The Enneagram of Holy Ideas: How the work of Enneagram invites us to experience a spiritual awakening.
Our awakening doesn’t mean we have to ascribe to a particular name of God or join a specific religion. In fact, if Holy Ideas feels like difficult language for you, you may choose the words of Dr David Daniels, who called this layer of Enneagram our Essential Spiritual Qualities. Whatever we call this layer of the work, it is inviting us to open up to something bigger than ourselves, and release into trust.
At some point in our history, our basic trust in the benevolence of the universe was broken. We felt like we had to take control of our lives, and disconnected from the sense that something bigger was holding us. This became a source of deep pain and grief that our egos worked to help us survive. Our mental fixations formed to protect us by creating a blind spot around our Holy Idea, the very aspect of divine Being that is ours to see and bring forward.
Below is the image, word, and guidance I imagine Enneagram each Type operating from their Holy Idea or Essence would offer to their earlier selves… and to all of us.
This blog post was first a series on Instagram, pairing each word with an image I took on a family road trip in the summer of 2021.
Type 1: Soften
On a misty morning, it’s difficult to know where the land ends and the water begins. Reflection, vapor, vegetation, and lake blend into etherial oneness. The inseparable wholeness of all things is palpable.
What if I told you it was possible to experience this kind of perfection? Not through striving but by softening?
Allow your rigid edges to relax. Let serenity come to the surface. Soften into the goodness that is already true.
The Holy Idea for Type 1 is Holy Perfection, an experience of reality as a process, with an undivided wholeness. Surrender to Holy Perfection allows Type Ones to release from the judgment of binary thinking and find calm in the way things are.
Type 2: Dance
Butterflies are captivating. They dance through the air, fluttering and gliding to the music of the breeze. They migrate toward the radiant flowers that have the nectar they need, and glide there to receive. When they have what they need and its time to move on, butterflies flow forward with generativity, as they give the gift of pollination simply by returning to their dance.
What if I told you it was possible to experience this kind of freedom?
Glide to receive, and in receiving, you will give. Humility comes as you ride on the winds of reciprocity, and let your movements become a dance.
The Holy Idea for Type Twos is Holy Freedom, an understanding that there are natural laws at work that we, and our relationships, are subject to. Surrender to Holy Freedom allows Type Twos to move with the laws of giving and receiving.
Type 3: Yield
Why did that construction worker have to leave the digger right there, interrupting the view of this sunrise shot? And yet, doesn’t that create its own metaphor? There is a sun that rises every morning and is not dependent on our work to do so. There are mountains that have been here before us will be here after us regardless of what we do or do not achieve. We can stop moving and the world will keep spinning.
What if I told you it was possible to be content in this moment? You can yield to the dawn of a new day that will arrive whether you are moving or at rest. You do not have to work for your worth or achieve your own future. The universe hopes with you, co-laboring towards what is still to come.
The Holy Idea for Type Threes is Holy Hope, a sense that things get done according to universal laws, not individual effort. Surrender to Holy Hope allows Type Threes to find value in who they are instead of what they do.
Type 4: Rewild
Rewilding is the reintroduction of a species into a habitat from which it has disappeared. There is something special about seeing something we have domesticated free-roaming in the natural world. Their connection to where they have come from increases their distinctiveness. As they blend into their landscape, they stand out.
What if I told you the identity you are looking for could be found in the connection to who you used to be? You can rewild into the landscape of humanity. You don’t have to be domesticated. You can be natural, in harmony with your origin and the present moment. Nothing is missing.
The Holy Idea for Type Fours is Holy Origin, an awareness that we are each connected to Source with nothing important missing. Surrender to Holy Origin allows Type Fours to find contentment in a uniqueness not based on separateness.
Type 5: Wonder
Mountains feel ancient and mysterious, carrying questions and witness from ages past. What meaning did they have for the indigenous people of that land? If they could talk, what would they say? Nature can be explained by science. But does that knowledge really capture the fullness of what is there?
What if I told you the competency you are looking for could be found in the wonder of what you can never know? You were never meant to understand everything. The earth that carries you is capable. You can trust it to give you what you need when you marvel at its capacity to do so.
The Holy Idea for Type Fives is Holy Omniscience, a sense of intimate connection to a transparent knowledge that flows without effort. Surrender to Holy Omniscience allows Type Fives to open to mystery and the energy of the present moment.
Type 6: Venture
Where does this path lead? What happens on the other side of the crest?
Venture forward into the unknown, and feel the fire of life course through your veins. Even if hard things happen (they will), and the path moves in an unexpected direction (it will), you are equipped for this journey.
What if I told you there was a place for unanswered questions and unpredictable futures? You were never meant to plan for everything. You can trust in the capacity of the universe to carry you forward. You can put your questions in your pocket, and carry them with you as you venture out from where you are. You are more courageous than you think.
The Holy Idea for Type Sixes is Holy Faith, a connection to a balanced reality in which nothing is destroyed, and things are moving towards fulfillment. Surrender to Holy Faith gives Type Sixes confidence in their strength and essence.
Type 7: Quiet
Even on vacation, there can be a dangerous sense of muchness. A desire to do all the hikes can lead to a frantic pace of getting up early, moving fast, and squeezing as much as possible into each day. What would it mean to choose to stay and float, for the sake of a different view?
What in you is aching to quiet?
What if I told you that this moment holds everything you need? You don’t need to keep moving. You can relax into the spaciousness of now and the possibilities of the future at the same time.
The Holy Idea for Type Sevens is Holy Work, an embrace of the present as the only place real work can be done because reality is a series of moments. Surrender to Holy Work allows Type Sevens to experience the fullness of life with consciousness and focus.
Type 8: Open
While hiking in the mountains, it is tempting to fix our gaze in one direction. Yet in the shadow of the giants, there is a refuge of life. Streams and lakes form in the depressions of the earth around them. Forests drink the water and create dwellings for creatures of all sorts. In this habitat, wildflowers flourish. While columbines look delicate, they are hardy and resilient. They trust their surroundings to hold them and open to the nurturing they find there.
What if I told you strength doesn’t always look like towering greatness? What if a small flower can show us a different way of being mighty? What if opening could be a new way to thrive?
The Holy Idea for Type Eights is Holy Truth, an openness to a bigger and more essential truth everywhere and in everyone, existing beyond individual perspectives. Surrender to Holy Truth allows Type Eights to operate with both power and innocence, as they come to each moment without prejudice or agenda.
Type 9: Surge
Water flows without asking for permission first. It knows its way to the low point and follows the path of its energy to get there. While it moves, it carves out space for itself in the rocks and earth. It knows where it is supposed to be and surges there with confidence. In doing so, it creates beauty visitors flock to see. Waterfalls and streams are captivating spiritual places, inviting onlookers to peace and hope in their presence.
What if I told you there is a peace that can be created not by holding back but by surging forward? What if you unapologetically made space for yourself, knowing that your presence is worthy? What if your intuition is showing you the way?
The Holy Idea for Type Nines is Holy Love, a trust in the unconditional love of the universe, in which everyone is valued, and everything belongs. Surrender to Holy Love allows Type Nines to take the self into account.
Awakening to Holy Ideas begins by opening to mystery and submitting to some acceptance of a Higher Power. Even, perhaps, to a belief that this something bigger could be a Benevolent Love.
Whatever our spiritual background and religious tradition, we can enter this journey through wonder. For what is wonder if not a sense of astonishment and awe? Where does awe point us if not to something beyond our small ego selves?
“I came to know that it wasn’t naming the source of wonder that mattered, it was wonder itself.” - Robin Wall Kimmerer
This is a deep layer of the Enneagram tool that is difficult to cover in one article. Here are a few recommendations for further study:
Essential Spiritual Qualities, an article by Dr. David Daniels
Facets of Unity: The Enneagram of Holy Ideas by A.H. Almaas
The Spiritual Dimension of the Enneagram: Nine Faces of the Soul by Sandra Maitri
Let’s courageously move towards essence– together.
💛 Stephanie
