Growth Enneagram Type 9

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Growth for Type 9: The Mediator

Basic Essential Practice: From this grounded, receptive, openhearted and non-judgmental stance, notice how your energy spreads out and is pulled by the many environmental claims upon you all fueled by your driving energy of inertia or inattention to yourself. This stems from your core belief that to be loved, valued, and secure you must blend in and go along to get along and not make a big deal of yourself. Can you stop and breathing back and in realize that what is important to you – your own priorities, needs, and desires – have gone into the background. And from this grounded place in your body’s gravitational center in your belly pull your attention back inside, collect it, and connect to yourself. Then put your energy and focus on your boundaries, your limits, and your priorities. This means coming to love yourself equal to all others, not more than or less than others. From here you can truly take right action that encompasses self and others. Remind yourself to notice the effectiveness of what you can do with this clarity of focus. And remind yourself to notice how others respond when you allow yourself to speak up for yourself and love yourself all the while caring equally about others and their well-being.

Additional Key Themes for Reflection: Simply stop for a minute or so 3-4 times a day to center and reflect on one of the following:
Attention being pulled by multiple environmental claims. Simply stop to notice how your focus of attention tends habitually goes out to others and environment needs. Use this as a clue to come back and focus on your own priorities and needs.

Resistance in your body. Do your best to stop and notice where your resistance manifests in your body. Practice realizing that this digging in means there is something of important to you or you wouldn’t have resistance. Then explore what of importance underlies this resistance.

Seeking comfort and avoiding conflict. Stop and notice how disharmony and conflict upset you and where this is in your bodily felt sense. Use this to remind yourself that conflict is naturally occurring and the issue is dealing with conflict constructively. Then do your best to manifest this principle in your life.

Short Reflections for Reclaiming the Essential Quality
With openhearted kindness toward yourself simply practice several times a day for a minute or so saying and living one of the following each for a few days at a time. Do these all with the receptive energy encompassed in the “may I.” Recall that the higher quality or virtue for type Nine is right action, meaning action that represents the self equally to all others.

• May I focus on what is important especially in the face of discomfort and conflict.
• May I discover my intention and purpose.
• May I be aware of my inertia toward myself, knowing that right action comes from valuing myself the same as I value others.
• May I notice that resistance and passivity are signals that there is something important inside.
• May I remember my priorities and my value.

Growth Enneagram Type 8

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Growth for Type 8: The Protector

Basic Essential Practice: From a grounded, receptive, openhearted, and non-judgmental stance, notice your big energy and the urge to act on injustices and impulse all fueled by your driving exuberant energy of the life force. This stems from your core belief that to be loved, valued, and secure you must be strong and resolute in a world where the powerful will take advantage of you and others. Notice the rising big energy and come back to your breath and resist immediate action. Can you then both notice and realize that this urge to act – based only on your versions of the truth and what constitutes protection from vulnerability – actually costs you your receptivity and softer emotions? Keep collecting and containing this active exuberant energy in your body’s gravitational center in your belly as though it is a warm and receptive holding tank. Allow yourself to soften, realizing that the vulnerability of being impacted and affected represents strength, not weakness. Then let yourself act with the force or energy befitting the situation. Remind yourself to notice your impact on others and to really hear their truths. And remind yourself to notice how others respond when you allow yourself to moderate your impact, allow yourself to get receptive, and allow in your softer side.

Additional Key Themes for Reflection: Simply stop for a minute or so 3-4 times a day to center and reflect on one of the following:

Observing impulsivity or impulse to action. Simply stop and notice your urge to act and where this urge resides in your body. Pause and give yourself the gift of time and receptivity. Then take action befitting the situation.

Impact on others. Simply stop, breathe back down, and witness your impact on others, knowing your tendency to be over impactful. Then moderate your exuberant energy as best you can to fit the situation.

Distinguishing vulnerability from weakness. Simply stop and remind yourself that allowing in the vulnerability, the tender softness that accompanies genuine receptive force is a great strength to complement your exuberant active energy.

Short Reflections for Reclaiming the Essential Quality

With openhearted kindness toward yourself simply practice several times a day for a minute or so saying and living one of the following each for a few days at a time. Do these all with the receptive energy encompassed in the “may I.” Recall that the higher quality or virtue for type Eight is innocence, meaning the purity of coming freshly without any power agenda to each situation.

• May I practice beginner’s mind, the innocence of coming freshly to each situation.
• May I be content with what is, in the present moment.
• May I experience the power and true mastery in non-action and no blame.
• May I embody gentleness and compassion.
• May I be receptive to the truth in all beings.

Growth Enneagram Type 7

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Growth for Type 7: The Epicure

Basic Essential Practice: From a grounded, receptive, openhearted and non-judgmental stance, notice your mind speeding and inter-relating many different positive possibilities and plans all fueled by your driving energy, the gluttony of your limitless mind. These stem from your core belief that to be secure, loved, and valued you must be up and open to all the potential positives and adventures of life. Then can you notice and realize how paradoxically you have been limiting yourself by escaping the wholeness of life in the moment that includes pain and sadness as well as pleasure and joy. Bring your energy down and in following your breath all the way into your body’s gravitational center in your belly. Stay grounded in the simple flow of your breath in order to be receptive to others as they are, to any feelings that come up, and to all there is. Deepen your concentration and focus. Remind yourself to keep grounded in the present accepting both life’s joys and sorrows. And remind yourself to notice how others respond when you allow yourself to be grounded, truly present to others, and accepting all of life including both its joys and sorrows.

Additional Key Themes for Reflection: Simply stop for a minute or so 3-4 times a day to center and reflect on one of the following:

Planning for possibilities. Simply stop and notice your recurrent planning for positive possibilities associated with your energy going up and out. Use this awareness to bring yourself back to the full spectrum of what is present in the moment including both joy and pain.

Self-referencing. Stop in order to notice your thoughts often go to what pleases and fulfills you. Complement this tendency by putting equal amounts of attention and energy on others as to yourself as best you can.

Reacting to pain or distress. Notice the felt sense in your body’s when painful and distressing situations arise and your tendency either re-frame these into positives or elude them. Breath back down and with discernment do your best to face these.

Short Reflections for Reclaiming the Essential Quality

With openhearted kindness toward yourself simply practice several times a day for a minute or so saying and living one of the following each for a few days at a time. Do these all with the receptive energy encompassed in the “may I.” Recall that the higher quality or virtue for type Seven named sobriety simply means being present in the moment experiencing the full spectrum of life.

• May I sustain focus and attention on one thing at a time.
• May I practice several times a day counting to 10 as I follow each breath, starting over if I lose count, as a way of coming into the present moment.
• May I engage in the “spirit of repetition” just doing what is in front of me.
• May I listen to others without self-referencing, just practicing presence.
• May I allow myself to reflect on sadness, suffering, sorrow, and on what is difficult.
• May I have compassion for all beings, take pleasure in their joy and empathize with their sorrows.

Growth Enneagram Type 6

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Growth for Type 6: The Loyal Skeptic

Basic Essential Practice: From a grounded, receptive, openhearted, and non-judgmental stance, notice how your recurring concerns associated with perceived hazards and questioning about what you can trust in fueled by your driving energy of underlying fear and doubt and your desire for sureness and security. These stem from your core belief that to be secure, loved, and valued you must seek certainty, assurance, and predictability in a world that you experience is hazardous and you just can’t count on. If you are more counter-fearful, notice your contrary thinking and necessity to face challenges. If you are more directly fearful, notice your tendency to avoid fearful situations. Then can you realize that your faith and trust in yourself and others has gone into the background? Take the energy in your imaginations, your magnified “negative spin” on life, and breathe down and into your body’s gravitational center in your belly, in the process calming your mind and centering yourself. From here you can put attention on all that you can count on and the positives in your life. And then from a base of trust, remind yourself to notice that there is no substitute for real faith in yourself and others, which does not mean blindness to real hazards. And remind yourself to notice how others respond when you allow yourself to have this faith while opening your heart.

Additional Key Themes for Reflection: Simply stop for a minute or so 3-4 times a day to center and reflect on one of the following:

Fear. Simply stop and notice where fear in your body is and inquire of yourself to discern if there really is anything to avoid or challenge, knowing that mostly this is the result of magnifying what seems fearful. Then act accordingly.

Imagination. Simply stop to remind yourself that your “blind spot” is magnifying in your imagination what you experience as hazardous and unpredictable. Then act accordingly, moving into rather than away or against what seems fearful but truly isn’t.

Doubt/contrary thinking. Stop and notice how doubtfulness, questioning, and contrary thoughts keep coming up in your mind. Do your best to release from these and move forward into action.

Short Reflections for Reclaiming the Essential Quality

With openhearted kindness toward yourself simply practice several times a day for a minute or so saying and living one of the following each for a few days at a time. Do these all with the receptive energy encompassed in the “may I.” Recall that the higher quality or virtue for type Six is natural courage meaning appropriately moving forward into fearful situations not against or away from these.

• May I return to the present noticing what is OK, not just what isn’t OK.
• May I have faith in myself and in this, the process of life itself.
• May I go into fearful situations, not away from or against them which in time allows for tranquility.
• May I make fear a friend instead of believing in its story.
• May I cultivate an ease of being, noticing my habitual magnification of worst cases.
• May I cultivate courage rather than seeking certainty, trusting that nothing destroys essence.

Growth Enneagram Type 5

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Growth for Type 5: The Observer

Basic Essential Practice: From a grounded, receptive, openhearted, and non-judgmental stance, notice your tendency to detach from feelings and hold yourself back, fueled by a driving energy, an avarice, for that which you just can’t do without:  knowledge plus time and space for yourself. This stems from your core belief that to be loved, valued, and secure you must protect yourself from a world you perceive demands too much and gives too little, all of which would drain you of life energy. Can you realize that the flow of life provides ample energy for you to fully engage in your feelings, knowing that you will be nourished and supported — not drained. Notice how you often pull back and contract away from others and from life itself. Breathe down into your body’s gravitational center, down into your belly, and reconnect to your feelings, as small or as large as they may be. Remind yourself to be aware and remember that paradoxically it is your protective retracting that is what’s actually draining your energy, not the claims of others. Remind yourself to notice how you are fulfilled and supported by others in your life, particularly when your heart is open.

Additional Key Themes for Reflection: Simply stop for a minute or so 3-4 times a day to center and reflect on one of the following:

Reflexively retracting. Simply stop and do your best to just come back and open your heart knowing that you will be nurtured, not drained of energy.

Detaching to observe. Simply stop to notice the contraction in your body when withdrawing away from intrusions. Use this as a signal to relax your contraction and move forward into life.

Limiting needs and desires. Simply stop to remind yourself that this protective habit of over restricting needs and desires actually can lead to deprivation and deficiency, not sustenance and nourishment. Then accordingly allow your wants and desires to be express.

Short Reflections for Reclaiming the Essential Quality

With open hearted kindness toward your self simply practice several times a day for a minute or so saying and living one of the following each for a few days at a time. Do these all with the receptive energy encompassed in the “may I.” Recall that the higher quality or virtue for type Five is the openness of non-attachment, meaning allowing one’s self to be in the natural flow of universal life energy.

• May I realize that there is nothing I need to know that will not just arise.
• May I be at peace with not knowing all the while realizing I already have ample knowledge.
• May I practice generosity, knowing life provides an abundance of energy.
• May I feel secure knowing what is needed, and trust that I will receive what I need.
• May I open my heart to engagement fully in life’s energy.
• May I breathe in and out opening to the natural flow of energy.