Don't let the face fool you....we all cry! And that's a good thing! Let's stop pretending we have it all together and actually PULL together! In a time where we are drowning in negativity, anger and division, your word of kindness can be someone's Life Support. 

From her story of adoption to starting a business in the middle of a pandemic to revealing to me in the middle of our conversation that she was diagnosed with Covid19, this conversation with Jillian Henson Gilliam was 100% from the heart which isn’t surprising since Enneagram Type 2s sit right in the middle of the Heart Triad. Type 2s are so ‘other focused’ that they can posses, as Jillian calls it, “overactive relational thinking.’ “Covid forced me to pay attention to myself”, she said.

Sarah Paulk is a journalist, writer, author, friend, cousin, wife, mom and Enneagram 6 and that's just a glimpse into who she truly is! Sarah shares how she came to discover she is an Enneagram type 6 but originally thought she was a type 1. She reminds us why just taking a test can lead you to the wrong answer!

Has knowing the Enneagram brought out the AHA moments of how you are facing Covid quarantine? Emily Wingfield shares observations from the viewpoint of an Enneagram Type 9 regarding personal growth and specifically how she has been able to navigate the new and uncertain waters of 2020 and the Covid pandemic. Emily is a certified Enneagram teacher serving the Atlanta, Georgia area.

Nancy Bartelt shares her love of children, teaching, her degree in music therapy and her love and her work with Enneagram in her recent online presentation of “Back to School with Help from the Enneagram”. Nancy says, “The world has been an unknown zone since March and that has taken a toll on everyone. With all the uncertainty, isolation and loss of a few things we did have control over, and with no clear end in sight to all of this, no one really knows what to expect in these crazier than...

Jeannie and her teaching partner, Mary Wright, are passionate about helping parents use the Enneagram to parent from a place of self awareness.  They offer workshops and will soon offer parenting groups to resource and support all types in bringing the best of who they are in parenting their children. 

My word for 2020 is Quicksand. I feel like I’ve been stuck and just trying to keep my head above the muck and breath while simultaneously struggling to get out and RUN away. But am I really stuck? An Enneagram Type 7’s Basic fear is of being TRAPPED. This usually refers to being trapped in emotional pain but that feeling of NO WAY OUT can cause me to RUN or shut down. But, am I really STUCK or have I been given an opportunity to reconsider where I want to go.

At the time of this podcast release we are experiencing a global pandemic with the Corona Virus but Catherine and I recorded weeks before any of us knew what was happening. Now, the term 'social distancing' has become a part of our daily vocabulary. Daily news briefings of the number of cases worldwide and the number of deaths has left many paralyzed by the unknown. Fear is evident on social media. Could Gratitude have any place in our minds today? I say YES... now is precisely the time for...

Ashlee Sikorski is an ICF Certified Team Development Coach working with organizations to boost productivity and build an advantageous team culture. She is also the founder of the Nine Shapes Project which aims to bring more curious conversations around the Enneagram to the world.  She is such a great example of how we can easily mistype through a one-time, online test. About a year after taking an Enneagram online test she began a more thorough study, going a little deeper, reading more...

As Doug and I wrap up this section we get more into our personal stories and how those 'unworkable' moments forced us to question our long standing patterns of  behavior, reactions, defenses, and beliefs. No growth comes without challenge, and these are the times when descending into lower levels of health can occur without observing and questioning. It's our awareness that gives us the choice to withdraw the boundaries or expand them opening us to know a deeper love and freedom. The journey...

A person's Level of Development (the SPIRAL) is the framework with which they understand the world. Their Level of Health within their Enneagram Type is the way in which they are present within their WORLDVIEW. **One’s level of Development does not equate with one’s level of Health - in other words - you can be at any level on the Spiral and be healthy or unhealthy in your Enneagram type. Your NUMBER doesn’t change but your worldview can.**! The manifestation of our type is our desire to be...

This is part 1 of a 3-part series which is a recording of a presentation Doug and I did for the Georgia Chapter of the International Enneagram Association. Doug and I knew early in our blended family relationship that we needed TOOLS to build this new family. So we chose to go to a therapist who could help us — not to give us all the answers for every situation that might arise but to give us the tools to face the inevitable changes that would happen — or a map that would help us see “YOU...

One of the challenges of being an Enneagram type 7 is the desire to act on all the ideas we have bombarding our minds and trust me, as a type 7 myself, they just keep coming! Part of the growth process of this type, as Jaime says, is realizing we don't have to act on every idea and it's ok to start something and then move on. This is  part of the growth path of us all but understanding the way our minds work and then accepting that this is how we are wired is a necessary step. As Jaime says,...

Samantha Mackay is a qualified coach, certified Personality Hacker profiler, runs her own training business, and calls New Zealand home after having lived, worked, and traveled around the world. Her personal journey and search to answers from 10 years of chronic ill health, working her way out of it and wanting to share her extensive knowledge to help others be healthy in all aspects of their being, has lead her to incorporate the many frameworks she has learned into an integrative approach...

I started this podcast, Love Thy Number, to help us truly embrace the gift of who we are and, specifically, our Enneagram number. But what are the other numbers that have such a hold on our lives? What numbers do we attach to that either validate us or bring us anxiety?   Is it the number on the scales?   Our age?   The size of our paycheck?   The number of followers on social media?   How many likes?   Do you believe that your one life, your one story has the ability to affect...

I’m so excited to have Matt Thompson on this episode. Matt works behind the scenes to bring these podcasts to life! He’s also created all the beautiful graphics and web design for both ‘Love Thy Number’ and ‘Presence’ and so much more, but most of all… he’s a great friend!  Matt is married to the love of his life (his exact words!), Brenda, and together they have 2 amazing kiddos, Madison (14) and Mason who’s 11. He works in operations and does creative work for a couple of nonprofit,...

Alia Kache, a New York based dancer, choreographer, and educator, was born in Chattanooga, TN and attended a performing arts school beginning in the 6th grade. She soon earned a scholarship to the Chattanooga Ballet where she trained while also taking classes at school.  After high school she began training with world renowned dance company, Alvin Ailey. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre is primarily an African-American modern dance company based in New York, New York and founded in 1958....

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what my GOAL is for this podcast. I mean, that’s probably something  someone gifted with amazing organizational skills would have mapped out before even starting a podcast. I, however, am not that person. What I DO BELIEVE I’m good at is loving people and finding joy in the stories of our lives. So while I am as passionate about the Enneagram as I ever was… even more so as I continue to learn. But I’d like to take this podcast in a different direction....

Let's talk about the movies! Specifically, the cult classic, Napoleon Dynamite, and my favorite character, Uncle Rico. It’s hard when you believe life would have worked out perfectly ‘if only’. When you believe that had you not made that one poor choice or dropped that football pass you would have set your life on a path to everlasting happiness. And so, we live with the lie that we were denied all the privileges of a ‘good life’ because we already set our entire course with that moment in...

The Work of Byron Katie is a way of identifying and questioning any stressful thought. It consists of four questions and a turn around. Question 1: Is it true? Question 2: Can you absolutely know it's true? Question 3: How do you react — what happens — when you believe that thought? Question 4: Who would you be without the thought? Turn the Thought Around For the sake of this conversation as it relates to the Enneagram I encourage each of us to question our thoughts about ourselves and...

We talk a lot about the ego but what if you have an alter-ego? I have one! The definition of alter ego says, ”a person's secondary or alternative personality.” Now let me be clear, I didn’t expose my hidden identity on a regular day. But today, I'd like you to meet her. YES... she's on the podcast! So, who is she? Well, I called her Miss Peach. My kids called her their worst nightmare! My husband wasn't sure who he had actually married when he first met her. She usually wore a black lace...

How many therapists does it take to change a light bulb? One…but the light bulb really has to want to change. **Crickets chirping** HA! I’m making a ridiculous confession. I let a light bulb in my closet stay burnt out for about a year before I decided enough was enough. A year. I simply adjusted my eye sight and fumbled around when necessary. What I discovered when I finally changed that bulb was…awful and wonderful.  How long should we walk around in the darkness, avoiding the...

"If forced to choose which do you prefer?" is how it all started. Coconut cream pie or chocolate pie? Skittles or Hershey’s with almonds? Chocolate donuts or apple fritters? Funny how a simple conversation can reveal so much about your spouse. It was hilarious because even with these simple questions I became incensed at one of my husband's answers and asked "HOW COULD YOU CHOOSE SKITTLES over anything?" They’re a waste of sugar! It was HIS choice and HIS preference, and I challenged it...

We talk a lot about identity in regards to the Enneagram. We constantly say we are NOT our type or our number.  I recently talked to a friend who has just begun peeking at the Enneagram, and she said, “I see a little of myself in all the numbers.” I said ABSOLUTELY. That’s how we should approach this journey!  BUT the truth is - there is a place we feel more connected. It’s our ‘home base’ - where we have our roots. I was born in Texas, so that makes me a TEXAN even though I moved away from...

Has anyone ever said to you…’You’re too much”? Your thoughts are ‘too much’. Your feelings are ‘too much’. Have you ever felt blinded by someone’s ‘light’ such as their emotions or their intellect? In part 1 of this conversation Kevin mentioned that his emotions get caught in his head so Seth asks Kevin to explain that. He said, “When I shove my emotions somewhere else they show up elsewhere as in pain in the body. So I go back to try and find what I didn’t 'Feel' when I had that emotion...