By: Kim Scott
Photo by Subhadeep Dishant on Unsplash
My recent episode reflection on the Enneagram for my podcast has reminded me that understanding the Enneagram, my type and all of the types has truly impacted spiritual life. Understanding my type helps me to realize how I hinder myself from receiving and giving love.
The Enneagram is a way to frame the long-term spiritual inner work to move from our ego to the essence of our soul.
Our ego is who we think we are.
It is from our ego that we habitually react and respond to people and environments without much thought or awareness.
The way we respond without much awareness is generally in line with our Enneagram type.
While each of us is a unique expression of our type, our inner motivational system is usually the same as others of our type. Our behavior and how we express our type will be different and unique from others. For example, all “type ones” will not behave in the same manner…but if you asked multiple type ones why they acted the way they did, their reasons will be similarly based.
Our “type” forms the limiting behaviors and thoughts and therefore the inner work is about separating from our type to our essence.
Our essence is our soul. It is who we really are. It is our authentic self that emerges as we do the work of peeling back the layers of our ego.
It is the process of developing a conscious relationship with our automatic reactions. The Enneagram gives us the awareness we need to begin the process of moving toward wholeness and holiness.
The goal is to get to a balance between the centers of our intelligence - our head (thinking), heart (feeling), and body/gut (doing).
As we begin to say to ourselves, “oh yeah, I do do that thing…,” this tells us that we are growing in awareness and we are moving from being reactive to being intentionally responsive.
As our type recedes, our essence arises.
When I show up in awareness, with a center of presence and prayer, you get Kim (a compassionate listener able to guide, inspire, and motivate you)…when I show up stressed out, burned out, rushed, you get type 2 with a 1 wing (needy and sensitive with perfectionist tendencies).
The goal is to put space between our type and our essence…to let go of and move away from our type and our ego as we move toward God, our authentic selves, and our essence.
As we do this, we develop an inner hospitality of openness, acceptance, and compassion for all.
This is why I love the Enneagram and why I love continuing to learn about it. It weaves together the world’s religious beliefs and thoughts with the science of psychology.
I heard once that psychology without spirituality tends to be meaningless and spirituality without psychology tends to be superficial. WOW…amen to that!
As you learn more about yourself and discover your “type” - this is just the beginning of your journey to rediscovering your true self - the person God created you to be. This is your path to true transformation. And remember this…the Enneagram is always helpful to us; if it doesn’t feel helpful, you’re not doing it right.
Enjoy and embrace the journey. I am still on the journey of rediscovering my true self but I have been blessed with the grace of the Enneagram and I want this for others also.
Take it one step at a time…keep going and know that the light of Christ is leading you to the essence of your soul.
Empower Hope and Healing.
Kim