CHECK IN
Welcome! I’m so glad that you have chosen to spend some more intentional time working through the concepts presented in The Journey Toward Wholeness. I’m hopeful that this offering will give you the opportunity to explore the essence of who you are—essence referring to who we are at our core, our spiritual being, uniquely created by God. Moving on from there, you can begin to allow pieces of your false personality to fall away.
The work of the Enneagram is primarily soul work, and soul work is never one and done. While we might wish for instant change or quick fixes, those just aren’t real choices for transformational work. Instead, there is the offer of a lifetime journey. Once we begin the spiritual journey there isn’t an end point during this lifetime, just an invitation to keep journeying.
But culture not only encourages our desire for immediacy, it also most often grants it. We can have what we want right now: credit cards offer us the opportunity to make home purchases we can’t currently afford. We read the CliffsNotes of great literature instead of reading the whole book. And watching the latest movie no longer takes a trip to the theater because it can appear instantly in our living room.
I think of wholeness in terms of wholistic living, not a place where we arrive. In other words, wholeness itself is a journey. In fact, wholeness sets the table for all transformative moments, and transformative moments increase our understanding of wholeness.
We often want to control our own transformative experience, but that desire actually negates a true understanding of transformation. We have some control when we want to change something, and little or none when it comes to an opportunity for transformation. Unfortunately, you just can’t write “wholeness” on your to-do list for Thursday!
Your triad is determined by your first response when you encounter information or situations.
Because we seek immediate gratification we’re losing the understanding of what it’s like to even be on the journey. We have a plan for almost everything, but when it comes to the spiritual journey, we’re nomads. We never get “there.” We just keep journeying toward wholeness.
Of course, there is great value in unpacking these pages by yourself, but I am hopeful that you’ll go through this workbook with a trusted friend or small group. A partner or group can help keep you accountable to doing your work. Some Enneagram numbers might be tempted to speed-read their way through the book so that they can “finish.” Others might have sincere intentions of methodically working through the information but never quite make it past the first few pages. Somewhere in the middle is ideal—thoughtfully engaging with the material—and a friend or group will help keep you on track.
Let’s start by taking some time to learn about the person or people you’ll be going through this workbook with. If you’re planning to embark on this journey with a spouse or sibling, you can probably skip the first question, but leave room to be curious and surprised. You never know what you might learn!
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■ Share your name, Enneagram number, and how long you’ve been doing Enneagram work.
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■ Share why you are interested in embarking on this journey n...
