Welcome to this blog! As you will notice, it’s not only about the Enneagram, but also on inner growth in general. However, since what I am exploring is the Enneagram, the centres and the instincts (among other things), I’m assuming that most of you know about these things. But if you don’t, there will be plenty here for you anyway 🧡
Cicci Lyckow Bäckman
The one who blogs 😉Latest posts
The intangible energy from which our personality develops — a look at essential qualities
One way to look at the Enneagram types is as in originating from an essential quality — or, more accurately, from the loss of connection with that quality. We come into the world with a solid awareness of essence, but the more our ego crystallises (which happens in our normal, healthy psychological development), the less tangible and the more ephemeral this awareness gets. So our evolving ego, which just a vague, fading memory of this essential quality, resolves to emulate what seems to be lost. This happens so innocently, and it’s not something we choose. But also, as long as…
Anger in the instinctive triad — grasping the subtleties of the “triad theme” descriptions
Recently, I saw the question raised how Ones and Nines were “anger types” — Ones, after all, preferring to not show anger, and Nines seeming do bend over backwards to avoid it, both in themselves and from others. The only “anger type” that seems to live up to the name is the Eight. So, what gives? There are multiple ways to respond to this question. One perspective has to do with how we process and express anger, and even what we choose to put this label on (and I wrote a whole article on anger before, unrelated to the Enneagram).…
Moving to higher ground — utilising the concept of the Levels of Development
The “Levels of Development” within the Enneagram always made sense to me — in theory. When I first encountered them (which was basically when I discovered the work of Don Riso and Russ Hudson, which was quite soon after discovering the Enneagram overall more than 20 years ago), they lifted a flat system into three-dimensionality. Moreover, in a way, they also identified 81 different ways of operating, rather than just 9 (and that was before accounting for things like wings and instinctual preferences, which obviously broaden the scope even more). They made the Enneagram model feel authentically human. All really…
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Unseen treasures and forgotten keys — thoughts about lame uses for the Enneagram
The way lots of people treat the Enneagram today feels to me like the equivalent of returning to a grocery store over and over, in order to develop your skills in naming and identifying all the different articles in there and knowing exactly where to find each one. Sure, you can to that — but it’s not what the grocery store is for, and you will eventually starve. To live, you need to move on from mere identification to actually purchasing the foods, taking them home, and letting them nourish you. Sadly, it seems like the larger Enneagram conversation has…
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Surface or Core — real understanding, or just trait-spotting?
Sometimes, people say that they have to “access their Nine” (when perhaps they mean “chill”) or “awaken their One” (when perhaps they mean getting organised or doing whatever they do more meticulously). But we can all chill, and we can all be thorough. So when is it actually relevant to discuss “accessing” other types within, and when is it just short-code for bunches of traits? One aspect of the “Zooming out” approach to the Enneagram that I like to advocate for is distinguishing between us behaving, reasoning or feeling like another type and us exhibiting aspects of the deeper core…
Continue Reading Surface or Core — real understanding, or just trait-spotting?
“Identification” in our instinctual drives — distinguishing personality from instinct
Did you hear about the notion that you can be either positively negatively identified with any instinctual drive — regardless of where this drive features in your preferential “stack”? Here I’ll say something about this perspective and point to some of the common misunderstandings that make this information seem like a game-changer when it comes to understanding the instincts. My response to some questions I’ve encountered on this topic has had my thoughts go in two directions: One, what it means that an instinct is dominant or leading, and two, what is and is not part of “instinct“ in the…
Our wounded hearts — the compost in which our ego personality develops
Sometimes people talk about “wounds” that form the basis of each personality type, and then a debate erupts whether our personality is actually wound-based, or whether this is an old, outdated notion that stems from obsolete psychology. After a while, it generally transpires that the wounds referred to are childhood wounds, such as not getting enough attention, being punished or otherwise treated unfairly, or any other common childhood experience. And no, those are not causing our Enneagram type. But there is another sort of wound that is, a strong factor — a much deeper type of wound, and much more…
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My type story — finding the right type after being summarily (and wrongly) defaulted into the wrong one
I’m not a great fan of typing services. Offering to work with a client, following up conclusions, looking at deeper personality structures and exploring together, yes, sure. That is working from “you” into “type” — not the other way around. On way, you get to know both yourself and the model better. And if you don’t probe deeply enough into the model to actually find your type, having someone put a label on you won’t be that helpful. My typing story — a quick three-parter My type — after some initial confusion, more down to not having really understood the…
“Anger” is not one thing — how generalisations and simplifications squelch our inner experience
Lately, I’ve seen a lot of different posts on the topic of anger on social media, in and out of the Enneagram context. How anger is destructive. How it’s constructive. How it needs to be worked through. How it is a natural part of being human and not something that needs to be fixed. How it is a sign of health — or a sign of pathology. What gives? One problem with so many of our discussions, not least those around inner growth, is born at the very start of the discussion — or even before it begins. When we…
Luring the ego into the business of truth — welcome to Self-Definition 101
The Enneagram seems to be growing exponentially in popularity, which is cool. But, let’s face it — this increased interest is not primarily because hordes of people are seeking out inner work teachers for deep transformational development. Rather, it’s because the surface appeal and applications of the model are getting more airspace. Which, in itself, is obviously fine — only, a lot of its finer points (pun unintended) tend to get lost in translation. Its real value. Its innate quality of truth — which radically sets it apart from garden variety typing systems and all manner of nifty models that…
Continue Reading Luring the ego into the business of truth — welcome to Self-Definition 101