Take a moment to land in the space of presence and curiosity and reflect on this statement, the starting point of our work with the Enneagram:

You are not your personality.

What does this mean and how do we hold this idea?

  • You have a personality, “it” has a type or pattern that you share with a segment of humanity, “it” developed in a necessary and inevitable way.

  • You are not your personality, you “have” a personality that is different from your essential self or true nature.

  • You are sensitive to an essential quality that relates to your type but is beyond your personality. 

  • You are invited to “disidentify” from your personality in this work, mainly with gentle self-awareness and witnessing.

  • You are supported in this unfolding by the way life works, what you may call the universe, God, your Higher Power, evolution, or any way you understand this idea. You are on a path of personal and spiritual growth that is natural and happening beyond the realm of your personality. In this sense, there is nothing “to do”.

This framework allows us to relax and trust in the journey we are on together.

Stories

We will use stories, fairy tales, art, music, and poetry in our process of exploring the Enneagram because they allow us to understand a lot of information from a different place. What we know cognitively and learn by studying is important, but it can be heady and hard to integrate and keep us from contacting the very depths we are talking about.

Why do we humans love stories and art? For their beauty and the joy they bring of course, but there is also a way truth comes through that we may not know consciously- they allow us to access our unconscious and collective knowing. We want to open this channel. You are invited to build on the materials provided in every way you feel inspired- read more stories, listen to music, draw or write, create a beautiful journal or notebook to capture your thoughts, watch online people of the different types and so on. What we provide can be prompts for your own exploration.

Here is your first poem by John O’Donohue which beautifully captures the spirit of what we have been discussing- presence, the sensing body, the mystery and promise of our journey.

Awaken to the mystery of being here and enter the quiet immensity of your own presence.
Have joy and peace in the temple of your senses.
Receive encouragement when new frontiers beckon.
Respond to the call of your gift and the courage to follow its path.
Let the flame of anger free you of all falsity.
May warmth of heart keep your presence aflame.
May anxiety never linger about you.
May your outer dignity mirror an inner dignity of soul.
Take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek no attention.
Be consoled in the secret symmetry of your soul.
May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder.

— John O’Donohue