Knowledge is Power. When most of us hear the name Albert Einstein, we get a bit misty eyed. When we read about the bi-locations, soul readings and locutions of St. Padre Pio we become enchanted. When we contemplate the awesomeness of the Resurrection after the horrible death of our Lord we are stupefied and mystified. Why? It is because we do not posses full knowledge of these people or events. And lack of knowledge has drawn mankind to seek knowledge since that gal and her hubby in the perfect garden.
Since the Garden of Eden, humans have had a lustaffair with knowledge. But wait, you say, scripture says, ‘My people parish for lack of knowledge’, what about that? The answer lies in Matthew 24, Jesus says, “See that no one deceive you”. We must learn to discern what knowledge is laudable and what knowledge is deceptive or just plain useless. I believe that knowledge of the Enneagram, while often tied with the social science of psychology, is a deceptive knowledge that leads its devotees into the false belief that they “posses” a great secret understanding about themselves and everyone else. That is the HOOK. Secret knowledge= power over self AND others. Gnosticism. New Age.
The Enneagram is a system of personality types that is supposed to give its devotee insight into their own distorted “ego personality” so they can fix it. Of course, most Enneagram enthusiasts will tend to use this information to “fix” others….that Bible passage about , “Don’t remove the splinter from your neighbors eye, when you have a PLANK in your own..” doesn’t seem to apply to folks who "know" the Enneagram.
This system of “knowledge” can best be described as “Freud meets Islamic Sufi Master”. It is a blend of pop psychobabble and numerology. The symbol of the Enneagram is a circle (to represent the unity of life, Godhead, Mother/Father God…take your pick, I’ve got more). There are 9 numbers on the circle that are supposed to represent the 9 character traits of God. (Poor God…only 9) They also represent the 9 traits of the devil.
(at this point in the Enneagram lecture everyone listening should have asked for their money back...but New Agers keep forgetting that Good and Evil cannot occupy the same space in the time frame continuum). After doing some Yoga or Meditation exercises and answering some inconsistent psychological questions, the devotee is supposed to determine their personal “NUMBER”. (it is all about the number). Then they are supposed to work on that ego number until it is changed from the “devil-type” to the God-type of characteristic. This is the shorten version. There’s just not enough room in this venue to give all of the details.So how did this stuff get into the Catholic mainstream thought? It was taught in Chicago by one Fr. Bob Ochs, S.J.. He apparently learned it from a Claudio Naranjo who learned it from the famous Oscar Ichazo of Eslon Institute. (a group of which I've had plenty of contact in years past!) Ichazo brought it to the West through his many studies in Sufism, Buddhism and the like. Catholics trace their knowledge of this system to Ochs who has conducted many workshops on the Enneagram.
There is plenty of information on the I-net about this New Age Pop fascination. Be careful when you do research to check out only Orthodox Catholic sites or you just might be made to believe that this is a good/Godly ideology or some great new "tool" for transformation!
While real and valuable psychology has its place in our society, the mixture of the occult with psychology as in the Enneagram System is a spiritual Mickey Fin. Don’t drink it.
Have a Blessed Memorial Day weekend,
Pray for those who protect us. St. Michael, Archangel Defend Us!
Marguerite
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