Enneagram

The Enneagram is a remarkably effective guide to psychological and spiritual growth and I have found it invaluable in my work.
The Cambridge Enneagram Group has been running since 2002.
We meet on the second Monday of each month and welcome newcomers.
Enneagram workshop.
Is the world a friendly place?
Monday 11 June 7.30pm-9.30pm
Trinity Close, Haslingfield CB23 1LS
Participation £15 includes workshop, handouts, refreshments and networking with other interesting people.

What do you think? Is the world a friendly place? Is it safe? Benevolent? Trustworthy?
It’s the question that Einstein said is the most important we humans can ask.
Because the way we look at the world influences our personality, our way of thinking, feeling and acting towards ourselves and others. I am writing this just before going to vote in the local elections. Which of the politicians, for example, do I trust? Which of my friends? Colleagues? Family? And crucially how much do I trust myself?
Do I trust life? Death? Are they friendly?
Each of the nine Enneatypes has distinctive flavours in their response to these questions.
And I’d like to ask them as an introduction to a series of workshops on the Fixations and the Higher Mental states, traditionally known as the Holy Ideas, which I have planned for the next few months.

A big welcome to all, newcomers and old. I look forward to seeing you Monday 11th.
Please feel free to contact me if you’d like more information.

Take care.All shall be well.
Thomas
Previous workshops
Loss of trust and ego development
(notes based on Almaas “Facets of Unity” and “The Spiritual Dimension of the Enneagram”)
Ordinary trust

We all have some basic trust; otherwise we would be unable to function in the world; to do things and take the results for granted, without thinking e.g. to go to sleep trusting that we will wake up; unless we are blind, to open our eyes trusting that we shall see; to turn the ignition trusting that the car will start up
But this ordinary trust is conditional; it depends on our judgement of different people and situations

Basic trust

is not a trust in one thing/person/situation or another
it comes before any ideas which differentiate between what we trust and what we don’t; it is preconceptual
even before a believer’s trust in God which implies already a concept of God
is experienced as an unquestioned sense of safety and security intrinsic to the way we act and live
is an implicit orientation toward all circumstances allowing us to relax and be with it

basic trust is spiritual; it is in the DNA of our souls; we feel in our bones that we are and will be okay. It is in our essential nature.

gives us the capacity to surrender, to let go, to jump into the unknown

comes with innate sense that life is fundamentally benevolent – that that benevolence exists independent of us or our actions
is a belly quality, something in which our whole being is grounded
is the basis for our courageous, authentic action in life

we don’t sit on our capacities nor wait for the universe to do it for us; we engage in life wholeheartedly, taking risks, letting go of old ego structures with the confidence that it will work out
Loss of trust
Trust is part of our essential nature. Our essential nature is who we are when we experience ourselves free from the influence of the past. It is who we are before we take form, who we are in the moment before our conception.
In the process of our taking form, in the womb, in infancy and in childhood we lose contact with our essential nature; we no longer feel held by the world; we build defences; our ego develops and becomes stronger, more rigid, until we lose access to the very soul our ego is trying to defend.
We lose access to the Holy Ideas, higher cognitive ideas:

Holy Will, Holy Origin, Holy Wisdom, Holy Love, Holy Perfection, Holy Omniscience, Holy Strength, Holy Truth, Holy Harmony

And ego replaces them with Fixations mental habits, compulsions, fakes:

Flattery, Melancholy, Planning, Indolence, Resentment, Stinginess, Cowardice, Vengeance, Vanity
Helping a friend
For next Monday's workshop I propose as theme ‘how to help a friend in their growth using the experience of the Enneagram’. This will allow us to bring in ideas explored over the last months and our own experience of helping a friend grow in their personal development.

Beginning with ourselves! Because our own best friend is indeed our self. And yet how often we think of our selves negatively, looking more at what we get wrong and less at where we shine.

As part of the workshop therefore I’ll invite us to look at our talents and the gifts we offer to the world. (Check out your reaction to that one!)

The contribution of £15 per person covers the workshop, handouts and refreshments.

I look forward to seeing you there, warts, gifts and all.
Take care
Thomas
The Arrows on the Enneagram
What happens when we are in stress?
What can we do to get to our place of healthy development?

Discover how people of different Enneagram tendencies act

when they are stressed or feel they are stuck or going backwards

2. when they are chilled and feel good about things

All of us, whatever our Enneatype know that we can seem like different people at different times of our life or even over the course of a single day. Our moods can change, and with them our thoughts, feelings and behaviour depending on circumstances, people we come into contact with, things that are said or done.

Through the lines, or arrows, connecting each Enneatype to others, the Enneagram model gives us a map for identifying this movement and for strategies we can take for choosing to react differently, and in a way which we find more empowering and fulfilling.

The fee of £15 includes handouts and refreshments.
If possible, but not essential, please let me know if you plan to join us. It will be great if you can and you’ll be happy you did.

See you Monday 9 April.

Thomas

An example of a person in stress and in growth
The Perfectionist Enneatype 1
The Perfectionist has an over riding need to get things right, to do the right thing, and to get everyone else to do it. I am of this Enneatype myself and I often refer to us as the "right-ists".

At our worst we can be a real pain both to ourselves and others in our striving to get things totally perfect - an impossible dream.
At our best we can see that the imperfect is an integral part of the beauty of all that is, and enjoy life just as it is.

When we follow the arrow to the Four, the Tragic Romantic, we can
- negatively get terribly depressed believing that no one understands us and there's no hope for any of us
- or more positively become more creative and in touch with deeper feelings
When we follow the arrow to the Seven, the Fun Lover, we can
- negatively, begin to self destruct through excess
- or positively, chill out, become more spontaneous, and do things just because they're fun

Each of us, whatever our Enneatype, know that we can seem like different people at different times of our life or even over the course of a single day. Our moods can change, and with them our thoughts, feelings and behaviour depending on circumstances, people we meet, things that are said or done.

Through the lines connecting each Enneatype to others, the Enneagram model gives us
·         an incredibly accurate map for identifying the movement between stress and security
·         strategies we can take for choosing to react differently
·         options for more empowering and fulfilling ways of living

The workshop is held at 14 Trinity Close, Haslingfield, Cambridge, CB23 1LS, and the fee of £15 includes handouts and refreshments.
Join us if you can; you’ll be happy if you do.

For more details feel free to contact me by email or phone, and check out my website http://www.thomashillas.com/enneagram.html
I look forward to seeing you on Monday 11 December

Thomas

I also offer individual one-to-one sessions and customised workshops for businesses interested in developing their skills and talents using the Enneagram model

Contact me for further details.