Enneagram Transformations [Paperback]

Don Richard Riso (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 29, 1993

Enneagram Transformations is a groundbreaking contribution to the self-help field. Riso offers readers the opportunity to take a psychological inventory of inner strengths that can be invaluable for self-development and all forms of recovery.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Riso, a prominent teacher of enneagram--a system of nine personality types derived from esoteric tradition and recently gaining in popularity--combines enneagram personality types with recovery movement techniques of releasing undesirable traits and affirming desirable ones. For those unfamiliar with enneagram, he provides a brief introduction plus references to his three previous books, Personality Types (Houghton, 1987. o.p.), Understanding the Enneagram (Houghton, 1990), and Discovering Your Personality Type (Houghton, 1992). Most of his new book is a series of 16 single-sentence releases and nine affirmations for each type, plus 25 general affirmations for everyone. For people in recovery who know their enneagram number, these statements may provide useful reminders of one's own best and worst tendencies. Recommended for public libraries with self-help collections.
- Carolyn M. Craft, Longwood Coll. , Farmville, Va.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Don Richard Riso, M.A. is the foremost writer and developer of the Enneagram in the world today. The most-published and best-selling author in the field, he is an internatioinally recognized authority on the subject. He is the president of Enneagram Personality Types, Inc., and founder of The Enneagram Institute. He has been teaching the Enneagram for more than twenty years, pioneering a revolutionary new approach to ego psychology through his 1977 discovery of the Levels of Development. His four best-selling books are available in British, German, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, and French editions. Mr. Riso was a Jesuit for thirteen years, holds degrees in English and philosophy, was elected to the Jesuit Honor Society, Alpha Sigma Nu, and was a Ford Foundation Fellow at Stanford University in communications (social psychology).

Product Details

• Paperback: 129 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (January 29, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395657865
• ISBN-13: 978-0395657867
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 4.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #76,466 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:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enneagram Based Self-Help in 25 Sentences?, January 27, 2003

By 

Peter Messerschmidt "denmarkguy" (Port Townsend, WA, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Enneagram Transformations (Paperback)

This is one of the "odd" little books residing in my self-awareness library. Yes, I do own this book. Don Riso is well known as one of the world's foremost experts on the Enneagram and he has written some of my most used books on the topic, but this slim volume (130 pages in mass-market paperback size)is quite a departure from his normal style. Gone are the deep psychological analyses of personality types and their behavioral patterns-- replaced by a set of 25 single-sentence statements (16 "Releases" and 9 "Affirmations") for each of the nine Enneagram types. There's also a final section with "general" affirmations relevant to all types.

And that's about it, folks.

So who would really benefit from this book? Well, if you're looking to learn about the Enneagram, this is NOT a good book. Get yourself Riso & Hudson's "Personality Types," instead. However, if you're already a student or fan of the Enneagram-- and are interested in some self-exploration/self-improvement in addition to learning-- this would probably be of interest, as it is a nice companion to more "scholarly" texts. If you're someone who enjoys daily affirmations as motivation-- and you do KNOW your Enneagram type, but *don't* care about the system, otherwise-- this might also be a good book for you, since the affirmations are accurately matched to your particular personality type and will seem remarkable "relevant."

Essentially, this is not much of an "Enneagram book," rather, it is a somewhat lightweight "self-help book." The real question you have to ask yourself is whether or not you're willing to pay "the price of admission" to get 25 "motivational insights," well matched to your particular personality.

Final thoughts: Recommended (8 out of 10 possible bookmarks), but only for the SPECIFIC audience outlined above. Otherwise-- to paraphrase Obi-Wan-- "This is NOT the book you're looking for."

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not worth the purchase unless you really ejoy affirmations, January 5, 2002

By 

"lefty_liberal" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Enneagram Transformations (Paperback)

I really think this information should have been included in one of Riso and Hudson's other books...For example it would have fit well into "The Wisdom Of The Enneagram: The complete guide to psychological and spiritual growth for th nine personality types."

I think that an individual who is already aquainted with the enneagram and who strongly benefits from the use of affirmations can get something out of this book...But otherwise I don't feel its worth the purchase.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a bad little book but not really my approach, July 29, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Enneagram Transformations (Paperback)

This is a nice little book of affirmations to help one overcome one's enneagram compulsion. I know people who use it, and have even recorded the affirmations in their own voices to begin or to end their day. I like to go over it, however, this approach does not work for me personally. I highly reccommend it to anyone who listens to tapes, likes to repeat and has time for this. It's not for everyone, but for those who benefit from affirmations it will be a constant companion.