WE have been studying and talking about The Enneagram for a hot second now. This is our 15th episode on The Enneagram and we thought we would take a step back and check in with ya’ll regarding our current opinions and feelings about the Enneagram. We want you to know how its impacting us and changing us and we also want to share how we have concerns about how it is being used on social media (would we call this “pop enneagram”?).
Before we get into The Enneagram content- here is a link to Revuen’s poem that he starts the episode with this week! https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/58168/brothers-in-arms
After Reuvens’ poem Macie starts the conversation off by talking about how having a meditative breathing practice is an extremely important supplemental element to Enneagram work. For Macie this has taken the form of Kundalini Yoga. As they say- “it feels like cross training for the enneagram…they are in relation and they speak into each other”.
We talk about Gurdjieff and how he incorporated movement into his teaching of the Enneagram and we promised to post some a link to some of the videos that show how movement gets incorporated into The Enneagram. So here is a link as promised! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbz8VC2z1is
We also talk about how we are learning how Enneagram wisdom actually does sync up quite well with new research on the mind. Specifically Scott talked about a book that he recently read called Mind Hacking by Sir John Hargrave. The book is a deep dive in into neuroscience and how our understanding of the mind can help us “hack our brains” in order to take more control of our lives and be the people that we truly want to be. This parallels the concept of “relaxing the ego” (one of the phrases we like to use when talking about the Enneagram. If you like The Enneagram “Mind Hacking” is a great book to check out if you are interested in diving deeper into getting more in control of your mind.
Also here is a link to a video with the author of Mind Hacking where he unpacks some of the basics of the book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V05uFOm4nVA
One more bit of material that we really want to point you to if you don’t already know about this is Abi Robbins podcast called Conscious Construction. Particularly Abi talks about “queering the enneagram”, which essentially is bringing the spirit of intersectionality into our conversation with the enneagram. Here is a link to their website where you can hear the podcast: https://www.consciousenneagram.com/podcast
Finally we conclude with a poem from our friend Padraig O’ Tuama who we interviewed a few weeks ago and we will leave you here with this poem and link to this Enneagram Hot Takes episode. Thanks for listening everybody and feel free to e-mail us at nosmallthingpodcast@gmail.com or interact with us on instagram. Peace!
And isn’t it true for all of us
by Pádraig Ó Tuama
and isn’t it true for all of us
that we need someone
to watch us when we leave
and when we need
to make our own
way home,
and
when we’re making something we can’t see,
or when we’re shaping up to be
a person that can feel
a hundred sorrows and still
get through the day
who could dream a hundred horrors
and make it anyway,
isn’t it true for all of us
that we need a guiding
other,
maybe mother, maybe lover,
maybe nothing other than a stranger,
who could see our fear,
and with kindness then, unfold a welcome,
isn’t it true for all of us
that we need our secrets told
and that without another
to bear witness to the children
that were never born,
and would never be grown-up
we would be alone and lost and cold,
there would be childish hungers left
inside of us,
needing to grow old.
NO SMALL THING 