50

THE MYERS-BRIGGS,
ENNEAGRAM, AND
SPIRITUALITY
By R O B E R T j, T H E S I N G

H YES, IT WILL PROBABLY HELP YOU in assigning me a

O retreat director to know that I am an ENFP and '4'

on the E n n e a g r a m . ' This kind of statement, utterly
incomprehensible twenty years ago, is now one of the
most common self-descriptions retreatants offer before coming for
a personally-directed retreat. It is but one example of the enormous
popularity and popularization of the Myers-Briggs and the Enneag-
ram among people doing t h e work of spiritual guidance. But
with this growing popularization have also arisen more divergent
understandings and more varied applications of these two systems.
In this article I will attempt to call us back to fundamentals by
asking about the origins and inature of the Myers-Briggs and
Enneagram. From this perspective , questions about their current
usage and varieties of interpretation can more profitably be raised.
Likewise, from this basis and from my o w n experience as a spiritual
director, I hope to suggest some ways that I see the Enneagram and
Myers-Briggs authentically contributing to the Christian spiritual
journey.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) ~ is a n instrument
designed by Isabel Briggs Myers and Katherine C. Briggs to
identify different personality types on the basis of habitual prefer-
ences in four areas. Building on the theory of Carl Jung, 2 the
M B T I measures a person's basic 'attitude' toward the world
(extraversion or introversion) and how one normally 'functions' in
•perceiving (sensation or intuition) and judging (thinking or feeling).
To briefly summarize what most readers will already know, extrav-
ersion (E) is an orientation of interest and psychic energy that
moves outward to the world o f people and material objects, while
introversion (I) is an orientation that moves toward the inner world
 MYERS-BRIGGS AND THE ENNEAGRAM 51

of ideas and reflection. J u n g speculates that while an extravert tends

to typify humanity's 'prolific' mode of adaptation, the introvert
demonstrates a certain 'self-preservation' of the species, s
Considering next the functions, the M B T I measures first one's
preferred mode of perception. In sensation (S) perception or
the gathering of information comes through the five senses with
immediacy and 'hands on' concreteness; while intuition (N) collects
data through more unconscious processes that see the world in
terms of possibilities and interrelationships. Turning then to the
judging function, the M B T I assesses one's preference for thinking
(T) as the mode of appraising data a n d coming to decisions by
objective, logical processes, versus feeling (F) which is more subjec-
tive and value-based in its ordering and decision-making.
Fourthly, the M B T I measures whether the individual generally
prefers the perceiving (P) process of observing and gathering
information or the judging (J) process of coming to conclusions
and moving to action. Joining this final preference to the others,
the M B T I identifies and describes sixteen different personality
types.
As a tool for psychological assessment, the M B T I is well-
grounded in both theory and empirical research. Building o n J u n g ' s
theory, it clearly defines the attitudes and functions being identified
and measured. An individual's profile from the survey (e.g., ENFP:
extraverted-intuitive-feeler-perceiver) describes one's conscious,
preferred style of activity. It is important to remember, however,
that such a profile describes one's p@rences or habitual modes of
operating in each category; the alternative options are also available
to the individual to greater or lesser degrees. Secondly, these
preferred functions are major components of the conscious person-
ality, of what contemporary psychology refers to as the 'ego'. As
we will discuss later, when dealing with spirituality the unconscious
parts o f personality are also extremely significant, and so the
attitudes and functions that are not part of one's M B T I profile can
be just as important to consider when one attends to one's relation-
ship to God in prayer and life.
A dimension of the M B T I that can sometimes be overlooked is
its developmental aspect. 4 A child begins to prefer and make use
of one attitude (extraversion or introversion) and one of the four
functions even in pre-school years, and during childhood develops
a 'primary function' (e.g., extraverted feeling or introverted intui-
tion). During the teenage years an 'auxiliary function' is also
52 M Y E R S - B R I G G S AND T H E E N N E A G R A M

solidified, so that persons by early adulthood are frequently func-

tioning 'typically' for their Myers-Briggs type. As the adult con-
tinues to develop, the 'tertiary function' begins to receive more
attention, and in midlife the fourth or 'inferior' function becomes
more noticed (perhaps for its painful absence as much as for its
emergence). This developmental sequence affects preferences, and
hence test scores on the MBTI. For instance, a thirty-year-old
INFP might test ISFP as more attention is given to the third
function of sensation. Moreover, environmental factors (both from
early family life and present circumstances) also affect how one
scores on the inventory. Consequently, a personal interview which
looks at environment and life history is a necessary supplement to
the testing data to determine which of the sixteen types is most
typically one's own.

The Enneagram
The nine-pointed symbol of the Enneagram a has been used for
centuries in certain Middle and Near Eastern spiritual traditions
to understand the underlying principles of cosmic and human
functioning. Its roots and origins are not clearly known. In the
West, G. I. Gurdjieff 6 introduced the Enneagram in the first half
of this century as an instrument of spiritual development which he
had learned from loosely organized spiritual brotherhoods that he
had contacted on his travels. Gurdjieff used the Enneagram not
only to illuminate personality traits, but as a way of understanding
various h u m a n and cosmological processes. 7
In 1970 Bolivian Oscar Ichazo introduced the Enneagram to a
group of North Americans. 8 Ichazo's insight into the Enneagram
especially illuminated the relationship of the Enneagram and per-
sonality t y p e s . His work quickly spread not only through the
teaching of his own Arica Institute, but also through the contri-
butions of Claudio Naranjo, J o h n Lilly, Joseph Hart, Bob Ochs,
S.J., and others in the fields of transpersonal psychology and of
spirituality. From these recent roots have come m a n y workshops
and writings on the Enneagram, as well as its current usage in
religious (especially Roman Catholic) circles as an approach to
personality types and spiritual development.
Unlike the MBTI, the Enneagram does not haVe a commonly
agreed upon theoretical basis. Different writers make use of quite
different vocabulary, descriptions, and applications. Moreover,
empirical verification of the system is only beginning to be
 MYERS-BRIGGS AND THE ENNEAGRAM 53

attempted. 9 The Enneagram is an intuitive wisdom system, and in

a very real sense its truth and effectiveness are currently as good
as the intuitive powers of the persons teaching it and making use
of it. This lack of 'scientific' reliability makes it difficult to make
judgments about the various Versions of the system as they are
being taught, but it does not deny the fact that many people have
found the Enneagram a significant vehicle for self-discovery and
spiritual growth.
The Enneagram describes nine different personality types (each
with three subtypes). Each of the nine types manifests a character-
istic bias of thoughts and emotions in perceiving and dealing with
the world. The w o r d 'ego' is used by the Enneagram for the false
personality that is fixated in this stance. The 'ego' is a biased,
distorted sense of oneself, a limited mode of h u m a n awareness that
has been taken on to protect oneself from threatening aspects of
the world.
In contrast to the ego, 'essence' is the true self according to the
Enneagram. Essence is the unique, whole, centred person who is
able to be in true relationship with God, others, and the world.
Ichazo says,

In essence every person is perfect, fearless, and in a

loving unity with the entire cosmos; there is no conflict
within the person between head, heart, and stomach, or
between the person and others.I°

The purpose of the Enneagram system is to provide a way for

persons to become deeply aware of the false consciousness of ego
so that a return to essence can be accomplished.
Most of what is written about the Enneagram is not about how
to achieve the spiritual transformation of returning to essence, but
rather descriptions of the nine types of personality. To name briefly
these nine types, personality types Two, Three and Four are types
fixated in the heart centre of the person. Helen Palmer 1~ calls
them 'The Giver', 'The Performer', and 'The Tragic Romantic'
respectively. Types Five, Six and Seven experience their distortion
more in the head centre, and can b e characterized as 'The
Observer', 'The Devil's Advocate', and 'The Epicure', while types
Eight, Nine, and One are centred problematically in the belly
centre, as 'The Boss', 'The Mediator', and 'The Perfectionist'.
Each of the nine types experiences a central problem or dilemma
 i:

54 MYERS-BRIGGS AND THE ENNEAGRAM

in dealing with reality. A Devil's Advocate, for example, motivated

by fear and suspicion, seeks Security by types of loyalty and
courageous achievement that are not called for by the reality of
the world. Such a pattern is acted out again and again in one's
life. Unless a person can begin to observe and let go of this
compulsive motivation, living out of the freedom of essence will
not be possible.
Beyond this basic d i l e m m a , commentators on the Enneagram
describe a wide variety of characteristic issues and traits for each
of the nine personality types. These descriptions are becoming
more divergent as more people write about the Enneagram. Unfor-
tunately, there is little discussion in print about how individual
authors are coming to their own particular interpretations, leaving
the student of the Enneagram at pains to judge between competing
views. Commentators on Jung~, to cite a parallel example, work
carefully to show how their interpretation of analyti c psychology is
in agreement with the founder's point of view, or else cite reasons
and data to justify their taking a different position. Such a climate
of critical discussion and research is not apparent in Enneagram
studies. There is a real need for commentators to begin validating
their claims with more careful reference to originators like Gurdjieff
and Ichazo, and with empirical research and documented case
studies that can support particular interpretations.
A furthe r question arises about using the Enneagram apart from
the religious world view within which it arose. For: both Gurdjieff
and Ichazo the Enneagram is a tool for spiritual development that
emerges from a much larger understanding of the human person
and the cosmos, a viewpoint quite distinct from Christian and
western ways of seeing things. What does it mean, then, when
people make use of the Enneagram as a spiritual or psychological
tool without reference to this world view? By analogy, what would
happen if the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius were used as a tool for
growth without reference to Ignatius's own view of God and the
human person, or without the assistance of a guide familiar with
the inner dynamics of the Exercises? In the same way, the Enneagram
can seem more like a parlour game than a profound approach to
spiritual development when detached from its original religious
context. But given the foreign nature of that context, coming to
know and appreciate such a world view is no small matter!
An example of this issue is Simply the use of the term 'ego' in
the Enneagram. This 'ego' has: no parallel in western psychology.
 MYERS-BRIGGS AND THE ENNEAGRAM 55

It includes elements of Freud's 'superego' and J u n g ' s 'persona'

and 'shadow'. It describes ways a person has adapted to society at
the expense of one's own true individuality, as well as ways one is
affected by unconscious, broken and repressed aspects of the
personality. Whether the Enneagram 'ego' also includes the centre
of identity and freedom that western psychology terms 'ego' is not
clear in various commentators; in so far as it does, then this
spiritual system sees the importance of also moving from such false
individuality to the reality of 'essence'. Such a process, though
familiar enough to many eastern mystical traditions, stands in
sharp contrast to traditional Christian spirituality.

Type, mis-type, and stereotype

Obviously, to make maximum use of either the M B T I or the
E n n e a g r a m in understanding oneself or another it is essential to
assess correctly one's true type Within either system. Both systems
assert that a person is only one type, and we do not change types
during our life, though at various times dimensions of other types
may take on greater importance for an individual.
Finding one's type within the Myers-Briggs system is not as easy
as simply taking the inventory. As J u n g reminds us, 'Only careful
observation and weighing of the evidence permit a sure classifi-
cation...because every individual is an exception tO the rule'. 12
Such observation requires self-awareness an ability to stand back,
observe, and name how I function in the outer and inner worlds.
Looking at personal history, environmental influences, and the
relative strength of one's preferences are necessary supplements to
the testing data. An interview with a person well versed in the
M B T I can be a valuable means of weighing this data and coming
to a better assessment of one's real type within the Myers-Briggs.
Finding one's type within the Enneagram is even more difficult.
First, there is as yet no testing instrument that has been proven
to be effective for discovering one's Enneagram type. More import-
antly, though, it seems to me that the Enneagram requires a much
more acute ability for self-observation to even notice the data that
are crucial for identifying one's type. Frequently people type
themselves on the basis of some external behaviour ( ' I ' m a workaho-
lic, so I must be a Three'; ' I ' m always helping people, so I ' m a
Two'); but the essential data to be noticed are the thoughts
and feelings, the motivations that underlie one's behaviour. Very
 i
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56 MYERS-BRIGGS AND THE ENNEAGRAM

frequently, people are not consciously aware of these (that's preci-

sely part of their compulsive nature). In so far as these underlying
thoughts and feelings remain unobserved, people will not be
ready to identify their true Enneagram types. Traditionally, the
Enneagram has been taught within the structure of a teacher-
disciple relationship, and the value of a teacher or guide for
understanding this complex system and for discovering one's place
within it should not be underestimated. Also, meeting and observ-
ing people of each Enneagram type is another helpful way to learn
the various t y p e s and find one's place within the system. One
common sign that an individualhas discovered one's true Enneag-
ram type is a reaction of distress and shock ('Oh no, anything but
that!'), because finding one's t y p e is also realizing the bias,
disorderedness, and incompleteness of my ego-consciousness.
In my experience of doing spiritual direction I meet many people
who as they grow in self-awareness come to see themselves as a
different type from their initial assessment on both the M B T I and
the Enneagram. I also hear people describing themselves as a
particular type in ways that fit neither the system they are using,
nor their own behaviour as I observe it. This makes me wonder
how many of us mis-type ourselves in these systems and in doing
so miss the fuller opportunities for self-knowlege an d growth that
might be available. Hence, I find a certain 'healthy uncertainty'
about one's type, a willingness to reassess as new data about myself
becomes available, to be a very helpfu ! attitude.
A frequent complaint registered against using personality
typologies is the danger of 'stereotyping' other people. Labelling
another person as a number or a set of four letters is obviously
not respecting the individuality a n d uniqueness of the other, nor
is it conducive to fruitful relationships. (Luckily, God 'calls us by
name', and not by number!) But just as problematic as stereotyping
other people is the danger of stereotyping myself. Identifying my
type can lead me to deeper self-understanding, or it can bring to
a halt my efforts to observe and own my actual experience of life.
Spiritual growth requires continual attention to the 'voices' within
me, the 'movements produced in the soul', the alternations of
consolation and desolation, the spontaneous emergence of thoughts,
emotions, images and desires. Self-observation of such movements
leads to the understanding that comes from discernment, and then
leads back to continuing self-observation. Stereotyping myself is
making a judgement about who I am that stops the flow of
 M Y E R S - B R I G G S AND T H E E N N E A G R A M 57

continuing self-awareness and hence closes the question of 'where

and how is God's Spirit moving in me today?'

Self-knowledge and spirituality

Both the Enneagram and the Myers-Briggs provide theories of
personality that can help us understand other people better and
enable groups to function more smoothly through clearer mutual
understanding. As aids to spiritual growth, however, these systems
seem to me most powerful as tools for self-understanding, rather
than for understanding others. Each system provides extensive
profiles of what a person of a particular type is like, enabling
individuals to notice more fully and appreciate aspects of their own
personalities. Even in so far as one dis-identifies with particular
aspects of a given type, this too leads to greater self-awareness.
The question t h e n arises: what role does such self-knowledge
play in a person's spiritual journey? H o w does knowing myself
better through the M B T I or Enneagram relate to my spirituality?
In an effort to answer this question, it is helpful to name briefly
what is meant by 'spirituality'. Sandra Schneiders has proposed a
definition that can assist our discussion:

[Spirituality is] the experience of consciously striving to integrate

one's life in terms not of isolation and self-absorption but of self-
transcendence toward the ultimate value one perceives... [For a
Christian] the ultimate concern is God revealed in Jesus Christ
and experienced through the gift of the Holy Spirit within the life
of the Church.i3

Looking at this definition from the perspective of self-knowledge,

several important movements can be identified. First, spirituality
includes coming to more conscious awareness and integration of
who I know myself to be before God. Second, it also involves
recognition of ways I choose 'isolation and self-absorption', rather
than authentic integration. And third, Christian spirituality desires
self-transcendence, conversion beyond my current self-definition
toward a truth more fully related to God and the person God calls
me to be. In what ways can the Myers-Briggs and Enneagram
contribute to such movements?
Gifts differing, 14 Isabel Briggs Myers' book on personality types,
suggests by its very title the movement of spirituality enabled by
the M B T I . Seen in relationship to God, the strengths and talents
58 M Y E R S - B R I G G S AND T H E E N N E A G R A M
i'
I discover in myself through use of the Myers-Briggs are realized
to be ~gifts' from God, offering richer life for myself and for others.
These gifts are particularly mine (differing from those of most other
people), and yet they offer the opportunity for closer relationship
to others, to t h e world, and to G o d . Learning to accept and love
myself in my giftedness, and even more radically to experience
acceptance a n d love from others and from the Other in my
giftedness, are steps in the development of human :identity before
God. In Ignatian terms, this is part of the 'Principle and Foun-
dation' of spirituality, an essential and never completed stage of
our conscious integration before God. Indeed, the attention that
contemporary spiritualities give to themes such as l self-knowledge
and self-acceptance, the goodness of all creation, and the centrality
of God's empowering love attests t o the need and importance of
experiencing this giftedness in our own day.
Though some authors stress the giftedness of various types within
the Enneagram in a similar manner, my own understanding of
this s y s t e m places primary emphasis on the fact that 'ego' is
inherently a false personality, a perspective on self and world that
is biased and incomplete. In our ego consciousness we experience
feelings and ideas that we take to be reality, but that are in fact
the products of wounded and disordered functioning. In so far a s
this is true; the Enneagram does n o t reveal our giftedness before
God, but rather our distorted:self-knowledge, our misperception
of the world, the illusion and unrelatedness of our lives. In a real
sense, 'isolation and self-absorption' are unmasked by this type of
knowledge. In my experience of listening to others, when persons
begin to realize or have revealed to themselves the patterns of their
Enneagram type in their actual experiences, the movements of
spirit are not dissimilar to what Ignatius describes as !graces' in
the first week of the Spiritual Exercises. Though: the term ~sin'
may or may not be used, people do experience such things as 'deep
knowledge of my sins [or alienation] and a feeling of abhorrence'
at this reality; or they come to 'an understanding of the disorder
of my actions '15 in day-to-day perceptions and choices. In so far
as spirituality includes the recognition and repentance of ways that
my life is not integrated according to my ultimate value, this type
of self-knowledge is a vital step in one's spiritual journey.
As I begin to observe and recognize the thoughts and feelings
that occur within myself, the Enneagram gives me a way to sort
out which of these movements are not really connected with my
 MYERS-BRIGGS AND THE ENNEAGRAM 59

deepest self (or essence). In so far as I come to see these places of

illusion, I can dis-identify with them and make r o o m in m y
consciousness for other desires, emotions, and understandings. In
such a process self-transcendence begins to open for me. I can h e a r
calls that take me b e y o n d m y c u r r e n t self-definition, that enable
me to cross b o u n d a r i e s of perception and action that were previously
closed in m y experience. I b e c o m e available for the ongoing
Conversion that lies at the h e a r t of the Christian spiritual j o u r n e y
and that can ultimately b r i n g me to m y truest self, m y essence
before God. T h e wisdom of the E n n e a g r a m can provide a deeply
helpful perspective on this j o u r n e y .
T h e M B T I also has its b o u n d a r y dimension, expressed primarily
in its presentation of the 'inferior function'. This fourth or inferior
function is always the opposite of one's p r i m a r y function (e.g., for
an extraverted feeler t h e inferior function is introverted thinking).
By definition it is the least used, least preferred, and least comfort-
able m o d e of one's operation. It exists p r i m a r i l y in the unconscious
of the individual, in realms where one is neither self-aware n o r
self-controlled. A n d this is precisely w h y its potential for assisting
self-transcendence is so great.
As M a r i e - L o u i s e von F r a n z points out, operating out of the
inferior function has 'a mystical quality about it'. 16 Because this
function is so close to the unconscious, it can b e c o m e a door
(unclosable and unlockable!) t h r o u g h which images and energies
of the unconscious Come into consciousness. 17 Such psychic material
can enliven, alter and re-define who I am. A n d in so far as our
deepest reality is our being fashioned in the image of God, such
m o v e m e n t s from the unconscious can call to Conversion to God,
to o u r ultimate value. For an e x t r a v e r t e d intuitive to really dwell
in the present m o m e n t while baking bread, for example, or for an
i n t r o v e r t e d feeler to take decisive action for justice in the world
can be e x t r a o r d i n a r y m o m e n t s of grace in so far as these are
responses to a calling b e y o n d o n e ' s self-definition. W h a t would be
an o r d i n a r y event for one person can be a place of self-transcendence
for a n o t h e r w h e n the inferior function is engaged in response to
an invitation to richer life.
As Christians we can n e v e r be content to accept and live our
c u r r e n t self-awareness, either as gifted children of G o d or as sinners
in need of G o d ' s mercy. T h e continual call is to conversion, to
lose ourself in o r d e r to gain o u r true self. T h i s m e a n s that we need
to dwell on the b o u n d a r i e s of our self-knowledge, trusting that G o d
60 MYERS-BRIGGS AND THE ENNEAGRAM

will continue to reveal to us w h o we truly are before God and our

neighbour. Personality typologies like the Myers-Briggs and the
Enneagram can block such m o v e m e n t w h e n used to provide us
with 'comfortable' self-knowledge--knowledge that reinforces con-
trolling behaviour and closes us to further revelation and self-
transcendence. But they can also open us to see ourselves as we
truly are, to let d o w n our defences before others and before God,
and to sort out the various movements, images, desires and callings
that stir within us. At such times they can become powerful tools
in service of God's grace at work a m o n g us.

NOTES

1 See Myers, Isabel Briggs: Gifts differing (Consulting Psychologists Press, Inc., Palo Alto,
California, 1980).
2 Jung, C.G. : Psychological types (Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J., 1976).
3 Ibid., pp 331-332.
4 For an extensive treatment of the developmental aspect of the MBTI see Grant,
Harold W., Thompson, Magdala, and Clarke, Thomas E.: From image to likeness." aJungian
path in the gospel journey (Paulist Press, New York, 1983).
5 Current writings on the Enneagram include: Keen, Sam: 'A conversation about ego
destruction with Oscar Ichazo', Psychology today (July 1973), pp 64-72; Beesing, Maria,
Nogosek, Robert J., and O'Leary, Patrick H.: The Enneagram: a journey of self discovery
(Dimension Books, Inc., Denville, New Jersey, 1984); Palmer, Helen: The Enneagram:
understanding yourself and the others in your life :(Harper & Row, San Francisco, 1988); Riso,
Don Richard: Personality types: using the Enneagram for self-discovery (Houghton Mifflin, Boston,
1987) and Understanding the Enneagram: the practical guide to personality types (Houghton Mifflin,
Boston, 1990).
6 For more information on Gurdjieff and his use of the Enneagram see: Speeth, Kathleen
Riordan: The Gurdjieffwork (And/Or Press, Berkeley, CA, 1976).
7 For a presentation of the Enneagram as applied to life processes, rather than personality
types, see: Bennett, J.G.: The Enneagram (Coombe Springs Press, Gloucestershire, England,
1974).
5 See Palmer, op. cit., pp 46-54.
9 For information on the current status of empirical research into the Enneagram see Palmer:
op. tit., pp 379-387.
~0 Keen, op. cir., p 67.
tl Palmer, op. cir., pp 37-41.
12jung, op. tit., p 516.
13 Schneiders, Sandra M., I.H. M: 'Spirituality in the academy', Theological studies 50 (1989),
p 684.
1~ Myers, op. cir.
15 Exx 63.
16 Von Franz, Marie-Louise: 'The inferior function', Jungian typology (Spring Publications
~nc., It,dug, Texas, 197t), p 31.
17 Ibid., p 54.