Who is Helen Palmer?
  Helen Palmer is a teacher of intuition, psychology and their natural expression, the Enneagram, a matrix of personality structures that recognizes nine observable points of view. A published author, currently translated into twenty-eight different languages, Helen presents the Enneagram "from the inside out", through seminars, workshops and courses in a variety of settings, including the internet. Many of her programs are available for continuing education and are also appropriate for those who are interested in better understanding themselves and others. To support her work, Helen co-founded the Enneagram Professional Teacher Program which trains and certifies presenters of the Enneagram worldwide and is a founding director of the International Enneagram Association. She also co-chaired the first International Enneagram Conference held at Stanford University in 1994. This website is devoted to Helen Palmer's unique understanding of the Enneagram which integrates psychology and spirituality, a perspective which is the result of working with the system over the last thirty plus years. Critical to that perspective is what's known as "witnessing consciousness" or the "Inner Observer". Read on to learn more.  
So, what is the Enneagram.....   ....and what is the Inner Observer?
  The Enneagram is a highly sophisticated system of nine personality profiles that are meant to help us know ourselves and others “as we/they are to themselves”. Each type profile serves as a customized road map for on-going personal growth consistent with categories of modern psychological typology. The nine types are as follows:

1 The Perfectionist
2 The Giver
3 The Performer
4 The Tragic Romantic
5 The Observer
6 The Loyal Skeptic
7 The Epicure
8 The Protector
9 The Mediator

   The Mediator The Perfectionist The Giver The Performer The Tragic Romantic The Observer The Loyal Skeptic The Epicure The Protector
  
This tour of the types confirms that the Enneagram is real, valid, and observable in our everyday lives as a tool for personal growth and development. To learn how you can apply its wisdom and guidance for creating a better and more fulfilling life read on. 		      “If you don’t get the Inner Observer, you don’t get the Enneagram.” — Helen Palmer 

What does Helen mean by this remark? In short, the system that we know as the Enneagram depends on an aspect of awareness known as the "Inner Observer". Also known as "witnessing consciousness" in other wisdom traditions, the Inner Observer is common to our humanity, independent of age, gender, ethnicity, culture, or religious affiliation. Simply put, the Inner Observer "is". So why is it critical to the Enneagram? According to Helen, it's the "witness" that observes the type structure when it engages, usually under stress. One depends on the other. Therefore, "if you don't get the Inner Observer, you don't get the Enneagram. Absent this understanding, the Enneagram is reduced to nothing more than just another interesting, but very flat personality typology. The truth however is quite different. The ultimate vocation of the Enneagram is to awaken the "Inner Observer" in service to psychological wholeness and authentic spirituality.

To learn more, follow this link to our special page devoted to the Inner Observer. We are also pleased to offer "The Inner Observer - A Guided Meditation" by Helen Palmer, now available as a download from the Enneagram.com store. It's a great way to experience your own Inner Observer and begin the journey of type-based self-discovery.

  
             
Helen's APA-approved Enneagram-based E-Course   New Products for your consideration
  "Brillant" is the one word used to describe "Using the Enneagram for Psychological Assessment and Practice" by those who have taken the course. This is because the material is relevant, the insights unique, and the benefits multiple. Team-taught by Helen Palmer and Marlene Cresci-Cohen, Phd., this first-ever American Psychological Association approved Enneagram-based online course is available for continuing education credit. It is also suitable for any serious student of the Enneagram who is interested in deepening their self-understanding and those with whom they are in relationship. And if that isn't enough, you can learn at your own pace according to your own schedule. Click here to learn more.       "The Inner Observer", a guided meditation by Helen Palmer. Listen as Helen introduces the reality of the Inner Observer in a way that is at once experiential, undeniable, and deeply personal Helen's gift of language and intuitive capacity are evident in this thirty minute download as she skillfully moves the listener through the categories of attention and into an experience of their Inner Observer, that faculty of awareness so critical to the activation of the Enneagram. Click here to order.

"In and Down", another guided meditation by Helen Palmer.

Think of this as Meditation 101. No more than twenty minutes in length, our latest product download instructs the listener in the basics of mindfulness practice. Click here to order.

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How can I learn more?
  1.) Accurately identify your type. Take a typing test or arrange for a typing interview with a Helen Palmer/EPTP certified Enneagram practitioner.

2.) Tour this website and enjoy video clips of each of the Nine Types. Be sure to read the highlighted bullet-point of self-observations reported by long-term students of the Enneagram; Does any of this sound familiar ?

3.) Sign-up here for our quarterly newsletter. It's free, informative, and appropriate for any serious student of the Enneagram.

4.) Register for one of Helen's workshops, seminars or online courses. An e-course is an especially effective and efficient way to learn the system.

5.) Visit our shopping cart and choose from a variety of Enneagram products based on Helen's teachings. It's another excellent way to cultivate your knowledge and develop fluency with the system.