The Enneagram of Society: Healing the Soul to Heal the World (Consciousness Classics) [Paperback]

Claudio Naranjo MD (Author)

Book Description

Series: Consciousness Classics | Publication Date: April 1, 2005

Seeking to draw parallels between the one and the whole, this work is as much a study of individual character as a critique of society and its institutions. Viewed through the lens of the enneagram, a personality system that divides people into nine character types, this analysis aligns each of the ailments and difficulties of the individual characters with the broader "ills of the world." In addition to providing a discussion of the theological and psychological background of the enneagram, this work examines the interaction between the various ennea-types and theology's deadly sins. Each character type is presented in light of specific habits and behaviors that diminish a person's ability to give and receive unconditional love. The ensuing essay on the character of nations and cultures presents a commentary on the perennial flaws of modern society and the "defective operation" of social institutions and governments. Rather than proposing a political or revolutionary agenda as a solution, this text advocates a healing process that begins with individuals and associations of people as the ultimate means of effecting the habits of larger social spheres.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"The reason for the misery of the world lies in the misery of the soul." This is the basic premise of Claudio Naranjo's fundamental work on mapping out personality types according to the Enneagram and its application for the study of the individual and collective consciousness. Dr. Naranjo, a pioneer of the Human Potential Movement and of transpersonal psychology analyzes in these pages the correspondence between disorders of personality and social pathologies, between cardinal sins of the individual--pride, anger, envy, vanity...--and those of humanity--authoritarianism, repression, corruption, violence.... The miseries of the world and our incapacity to maintain healthy relationships can only be resolved if we know and understand that the miseries of the soul have to be remedied first in order to remedy the illnesses of society. "If we consider it to be difficult for a healthy society to be able to exist without the underlying fundament of healthy individuals, it becomes imperative to recognize the political value of individual transformation..."

From the Author

It is obvious that we currently find ourselves in a planetary crisis. To deny this, you have to be either blind or a messianic visionary for whom the future is already present. But it is best for us not to think like this. Nor does it serve us to neglect what is crucial to us. It has been said, "God helps those who help themselves." What then are we to do? This book proposes the following: 1. Work towards our spiritual progress. 2. Cultivate the love that shines both towards the other and towards the self, the love which is found in the sphere of I/you--by working towards healthy interpersonal relationships. 3. Become aware of the ego, the illness or infection of "sin" that comes down to us through the generations--the visages of the accusing, fictitious Adversary--so as to be able to shield ourselves from its temptation. 4. To become aware of the reverberations of the psychopathology of character in the society that we have created, in order to be able to triumph over the lethal inertia of institutions.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 190 pages
• Publisher: Gateways Books & Tapes (April 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 089556159X
• ISBN-13: 978-0895561596
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #705,810 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Psychology of Villains, June 14, 2004

By 

Artist Barbara Garro (Barbara Garro at http://www.ElectricEnvisions.com in Saratoga Springs, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Enneagram of Society: Healing the Soul to Heal the World (Consciousness Classics) (Paperback)

You won't like these 9 Enneagram Types of Villains. Claudio Naranjo lets all their passions, pathologies and neurotic motivations hang out. These secret soul pictures aren't pretty.

Still, imagine how fascinating fiction would become if every writer had access to psychologically correct evil from a psychiatrist and psychotherapist who is considered one of the pioneers of the Human Potential Movement.

Nine villains exposed with all their malicious mischief-making, naked so you see how their embalming self-denial enables them to hold their heads up in self-righteous rationalization, criticism, blame and other-judgment.

Naranjo says it best, "the reason for the misery of the world lies in the misery of the soul." And these are black souls these nine have, deliciously destructive to others as well as themselves.

Wondering how these nine villains love? In Part III titled "The Disturbances of Love," Naranjo also solves one of the most elusive mysteries of evil characters, the pathologies and neuroses that impede their giving and receiving love. Naranjo shows nine types of bad love, how these nine conquer, control and leave a wake of miserable heroes and heroines.

If you read or write fiction, even if you don't, you can discover nuances of character that show why people behave the way they do.

In these 185 pages, Claudio Naranjo even invites you to change yourself and the world with this knowledge.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At the Crossroads of Mysticism and Prophetic Action, March 8, 2008

By 

Robert William DeMarco "santangelo" (Seattle, Washington United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Enneagram of Society: Healing the Soul to Heal the World (Consciousness Classics) (Paperback)

This is a profound and beautifully written reflection on the relationship between spirituality and psychotherapy, on the one hand, and the struggle for justice, freedom, and peace on the other, by Claudio Naranjo, one of the most gifted spiritual teachers of our generation.

2 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Neurotics never learn..., March 31, 2006

By 

Stregicide - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Enneagram of Society: Healing the Soul to Heal the World (Consciousness Classics) (Paperback)

Anyone who truly seeks a human point of view on healing would be much better off reading the works of Arthur Janov, which present solutions of a more real and humane perspective compared to the neurotic symbolism of psychedelic therapists turned right-wing occultists.