8 The Challenger

I do not think the enneagram is a spiritual practice or that it in any way replaces the wisdom that comes from the sincere contemplation of the Word of God.  But, I do think it provides a useful way of exploring patterns of stress and growth in normal human development.  This is how I have used it in my own life.  In graduate school in my 20's I discovered that I was an 8 on the enneagram: powerful, dominating, decisive, self-confident, and confrontational.  I was a partner in two companies making a decent income and became a commissioned officer in the United States Naval Reserves when I was 29.  In my 30’s I began to recognize my powerful emotional armoring and saw how much it isolated me unnecessarily.  I became more emotionally expressive and generous, like a high-functioning 2. When I was under too much stress I would withdraw like a 5, become cynical and study obsessively.  I knew that underneath my drive for self-protection and independence, I had a big heart and generous impulses. I discovered how much I cared about people and wanted to support others.  This discovery led me to become a teacher.  In my early 40’s began to dream of really making a difference and being a source of good in the world and I became a Dominican Sister.  I realized that of the two wings, I had more of a leaning to the 7 rather than the 9.  This realization helped me to become a balanced 8 with a 7 wing. I lost my compulsive combativeness and the tendency to go to extremes. Real personal power replaced artificial bravado. In my Naval Reserve duty I moved from being a Control of Shipping Officer to being a Chaplain.  In civilian life I moved from being a teacher to being a counselor and a community leader.  In my 50’s I learned that sometimes the most powerful thing to do is to wait, rather than charge in blindly. As a chaplain resident on the Spiritual Care Team I function as a highly integrated 8/7 who knows that my 8 integrates to 2 when I choose to be kind and gentle by using my power constructively instead of competitively. My 7 integrates to 5 and impulsive action is replaced by considered, perceptive understanding as a result of careful research and observation. I am a sophisticated judge of situations, intuitively in touch with the flow of human interaction. This new perception makes options available that were previously inconceivable.  I am able to achieve my dream of being a source of good in the world through transformational spiritual leadership.