The Enneagram of Passions and Virtues: Finding the Way Home

The enneagram is a wonderful tool both for psychological understanding and spiritual growth, but it takes a fair amount of study and you have to be aware that key words are often used with very different meanings from their usual senses. This book focuses on its use for spiritual growth. Sandra was a disciple of Almaas and credits him with her viewpoint on the enneagram, but in my opinion the student has exceeded the master. Almaas' famous book Facets of Unity has the feel of something well written, but for me it's just too vague and unclear what he really means. Sandra unpacks it beautifully, framing the challenges of spiritual growth in the context of modern psychological theories. Her earlier book is well worth reading, but too directly influenced by Almaas. In this book she has found her own voice and written a treasure. Incidentally, you don't need to have studied the enneagram to read this book. Sandra's concerns are really quite different from using the enneagram as a typology of personalities, and she tells you all you need to know about that side of it.

I've read many books on the Enneagram at this point. If you're interested in a book on the Enneagram as a personality tool, this book may not be for you. But if you are a serious spiritual seeker who wants to grow as a person, I cannot recommend this book enough. Maitri's writing is beautiful and her coverage of the types is wise and deep. I will be reading this book often. I understand others in my life better, but more importantly, I understand myself better from reading it. Highly recommended.

This book went far beyond my expectations in providing a spiritual dimension to the enneagram that feels far more complete and satisfying than simply an examination of "personality types", which is what many take the enneagram to be on a superficial level. Having rejected religion and even spirituality in my 20s and early 30s, I thought I was over concepts like the "soul" and "universal consciousness", but Maitri's exploration of the spiritual and fundamental nature of personality structure, along with a loving exploration of the nine types, and underscored by the work of many great spiritual and psychological thinkers before her, has shifted my belief structure and understanding of reality and personality in a considerable way. A basic to intermediate understanding of the nine types is recommended before jumping into this one. This might be my new favorite book.

This was the first book I read on a modern approach to the enneagram. The author is a teacher of the Diamond Approach to self-Realization. Although I liked her discussions on the passions, there wasn't a similar amount of content on the virtues and even less on getting from A to B using the enneagram or the Diamond Approach. Although her previous book is older, I believe it might be a better place to start. There were a lot of new terms from the Diamond Approach which I wished could have been explained in a large appendix. After this book I read another on the Diamond Approach but it had one sentence on the enneagram. So there definitely is a missing book that should be written to connect the dots.

The Book explains in easy to understand terms for those who are ready to embrace a deeper understanding about ourselves. I like the idea of integrating the psychological and spiritual aspect of our being. if one just wants to have fun with personality structures and not go to a deeper level this book might not be the one to explore the Enneagram.

This is an amazing book on the enneagram, in that it shows us how each type's issues are issues for all of us. We are not simply different, but kin. The author is also very adept in pointing us in the spiritual direction, which seems appropriate if the enneagram truly is to be all about our transformation from false selves to true selves.

Sandra Maitri is quite possibly the most nuanced of all the Enneagram books I've read. In all the types there are similarities. Even so, these similarities stem from different roots which make an individual their E-type. This book helped in describing these minute details instead of simply using blanket statements that if one has any sense at all, would realize can be applied to everyone.

I initially gave this a 3 star review but being at a different place I can see this book in a different light. What I appreciate about Maitri's approach over others is that she can emphasize type but go beyond the enneagram as a typology to see the more universal meanings within the points. This is a much needed emphasis as type is just a shallow understanding of the enneagram.