How the Enneagram Enables Stillness and Presence

Today, just before I ate lunch outside, I looked up and watched the clouds float across the sky and the trees jostle in the light breeze. A leaf fell into the pond and drifted in the current created by its own impact. A grebe paddled by. (Yes, I am blessed to have such a beautiful lunch spot!)

I was mesmerized, not because there was a lot going on, but because whatever was going on seemed effortless and inevitable and perfect. As I sat there in quietness, I suddenly felt a sense of God’s unfolding good will, and how I was a part of it, not just in general but in that very moment. I had a very real feeling of unity with my fellow created things, like we were all humming together the song of creation, certain in our belovedness, worried for nothing. I cried for joy.

Now, don’t worry that I’ve gone off the deep end and think that trees and grebes are equal on the creation hierarchy with humans! Or that I believe we’re all expressions of some nameless cosmic energy and that when we die, we’ll all become part of that universal energy field. Nope, I’m a firm believer that people are God’s crowning creative achievement, that we are individuals and that our eternity will be one of individuals existing in a kind of unity with each other and with God that we can only guess at now.

Except that I think I got a taste of it today. And here’s the kicker: When I logged into Facebook this evening, what did it serve up to me? A “three years ago today” post of an almost identical experience! Then, I was at my husband’s martial arts event, and I felt that sense of connection with other people.

Both times, the experience happened because I made the decision to be present: to set my own time frame and agenda aside and directly experience what was happening right in front of me. I let life actually unfold instead of trying to control it or inject my opinions or demands into it.

And that is how this post ties into the Enneagram. Without learning about my type (Seven, for those who are new here) and without understanding that there was a real me underneath my personality type, I never would have known that there was a need for silence or stillness. In fact, those things previously frightened and bored me, respectively. With the knowledge I have now, though, they transform me.

This is the invitation of the Enneagram. You, reader, have an amazing opportunity right within your grasp. It’s the chance to journey toward your authentic self and to learn how to be still and quiet so that you can experience real, true, beautiful life the way God intended you to live it. Until my book comes out (and probably after, too), I recommend “The Wisdom of the Enneagram” as the best place to start. You can also check out enneagraminstitute.com, which has helpful online paid and free tests.

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