Enneagram and Spiritual Practices

The Enneagram is a map of energy. Historically found in the Spiritual Direction setting, the Enneagram helps us to recognize our False Self and reconnect with our True Self.

Prominent roots of the Enneagram include but are not limited to:

• Evagrius Ponticus and the early Christian church (~300 CE.)
• Sufism, the mystical tradition of Islam
• George Gurdjeiff (1916)
  • Then as a symbol of cosmology, not typology of character
• Oscar Ichazo, and Claudio Naranjo
  • Responsible for the modern day Enneagram

A Mathematical Relationship

Gurdjieff writes about a mathematical relationship among the nine Enneagram types based on Laws of Three and Seven.

The enneagram is a circle divided into nine equal parts. Numbering the points by moving around the circumference clockwise, we can then form a triangle by connecting the points at 9, 3, and 6. This triangle represents the trinity, or the Law of Three. If we think of the whole of creation as manifestation seeking to be reabsorbed into the Absolute, or unity, then we can see the three perpetuated: 3 tries to return to 1 — this is, in mathematical terms, 1 divided by 3, which is a recurring series, .33333333 .. The other points around the circle are connected in such a way that they reflect the striving of all seven points on the ray of creation to return to unity: one divided by seven is a recurring series of six digits, .142857, which contains no multiples of three. Thus both laws are represented on one symmetrical diagram in a way that reflects their independence as well as their interrelationship.

(Riordan, 1975, p. 293)

Arrows

When you look at the modern Enneagram symbol, you should see arrows pointing away and towards each number. This is the dynamic interrelationship of the Enneagram Types, or what I like to call quite simply, movement. The movement of the arrows is important because it teaches you two distinct paths: stress and growth.

• Moving “with the arrow” (4 to 2) = Stress / Disintegration / Stretch / Unconscious
• Moving “against the arrow” (4 to 1) = Growth / Integration / Release / Conscious

The Ego-Type is the Enneagram type we typically identify as our main Enneagram type. Traditionally, this is called “Ego-Type” as it is not the Essence of who we are but a metaphorical mask that we wear.

Your Soul-Type (also called Reconnected Type) is the number your Ego-Type moves to in growth. This is said to be your Essence: that which you were as a child before the world’s conditioning forced you to dawn a mask and ultimately protect yourself.

If you don’t understand it all right away, that’s okay.

The wisdom of the Enneagram is rich, and a trick I like to use is to simply trust whatever wisdom makes sense to you at the moment.

• With a dominant Center of Intelligence in the Body (or Doing):
  • Practice stillness so that you may be able to discern what appropriate engagement looks like
  • Connect with the body through physical exercise: walking, yoga, QiGong, sport, cycling, etc.
  • Go outside! Play!
  • Practice healthy teaching or reforming
• With a repressed Center of Intelligence in the Head (or Thinking):
  • Consider engaging more healthy alone time
  • Engage in healthy thinking: nonjudgmental, self observation
  • Extend compassion to yourself
  • Practice forgiveness and patience
• Journaling:
  • Contemplate your virtue, Serenity: Love is within and connected to all beings.
  • Engage with your Holy Idea, Holy Perfection: The awareness that reality is a process moving with direction and purpose; each moment and each creature is already perfect.
  • Research your Soul Type, Type 7: How you resonate with the high-end of this number?
  • What does it mean to be whole?
  • Consider an appreciation and/or gratitude journal
• Meditation:
  • Basic Mindfulness Meditation
  • R.A.I.N. or S.T.O.P. Meditation
  • Self-Observation
  • Loving-Kindness Meditation
  • Walking Meditation
  • Chanting
  • Contemplative Prayer
  • Lectio Divina
  • Present moment awareness of warning signs:
    • Fixation: Resentment
    • Trap: Perfection
    • Passion: Anger
    • Impatience
    • Intolerance
    • Value-judgment
    • Inner critic

• With a dominant Center of Intelligence in the Heart (or Feeling):
  • Practice solitude, time by yourself, so that you may be present to yourself and others
  • Invest in friendship, community
  • Practice healthy communication of your needs
  • Practice anonymous acts of service
  • Engage in expressive practices such as journaling
• With a repressed Center of Intelligence in the Head (or Thinking):
  • Consider engaging more healthy alone time
  • Engage in healthy thinking: nonjudgmental, self observation
  • Extend compassion to yourself
  • Each week or day, write a list of needs for yourself
  • Practice saying “no!”
• Journaling:
  • Contemplate your virtue, Humility: Love is beyond my control.
  • Engage with your Holy Idea, Holy Freedom: The awareness that reality flows with a certain force; having needs and having needs met are part of these laws.
  • Research your Soul Type, Type 4: How you resonate with the high-end of this number?
  • What does it mean to be loved?
• Meditation: Loving-Kindness Meditation
  • Basic Mindfulness Meditation
  • R.A.I.N. or S.T.O.P. Meditation
  • Self-Observation
  • Awareness of Emotions
  • Loving-Kindness Meditation
  • Spiritual Heart Meditation
  • Contemplative Prayer
  • Lectio Divina
  • Present moment awareness of warning signs:
    • Fixation: Flattery
    • Trap: Freedom
    • Passion: Pride
    • Losing your sense of self for others
    • Burn-out
    • Fixing, or saving, someone
    • Manipulation
    • Repressed aggression

• With a dominant and repressed Center of Intelligence in the Heart (or Feeling):
  • Practice solitude, time by yourself, so that you may be present to yourself and others
  • Consider listening to and being with your feelings
  • Engage in expressive practices such as journaling, sketching, or vision boarding
  • Extend compassion to yourself
  • Invest in friendship, community
  • Practice healthy communication of your needs
  • Consider a Social Media fast
• Journaling:
  • Contemplate your virtue, Truthfulness: Love is the core of who I am, without masks or roles.
  • Engage with your Holy Idea, Holy Harmony: The awareness that there are no exceptions to the natural laws of the universe and that they’re objective; an interconnected unity.
  • Research your Soul Type, Type 6: How you resonate with the high-end of this number?
  • What does it mean to be on your own path?
  • Explore your own working definition of success
  • What is true for you?
• Meditation:
  • Basic Mindfulness Meditation
  • R.A.I.N. or S.T.O.P. Meditation
  • Self-Observation
  • Walking Meditation
  • Awareness of Emotions
  • Loving-Kindness Meditation
  • Spiritual Heart Meditation
  • Contemplative Prayer
  • Lectio Divina
  • Present moment awareness of warning signs:
    • Fixation: Vanity
    • Trap: Efficiency
    • Passion: Deceit
    • Workaholism
    • Burn-out
    • Exhaustion
    • Inner emptiness
    • Avoiding emotions and other aspects of inner life

• With a dominant Center of Intelligence in the Heart (or Feeling):
  • Practice solitude, time by yourself, so that you may be present to yourself and others
  • Practice healthy communication of your needs
  • Practice creativity; express yourself!
• With a repressed Center of Intelligence in the Body (or Doing):
  • Actively connect with your communities
  • Engage in small actions that help you do things that matter to you
  • Connect with the body through physical exercise: walking, yoga, QiGong, sport, cycling, etc.
  • Go outside! Play!
• Journaling:
  • Contemplate your virtue, Equanimity: Love is balanced and harmonious.
  • Engage with your Holy Idea, Holy Originality: The awareness that all individuals are born as a result of natural objective laws; each with an ultimate connection to the cosmos.
  • Research your Soul Type, Type 1: How you resonate with the high-end of this number?
  • What does it mean to you to that nothing is missing, that you are whole?
• Meditation:
  • Basic Mindfulness Meditation
  • R.A.I.N. or S.T.O.P. Meditation
  • Self-Observation
  • Body Scan Meditation
  • Walking Meditation
  • Chanting
  • Awareness of Emotions
  • Loving-Kindness Meditation
  • Spiritual Heart Meditation
  • Contemplative Prayer
  • Lectio Divina
  • Present moment awareness of warning signs:
    • Fixation: Melancholy
    • Trap: Authenticity
    • Passion: Envy
    • Hopelessness
    • Extreme sensitivity
    • Self-absorption
    • Fantasy and daydreaming
    • Codependency
    • Self-Sabotaging

• With a dominant Center of Intelligence in the Head (or Thinking):
  • Practice silence so that you may be able to listen compassionately to yourself and others
  • Engage in healthy thinking: nonjudgmental, self observation
  • Engage in reading
  • Continue to listen to and cultivate the wisdom within
• With a repressed Center of Intelligence in the Body (or Doing):
  • Actively connect with your communities
  • Share with others the things you’ve learned or created
  • Engage in small actions that help you do things that matter to you
  • Connect with the body through physical exercise: walking, yoga, QiGong, sport, cycling, etc.
  • Go outside! Play!
• Journaling:
  • Contemplate your virtue, Detachment: Love is constantly flowing; giving and receiving.
  • Engage with your Holy Idea, Holy Omniscience: The awareness that there is no separation or alienation from reality except as a mental hallucination; knowledge of life comes from interaction with life.
  • Research your Soul Type, Type 8: How you resonate with the high-end of this number?
  • What does it mean to you to be worthy?
• Meditation:
  • Basic Mindfulness Meditation
  • R.A.I.N. or S.T.O.P. Meditation
  • Self-Observation
  • Body Scan Meditation
  • Mantra
  • Grounding Meditation
  • Walking Meditation
  • Awareness of Emotions
  • Contemplative Prayer
  • Lectio Divina
  • Present moment awareness of warning signs:
    • Fixation: Stinginess
    • Trap: Observer
    • Passion: Avarice
    • Greed
    • Overthinking
    • Isolation
    • Neglecting health

• With a dominant and repressed Center of Intelligence in the Head (or Thinking):
  • Practice silence so that you may be able to listen compassionately to yourself and others
  • Consider engaging more healthy alone time
  • Engage in healthy thinking: nonjudgmental, self observation
  • Extend compassion to yourself
  • Engage in reading
  • Engage in expressive practices such as journaling
  • Continue to listen to and cultivate the wisdom within
  • Each week or day, write a list of needs for yourself
  • Practice saying “no!”
  • Limit exposure to negativity (news, social media, etc.)
• Journaling:
  • Contemplate your virtue, Courage: Love is within and no one can take that away.
  • Engage with your Holy Idea, Holy Strength: The awareness that the cosmos is a self-regulating existence in a state of balance; fulfillment is being in touch with inner authority.
  • Research your Soul Type, Type 9: How you resonate with the high-end of this number?
  • What does it mean to you to be safe?
  • How is love letting go of fear?
• Meditation:
  • Basic Mindfulness Meditation
  • R.A.I.N. or S.T.O.P. Meditation
  • Self-Observation
  • Mantra
  • Grounding Meditation
  • Loving-Kindness Meditation
  • Self-Regulation for Anxiety
  • Contemplative Prayer
  • Lectio Divina
  • Present moment awareness of warning signs:
    • Fixation: Cowardice
    • Trap: Security
    • Passion: Fear
    • Skepticism
    • Suspicion
    • Over-dependence on outer authority
    • Anxiety
    • Inability to let go of harmful relationships

• With a dominant Center of Intelligence in the Head (or Thinking):
  • Practice silence so that you may be able to listen compassionately to yourself and others
  • Consider exploring more healthy alone time
  • Engage in healthy thinking: nonjudgmental, self observation
  • Practice saying “no!”
• With a repressed Center of Intelligence in the Heart (or Feeling):
  • Listen to and be with your feelings
  • Engage in expressive practices such as journaling, sketching, or vision boarding
  • Extend compassion to yourself
  • Each week or day, write a list of needs for yourself
  • Celebrate!
  • Invest in friendship, community
  • Practice moderation
• Journaling:
  • Contemplate your virtue, Sobriety: Love is reached step by step, not once and for all.
  • Engage with your Holy Idea, Holy Wisdom: The awareness that reality exists as a succession of movements; the fullness of life comes from living and working in the moment.
  • Research your Soul Type, Type 5: How you resonate with the high-end of this number?
  • What does it mean to you to be present?
• Meditation:
  • Basic Mindfulness Meditation
  • R.A.I.N. or S.T.O.P. Meditation
  • Self-Observation
  • Mantra
  • Grounding Meditation
  • Walking Meditation
  • Spiritual Heart Meditation
  • Awareness of Emotions
  • Loving-Kindness Meditation
  • Contemplative Prayer
  • Lectio Divina
  • Present moment awareness of warning signs:
    • Fixation: Planning
    • Trap: Idealism
    • Passion: Gluttony
    • Anticipation for what’s next
    • Avoidance
    • Addiction
    • Mood swings
    • Impulsive reactions

• With a dominant Center of Intelligence in the Body (or Doing):
  • Practice stillness so that you may be able to discern what appropriate engagement looks like
  • Actively connect with your communities
  • Connect with the body through physical exercise: walking, yoga, QiGong, sport, cycling, etc.
  • Go outside! Play!
• With a repressed Center of Intelligence in the Heart (or Feeling):
  • Engage in expressive practices such as journaling, sketching, or vision boarding
  • Listen to and be with your feelings
  • Practice healthy confrontation
  • Be open to other truths
  • Practice vulnerability
• Journaling:
  • Contemplate your virtue, Innocence: Love is living in the now with simplicity and without expectation.
  • Engage with your Holy Idea, Holy Truth: The awareness that the cosmos exists objectively and that it exists now; truth and justice will follow from the natural unfolding of events.
  • Research your Soul Type, Type 2: How you resonate with the high-end of this number?
  • What does it mean to you to trust?
  • Inquire why you feel the need to challenge
  • Get to know your inner child
  • Explore the middle path, a third option to black & white thinking
• Meditation:
  • Basic Mindfulness Meditation
  • R.A.I.N. or S.T.O.P. Meditation
  • Self-Observation
  • Awareness of Emotions
  • Loving-Kindness Meditation
  • Spiritual Heart Meditation
  • Walking Meditation
  • Chanting
  • Contemplative Prayer
  • Lectio Divina
  • Present moment awareness of warning signs:
    • Fixation: Vengeance
    • Trap: Justice
    • Passion: Lust
    • Controlling
    • The need to rebel
    • Aggression
    • Isolation
    • Feelings of betrayal
    • Hard-heartedness

• With a dominant and repressed Center of Intelligence in the Body (or Doing):
  • Practice attentive stillness so that you may be able to discern what appropriate engagement looks like
  • Connect with the body through physical exercise: walking, yoga, QiGong, sport, cycling, etc.
  • Go outside! Play!
  • Practice saying “no” or “yes”… or just decide something
  • Do one thing at a time
  • Actively connect with your communities
  • Engage in small actions that help you do things that matter to you
  • Be honest with your own anger

• Journaling:
  • Contemplate your virtue, Action: Love is to be passed on.
  • Engage with your Holy Idea, Holy Love: The awareness that the laws of reality lead to the creation of life; essence is already loving and loveable.
  • Research your Soul Type, Type 3: How you resonate with the high-end of this number?
  • What does it mean to you to be sleepwalking?
  • What does it mean to you to be awake?
  • Imagine 7 years from now: what would be your ideal future?
  • What excites you? What gives you life?
  • Embrace your own opinions
  • Practice simply daily or weekly goals
• Meditation:
  • Basic Mindfulness Meditation
  • R.A.I.N. or S.T.O.P. Meditation
  • Self-Observation
  • Body Scan Meditation
  • Walking Meditation
  • Chanting
  • Contemplative Prayer
  • Lectio Divina
  • Present moment awareness of warning signs:
    • Fixation: Indolence
    • Trap: Seeker
    • Passion: Sloth
    • Avoiding emotions, thoughts, and experience
    • Feeling numb
    • Withdrawing
    • Over-dependent on others
    • Resisting help
    • Feelings of inadequacy
    • Denial