More
Than One Path
I'm
an Eight and have read The 9 Ways of Working and The
Wisdom of the Enneagram very thoroughly. Could you give
me a list of other books to read on personal growth?
Rather than reading more about the Enneagram, I
suggest focusing for a while on the path itself with Inner Knowing (edited by Helen Palmer) and
Paths Beyond Ego (edited by
Roger Walsh and Frances Vaughan). Both are collections of essays that speak to issues of
the Triad centers (2-3-4, 5-6-7, 8-9-1).
Riso and Hudson point out in
The Wisdom of the Enneagram
that the "Triads are important for transformational work because they specify where
our chief imbalance lies... the principal ways in which we contract our awareness and
limit ourselves." As an
Eight, the
reader above is a member of the Instinctive Triad, where transformational work for Eights,
Nines, and
Ones leads to "a profound sense of fullness, stability, and autonomy or
independence." This is in contrast to a false sense of autonomy,
setting ego boundaries in an attempt to affect the world
without being affected by it. Eights, for example, "are constantly putting out
energy so nothing can get too close and hurt them."
But we all need to do the work of each triad, moving
from ego-image
to inner direction (2-3-4), from mental chatter to the presence of a quiet mind (5-6-7),
and from boundary-setting to grounded connection with life (8-9-1). In other words,
we need to open our hearts, quiet our minds, and surrender to the
moment in order to come into connection with our Essence.
Essays in
Inner Knowing include "The Heart: Threshold
Between Two Worlds" by Sufi teacher Kabir Helminski.
True knowing is frequently confused by superficial levels of
mind. The Sufi, he writes, "approaches the Divine Reality
through the heart." The human heart has the potential to reflect
divine qualities, but is typically "veiled" from intuitive
knowledge by "habitual thoughts and emotions" (we can substitute
"Enneagram styles"). We "clear the mirror of the heart" by
establishing rapport with Spirit. "Sufi wisdom offers cures for
an ailing heart" through four stages: "The first three stages -
minimizing our psychological distortions, overcoming the slavery
of our attractions, and seeing beyond the veil of selfishness –
prepare us for making our contact with the divine reality of
Love." Below are Sufi cures:
-
The remembrance of God (bringing light into the heart).
-
Contemplating sacred traditions (including inspired art,
literature, music).
-
Keeping the stomach empty (because with "subtle and not so
subtle addictions... we numb ourselves to the experience of heart").
-
Vigil and prayer (meditation), reaching the "depths of
concentration upon our own unconscious."
-
Surrounding ourselves with "heart" people, who
remind us of the divine within.
Another essay in
Inner Knowing was written by Jean
Shinoda Bolen on "Synchronistic Knowing: Understanding Meaningful
Coincidence." Jung
introduced the term "synchronicity" in 1930, defined by Bolen as "the link between two events that are
connected through their meaning, a link that cannot be explained by cause and
effect." Where causality "has to do with
objective
knowledge," synchronicity "has to do with
subjective knowledge,"
an acausal coincidence between mental content and outer events, a dream that coincides
with events taking place at a distance, and/or an image about something that later
happens. We're strengthened in our "Thinking" center when we let go of
having to figure everything out and accept a different kind of knowing.
An essay from Paths Beyond Ego that speaks particularly to being
present is Charles Tart's "The Systems
Approach to Consciousness." According to Tart,
our cultural filters
cause us to ignore many of our
potentials and to develop only a few of those we do perceive. By entering an altered state of
consciousness we temporarily restructure consciousness. This doesn't require
something weird or illegal, only that we find a way to disrupt our habitual responses so
we can see things differently. Tart expands on this notion in Waking
Up: Overcoming the Obstacles to Human Potential
-- based on the teachings of Gurdjieff –
where he devotes a section to practices "toward awakening." He writes, for
example, that observing "the way in which you experience and use your body can be
very helpful in developing body / instinctive intelligence.
Take a day... to observe how you sit... On another day... try varying the way you sit
very slightly... It is very important not to confuse self-observation with self-analysis,
though. The latter is an intellectual activity that easily gets too abstract and may start
to distort the facts... Self-observation is like data gathering in science .. to
eventually figure out the forces and beliefs and attitudes shaping your experiences, as
well as to appreciate them."
Finally, I recommend that anyone
on the path of self-discovery find someone who supports you. There are many, like
myself, who take the role of coach in this journey, but you may also find support in the loving presence of a friend:
not to advise or criticize,
but someone who truly listens and provides the mirror to your own heart, mind, and
soul. We can be healers for each other. Some excerpts from Healers on Healing:
-
Rosalyn Bruyere – Healing
arises out of compassion, which reflects a desire for the surcease of someone's sorrow, no
matter the differences or similarities between healer and patient. The healer establishes
a sacred space, or temenos.
-
Ram Dass – Just as in a
garden, we don't "grow" flowers; rather, we create the conditions
for
flowers to grow. We are healed into truth. In the ultimate depth of being, we find
ourselves no longer separate but, rather, part of the unity of the universe. Therefore,
all acts of healing are ultimately our selves healing our Self.
-
Shakti Gawain – In order to
heal themselves, people must recognize, first, they have an inner guidance deep
within and, second, they can trust it.
-
Louise Hay – Many
problems come from self-rejection and self-hatred of one degree or another. I keep trying
to show people how they're not loving themselves. Then I ask, "Are you willing to
let that go?"
-
Gerald Jampolsky – We strive
to see only two emotions: love and fear. We choose to retrain our minds not to see the
world or those in it as attacking; we choose to see others as either loving or fearful.
When fearful, they're giving us a call of help for love.
-
Don Hanlon Johnson
– There's a
healing power in simple presence. We're usually so occupied with our own business,
chattering to ourselves, immured in our own pain and worries, we're incapable of
simply being there with each other for more than a brief moment.
-
Dolores Krieger – Over the
years I've found two characteristics to be consistent in the committed healer:
compassion and intentionality.
-
Stephen Levine – Grace is our
true nature; it's the source of healing we carry within us, the human divine within.
Many techniques and therapies are useful, but nothing is as effective as daily meditation
practice to deepen the well from which the thirst for healing may be slaked.
-
Rachel Naomi Remen
– Beyond
techniques, what truly fosters the healing process is the way we stand in relationship to
each other. If I know what suffering is, my woundedness allows me to be with you nonjudgmentally.
-
Martin Rossman – The technique
called "listening to your symptom" consists of focusing on a symptom, allowing
an image to represent it, then engaging the image in dialogue to find out
why the symptom is there, what it wants, and how you can meet the needs it represents.
-
O. Carl Simonton – I try to
work with the person's inner wisdom, to tap the "inner physician." I take the
position that everything in the universe is trying to help us regain health and move in
that direction. If you're tuned in you can do whatever presents itself at the time. Let
joy be your compass heading.
-
John E. Upledger – The
therapist must become an accurate reflecting mirror, a medium through which the patient's
real self can be perceived more clearly. True healing goes deeper than symptoms; it
involves getting clear about your real identity and purpose in life.
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