The Enneagram: Throwing Open the Door to Curiosity

Is the Enneagram opening or closing the door to your curiosity?

As an Enneagram Eight, I’ve never been one to tiptoe around the truth. Let’s be honest: the Enneagram can feel like just another box—a tidy system for explaining who we are, who we’ve been, and, frustratingly, who we’ll continue to be if we aren’t careful. But here’s where I want to flip the script. What if the Enneagram wasn’t about pinning ourselves down but throwing open the door to curiosity? Not to settle into the comfort of what we think we know but to dig for the bone beneath the surface.

When we use the Enneagram correctly, it becomes a doorway to our inner truth, allowing us to investigate how we block our natural, spontaneous self-expression.
A. H. Almaas

Podcast Discussion

The problem is that we use the Enneagram the way we use most things: to confirm what we already believe about ourselves. “Oh, I’m an Eight. I’m strong, assertive, and direct.” It’s too easy, too shallow. We memorize the characteristics of our type, like flashcards, and before long, the system becomes a set of labels. But what if we could use the Enneagram not to define ourselves but to inquire, crack ourselves open, and ask more questions instead of rushing for answers?

Curiosity as a Door Opener

Curiosity as a Door Opener

In my experience with the Diamond Approach®, curiosity is a portal, not a means to an end. It’s an invitation to unsettle, challenge, and live in the uncomfortable space of not knowing. When you apply this curiosity to the Enneagram, something profound happens. Suddenly, you’re not looking for character traits to file away in your mental drawer. You’re prying the drawer open to see what’s inside.

Imagine engaging with the Enneagram not to find answers but to stir up more questions. What if we approached our type with curiosity, not as a conclusion but as a starting point? For instance, what if being an Eight wasn’t about strength or control but a reflection of something far more profound—a truth I haven’t uncovered yet? What drives the fixation? What am I protecting? And here’s the real challenge: Am I even open to what the answer might be?

Digging for the Bone: Open-Ended Inquiry

Digging for the Bone: Open-Ended Inquiry

Here’s the thing: open-ended inquiry, much like curiosity, has no destination. It’s the kind of exploration where you don’t know what you’ll find, and that’s the whole point. We Eights are good at controlling outcomes, but this? This is about stepping back and allowing the unknown to reveal itself.

When I dig into the Enneagram through open-ended inquiry, I’m not looking for traits that fit me. I’m looking for the cracks in the structure, where my usual sense of control begins to slip, where the real work begins. What are the assumptions I’ve made about myself? Why do I react so strongly in certain situations? What is the bone I’m digging for beneath the surface of these behaviors?

It’s not comfortable. It’s unsettling—because the more I inquire, the more I find that being an Eight has less to do with strength and more to do with avoiding vulnerability. And that’s the bone I didn’t want to dig up, but curiosity doesn’t let you stop when things get uncomfortable. It keeps pushing deeper and deeper until nowhere remains to hide.

The Enneagram is a tool for discernment, exposing the truth of who we think we are and guiding us toward the truth of who we really are.
Richard Rohr, “The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective

And then there’s the anger. As an Eight, it’s easy to channel everything into anger—because anger feels strong and unbreakable. But here’s the twist: I’ve discovered that anger is the perfect disguise for something far more tender. When I let curiosity lead, I don’t stop at the anger; I dig beneath it. And what do I find there? Hurt. The real question isn’t “Why am I angry?” but “Where’s the hurt?” That’s where the inquiry takes a sharp turn into vulnerability. Anger is the shield, but the wound it protects is where the truth lies. And that’s what curiosity reveals—if you’re willing to ask.

The Enneagram as a Tool for Liberation

The Enneagram as a Tool for Liberation

What if we used the Enneagram not to reinforce what we know about ourselves but to free ourselves from those ideas? In this light, the Enneagram becomes less of a personality system and more of a map for inquiry—a way to challenge the habits and biases that keep us locked in our type. Each point on the Enneagram is a doorway, not a prison.

The real purpose of the Enneagram is to wake us up, to shed light on the patterns that keep us asleep to our true nature.
Russ Hudson

This is where the Diamond Approach and the Enneagram overlap beautifully. Both systems invite us to engage with our experience—not for the sake of arriving at a neat conclusion but for the journey itself. It’s about using curiosity and inquiry to peel back layers of conditioning, to see beyond the fixation and into the core of what drives us. In this sense, the Enneagram isn’t a static framework; it’s a dynamic, unfolding process that requires us to stay curious and question everything we think we know about ourselves.

Exploring the Enneagram with Relentless Curiosity

Exploring the Enneagram with Relentless Curiosity

As an Eight, I know all too well the desire to control, to keep the upper hand, and never to let my guard down. But curiosity demands the opposite. It asks us to be open, to be vulnerable, to not just dig for answers but to allow the questions to reshape us. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, curiosity will take us to the places we most resist exploring. That’s where the real work happens.

The Enneagram is a mirror that reflects not only our conditioned personality traits but also the essential qualities we lose sight of in our habitual responses.
Sandra Maitri, “The Spiritual Dimension of the Enneagram

The Enneagram becomes less about identifying with a type and more about noticing how we limit ourselves through that identification. How do I use being an Eight to justify certain behaviors? How do I reinforce my patterns of control and resistance? And what would it be like to let go of those ideas, even for a moment, to see what’s underneath?

This isn’t about finding a new way to interpret the Enneagram. It’s about using curiosity to open the door to explore the terrain we’ve been avoiding. The question isn’t “What type am I?” but “What is this type trying to protect, and am I willing to let that go?”

digging deeper into the enneagram

A Provocation to Dig Deeper

So here’s my challenge: Are you willing to use the Enneagram as a tool for inquiry, not to confirm what you think you know but to throw open the door to the unknown? Are you willing to follow your curiosity, not for the sake of a conclusion but for the joy of the exploration itself?

If any of this quickens your curiosity,
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