Living the Wisdom
"Living the Wisdom" is underway! I'm currently accepting applications for the next enrollment in July. Complete the Readiness Assessment to reserve your spot.
"Living the Wisdom" (LTW) is a yearlong online course for students who wish to deepen their lived experience of the Enneagram in the company of other seekers. The Course, originally created by Jenny Campbell of Enneawake.com, follows the path laid out by Don Riso and Russ Hudson in their groundbreaking work The Wisdom of the Enneagram. The course is divided into two five-month semesters, with a break in between.
The Course will have no more than 24 students at any one time.
The January cohort is limited to 12!
The Enneagram of Personality is surging in popularity these days, which is an amazing thing, but it also creates problems. There are now an abundance of Enneagram "experts," there are memes and fast-facts graphics all over social media, and there is the general trivialization of what was originally a unique and demanding path for human transformation.
So if one has a genuine wish to do the Work, it can be difficult to discern where to go, who to trust, and what to actually do. "Living the Wisdom" addresses those problems through a group-based program that provides accountability, motivation, and structure.
One of Gurdjieff's primary teachings was of The Fourth Way: the idea that the most powerful transformational work you can do is to Work to be Present to your own life. Sure, you can go live in a monastery or a cave somewhere and you might eventually reach enlightenment, but how much more meaningful would it be to bring that same devotion to the life you already have? "Living the Wisdom" is designed to be such a Fourth Way School: we use our own lives as the raw material for transformation.
Complete the Readiness Assessment to reserve your spot.
Live and Location-Independent
LTW is a live Course, conducted entirely over video-conference (Zoom), so you can join us regardless of location. All calls are recorded, so if you can’t make it or you want to go back and review to deepen your learning, you can watch the call at your convenience.
What's Included
-Weekly calls every Tuesday evening from 6:30pm - 8:00pm Eastern time
-Weekly reading assignments from The Wisdom of the Enneagram
-5 private Enneagram mentoring sessions with Ben per semester
-Twice monthly office hours with Ben
-Peer support (including "pods") and inquiry practice
-"Mighty Networks" online group to interact, share, collaborate, and get support
-Essence friendships!
As you scroll down, keep in mind that while this Course is packed with value, you do not need to do everything! “Living the Wisdom” has been designed to offer you multiple points of entry and multiple sources of insight, support, encouragement, and inspiration. Because all the group calls are recorded, you do not need to be live on every call. You can absolutely pick and choose what works for you and your schedule! (Calls are confidential and recordings are only available to the group members.)
Weekly Tuesday Calls
Every Tuesday from January 12th (2021) to June 15th, and again from July 20th to December 14th, we will meet via video-conference call (Zoom) to discuss the current chapter in The Wisdom of the Enneagram, ask questions, practice meditation and inquiry, share our struggles and breakthroughs, and receive guidance on the practical application of the teachings in our daily life.
Readings from The Wisdom of the Enneagram
Don Riso and Russ Hudson’s The Wisdom of the Enneagram serves as the backbone and the source material for the Course. Each week from January through June, and again from July through December, we read one chapter and bring our questions, reflections, insights, and challenges to the group calls and private sessions. Past members report that going through the book a second time has tremendous value; they “get it” on a deeper level and are often pleasantly surprised at how much has changed for them since the first time around. Going through the book twice also eases the feeling of overwhelm; you can just take in what you are ready for and let the rest wait until next time.
Complete the Readiness Assessment to reserve your spot.
1-1 Private Enneagram Sessions with Ben
Your enrollment in LTW includes one private Enneagram session with me per month for the duration of the course (5 per semester). Private sessions are an opportunity for you to explore whatever is arising for you as you participate in the course. As we do this work, it is inevitable that we will start to experience our lives in new ways, and it can be disorienting without a teacher to check in with. Private sessions are a chance to find a place to “ground,” to get feedback on your process, to ask questions, and to deepen the integration of the Work with your life.
Office Hours
In addition to the weekly Tuesday calls, I will occasionally offer "Office Hours" calls, which are an open opportunity to connect with me and the other participants and ask questions, find support, and explore topics that are personally interesting to you.
Essence Friendships
One of the greatest parts of joining an Enneagram Inner Work group is that we are really invited to drop all of the usual personality nonsense that we tend to default to. When you're in a group where everyone is fluent in the Enneagram types, everybody already knows all of your "tricks"--and they love you anyway. This actually frees us to stop acting, and to show up in a new way. Some of my most authentic friendships have arisen out of a chance meeting at a weekend Enneagram workshop, and the possibilities for those connections to develop over the course of an entire year are many.
Dynamic Group Evolution
We will enroll two groups each year, with everyone invited to the same Tuesday calls and Office Hours. New members will benefit from veteran members’ experience, and veteran members will benefit from the fresh perspective of the new members. Over time, the combination of readings, weekly calls, the Mighty Networks group, and peer support will come to feel like solid ground beneath your feet: a touchstone that is always here to remind you of who you really are.
The Course will have no more than 24 students at any one time, with the first enrollment limited to 12.
Mighty Networks Online Forum
LTW uses Mighty Networks as a place to gather online. Similar to a Facebook group, our Mighty Network allows us to share posts, media, personal wins and struggles, ask questions, collaborate, and so on. Past members found the online group to be an invaluable source of connection, support, and information, as well as fun. It is also a more connecting and genuine form of social media, and Mighty Networks does not have the ethical issues or addictive quality of Facebook.
HOW TO APPLY
There are two steps in the enrollment process:
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First, complete the Readiness Assessment. This will reserve your spot until you've made a decision!
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At the end of the assessment, there will be a link to schedule a 45 minute exploratory call with me, during which we can discover together whether Living the Wisdom is right for you.