A needed book
Aspects of you came about to fill a void in the Enneagram literature. In the Enneagram world, there is a lot of talk about centres — the three (or more) hubs of separate intelligence available to us.
Usually, we mostly hear of them as homes to three Enneagram types each: as the centre triads, rather than simply centres of intelligence. Similarly, we hear about the instinctual drives, or “subtypes” — usually described as variants of the Enneagram types, which account for differences among individuals of the same type.
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“Cicci Lyckow Bäckman has been a dedicated student of the Enneagram for many years, but in this beautiful and accessible book, she steps into teaching the true heart and soul of the Enneagram work. There are many places now where we can read descriptions of the nine types, but Cicci goes beyond this by inviting us into the core teachings for developing ourselves through our Enneagram type. The aptly named Aspects of You reveals to us the inner drives and mechanics behind each of the nine types through an exploration of the Centers of Intelligence. She describes the sense and function of the Centers but also offers advice on how to better express them and balance our lives through them. You can tell from her friendly and steady guidance that Cicci has really lived these teachings, and so she conveys them with a freshness and intimacy rare in writings on this subject. I am truly grateful to see her bringing this marvelous book into the Enneagram conversation, and highly recommend it to anyone seeking to engage in real inner work.”
Russ Hudson
author of The Enneagram: Nine Gateways to Presence, and co-author of The Wisdom of the EnneagramHave you read this book? Please rate it here!
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Or maybe, if you don’t know about the Enneagram, you haven’t heard of either of these 😊 Either way, insights about and explorations into the centres and instincts offer great value when inner growth is our goal. (That is — these things offer great value in many arenas, including improved work connections, performance, relationships, and overall joy and freedom. The book is, however, written from the perspective of in-depth inner growth and self-knowledge.)
Reader ratings & reviews
Finally! An entry to a deeper understanding of my own unique relationship with each Instinct
I booked a session with Cicci after seeing her Instinctual Preferences Sorting recommended by another student of the Enneagram. I found her test enjoyable and helpful as I reflected on my own behavioral preferences. Even more so, the session with Cicci where we explored my test results, and she patiently answered my questions, helped me to tease out how I relate to each of the three zones of each instinct. This provides me with an understanding as to why my particular relationship to the instincts may lead to different interpretations depending on whose theory I am exploring. Most importantly, I finally feel like I can settle on my stacking so that I can begin the real work towards greater acceptance and growth.
Cicci followed up our session with a written report complete with color coded bar graphs of my test results which allows me to visualize my instinctual priorities in a new way. The report contains a personalized summary of our session, as well as Cicci’s feedback on my type + instinct, and suggestions for growth including how to begin to effectively work with compassion and patience on my instinctual blindspot.
While I had not read Cicci’s book Aspects of You before the session, I was intrigued to learn more following our session. I immediately purchased the book and I have to say, I now have a better understanding of the instincts than I have ever had. I revisited my test to see if I might change any of my answers based on the deeper understanding I gained. While I changed a few, I don’t believe there was enough variation to make a significant difference. Still, if you have the chance to read Aspects of You prior to a session with Cicci, I would encourage it. But either way, you are sure to benefit from the session.
If you are finding it difficult to land on your own Enneagram instinctual stacking/sequencing, or if you are not sure how to make sense of the various approaches to the instincts as taught by different teachers, I wholeheartedly recommend a session with Cicci!
Something new has clicked into place
I really enjoyed the session and it’s helping me to see myself in a new way as far as how my instinct dynamics are at work. Your followup report has given me lots of things to explore and I’m excited to begin that work.
I look forward to having it in Spanish
A really good book! It gave me light about things I didn’t have clear about the instincts, and I think many people will learn a lot from it.
Most comprehensive book I’ve read on the Centres and Instincts to date
It has really given me further depth on understanding the instincts and centres. It has become my go to text on the matter. I really recommend getting it and it may even help clarify any questions around your own instinct etc and centre versus type confusions.
Such a great bridge to bring all these teachings together
I am really enjoying your book. It really is what is missing in the enneagram literature, a pragmatic understanding of the functioning of the different centers. I am listening to Russ’s new “book” and just finished Bea and Uranio’s course on the subtypes, your book is such a great bridge to bring all these teachings together and to give it some grounding. Very much appreciated by this gut type.
When faced with, and intrigued by, a new concept —
the Enneagram, a feature within the Enneagram or something different entirely — a good question to ask is what this new concept offers. Is it another set of categories, another way for the ego to define itself (or worse, blame its habits on)? Or does it offer tools for actual growth? Then check if this is, indeed, what you are looking for.
