Hello everyone, Thanks for taking this journey with me in exploring the Enneagram. Due to our faith-filled work of social distancing I felt it would be better for us to continue our study of the Enneagram differently. With this in mind I am working on a series of video conversations that I hope will give us all more to consider and chat about when we get together for some shorter Enneagram conversations (either online or in person) in the coming weeks.
As part of these video conversations I’ve given each guest a copy of the same handouts I gave you all during our first two meetings before we stopped meeting face to face. Here are the direct links to these handouts: Healing/Wounding Messages, Enneagram Stances, and 9 types on 9 pages. When we last met face to face I only passed out the sheets for types 2-6. I’ve added to all of these one-page descriptions to further guide our conversations. You may find it helpful to have these handouts and the results of your online test within reach as you listen in on these video conversations.
I’ve found the following books to be helpful. You may also find some deep insights into yourself, your family and our shared humanity in these books. Much of what I’ve gained is through these books, attending/listening in on Suzanne Stabile’s conferences, and sharing the Enneagram in community with friends and family.
The Sacred Enneagram by Christopher Heuertz
The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective by Richard Rohr and Andreas Ebert
The Wisdom of the Enneagram by Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson
The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile
The Path Between Us by Suzanne Stabile
The images in the handouts and on this page are from The Sacred Enneagram by Christopher Heuertz. It’s a great place to start your reading. As I’ve said in our face to face meetings, you don’t have to buy what I’m selling. Your skepticism is welcome. I was and (depending on the day) still am a skeptic, but that’s kinda the deal with 9s. On to the conversations…
ELC Enneagram Conversations
For this first video I am in conversation with Deacon Erin Power. She identifies as a 3 (The Achiever) on the Enneagram. She addresses how she came to see herself as a 3, her experience of the 3s wounding message and how this drives her need to achieve. We also talk about how Erin engages her feelings as a 3, multitasking, her spiritual practices, list making, 3 energy, the dynamic complexity of the Enneagram, the move toward the behaviors of the 9 in stress, and finally being a 3 in the time of Covid-19.
Whether you think you might also be a 3 or not, there are other personality types which directly relate to the Achiever. When a 3 is stressed they instinctually take on the traits/behaviors of the 9. When a 3 is secure they instinctually have available to them the traits/behaviors of the 6. For this reason if you think you might be either a 6 or a 9 it’s also important to know how these types are connected to the Achiever in you.
Each type may also access adjacent type behaviors; these adjacent types are called “wings”. More experienced Enneagram teachers place varying emphasis on the importance of wings, some suggest we may only have one wing, some suggest we may have both, some like Richard Rohr suggest that we have one wing in the first half of life and gain access to the other wing when we mature into the second half of life. The 3s wings are the 2 (the Helper) or the 4 (the Romantic). So if you think you may be a 2 or a 4, getting to know more about the 3 may give you some deeper insight into your own behaviors or motivations. Lastly, even if you don’t have a direct connection to one of these types, it is very likely that someone on staff or in your family does; I hope this conversation with Deacon Erin Power gives you some insights into your self and how the Enneagram might be a helpful language for ELC.
Our second video conversation is with Peter Severson, Director of Lutheran Advocacy Ministry of Colorado. Peter identifies as a 5 (The Investigator). I’ve split this conversation into two parts. Part 1 is 26 minutes and includes Peter’s history with the Enneagram, his skepticism, his recommendation of Discover Your Soul Potential by Kathy Hurley and Theodorre Donson, basic fears and desires of 5s, the passion of avarice, 5s desire for control, the Enneagram as a shared language for a staff/team, and as a path toward greater compassion for self and others.
And here’s part 2 of the conversation with Peter. It’s shorter (11 minutes) and addresses the relational detachment of the 5, potential for misuse in the Enneagram, and why he still sees it as an important tool for self discovery.
Our third conversation is with Asher O’Callaghan, pastor of Highlands Lutheran Church. Asher identifies as a 4 (The Romantic). I’ve split this conversation into two parts. Pay special attention to how the 4 may connect with the type, motivations and behaviors you see in yourself. In stress the 4 takes on the behaviors of “The Helper” (type 2) while in security a 4 will have some of the characteristics of “The Perfectionist” (type 1).
In part two of our conversation we lean into a conversation on wings. For the 4 these wings are the 5 and the 3; two types we’ve already met in our previous video conversations. In the conversation we reference both Richard Rohr’s and Suzanne Stabile’s writings on the Enneagram. Links to these books are at the top of the page. Our conversation is fairly broad and continues to be a great blessing to me; I hope it blesses you too.
Recent Comments