CONNECTING POINTS (Arrows)

The dynamic quality of the Enneagram is in its anticipation of personality shifts that will naturally occur at times when we are under stress or when we feel secure. Each type moves in the direction of the arrow when under stress, and begins to take on those charcteristics (for example, a ONE will take on the characteristics of FOUR when facing great stress). When we are feeling secure, the shift will be against the arrow where we tend to take on the characteristics of that type (ONE would look more like SEVEN when feeling really secure). It is another way of demonstrating what happens when a person no longer needs their automatic defense (security), or when it no longer works (stress). The core type does not change, but we get to see variations under stress and in security.

one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight | nine