How Meditation Enriched By The Enneagram Can Help You Flourish
For folks pursuing inner peace and well-being, meditation enriched with the Enneagram of personality wisdom has emerged as a powerful combination.
Meditation, with its roots in ancient practices, offers a pathway to inner peace, creativity, well-being and a deeper understanding of ourselves, others and the mysteries of life. On the other hand, the Enneagram, a personality typing system that provides a map of consciousness, offers profound insights into our motivations, fears, and behaviours. The article, 5 Mindfulness Tips To Befriend Your Fear And Anxiety, identifies the nine core fears associated with each personality type.
Meditation provides the tools, and the Enneagram provides the map that forms a synergistic approach that can significantly enhance our journey toward living with greater ease and well-being.
The Enneagram of personality came into my life several years ago. Having practiced meditation daily for many years, I began to sense that I was missing something. We can meditate for hours or sit in a silent retreat for a month, and we won’t be able to look inside ourselves and see our evolutionary path. Who am I meant to become? What is holding me back from becoming it? What does my future best self look like?
The wisdom contained in the Enneagram map answered all these questions for me. Meditation and mindfulness are powerful and valuable practices that aren’t meant to stand alone. They’ll only take us so far on our self-discovery journey.
Why meditation and the Enneagram are a powerful combination
At its core, meditation is a practice that cultivates mindfulness and presence. We can observe our thoughts and emotions without judgment by quieting our minds and turning inward. This reflective process allows for greater self-understanding and emotional regulation, reducing stress and increasing well-being. If you’d like to learn how to set up a core meditation practice, I make suggestions in With So Many Choices, What Is The Best Meditation For Me?
When combined with meditation, Enneagram insights become integrated into our daily lives in a way that helps us visualize who we’re called to become. Many folks get stuck because they know they’re not flourishing but don’t have a map or way forward. The Enneagram provides that map! Self-awareness and a clear vision become our superpower!
While most people have heard about meditation, many folks haven’t heard about the Enneagram of personality, so I’m going to share more about it here.
What is the Enneagram of personality?
The Enneagram offers a unique lens through which to understand ourselves and others. It delineates nine distinct personality types, each with its own set of core motivations, fears, and coping mechanisms.
By identifying our Enneagram type, we gain valuable insights into our unconscious patterns and tendencies. This awareness not only deepens our understanding of ourselves but also fosters empathy and compassion towards others.
Knowing our Enneagram personality type allows us to structure our meditation, mindfulness, and inner growth practices to meet our unique needs.
According to the Enneagram, we have three centres of intelligence: the head, the heart, and the body. Depending on your centre of intelligence, you may benefit from a different type of meditation practice. For example, a head type needs silence, a heart type needs solitude, and a body type needs stillness.
If you are curious, you can take the free Riso & Hudson Enneagram Personality (RHETI) sampler test. Please note that it is only a sampler meant to spark your curiosity. Understanding ourselves and using the Enneagram as a tool for growth is a life-long journey.
As we look to the future and how people can flourish as spiritual beings living stressful human lives, the combination of meditation enriched with Enneagram wisdom offers a powerful pathway to freedom from the confining nature of our personality structure.
By integrating mindfulness with self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and self-acceptance, this synergistic approach enables profound personal growth and transformation.
As we deepen our understanding of ourselves through the Enneagram lens and cultivate presence through meditation, we unlock the door to a life of greater meaning, fulfillment, and joy.
If you feel called, please leave a comment below. Our community would love to hear from you!
