Enneagram Daily Reflections

What is it like to be an Enneagram Eight? "Fósforito! The explosion happened so quickly there was no stopping it. My mother called me 'tiny match' when she would see this fire exploding from me." This is how Latina pastor, activist, and worship leader, Sandra Maria Van Opstal, describes her experience as an Eight. There came a point in her life when she saw how her fiery explosions were undermining her leadership. A wise spiritual director helped her discover how the Enneagram could reveal more about both her gifts and her weaknesses. Sandra offers insight from her ethnic journey alongside Enneagram wisdom. Each of these forty readings concludes with an opportunity for further engagement such as a journaling prompt, reflection questions, a written prayer, or a spiritual practice. Any of us can find aspects of ourselves in any of the numbers. The Enneagram is a profound tool for empathy, so whether or not you are an Eight, you will grow from your reading about Eights and enhance your relationships across the Enneagram spectrum.

What is it like to be an Enneagram Seven? Adventurer, spiritual leader, and artist Gideon Tsang tackles this question with the signature style of a Seven. Intermixed with stories of travel and making new friends in surprising places, is a commitment to honest self-assessment. Gideon shares how his Enneagram journey has led to personal and spiritual transformation in a series of readings that will delight readers and enlighten readers who want to understand the world of the Seven more fully. Each of the forty readings concludes with an opportunity for further engagement such as a journaling prompt, reflection questions, a written prayer, or a spiritual practice. Any of us can find aspects of ourselves in any of the numbers. The Enneagram is a profound tool for empathy, so whether or not you are a Seven, you will grow from your reading about Sevens and enhance your relationships across the Enneagram spectrum.

What is it like to be an Enneagram Three? Pastor Sean Palmer reflects on this question in a spirit of honest self-assessment. He draws wisdom from the deep wells of both counseling and spirituality using illustrations from Scripture and life. Each of the forty daily readings concludes with an opportunity for further engagement such as a journaling prompt, a written prayer, or a spiritual practice. Any of us can find aspects of ourselves in any of the numbers. The Enneagram is a profound tool for empathy, so whether or not you are a Three, you will grow from your reading about Threes and enhance your relationships across the Enneagram spectrum.

What is it like to be an Enneagram Five? Instagram poet and artist Morgan Harper Nichols, reflects on this question in a spirit of honest self-assessment and with a desire for personal and spiritual growth. She draws wisdom from the deep wells of counseling and spirituality, using illustrations from both Scripture and life. Each of these forty readings concludes with an opportunity for further engagement such as a prayer, a spiritual practice, or a reflection question. Morgan's art enhances the readings as well. Any of us can find aspects of ourselves in any of the numbers. The Enneagram is a profound tool for empathy, so whether or not you are a Five, you will grow from your reading about Fives and enhance your relationships across the Enneagram spectrum.

"Why do you hold back?" Enneagram Nines are often asked questions like this by others who want to invite them to share their gifts. Marlena Graves describes her own experience with deciding whether to speak up: "I know what it's like to be run over and rendered invisible. I don't want to do the same to others." Nines are easy to be around because they seem to instinctively put others before themselves. In these readings Marlena reflects on what it's like to be a Nine with a spirit of honest self-assessment and a desire for personal and spiritual growth. She draws wisdom from the deep wells of both counseling and spirituality, using illustrations from Scripture and life. She writes out of her personal context, drawing on the lessons learned from her Puerto Rican Abuelita and from growing up in poverty. But she also writes for all of us. Each reading concludes with an opportunity for further engagement such as a journaling prompt, reflection questions, a written prayer, or a spiritual practice. Any of us can find aspects of ourselves in any of the numbers. The Enneagram is a profound tool for empathy, so whether or not you are a Nine, you will grow from your reading about Nines and enhance your relationships across the Enneagram spectrum.

"How are you feeling?" Christine Yi Suh says that this has always been a hard question. She writes: "The more accurate question for a Four may be, 'What aren't you feeling?' I can grab my prevailing emotion and tell you how I'm doing from that emotion's point of view (joy, elation, sadness, grief, confusion-you name it!). I live and breathe a kaleidoscope of living, feeling, conflicting emotions." Many times Fours are labeled "emotionally intense" or "too much," but for a Four this is just how life is. This is why Fours are ideal companions in the midst difficult times: the death of a loved one, the birth of a baby, transitional seasons in career, relational conflict, and so on. The Enneagram is a profound tool for empathy, so whether or not you are a Four, you will grow from your reading about Four and enhance your relationships across the Enneagram spectrum. Each reading concludes with an opportunity for further engagement such as a journaling prompt, reflection questions, a written prayer, or a spiritual practice.

"I am a number One on the Enneagram." Juanita Rasmus continues: "If you are a One, you know the weight of the world we carry. If you know a One, these readings will give you enhanced insight into our world. Either way, bring your work boots-you will need them!" Guided by her own life, including experiences with exhaustion and depression, Juanita Rasmus draws from the deep wells of counseling and spirituality to illuminate the journey of a One. She shares the resources that have guided her to greater spiritual and emotional health. Each of these forty daily reading concludes with a journaling prompt, self-affirmation, or spiritual practice. Any of us can find aspects of ourselves in any of the numbers. The Enneagram is a profound tool for empathy, so whether or not you are a One, you will grow from your reading about Ones and enhance your relationships across the Enneagram spectrum.

"When I discovered I was an Enneagram Six, I didn't want to be one." Pastor Tara Beth Leach continues, "I hated that I was marked by fear," reflecting on how fear and anxiety can plague a ‘Six’whether they are pulling back from or diving right in to the things that feel threatening. She explores what it means for her to be a redeemed Six, who is allowing Jesus to transform her a little at a time. Whether you are a Six, have a Six wing, or have a friend or spouse who is a Six, you will find wisdom here as Tara Beth explores her own journey of deepening self-understanding through the Enneagram. To take you deeper, each of these forty daily readings concludes with a prayer, a spiritual practice, or a reflection question.

What is it like to be an Enneagram Two? Pastor, lawyer, and Enneagram speaker Hunter Mobley reflects on this question with a mix of self-compassion and hunger for personal growth. Using the metaphor of a welcoming Southern porch, he describes Twos this way: "We have well-curated our reputations as people who can be counted on. We're the people of 'yes!' But beyond our front porches and living rooms is a diversity of unexpressed and unmet feelings and needs. Tiredness, loneliness, grief, disappointment, and longing live beside joy, gratitude, and hope in the kitchens, dens, and bedrooms of our houses." These forty daily readings are an opportunity to explore both the shadow and the light that radiates from the front porches of our personality and deeper into the soul that lays within. Each reading concludes with an opportunity for further engagement such as a journaling prompt, reflection questions, a written prayer, or a spiritual practice. Any of us can find aspects of ourselves in any of the numbers. The Enneagram is a profound tool for empathy, so whether or not you are a two, you will grow from your reading about twos and enhance your relationships across the Enneagram spectrum.