There is no better system of personality and character structure available to us today than the Enneagram. Now in the 21st century, it allows us to draw upon many sources–from the work of the desert monastics in the 4th century to the discoveries of Freud, Reich, Horney, and other leading psychoanalysts in the 20th century–and put it all together with the map of the nine types.

Defenses are the key to our personal development. We need some defenses in this life, yet they are the limiting factors of our type structure. They keep us separated from our essential selves and separated from others. Deep work on ourselves means facing them directly with awareness, acceptance and method.

In this workshop we will explore three specific parts of the defense system–the idealization, the avoidance, and the defense mechanism–and look at practical ways to reduce our reactivity and automatic patterns, create more flexibility in our type structure, and become more available for love and intimacy. The format will include lecture, small group discussion, and inner practice with breath and self awareness.

Peter O’Hanrahan began studying the Enneagram in 1978 in Berkeley, California. An early member of the IEA, he regularly teaches workshops on the basic Enneagram, subtypes, somatics, and leadership in Europe, China, and the US. Since 2001 he has been an associate trainer for the Palmer/Daniels professional training.