By George Patton Jr. Special to the Clarion-Ledger Sunday print edition (May 13)
We all see the same things in life, but what we do with what we see can be very different for each of us.
For over twenty-five years, Suzanne Stabile, one of the foremost teachers of the Enneagram, has taught multitudes of individuals throughout the United States and around the world.
The Enneagram describes nine unique personality types, or, as they are also known, essence types. Our behavior, interactions, and how we relate to others are determined by the characteristics unique to each number. This wisdom has been accumulated over many years from the great philosophers and the teaching of all the world’s great religions.
In The Path Between Us, Mrs. Stabile gives us priceless information and advice to govern our interactions with others, many of whom will approach life from a much different perspective than you or me. Christian, Jew, Muslim, man, woman, gay, or straight. If this country and the world are to survive, then we must be able to communicate, not by social media, but by verbal and physical interaction. If we have no concept of who we are and much less who others are we will never have truly meaningful relationships. If we are ever to have crucial conversations with each other and if we are ever to truly love and have compassion for our neighbor then The Path Between Us is a must read.
In her introduction, Mrs. Stabile describes each Enneagram number. She follows with ten chapters that lead to a better understanding of our Enneagram number and the Enneagram number of those around us. We are not, she adds, simply a number, but a complex personality who must interact with other complex personalities.
Mrs. Stabile is a master of storytelling, and each chapter contains entertaining and important stories. Mrs. Stabile highlights ways that your Enneagram number may interact with all of the other Enneagram numbers. Each chapter ends with suggestions on how to better interact with other specific Enneagram numbers.
The Path Between Us certainly can stand alone but is best read after reading her original collaboration with Ian Cron, The Road Back to You which describes in depth each Enneagram number.
Mrs. Stabile shows us how to avoid diverging paths and instead leads us toward converging paths. These will ultimately become the paths to love, compassion, and understanding. I believe it was said best in her own words, “when we are able to see ourselves as we are, and as we can be, it’s a beautiful thing.”
George Patton Jr. has practiced internal medicine in Jackson for 35 years and annually judges scholastic writing awards.
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