(The Enneagram is a model of the human psyche which is principally understood and taught as a typology of 9 interconnected personality types. Combining traditional wisdom with modern psychology, it is a powerful tool for understanding ourselves and the people in our lives. The system offers in-depth insight to individuals, groups and collectives. Each of the 9 types of the Enneagram has a distinct set of underlying beliefs and motivations that result in 9 different sets of ha

Let’s talk about cocooning. “Mmmmm - I’m going to close all the curtains and put on some smooth jazz, make a cup of hot cocoa and wrap myself up in a sherpa blanket. I need some me time, baby.“ Sounds pretty amazing, actually. After all, self care is essential…time to decompress and connect with your body. I am 100% in favor of it! But what is “Cocooning”? The term “cocooning” was coined in 1981 by Faith Popcorn, a trend forecaster and marketing consultant. Her definition of

Somewhere around 1999, a year or so after we had married, my husband I took a road trip to North Carolina, a few hours drive from Atlanta, where we now live. We decided to stop along the way and take a tour of one of the National parks and, as luck would have it (I use the term ‘luck’ loosely) we ended up with our own personal guided tour by a young forest ranger I’ll call Buck. I have no idea what his name was but that sounds like a good forest ranger name to me. Buck was so

No one gives a damn about the enneagram. There, I said it. But you know there's more to this abrupt statement so hang with me. Don't stop too soon (that will make sense later!) :-) No one cares that you can draw the enneagram symbol without lifting your pencil. That’s a cool trick but no one cares about cool tricks unless you’re a magician…which you are not. Mathematicians or architects might care about the enneagram. It’s an interesting 9 sided drawing. But other than those

What constitutes a mentor? The simple definition is: anyone who is a guiding influence in another person's life….a guide, teacher, coach or adviser. Some are intentional mentors and some take a more circuitous path becoming an unintentional mentor or what I thought myself to be, an accidental mentor. I find the idea of being a mentor a bit daunting and never set out on a path to learn the ins and outs of earning that title nor taking on the commitment and responsibility. As a

I’m not a fan of the cactus in general. I like those little tiny succulents, especially the bright pink or yellow ones! And, I do like a prickly pear jelly which is delicious on a breakfast burrito. But I’ve been in the Arizona desert and run into some of the sharpest needles that side of the Mississippi. I didn’t actually run into it. I was chased into it by my mean, older cousin who knew exactly what he was doing because he lived in Arizona and just wanted for me to have th

I'll get to our Enneagram types and our fears but first...a little story... I love springtime! I love sunshine, day light savings time, getting my hands in the dirt and planting flowers and even my feeble attempts at jogging in pleasant weather. I love almost everything about this season. So why did the words “I HATE SPRINGTIME” just fly out of my mouth like an angry hornet? Well, there’s a clue in that last sentence. “Oh I totally understand” people will tell me. “I can’t

So…I shared my own confession regarding my big AHA moments in this pandemic lockdown. If you missed the big reveal you can read it HERE. It was SHOCKING, I tell ya! But then I got to wondering if other enneagram types were discovering things about themselves during this time that were equally surprising. So…I asked! And answer they did! The following are exact quotes from the Enneagram Reddit community: Type 2: “I can't wait for people to go back to work. 2s want people's

I have a secret. It’s one of those secrets that I’m afraid will ruin my reputation! I have an image to uphold, y’all. I’ve worked hard to create this image. How long have I been working on this, you ask? My entire life!! I’m an Enneagram type 7 through and through. I love all the 7 memes! When someone says, ‘of course you reframed that situation…you’re a 7’ or…’I guess you’ll be throwing a party for THAT because 7s are all about a party’, I feel proud! And I secretly get gi

We get so caught up in wanting to affect the masses and share all our 'expertise' with the world that we miss the value of one life.