Remembering your True Nature as a Nine

Today’s “Enneathought” from The Enneagram Institute deserves some attention:

Learn from this universal truth: An important thing is to set aside some time each day to re-establish a deeper connection with our True Nature. Regular practice serves to remind us over and over again that we are hypnotized by our personality.

Hypnotized.

So crazy the effect it has on us.

As Nines, we are SO GOOD at sensing the emotional currents around us, smoothing rough waters, and crafting harmony wherever we go. Such a gift.

But with every gift there is a shadow.

And the shadow side of this special harmonizing gift is that we self-forget.

We merge with other people’s priorities so seamlessly that we end up drifting away from ourselves.

Re-establishing a daily connection with our True Nature is how we wake up and re-enter life as active participants.

Our personality is a survival strategy.

And when the Type 9 strategy kicks in, we slide into autopilot.

We people-please, avoid important conflict and ignore our desires and dreams.

In order to break this trance, we need to turn our attention inward, where our True Nature lives. The part of us that knows exactly who we are and what we’re here to do.

Here are a few ideas:

• Center yourself. Take your awareness out of your head and into your body, then feel into your length, width, and depth. Then remind yourself that you’re a person by saying, “Here I am.”
• Set a timer for 2 minutes. Inhale for a slow count of 4, exhale for 6, feeling the rise & fall of your belly.
• Make a list on a paper of a few things that you really want in your life right now.
• Check your calendar for the next week and see if there’s anything you can let go of or delegate.
• Play an energizing song and move your body in whatever way feels good (dancing, stretching or walking, for example.)
• Walk past a mirror, notice your reflection and say, “Here I am. I have a body.” Placing your hands on your heart and/or abdomen helps you to feel of your aliveness as you do this.

Try to get 3 check-ins each day, of various types. No need to make it complicated or long. Sometimes I will simply pay attention to 2-3 slow, deep breaths.

Every time we return to ourselves, we are teaching our bodies how to return to ourselves.

Consistent micro-practices start a ripple: We start feeling more alive. We feel our boundaries. Our ideas start turning into calendar blocks, conversations and completed projects. Each check-in adds up to a life we actually recognize as our own.

Keep coming home to yourself, one check-in at a time.

Then notice yourself feeling more and more alive.