Don Richard Riso (1946–2012)
Author of The Wisdom of the Enneagram: The Complete Guide to Psychological and Spiritual Growth for the Nine Personality Types
About the Author
Works by Don Richard Riso
The Wisdom of the Enneagram: The Complete Guide to Psychological and Spiritual Growth for the Nine Personality Types (1999) 1,117 copies, 8 reviews
Discovering Your Personality Type: The Essential Introduction to the Enneagram, Revised and Expanded (1992) 443 copies, 3 reviews
The Enneagram: Discovering Your Personality Type (Classics of Personal Development) (1995) 15 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Riso, Don Richard
- Birthdate
- 1946-01-17
- Date of death
- 2012-08-30
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Stanford University (MA | 1971)
Spring Hill College (BA)
Regis College - Occupations
- Jesuit priest
- Organizations
- Roman Catholic Church
Enneagram Institute
Society of Jesus - Relationships
- Taylor, Brian L. (partner)
Hudson, Ross (co-author) - Short biography
- DON RICHARD RISO, M.A. (1946-2012) was the foremost writer and developer of the Enneagram in the world and the most-published and bestselling author in the field. The president of Enneagram Personality Types, Inc., and co-founder of The Enneagram Institute, he taught the Enneagram for more than twenty years, pioneering a revolutionary new approach to ego psychology through his 1977 discovery of the Levels of Development. His five bestselling books with Russ Hudson have been published in more than a dozen countries and languages. Mr. Riso was a Jesuit for thirteen years, with degrees in English and philosophy, was elected to the Jesuit Honor Society, Alpha Sigma Nu, and was a Ford Foundation Fellow at Stanford University in communications (social psychology).
- Cause of death
- pancreatic cancer
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Biloxi, Mississippi, USA
- Places of residence
- New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Stone Ridge, New York, USA - Place of death
- Stone Ridge, New York, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Reviews
The Wisdom of the Enneagram: The Complete Guide to Psychological and Spiritual Growth for the Nine Personality Types by Don Richard Riso
Yep, this is the one. My first read in the enneagram world intrigued me, but the tone and focus weren't quite what I was looking for. This book, on the other hand, is both comprehensive and readable and pitches its ideas (for the most part), right where I want to hear them. While there is still a little bit of a woo woo vibe here, for the most part this is practical, logical information about how and why humans act the way they do, what that means, and how we can understand our own show more personalities enough to get a little control over them and how we react to and experience the world and the people in it. Riso and Hudson do a good job of exploring the spiritual aspect of this system without tying it down (or divorcing it) from any particular religion or practice. Their examples and advice don't feel dated (except for the celebrity examples of different enneagram types -- I wish books would just leave those out), and the well considered quizzes throughout the book are a nice tool for exploring your relationship to the different types. I still feel very drawn to two with a one wing, but six and nine had more aspects that resonated with me when I read about them here than in my previous reading. It's been helpful so far to catch myself in common patterns and work to give myself a little space around my immediate reactions or judgments. I think this is a journey I'm going to continue. If anyone is interested in learning more about the enneagram, I think this is a great place to start. show less
These things read like horoscopes generalisations for me.
I once did a blind reading of a stranger in a storytelling session which lead me to identify a poor relationship with his father and making up a story that revealed it. (Tears and hugs all round after that session!) A mixture of intuitive insight and ambiguous questions rather then practical use of a personality type. I also remain sceptical that we have a single fixed core personality as these approaches ignore that personalities show more also depend on social context.
But use to get a discussion about what the findings mean for us is always revealing about our individual self images. I like using them when developing a character in a story to let me imagine what if show less
I once did a blind reading of a stranger in a storytelling session which lead me to identify a poor relationship with his father and making up a story that revealed it. (Tears and hugs all round after that session!) A mixture of intuitive insight and ambiguous questions rather then practical use of a personality type. I also remain sceptical that we have a single fixed core personality as these approaches ignore that personalities show more also depend on social context.
But use to get a discussion about what the findings mean for us is always revealing about our individual self images. I like using them when developing a character in a story to let me imagine what if show less
Sometimes I get skeptical reactions from people when I tell them I like reading about personality types, as if I were talking about astrological signs. Fair enough... but these same people often talk about introvert/extrovert, or thinker/feeler, or leader/follower, so the belief in personality traits is there, though not organized. The enneagram organizes personality traits. Take the bits that seem true to you, and find it easier to understand people.
The Wisdom of the Enneagram: The Complete Guide to Psychological and Spiritual Growth for the Nine Personality Types by Don Richard Riso
I took the official Enneagram test online in 2019. Since then, I've taken other online assessments and typed similarly.
I'd never paid much attention to the Enneagram before then. With my test results, I got an explanation of my type, but it's very dense and presumes a baseline level of Enneagram misunderstanding that I didn't have. Since then, I've done some reading on my own.
Months later, I picked up this book. I thought it might not only help me better understand my own type, but give me show more insight and understanding of the other types since a) each of these types are present in all of us, to greater or lesser extent and b) it might improve my interactions with others who have a different dominant type than I do.
Anyway--there is a lot here that I found helpful:
- the distortions for each type, how each is most likely to go off its rails
- the harmonic groupings
- the wake up calls of becoming unhealthy by type
- how each type manipulates others and tries to get what it wants
etc.
There is a two-question assessment towards the beginning of the book that helps you narrow down your type. I didn't find that to be particularly aligned with my other Enneagram quiz/test results, so use with caution. However, used in conjunction with the quizzes associated with each type, you can better rule in or out what your type is most likely to be.
Recommended reading if you're Enneagram-interested. show less
I'd never paid much attention to the Enneagram before then. With my test results, I got an explanation of my type, but it's very dense and presumes a baseline level of Enneagram misunderstanding that I didn't have. Since then, I've done some reading on my own.
Months later, I picked up this book. I thought it might not only help me better understand my own type, but give me show more insight and understanding of the other types since a) each of these types are present in all of us, to greater or lesser extent and b) it might improve my interactions with others who have a different dominant type than I do.
Anyway--there is a lot here that I found helpful:
- the distortions for each type, how each is most likely to go off its rails
- the harmonic groupings
- the wake up calls of becoming unhealthy by type
- how each type manipulates others and tries to get what it wants
etc.
There is a two-question assessment towards the beginning of the book that helps you narrow down your type. I didn't find that to be particularly aligned with my other Enneagram quiz/test results, so use with caution. However, used in conjunction with the quizzes associated with each type, you can better rule in or out what your type is most likely to be.
Recommended reading if you're Enneagram-interested. show less
Lists
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 11
- Members
- 3,005
- Popularity
- #8,491
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 21
- ISBNs
- 53
- Languages
- 9