The two to eight line of the enneagram has been giving me pause. For example, I saw the importance of looking ahead at one’s aim (point 8.) This was the key to getting to point 4 from 2 in the student/teacher example given in my last post.
It may be that 2 is the first place on the enneagram where one connects with transformation.
Point 2 is where I visualize my goal in order to understand what is needed to arrive at point 4. What is my goal for the student and how then do I best proceed to achieve that end.
Using the Kitchen Enneagram model,
visualizing the meal that is to be served (point 8) helps me know just how to prepare the ingredients at point 4 (chopping in chunks or dicing.)
Between 2 and 4
Something enters at point three that allows the process to proceed. The teacher “takes on” the student; the vegetables arrive in the kitchen. Work begins.
The other thing about standing at point 2 and looking ahead to 8 is knowing something magical takes place between points 4 and 5. This is where transformation happens. Entering the second half of the enneagram designates the point of no return. The student is being “cooked” just as the vegetables are. Neither will ever be the same as before.
The importance of the line from two to eight has taken on a great deal of weight for me now.
In the timeline of the process, point 2 is quite early. Yet a clear vision of the end point helps guide me in those initial steps. If my feeling center is engaged with my aim for point 8, I am more available to receive help at point 3, which informs the work at 4.
Crossing the Line
Again, the second half of the enneagram takes on a whole new dimension. The vegetables cannot be un-chopped. The student cannot undo what she has been experiencing. The kitchen and the student are in full swing. For better or for worse, the cooking proceeds and irrevocable changes begin to happen.
Let’s say point 8 has been clearly envisioned as the student experiencing the Work. This informs the planned program, points 1-2-3, to be carried out. Which in turn allows the harnel-aoot from 4-5 to follow its course of transformation. Staff and students opening to the Work at point 6 allows the aim (8) to connect with the process (5) and arrive at fulfillment (7).
In the case of the recent Course of Study, I felt point 7 manifested during our Entertainment night. An unexpected, unrehearsed, amazing compilation of creative sharing was informed by something outside of our individual selves.
In the end, the two to eight line of this particular enneagram encompasses all the students and staff who commit themselves to work.