IEA Nine Points Bulletin: WINTER 2005

NINE POINTSBULLETIN

TheInternational

Enneagram Association:Providing a Worldwide

Hub for the Sharing of allDevelopments in theTheory and EthicalApplication of the

Enneagram.4100 EXECUTIVE PARK DRIVE, SUITE 16, CINCINNATI, OH 45241513-232-5054 FAX 513-563-9743 WWW.INTERNATIONALENNEAGRAM.ORG

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2005 Conference UpdateA Conversation with A.H. Almaas

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Interviewed by Gayle Scott Things have really been heating up sinceI last checked in with you withnews of the IEA 2005 Conference. Justthis morning we finalized the programand notified the last of the presentersthat they had been chosen to share theirwork at the August conference.The conference committee received arecord number of scholarly, original andintriguing submissions from across theglobe this year, which is evidence thatthe Enneagram is becoming increasinglyrelevant and popular around the world –and that we are indeed “Widening OurWorld with the Enneagram.”While there are too many excellentpresenters to mention here by name, Iwould like to welcome one first-timeIEA presenter whom I know manypeople will be eager to meet. CarolErickson, L.C.S.W., M.F.T., is theDirector of the Erickson Institute inBerkeley and the daughter of well-known pioneer of Hypnotherapy, MiltonH. Erickson, MD. During her presenta-tions, Ms. Erickson will be sharing anddemonstrating her extensive knowledgeof Ericksonian and NLP Approaches toworking with the Enneagram.I’ve been receiving lots of enthusiasticfeedback about the richness ofteaching possibilities arising from ourexperiment with longer 2 1/2 - 3-hourmorning sessions with nine – count‘em,nine — of our most prominentEnneagram teachers and authors; TomCondon, David Daniels, TheodorreDonson, Russ Hudson, Kathy Hurley,Eli Jaxon Bear, Helen Palmer, Don Riso,and Jerry Wagner. What a wonderfulopportunity to stay longer and godeeper over a period of two or threedays with your favorite teachers.Of course it all starts on Thursday,August 11th, with the ‘bonus’pre-conference day, and this year there arethree stimulating options to choosefrom.For those interested in the global faceand progress of Enneagram-relatedwork, we are featuring a SpecialInternational Event Thursday morningopen to all attendees. This international

event will be achance to meetpeople from all overthe world and hearwhat is developinginternationallydirectly from thepeople involved.Thursday after-noon, A.H. Almaaswill present a rare and eagerly awaitedextended workshop on the Enneagramand Spirituality. Almaas graciouslyconsented to letting me interview himfor this issue of the 9-Points newsletter,and the unedited, complete text of thatinterview will be posted on the IEA website soon. As a Ridhwan studentmyself, I am extremely pleased thatstudents of the Enneagram who attendthis year’s conference will have theopportunity to experience Almaas.And those aren’t the only options —Beatrice Chestnut and Toni MarieClifton, two very skilled and seasonedpanel interviewers trained by HelenPalmer and David Daniels, will beconducting revealing interviews ofPanels of the nine types Thursday bothmorning and afternoon. This is anenjoyable and enlightening way tointroduce yourself or someone else tohow individuals of the nine majorvariations view themselves.This is a terrific opportunity for bothnewcomers and the very experiencedto add to their awareness of each type’sdominant physical energy patterns aswell as many of the subtler behaviors,pet theories, disowned fears, avowedtruths and special gifts.For the price of your pre-conferenceday ticket, you also get to enjoy asocial, sit-down-together lunch cateredby the hotel restaurant.While there are many exciting things todo and places to go in San Franciscoafter the sun goes down, we have linedup a delightful evening of theatricalcomedy based on – what else? theEnneagram! — to keep you amused andentertained without having to leave the

SCOTT: How were you first intro-duced to the Enneagram…andhow did it impact you?ALMAAS: I first learned about it fromClaudio Naranjo in the early ‘70s.He learned it from Oscar Ichazo. TheEnneagram was a central part ofNaranjo’s teaching. As I learned it and used it for self-exploration, I became more and moreinterested to see how very helpful itwas. The map really helped me torecognize and understand things aboutmyself and other people. It had a lotof truth about it. It was surprising tosee the path it revealed and to seehow the various constellations wereput together – which showed some-thing about its correctness.The way Claudio taught it was veryin-depth, and so we had to work withit by actually seeing things in ourselvesand each other. It helped a lot to seethings – some difficult things – someinteresting things. I would say myfirst impression of it in the first year ortwo was more of a surprise and afascination. Actually I had more of asense of its correctness early on.After long-term familiarity with it Ihave less of a sense of belief abouthow accurate it is. It seems the moreI know it, and the more I know peoplein depth, it’s not as clear-cut as theEnneagram tends to show.Do you mean that people’s basicmake-up is not as definitive as theEnneagram would have it?Yes. Like someone who seems to be aThree for instance. After a few yearsyou’re really exploring and maybe youfind that person’s really a Nine or aSeven. It becomes less certain thanat the beginning. First impressionsseem to be the most certain for me

and I think that’s true for manypeople. I think it’s because as we godeeper in seeing people, peoplebecome more the same in somesense. So the differences we see inthe beginning are actually more on thesurface - different manifestations ofthe fixation. Also the more fixated aperson is – the more stuck – the morethe Enneagram of fixations is correct.It sounds like the Enneagram wasa significant part of your experi-ence in Naranjo’s SAT [SeekersAfter Truth] group. Did it alsoplay a significant part in your earlydevelopment of the DiamondApproach?It was particularly important in mySAT work, and it was the SAT workthat helped me to open up in general.My system, my consciousness becamemore open to seeing other things –deeper things. When the DiamondApproach began to develop, theEnneagram was a useful organizingmap for the kind of understanding thatwas arising.The Enneagram is being taughtand used in many ways today. Howdo you see it as being most usefulin the process of self-realization?I see it two ways: the first is the wayI learned to use it at the beginning,which is exploring the fixation person-ally and experientially. It’s very usefulas a map that helps the self-explora-tion. Self-exploration at the beginningis really not an easy thing to do. Anda person really doesn’t know what tolook at – doesn’t know what’s rel-evant and what’s important, and whatis the path and what is not. TheEnneagram gives good guidance aboutthat.

A.H. Almaas is the pen name of A. Hameed Ali, the origi-nator of the psychospiritual teaching and method knownas the Diamond Approach.® Born in Kuwait, his aca-demic background is in physics, mathematics, and psy-chology. Almaas has developed the Diamond Approachover the last four decades. In 1975, Almaas founded theRidhwan School.

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Gayle ScottConference 2005 Chair

A Conversation with A.H. Almaas continued from page 13

IEA Nine Points Bulletin: WINTER 200512

I think for anybody who does innerwork or spiritual development, the firstfew years of the work are bound to bean exploration of the outer part oftheir personality – and the Enneagramof fixations is a very good descriptionof that. The other way is that I noticedthat at certain levels of the innerjourney, understanding the Enneagramis a very helpful kind of organizationfor understanding and dealing withcertain junctures — like the Passionsand Virtues for instance I don’t usethe Enneagram for the totality of thepath as you know what happened tome is that I followed the DiamondApproach.The Enneagram of Passions — themore neurotic or distorted emotionalexpressions of personality — is a veryuseful map. It shows what areactually the basic emotional orienta-tions — the obstacles to the develop-ment of the Virtues in the heart – likeanger, envy, pride. It helps to recog-nize and to see what the Virtues areand how the Passions are related one-to-one to the Virtues. And this is notan easy thing to understand. As theheart opens and the soul is more atease with its spiritual nature, then theperson begins to have attitudesexpressed in the self in ways thatpeople recognize as virtuous.So I would say the first importantthing is understanding the map,working with the fixation to under-stand one’s external manifestation,and seeing how they relate to eachother. That helps to open up the innerdevelopment in general.The second one is really dealing withthe Virtues and the Passions, and then

at a deeper level, what I found usefulis the understanding of the Holy Ideas,which is the reversal of the fixations.The way I look at the Holy Ideas —the reason I wrote a book about it —was because I was working with acertain level of ego manifestation. Iwas manifesting at a deep place ofspiritual realization, meaning therethere was openness, there was asense of unity and oneness, and yet Ifound that the mind will still have itsown ideas and beliefs that will contra-dict that experience. I didn’t know Iwas working with the Holy Ideas – Iwasn’t thinking of the Enneagram.But then I started having certainexperiences and insights. I saw thewhole panorama of the Holy Ideas,and how they become the core of thefixations.When the head center is closed — notdeveloped — we tend to think theway we normally think, and perceivereality the way most people perceiveit. And if we explore that deeply, werealize that we have basic beliefsabout reality that turn out to bedelusional – not true. When we seethose beliefs as delusions, that opensthe head center, and when the headcenter opens, we see, instead of thedelusions, the Holy Ideas. The HolyIdeas are a certain way we perceivereality – like instead of duality weperceive non-duality. Duality and non-duality are experiences, they areperceptions, but they’re also positionsthat the mind takes. People don’t justsee things as a duality — they reallybelieve that that’s how reality is.There’s a very deep conviction.That’s what a delusion is.

So when the head center opens it’slike the fog clears, there’s a clearperception of non-duality – hownothing is dual, it’s all one intercon-nected unity.So I was seeing that for myself, andthen I started looking at my studentsand started seeing the manifestationsof the delusions and the Holy Ideas,and little by little I recognized thatwhat I was seeing constituted thewhole map of the Enneagram.So what would participation in theRidhwan School and the DiamondApproach bring to sincereEnneagram students?So that’s the other side of it. TheEnneagram, as you know, is a map ofthe mind or of reality, at any level ofreality. The Diamond Approach isspecifically interested in spiritualdevelopment. The focus of theDiamond Approach is not business orsocial organization or institutions. Theinterest is the spiritual development ofthe human being. The DiamondApproach can help people who knowabout the Enneagram who are reallyinterested in their spiritual develop-ment. It helps a person open up tothat depth.Are there other concepts or teach-ings in the Diamond Approach thatare particularly relevant or relatedto the Enneagram?I’ve published one book about theHoly Ideas. Besides that, there’s ateaching in the Diamond Approachabout the Passions and Virtues.Sandra Maitri, a teacher in the school,has a book coming out this summerabout the Passions and Virtues.

The map of the Diamond Approachhas to do with what we call theEssential Aspects, which are thequalities of spiritual nature. So thereis some work that relates theEnneagram to the Essential Aspects,exploring which aspects are relevantto which type.Do you find that differentEnneagram types respond more ordifferently to different EssentialAspects or qualities of Essence?For instance do you find thatstudents with the type Eightfixation have a particular ease orproclivity in response to the RedEssence of strength?Yes, that’s really what I’m referringto. There’s an arrangement of theEssential Aspects within theEnneagram, and the way the teachinggoes has to do with what’s called theEnneagram idealization. Each fixationidealizes something in reality that theytry to aspire to – that they emulateand try to be. If we explore theidealization, we find that the heart ofthat idealization turns out to be anEssential Quality. So that makes aperson develop it more, but it’s alsosomething that they aspire to. And itexpresses a particular strength of thattype.So, conversely, is it your experi-ence that a given Enneagram typefinds it more difficult to accessother qualities of Essence that arenot particular to, or not empha-sized by their fixation?I wouldn’t generalize it completely likethat. It’s not like it’s difficult for themto access — it’s more that they tendto be interested in their own idealizedaspects. That’s what they’re naturallyinterested in, so they gravitate towardthat. It doesn’t mean that the otherqualities are not accessible to them —they might be and they might bedeveloped in them – but they don’tseem to think of them as important.As a result they tend to develop moreof their own qualities.Do you see the human distinctionsmade by enneatypes as structuraldifferences originating more inpersonality – or in Essence?It’s neither, actually. From what I seethere is also a middle ground that I callthe soul. The soul is individual con-sciousness that can become moreego-oriented or more essentiallyoriented. This is our consciousness –which in the old days we called soul.Its nature is essential. Spiritual natureis its deeper nature, but it can be

hotel. Sheilah Glover will perform herone-woman show, “Is Enny-bodyHome?”At last year’s conference we raisedfunds toward the design and construc-tion of the all-new-and-improved IEAweb site (arriving soon) by hosting anamazing Silent Auction. It was somuch fun we’re doing it again, and thisyear the proceeds will go toward thepublication of a new peer-reviewjournal, to be initiated in early 2006.The auction committee members havebeen roaming near and far, gatheringlovely and exciting gifts to auction off— everything from original art,handcrafted jewelry, and all manner ofdesirable gift certificates, toautographed Enneagram books, tapesand CDs, and free or deeply discountedtuition to several Enneagram training

courses.And of course we’ll all want to kick upour heels after so much intense HeadCenter activity, so don’t forget to packyour party frocks for the SaturdayNight Social and Dance Party, this yearhosted by one of San Francisco BayArea’s most popular DJs, guaranteed toget everyone out on the dance floor.And there is a rumor going around thata group of musically-talentedenneafolks from Europe and other landsare making secret plans to spring somesurprise entertainment on us.This year’s conference won’t winddown until 1:30pm on Sunday, so giveyourself plenty of time to make thathomeward-bound flight, because youwon’t want to miss the Special ClosingSession from Noon to 1:30 — a trulyenjoyable and moving (literally) com-

munity-building event. No, I can’t tellyou what it is – yet.And finally, the Word for the Day is:blog. Why? Because starting in 2005the IEA is going to host a web log – or‘blog’ – during the conferenceweekend. This means anyone attendingthe conference can log on to acomputer and share their impressionsof the day’s activities, highlights,gossip and insights, and dialogue withother Ennea-enthusiasts around thehotel and around the world.In other words, this IEA 2005 Confer-ence is where it’s at! I hope to see youthere.Happy Trails,

Gayle ScottIEA 2005 Conference Chair

2005 Conference Update continued

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IEA BENEFITSA Conversation with A.H. Almaas continued from page 12

continued on page 14

IEA Nine Points Bulletin: WINTER 2005 13

disconnected from its nature, and onceit’s disconnected from its nature itbecomes what we call the ego. So it’sthe same thing, right? When we’reborn we tend to have certain qualitiesthat are more dominant in the soul.And it’s different for each person.You’re saying that type originatesin the soul, and then through aprocess of coming into egoicconsciousness——Right. The soul always comes intoegoic consciousness because that’sthe nature of development in thebeginning. And of course the theoryof the Enneagram is connected a littlebit to astrology in the sense that theEnneagram knowledge says that theHoly Idea is determined by the timeyou’re born. There is no clear under-standing about how or what influencesit – it’s just mentioned that ourEnneagram type is determined by thetime we’re born.Are you suggesting that our typeis determined by the specific timethat we’re born, in the way thatour time of birth determines ourastrological signs?Yes, but there’s no detailed under-standing about how. Astrologerswon’t be able to figure it out becausethere’s no spelled-out theory about it.

It doesn’t happen because of yourearly experience. That’s not whatdetermines your type.Yes, my understanding is that yourearly childhood experiences caninfluence the relative level of healthor degree of dysfunctionality – howstrongly your fixation manifests inyour early years.Yes, exactly. That’s how I see it too.It determines how stuck you are in thefixation. But the fixation has alreadystarted to develop.Yes, that’s my understanding, butare you also saying that it’s deter-mined by the particular time ofday, week, month we’re born?Well, that’s implied. And I don’t knowif somebody has knowledge of howthat works – I’ve never heard of it.Well, how would you say that yourparticular fixation was instrumen-tal in – impacted or shaped – yourexperience, your understanding,your reception of the content ofthe Ridhwan teachings?Well I think my type is fascinated bydiscovery — discovery and under-standing how things work and recog-nizing the truth. And in that sense Iwas fascinated by the Enneagram inthe beginning as a map that organizedhow I think and tend to see things.

Do you think it’s important forpeople to discover their primaryfixation? And if so, why?I think that it is especially useful at thebeginning, But I think as a person goesdeeper, knowing one’s own fixation isnot as important as knowing the wholeEnneagram, because the ego ulti-mately has all of them.All nine ego fixations.Yes. One fixation is dominant, is thecentral one, especially at the begin-ning, but as you go more deeply intoyour mind and your soul, thingsbecome interconnected. That’s why Itell people it’s not enough to knowyour own delusion. You have to knowall the delusions because one delusionis not separate from the others —they’re all expressions of the samething.It’s the same thing with the HolyIdeas. Knowing one’s own is impor-tant for the transformation. It’s thecentral key, I think, but just knowingone’s own fixation is not enough forthe inner development. The ego is anine-headed thing and we need toknow all nine heads.Could you speak about the Dia-mond Approach in terms of theprinciples of the Fourth Way or

FlemmingChristensen ofDenmark joinedthe IEA Board inJanuary.I have been working with IT, manage-ment and business training since 1986.Until 1997 my core work was con-cerned about working with developingvisions, missions and strategies forbusiness, mainly in the IT-industry. Inthe mid 1990’s I started working withcoaching of leaders, managers andteams, and at that time I discoveredthe Enneagram. Today the Enneagramis the foundation of everything wework with in THINK ABOUT IT, andmy new book “Awaken Your Dream.”I joined the IEA Board because mypassion for the Enneagram drives meto work for making the Ennegramknown to everyone - especially in thebusiness industry, health care andeducation. I hope that I will be respon-sible for arranging a conference inEurope and to help grow the numberof IEA-members.I see that the Enneagram 5-10 yearswill be an obvioius part of the traininggiven at schools, universities andbusiness. The Enneagram will trans-form itself into something new andeasier to approach. I also think thatthere will be the “old” school and the“new” school. The “old” school willcontinue to concern itself with aprofound and deep respect for thespiritual work of the Enneagram. The“new” school inspired by the ‘old’school will work to make theEnneagram more accessible, espe-cially to those with nor formal aca-demic background or spiritual trainingso they to can join in this work.

NEW IEA BOARDMEMBER

THE NINE POINTS BULLETINPublished Quarterly

International Enneagram AssociationAssociation copyright 2005

2005 OFFICERSGinger S. Lapid-Bogda (2)

PresidentSanta Monica, CA, USA

Bea Chestnut (2)President-Elect

San Francisco, CA, USABart Wendell (9)Vice President

Acton, MA, USAAndrea Isaacs (4)

SecretaryTroy, NY, USA

Laurie O’Brien (2)Treasurer

Rochester, NY, USA

BOARD MEMBERSFrancoise Chesaux (7)

Redondo Beach, CA, USAFlemming Christensen (5)Copenhagen, DENMARK

Tom Flautt (5)Past President

Cincinnati, OH, USACurt Micka (1)

Minneapolis, MN, USADeborah Ooten (8)

Cincinnati, OH, USAUranio Paes (5)

Sao Paulo, BRAZILArnaldo Pangrazzi (3)

Roma, 00135 ITALYGayle Scott (1)

Boulder, CO USA

A Conversation with A.H. Almaas continued from page 13

IEA Nine Points Bulletin: WINTER 200514

Gurdjieff?We sometimes say the DiamondApproach is the Fourth Way.Gurdjiefff called his work the FourthWay, differentiating it from other ways– from the way of the monk, or thewanderer. There are different waysof doing inner work. You can live in amonastery — have a special situationfor it. The Fourth Way means livingyour normal life and doing your work— doing it as part of life.And that’s what you emphasize inthe Diamond Approach?Yes. In the Diamond Approach weemphasize everybody living their ownlife, and by knowing your life, explor-ing it, and having it be real and genu-ine, the inner development happens.You live your life the way you liveyour life, and just understand it fully –be in it as truthfully, as authentically aspossible. And so the Fourth Way isjust a matter of “being in the world butnot of it.”Do you think our contemporarygrasp of human psychology hasmade a difference, has had animpact on the spiritual path?Yes. Diamond Approach wouldn’t bethere if it weren’t for the new devel-opment of psychology, because thatmade it possible to use psychology in away that serves spiritual development.We can now understand ourselves –the human mind, human consciousness– in a way that wasn’t availablebefore. It’s now specifically possible

to understand ego and ego develop-ment in a new way, and to understandthe psychological obstacles.Would you say that modern psy-chology has made it more possiblefor Fourth Way schools to exist?Gurdjieff is the one who first used theterm Fourth Way, and at that time[modern] psychology was just begin-ning. It was around the same time asFreud. I don’t know if he ever methim, but Gurdjieff was influenced bypsychology. But remember that theEnneagram is a psychology thatexisted before modern times. Sothere were psychologies that existedbefore.All spiritual teachings use psychology.Some are much more developed.Buddhism uses ‘Abhidharma’ whichis the psychology of the mind.Our psychology has to do more withunconscious motivation, the idea thatthere is such a thing as unconsciousinfluences on our conscious experi-ences, which brings in a different kindof understanding.Many thoughtful people arebecoming cynical and hopelessabout the current socio-politicalsituation. Does the idea of “beingin the world but not of it,” pre-clude one’s direct social activism?If you read Gurdjieff’s history – thetime he was doing the work – it wasin the middle of the First World War.The whole world was at war and he

The IEA is excited to announcethat, as this issue goes to press,affiliates in Brazil, Columbia,Denmark and South Africa arebeing established and that a part-nership is being formed with anestablished Enneagram organizationin Italy.IEA International Affiliates andPartners will receive an array ofbenefits of special interest tointernational members. Look formore details in future issues ofNine Points. Contact Uranio Paesor Arnaldo Pangrazzi for moreinformation.

THE IEA IS TRTHE IEA IS TRTHE IEA IS TRTHE IEA IS TRTHE IEA IS TRULULULULULYYYYY

By Beatrice ChestnutBeginning in spring of 2006, the IEAplans to publish a new peer-reviewjournal on topics related to theEnneagram. The goal of the journalwill be to provide IEA members withan additional benefit in the form of ahigh-quality publication offering thelatest Enneagram work and ideas.According to the current plan, thejournal will be produced twice a year,in the spring and the fall. Early in 2006we will send out a call for papers,inviting members to send in submis-sions for review. Papers will bechosen for publication through a blindreview process.In keeping with the vision and missionof the IEA, the hope of the IEA boardof directors is that this journal willfurther several goals of the IEA: topromote the highest values andstandards in Enneagram-related work,to be a worldwide hub for cutting-

ANNOUNCING THE LAUNCH OF A NEW ENNEAGRAM JOURNAL

SILENT AUCTIONCONFERENCE 2005

The IEA will be raising funds for the2006 launch of the new IEA journal’s .The first fundraising eventwill be a silent auction which will beheld at this year’s (2005) annual IEAconference in San Francisco onSaturday evening, August 13, beforethe conference-wide party.

If you would like to contribute an itemfor the auction, please contact SandyPerry-Hatmaker at TheIEA@aol.comor 513-232-5054 or Andrea Isaacs atandreais@earthlink.net or 518-279-4444.

was teaching in the middle of it, andhe still thought that the Fourth Waywas the correct way to do it. Theway I see it, it doesn’t really matterwhat the socio-political situation is.You ‘be’ in your life and you do it asauthentically as possible. Whetherthere is peace or war, whether there’sa dictator or a democracy, is irrel-evant. Each situation has its ownauthenticity. It’s a matter of how youare being real, being yourself in thatsituation. It will be different, depend-ing on the socio-political situation, butall of it has to be oriented towardreality, toward authenticity, towardtruth.So for some people it will mean beingsocial activists, for others it will meanbeing revolutionaries. Some just goabout their business and live their life– it depends on the person. Spiritualwork is really a matter of findingmeaning, finding true authenticexistence in our lives. And we needto do that, whether we are at war orpeace.

edge Enneagram-related information,to provide valuable benefits to IEAmembers, and to create a forum for arich, enlightening, and educationaldiscourse about Enneagram theory,practice, and applications for theEnneagram community.Please stay tuned for more details!

INTERN INTERN INTERN INTERN INTERNAAAAATIONTIONTIONTIONTIONALALALALALBECOMINGBECOMINGBECOMINGBECOMINGBECOMING