Most students of the Enneagram work on their primary Enneagram type, building a large vocabulary about how the type communicates, receives feedback, navigates in professional and private relationships, handles pressure, etc. When you include your understanding of your blind Enneagram type, you will discover new potential valuable keys to the Enneagram and to your personal growth and development.
When you combine your experience with your primary Enneagram type with insights about your blind Enneagram type, you might discover new aspects of the dynamics in your primary Enneagram type.
Enneagram assumptions are some of the main drivers
My own experience relating to Enneagram Type 3 has developed over the last 20 years, and while my understanding of the very Enneagram has been expanded, so has my understanding of what it means to relate to Type 3. I notice how I often identify and have strong attachments to the assumptions of Type 3, where some of the assumptions can be:
- Life is a constant competitive game where number two and number three will be forgotten. Only number one will be remembered.
- If I am better than my prior performances, I will receive the proper recognition and acknowledgment.
- If I take on the right role, I have a better chance of performing.
- If I just get certain things done, there will be time for family and friends.
(From the book “The Enneagram and why your blind type matters”)
The assumptions are some of the basic drivers for each Enneagram type, and you will soon discover that it is very difficult not to act on your type’s assumptions. Exploring the truth within your assumptions is a very useful Enneagram key to your personal growth and development.
Your blind type will create certain assumptions
Another key related to your assumptions is your blind Enneagram type. Your blind type is the Enneagram type that you relate to the least. My blind Enneagram type is Type 7, meaning that I “find it difficult to stay positive and optimistic, surrender to joyful moments and seek the easy and free path in life. You might feel it drains your energy to have fun, engage in possibilities, and be loose in your mind, heart, and body.” (From the book “The Enneagram and why your blind type matters”). This gives my profile a certain professional, serious, and directly-to-the-point attitude, and it would have been different if I had been blind to Type 5. If you have Type 3 as your primary type and Type 5 as your blind Enneagram type, you will probably not enjoy spending too much time on research, writing long articles, or looking for the hidden truth in the wisdom of the Enneagram. Being blind to Type 7 creates a handful of new assumptions that are very different compared to the assumptions that come from being blind to Type 5.
Primary Type 3 being blind to Type 7 possible assumptions:
- If I do not fool around with childish ideas, I will reach my goal faster.
- If I make sure not to waste my time on random activities, I will be more productive.
- If I celebrate too soon or if I am too optimistic about my own performance, I might look like a fool.
Primary Type 3 being blind to Type 5 possible assumptions:
- If I overstudy many subjects, I will never get things done.
- If I have to read everything about a topic, I might become too academic (which is not very productive).
- If I focus and concentrate too much on limited topics, I will lose momentum.
Understanding your blind Enneagram type, you will build a stronger vocabulary about your deeper and more nuanced assumptions regarding your primary type.
Do you want more keys to the Enneagram?
If you are looking for new ways to both explore your primary Enneagram type and to unfold your capacity of your primary Enneagram, then working on your blind Enneagram type might be a way for you. The new book “The Enneagram and why your blind type matters” offer a new understanding of how your blind Enneagram type is limiting your primary Enneagram type by its limiting assumption.
Become part of the study group
When I teach about blind types in the Enneagram, I often get the question, “Can we be blind to more than one type?” and my guess is, “Yes, we can, but at the moment, my studies only focus on one blind type and not several”. There might be a possibility that we can be blind to several types, like we can have wings. If you want to be part of the study group about blind types, you can sign up using this link: http://www.thinkaboutit.dk/primary_and_blind
