I’m really in need of effective assistance in identifying exactly
where to turn, as I’m not completely sure myself of exactly what I’m
in need of, or what the best place to begin would be.  I need someone
to work with me to find the online insight I’m searching for.  The
kind of specialist, service, organization, product etc. that I’m in
need of would have to be good at understanding life issues, as well as
making relevant online information surface specially as a means of
helping those they’re working with improve their life quality.  The
online information I’m looking for would be non-mainstream, the
process would be far from average everyday online information
retrieval.    I’ve had extremely little success when turning to
information, and services in the form of ordinary general web
searching.  To give you an idea of the sort of help I need reference
to; it would be radical information from which to possibly plan my
life around.  Over the years that I’ve been surfing the internet, I’ve
learned that it can be used for far more than finding the solution to
average problems, or meeting the needs of one’s home, school, or work
life.  It can also very well contain the portal to a person’s place in
the world.  I now have got to find someone who would take the time,
and effort to lead me into directions, and points I have not been able
to find up until now.  What I need from you is assistance in finding
some kind of online information source(s) or service(s) which
specialize in helping individual people come up with the relevant
online information results they’re looking for (which as I mentioned
before, I’m currently not completely aware of)based on their personal
goals.  It would maintain the capacity, and devotion to work with
individuals to help them identify what they want to use the web for,
and work with them, until they have reached a satisfying beginning
position.  It would have a keen sense of diversity, and respect every
person, in regards to their personalities, and his or her unique,
eclectic taste.  It would evaluate the philosophy, and desire of each
individual, help him or her with a step-by-step to locate what they’re
looking for, and work with him or her until sufficient information is
found.  Now I’m not sure how well you understand what I mean, but I’m
sure you must be able to give me some kind of guideline(s), in getting
into a satisfying, sufficient starting point.  Also if you have any
questions in the matter, please feel free to ask.

Perhaps a net-wise life coach?

Google search: life coach
://www.google.com/search?q=life+coach

Howdy dracellk5,

Although I think the net can (and does) hold a wealth
of information, some of which can help you accomplish
your goal, it appears that you might need someone that
can help you become a (more?) efficient researcher.

By learning the tricks of research, you can start mining
multiple sources, which would include the net, to start
clarifying that vision that you are seeking to bring focus
to your life.

A remarkable amount of information is contained within the
pages of (usually obscure, but sometimes mainstream) books
and (even more obsure at times) research papers that have
been published.

As an example, I started to research some things in order
to bring some order to my own life, and by time I was
done I had 1) become a pretty good researcher and 2) had
delved into a wide range of resources (books, the net,
magazines, research papers, etc.) covering a very wide
range of subjects to 3) come to some important conclusions
about my own life that has helped me (and some others)
focus on what is important for me.

That took me 2 years of just basic study (and continues)
so you are quite right about being devoted.

Dear dracellk5-ga, 

There are many, many different solutions to the situation you have
outlined, but the one that comes immediately to my mind when I read
your post, because I was talking about it today, is the model of the
Enneagram.

This is a really incredible tool for understanding oneself and others.
I've read a lot of psychology, from Freud to Alice Miller and such
newer authors as  Dorothy Rowe and M. Scott Peck; and I've interviewed
psychologists and chatted to them, too; but the Enneagram, for me,
goes far beyond the everyday insights of conventional psychology,
which tends to focus on problems rather than solutions.

The Enneagram offers insight into patterns of behavior, and offers a
way out. It's totally non-judgmental in the sense that it's a model of
nine different ways of perceiving and responding to the world; one is
not better or worse than the other; in fact, all are flawed because
each one is partial.

The most useful book, for me, on this subject was :

    The Enneagram: Understanding Yourself and the Others in Your Life.
    by Helen Palmer. Harper SanFrancisco, 1988.

Useful because she based her typolologies on interviews with people
from the different types, rather than on the making of black-and-white
definitions. She has 'updated' her ideas quite a bit since then ....
The original book is very, very detailed about habits and perceptions,
and the challenges and fears for each character type; and she is open
enough in her description of the types that you can see, for example,
how a Five, the observer type, could be a movie star as easily as a
librarian or researcher.

Here are some descriptions from her website.

The Enneagram is a powerful and dynamic personality system that
describes nine distinct and fundamentally different patterns of
thinking feeling, and acting. The word "ennea" is Greek for nine and
"gram" means a figure or something drawn. Hence, the Enneagram is a
diagram or star with nine points representing the nine personality
patterns. Each of these nine patterns is based on an explicit set of
perceptual filters that determine our worldview.  Underneath each of
the nine patterns is a basic proposition or belief about what you need
in life for survival and satisfaction. As you discover your
personality type and the underlying basic proposition, you will also
discover what motivates you, your coping strategy, and keys to
personal development.
http://www.authenticenneagram.com/introducing.htm


She and her partners are running workshops in the next few months, in
Detroit, Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Boston, Baltimore Chicago, Washington
DC / Baltimore as well as England, and possibly elsewhere.

               What We Do: 
               Our Tri-Part Teachings in Three Domains --- 
               Work Life, Personal Life, and Spiritual Life 
We conduct workshops, seminars, classes, and trainings based on the
Enneagram understandings.We do Enneagram presentations and
introductory sessions.We provide coaching and consultation using the
Enneagram model.We generate customized training plans and materials
development based on the Enneagram.


            *  *  *  *  *

Some other Enneagram authors/teachers and their books are listed at
this url:

    http://www.enneagramteachers.org/publications.html

and you can find a local teacher here:

   http://www.enneagramteachers.org/indexfind.html

Countries included in this search are: Australia, Belgium, Brazil,
Canada, China, Denmark, East Africa, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany,
Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands,
Phillipines, Switzerland. Taiwan ROC, Tanzania, Thailand, United
Kingdom, as well as most states in the US.

            *  *  *  *  *


I found a free enneagram test on:

http://similarminds.com/
 
            *  *  *  *  *



Hope this is useful, or at least food for thought! 

When I was looking for answers, over some 14 years (!!!), I tried
everything, and the Enneagram did help, a lot.

Blessings,
intotravel-ga.