The Method

The Enneagram is a tool, not a label.

The Enneagram is a personality system built around nine core types, each describing a distinct way of seeing the world, protecting oneself, and becoming stuck in patterns. The Iris Method takes the insight of the Enneagram and organizes its purpose into three steps: See, Define, and Shatter the Illusion.

The Method

  • See
    The first and most important step. The Enneagram allows you to see your patterns clearly, both the ones you recognize and the ones you don’t. It brings attention to the way you think, feel, and move through the world with a level of clarity that is difficult to reach on your own.
  • Define
    The second step is to put tangible language to the “how” and “why” behind your behavior. This is where the “box” becomes visible, with each wall and facet clearly named and defined.
  • Shatter the Illusion
    The last step is to move beyond your patterns. Equipped with insight and language, begin to see through the structures informing your behavior with piercing clarity. Regain satisfaction, agency, and mastery over yourself by loosening the hold of your patterns.

“The Enneagram is a very old map ... that contains an inner dynamic that aims at change.”

— Richard Rohr, The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective