The Enneagram of Discernment: The Way of Vocation, Wisdom, and Practice

For all types, a helpful starting place for flourishing relationships is approaching others with the following mantra: The image of God in me sees the image of God in you. By stating this in our encounters with others (even if internally), we name and acknowledge the identity of others. This is the beginning of the pursuit of flourishing.

Years ago, the sage Evelyn Underhill wrote, “Vocation is a gradual revelation—of me, to myself, by God—it is who we are, trying to happen.”

When we do this, we’re beginning to scratch the surface of the essence of life. Mary Oliver, in her poem “The Summer Day,” asks “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”19 It’s a rich question, full of simplicity and complexity. Those that read it fall into two camps. The first camp is inspired. Oliver assumes that

In our current state, we don’t have much time and space for soul work. Such inner work requires a different sort of listening. It requires a different pace of life. It requires an honesty with ourselves that can seem scary. But to avoid who we truly are and continue living otherwise is actually scarier.

Enneagram author and teacher Marylin Vancil describes this development in a helpful way. She refers to this as the “adapted self,” the self we believe we must be in order to survive and have our needs met.

Seventh, we must continually do all of the above.

To consider how we know what we know can take our thoughts to some strange and confusing places. First, we must consider the process (or pathways) by which we gain insight to take good and healthy steps of progress in our lives. In other words, our experience of knowing matters greatly.

combine the two lists to begin to explore the way of unknowing for each type. We must unknow the first message to embrace what was once lost.

Discernment: What am I remembering? To bring their perspectives on time in balance, aggressive numbers must cultivate the Sacred Delay, a proactive pause to wait and reflect upon the past and sit in the feelings that come with it. This requires an honest approach to remembering.