Presence in All Three Centers: Self-Observation, Compassion, and Practice

You were born with vast capacity for wisdom, creativity, power, and love. One way to unfold the full potential of that capacity is to bring greater intention and consciousness to the true nature of your Body, Heart, and Head, which the Enneagram describes as the three Centers of intelligence. Although there are a myriad of approaches to the working with the centers, three overarching principles – Self-Observation, Compassion, and Practice – can serve as guides to the ongoing cultivation of presence in each center.

Self-Observation (the Head Center)

“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and … READ MORE

Balancing Your Practice For Strength, Resilience, Creativity, and Freedom

A fundamental skill for being present is increasing your capacity to be with the sensations of your body. One of the gifts of studying the Enneagram is the recognition that although everyone needs to develop presence, each of us is starting from a different place depending on our type, instinctual stack, and life experiences.

So what’s the best way to go about practicing to be more present? It depends.

When you know the Enneagram, you know that:

Some Enneagram types more easily gravitate toward structure and discipline while other types more easily gravitate toward movement … READ MORE

Being in the Body and the Will to Practice

“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium, and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how valuable, nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours, clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have … READ MORE

Here, Right Now

Sunday at 6:30 am, the last morning of the retreat and I’m standing at the edge of the Hudson River. The water is smooth and still, the fog hangs around the trees. I watch as it expands and lifts, the pink mist yielding to the deep blue of the emerging day.

On the way back to town, Essence speaks to me through the radio, as she often does when I’ve been turning my attention toward her. She brings me a song, and I play it to open up our session for the day. And then the song keeps playing … READ MORE

Why Attunement Matters

It can be easy to relate to the Enneagram solely as a personality system that describes various clusters of psychological type. Many of us are so blown away by the accuracy, richness, and depth that the Enneagram transmits that when we land on our dominant type, we spend most of our energy and effort there.

One of the gifts of the Enneagram Is that there is always more to be discovered, always an opportunity to open up new territory and insight. This investigation can include a robust study of how our dominant type works and … READ MORE

Enneagram Jazz: The 1-7 Axis

The inner lines of the Enneagram, sometimes called the Axes, connect each Enneagram type to two others. One use of these lines is to understand the movement and wholeness of your dominant type, including:

How you show up when you feel comfortable or stressedWhat qualities you possess that are positive or negative shadowsHow you integrate all of who you are

Another approach to the Axes is to see each line is as a tension of opposites that opens particular capacities when you are fully grounded in either end. Since we each have a relationship with the … READ MORE