Facets of Unity: The Enneagram of Holy Ideas

This book hit all the right spots for me. I bought it when it first came out. In spite of the fact that I had read many good books on inner work before this one, I was still surprised by the power that the words had on me. What really pleased me about this work is that it treats the ennea-types as fixations. I have found that in my own life, I was not just one type for very long. In other words, I could relate to all the other "types" at one time or another. Almaas explaines this by saying that if you have one fixation, in a sense you have all of them. If you are totally free from one fixation, you are free from all of them. One's inner orientation is either on the ennea-fixations or on the "Holy Ideas." There a many details about this that I hope you will read for yourself. I would recommend this book for those people that have had some experience with inner work already. I wouldn't recommend this book if you have had very little or no experience with inner work. I don't think proir knowlege of the enneagram is necessary to get the most from this book.

This book took my understanding of the enneagram to a whole new level. It should definitely be an advanced level book, after you have a pretty firm grasp on the system. This book definitely took my application of the enneagram in my life to a much more spiritual level. I was very much still at odds with religion (the organized religions of my upbringing to be more precise) and after finishing this I was much more open to the idea of bringing some of that spirituality back into my life. This was definitely a "difficult" book, keep going and don't give up as the further I went into the material the more it began to sink in and all come together. I read From Fixation to Freedom by Eli Jaxon-Bear prior to reading this and I would suggest that to anyone who wants to read this book. It was a much easier to grasp introduction to the 9 holy ideas and the split duality of each type, which is a good thing to have an understanding of before getting into Facets of Unity.

Incredible study of the Holy ideas. I loved how this book detailed the importance of experience Being as essential to understanding the enneagram. The explanations of the delusions and virtues of each time as they pertain to objective reality was incredible. Once of the most useful Enneagram books I’ve come across for true transformation.

Will repurchase as soon as I can. A very very good book, and important in my spiritual enfolding and development. I am just beginning my learning in the Diamond Path/School, and there is so much more to learn about it. Author is clearly a genius, and writes perfectly.

While dense to absorb, each page is deep with uplifting insight and new discoveries of the Divine within each Type.

It took awhile to warm up to this book, as in this author's other works. But this is more a matter of my personality fluctuating between wanting to digest deep, abstract material, then later wanting to go through only down to earth and more rational material.I recommend studying this alongside books on the Enneagram that come from a more psychological approach.I have to also add a comment about the author in general: A.H. Almaas is too good to be grouped into the new age section!

This is not easy reading, but students of the Enneagram will not find a better discussion of the Holy Ideas - the facets of unity. Basic Trust, Living Daylight or Loving Light, and Holding are terms used to describe the indescribable that is beyond words.

First, I'd like to say that I have nothing against Mr. Ali (AH), and a lot of his other books are very good and definitely worth reading both from a spiritual and psychological standpoint. I think it's a shame that he doesn't publish under a more psychology-oriented name.That said, I didn't find a whole lot of value in this book. It wasn't very relevant to his overall theory, it doesn't provide anything practical that I can discern, and it's mostly confusing woo. I haven't read any of his "intro to the diamond approach" books, so I can't say anything one way or the other about them, but they would probably be a better starting point than this.

This is without doubt the most powerful spiritual book I've ever read (and I've read plenty of them). It isn't an easy read. In fact, I first tried it ten years ago and didn't get it at all. I only read the first two chapters or so and then dropped it. But when I retook it after that time, in a more advanced stage of my own spiritual development, it totally blew my mind. Don't miss this book. It can change your life. And trust me: if you read it and it seems incomprehensible to you, just wait for a few years and then try again. This is really advanced stuff!

One of the most insightful books on human/divine nature, it is simply a revelation of spiritual insights. This book truly explores and lays bare the divine power of the Enneagram.I'm not sure if any humans ever experience the Enneagram in its totality. However, even just a glimpse is worthwhile.

I bought this book as a gift for someone who is well versed in the Enneagram and esoteric thought. While she enjoyed the book, she found it necessary to read it twice as some of the ideas are challenging to grapple with. Overall though, highly recommended.

Excellent book, a bit deeper foray into enneagram types. Very interesting, and explains a lot.

Almaas digs deep, going way past the usual approach in popular works that simply describe the strengths and problems of the nine enneatypes. For those who want to explore the spiritual underpinnings of these popular typological systems, he is a must.