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WHAT GOT YOUHERE WON’T GETYOU THERE"The Center of Intelligence that'instigates' your Enneagram type-based challenge is not the optimal Center to help resolve the dilemma."Ginger Lapid-Bogda PhDThe Enneagram in Business Mini-Book©2021 The Enneagram in Business

"The Center of Intelligence that 'instigates' yourEnneagram type-based challenge is not theoptimal Center to help resolve the dilemma."Although this statement may sound counter-intuitive,over years of working with people and groups onEnneagram-based development, this has proven to bemore accurate than not. Of course, working with theCenter of Intelligence that instigates the challengingdynamic can be effective, it is simply more difficult. If theHead Center is the instigator, can the Head Center easilychange course? To clear the Mental Center, soothe theHeart Center, or calm or embody the Body Center,another Center of Intelligence can be called into serviceto help support the desired growth and transformation.This mini-book will clarify this developmental idea foreach of the 9 Enneagram types, starting with Enneagramtype One.

A common type One development areaBeing critical, both self-critical andcritical of othersBeing self-critical and judgmental of others is both achronic issue for Enneagram Ones and a challengingissue for them in terms of their development. While wecan all be judgmental toward ourselves and others, thisbehavior is more complicated and pervasive inEnneagram Ones. Their worldview is that the world isimperfect and that it is their job and responsibility toremedy or fix this whenever they can. Making this issueeven more challenging for Ones, their ‘fixation’ orrepeating mental pattern or habit of ‘resentment,’ hasthem continuously paying attention to flaws andmistakes so that nothing ever seems good enough.Understood this way, the Mental Center can beconsidered the ‘instigator’ of criticality in Ones, but canthis issue be resolved by focusing development on theMental Center? Trying to do so can be a long andarduous path. Can the One’s mind be convinced that thecriticality causes self-suffering? At one level, EnneagramOnes already understand this, but the insight about self-suffering is not sufficient to actually change their thinkingand attentional patterns because these are so deeplyembedded in the One’s ego structure.

Two other Centers of Intelligence are better paths, eitherproviding a gateway where less resistance will occur. Butis the Heart Center or the Body Center an easier path?Most Ones access their Body Center and Mental Centermore easily than the Heart Center, and for this reason,the Body Center can be a better choice for most Ones.Here is a way Ones can relax their criticality through theBody Center: remember a specific time when youexperienced a deep sense of calmness and completeacceptance of what was occurring at the time. As you areremembering this experience, remember each aspect ofit in detail, and allow yourself to re-experience thesituation almost as if it is happening now. Allow thesensations, feelings and thoughts as if they are occurringin real-time. Stay with this experience for at least fiveminutes, and longer is better. Repeat this activity daily,using the same situation or a different one where youexperienced a deep sense of calmness and completeacceptance of what was occurring. You can also sharethis experience with another person. If you do so, makesure you use present-centered language – for example,say 'I am' and not 'I was.' You can also write theseexperiences in a journal. If you do, just make sure youwrite using the present-centered language and that youre-experience the event(s) as you write.The longer you do this activity – longer meaning forlonger than five minutes and the more days you do this –the sense of calmness and acceptance will fill your

somatic structure and become more integrated. Overtime, doing so will help relax your critical mentalprocesses.

A common type Two development areaFeeling responsible when others sufferWhen Twos perceive others as suffering, they often feelresponsible for doing something to help alleviate thesituation, the circumstances, the other person’sresponse to the event(s), or just about anything thatmight lessen the hardship. Just about anything will do,and Twos can be highly resourceful as they try so veryhard to remedy the situation. And try they do; otherwise,Twos feel responsible for lessening others’ pain andguilty if they are unable to do so. To be clear, it’s not thatTwos think they are the cause of another person’ssuffering; they, do, however, feel responsible for doingsomething about it.Instigating the above response is the Twos’ Heart Center.Yes, Twos are generally sensitive to the feelings of othersand compassionate, with the Twos' ego-structurestrongly identified with being a giving person, not aselfish person. And of course, what’s wrong with beingsensitive and responsive to the suffering of others?Nothing, except…when a person believes and feels it istheir responsibility to always do something, this can bean unwarranted burden and not always the best for theperson in pain. The burden involves Twos’ becomingextremely over-extended in terms of their own time,resources and attention to their own well-being and their

own suffering. In addition, much can be learned fromsuffering; a Two’s interception of another person’s paincan limit the learning and it may also be unwanted. Addto this the guilt Twos experience if their actions orsolution do not work well or the frustration and sadnessif their assistance is rejected. There is more to this than Twos just being sensitive,good, thoughtful and compassionate people. Enter theTwos’ passion or emotional habit of ‘pride,’ which can beunderstood as an excessive belief in one’s own abilitiesor capacities. In the case of Twos, this excessive belief isrelated to their being able to help and support others.Claudio Naranjo referred to this as a false reality of falseabundance – the sense in Twos that they can and shouldprovide all the resources others need at any given time.Thus the challenge of feeling responsible when otherssuffer, while ignited by the Heart Center, also has aMental Center component.For the above reason, the Body Center provides a pointof change for the issue of pride that underlies the Twos’sense that they can and should help others. Pridesomatically is experienced as a self-inflation or self-deflation depending on whether or not the Twos’ actionsare well-received or poorly received by others.Somatically, Twos experience an expansion, swelling andenlargement in their chest area when things go well; thisself-inflation is actually pride, although Twos mistake itfor positive self-esteem. When things do not go well,

Twos experience contraction and withering in their chestarea; this self-deflation is also pride, although Twosmistake this for negative self-esteem.The following somatic activity does wonders for workingwith the Twos’ challenge of feeling responsible whenothers suffer; it focuses on pride from a somaticperspective. Every time something good happens –something in which you played a role – AND you feelyour heart Center expanding or getting bigger, bring thatexpansion inward slightly, then allow it to go outwardmore, then bring it inward. In other words, play with thatsomatic energy so you no longer automatically go intofull expansion. Do the same thing when you feel yourHeart Center contracting over something in which youplayed a role, and it did not go well. Breathe into yourHeart Center and bring that somatic energy more intobalance. Practicing the above every time you eitherinflate or deflate makes a big difference. Note that it willbe easier to work on managing the inflation somaticenergy than the deflation; both are important.

A common type Three development areaBelieving I’m only as good (valuable)as my last performance(accomplishment)Because Threes believe this idea so deeply and sopervasively, it impacts almost everything they do on adaily basis. With the constant need to demonstrate theirworth or value, Threes experience a continuous pressureto display their competence in being able to get thingsdone and done well. This belief and behavior responseseems to Threes as if it is in their DNA, thus making it sochallenging to stop the pattern. This also becomesexhausting, as it requires Threes to constantly andcontinuously prove themselves time and time again. Inaddition, the Threes' self-worth is interwoven with boththeir performance and the audience reaction – that is,what they perceive the reactions of others either is ormight be. In other words, there is always a visible orinvisible audience in almost everything the Three does. As a result, the pressure to perform can be daunting,but, then again, Threes are used to this way offunctioning.The ‘instigator’ of this pattern or dynamic in Three is theHead Center in the sense that the Three’s mind createsan image (or gets a sense) of what an effectiveperformance would be like and Threes then use their

mental planning function to create scenarios and plansfor how to accomplish their mission. A case could be made that this pattern starts in theHeart Center with Threes feeling anxious oruncomfortable with their self-worth or value, but themain ‘instigator’ then shifts quickly to the Head Center. All this leads to the Center that is best suited to guideThrees into awareness of and the ability to relax themental lockdown that occurs in Three when they socontinuously think about and feel the need to perform:the Body Center. Although Threes often use the BodyCenter for doing something on behalf of theirperformance needs, the Body Center can also be usedfor non-doing, which is not 'doing nothing.' Non-doing ismore akin to being in a state of ‘being’ rather than a stateof ‘doing.’ ‘Being,’ at first, may sound foreign to Threes,and many Threes try to figure out mentally what ‘being’ isand then they try to do ‘being.’ However, it is not possibleto do ‘being.’Here’s a simple and direct way to access the Body Centeras an offset to 'believing I’m only as good (valuable) as mylast performance (accomplishment).' Allow yourself to gointo nature, someplace that has visual appeal, as well assmells so you can tune into your olfactory senses andsounds that may be subtle – for example, the wind – ormore distinctive, such as birds singing or chirping orwaves splashing. In other words, invite your senses to be

your guide and simply experience yourself in your bodyin a natural space with nothing to do but to simply bethere. Engaging in the above regularly – daily, weekly –allows you to be more fully in your Body Center as longas you don’t try to ‘do’ being in nature. So don’t use thephone, emails, or text messaging while you are there. Noto ’do!’ Yes to ‘be!’

A common type Four development areaBelieving ‘I am what I feel’Although we all struggle with answering the question‘Who am I?,’ Fours deal with this quandary in a uniqueway. Their most common answer is this: ‘I am what I feel.’The issue with this answer is that feelings come and go,like the tides, so a feeling at one moment may change inthe next. With the ever-changing nature of feelings as aguidepost for identity, the Fours' sense of self becomesless solid and more fluid. Such a fluid answer to thisimportant question raises more questions than itanswers.Although the ‘instigator’ for this development areasounds as if it may start in the Head Center as a thought,it actually begins and ends in the Heart Center. Here ishow it works. Fours, like the other two Heart Centertypes Two and Three, search for who they really are,partly because they create an image based on how theywant others to respond to them. At some level, the Hearttypes know that their image is not the real them. Forexample, Twos create an image of being kind, thoughtful,likeable, while Threes create an image of beingcompetent, effective, and confident. These two kinds ofimages can sustain people for a while because the imageis simple and seems to be solid enough. Fours, however,create an image of being different, special or unique, andthis image is more vague. What does it mean to be

different? Fours migrate to the idea that what is uniqueabout them is their feelings. And feelings are in theheart. But feelings change, as it is in the nature ofemotions to do just that. As a result, Fours experience anever-changing sense of identity. Fours can, however, use their Head Center as adevelopment path through their journey to uncover whothey really are, and this means in addition to theiremotions, not instead of their emotions. So this is thequestion for Fours, one that needs to be answeredmultiple times and on multiple occasions until theanswer becomes solid and deeply clarifying: 'In additionto my feelings and emotions, who am I?' Keep answeringthis question in a truthful way. Notice that the question isnot, 'Other than your emotions, who are you?' Feelingsare part of who we are, just as thoughts or what we doare also part of who we are. But none of these –thoughts, feelings, behavior – are all of who we are andnone of them are who we truly are at the deeper anddeeper levels.You can do the above activity – again with multipleanswers and on multiple occasions – in several differentways. You can write them down and keep adding to thelist. You can speak them out loud to another person orinto a recording device. If you write the list down, postthe answers in a place you can see it daily. Now if you getadventurous, you can walk around as you name eachanswer to this question, embodying your answer as you

walk. This can be extremely valuable as it anchors youranswers in your somatic system, thus increasingretention. For example, if the answer is 'I am a sensitiveperson,' walk allowing your lovely sensitivity to fill yourbody as much as you can at the moment.

A common type Five development areaConfusion of thought and feelingHave you ever asked an Enneagram Five – or if you are aFive yourself –‘What do you feel?’ and the personresponds with a thought? For example, the personresponds, ‘I didn’t like the way the book only covered acertain aspect of the topic.’ This is really more a thoughtthan a feeling. The feeling might be ‘I felt frustrated bythe way the author only covered certain parts of thetopic.' The reverse can be true as well. Ask a Five whatthey think about something, and the person mayrespond with a feeling. For example, a Five may saysomething like this: ‘I was so saddened by how the filmended.’ This statement is actually a feeling; thecorresponding thought would be ‘The film had a sadending.’If the above sounds confusing, imagine the potentialinternal confusion for Fives! What is a thought versuswhat is a feeling? Yes, thoughts and feelings have aconnection, yet they are not the same. Most feelingshave an accompanying thought; many, but not all,thoughts have associated feelings.In the case of this particular issue for Fives, the HeadCenter or the Heart Center might be considered the'instigator' depending on whether the confusion startedin the head or the heart. Most of the time, both thoughtsand feelings become intertwined so quickly and thus

become confused and confusing. What remains, freefrom thought or feeling is the Body Center. And theeasiest way to untangle the confusion is with the BodyCenter in support of the Heart (Emotional) Center.Here’s why and here’s how. Every feeling or emotion hasa somatic sensation associated with it, although it isimportant to note that not every somatic sensationsignifies an emotion. Sometimes a somatic twitch is just atwitch. Often, however, a somatic sensation doesconnote a feeling if we only understand the connection.The big first step is for Fives to get a much bigger senseof their somatic experiences. Normally, Fives onlybreathe into their heads and possibly necks, thus limitingthe breath throughout their body. Because of this, Fivesget disconnected from their bodies and body-basedinformation and insights. Once Fives become moresomatically attuned, either through breathing more fully– that is beyond their neck and into their torsos, thenthroughout the rest of their bodies –or through full bodysensation exercises, Fives are ready, sometimes with thehelp of a friend or coach, to learn what body sensationsare attached to what feelings. Fives can recognize thatthe pang in their hearts (somatic sensation) often meansthe emotion of hurt or sadness. Similarly, flutters in thestomach area might simply mean indigestion, or Fivesmay learn to recognize that the flutter is anxiety,excitement or both. Experience the sensation and ask,

'What emotion is this?' Fives will learn the associationmeaning of a particular somatic experience and aparticular feeling.Once the linkage between the body sensations and theemotional states becomes more apparent, the nextquestion is this: 'What thoughts go with that particularfeeling?' And thus, the separation of thought and feelingbegins.

A common type Six development areaContinuous worryingTry suggesting to Sixes that they stop worrying orworrying so much. It doesn’t work very well, and Sixesmay respond by becoming defensive, explaining whythey are worrying, and arguing with you about why theirworry is valid. This is not fun for anyone. In addition,internally, Sixes may start feeling as if they can’t reallytrust you in sharing what they are thinking and feeling. Inother words, you are not on their side! And once Sixesstart to distrust another person and/or feel angry withthem, regaining trust can become a major challenge.All the above being reasonably accurate, most Sixeswould actually like to worry less. The part of theirconcern and worry they do like is how it can help thembecome effective, creative problem solvers, and they likesolving problems. Too much ruminating about ‘what ifs’and alternative scenarios derails them from trusting theirdecisions and taking action. It is also stressful tocontinuously worry. But continuous worrying is a habit ofmind and heart in Sixes, which is why it is difficult forthem to stop the cycle.Although worry, a version of fear, most often begins inthe Mental Center with a thought or multiple thoughts,for Sixes, the Heart Center also activates and does soextremely quickly with a flurry of emotions related to thethoughts. So while the Head Center is the primary

‘instigator’ of the continuous worry in Sixes (and the restof us as well), in Sixes, the Heart Center becomes quickly complicit. Thus, the Center that can be most helpful inbreaking this particular pattern is the Body Center.The simplest and most direct way to interrupt the abovepattern of continuous worry is to take a walk in such away that the Body Center becomes fully engaged. Sittingor standing still does not engage the full body unless theperson is doing a somatic embodiment practice.However, moving while walking, especially outside wherethere is ample sensory stimulation and room to movefreely in space, allows the Body Center full expressionand expansion. Go for a walk where the experience ofwalking and being in an externally stimulatingenvironment activates the sensory experience, calmsboth the heart and mind and refocuses attention to theBody (somatic) Center.

A common type Seven development areaStaying focusedStaying focused can be challenging for all of us, nomatter our Enneagram type. Repetitive tasks becomeboring, even if we had some initial interest in doing them.New ideas can be stimulating, but even too many newideas can become boring if all we are doing is being ideagenerators. Repetitive feelings, even ones we mightdescribe as positive, can also become tedious. We allcrave newness – some of us more than others.All that said, staying focused is a primary challenge foralmost all Sevens. Some Sevens may say they can focus,but they often mean they can now focus longer thanthey used to, but that may still not be for very long, and itstill takes effort. I’ve met a few Sevens who say aschildren they absolutely had to learn to focus, so theythemselves set up clever reward systems; set up thistask, complete it and give myself a specific reward thatI’ve determined in advance such as an ice cream cone,playtime with a special friend, a specific amount of timeon a favorite video game, just as examples. However,these Sevens are the exception.So what Center of Intelligence ‘instigates’ the challenge ofstaying focused? Deep inside, it starts in the HeartCenter although the pattern may appear to be the HeadCenter or Body Center, and for several reasons. First,everything happens so quickly with Sevens that It can bea challenge to determine the starting point.

In addition, the Head Centers kicks in so rapidly with anabundance of ideas and the Sevens' body (Body Center)appears to be in constant motion.This particular Seven pattern, however, forms as amechanism to not stay with one’s inner experience and,in particular, the inner emotional experience (HeartCenter). One way of understanding the Sevens’ challengewith focusing is that it is a way of deflecting emotionalexperience, particularly sadness and fear but also, tosome extent, anger. Being unfocused allows Sevens tominimize that which they find difficult and maximizebeing stimulated through interesting and pleasurablethoughts and activities.One way that works is to make focusing a doablechallenge and to make it fun, as if a game of sorts. It’sakin to what some Seven children taught themselves todo at an early age. Starting with the Body Center as ananchor and using the Head Center as a support, stay stilland focused on anything you choose while timingyourself with a timer. Determine your length of beingable to focus on what you have chosen naturally. Do thisagain at least two more times, selecting something elseto focus on while timing yourself as you do it in a focusedway. This gives you three different instances of yournatural focusing length. Your Body Center helps you staystill and focused; your Head Center assists you intracking time and making decisions.

Once you have your baseline for focusing, you havesome decisions to make and here they are.First, how much longer than your baseline focusing timedo you want to extend your ability to focus that isrealistic yet also a stretch? In other words, if yourbaseline is three minutes, 10 minutes is too big a stretch.Try extending your focus for a total of five minutesinstead. Or, you might want six minutes, but 10 minutesis simply too much. Before you engage in this challenge,set up a reward for yourself each time you do it, but nopunishment for not! And make sure you give yourself thereward. After you experience yourself being able to focusmuch more easily for longer than the initial time you setas a stretch goal, then extend the time even more, alsosetting up a reward, but it’s best if the reward is a newand different one. Most of all, have fun with this!

A common type Eight development areaBeing receptiveFor Eights, becoming more receptive is essential to theirgrowth, both psychologically, professionally andspiritually, and it is a tall order. Why? Because Eights bothdefine themselves as being bold, big, brave, and withboundless energy, and they use these same qualities todefend themselves against feeling vulnerable. Given howfundamental being strong and invincible is to Eights, howdo they work on being more receptive?The Eight Mental Center swirls with explicit and implicitthoughts about the importance of being strong under allcircumstances. For example, they think 'Only the strongsurvive,' 'Go big or go home,' 'Never let anyone get thebest of you,' and more. Being receptive is the opposite ofthis. The Eight Heart Center contains a beautiful heart,yet this innocent heart remains highly protected, wantingto emerge more fully yet literally scared to death to doso. In alignment with the Head and Heart Centers, theEight Body Center comes with strong body armordesigned to protect and defend. In other words, theEight then becomes fortified, difficult to penetrate fromthe outside and, just as challenging, to allow a morevulnerable and receptive self to emerge from the inside.To become more receptive is a choice and once thischoice is made, it is not so hard. The 'instigator' of thispattern of having difficulty being receptive is the Heart

Center; the Heart Center feels a need to protect itself,then the Mental Center steps in by issuing principles thatjustify this need for protectiveness. However, while theEight’s Body Center armor does not allow for receptivity,the Body Center can be used to relax the pattern.Breathing practices can make a huge difference. Insteadof breathing with big inhalations and then 'powering up'through your chest – think of how a pufferfish makesitself bigger and then don’t do that – breathe gentlythrough your nose and allow your breath to move gentlythroughout your body, especially your stomach area.Then gently exhale your breath, allowing each exhale toleave from your mouth. Practice this way of breathingdaily and hourly so it becomes more natural, and watchyour body armor melt away slowly and your receptivityincrease gradually.

A common type Nine development areaThe need to find, honor and usetheir voiceSometimes this development area is described aslearning to say ‘no,’ being able to both access and bewilling to share preferences and needs, stating theiropinions directly, and more. The most obvious path,although not actually the optimal path, is for Nines togain more access to their Body Center. The rationale forthis approach is as follows: because Nines 'put theiranger to sleep’ as a way to maintain harmony and reducetension, Nine unconsciously put their somatic selves orbody to sleep as a way to not experience their anger. Asa result, doesn’t it make sense to wake up their bodiesbecause their body is the ‘instigator?’The answer is fundamentally ‘no.’ The answer might be‘yes,’ but waking up the body (aka their somatic self) is ahuge undertaking, especially for an Enneagram Nine.Why? Essentially, ‘anger that went to sleep’ as adescription for the emotional aspect of Nines offers aclue. Anger is an emotion, as are fear, sorrow and joy.And every emotion has a location in the body: anger inthe abdomen or even lower, sorrow in the heart, fearbetween the heart area and the belly, and joythroughout the entire torso. When Nines unconsciouslyput their ‘anger to sleep’ as a way to maintain harmonyinternally and in response to their external environment,

Nines turn down all emotional states and thus turn downtheir physical sensations. A path to finding, honoring and using their voice comesmore readily when they gain access to their HeartCenter. Asking themselves – or having someone theytrust ask them – 'what are you experiencing right now?What are you feeling right now? What are you wanting ornot wanting right now?' These questions are HeartCenter questions. The answers come from their HeartCenter and then finding the words helps Nines accesstheir Mental Center. In addition, breathing into the heartarea rather than funneling breath into the torso rightbelow the heart area also helps upon access to theheart. And all of this helps Nines re-embody their BodyCenters more fully.

ABOUT THE ENNEAGRAM IN BUSINESSEstablished in 2004 by Ginger Lapid-Bogda PhD, The Enneagram inBusiness offers excellent quality, state-of the-art products and services.Our vision is to help elevate consciousness globally using theEnneagram integrated with other innovative approaches; our mission isto provide an abundance of Enneagram-based resources for use aroundthe world. These include the following:» Eight Enneagram books, including several best sellers» Full-color Enneagram training tools, both in hard copy and virtual formats» Global Enneagram certification programs for consultants, trainers, andcoaches» Premier leadership development and team development offerings» Training, coaching and consulting services, both virtual and in-person» A comprehensive, interactive online Enneagram Learning Portal (ELP)» A global network of over 70 top-quality Enneagram professionals(EIBN)ENNEAGRAM BOOKS by Ginger-Lapid-BogdaBringing Out the Best in Yourself at WorkWhat Type of Leader Are You?Bringing Out the Best in Everyone You CoachThe Enneagram Development GuideConsulting with the EnneagramThe Enneagram Coloring BookThe Art of TypingThe Art of the Enneagram (co-authored with Russell Tres Bogda)TheEnneagramInBusiness.com | EnneagramLearningPortal.com |info@TheEnneagramInBusiness.com | 510.570.2971