I found this book one of many excellent frameworks in describing personalities. Originally an esoteric Sufi and Cabalist mysticism, then elaborated on by others such as Gurdjieff, Oscar Ichazo, Claudio Naranjo, Joseph Hart, John Lilly, Riso and Helen Palmer. I think Jung's is most famous that embrace the introvert and the extrovert regarding the four personality types of a thinker, feeler, sensor and intuitive, which presents 8 personalities. And in this book by Palmer (also Riso) on the Enneagram, there are nine personality types. Like Jung's personality types, the Ennegrams presents scores of in-between stages, a fourish-five, a threeish-four and so forth, so you can't fault this theorem, nor the non existent particular attributes believed to be of one personality type to an individual, even when that one fits one of the selected types.
The idea that must be remembered here is a person is not one personality type, but a core type fluctuating between two others, one in stress, the other in non-stress. So each person is continuously traveling between three points, one of them being the core, while at the same time, this person may or may not lean towards one of it's wing points. To repeat, it is a core point fluctuating between two other points, towards one in stress, towards the other in security, while some are heavily influenced by one of its wing points. A Five for instance, is secure in eight, but when stress hits it goes towards seven in order to secure its core of Five, like a rubber band effect. I am a fiveish four, or a four-Tragic Romantic, who acts as a withdrawing observer, from leaning in my wing point as a Five-Observer-Solitude. As a Four, I fall into the secure point of a One-Perfectionist. So under stress, I move towards a Two-Giver, in order to balance out my Four.
You have to accept the system with degrees of relativity. As helpful as this system is, it is not an exact science, and in this sense, there are no absolutes in any formulated structures.
The first four chapters of the book are small and explain the system itself and how it works. The remainder of the book describes in quite detail the nine personality types and is very helpful in observing both the self and others with scores of helpful hints and workable areas that one can work and benefit on by knowing the basic principles and framework of thinking that externally show in actions. By looking in this particular lens of personality types, you can gain greater perception of the person you are dealing with and how you yourself are dealing with the other and make the necessary adjustments. I found myself constantly envisioning many persons I know that really do fit many of the personality types with a large degree of accuracy, including that of myself.
I found what is important is to read the entire book, and try to get a handle on the types. Then go back to the first four chapters and re-read to get a full understanding on how each point is really a base of three points and how the wing points can be a major influence.
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