“When we're present, we know what we want. We know how to get it.”
–Christina Granahan
Let’s dig deeper into the Enneagram. Last week we got the basics on the Enneagram, and today I’m really excited to share more in this conversation with Enneagram-informed Therapist and Coach Christina Granahan to help you really use your Enneagram.
If you’ve looked at your Enneagram at all, you probably know your type or number, but do you know about energy centers? Christina shares the three main energy centers — body, heart, head — and how an imbalance can affect us.
When we get all three of our energy centers on board, we are more present. The Enneagram is one of many modalities that can help us come into presence and make change in our life through being present.
We talk about:
- Triads and which energy centers different triads are often weak in
- Cancel culture and forgetting the head center
- Questions different types should ask themselves to balance their energy centers
- Holding your type tightly and loosely
- Shadow work and shining light on the parts of us we hide or don’t see
- Finding more energy or right-sizing your energy by doing Enneagram work
ABOUT CHRISTINA
I’m an Enneagram-Informed Therapist & Coach. As a social worker and coach, every single question I ask is in service of the client's agenda - moving them forward into action while building their awareness around what motivates them, what holds them back, and what choices they make in their perceptions and assumptions about the people and situations around them.
I use the Enneagram to do this work because it is the most efficient, accurate framework for bringing consciousness to unconscious behavior. By illuminating and objectifying aspects of our lives, we are better able to bring change and choice to them. The Enneagram shines a light on the personality and all the habits therein, to allow you to work with them.
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DOABLE CHANGES
At the end of every episode, we share three doable changes, so you can take what you've heard and put it into action. Action is where change happens.
Even though we want big change, it’s really little things done over and over that make the difference. So pick a doable thing. Put it in your calendar. Weave it through your days for a week and then move on to the next one. It will have a snowball effect.
Here are three Doable Changes from this conversation:
- TAKE THE ENNEAGRAM TEST. The best starting place with the Enneagram is taking a test to find out your type and wings. You don’t want a quick 10-question test. You want a recommended version. When you take it, don't overthink the questions, just answer. Don’t spend too much time in your head. Remember to hold your results lightly and loosely.
- LEARN ABOUT YOUR ENERGY CENTER. If you’ve learned about your type, now try learning about your energy center. Which energy center is least active for you? Take a step — awareness might be the first one — to get that energy center more on board.
- NOTICE WHEN YOU’RE DOING THAT THING AGAIN. Of of the things the Enneagram does is point out things about ourselves that we may want to admit are part of ourselves. First, remind yourself that whatever it is, is part of you, but not the whole you. Acknowledge when you are “doing the thing again.” That awareness is the start of a shift.
