Know Thy Family; Know Thyself. Deal with Holiday Stress and Celebrate Diverse Personalities with the Enneagram System.

Do your crazy relatives stress you out during the holidays? If the approaching holidays loom ahead like a sea of familial chaos rather than a loving celebration of diverse personalities, maybe new coping skills are in order. Learn to deal smoothly with holiday stress and understand the diverse personalities in your family with the Enneagram.

Create Your Vision, Inc.
9019 Soquel Drive, Suite 125
Aptos, CA 95003
(831) 662-3145
www.createyourvision.com

CONTACT: Ben Saltzman - (831) 662-3145, ben@createyourvision.com

APTOS, CA -- Do your crazy relatives stress you out during the holidays? If the approaching holidays loom ahead like a sea of familial chaos rather than a loving celebration of diverse personalities, maybe new coping skills are in order.

People tend to stress out during the holidays when family members with wildly different personalities come together and try to get their unconscious emotional needs met," says Ben Saltzman, a performance coach based in Aptos who uses a unique tool for psychological and spiritual growth called the Enneagram.

People have expectations about how the holiday should be and how a family should act. They put themselves under a huge strain to have the perfect holiday. The Enneagram offers a way out of the familiar maze."

According to the Enneagram, people react differently to situations based on their hidden beliefs and passions. Understanding your own personality type and that of your family members allows for more enjoyable and interesting interactions with them.

This holiday season dont disown your relatives; learn to accept them," Saltzman advises. Youre probably unaware of what drives you and the stress of the holidays can exacerbate your character flaws."

In the Enneagram system, a Type 2 person is known as The Giver," and for him or her the holidays are usually a haven of gift giving and connection to loved ones. They get stressed, however, when they dont get a chance to make intimate connections or when family members dont play nice." They get resentful when theyre not appreciated for their extravagant giving.

Type 4, the Tragic Romantic or Individualist, however, holds a very different world view. Concentrating often on perceived isolation or exclusion from the family, they are keenly aware of whos not there and may focus on their grief over recent family losses rather than joy at being together.

Another type, known as The Protector," will try to dominate family activities, often reacting with hostility or anger toward siblings who try to control the decision process rather than letting them decide.

In a ten-week class led by Ben Saltzman participants will learn about their own particular needs, emotional passions and core beliefs, and will better understand long-held patterns with different members of their family. Theyll also learn how to reduce their reactions to events that trigger strong emotions such as Aunt Peggys smothering or cousin Eddies in-your-face personality.

Participants learn how to meet their needs and understand the nine personality types identified in the Enneagram system. People will know how to take care of themselves better and to accept others with more grace.

###

About Ben:
Ben Saltzman teaches seminars on the Enneagram. He has a bachelors degree in psychology and a teaching credential from University of California-Santa Cruz and a masters degree in Organizational Development from John F. Kennedy University. He received his performance coaching training through New Ventures West and completed the Enneagram Professional Training Program taught by Helen Palmer and Dr. David Daniels.

Past clients include: Hewlett-Packard Co., Gap Inc., Levi Strauss & Co., Sun Microsystems Inc., Women's Professional Volleyball Association, U.S. Air Force, Intel Corp., University of California Santa Cruz, Exar Corp., Global Fund for Women, Agilent Technologies, and numerous small business owners.

###

THE MEDIA IS INVITED TO ATTEND THESE SEMINARS AND/OR RECEIVE A FREE PERSONALITY TYPING INTERVIEW.

###

Upcoming workshops include:
(A complete listing is at www.createyourvision.com)

FLY FREE WITH THE ENNEAGRAM --
A seminar designed for people wanting to understand themselves at a deeper level and break free from limiting beliefs.
·   Saturday, Sept. 6, 6:30 -- 9:30 p.m. & Sunday, Sept. 7, 9 a.m. -- 5 p.m. in Santa Cruz.
·   Sunday Sept. 21, 1 -- 6 p.m. East West Bookshop, 324 Castro St., Mountain View.
More information http://www.createyourvision.com/SalesFlyFreeSem.htm

INTRODUCTION TO THE ENNEAGRAM - Which personality type are you? Discover your restrictive beliefs, underlying motivations, and specific developmental path with this ancient yet precise system for spiritual growth. Through humor and story we explore the wildly different personality types. Watch as performance coach Ben Saltzman, author of Fly Free with the Enneagram, interviews live members of the audience to reveal their core characteristics and habits of mind. Release your anger toward others as you discover how they see and interpret their own reality. Free.
·   East West Bookshop, 324 Castro St., Mountain View. Sept. 9, 7:30 p.m.

NINE PERSONALITY TYPES -- NINE DEVELOPMENTAL PATHS: FINDING FREEDOM WITH THE ENNEAGRAM --Watch live interviews with representatives from each personality type as they open their insides to you and share their inner world views. You watch a different panel each week as Ben Saltzman helps the panelists explore their inner drives, emotional passions, constraining beliefs and hidden motivations.
·   Ten Mondays, 7-10 p.m., Oct. 13 -- Dec. 15, 2003. Trinity Church, 420 Melrose Dr., Santa Cruz. Fee: $170 for full series, or $25 per class drop-in fee.
More information http://www.createyourvision.com/NineDevPaths.htm

For more information or to register, please visit www.createyourvision.com, call Ben Saltzman directly at (831) 662-3145, or email him at ben@createyourvision.com.

###