The Intelligent Enneagram [Paperback]

A. G. E. Blake (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 22, 1996

At last, an enneagram book that explains the full potential of this mysterious nine-pointed symbol, with applications reaching far beyond personality typology. The enneagram, an ancient diagram first popularized by G. I. Gurdjieff, represents the evolution of any process and is thus a remarkable tool for analyzing and understanding many different areas of endeavor.

Like the I Ching hexagrams or the kabbalistic Tree of Life, the enneagram is an ingenious device providing access to a higher order of information and can lead us to new and creative ways of thinking and problem-solving. Drawing on the teachings of John Bennett, a major interpreter of the Gurdjieff Work, the author shows how using the enneagram can enhance our powers of intuition, our capacity to see situations holistically, and our ability to find connections between different regions of knowledge and experience. After discussing in detail the fundamental ideas woven into the symbol, the author applies the insights in the enneagram to a series of topics ranging from the solar system to sex, from science fiction movies to the Lord's Prayer.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Anthony George Edward Blake trained in physics and the philosophy of science, and studied the Gurdjieff Work with John Bennett. He works in management consultancy, publishing, and education, specializing in transformational methods involving structural thinking and dialogue. He lives in Gloucestershire, England.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala; 1st edition (October 22, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570622132
• ISBN-13: 978-1570622137
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #454,319 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the Authentic Enneagram!, June 20, 2001

By 

Saleh Majaj (Jerusalem, Palestine) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Intelligent Enneagram (Paperback)

There is no question about it! This is the best book on the Enneagram (and I have accumulated quite a few).

Anthony Blake presents both the essence of the Enneagram and enough detail for the reader to become well acquainted with the workings of this symbol.

This book is ALIVE as much as the symbol itself is ALIVE! The Enneagram is not a diagram but an embodiment of the process of transformation, a process that is as much within as it is outside us.

Anthony's own rich knowledge and long experience makes him one of the few really qualified to write on the subject. His presentation of it is rightly rooted in the tradition from which it came.

This is the authentic Enneagram. It is more than a book on the Enneagram and the tradition from which it comes, it is one man's unshakable knowledge.

Table of Contents. PART I - The Frame of Transformation: The Symbol, Overview, Form of Sequence, The Symbolism of Making and Becoming, Sevenfold Architecture, I Put Three Together; PART II - The Hazard of Transformation: Four Paradigms of the Enneagram, the Metabolism of Perception, A Computer Running on Air, Being in Life, Drama, An Enneagram of Crisis. PART III - The Purpose of Transformation: Wheels within Wheels, Cosmic Interlude, The Greater Present Moment, The Great Amen, The Tescooano, Recurrent Meaning, Remember to Remember.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DEEP, DETAILED & DEPENDABLE!, June 30, 2000

By 

The Aeolian Kid "the-aeolian-kid" (WAMESIT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Intelligent Enneagram (Paperback)

... I found this excellent book on the enneagram to be deep, detailed, and dependable! A.G.E. Blake, a sincere student of The Work for quite some time now, really understands the enneagram - and how to EXPLAIN the way it works to others. It is very enlightening.

... I have been reading books by and about Gurdjieff and The Work for over 25 years now, and I say with total conviction that this book is one of the best I have ever come across. It REALLY helps the reader to understand exactly HOW the enneagram works - in different situations, and on different "levels" (4th Way people use the term "octaves"). Read this book, and you will be sure to come closer to understanding the reality and truth of existence.

... I love the photo on page 36 of the nine-sided building based on the enneagram that was designed and built near London by J.G. Bennett and his students! I love the diagram on page 208 of the "Nine points of evolution" - including the Biosphere, Technosphere, and Noosphere. The photograph on page 33 of the sacred movements class at the Sherborne House in Gloucestershire is beautiful! The last chapter - #19: Remember to Remember - is very good.

... I was a little confused about the way Mr. Blake uses the Buddhist words "samadhi" and "satori" (I believe near page 137). I was always of the understanding that samadhi refers to the non-dualistic, "all is one" state of UNITY of the illusion; whereas satori refers to the TRANSCENDENCE of this unified illusion into the TRUE reality of The Void, where consciousness without an object is only aware of itself - where it simply IS. ... Maybe Buddhist terms are not applicable to 4th Way interpretation?

... I was also a little confused over Mr. Blakes's reference on page 312 to Gurdjieff calling the poppy plant an example of a "trinity-like" being. I had always thought that Gurdjieff helped to free individuals from addictions to opium and hashish, and that he said that: "The sly man takes a pill" - the pill being an allusion to psychedelic substances, or to 4th Way exercises, that may help catalyze spiritual enlightenment, such as: certain mushrooms, peyote, or LSD, as well as kundalini and/or breathing exercises. The opiates do the EXACT opposite - creating a psychological state of self-induced narcolepsy! ... (Maybe he needs to clarify this more?)

... In any case, overall, I found this long and heady book to be very rewarding. The more you get into it, the more you wish that Mr. Blake had actually written in even more detail! If you have the patience and determination to read the whole thing, you will truly benefit from having done so. After reading this book, you WILL understand how the enneagram works as a whole system. - The Aeolian Kid / [e-mail]

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What's happening?, January 25, 2005

By 

Myron Makewater "redcrosseknight" (Laramie) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Intelligent Enneagram (Paperback)

Blake's presentation of his aggregated experience and knowledge with/of the enneagram is striking in its rigor, its willingness to experiment with form and style, and its--intelligence. The emphasis here is on understanding the enneagram as a tool for decoding and unpacking processes, and how events as we experience them are constructed. Blake carefully examines the rubber-meets-the-road aspects of causality and chronology and the stories we like to tell about both. This is all very welcome.

The interested reader may wish to have a look at the writings of P.D. Ouspensky and J.G. Bennett, to understand where Blake is coming from, and books such as Matrix of Mystery (H.V. Guenther) and Time, Space, and Knowledge (Tarthang Tulku) for a slightly bigger scope in experiencing time in its dynamics and gaps.

Enjoy!

PS. The typographic errors in Blake's book are, admittedly, frustrating. Shambhala Publications could use a more skilled group of copy editors...