The challenge of dealing with human suffering is one of the great themes of Eastern and Western spirituality. The main theme of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam is suffering and the First Noble Truth addresses it in Buddhism. The original presentation of the Enneagram did not say that type was a person’s identity.

The Desert Fathers of Egypt, the first Christian contemplatives, came up with the idea of looking at the forms of suffering that distracted monks from their prayer and meditation.

The teachings looked at how we lose sight of the Divine. They look at how human suffering is transformed by presence and grace into the qualities of the awakened heart.

You will discover in the first module.

• The specific relationship between the heart’s suffering, and qualities of presence and grace
• How working with each Enneagram point is a study of a particular state of “heart presence”
• The alchemy of restored presence as the process that begins to turn the heart towards its true source — its “Beloved”
• Each of the nine points as a specific journey of the heart
• The “alchemical gold” of inner work — the results of cultivating our true inner life
• How the Virtues reflect the qualities of a real teacher — the signs of someone who has actually been on the authentic journey of awakening
• The 9 Virtues as doorways to another kind of human community — the alternative to fear as an organizing principle

In this module, we will look at Type Eight as a principle of life and a quality of presence, not just as a kind of person, but as an overall principle of life and a quality of presence. The teaching of these Type Eight issues and gifts will be a main path in the lives of those who organize most around them.

It is natural for human beings to feel alive, and to experience this in the heart as an exquisite sensitivity.

The ego seeks to have the aliveness without the sensitivity and thus creates suffering as a struggle to feel real and alive. We are touched by the open-heartedness of Innocence.

You will discover in the second module.

• The natural state of aliveness and authenticity — a basic element of grounded presence
• How to recognize and experience the qualities of Innocence and Mercy in your daily life
• The real meaning of the passion of “lust”
• The various psychological and practical challenges to working with lust
• The core suffering at the root of the passion of lust
• The resolution of the primary inner conflict in Type Eight

In this module, we will learn about the nature of Being and what our heart is like when we come home. As we lose our direct experience of Being, there will be suffering.

The teaching of these Type Nine issues and gifts will be a main path in the lives of those who organize most around them. A person feels at home in herself when she is grounded, confident and part of the vibrant world.

We feel adrift when we lose presence. The ego tries to calm us by creating our own little world, a way to disengage from the full impact of missed possibilities.

We begin to be touched by greater and greater engagement, a total commitment and love of exactly where we are and who we are. We will look at the experience of the Engaged Heart.

You will discover in the third module.

• The natural state of harmonious, grounded presence — the sense of wholeness and flow with life
• How to recognize and experience more deeply the qualities of full engagement in our daily lives
• The real meaning of the passion of “Sloth,” which is not “laziness” but rather a habitual state of withdrawn attention
• The various psychological and practical challenges to working with Sloth
• The core suffering at the root of the passion of Sloth
• The resolution of the primary inner conflict in Type Nine

The basis of our suffering is the reactivity in the heart. To be a force of good in the world and to live a life of integrity and truth is what we want to do. Without presence, it is nearly impossible to not react to the seemingly endless array of injustices, distortions, untruths, and suffering we see. How do we support real solutions?

Awareness of our reactions helps us see the goodness within and around us, the source of true wisdom and integrity.

The quality of grace that grows in us as we learn to hold our reactivity and kindness is not a given. We will see how outrage can be transmuted into compassionate action. We will contemplate and explore the experience.

You will discover in the fourth module.

• The natural state of goodness and integrity — whenever we open our hearts to present experience
• How to recognize and experience more deeply the qualities of Serenity in your daily life
• The real meaning of the passion of “Angry Resentment”
• The various psychological and practical challenges to working with Resentment and Frustration
• The core suffering at the root of the passion of Angry Resentment
• The resolution of the primary inner conflict in Type One

Our attempts to be humble result in a great deal of self-consciousness and an attempt to rise above our needy human condition, as most spiritual paths emphasize. The suffering of pride is exactly what we associate humility with.

When we are present in the heart, we feel connected with anyone we are with, we feel a deep-rootedness in our own heart, and we experience the joy of giving and receiving freely. When we are not present, we don’t feel connected on a heart level, so we think it’s our job to connect others or with others, to be the source of generosity, and to need as little as possible from others.

The deep ego conviction of our unworthiness isUnderlying all of this. We find infinite kindness in our own and others’ suffering when we are able to see our lonely, isolated hearts.

We stop rejecting our needs and begin to understand what it means to care for our soul, for our hearts. True humility arises in this way. We will explore humility as a compassionate relatedness with our humanness, to love the messy edges of our lives, and to realize that the most direct path to the divine is in the holding of all of our raw, beautiful humanity. We will see the action of humility in our lives and loves.

You will discover in the fifth module.

• The tender aspects of presence — the sense of loving kindness natural to the heart
• How to recognize and experience more deeply the quality of humility in your daily life
• The real meaning of the passion of Pride, which is often misunderstood, is a major challenge for those in helping professions
• The tremendous pressure we put on ourselves to “be there” for others while neglecting our own souls, and explore the deeper states of our hearts when we notice that we’re doing this
• The various psychological and practical challenges to working with Pride
• How our spiritual paths can support this pattern
• The core suffering at the root of the passion of Pride
• The resolution of the primary inner conflict in Type Two

Our suffering is caused by believing ourselves to be the ego self. The problem isn’t that we have an ego, but that we think we do. Are they? The ego. We spend most of our time, energy, and imagination, involved in ways to enhance our ego self when we are not present.

Even when we succeed, we are left feeling empty because this isn’t our true self. We have to go into the next round of work to make up for it. Vanity means the suffering created by trying to make the ego not be what it is.

Our words and actions flow from the heart when we bring tenderness and patience to this part of ourselves.

All we do is love and serve the people in our lives. We enjoy what we are doing and we meet people with a genuine open-heartedness which is unmistakable because we enjoy what we are doing. We will see the action of authenticity in our lives and loves.

You will discover in the sixth module.

• The felt sense of “being ourselves,” and simply being the truth of this moment
• How to recognize and experience more deeply the qualities of Vanity in your daily life
• The narcissism of daily life and the real meaning of the passion of Vanity, which is the ego’s striving to be the “real me”
• The various psychological and practical challenges to working with Vanity and Self Deception
• The core suffering at the root of the passion of Vanity
• The resolution of the primary inner conflict in Type Three

Our heart experiences a feeling of loss and abandonment when we lose the sense of presence.

The direct experience of ourselves is what we have lost. This is a huge loss and causes a lot of suffering. Our interpretations of our history and a collection of familiar emotional states are what make up our ego identities. It is nearly impossible to pin down our true identities.

When we bring compassionate presence and some experience of the depth of our true identities to our suffering ego, we begin to release old and outdated attachment. Our hearts seem to take on an ocean quality.

It is possible to be with the full range of human emotions without getting stuck in them. One of the marks of a truly developed person is a spaciousness of heart.

You will discover in the seventh module.

• The mystery of identity and how it affects our experience of ourselves and the world
• How to recognize and experience more deeply the qualities of Equanimity in your daily life
• The real meaning of the passion of “Envy,” generally expressed as chronic disappointment and dissatisfaction with our lives
• The various psychological and practical challenges to working Envy and disappointment
• The core suffering at the root of the passion of Envy
• The resolution of the primary inner conflict in Type Four

Awareness of mortality is a challenge for all human beings. When we aren’t present, this awareness can be so difficult and overwhelming that we spend our lives distracted, or retreating from life’s apparent futility.

This can lead to a radical withholding of ourselves and a withholding of our hearts. We don’t like contact and life. The world is pointless and insane.

We begin to feel an implicit intelligence in everything that draws us back into deeper contact with the world as we bring compassionate presence to this reaction. The virtue of Non-attachment is developed as this healing occurs. We are in service to alleviating suffering wherever we can because we know that we are still aware of the fragility of life. Our minds and hearts are working together.

You will discover in the eighth module.

• The quality of discovery and illumination of experience and how “direct knowing” operates in our lives
• How to recognize and experience more deeply the qualities and benefits of Non-attachment in your daily life
• The real meaning of the passion of Avarice, which is generally not the withholding of knowledge as is often supposed
• The various psychological and practical challenges to working our Avarice
• The core suffering at the root of the passion of Avarice
• The resolution of the primary inner conflict in Type Five

Fear is one of the primary drivers of ego activity according to many spiritual teachings. There is a course in Miracles. Fear is the main energy that takes us away from love and presence. At Type Six, we are confronted with the question, what is this fear? What is causing it? When we go through it and beyond it, what is life like?

Our lives run with an underlying layer of constant anxiety. We begin to experience the virtue of Courage as we bring compassionate presence and awareness to this fear.

Courage here is not a response to danger. We are concerned with the courage of being ourselves all the way, of living our truths, and of seeing through the fears that turn us back from what we love the most. It supports us in showing up in our lives.

You will discover in the ninth module.

• The miracle of our awakeness — the fact that we can be awake and aware of anything in our experience, inner or outer, and that this awakeness helps us navigate our lives more confidently and effortlessly
• How to recognize and experience more deeply the qualities and benefits of Courage in our daily lives
• The real meaning of the passion of “Fear” or “Angst,” which is more generally a chronic disappointment and dissatisfaction with our lives
• The various psychological and practical challenges to working our Angst and Anxiety. We will particularly look at how these states cause us to disregard our own inner wisdom, and to turn back from what really calls our heart
• The core suffering of the heart that is at the root of the passion of Angst
• The resolution of the primary inner conflict in Type Six

Sobriety is a quality of deep satisfaction and fulfilment that arises when we are at peace with ourselves and in touch with our inner nature. Even if there are simple events like this, they are still powerful memories.

We desperately need something to fill us up. We don’t know what it is as we seek something to complete us. When our presence is lost, we feel an emptiness that leaves us restless.

We don’t experience this emptiness directly because our ego structures try to protect us from the fear and sadness that comes with it.

We begin to experience a sustained and causeless positivity when we bring compassionate awareness to this desperate part of us. The richness of our lives brings a feeling of completeness and freedom because we are not grasping after anything.

You will discover in the tenth module.

• The miracle of our awakeness — the fact that we can be awake and aware of anything in our experience and navigate our lives with confidence and ease
• How to recognize and experience more the qualities and benefits of Sobriety in your daily life
• The real meaning of the passion of “Gluttony,” which is a hunger for experiences and not merely an interest in food and drink
• The various psychological and practical challenges to working our Gluttony.
• The core suffering at the root of the passion of Gluttony
• The resolution of the primary inner conflict in Type Seven