Head versus Heart - and our gut reactions: the twentyfirst century enneagram [Paperback]

'Written by a highly experienced, wise and practical parish priest, the book guides the reader gently and firmly through a whole programme of discovery and - in the proper sense - conversion. This particular reader was forced again and again to recognise the challenging sense of the analysis offered, and hopes that many more will find the same excitement and prompting to growth in these pages.' Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury 'The enneagram never ceases to fascinate and reveal new depths about the human person. Michael Hampson's book will do exactly that, along with some new insights that might please both the scientific minded and the faith community too.' Richard Rohr, author of The Enneagram: a Christian Perspective

Michael Hampson's HEAD versus HEART rebuilds the enneagram on a single new foundation: the fundamental question of how we engage with the world around us. To this task we each bring three basic resources - 'head' and 'heart' and our 'gut reactions'. HEAD versus HEART is a study of the interaction of these three. From the very beginning HEAD versus HEART explains as it describes - something which has never been done for the enneagram before. It explains for the first time why the nine types emerge as they do - and why they interconnect according to the enneagram's distinctive irregular pattern of interconnecting lines. The material is logical and rational throughout - with clear links to cognitive, behavioural and even neurological psychology. All of this makes HEAD versus HEART the most accessible material ever produced on the enneagram - and the most important new work on the enneagram in thirty years.

Commendation from Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury:
"Written by a highly experienced, wise and practical parish priest, it guides the reader gently and firmly through a whole programme of discovery and - in the proper sense - conversion. This particular reader was forced again and again to recognise the challenging sense of the analysis offered, and hopes that many more will find the same excitement and prompting to growth in these pages."

Commendation from Richard Rohr, author of The Enneagram a Christian Perspective:
"The enneagram never ceases to fascinate and reveal new depths about the human person. Michael Hampson's book will do exactly that, along with some new insights that might please both the scientific minded and the faith community too."

Commendation from Alan Le Grys, principal of the South East Institute for Theological Education:
"Michael Hampson brings a fresh and innovative approach to the Enneagram which will enable many people to grow not only in self-understanding but also in pastoral relationships and spiritual development. The careful reader will find in this book not only a great deal of insight, but also a thorough introduction to the wisdom of the enneagram."

Commendation from Linda Woodhead, Senior Lecturer in Christian Studies, Lancaster University:
"This is a book with huge appeal - to those who want to know more about themselves, more about others, more about prayer, and more about how the Bible relates to all this. As if that wasn’t enough, Michael Hampson also offers new insights about the enneagram itself - its uses, its neurological basis, and its enduring power."

Michael Hampson is an ordained priest of the Church of England, with degrees from Oxford University in Philosophy and Psychology. He now lives in London, and is in demand full-time as a retreat leader based on his distinctive development of the enneagram.