Impulse to flee

In the process of self-reflection, I sometimes feel an impulse to flee from facing me…  I know merit of self-reflection.  That would be helpful to seek “true self.”  However, the path to true self always causes a pain.  Pain?  Pain with true transformation…

Enneagram Self-Reflection: What insights have you gained about how your Ennea-type operates in your life? Having this insight, will you do anything differently?

What insights have you gained about how your Ennea-type operates in your life?  Having this insight, will you do anything differently?

I have gained a lot of insights about how my Ennea-type (seven) operates in my life after studying the Enneagram.  Firstly, as Palmer (1995) proposes, Sevens are likely to be occupied with a lot of ideas or thoughts, and they tend to focus on future plans.  To tell you the truth, I think that I’m always busy in my mind, so I sometimes can’t focus on the issues at hand.  Now, I understand that I have to concentrate on challenges facing me by virtue of the wisdom of the Enneagram.  Especially, as for my spiritual practice, the wisdom of the Enneagram is so helpful.  As mentioned about my zen meditation practice on the above question, I could not stand sitting for only a few minutes when I was at the beginning of practicing the zen meditation.  That was because a dozen thoughts crowded my mind.  A lot of thoughts disturbed my inner peace, so I gave up practicing the meditation soon then I used to tackle other things.  “If the mind becomes fascinated with the delights of outer life, then spiritual work deteriorates to pleasant planning and gluttony for life experience” (Palmer, 1995, p. 175).  That was the trap which I fell into very much.  However, fortunately, since I recognized the fact, I have restored tranquility, serenity, and peace of mind in my life by continuing zen meditation every day even if the meditation time is short.

Secondly, the wisdom of the Enneagram provided me with the opportunity to find my shadow pattern and to practice a shadow work.  Wilber (2007) explains that shadow work is one of the most important practices in order to develop ourselves.  In my view, the Enneagram is compatible with shadow work.  When I notice that the basic fear, basic desire, superego message, and wake-up call for type seven appear, that’s a good chance to practice a shadow work for me.  For instance, Sevens don’t want others to control the circumstance, but if I feel uncomfortable with the situation that others control me, I’ll be able to find my unique shadow pattern.  Then, I’ll transform my shadow into the power to develop my personal growth.  That is the one of the useful insights in the Enneagram for me.

Thirdly, the Enneagram showed me the nine levels of each type.  The concept was insightful for me.  The first reason is that I can recognize at which levels my center of gravity is by using this concept.  By noticing my current states of levels, I can understand whether I am at healthy levels or not.  If I fall into an unhealthy level, and I can notice that, I may be able to shift the level into an average or healthy level.  The second reason is related to “Integral Theory” which Ken Wilber proposed.  Now, I study it in Integral Psychology program at John F. Kennedy University, but the concept of nine levels of types is similar to the idea of “States of Consciousness” (Wilber, 2006, p. 71).  In a word, states of consciousness indicate the temporary, unsteady, and changeable states of human consciousness.  Like states of consciousness, nine levels of types move up and down in a single day (Riso & Hudson, 1999).  The concept of nine levels of types enhanced my understanding of Integral Theory, too.

Lastly, the path of integration and dis-integration about type seven gave me the hint to transform me.  Regarding the dis-integration of type seven, I could understand the cause for Sevens to go to type one when Sevens are under stressful conditions.  In other words, if I attempt to educate others like average Ones, I’ll be able to notice that I’ll go in the wrong direction, say, I’ll fall into dis-integration.  On the other hand, the integration for Sevens is going to type five.  If Sevens are able to cultivate a calm mind and concentrate on the tasks at hand, they will demonstrate their powerful potentials.  In that sense, the concept of integration and dis-integration suggests the possibility of my personal growth.

Enneagram Self-Reflection:What was your first reaction or response when you identified your Ennea-type(s)? Why do you think you had this reaction - does it correlate to qualities of your type?

What was your first reaction or response when you identified your Ennea-type(s)?  Why do you think you had this reaction - does it correlate to qualities of your type?

                          When I identified my Ennea-type as seven, my first reaction was as I expected.  In fact, since I was a university student, I have regarded myself as an enthusiastic man based on a lot of feedback which people around me gave.  In retrospect, I call to mind my behavior or attitudes in that I am a type seven. 

In fact, I always tended to keep my mind very busy.  As Riso and Hudson (1999) point out, “as long as they can keep their minds occupied, especially with projects and positive ideas for the future, they can, to some extent, keep anxiety and negative feelings out of their conscious awareness” (p. 263).  As the above sentence explains, I was usually occupied with positive ideas or interesting future plans in order to let go of my negative ideas and feelings.  Actually, I didn’t sometimes concentrate on what I had to do now because of my busy mind.  Therefore, I looked for the way to keep my mind calm then I was able to find zen meditation practice by chance.  After I started to practice zen meditation, I became able to keep my mind relaxed and serene little by little.  As Riso and Hudson (1999) recommend that Sevens practice meditation to feel the present moment, the meditation practice is so helpful for type seven, I think.  Thanks to zen meditation, now I can feel connected to the moment and enjoy fulfillment of everything around me.  In addition, zen meditation provides me not only a tranquil mind but also the opportunity to access true self.  Through zen meditation, I have been able to cultivate my spirituality and enjoy the present moment.  In regard to spiritual dimensions of type seven, Maitri (2000) comments that “The more we inquire into what it is that brings us joy through listening closely to our hearts, we will see that joy arises the more we are real and the more we face our truth, because this takes us one step closer to our depths (p. 239).  As a consequence, I noticed that my joy is not at the future but at the present.

Furthermore, my second highest score is type three and eight.  In other words, I’m not only an enthusiast but also an achiever and challenger.  I can recognize in myself that I have a strong desire to achieve something in my life, and I really like to challenge something, taking a risk.  That’s why I fully agreed with the result of the Enneagram test.  More specifically, as Palmer (1995) indicates “Threes are naturally competitive.  They like to stretch their limit, to play full out, to compete with the best” (p. 89), I was really competitive and sometimes cried when I missed some games when I was a kid.  Even now, I hate defeat, and I’m a truly emulous person.  Thus, I think that I have a strong factor of type three.

In addition to type three, type eight has an influence on my type.  Especially, I usually avoid and dislike for someone controlling me.  In fact, Eights tend not to “want to be controlled or allow others to have power over them” (Riso & Hudson, 1999, p. 289).  Also, I sometimes don’t like working under someone who exert his or her authority over me.  As discussed above, I totally agree with the idea that my personality type is comprised of type seven, three, and eight.

Integral Leadership Collaborative: Action Learning Working Session - Bring your real-life projects to this session!

From 8pm (Central Time), this futuristic roundtable discussions will begin.  The detail is the following.

The Integral Leadership Collaborative is far more than a conference. This is a chance to bring the projects that you are passionate about and work in groups with your peers. The idea is to collaborate over the next 4 weeks to take the next step in your leadership initiative. Come to this session with people you'd like to create projects with, start the conversation here, and continue it in the Action Learning Project Group section of the Members site. http://www.integralleadershipcollaborative.com/fe/13628-the-conference

Integral Leadership Collaborative: Panel Discussion Integral Leadership Coaching - Allison Conte, Brett Thomas, Paul Landraitis and Nathanael Chawkin

From 4pm (Central Time), panel discussion about integral leadership coaching will begin.  This topic is my interest, so I’m really looking forward to listening to it!

Integral Leadership Collaborative: Leadership at the Edge Insights From Leaders Who Hold Post-Conventional Consciousness on Change Initiatives - Barrett Brown

Integral Leadership Collaborative day 3 will start soon (noon Central Time).

Today’s first speaker is Barrett Brown.