The Road Back to You – An Enneagram Journey to Self–Discovery (Road Back to You Set)

Product Information

What a powerful book this would be if the authors fully understood and embraced what it means for a Christian that their identity begins and ends in Christ, not in a personality number or type, not in childhood experiences or wounds. Do those all shape us? Absolutely, but they are not the essence of who we are. Any "Christian" teaching that starts with US, our personality types, etc., has already missed the mark. As someone who's new to learning about the enneagram, I find this content fascinating. It may not be scientifically objective or measurably sound but I find the information regarding these personality types interesting.

Road Back PB: An enneagram journey to self-discovery

As a Type 5, what I am looking for is truth and knowledge. I grew up in a very religious environment but even from childhood it never sank into me and I eventually completely removed it from my life. I guess this would be par for the course for a 5w4, Iconoclast. That's why this distortion leaves a bad taste in my mouth. We’ve taken both the official Enneagram Institute type indicator, the Tritype enneastyle theory questionnaire, as well as numerous unofficial enneagram personality tests online. I have two minor complaints. First, Cron references his children's Enneagram types and the examples provided are generally when they are not adults. I'm in the camp that believes our personalities continue to form into our 20s so I'm very wary of typing children and teenagers. They may have the tendencies of a certain type but I don't want to put anyone that young in a box. ( The Enneagram of Parenting does a great job of laying out the fine lines, while also providing guidance.) Cron is probably in this camp, too, but I don't want people to read about his children and then start typing their own children. So there's that. Like other writers like Richard Rohr, they don't offer a test to find your type. Rather, here is what they recommend:This book is a great place to start learning about the Enneagram. It's clear and well-organized. The "What's it like to be a ..." questions at the beginning of each chapter were very helpful to members of my study group. The group loved this book. John O'Donohue's beautiful Blessing for Solitude is included near the beginning and again at the end of the book: And that's why I can't recommend this book and would be throwing it away if I didn't have to hang onto it for reference at work. They explain that these come in three triads of three: Anger or Gut: 8, 9, 1 ; Feeling or Heart 2, 3, 4; and Fear or Head: 5, 6, 7. Also each type is modified by one or both of their wings (the types adjacent to them) and have a type the gravitate to under stress and when they are secure. Sound a little confusing? Cron and Stabile walk us through all this both in introduction and the survey of each type. Chris Gonzalez is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and the Director of the Marriage and Family Therapy program at Lipscomb University. He is also a husband, father and an Enneagram 9. His view of people is equally skewed when he comments, “We owe it to the God who created us, to ourselves, to the people we love and to all with whom we share this troubled planet to become ‘saints.’ How else can we run and complete the errand on which God sent us here?” This completely circumvents the doctrine of sin, grace, man’s depravity, and God’s omnipotence (to name a few). This is not the Gospel.

The Road Back to You - Ian Morgan Cron, Suzanne Stabi The Road Back to You - Ian Morgan Cron, Suzanne Stabi

Your core Enneagram Type is just the tip of the iceberg of your personality. Each of the 9 Enneagram types has three “subtypes” so there are 27 subtypes — and knowing your particular subtype can be extremely helpful. The iEQ9 is an Enneagram report that provides the most comprehensive and detailed report on the Enneagram I’ve seen anywhere. And as an avid student of the Enneagram, I don’t say that lightly. I was curious to read this as I am hearing about the enneagram from so many people. I've done a fair amount of reading about Meyers-Briggs so I was happy to learn about another tool for understanding people. However, I found this to be quite general. While I think I was able to figure out my number, from reading the chapters the only one I definitely eliminated for myself was three. Because the of the generality, I identified with almost all of them. My husband, when told about this, said it reminded him of a horoscope a bit. Learn to recognize the difference between legitimate fear and free-floating anxiety, and ascribe different values to them.” (6) I also can appreciate the fact that we are, indeed, different from one another. I don't buy into this system of explaining those differences, but I do think it's helpful to be reminded that we approach things differently. Toward the end of the book the author writes, "When you realize that your Loyalist Six husband views [the world] as a place filled with danger and uncertainty, and he in turn understands that when you get up in the morning you as a Performer Three feel an urgent need to compete and excel at everything you do, it's amazing how much more compassion you can for each other. Everything isn't so personal anymore." (pg. 227) I can relate to this sentiment as I see it play out in how my husband and I think about life. I see it in my co-workers, my family, my church family, my friends, etc. We are different.

Each type is at its core a signpost pointing us to travel toward and embrace an aspect of God’s character that we need. ❤️ I would have been much more receptive to this theory of personality if people didn't insist on trying to Christianize it (or I should say "spiritualize" it, because there's really no Christian theology in it). Other personality tests like the Myers-Briggs or even the whole love language concept can be helpful insofar as they help people understand that not everyone sees the world the way they do. I think it would be hard for anyone to ignore that we are different and that those differences cause conflicts. Our understanding of those differences, though, and how we go about working through them is of the utmost importance. Your Meta-Message is the underlying message you may be communicating to others, potentially without even being aware of it.

The Road Back to You” Find Out Your Enneagram Number in “The Road Back to You”

Ian Morgan Cron, partnering with Suzanne Stabile, has gifted us with another timely and brilliantly written book. We've long needed a fresh, spiritually grounded approach to helping people grow in self-knowledge and compassion. This is a winsome and thoughtful primer!" Mark Batterson While my free assessment was a great way to learn what Enneagram type you are, it only scratched the surface. I wanted to provide a more exhaustive report that would give you not only the knowledge, but also actionable insight that allows you to integrate the Enneagram into your life. The idea that “we can’t see the forest for the trees” is particularly true when it comes to understanding ourselves.

Lots of personal examples from the author of the various people in his life corresponding to each number (particularly his immediate family) which I could have done without. But it fits the self-help vibe. Sadly, the author (and the people that the author reveres) has committed himself to the Enneagram and has tried to work the Bible in where he can/wants to. But the Bible isn't an additive; it's the main ingredient. The Bible, when taken at its word, must be first. Anything less is a misunderstanding and misapplication of what it claims to be in and of itself. This book/theory is a perfect example of the ineffectual, misleading, harmful and specious mish-mash that you get when you abandon the Bible as the one, authoritative source of truth.

The Road Back to You: Looking at Life Through the Lens of ‎The Road Back to You: Looking at Life Through the Lens of

You might think, "So what?" Well, for a book on a topic that apparently claims to be "known among clergy, spiritual directors, retreat leaders and laypeople as a helpful aid in Christian spiritual formation" (pg. 11) I find it odd that the Bible, the foundation of Christian belief and practice, is almost completely absent. This episode is essential for any couple; whether you have just started your life together or been married for 50 years! These are highlights to give you type-specific guidance on how you might be able to improve in different areas. I truly sense an awareness of seeing people through their own eyes and my heart giving compassion and love to them instead of getting frustrated at why they they struggle and have problems with things that seem so basic and trivial to me. It does not, simply because most people shift wings depending on phases of their lives. Instead, in the iEQ9 Report we show the behavioral influence both wings could have on a person. It is also very healthy to consciously develop both wings. We noticed that the real rich explanation for the difference some people have inside the same type is explained by the 27 Subtypes (when the biological dominant instinct merges with the passion of the Core Type), which you will see reflected in the iEQ9 Report.

Your “wings” are the Enneagram numbers on each side of your main Enneagram type. You typically access both of your wings but one is more dominant for most people.