the road back to you an enneagram journey

The enneagram reveals to us our “false self”, the person we think we are, so that we can move away from it and towards our true “anchored self” who, according to Rohr, we always were and still are. What Cron and Rohr emphasize in their discussion is that our true self is hidden with Christ in God. This stands in stark contrast to the rich spirituality that Rohr speaks of, in which we are all children of God, created in God’s image, giving each of us a greater dignity. Further, Christians who once found their identity in church membership have been dealt a blow since trust in institutions and institutional identity has been withering since the 60s. He states that we have relied on a “carrot and stick” theology, desiring heaven and fearing hell, such that our identity is based on doing good things and making God happy to avoid punishment and obtain rewards. He discusses the ways in which contemporary Christianity has suffered a crisis, in that Christians are experiencing fragile, broken identities.

Rohr was one of the pioneers in bringing enneagram wisdom to a wider audience, and has spent his adult life teaching seekers how to have a more authentic, rich spiritual life as a whole through the assistance of the enneagram. Prior to Rohr’s teaching in the late 70s and 80s, enneagram wisdom was passed down selectively through oral tradition, and many enneagram teachers resisted writing down their teaching for fear it would become trivialized. This episode is no exception, in which Ian talks with the father of contemporary enneagram teaching, Richard Rohr.

Ian inspires listeners through his interviews to go beyond the initial stages of enneagram knowledge and to engage in contemplative practices that lead to the revelation of the true self. The Enneagram as a Spiritual Journey, Not a DestinationĪ common theme in Ian’s podcasts is the work that is associated with the enneagram. Her conversation is instrumental in helping listeners to better understand these tendencies and get underneath them to the tender heart of the Two. Likewise, in her interview with Hunter Mobley, Suzanne explored some of the thinking and feeling tendencies of the Two. Once they have identified their number, many people begin to overidentify with their type, rather than recognizing that it is, as Ian says, a “cover story” for our real self, or rather the “provisional self” that we are showing the world. While so much time and attention is spent trying to identify one’s number, this can have the opposite effect of what is intended by the enneagram. Though very different in their focus, both episodes emphasized the fact that we are not our enneagram number. Once again Ian and Suzanne provided powerful material for listeners seeking enneagram wisdom.

The road back to you an enneagram journey