The Enneagram doesn’t box you in; it reveals the box you’ve already put yourself in—and shows you the way out.
Unlike other systems that focus on surface traits or behavior, the Enneagram goes deeper. It invites us to ask: What core fear is driving me? What unconscious motivations are shaping my choices? What am I avoiding, and what do I most long for?
This isn’t about labeling. It’s about liberation.
Forty years ago, I was fortunate enough to study with one of the early masters of the Enneagram, Helen Palmer, and learned that I’m a 3, the Striver, with strong wings of 2 (the Helper) and 4 (the Original). This insight helped me to craft two mantras that have served me for four decades: “I’m lovable for who I am, not what I do” and “I don’t have to prove that I’m lovable.” I say these in the shower three times each every morning along with four other mantras.
I also have found the Enneagram to be magical when it comes to understanding people in business. Back when I was running my boutique hotel company, Joie de Vivre, we offered free Enneagram classes and tests for all of our managers as it helped us to understand the motivations of each other.
At midlife—when many of us are reexamining identity, shedding roles, and trying to live with more intention—the Enneagram becomes especially powerful. It offers not just a type, but a path. Each number has a direction of integration and disintegration, showing how we evolve under stress or growth. That dynamic nature mirrors life itself.
As someone drawn to inner work, I appreciate how the Enneagram speaks to both the psychological and the spiritual. It blends ancient wisdom with contemporary insight, offering practical tools for compassion — toward ourselves and others.
It’s not always comfortable. In fact, the moment you recognize your type can feel like being exposed. But that discomfort is the beginning of transformation.
In a world obsessed with performance and image, the Enneagram calls us back to essence. And that, to me, is the most worthwhile journey of all. This is why we’re honored to bring Russ Hudson back to MEA as one of the best-known teachers and authors of the Enneagram. His diagnostic, the Riso Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator, is one of the best tests you can take to understand your personality type. Russ will be teaching “The Enneagram as Gateways to Awareness” in Santa Fe September 8-13.
You owe it to yourself to understand the essence of who you are.
-Chip