“In the After Glow – Reflections on “Love, Spirit and Relationships” Part II with David Daniels and Russ Hudson

AEA December Blog – Robin Cameron – Part II

“In the After Glow – Reflections on “Love, Spirit and Relationships” with David Daniels and Russ Hudson

Interspersed throughout the Daniels/Hudson weekend were one-two-and three liners that themselves could be workshop-starters.  Here are my personal favorites:

When introduced to the Enneagram by Helen Palmer, I recognized the patterns that I already was discovering on my own.  DD

Early on, I discovered the typologies as what we do instead of being present.  I came to understand how my patterns take me out of myself, and how – when we meet those patterns with understanding, kindness, and presence – we don’t have to get rid of them but they transform.  RH

The hope for all of us is the personality becomes interwoven with the essential qualities, which allow us to live in the world relating with those higher qualities.  DD

We need to take in the implications of our patterns, which lead to the virtues and how we can stay awake to each other.  RH

The power of the Enneagram is enormous.  How do we live from presence, what does that require so that we become more whole?  That is what we are addressing.  DD  

The idea is to interrupt the fixations of these patterns so they can get to the real you.  It is not about fixing the other person!  RH

 Three basic aversive emotions are common to 100 million years of mammalian evolution: Anger (Rage), Distress (when you lose connection resulting in stress, pain, longing, shame), and Fear.  DD

We begin to understand our type is not our self.  We use our patterns and energy to manage the aversive emotions through distraction by reducing the frame of focus so we don’t notice something else; it shrinks down perception that was objectively overwhelming to us as kids.  It is good to know as adults where the volume control and on-off switch is.  RH

Personality tries to keep anger, distress, and fear away, thinking these things are wrong.  So we either amplify them or eliminate or run away from them.  The work is to get to what’s underneath.  DD

 So we learn ways to connect with ourselves to open up a field of awareness; we learn other ways of being with our aversive emotions.  RH

In life three great energies are always present – active, receptive and balancing/ reconciling energy.  In our modern life we go far away from receptive energy which is so necessary for presence and compassion. DD

When (our patterns are) running, our consciousness falls into narrowed-down, fixated, identified patterns and we’re caught in a dualized consciousness, which leads nowhere.  What the Enneagram teaches is the triadic pattern – that there is always a third component that drops out when we are not present.  The question then is what drops out when we’re stuck; and what drops back in when we are present?  Stasis is fantasy.  RH

We need good process with content, the 5 A’s:  DD (and RH)

Awareness – When we move out of the story into direct experience, we can work with our type’s pattern.

Acceptance – Operating from open heartedness in ourselves with grounded presence. 

Appreciation – When in our pattern and the conflict it produces, we feel no one appreciates us and feel put out.  The ego, wanting connection, creates more structure but not more connection.

Action – Action is where the content comes in through inquiry of the old no longer valid belief.

Adherence –  The hardest of all – the chance to practice and cultivate presence with devotion and regularity, to be awake to our reactivity, for the rest of our life.

The Law of 3 allows us to understand a different way of relating to ourselves out of stuckness.  When there is polarization within myself, if I can see/bring something else in, I soften and see the other differently.  Rigidity softens, I fall back into sacred mystery, sacred ground, and then the polarity softens from you/me to us.  And we’re opened to greater unity.  What we want to explore is how to do this in relationships.  Operationally!  RH

Riso’s rule/Hudson’s theory re what type is it best to be with?  Answer:  Healthy!  RH

The 3 centers (body, heart, mind) bring together three ingredients of presence:  sensation expands you out of your narrow view, the mind transforms, and the heart opens.  DD

Your direct experience is the only non-abstract thing here.  Everything else is an image in your head.  RH

In doing this work, the content is not complicated.  Self- observation is not thinking about the pattern but remembering to breathe etc. while the pattern is occurring!  DD

The more present we are the more there is neuroplasticity, and so more rewiring is possible.  Practice builds.  Befriending our reactivity is to invite presence back.  RH

Change the mind, change the brain.  The mind is relational. Patterns are reflected in the brain.  So that’s the hope of neurobiology.  DD

And coming fully circle – at the professionals’ meeting …

Owning our shadow stuff is how we take our place with each other.  This work can only go so far without a larger consciousness that includes forgiveness.  RH

The attribution theory says “My bad behavior is from circumstances.  Your bad behavior is because of your character!”  The problem goes from the individual all the way to the cold war. 

The foundation for Russ and me is that we have love and respect for each other.  We are fundamentally aligned.  DD

And so it was that for a memorable and historic weekend, we were called into that alignment and higher consciousness, with the invitation to this practice for the rest of our life. 

"In the After Glow" Reflections on time with David Daniels and Russ Hudson at "Love, Spirit and Relationships"

AEA December Blog – by Robin Cameron – Part I
“In the After Glow” – Reflections on “Love, Spirit and Relationships” with David Daniels and Russ Hudson

I felt immense gratitude as I experienced a new level of understanding through a score of profound moments at our recent Daniels/Hudson AEA workshop on Love, Spirit and Relationships. Many insights caught my attention, the panel work went to new depths, small group work was intimate, and the incredible choreography between David and Russ reflected their deep regard and respect for one another, which carried into all aspects of the weekend. Even the basics took me deeper as David and Russ danced off each other’s language, David’s from the narrative tradition and Russ’ from his insight approach.

When Russ said, “If we can’t take our place with one other, how are we going to move ahead on the planet,” I knew in that moment why I’ve been so drawn and devoted to the Enneagram. It’s not about “selling” the Enneagram; as he said, I’m drawn in because “it is a way of bringing people into self-observation, compassion, presence and awakening.” Bingo!

That was already clear in David’s introduction to the workshop. “This weekend is about the integration of interweaving the parts of our personality. We (David and Russ) are friends trying to walk our talk. We sometimes experience aspects of higher qualities, but when we interact, these higher aspects then dim. So how do we integrate them within the context of interaction? We’re here to learn with you through the panels and teaching.” So they did, and we were the beneficiaries. Indeed, they modeled all the principles they presented to us.

Panel work examined “peak experiences” and how we invoke the higher qualities when we are present; we were reminded with each type of the gift they bring. Jaye referred to this in her AEA Thanksgiving email with gratitude for the many ways AEA participants support our mission.

• 8s – when present – vulnerable – the 8 heart is empowered, alive, engaged, with an immediacy in the power of now, expressing/being truth, with innocence and presence fresh in the moment.
• 9s – when present – engaged – the 9 heart has the capacity to be, to be present, to land fully, whole, within themselves in unity of experience. Right action with the “engaged heart” leads to incredible power that allows us to be anything – through expansion, unity, and grounded being.
• 1s – when present – non-reactive and serene – the 1 heart has an unexplainable feeling of goodness in the world and self that calls the heart forth – aligned with integrity, felt as a sense of the sacred with an acceptance that brings the feeling of dignity, royal and regal.

• 2s – when present – with humility – the 2 heart recognizes that a different kind of relatedness is possible where love liberates through appreciation and gratitude. It is three-centered – grounded, curious and open-hearted toward the self and other, truly connected, even with a perfect stranger, holding a reality that doesn’t require another person and draws forth what is most supportive.
• 3s – when present – true to themselves – the 3 heart invokes a life infused with a sense of presence, their actions congruent with meaning as an expression of love – from a board meeting to mowing the lawn or walking the dog.
• 4s – when present – joined with Origin – the 4 heart learns who we are beyond the narrative, i.e. who we are right now! Knowing they are not their history, they accept the invitation into profound depth, mystery, intimacy, and beauty – the substance of who we are, the Beloved, who we are in essence, not disconnected but free from chronic disappointment.

• 5s – when present – non-attached – the 5 heart is clear, their senses more operational to awaken the mind, their consciousness clear and illuminated, seeing both the illusion of the patterns that obscure, understanding that the mind cannot hold direct experience, so that something else must!
• 6s – when present – courageous – the 6 heart has a certain quality of awakeness with a capacity to pay attention. This profound act of love, devotedness and mindfulness functions as another kind of knowing what to do and how to move forward with courage to live life powerfully.
• 7s – when present – constant – the 7 heart experiences causeless happiness and the sunlight shining through all kinds of weather. They are expansive, free, and joyful. No matter what may seem to be happening, the lights don’t go out, their flowering supported by deep roots. They make friends within themselves with whom or what can appreciate both the voice of yes and no.

During the panel work many of the highlights were true across the board, no matter the type:
   Opposites don’t know each other; the fallacy is that the one opposite will be lost, but that’s not true! If you feel rejected, give yourself a new job; take care of the inner wounded child! Ask yourself what arises to meet the different parts of you to hold it all lightly.
   Peak experiences are the direct experience of a deeper reality with elements of presence.
   The blessing is to work with our reactivity; i.e. when I feel disempowered in some way, which I then want to separate from! The Question: How can I be with that energy differently?
   When we are not present, the caring part of care drops out. It’s not that the action is wrong, but that there is something deeper that wants to be expressed. Question: What would make your relationship more fulfilling? There is a way of being with reaction that can feel into the virtue.
   When I breathe into alignment, it brings a force field! This is not about striving, but allowing the acceptance of vital energy. It is actively receptive!
    People come and go but Love does not! Kindness is the quality of attunement that draws forth what is most supportive. Without this quality we don’t trust enough to show up!
    Because we are made in the image of God, we seek to bestow; but since we are not precisely God, we can only give as we receive.
    Resistance comes from some historical data coming into your body. Chronic dissatisfaction is the result of longing, seeking in the wrong place. When you have a lot of pain, something important is not very far away. Anxiety, the future tense of fear, is around the edge of a breakthrough of some kind.
    Sometimes we try to be tender when we haven’t owned our anger. If we go through it, then we can be tender with grounded presence which allows the other to heal. We create space for the other to take responsibility for them.

Part II - will be a sharing of the memorable one-two-and-three liners that David and Russ said.  To be published next week. 

Emerging Blog - a Nine speaking about Holy Love

Not being a writer, blogger or comedian, the question came to me, “What do I  blog about?”  Fortunately during the wee hours of yesterday morning, the idea emerged from books I was streaming into in my half waking state. When I awoke, of course, I realized right away what to blog about---the Holy Ideas!  Well, that was grace!  With the May 2014, Spiritual Freedom event right around the corner in my mind (the nine point of view covers a wide span) I had a blog—Holy Love! 

Very early on in my Ennagram studies, 1999 or so, I realized I could not understand my nine passion, sloth/falling asleep/ self forgetting, without looking at my holy idea—Holy Love. That became an important effort on my spiritual path.  I read, Facets of Unity, a couple of times, studied it diligently along with anything else I could find on the subject.  I knew it was important to work with the passion sloth/falling asleep/self forgetting, but as I came to “Remember the Love,” my mantra that emerged out of my study in the follow-on class, my understanding of my passion also deepened, both, taking on the character of wholeness; not eliminating the passion, but transforming it.   

These many years later, I have continued, but in many ways have just begun again to understand the unity; I am love--I am right action supported by love--I am an expression of Divine Being.  Oh my God, what a gift! This is the awakening.  “Love is the doorway to oneness with all things,” according to Ram Dass.  “Holy Love is the direct and perfect path to self-remembering, self-discovery and self-realization,” as spoken by Almas in, Facets of Unity.  These truths coincide with my own experience. The ever present task in this life is to sustain the awakening.

Now I have my blog to share with you!

 Join us May 8-12, in Tucson for an experience of the Holy Ideas through the expertise of our magnificent teachers.

Mary Bencomo

Path to Integration

Thoughts by Renee Siegel and Andrea Andress

During the IEA (International Enneagram Association) Conference this last week in Denver, there were many exciting workshops to attend. There was a tract on integral integration, describing the collaboration of the work of Ken Wilbur and the enneagram. The implications of integrating these two systems are far-reaching and global. In addition, many workshops spoke to the workings of the three inner triangles - the 3,6,9 and the 2,5,8 and the 1,4,7. We are all familiar with the 3,6,9 triangle, but the other two are not often discussed. These inner triangles provide each type with movement between each of the centers of intelligence, head, heart and body.

In looking at the usual enneagram diagram that includes the arrows of movement between types, several types are moving between only two centers of intelligence and not all three. The types are the 2, 4, 5 and 7. The enneagram diagram for the two shows movement between two heart types and a body type. The enneagram diagram for a four shows movement between two heart types and a head type and the enneagram diagram for a five shows movement between two head types and a body type and the enneagram diagram for a seven shows movement between two head types and a body type. As one observes the arrows of movement between type, each of these four types is missing one of the centers of intelligence.

All human beings need all three centers of intelligence to be healthy and vibrant. It only makes sense that when we move between a head type, heart type and gut type we have access to intuiting, thinking and feeling - all of which are important aspects of ourselves. Each center offers us something unique and holds value in our lives. 

I know for my self, as a character type 2 that my center of intelligence is the heart. I am most easily aware of emotions, both in my self and in others. It is easy for my to spot emotion, so much so sometimes, that I tend to overlook what my body is experiencing and I can even overlook the logic and importance of gathering facts and other information. My emotional body seems to run the show and although this offers me a rich experience, it is a more full-bodied experience to be aware of what is going in my body and head along with my emotions.

Renee Siegel

The process of the 3 triangles with a foothold in each center was eye-opening.  While it does not negate the movement of types with the enneagram diagram, it does give voice to what many have been experiencing.  We all connect with the heart, the mind and the body (some days better than others).  Just one more way that the enneagram shows us what we are doing, when we choose to pay attention.  Definitely worth studying and observing.  

Rev. Andrea Andress

The Open Paradigm

by Terry Favour

Just lately I have been talking to Don Salmon. He and his wife, Jan Maslow, authored the book "Yoga Psychology and the Transformation of Consciousness...Seeing through the Eyes of Infinity. Their book is a "comprehensive study of psychology based on the synthesis of the yoga tradition presented by twentieth-century Indian philosopher-sage Aurobindo Ghose". (Backcover) Recently at the AEA held "Barriers to Spiritual Freedom" workshop in Tucson, one of the teachers, Carol Whittaker, often referenced Sri Aurobindo. So when I began talking with Don Salmon, many things fit together.

Don and I had been talking a lot about paradigms, global, cultural and individual. We talked about Type Structure as a way of describing our individual paradigms (world views). This led me to think about paradigms as patterns. Infinite in possibilities though they are, each one of the Nine Type Structures is in actuality a mini world view or paradigm/pattern. As individual paradigm/pattern they have something in common: each ONE of these individual unique patterns, always fits together as an integral whole...much the way puzzle pieces fit together to produce a whole. No matter how positive or negative (most likely both) each separate variation of one of the Nine Type Structures individually fits together to produce a perfect whole. Each is reflecting (and limited to) whatever perspective is at its root. In other words, discordant or harmonious, they are, within themselves, a harmonic whole...yet, each one is a limited, structured, separate and therefore dualistic, whole pattern.

I got to thinking about these paradigm/patterns (Type Structures) as residing in Cosmic Consciousness. I'm going to describe Cosmic Consciousness as being formless, non-dualistic and infinite potential. In the Eastern cultures they might label Cosmic Consciousness as Emptiness and paradigm/patterns (Type Structures) as Form.

If the Type Structures are form, they are dualistic and they are a closed system (have limits)...but if they reside in the open system of emptiness or the dynamic Cosmic Consciousness which is a (limitless) living system, what are they?  They would be one (finite) aspect of this living system. However, and this is important, in the Eastern cultures they say "form is emptiness-emptiness is form"...meaning, of course, that they are one and the same.

So, I thought, if this is true, then the so called form is a cosmic, dynamic, living system too, not finite and closed. I then thought in a metaphorical way of the dynamism of the male and female (dualism) uniting to produce (create) a completely new, never in existence, form. Then I thought about the philosopher Hegel's thesis/antithesis/synthesis.

(To view the image go to: 

file://localhost/Users/andreaandress/Desktop/Blog-Nine%20Points%20of%20Light.rtfd/Hegel.jpg)

Ah ha, I thought, this closed system has, built within it, an opening!

In many spiritual systems, for example the Navaho's, we find  something like "the spirit line" (a line or some oddity in an otherwise perfect pattern leading out of and through a border [a limiting enclosure] to outside and beyond the symmetry of the pattern) and although this is not the traditional interpretation, I can not help but think that this is also representational or metaphorically symbolizing the opening to the spirit world (emptiness)...symbolizing the creative potential always available to manifest in every moment (form)...changing one closed system paradigm to another closed system paradigm, constantly and infinitely. 

So next I had a disturbing thought:  Is this what we are up against? Infinitely changing, always warring dualistic, global, cultural and individual paradigms/patterns?

Suddenly this realization came: ALL the great Spiritual teachings of all time advocate Love as the key. What they are saying to us, I believe, is that Love is the ONLY paradigm (global, cultural or individual) that is, in and of itself, an open system, one of non interference (Taoism) and therefore NON dualistic. 

Then specifically my thoughts turned to self-Love and our individual paradigms of Type.

As you all know, the Enneagram addresses the three centers of intelligence. The three centers have a characteristic "need". The Mental Center has-the need for safety and security, the Heart Center has-the need for affection and esteem, and the Body Center has`-the need for power and control.  Next I remembered, with a great sense of peace, the "Welcome Practice" that I had just participated in at the "Barriers to Spiritual Freedom" workshop in Tucson. That practice is as follows:

First we are invited to focus and sink...to experience and name whatever body sensations, emotions, or thoughts that are flowing.

Next we slowly and deeply repeat several times..."Welcome," "Welcome," "Welcome"

(Sacred symbol of consent to the presence and action of the Holy Spirit.)

Lastly we let go, saying slowly...

"I let go of my desire for Power and Control"

                          "Welcome"

"I let go of my desire for Affection and Esteem"

                           "Welcome"

"I let go of my desire for Safety and Security"

                           "Welcome"

                               .................................................................................................................................

*Source of Welcome Practice: developed by Mary Mrozowski of Contemplative Outreach Organization

Layers and Layers

Layers & Layers

By Jaye Andres

One of the things I love about the Enneagram is it’s many layers. It doesn’t seem to matter how long I work with it – there are always new, deeper places into which it shines some insightful light. My most recent experience was at the AEA’s “Working with the Barriers to Spiritual Freedom” program held in Tucson in May.

This was an intensive 5 day workshop designed to process deeply what the Enneagram teaches us about our Type set-up and how it can keep us from a full expression of who we really are. We explored our habits of attention, our idealizations, passions, avoidances, defense mechanisms and projections – no stone in our Type structure was left unturned!

We did a lot of processing in pairs. While debriefing the work we’d done on Avoidances of the Types, my dyad partner shared an epiphany she’d had. She asked me if I’d had any epiphanies. I said a small one – we decided to call it an epiphanini (Yes, Ee-pif–a–ninny) – or epiphanette, if you prefer. But the more I think about it, the more I think it deserves full epiphany status. Let me explain.

One of the questions we were working on was, “What might happen if you didn’t avoid ________?” (Fill in the blank with whatever your Type is famous for trying to avoid. For my Type 5, that’s emptiness.) So the first thing out of my mouth was, “I might be filled up”. (Clue: If the first thing out of your mouth now after reading that is, “well, duh”, you know your Type is not a Five.)

Now this idea of things running into their opposites is nothing new to those of you who hang out in Enneagram territory but it was quite significant that it was the FIRST thing out of my mouth. See, I know it’s the “right” answer because my astute teachers have hinted at this strange notion before. But in the past my mind would nevertheless go to the importance of avoiding empty – saying things like, “If I didn’t avoid emptiness I would feel drained or lonely or insufficient or flat out freaked out! Not avoid emptiness…are you crazy?” After all it’s, in David Daniels words, “the-awful-to-be-warded-off-state” – I’m sure you have one of those too.

This time, it was not only the first thing to pop into my head, it went deeper than my head – it was a whole body experience – I “grokked” it (a word I love and will continue to use despite the fact that it really, really dates me). Now my penchant for mentally chewing on stuff might tempt me to jump back into the foray and try to figure out exactly how this not avoiding what you don’t want gets you what you do want but I can just smile and remember my epiphanini and how it felt – the layers and layers and layers of it - thanks to 5 magical days among wonderful Enneagram friends surrounded by mountains and the beauty of the Sonoran Desert – yes!

Pesky Projection

As we/the AEA prepare for Working with Barriers to Spiritual Freedom in mid-may in Tucson, I’ve been working on the piece around “Projection” and the Defense Mechanism System.  Doing this, I can’t help recall a statement made by one of our narrative teachers Peter O’Hanrahan – that our problems with each other don’t have so much to do with our Enneagram type, but with our defense mechanisms, that is, the defense mechanism itself, what we avoid and the world view we project out.  Isn’t that the truth!  As a Type 2, I can’t begin to express the shock I experienced when I discovered (at first through my daughter and my husband, and then my boss of many years) that my “help” was not always needed or wanted.  Bigger yet, was coming to terms with my own needs and finding a way to admit them and then to address them!

In my own personal wrangling with the Enneagram I’ve found that this is indeed the biggest and trickiest piece.  The Defense Mechanism System is rife with blind spots, and the trouble is that blind spots are by definition blind.  No matter that everyone else around us has a clear view.  That doesn’t automatically mean we will become aware, even when we’ve done this work for years!  Blind is blind.  This Defense System is what stands between our passion and our virtue.  There is no transformation of the raw energy of the Passion into the Virtue unless we manage to back into our blind spots with a different perspective so that we can actually become aware of them and thus dis-identify from type and recognize what may be arising, such as humility for a Type 2, or Innocence for a Type 8, or Non-attachment for the 5.

The deeper we dig into the process, the more we become aware of that to which we were simply blind.  We begin to recognize the clues – times when we are giving unsolicited advice or trying to fix things; times when we blame others or make our issues about someone else; times when we inquire against our deeply held beliefs, even though intellectually we may not believe those things at all; times when we examine the flip side of our idealizations and come to own our shadow.

I have found this work and practice to be infinitely worth the effort.  The prize is held in the Virtue itself, and once we experience one, they all become available to us.  It may be work, but it is none-the-less a journey of pure joy and grace.

Robin Cameron

What we expect and what we really want - seen through the Enneagram vice/virtues.

Palm Sunday Expectations of a Savior

         

The journey of Holy Week starts with the joy and party spirit of Palm Sunday.  The expectations at the start of the journey will go quickly downhill to the cross and on to the dark tomb before Easter morning shines. 

There is no way to the empty tomb but by way of the cross.  Psalms 23 long ago reminded people that you must travel “through the valley of the shadow of death” before you can reach the other side.  We travel from Vice to Virtue. But the journey to the virtue can never be reached except by letting go of the vice to take hold of a new life in Jesus.  Our vices will never get us to our deepest desires; in fact they make it impossible.  We must go through the cross, by surrender of our self-imposed control to God’s will.  We have to learn to let go of the need for what we have determined we must have. 

The turmoil that blocks us comes out of our own expectations.  When we discover how to let go of our habitual belief in what we think we know, then we begin the road to freedom. What we want, what we deeply desire and what we settle for leaves us longing for authenticity in our life.

EXPECTATIONS

If your deepest Desire (Virtue) is-     You may try to get there by (Vice). . . .

Serenity, a peace that passes understanding – you may try to get there by enforcing a pseudo-peace with rules and regulations.  Being a perfectionist you will not get to Serenity until you learn to let go of resentment and realize your focus on seeing faults must open to allow yourself to see the good that is present. 

Humility, to be loved for your true inner self – you may try to get there by gathering idle praise and affection.  Being full of pride that you don’t need anyone else, you won’t get to Humility until you see that you are as needy as others; it is not a failing to need someone or something.  You can express your inner self with a freedom of the spirit of Humility. 

Honesty, to be loved for who you are – you may try to get there driven by an energy that you must succeed and earn approval.  As you perform one task, you continually need another task to feel worthy; so stop and see that you do not have to earn another’s love, it is freely given.  You are loved for “being” who you are, not “doing” who you are.

Balance, the perfect relationship – you may continue to work to deserve what you can’t truly see, longing for what is always out of reach.  The envy of always missing out will drive you to grief, if you would only stop, look and appreciate what you have in life instead of focusing on what you don’t have.  You stand in the midst of holy if you will only open your eyes. 

Nonattachment, valuing true abundance – you may try to get there by hoarding the intellectual riches and ideas you believe will give you security in what you have. The greed that drives you to collect and keep needs to perceive that less is often more fulfilling. 

Faith, that everything is alright – you may try to get there by living without fear.  You either run from situations that cause anxiety, or you run toward it to rise above such puny dread, defying life to hurt you.  Faith breaks through when you recognize fear is more in your mind than in the world that touches you.  Then you can courageously step forward in true knowing. 

Satisfaction, that you have enough – you may try to get it by always doing, seeing, planning for more to fill in a perceived emptiness.  The fear of missing out and being limited by life only exacerbates your need for more.  The need for more is a race to avoid pain and boredom through rationalizing your motives.  What is needed is recognition to stop, cut back and enjoy the beauty of commitments and sober work. 

Justice, for yourself and others – you may try to impose your own sense of justice on everyone.  There is a rush to make things work, to protect and take revenge for the innocent.  Recognizing and accepting your own vulnerability is key to finding the road to justice and grace endowed from within. 

Harmony/Unity, a sense of belonging to all – you may accept a false sense of harmony by ignoring the problem, going to sleep to let time make the decisions.  Dropping the comfort of false unity empowers you to take right action and participate in your own transformation. 

So how do you reach your deepest desire?

·         Let go of the methods you are using to keep your vice in place. (Spiritual Disciplines)

·         Recognize how you are settling for second best. 

·         Practice opening your eyes to see life from a fuller realm of possibilities

·         Ask God to help you see and perceive personal habits that cause you harm. 

·         Live in the present moment; not in the past, not in the future, and not in your imagination.

By Rev. Andrea Andress

The Narrative Tradition in Arizona

By Carole Whittaker, PhD (printed in TALK)

In four short and busy years the Arizona Enneagram Association (AEA) has gone from a start-up organization to offering in 2013 a 5 day experiential, residential program on Working with the Barriers to Spiritual Freedom and hosting David Daniels and Russ Hudson – together!!! – this November.

How did we get here? The AEA was formed during the fall of 2008 through the dedication, talent, and energy of 10 women trained in the Narrative Tradition (affectionately known as “the founding mothers”) who were determined to preserve and nourish the teaching of the Enneagram in Arizona.  You will no doubt recognize at least some of their names: Jaye Andres, Andrea Andress, Robin Cameron, Gloria Cuevas-Barnett, Gerry Fathauer, Linda Frazee, Fran Lyons, Barbara (Mira) Rossman, Judy Shoob, and Carole Whittaker. Gerry, Linda, Fran and Barbara have since “retired” from Board service and been replaced by a new generation of willing servants.

During its first year the AEA was incorporated as a non-profit organization, sponsored workshops by Helen Palmer and David Daniels, established a membership program for general and professional members, set up a scholarship account and launched a website (www.azenneagram.com).  Helen and David were vital presenters that first year as they not only brought the excellence of their teaching but also attracted audiences who contributed to the financial viability of the organization and the fledgling scholarship fund. 

We’ve come a long way in a short time. We now have a home at the adult education Transformational Learning Center of the Paradise Valley United Methodist Church (thanks to Andrea Andress, who is the assistant pastor there). The AEA has 100 professional, general and associate members, a mailing list of over 1200 and, miracle of all miracles, a part-time administrator to relieve the all-volunteer board members.

From an initial goal of simply keeping the Enneagram work alive in Arizona it is now our intention to form a community of practice among members and board, teachers and students that contributes to the expansion of consciousness through the understanding of human personality and spirituality.

Helen and David have continued to come for special events and have been joined recently by Jack Killen, Terry Saracino and Marion Gilbert.  We have even ventured out a bit from our core Narrative Tradition teachers and invited Richard Rohr and Jerry Wagner in 2011 and 2012.  Russ Hudson will be joining David Daniels for a much-anticipated workshop November 9 and 10 of this year.

In addition to special events, the AEA offers classes at an introductory level and beyond to help seekers understand the Enneagram and use it in their personal lives and relationships.

Professional members (those in the fields of psychology, coaching, teaching, spiritual direction or the like who have at least 50 hours of participation in Narrative Tradition Enneagram courses) provide ongoing financial support for the administration of the AEA and serve as links in marketing programs.  More importantly, professional membership in the AEA provides a network of relationships whereby the professional members make their work known as counselors, teachers, coaches or spiritual directors and have access to advanced Enneagram trainings.

Genesis of the Spiritual Freedom Work

To our intention of raising consciousness, we are absolutely delighted to be launching a unique opportunity for Enneagram devotees to deepen their understanding of type, in community with others, through process work. “Working with the Barriers to Spiritual Freedom,” is being offered as an intensive 5-day program May 17-21, 2013 at the beautiful Redemptorist Renewal Center in Picture Rocks, just north of Tucson, Arizona.

Let me give you a little background on how this developed. The AEA is the “heir” to an important body of work developed during the ten years prior to its own formation that included an in-depth introductory workshop and a series of classes developed in conjunction with Helen Palmer.  From 2001-2005, Helen presented her series of workshops on spiritual freedom in the Phoenix area.  It was a masterful synthesis of how the psychology of personality is related to our spiritual dimensions and how to work with personality type to open the barriers to spiritual freedom. 

After each of her public workshops, Helen worked with local teachers to develop 6-session “follow-on” classes to help students integrate their experience and learning.  I (Carole) had a previous stint as a curriculum developer in the physical sciences for UCLA’s continuing education division.  So by the time we were teaching the 2^nd follow-on for Helen’s series, I recognized that these classes were deeply related to one another and needed to be offered as an on-going, integrated curriculum of Enneagram study.  Over the ensuing years, we offered all of the classes on a regular basis.  To date, our local teachers have facilitated over 35 of these classes in small group settings, reaching hundreds of participants.

The Spiritual Freedom Curriculum

Part of Helen’s great insight is that the Virtues are permanent qualities of the life force, that the Holy Ideas are permanent qualities of Being, and that a barrier exists between our everyday, mental-rational-personality consciousness and our inner realms of consciousness where these qualities reside.  The first three courses, which we call “Working with the Barriers to Spiritual Freedom,” work in turn with the mental center, the heart center and then the instinctual center, reversing the order in which personality is formed. The work done by students and facilitators goes well beyond the descriptions of personality type and its structure and focuses on the process of non-judgmental observation of the phenomenon of Type.  This strengthens the capacity of one’s Inner Observer and allows one to let go of identification with Type.

Having worked with and through the barriers and strengthened the capacity for inner observation, students are helped to awaken their own experience of and cooperation with the Virtues and Holy Ideas in the fourth and fifth courses that we call “Experiencing Spiritual Freedom.” 

Each of the 6-session courses allows at least a week between meetings for practice and inner observation.  Class sessions include an extensive report-back from participants on their experience as well as attention practice, brief didactic presentations, dyad exercises and debriefs.

Students who have participated in this work have experienced great freedom!  Their personalities do not “disappear” but open up to manifest the lovely qualities which are their inner foundation.  They rejoice in experiencing reduced reactivity and in finding a more authentic expression of their Self in everyday life, especially in their relationships.  Teachers have been amazed at the transformation experienced by students.

Making the Spiritual Freedom Work Available to a Wider Audience

Due to the 6-week format for these classes, participation has been limited to a local Arizona audience.  In order to make this valuable work available to a wider audience, we are condensing the curriculum and offering it in the form of 2 intensive retreats plus an opportunity for practice through phone groups in the interim between the two.

As I said earlier, the first part of the curriculum, “Working with the Barriers to Spiritual Freedom,” is being offered as an intensive 5-day program May 17-21, 2013 at the Redemptorist Renewal Center in Picture Rocks, AZ. The second part of the curriculum, “Experiencing Spiritual Freedom,” will be offered in May, 2014 for those who want to continue with the work. 

Gloria Cuevas-Barnett, Robin Cameron and I will be teaching the class and most of the AEA Board will be attending.  Having three teachers will allow us to work in small groups for our process work. We sent preliminary announcements to members of AENT as well as AEA students so there is a strong participation from Narrative Tradition folks.  Interestingly, a number of people are coming who have already taken (even taught!) the entire series.  There are still a few spaces remaining so if you are interested in participating we would love to have you.  Check out the AEA website at www.azenneagram.com or call me directly at 480 502-4446. 

 

Special Resource for Enneagram Professionals

The materials and processes used in the spiritual freedom work are great resources for Enneagram professionals to use in their practice, especially in any kind of small group meeting.  They provide an effective way of working with the Enneagram, in the Narrative Tradition, without needing a large audience.  They are really effective in helping to integrate our ordinary consciousness with the inner realms. 

Some of these materials originated from Helen Palmer who has now passed them on to the use of teachers.  I am claiming no copyright over the materials I have contributed. Participants are welcome and encouraged to use the materials they will receive in their class workbooks in their own work.  In addition, a special materials package will be available (for an additional cost) that will include all of the class materials in Word and/or PDF format on a CD, a DVR teaching session and PowerPoint presentation on CD of the introductory foundations on the development of Type.

We would love to see you in Tucson in May.  In any event, please send us your blessing to help extend this work.

Hi There!

Postings from the Arizona Enneagram Community in the Narrative Tradition.