Q & A
What can learning the Enneagram do for me?
It helps you appreciate the dynamics between yourself and those close to you. It helps you understand what happens to you when you are under stress, and to recognise the warning signs. It provides a foundation for spiritual and personal growth and awareness.
I’m a Christian. Shouldn’t that be my “foundation for spiritual growth”, not this Enneagram stuff?
Yes, of course it should. But the Enneagram is not restricted to any one spiritual path, and can be helpful whether you are Christian, Baha’i, Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim or follow another or no formal religious or philosophical way of life.
Isn’t it harrowing, delving into all those aspects of yourself that are a bit uncomfortable?
It can be unnerving to discover that you are not such a paragon of virtue as you might have thought! That’s not all there is to it though, you will also discover your gifts and recognise that we are loved regardless of our faults. Learning about ourselves through the Enneagram gives us a context which is not threatening or personal, so people find there is little need to be defensive. Even if there are occasional tears, there is a great deal of humour and warmth on our courses, and people find themselves laughing a lot and developing a natural closeness to each other.
Is the Enneagram like the Myers Briggs system?
Yes and no. Both look at ways of behaving, but the Enneagram goes deeper into exploring motivations.
Why do you recommend learning The Enneagram at Turvey Abbey?
There are many excellent Enneagram courses presented all over the world. At Turvey Abbey in the UK we provide the very special tranquility and context of a contemplative Benedictine community who go about their daily cycle of prayer, study, work and leisure while we learn about the Enneagram. Unlike many Enneagram courses, we provide three teachers, one from each ‘centre’ of the Enneagram (something you will learn about when you visit us) so each of us speaks directly from our own perspective and experience.
Will I have to follow the rules of the Turvey Community?
We don’t expect you to behave in some extraordinary way while you stay at Turvey! You are very welcome to attend the services in the Chapel which take place at regular intervals throughout the day. Most people find the liturgy beautiful and uplifting, but attendance is not compulsory. We ask you to respect the privacy of certain parts of the buildings. We don’t ask you to get up in the middle of the night and hop onto a bed of nails…
What people generally find most unusual is that we ask you to keep silence after the final service (or ‘Office’) of the day (around 8 p.m.) until after breakfast the following morning. This can seem odd at first, but most people find it refreshing. We talk to each other normally at mealtimes (other than breakfast), and the food is delicious.
What are the course dates?
These vary slightly each year. An introductory weekend at the beginning of the year is followed by another, going deeper in knowledge and understanding. We also provide two Saturday workshops each year for anyone who has learned about the Enneagram at Turvey and wants to keep in touch. The actual course dates and cost can be found on the Turvey Abbey website.