How Vahl was introduced to the Enneagram

I recently read a post where a friend of mine explained how he took an Enneagram test and would figure out the results later. That post inspired me to share how I was introduced to the E-gram, in the hopes of simplifying and demystifying it.

Damian started telling me about the Enneagram about nine years ago. The more he described it, the more I wanted to learn more. One day, we finally sat down together and he showed me the book Personality Types, by Riso and Hudson.



First, we turned to Part I, which listed the 9 basic types, and four word description for each. He told me to read through the list and see which description or descriptions I related to the most. Here's the list:

The One, also called The Reformer, is principled, orderly, perfectionistic, and
self-righteous.
The Two, also called The Helper, is caring, generous,
possessive, and manipulative.
The Three, also called The Achiever, is
adaptable, ambitious, image-conscious, and hostile.
The Four, also called The
Individualist, is intuitive, expressive, self-absorbed, and depressive.
The
Five, also called The Investigator, is perceptive, original, detached, and
eccentric.
The Six, also called The Loyalist, is engaging, committed,
defensive, and paranoid.
The Seven, also called The Enthusiast, is
motivating, accomplished, uninhibited, and manic.
The Eight, also called The
Challenger, is self-confident, decisive, dominating, and combative.
The
Nine, also called The Peacemaker, is gentle, reassuring, complacent, and
neglectful.

Once I had chosen a couple of types, we turned to the Appendix and looked up more detailed descriptions of those types. Basically, there are more one-word descriptions broken down into three levels: healthy, average, and unhealthy.

Damian told me once I found my type, it would feel like a K.O. punch. He was right -- there was no doubt about it. I felt like I was reading a kind of biography for my personality, or my own internal programming code. It felt like someone knew me and described me to a tee. My strengths, weaknesses, fears, and desires that I had experienced throughout my life were there.

Slap me with a number six. I went on to read the full description in Part II, and gained even more perspective. As I read more about the other types, I began to see the ones and zeroes of the Matrix, so to speak.

If you're interested in figuring out your Enneagram type, I highly recommend the book Personality Types and trying out Damian's method. It's simpler, more intuitive than an exam, and does not require voluminous reading. You'll get more out of it than confusing test results!

Bikram Yoga is Bull$$$$

So, I heard this report on NPR, about Competitive Yoga vying to become an Olympic sport. As someone who had dabbled with Yoga in the past, I was shocked to hear about this.

Yoga, from my understanding, is about relaxation. It's about flexibility. It's about discipline and control. It's about accepting any person, with any shape, and giving them an opportunity to stretch out and get fit. It's certainly NOT about competitiveness. If anything, I would view Yoga as an ESCAPE from the competitive mindset.

As the report started, a lady who was similarly skeptical came on, and said that after seeing the event her mind was changed. She thought competitive Yoga was beautiful, and that it captured the essence of the activity.

I continued listening, and after a few seconds, the TRUTH was revealed.

Apparently, Competitive Yoga was inspired by Bikram Yoga, which is a FRANCHISE Yoga studio that has people performing poses in 100 degree temperature rooms. What a racket -- turn off the A/C and charge people to sweat and bend quickly.

The narrator explained that the sport of Competitive Yoga was helped by the fact that Bikram has franchises around the country.

So, basically Yoga has been Americanized. It's been three'd. It's gotten the Vince McMahon treatment.

I promptly turned off my car and walked to the mailbox, thankful I wasn't caught up in that bull$$$$.