The Narrative Approach when using the Enneagram is next-level learning.
I woke up this morning delighted that I was going to sit on an international Narrative panel facilitated by an Enneagram student in Croatia.
At Transform, we’ve been on a path of personal growth for what seems like forever, and we have remained passionately committed to the Narrative Approach when working with the Enneagram since the inception of Transform, in 1996. After all these years, decades really, we are still mesmerized by the power of this approach. We believe it’s the stuff of real transformation, an approach that can change your life for the better. We see it time and time again.
I remember Helen Palmer, our teacher, using the refrain, “It (the Enneagram) is the map not the territory,” and we wholeheartedly agree. What we’ve found is that the Narrative approach provides what’s needed to investigate the territory of the self.
So, what’s the Narrative Approach you ask? Often referred to as the Panel Method, it’s an interview method that reveals what it’s really like to be each of the different types. We learn from people who are of the same and differing types how their type shows up in real life. One of the beauties of the Narrative is the understanding that people are the experts on themselves and teach us directly and deeply about their inner world. An enlightened inquiry technique, the Narrative engages panelists in meaningful exploration of their type and allows the audience an experiential view into each type’s reality as representatives share their personal stories and motivations, life lessons, strengths, challenges, and paths of transformation. This approach is a game changer.
As Theresa says, “The narrative inquiry approach opens the window into what’s really going on for an individual, and by putting words to that inner reality, the process of transformation can begin.”
If you are interested in participating in or experiencing a panel, let us know. We are planning for upcoming virtual panels and would love to have you join in.
Perhaps one day, we will all be fully enlightened, (tee-hee – or hopefully, however you see it) until then, we’ll keep learning and growing, doing our work to move forward.
Mary Anne Wampler
PRINCIPAL, TRANSFORM, INC.
