Discover how to harness the wisdom of the Enneagram for spiritual growth and awakening. This practical guide invites you to approach your enneatype’s patterns with kindness and curiosity – notice them, accept them, allow them to soften, and your essence will gradually reveal itself.
The Enneagram and Spiritual Awakening: The Enneagram is a powerful tool for self-discovery and spiritual growth. Its true potential is in helping us to understand the factors that keep us stuck in limitation and disconnected from our true nature.
Nines feel that they lack an intimate connection with the universe, so they yearn to be included, noticed, loved and appreciated in their everyday lives. Their strategy for achieving this is to be supportive and loving to others, and to never do anything that might cause them to be rejected.
Eights believe that strength is the answer to all of life’s problems, so they assert themselves over others to try to maintain control over their environment. They have little tolerance for “weakness” in themselves or others, so they have difficulty being receptive, vulnerable or showing their softer side.
Sevens want to experience positive feelings so they are always looking for things to get excited about, and they always appear optimistic and enthusiastic to keep up the (often subconscious) façade. They lack the trust that life can be naturally joyous so they often plan their activities well in advance.
Sixes doubt their ability to protect themselves or make the right decisions. They are plagued by insecurity, fear, anxiety, suspicion, indecisiveness and self-doubt. They believe that all of these issues will be resolved if they have the support of someone who will give them confidence and dispel their doubt.
Fives believe that they need to understand life in order to make sense of it, so they observe life from a distance and mentally analyse everything. Fives like the solitude of their mental bubble because it protects them from direct engagement with the real-world, which they fear.
Fours lack their true sense of “beingness”, so they try to emulate it by being seen as individual, original and authentic. Their disconnect from true “being” means that Fours often feel isolated, lonely and disconnected from others, and are highly sensitive to abandonment and neglect.
Threes are driven to achieve their full potential, but their attempts to emulate completeness and perfection are distorted into achieving and vanity. Their desire for approval drives them to continually strive to achieve a self-image that matches (what they believe is) society’s idealised image.
Twos are very loving and sensitive to other people’s emotional needs, but it is a case of giving in order to receive. They don’t like to ask for affection or attention because they expect others to be like them and sense when it is needed. They can be perceived as being clingy, needy and sentimental.
Ones attempt to embody the qualities of perfection, purity and completeness, and impose them on others. This gives Ones a very clear sense of (what they consider to be) right and wrong, and they believe that the world would be a better place if everybody lived by their standards.
Discover your Enneatype (enneagram type) with this simple guide. Learn the core traits, motivations and challenges of each of the nine enneatypes to better understand yourself and others, and begin your journey of growth, healing, self-discovery and awakening.