When I decided to go to Germany to Claudio’s 27 Enneagram Subtypes program, I had thought about attending from many perspectives, but made the choice because my heart got very excited about the idea. And I had not felt so excited in a long time. From there, my mind kicked in to ask: So what do you want from the experience? I made a list in my mind, and interestingly, some of the items had nothing (or so I thought) to do with the Enneagram. In addition, I gained great insight about several areas (an implicit list) that had been in the back of my mind, but had not made the official mental list.
My Official List - To be with Claudio for 7 days
- To learn more about the subtypes, including confirming what I did know, correcting what I had wrong, and expanding my perspective on this topic
- To recover some of my Romanian ancestry
- To learn why my son’s 20 year-old friend and longtime family friend had been recently killed under suspicious circumstances
My Experience: The Official List To be with Claudio for 7 days This was easy to satisfy since he was there every day, was extremely present to the many people there, and I had some personal interactions with him that meant a great deal to me. For example, I reintroduced myself to him early on, and he didn’t recognize me at first. The story I told myself was that this was the result of my hair being its natural gray instead of its dyed color from 2004, but the truth was he didn’t recognize me, and this was not only OK, it was good. When I told him my name, he apologized for not having responded to a few emails I had sent, which I told him (and meant) that this was also OK. I really loved the 7 days and relaxed about not really having any connections with anyone in particular, just blending into the crowd more or less. Later in the week, we had some interactions in the large group – initiated by him – that were amusing and lovely. But a more important interaction occurred at the end of the program, which is described later in this blog.
To learn more about the subtypes, including confirming what I did know, correcting what I had wrong, and expanding my perspective on this topic This was easy to satisfy. I had a lot of accurate information and understanding, some inaccuracy, and a whole lot new.
To recover some of my Romanian ancestry My mother’s side was Romanian, but I knew nothing about Romania. From the pre-participant email, there were two Romanians listed. How would I find them from 180 people? They – Daniela and Radu – found me because Daniela saw my name on the list, checked out my website, and found me the first day. The three of us spent a great deal of precious time together talking about everything. In terms of my roots, they were able to tell me with some certainty that my ancestors were from Transylvania and had likely moved there from Germany. They even gave me a book in English with pictures of the various sub-entities that make up all of Romania. Daniela is a self-preservation subtype Four and Radu is a social subtype Three, both somewhat new to the Enneagram and very intricate, sensitive people. I was able to help them some with the nuances of the Enneagram; they were able to provide me with a wealth of knowledge and sense of the Romanian culture and history.
To learn why my son’s 20 year-old friend and longtime family friend (Jamie) had been recently killed under suspicious circumstances So I am sitting on the lawn during the lunch hour and Carmen appears, sits, and we talk. An astrologer and acupuncturist from Berlin, she is also a psychic. I tell her Jamie’s story and his birth date (an Aries), she explains that there are really only 6 signs, that the zodiac is a medallion with 6 signs on one side and their opposites on the other side – in this case, Aries and Libra. Pluto was transiting Aries/Libra during this period, creating great amounts of turmoil and upheaval externally. Any Aries or Libras who had large, unresolved inner turmoil were at risk during this period, and depending on other factors, POW! Carmen later mentioned that she chose to come to me some time in the morning, knowing the time would present itself. I am an Aries as is my son, so this really pierced my sense of being.
My Experience: The Unofficial List Equally important were some answers to questions I had wondered about for a long time. The first was why, given the types and degrees of abuse I experienced during childhood, had I not become disturbed or even a multiple personality. Having seen a few documentaries on individuals who are multiples, I would always say, “Oh, that happened to me, too.” The second question was why my deceased brother Stevie, also a social Two, seemed so arrogant in an engaging way (the passion of Pride), but my version of Pride was far more muted, harder to see in many ways.
Given my family background, how did I escape becoming a multiple personality? To make a long story short, the social subtype Twos were discussing our family backgrounds. Literally, one side of the table had social Twos who were treated liked special people for their entire lives (my brother!) with complete love from both parents and expectations they were able to meet. On the other side were social Twos who were born as special children, but then very painful things happened to them. I was last to talk, told my story, then said it was a wonder I had not become a multiple personality. The woman next to me, who had just joined the group after trying to find herself in several others said, “I have found my home.”
The next day she came up to me, told me she had a very similar background to mine, had been a multiple personality until 20 years earlier and had subsequently put herself back together, now serving as a therapist for individuals with the same diagnosis. By this time, another women had joined us (the first was German, the second Swiss) and I asked, “Why did you become a multiple and not me?” Their answer was clear: resilience. This is a psychological term for individuals who, in spite of severe hardship, come back from such things even stronger. It apparently comes from one of several factors; (1) having one person who believes in you and with whom you bond (I had a maid, Alice, who did this); (2) a religious belief that holds you together (not me at the time); and/or (3) something that anchors you, a symbol or object. There was a ring my mother had but never wore that was very beautiful and I used to put it on and pretend (thought it felt real at the time) that I was a real princess on a magic carpet in a beautiful land where everything was good.
So my question was answered. These women just appeared! Or did they?
How can two social subtype Twos from the same family appear to be so different? As mentioned above, in a family where each of his siblings suffered, he did not. In fact, some of our suffering was because we were somehow “not as good” as he was, just by virtue of not being him. He would even refer to himself as “Stevie the Great.”
The other difference was secondary subtype. Although he was a social Two, his secondary subtype was self-preservation. These Twos act more like children, privileged and exacting the care of others; they are willing to sacrifice the rights of adulthood for the privileges of childhood. So he had this entitlement combined with a sense of bigness. I am a social Two with the sexual subtype as my secondary. I focus more on balancing doing or being something big with a desire to give – and be important – to my partners, friends, and specific family members.
My Final Experience with Claudio The final activity of the week was a Gestalt Awareness continuum exercise in trios. As a trained Gestalt therapist, I love this activity and do it all the time. But this time, I was totally bored. It took me 4 minutes to “get” that this was the case, and after I said “Now, I feel totally bored,” I felt very alive. I realized I had been hiding the truth from myself. I didn’t want to know it. Not OK to be bored when I am supposed to be liking something or someone.
Claudio had said multiple times that progress occurs when you are in touch with your truest instincts and desires. I had a desire to give Claudio a hug, so I went up to him and said so. We hugged; I felt close to nothing. Instead of ignoring my reaction or wondering why it was not satisfying – was it me, him, blah, blah, blah – I thought, “Maybe it wasn’t a hug I really wanted!” Then it came to me. What I really wanted was to tell him how much he meant to me. After the program ended, he was by himself, I walked toward him and said, “I realized it wasn’t a hug I wanted; it was to tell you how much you mean to me.” Wow, I felt full of feeling and totally satisfied. Claudio, being Claudio, said, “Ah, that is so much nicer.” And then he gave me a hug.
The 3rd of three blogs on the 27 Enneagram Subtypes with Claudio Naranjo
First, a disclaimer! In this second blog on my experience with Claudio Naranjo at the 27 Enneagram Subtypes program in Todtmoos, Germany, there is no way to cover what he taught in the 7 days. The content was extremely complex and nuanced, plus understanding what was taught requires some context on the types, the passions and fixations of type, etc. that are beyond the scope and length of a blog. But I will try to highlight some of the content.
About the Subtypes There are 27 characters in the Enneagram, not just nine, because each of the nine styles can be divided into three different subtypes: Self-preservation, Social, and Sexual (or One-to-One). The subtype is the particular way in which the passion of the type (emotional automatic response pattern or driver of the type) mixes with one of the three instinctual needs (Self-Preservation, Social, Sexual). Claudio went into depth about the passions for each style, then discussed and did panel interviews (more or less) with individuals of each subtype (where this was possible due to both numbers of people willing to be up on stage in front of 180 people and the time available).
Why Learn about the Subtypes There are many reasons, and here are a few: - To find yourself accurately on the Enneagram and to not mistype yourself as another type
- To be able to know yourself in far greater depth so you can better work on reducing the ego’s grip
- To understand the particular way the passion of our type functions and drives our behavior
- To grow, develop, and transform at a faster rate (it’s never fast, but it is much slower when we have our type and/or subtype wrong)
Do We Have Only One Subtype? Claudio would say yes and no. What he actually said is that one of the three subtypes is generally dormant throughout our life (that is, it is the instinctual area in which we hardly pay attention to our needs), and two of them are more activated (although the subtype behavior is a neurotic way of getting our needs met in these areas). With the two activated subtypes, one is dominant, although when we were younger, the other activated subtype may have been more dominant than the one we manifest as we get older.
This becomes very interesting. We could be a (1) Sexual/Social; (2) Sexual/Self-Preservation; (3) Social/Sexual; (4) Social/Self-Preservation; (5) Self-Preservation/Sexual; or (6) Self-Preservation/Social. Thinking about it, there are really 27 subtypes, but there 162 variations (27x6). It was very clear to me there that the Social 2s were very different depending on whether their 2nd subtype was Sexual or Self-Preservation.
The question never arose about whether we all have a sub-dominant subtype as well as a dominant one. For example, could someone be only a Self-Preservation subtype without having another subtype lurking in the background as a secondary subtype. This is something worth pondering!
Subtypes and Counter-Types Claudio focused more on the counter-types (the subtype that thwarts the full expression of the passion for the type) than the other two subtypes. For every Enneagram style, two subtypes go with the flow of the passion; one goes against the flow. I believe he focused on counter-types because the counter-types are the subtypes that get most confused with another type. In addition, we could learn how the passion of the type appears in its less obvious version. Here’s an example. The countertype for 6 is the Sexual Subtype, the counter-phobic 6. They do not look afraid and appear to have courage, yet their energetic drive is fear-based, even if many of them are unaware of it. Called Strength/Beauty by Ichazo, they appear fearless using their appearance of strength (as in, “I can take anything on.”) to convince themselves primarily and others secondarily that they are afraid of nothing. Counter-phobic 6s can appear like 8s, but the drive is fear, not anger (even though counter-phobic 6s can appear angry, though not all do). Claudio describes these 6s as always “having their pistols drawn,” and developmentally, they need to learn to put their pistols (a metaphor for being “armed”) down. 8s, by contrast, do not have their pistols drawn at all times for there is no need to do so. They have other ways to make themselves appear big and powerful and their need is for power and offense, not strength for defense.
Subtypes and Centers Claudio did not talk about the Centers of Intelligence directly, but did make a passing comment that you can go through the three subtypes for each type and make a matrix regarding how they use of intellect, emotion, and action. So while he did not say “Centers,” these are the Centers: Head, Heart, and Body. He did not go into any more detail than what I include here about 7s, but I plan to map these for all nine styles. Self-Preservation 7: intellect/emotion; Social 7: intellect/action; Sexual 7: intellect/intellect.
Subtypes and Wings Claudio did not talk about wings at all except to debunk something that I had never heard before. In only a few minutes, he said that someone is teaching that subtype can be determined if you know the person’s wings and said that this is not true. He never mentioned the person’s name or any more about wings. I did not get the impression one way or the other what he believes about the wings.
Subtypes and Arrows Claudio did mention the arrows many times. The most common way he mentioned it was that behind each Enneagram style lurks the core issue of the Enneagram type (arrow) that points toward that number (known also as the security point, though Claudio never referred to it as such). Under a 2 lurks the angry 4 who can never be satisfied with what they have. Under a 4 lurks the perfectionistic 1 who is never satisfied with reality as it is and so forth. I would list them all, but he didn’t review them, only made reference to them, so this is another area I want to get closer to the truth.
Claudio also referred to both arrows pointing to a type as a reflection of the inner conflict of the type, one that the type is wrestling with. For example, the 3 tries to resolve the anxiety/fear and need for certainty of the 6 with the indolence (not knowing or being awake to who one is) of the 9 at Enneagram style 3 (resolution for better or worse, it seems, but that wasn’t clear). The idea is that 3s appear certain, hiding anxiety for the most part and do not appear lazy since they are “doers.” Yet, they do still experience anxiety and are certainly lazy in terms of not knowing who they are and substituting “doing” for “being.” Again, not complete review of this, so here’s another area of pursuit.
Type: Nature or Nurture? Claudio never explicitly said whether he believes Enneagram type is the product of nature, nurture, or a combination. But he did say this: temperament is not the same as “character” and that we are born with a certain temperament. ”Character” appears later and while there is an associative relationship between the two, specific temperaments in infants do not map exactly to specific “characters” (Enneagram types). He also said that the passion (emotional response pattern of the type) appears at about age 4, while the fixation (false mental assumptions of the type) appear at about age 7-8. Before then, the cognitive development of the child is insufficiently developed to articulate such a thing (reference to the work of Piaget).
Subtypes and Development According to Claudio, subtype does matter for development. He gave the example of 6s in terms of what each of the subtypes must come to terms with or give up to lessen the ego’s hold. Sexual subtype 6s must let go of their “pistols” (disarm themselves as a way of defending against the fear); Social 6s must let go a needing to know and live by the rules (so nothing bad happens to them); and Self-Preservation 6s must let go of their deep distrust (fear and doubt) in themselves. Again, Claudio went over some of these for each type, but not all.
Summary I hope I am doing justice to what was said, as I wrote this without reviewing my notes as a way to assess how much I had internalized. Many questions were answered there, and many new ones arose. My experience of Claudio there is that while he knows this material better than anyone, he is still learning and exploring. No wonder it is so hard for anyone to write an accurate and comprehensive book about subtypes. Just when you think you have it, something new emerges.
The 2nd of three blogs on the 27 Enneagram Subtypes with Claudio Naranjo
 In mid-July, I had the opportunity to spend 7 days with Claudio Naranjo in the Black Forest (Todtmoos, to be exact); it was all about the 27 Enneagram subtypes. This is the first of several blogs about that complex, exhausting, and enlightening experience through which I hope to share that experience. This 1st blog will cover the structure of the program and some of my reactions to it. The 2nd blog reviews the program content, while the 3rd blog describes my personal experiences there.
Environment
Todtmoos is a small village situated in the Black Forest and contains one small, famous German church, many hotels (most of which have restaurants within), tall trees, and not too much more. People come there to be in nature and to hike. Then, 180 of us, mostly Germans, descended for 7 days. There were also participants from other European countries, plus a few scattered individuals from far away (like me, from the US).
Morning
The daily program went from 8:30 in the morning until 10:00 at night, with lunch and dinner breaks and a few other breaks (which they call “pauses,” not breaks). Mornings were a Claudio-led meditation, a different version each day, followed by subtype information and panels of people of that subtype. The meditations were wonderful; Claudio leads them in a non-hypnotic way. His explanations of the subtypes were clear, nuanced, highly informative, and his panel facilitation was superb: astute, witty, and informative. Mostly, he focused on the counter-types of each type, the subtype that moves away from (in a sense, withholds) some of the energy of the passion. Even with 7 full days, everyone thought there was material enough for a month and many things were left uncovered. I was very content with all this; there seems to be an endless array of subtype information, so if we had a month, I think we’d say we needed three months. Claudio, by the way, seemed really relaxed, with whiter hair and a shorter beard than when I saw him last in 2004.
Afternoon
Early afternoon was physical movement, which his assistants led and which I thought were only OK. Mostly, we danced naturally (or unnaturally!) to music, starting slow, then building to a high rate of energy. I thought about using the word frenzy, as that is what it often seemed to me, though I wondered if I would have thought that if I were 24 instead of 64. Mostly I left these sessions early to talk with people or just relax. In the late afternoons, we often did an activity or Claudio might do something. For example, we got to explore how we use each of the passions or fixations that go with the 9 types. Message: We all do all these things some times! It was a great exercise. One afternoon, Claudio played the piano demonstrating the 9 styles through classical musicians. Although I had seen this program in Santa Monica in 2003, there was something about his presentation this time that was more pure, more sweet, more joyful. I could have listened for hours. Many there experienced it as a highlight of the 7 days.
Evening
The evenings were filled with type and subtype groups or with film clips showing the subtypes in action. The subtype groups were enlightening, or at least mine was. I was with the Social Subtype Twos, and we got to write our joint biography and discuss how we are in love, work, and life. The similarities were daunting, and I gained many new insights. These were a WOW. The evenings devoted to film were too slow for me, and I had seen many of them before. I must admit I left early some nights, only to find that I had made a good choice to do so (based on reports of others the next morning). On these nights, I got to bed later than ever, having some wonderful conversations with people who also left early.
And all of the above was happening in 5 languages: English, German, Italian, French, and Spanish. Claudio spoke, for the most part, in English, with a German translator on stage and the other languages being translated through earphones. This program was one of the few he has done that is open to the public (meaning participants other than SAT students) as well as one of the few he has done in English in the past several years. I heard that he will not be doing any more of these (through the grapevine from one of his assistants), but don’t know this for sure. In all, it was full and rich, leaving many wanting more.
The 1st of three blogs on the 27 Enneagram Subtypes with Claudio Naranjo
A Guest Blog by Jane Strong
Part 4: Enneagram Body Center Style Nine
This story is about a NINE named Rob, who loved his new black quarter horse more than anyone I know. His equine companion named Orient loved him, too. He came running from the pasture when Rob whistled and didn’t hesitate to join him of his own free will when he walked to the barn. The problem was, Rob could hardly keep this gentle giant from walking right over him. Most horses have no idea how big they are or how small we are in comparison. They still think they’re still 40-pound quadrupeds who have to watch out for low-flying pterodactyls on the hunt. We have to teach them to respect our boundaries as much as we have to respect theirs when they’re eating, or when we approach them for affection, or ask them to engage with us.
So while Rob was happy to spend time with Orient, it was clear to me that he couldn’t raise or focus the energy in his body center enough to get this horse to keep out of his way. When I asked him how he’d describe the issue, he said, “Well, I like him so much. I hate to push him away and make him disconnect from me.” I asked him if he felt that asking for distance and respect was unkind and he said, “Yes, I guess I do.”
Obviously, Rob shared the same problem that many NINES have. Creating space for themselves implies disconnecting, and this feels like conflict. As we know, NINES can also believe that if they take a stand, it may cost the relationship. And, as the rest of us know, that’s EXACTLY what we need them to do in order for us to know and respect them as individuals.
So, the first thing I showed Rob was a bunch of other horses in the field. They pushed and shoved, kicked up their heels and sometimes nipped at their pasture mates to gain control over their space and let each other “know” who they were. No hard feelings, just space. When I asked Rob what he saw, he told me he was amazed at how rough they could be and still come back for more. “Interesting,” he said. “I’m really surprised they’re so resilient.”
So, we went into the round pen, and I asked Rob to focus his attention on the place about two inches below his belt and two inches in, the center of the body center. Then, I suggested that he feel his feet and visualize a laser beam coming out of that place. I told him he needed to put all of his energy there and direct it out toward Orient’s hind end. I told him he could scuff the ground or use his arms to emphasize this gesture.
Rob looked perplexed and somewhat concerned about this request, as this kind of energy was both unfamiliar and not easy to access. He didn’t like the idea of taking a threatening stance toward this horse he liked so much. On top of that, he said it was exhausting for him to focus his energy as I had requested, but he tried. It was clear to me that Orient wasn’t “buying” Rob’s first attempt, because he just stood right next to Rob looking for a peppermint in his pocket.
“OK. Step away from Orient, using this rope as an extension of your arm as you direct all of the energy from that point in your body toward his hind end. Just toss the rope out onto the ground. It won’t hurt him.” It was hard for Rob to accept the concept of minimum essential pressure. We start slow and keep ‘upping the ante’ if we don’t get what we want. It took a lot reassurance from me to convey that boundaries are not enemy lines and that both should take a request from Rob to Orient seriously.
This time, Rob had clearly made an effort to focus his energy and used the rope for emphasis. He was a bit awkward, but Orient got the point and moved away toward the perimeter of the pen. I asked Rob to keep his energy up and to kick up some dirt with the toe of his boot. He did, and Orient moved faster. Clearly, Rob himself was getting a kick out of this newfound connection to clarity in his body. I told him that he didn’t have to lose his connection to his heart. He smiled and kept on pushing Orient forward with his laser beam, grounded energy. He then dropped the rope and continued to “push” with his body. Orient slowed down for a moment, and then felt the pressure from Rob himself to keep going. Rob kept up his “experiment” and played with the volume and direction of his energy as he watched the impact on his horse.
Then, the moment Rob softened the focus and intensity of his energy, Orient slowed down. As he continued to do this, the horse came to a walk and looked toward the center, and lowered his head. “See Rob? He’s not angry with you at all…just asking if he can stop working now. When you’re ready for that, lower your eyes and let him come to you.” Orient came to the center and stood right next to Rob as soon as he was ‘invited.’ “He ‘s not angry and isn’t all over me either,” Rob said. “This is what respect looks like,” I replied.
When we did some work with the Enneagram, Rob began to understand why as a NINE, he had trouble setting boundaries and making his wishes known. He experienced first hand how to stay CONNECTED to another WHILE standing up for what he wanted. Over time, he also came to learn that both Orient AND the significant others in his life, were more respectful and attracted to him when they knew where he stood. Bravo, Rob!
This is the last of four blogs on The Equine Enneagram by Jane Strong.
An Enneagram teacher, business consultant, coach, and Senior Member of the Enneagram in Business Network, Jane is the pioneer in the field of the “Equine Enneagram.” An Equine Learning Instructor since the early 2000s, Jane combines her Enneagram expertise and her work with horses to accelerate her client’s growth, transformation, presence, and leadership skills. Jane can be reached at jane@equineenneagram.com.
A Guest Blog by Jane Strong
Part 3: Enneagram Heart Center Style Three
I recently had a session with one of my favorite horses and one of my favorite people named Val…a powerhouse of a THREE who knows the Enneagram and herself very well. While she’d never been this “close” to a horse except for a couple of trail rides as a kid, she’s used the Enneagram in her consulting business for several years. Perfect for this work.
When I introduced Val to Dutch Boy Paint, my Arab-Pinto gelding, I noticed something different about her, but wasn’t sure what it was. I knew it would reveal itself soon enough. So, I asked her if she was up for the challenge of getting Dutch to pick up his hoof. She thought it wouldn’t be easy but seemed very willing to try. “Just make your intentions very clear and ask for it,” I said. Much to my surprise, she did – and he did – on the first try.
Val said later, “I’d never been around horses, so it was incredible to me that I could be so connected and feel so powerful with Dutch just by being congruent.” I told her that sometimes, we wait for 15 minutes while clients get clear about what they want and Dutch yields one of his hoofs. For horses their hooves are their first line of defense…when in doubt…RUN!
So, we went outside and I asked her to put all of her energy and attention into her Head Center and take Dutch for a walk. She took the lead rope and he complied, but I noticed that his head was turned slightly away from her…as if they really weren’t together. She said as she circled back around to me that this felt familiar and often “where she is” when she deals with so many things at once. She told me that this was very familiar territory for her but she’d never “seen” how disconnected it really is.
Then, I asked her to take a deep breath, put her attention into her Heart Center and take him for another stroll. As they went, I could see him come closer, lower his head and turn it toward her shoulder. When she returned, she said, “I’d been doing a lot work on myself lately in terms of getting into my body…and the second I went from my head to my heart, he was nuzzling my shoulder. Before this, I never had any evidence that moving my energy from one center to another would have such a striking influence on another being.” I thought to myself that this was what I had noticed about Val. She was more in her body and more honest about her own concerns than I’d ever seen before.
Next, I asked Val to let her energy rest in her Body Center. She did, and moved out into the arena with Dutch in tow. He went with her, but tested her leadership all the way…as if to say, “Are you sure, are you sure?” That’s Dutch. She stayed focused on the task, but noticed that it wasn’t as rewarding as when she’d been in her heart. According to Val, this exercise made it quite clear that accomplishing something by making it happen is also familiar territory for her but that it felt like a hollow victory.
Finally, I suggested that she move her awareness to all three centers and just be mindful of them all as they went one final round. When she came back this time, she was radiant as she told me, “As a THREE, I’m used to spending a lot of my energy and attention on making sure that things happen. Now I can see how much more powerful and easy it is to get something done by being mindful of my energy and staying congruent.”
Val is extremely adept in her verbal skills and getting lots of things done, so it was delightful to watch her trust the process and be open to experimenting with Dutch. She had a firsthand experience of the awareness and control she really does have by being more aware and congruent. She loved the power she experienced by really inhabiting her own body. “I feel so validated with the feedback from Dutch. And you just reinforced it by adding to my awareness of what was happening. I’ve experienced immediate feedback but this was instantaneous!” The impact and choices we really have are amazingly clear to me now.”
Because of Val's knowledge of the Enneagram and personal interest in development, she was able to make an immediate connection between what she experienced at the barn and some habitual patterns of behavior that she can now change in the larger “arenas” of her life.
As you can read in the above story, once it becomes obvious where the work lies for each client, I create simple ground exercises designed specifically to reveal and help that person move beyond his or her barriers. Coupled with the Enneagram, clients get both a somatic experience of how s/he comes across to others, as well as some powerful insights into the underlying motivations that keep habitual patterns in place.
This is the third of four blogs on The Equine Enneagram by Jane Strong.
An Enneagram teacher, business consultant, coach, and Senior Member of the Enneagram in Business Network, Jane is the pioneer in the field of the “Equine Enneagram.” An Equine Learning Instructor since the early 2000s, Jane combines her Enneagram expertise and her work with horses to accelerate her client’s growth, transformation, presence, and leadership skills. Jane can be reached at jane@equineenneagram.com.
The next Equine Enneagram blog explains how to work with Enneagram Body Center style Nine.
A Guest Blog by Jane Strong
 Part 2: Enneagram Head Center Style Six
Last year, I was at a ranch in Montana with two other Equine Experiential Learning Coaches. We were doing a workshop with six senior executives from New York, one of whom was a stern-looking man named Adler who was about 6’3” and had a very strong German accent. He told me that he had trouble getting his employees to open up and often felt uncomfortable in large groups. He described himself as shy and chose the image of a shrinking violet to portray how he felt on the inside. Hmmmm… I began to sense that he was a counter-phobic SIX because his own sense of himself was about 180-degrees apart from what he conveyed to us. After several rounds of discussion around the topic of his demeanor and what he might be “putting out there” to his teams, we asked him to choose a horse to work with in the round pen. He picked Crackers, a retired champion who still had plenty of athletic ability.
Adler had no prior experience with horses, so I offered to accompany him into the round pen – a sixty-foot diameter pen where both horses and humans are free to move. He wanted to go in alone with the horse, so we asked him to stand in the center and get the horse to move forward. After giving us an uncertain look, Adler proceeded to make himself as big as he could, raised his arms and shouted, “MOVE!”. Crackers immediately took off in a panicky gallop around the perimeter of the pen…trying as best he could to get away. This was clearly the tactic of a counter-phobic SIX – compensating for his fear with frightening aggression.
When we suggested he ask Crackers to slow down, he yelled, “SLOW DOWN!!” in his booming voice, which only made matters worse. Crackers instantly went into fifth gear. I thought to myself, “No wonder he can’t gain the trust of his team or engage people in group…. nothing like fear coupled with aggression to make everyone want to run.”
Adler was at a total loss, and willing to listen to anyone, so I coached him to drop his shoulders, take some deep breaths into his whole body and feel the ground under his feet. To his amazement, every time he took a breath and lowered the “volume” of energy he was putting out to Crackers, the horse slowed down a bit and even turned his head to look at Adler, indicating that he was beginning to relax and wanted to make a connection. And every time he saw this, Adler gained more real experience of (and reward for) softening his energy and diminishing his aggression.
Then, I asked him to rock back on his heels, soften his chest and let out a sigh. The moment he did this, it looked like his whole body was filling in with color and Crackers slowed to a trot, then a walk. Finally, he turned his sleek body into the center and rested his head on Adler’s shoulder. Needless to say, this powerful man was both astonished and deeply moved. He told me later in a very soft voice, “I had no idea how I was coming across…and you could never have told me how to change what I didn’t know I was doing. This is a very big thing for me.”
When I coached him using the Enneagram, Adler began to understand much more about why he was behaving this way and was able to integrate his experience with Crackers a deep insight into the underlying motivations of counter-phobic behavior. Seven months later in New York, he said he was still amazed by his experience with Crackers and how well it fit with the Enneagram. He told me that his team members come in and sit on his desk now, because he asks how they feel about issues at hand (and in their own lives) before getting into what they think or what they might do about a situation. He uses his keen mind and perception to find out what’s going on directly, rather than making assumptions based on expecting the worst all the time. “I’m still aware of the fear in me, but because I feel it more directly in my own self, I’m not so inclined to assume it’s coming from something outside”.
Obviously, when change occurs through the body, mind and heart, we don’t easily forget.
This is the second of four blogs on The Equine Enneagram by Jane Strong. An Enneagram teacher, business consultant, coach, and Senior Member of the Enneagram in Business Network, Jane is the pioneer in the field of the “Equine Enneagram.” An Equine Learning Instructor since the early 2000s, Jane combines her Enneagram expertise and her work with horses to accelerate her client’s growth, transformation, presence, and leadership skills. Jane can be reached at jane@equineenneagram.com.
The next Equine Enneagram blog explains how to work with Enneagram Heart Center style Three.
A Guest Blog by Jane Strong
Part 1: Equine Enneagram Overview
I’ve been studying the Enneagram since 1994 and using it in my work as a facilitator and coach since 2004. I’ve also been studying natural horsemanship since 2003 with several “Horse Whisperers” who have changed the way I understand and relate to horses. Horses had been a part of my life growing up, but I never understood how they see the world and what they can do for our own self-awareness until I met a woman named Linda Kohanov in Tucson. Her books and trainings focus entirely on what horses can do for us rather than we can do with them. It was in one of her workshops that I realized I could “see” which Centers of Intelligence – Head, Heart, or Body – were blocked among my fellow students and which were most open. Needless to say, my SEVEN mind went to work right away imagining ways I could combine these seemingly disparate worlds, and it didn’t take me long to develop several simple style-appropriate exercises designed to help my clients gain access to their repressed centers. No prior experience with horses is necessary. In fact, the less my clients think they know about horses, the less there is to UN-learn.
Why horses? Well, as non-predatory animals who live in herds, their survival depends on being able to read and interpret the intentions of anyone around them. They can actually sense your heart rate, muscle tension and the depth of your breathing from 30 feet away. Why? In nature, a predator who makes a mistake misses a meal. If a horse makes a mistake, he’s dinner. These instinctive responses haven’t left the species at all, despite the fact that they rarely face this kind of mortal danger at the barn. In addition, they have 340-degree vision, 140-degree range with their ears and can sense any kind of change in their surroundings through each other. Linda calls this socio-sensual awareness. It’s the same as when we “feel” the change in a room when someone gets angry or upset. We just don’t talk about it very often. Horses on the other hand, act exactly the way they feel. They reveal to my clients the instant they’re being congruent and effective by how they respond.
They also teach us that we have much more control over what we “put out” through our heads, hearts and bodies than we think. The moment we shift our attention, they do. They’re kind of like SIXES…always scanning for danger and questioning authority. They seem to love engaging with us, however, and have a great deal of patience as we struggle to get clear in communicating exactly what we want from them. Coupled with the Enneagram, clients get both a somatic experience of how s/he comes across to others, as well as some powerful insights into the underlying motivations that keep habitual patterns in place.
For example, it’s often apparent to HEAD STYLES Five, Six, and Seven that they have a hard time getting into their bodies to reinforce what they want. It then becomes obvious what we need to do to bring their energy and intention into their hearts and bodies to make a horse move forward, draw him closer or set a boundary.
For HEART STYLES Two, Three, and Four, exercises usually focus on teaching clients to be aware of their own emotions and to let go of their image-based defenses and just be with the horses. (We promise to give them back after our sessions and workshops.) Twos, Threes, and Fours are usually amazed at how much awareness and control they really do have over their own responses.
For BODY STYLES Eight, Nine, and One, we teach them to modulate the energy they put out through their gut centers and allow the process to unfold. Obviously, NINES need to focus and direct their intentions with clarity. EIGHTS need to modulate their intensity, and ONES need to relax and let go of their need to display competency and control…to simply be with the horse…easier said than done.
Adding horses to the mix not only accelerates the process of discovering and moving beyond barriers to more effective communication, teamwork and leadership, but they’re also masterful at teaching us how to set healthy boundaries. We learn to use something my friend Penny calls “minimum essential pressure”…big news for EIGHTS! And, as many of us have discovered, “How we do one thing is how we do everything.”
As one executive reported to me after working with my big quarter horse named Black Jack, “This is like having my own biofeedback machine. I get an instant response to how I come across, and what happens when I change, just by watching this horse.”
This is the first of four blogs on The Equine Enneagram by Jane Strong. An Enneagram teacher, business consultant, coach, and Senior Member of the Enneagram in Business Network, Jane is pioneering the field of the “Equine Enneagram.” An Equine Learning Instructor since the early 2000s, Jane combines her Enneagram expertise and her work with horses to accelerate her client’s growth, transformation, presence, and leadership skills. Jane can be reached at jane@equineenneagram.com.
The next Equine Enneagram blog explains how to work with Head Center style Six.
This blog was inspired by Ruth Landis’s insights about Authenticity. You can read about how each of us, based on our Enneagram styles, can be in a state of Authenticity, which is really about allowing us to be fully ourselves.
Whether you are a leader, coach, consultant, trainer, parent, or friend, Authenticity enables us to be truly ourselves at the deepest level. Ruth Landis is a Senior Member of the Enneagram in Business Network at TheEnneagramInBusiness.com.
Authenticity Insights
Authenticity is being at ease with oneself and an honest acceptance of who we really are. It is self-awareness without self-consciousness. It is a freedom from self-editing: I am not too little or too much – I am. I do not need to try to be more or less than what I am in this moment. Authenticity is being truly comfortable in your own skin. Today, catch yourself trying to be or responding in a way that does not feel true to your core, and make a more authentic choice. If you feel like skipping down the street, do it. If you feel like being silly, be silly. Feel the freedom of authentic response.
Authenticity and Enneagram Styles
I’ve added the following to help us understand how our Enneagram styles can block our capacity to be in Authenticity and how we can allow ourselves to be more fully in a state of realness.
Enneagram Style One
Obstacle to Authenticity: Restricting your own responses to those that seem well-mannered, appropriate, and polite
How to Be in Authenticity: To accept yourself, all of who you are, including your feelings, thoughts, and behaviors
Hint: Focus first on acknowledging your anger and resentment, examining its true causes
Enneagram Style Two
Obstacle to Authenticity: Being so dependent or responsive to the reactions of others for a sense of self-worth that you constrain yourself from being truly authentic
How to Be in Authenticity: To become less inflated or deflated based on how others respond to you
Hint : Focus first on being less elated or inflated when you get a positive response; this will lessen the deflation from a negative reaction
Enneagram Style Three
Obstacle to Authenticity: Identifying so strongly with the image or series of images you create so that others will respect you; this includes even having an image of no image!
How to Be in Authenticity: To acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses, successes and failures, realizing that what you do is not truly who you are at a deeper level
Hint : Focus first on your anxiety and sadness, accepting and experiencing these feelings as part of being human; then, share some of your deeper feelings with others
Enneagram Style Four
Obstacle to Authenticity: Believing that because you value authenticity and express yourself at a deeper and more complex level than other people, that you are actually being authentic
How to Be in Authenticity: To go beneath your image of being authentic to a deeper and truer authenticity
Hint : Focus first on the ways in which you create an interior pendulum in which you either feel inferior or superior to others; examine how you do this and what purpose it serves, then stop doing this and experience your more authentic sense of self
Enneagram Style Five
Obstacle to Authenticity: Not sharing who you really are with others, but this starts with not knowing fully yourself who you are in a more integrated way
How to Be in Authenticity: To explore yourself more fully without disconnecting from your emotions and actual experience and then be willing to share this with others
Hint: Focus first on experiencing your true feelings in real time rather than experiencing some of them later
Enneagram Style Six
Obstacle to Authenticity: Doubting yourself to such a degree that your true strength is invisible and engaging in risky behavior as an avoidance of feelings of fear
How to Be in Authenticity: To be calm, clear, and grounded as a way to trust yourself to be able to respond effectively to whatever comes your way
Hint: Focus first on grounding yourself physically through activities such as martial art, yoga, and breathing; instead of acting on your desire to take risks, use these impulses as a cue to ground yourself instead
Enneagram Style Seven
Obstacle to Authenticity: Avoiding 50% of life – the painful and uncomfortable
How to Be in Authenticity: To stay focused on activities, people, projects, and especially your own internal sensations and responses
Hint: Focus first on acknowledging and fully experiencing feelings, particularly pain, sorrow and anxiety, and feelings of discomfort; stay focused on your inner experience instead of distracting yourself by external stimuli
Enneagram Style Eight
Obstacle to Authenticity: Being so big, bold, and strong without acknowledging your vulnerability and weakness
How to Be in Authenticity: To be open, vulnerable, and innocent
Hint: Focus first on what you are feeling when you have an impulse to take charge or take action
Enneagram Style Nine
Obstacle to Authenticity: Not acknowledging or honoring your own opinions, desires, and feelings
How to Be in Authenticity: To be clear, steadfast, expressive, and true to yourself
Hint: Focus on awakening your body reactions; sensations, truth that needs to be said, and feelings that need to be experienced and expressed
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