The Sacred Enneagram: Finding Your Unique Path to Spiritual Growth

by Christopher L. Heuertz, Richard Rohr (Foreword by)

Overview

Most of us spend a lifetime trying to figure out who we are and how we relate to others and God. The Enneagram is here to help. Far more than a personality test, author Chris Heuertz teaches us that the Enneagram is a sacred map to the soul.

Lies about who we think we are keep us trapped in loops of self-defeat, but the Enneagram uniquely reveals nine ways we get lost, as well as nine ways we find our way home to our true self and to God.

Whether you are an enthusiast or simply Enneagram-curious, this groundbreaking guide to the spiritual depth of the Enneagram will help you:

• Understand the "why" behind your type beyond caricatures and stereotypes
• Identify and find freedom from self-destructive patterns
• Learn how to work with your type toward spiritual growth
• Awaken your unique gifts to serve today's broken world

Richly insightful and deeply practical, The Sacred Enneagram is your invitation to begin the journey of a life transformed.

Praise for The Sacred Enneagram:

"Integrated within these pages is Chris's extensive knowledge and understanding of this ancient tool, along with depth in his teaching of contemplative spirituality as practiced by Jesus. Readers are offered a powerful way forward in their unique journey of spiritual transformation through aligning Christian contemplative prayer postures to specific Enneagram types."

—Nina M. Barnes, Dean of Spiritual Formation & Leadership, University of Northwestern-St. Paul

"The Sacred Enneagram is a groundbreaking contribution to the Enneagram community, providing unique spiritual growth insights for all nine types. If you're not yet convinced of the value, depth, and accuracy of the Enneagram, Chris demystifies and makes this ancient wisdom more accessible than ever."

—George Mekhail, pastor, The Riverside Church NYC

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780310348276
Publisher:	Zondervan
Publication date:	09/05/2017
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	184,980
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Christopher L. Heuertz was first introduced to the Enneagram in the slums of Cambodia. Since then he has trained under some of the great living Enneagram masters, and now teaches the Enneagram in workshops around the world as an International Enneagram Association Accredited Professional. NINE: The Enneagram Documentary features Chris on a journey across America to introduce the essence of the nine profile types. Chris is the host of Enneagram Mapmakers podcast and bestselling author of The Sacred Enneagram. He and his wife, Phileena, and their sweet dog, Basil, live in Omaha, and you can follow his work at gravitycenter.com.

Table of Contents

Foreword Father Richard Rohr 9

Part I What Is the Enneagram?

1 The Question of Identity 15

Exploring Who We Are, How We Got Lost, and How We Might Find Our Way Back Home to Our True Identity

2 What Is the Enneagram? 25

Learning the Essentials of This Ancient, Tool

3 Paths of Integration, Disintegration, and Grace for the Journey 65

Honestly and Compassionately Confronting Our Patterns in Growth and Stress

Part II Exploring Triads and Types

4 Head, Heart, Body, and the Whole Self 87

Introducing the Intelligence Centers

5 A Curated Color Wheel Summary of the Nine Types 105

Finding Yourself within the Enneagrams Nine Types

6 Relationists, Pragmatists, and Idealists 141

Introducing the Harmony Triads

Part III Finding Your Unique Path to Spiritual Growth

7 The Unexpected Gifts of Solitude, Silence, and Stillness 161

Returning to Our True Identity through Contemplative Practice

8 Mapping Your Enneagram Type with Your Unique Path to Spiritual Growth 191

Integrating Knowledge with Practice

9 The Way Home 207

Mapping the Nine Types with New Ways to Pray

10 An Invitation to Inner Work 227

Getting Started in the Contemplative Journey

Afterword Ryan O'Neal 237

Acknowledgments 241

Appendix 1 EnneaGlossary 245

Appendix 2 A Mistyping Chart for Every Enneagram Type Combination 249

Bibliography and Recommended Reading 259

Endnotes 265

Editorial Reviews

Through years of careful research and mindful study, Chris uses the Enneagram to illuminate the best and the worst of us and shine a light down the path to our truest selves. The Sacred Enneagram will find you when you need to be found.

singer-songwriter Orenda Fink

The gentleness of Chris’s tone mixed with the truth in these pages makes this book unavoidable for anyone who not only cares about their own mental and spiritual well-being but also wants to see others flourish.

spoken word poet and activist Propaganda

Understanding the Enneagram is not just an exercise in secular self-discovery but a journey toward living out rhythms of rest and reflection that will lead to deep spiritual growth. By grounding the Enneagram in the core truth of Scripture’s teachings about ourselves and God, this book helps us live into the full promise of who God created us to be, with impact on the communities and places God has called us to serve. I applaud Chris for doing the hard work of grounding an age-old practice into such practical and wise applications for those of us who seek to honor God in all of who we are and all of what we do.

Jenny Yang

After publishing and editing the Enneagram Monthly (EM) since the start in 1995 and interviewing practically 'everyone who is anyone' in this field, I did not expect to find a fresh take that zeroes in on a spiritual and practical view. The Sacred Enneagram is a breath of fresh air that opens the window and encourages those steeped in psychological detail to remember that they have not exhausted the possibilities, but can see it as having come to a new beginning. —Jack Labauskas, editor and amp; publisher, Enneagram Monthly

Jack Labauskas

Accessible to the spiritual journey of any seeker, Chris Heuertz beautifully translates this simple truth: that God is accessible when we know ourselves deeply. The Sacred Enneagram helps us to learn how to take that deep dive into our own essence to find the Divine.

Mona Haydar

The book you hold in your hands is more powerful than you know, more illuminating than you assume, more transformative than you imagine. If you are weak-kneed or faint of heart, drop it and run. If you’re happily complacent or content to live on autopilot, turn back now. Because this book will change the way you see everything. The Sacred Enneagram is not a just book about an ancient personality framework with a funny name. It is a roadmap to self-understanding written by one of the great spiritual practitioners of my generation. Read it now and you can thank me later.

contributing writer for The Atlantic and author of Jonathan Merritt

The Sacred Enneagram is a fascinating exploration into our inherent and undiscovered gifts of humanity. Learning about the Enneagram has awakened my understanding of Self in connection to God, my reactive tendencies in leadership, and hopeful opportunities for growth, discernment and spiritual formation. Learning about the Enneagram has expanded my heart’s capacity for compassion—toward those I fail to understand and especially toward myself.

Nikole Lim

The Sacred Enneagram is a groundbreaking contribution to the Enneagram community, providing unique spiritual growth insights for all nine types. If you’re not yet convinced of the value, depth, and accuracy of the Enneagram, Chris demystifies and makes this ancient wisdom more accessible than ever.

George Mekhail

Integrated within these pages is Chris’s extensive knowledge and understanding of this ancient tool, along with depth in his teaching of contemplative spirituality as practiced by Jesus. Readers are offered a powerful way forward in their unique journey of spiritual transformation through aligning Christian contemplative prayer postures to specific Enneagram types.

Nina M. Barnes

The Sacred Enneagram beautifully integrates the journey of self-discovery with guidelines that are simultaneously seasoned and filled with childlike wonder, personal and inviting. Instead of wandering around a hall of mirrors that most self-discovery texts build, The Sacred Enneagram walks with you through holy ground and fills you with love and life that ultimately pours out and must be shared.

vocalist of Run River North Alex Hwang

As the years pass, I often find myself asking, “Who am I?” The Sacred Enneagram is a book that I will forever use as a guide throughout my lifelong journey of self-discovery.

“Top Chef” semifinalist and restaurant Shirley Chung

As the years pass, I often find myself asking, “Who am I?” The Sacred Enneagram is a book that I will forever use as a guide throughout my lifelong journey of self-discovery.

“Top Chef” semifinalist and restaurant Shirley Chung

As the years pass, I often find myself asking, “Who am I?” The Sacred Enneagram is a book that I will forever use as a guide throughout my lifelong journey of self-discovery.

“Top Chef” semifinalist and restaurant –Shirley Chung

The Sacred Enneagram beautifully integrates the journey of self-discovery with guidelines that are simultaneously seasoned and filled with childlike wonder, personal and inviting. Instead of wandering around a hall of mirrors that most self-discovery texts build, The Sacred Enneagram walks with you through holy ground and fills you with love and life that ultimately pours out and must be shared.

vocalist of Run River North –Alex Hwang

Through years of careful research and mindful study, Chris uses the Enneagram to illuminate the best and the worst of us and shine a light down the path to our truest selves. The Sacred Enneagram will find you when you need to be found.

singer-songwriter –Orenda Fink

The gentleness of Chris’s tone mixed with the truth in these pages makes this book unavoidable for anyone who not only cares about their own mental and spiritual well-being but also wants to see others flourish.

spoken word poet and activist –Propaganda

The book you hold in your hands is more powerful than you know, more illuminating than you assume, more transformative than you imagine. If you are weak-kneed or faint of heart, drop it and run. If you’re happily complacent or content to live on autopilot, turn back now. Because this book will change the way you see everything. The Sacred Enneagram is not a just book about an ancient personality framework with a funny name. It is a roadmap to self-understanding written by one of the great spiritual practitioners of my generation. Read it now and you can thank me later.

contributing writer for The Atlantic and author of –Jonathan Merritt