Artist | Author | Teacher | Wildlife photographer | Cat servant |
Ann Gadd
ANN GADD is an accredited Enneagram practitioner (iEQ9 certified), holistic therapist, artist, and journalist. A professional member of the International Enneagram Association, she offers Enneagram workshops for beginners and advanced students. Ann is the author of 35 books, including The Enneagram of Eating, Sex and the Enneagram, and a series of Enneagram children’s books. She lives in Cape Town, South Africa.
https://enneagrams9paths.com/
My 10 Best
(In no particular order)
Space-Time and Beyond
I picked this book up in an esoteric bookshop in London many years ago, probably because its concepts were illustrated and, as such, spoke to my artist’s heart. Everything from the structure of space/time, cosmic unity, and the nature of consciousness to quantum waves is depicted in simple, humorous drawings. It gave me ideas to think about when commuting to work—something to picture and ponder. Although I have read many books on similar subjects, the fact that I’ve kept this small book for over 50 years indicates its relevance. Through it, I understood more clearly that what I thought was, was not. Seeing (via the illustrations) was believing. Also included is a scientific commentary and explanation linked by codes to each illustration adding a further explanation.
Eastern Body Western Mind
A few years back, I worked with an international Enneagram group that had just discovered this book (now over 20 years old), yet they still found it deeply insightful. Reminding me that truth holds relevance through time. Some books are meant to be read and reread; such is the depth of wisdom they contain. This book combining the chakras and Jungian psychology was a groundbreaking, well-researched study. Each time I reread it, I found more truths I had previously not absorbed. I find that with so many books when I reread them. There’s this feeling of: “Did I really read this book? There seems so much that I missed.” At the time, I was training to become a Reiki teacher, so the exercises I was doing as part of my training and those of a practice similar to tai chi flowed naturally with the book’s contents. The book remains one that will benefit seekers for years to come.
Anatomy of the Spirit
When I heard Caroline Myss was going to present a workshop in South Africa, (my home country) despite my constrained budget and work pressures, I persuaded my husband to look after our young children, hopped on a plane, hired a car, and drove miles to attend. I was not disappointed. From the moment she got onto the platform, I was spellbound. Although the mind/body, “Biography becomes biology” concept was not totally new to me, (I had travelled through the works of Louise Hay, Chris Stormer, Thorwald Dethlefsen, Debbie Shapiro, and Rosalyn Bruyere, and read books such as The Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton, Ph.D.), the engaging nature of her presentations had me rushing to buy her books and become a true Myss fan. Myss takes the mind/body/spirit connection deeper, linking emotional, mental, and spiritual stress to illness, while showing the interrelatedness of all three centres. (Something the Enneagram stresses.) In this book, she combines the seven main Hindu chakras with the Christian sacraments and the Kabbalah’s Tree of Life providing a fascinating corelation between these paths. The questions for self-examination at the end of each chapter are a useful, reflective tool for growth.
Man and His Symbols
This book is a foundation stone for all interested in symbolism in dreams and art. From here, the book leads naturally to dream interpretation and symbology in art. It was the last piece of work by Jung before his death and the first intended to present his life’s-work to a broader base of people. Personally the book was invaluable for two reasons: I have, for years in my paintings, used African symbols to imbue the hanging location with positive energy. This early understanding of symbols had a profound effect. (An entire section of the book is devoted to “Symbolism in the Visual Arts.”) When I facilitated art workshops for 12 years, we used artistic expression to connect with our subconscious and create transformation. The book is a fascinating read for anyone who has ever wondered: “Why did I dream about that?” A significant contribution from one of the great minds of the twentieth century.
The Power of Now
Making the complex simple to comprehend, I believe, is the mark of a true master. This book does just that. Becoming more present is a term that is frequently used yet seldom understood. This book clarified so much for me. It was a friend’s birthday she’d invited us for a few days to a seaside house to celebrate. I’d taken this book because it had spent too long on my “To Read” pile. I was totally awed by the author’s deep and clear insights. It was so much more accessible than some other volumes I’d read on similar topics. The book spoke of everything you know yet too often doubt, misunderstand, or ignore. The result was I spent the entire weekend in my own “now,” discovering the book’s power, emerging only for the odd pleasantry. I’ll admit it wasn’t the most social behaviour, but my friends forgave me.
After the Ecstasy, the Laundry
I had read and enjoyed A Path with a Heart, so I was naturally interested in this book. I was not disappointed. But it was the title that really grabbed me. It was funny and real. Sometimes we can make such serious work of our growth. There is such an essential humanness about the author, which was both vulnerable and accessible. For example, after a profound spiritual awakening, Kornfield finds himself grinning with joy on the tube going home. The paradox of the extraordinary mystical experience with the utter normalcy and mundaneness of the trip really spoke to me. We live in this world as mystics without monasteries, and combining the two realities can be hard. Reading the comment from a friend on the inside page, I was amused to see she’d written: “Read halfway, then had to do the laundry.”
Women Who Run with the Wolves
Although I read this book many years ago, the tales still remain with me, such was their profound effect. I was particularly touched when a friend gave a copy to my daughter on her 21st birthday. It was a rich gift. Before social media and TV dominated our lives, stories were passed on through generations, seated together around fires. Richly symbolic tales captured the imaginations of our forefathers who understood the warnings and teachings they conveyed. This book’s ancient stories contain themes which centre on the wild woman who lives in us all. Repressed for centuries by a patriarchal system threatened by intuitive wisdom and emotional truth, Pinkola Estés, a Jungian analyst, uses these myths and stories us to reconnect with our divine inner goddess. Tales such with delicious names such as Seaskin, Soulskin, and The Dirty Goddess help us find our way back to our true selves.
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
This book was a revelation. While I’d enjoyed her other books, this work is a standout guide to all creatives. (Gilbert refers more specifically to writers, but the insights work across all creative platforms.) It’s marvellously unpretentious about the creative process and has you moving beyond the limiting voices of doubt and procrastination. With compassion, she removes the inhibiting veil of specialness from the creative process. This desire for uniqueness blocks many artists from creativity. I have gifted many copies to people needing help to take steps to make their creative goals realities. Even if you have no actual creative goal, the book inspires you to live with greater purpose and passion. My artist husband reads the book annually. He finds with each reread, he overrides the negative voices that have grown in intensity during the year. I enjoy her humour, empathy, and encouragement; she always inspires me to do greater things.
The Spiritual Dimension of the Enneagram
Sometimes, particularly in pop psychology, the Enneagram can appear as a list of characteristics for each of the nine types strung incomprehensibly together. This book delves more into the spiritual context and origins of the Enneagram types and the Holy Idea(s) associated with each type. The Holy Ideas are an essential but often overlooked profound aspect of the Enneagram. They are the universal truth we lost touch with in the Fall, when our ego created a separation between the perceived self and the world. In describing each type from this perspective, Maitri gives us nine faces of the soul. Discovering our own type can lead to finding greater meaning and fulfilling authentic spiritual development. It becomes then a map to our soul.
The Wisdom of the Enneagram
The classic book that most students will encounter on their Enneagram journey. That being said, years ago, when it was first lent to me, I’m not proud to say, I rejected it after a glance through read as being: “Yet another personality profiling system.” How wrong I was. Not only had I mistyped myself (very common), but I had missed the point entirely. The book was about the box I had created through fear rather than an attempt to limit me to descriptions. The path then, is about liberation from our ego fixations. Only a couple of years after reading other Enneagram books, I reread The Wisdom of the Enneagram, this time with greater understanding. I realized the value of what I had so easily cast aside. It’s a wonderfully insightful entry into the Enneagrams.