online assessment before the workshop.
Because the Enneagram is built around numbers and not labels, there is no danger of stereotyping. There is a logic about numbers, which is not
Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all. - Aristotle
