HOUTBAAIGEMEENTE: FROM HEAD TO HEART. A 6 Week Spiritual Journey through the Enneagram

Transcription

1 2014 HOUTBAAIGEMEENTE: FROM HEAD TO HEART A 6 Week Spiritual Journey through the Enneagram

2 Heartily welcome to this 6 week Spiritual growth course through the Enneagram. How the Symbol of the Enneagram works: We all are driven by a deep inner restlessness. This has been defined by the great wisdom teachers as spiritual suffering. Deeper insights into modern culture teach that unless we recognize this kind of suffering in ourselves, we would repeatedly stumble towards a life of death. In the tradition of Christian wisdom and discipleship we are taught that we need to die before we can live. Death and rebirth are the two spiritual pillars of the Christian Faith. We may feel this restlessness as a sense that something is missing in us, although it is usually difficult to define exactly what it is. We all have all sorts of different notions about what we think we need or want a better relationship, a better job, a better physique, a better car, etc. We believe that if we acquire that better or perfect it we will be satisfied and complete. But from experience we are taught that this new thing makes us feel better for only a short time. It never fulfils us in the way we thought it would. So what are we really looking for? If we reflect for a moment, we may realize that what our hearts yearn for is to know who we are and why we are here. But little in our culture encourages us to look for answers to these questions. We have really been taught that the quality of life will improve primarily if our external fortunes improve. I believe that many people today are looking for a new faith vision which will bring meaning and direction to their lives, an honest and authentic vision that is realistic and creates a safe and open minded space to explore these questions. Some of our major obstacles to our accepting and responding to the unconditional love of God come from our inherited false images of both God and ourselves. As a Bible reader for 30 years plus, I became fascinated by the range of aspects of the love of God which I presents here. Some years ago I became interested in the Enneagram which holds that we are made in the image of God, and that each one of us reflects one of the nine faces of God. These nine faces correspond in a very enlightening way with those I had found in the Bible. By acknowledging and examining our own experiences, and by reflecting upon them in the light of the Gospels, I seek to take you through this 6 week journey of faith towards intimacy and union with God, who according to John, the Evangelist, is Love. Outside Circle = God is One. The Source of Creation, Sustainer of Life. Inside triangle = God is Three. The Giver of Personal Love, Relationships and Life Purpose. Hexagram = Human beings are created in God s image (Creation Story = 6 days / 6 periods). In God s creation nothing is static but everything is moving and becoming something else, changing, recycling according to their own nature. And this gives us the image of an Enneagram:

3 When we put these three elements together (circle, triangle and the hexad), we get the Enneagram, a symbol with nine points. It works through what the Bible calls the Shalom (Peace of God) principle. God has reconciled everything in the cosmos through Jesus Christ. Through His Spirit, God lives, moves, breathes, sustains and speaks in our lives, creation and the cosmos. God has chosen human beings to be His dwelling place and lives through us. Through the Holy Spirit we awaken to His indwelling and receives God s grace and love. The nine types, is a way to remember their nine divine attributes as they are reflected in human nature. On the other hand though, these nine attributes has also been described as our nine deadly sins. These sins are the roots of our imbalances and the way we have become trapped in our ego fixations. While we have unlimited access to the love and grace of Jesus, one stumbling block in particular crops up over and over again. For instance Type Ones struggles with the sin of anger, repressing it and leading quiet lives of continual frustration and dissatisfaction with themselves and the world. They might have heard hidden childhood messages like it s not Ok to make mistakes, they fear being bad or corrupt, they desire to have integrity, but it deteriorates into critical perfectionism. They are lacking affection and views God as demanding, critical. But The same Ones might be missing and searching for that lost message and experience of you are good. The Holy Spirit guides Ones in this specific journey. They are searching for a God who affirms them and experience His love as forgiving and life giving. They need to see in the face of God One who have the fullness of life and accepts them where they are and does not simply judge them as either right or wrong. Through the Enneagram, Ones can be lead by the Holy Spirit, to a new understanding and experience of this life Giving God. So The Enneagram is not only a powerful way to make us aware of God s wake up calls that we have become trapped in our own stumbling blocks, but also a way to rediscover the call and invitation of Jesus to follow Him on the road of recovery, healing, love and shalom. Designed as a process of Spiritual growth This 6 week course have been designed to help you with many practical feautures on your way: You will discover: -What your life story is actually all about; -The beauty of being you and seeing others in a new way; -The difficulty of being you, your brokenness and understanding others in a new way; -The specific way that God s grace can break through to you by understanding where God is inviting you to right now; -The specific way that God shows up in each person I particular -How the love of God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit works through you to others.

4 Contents Week 1: This is the story of my life writing and understanding your own Autobiography Week 2: Discover your personality Type through the Enneagram Take The Enneagram Test Explaining your Type in Brief: Type 1: The Reformer Type 2: The Helper Type 3: The Achiever Type 4: The Individualist Type 5: The Investigator Type 6: The Loyalist Type 7: The Enthusiast Type 8: The Challenger Type 9: The Peacemaker Contents Week 5: The Presence: The Face of God in you Why nine Faces? Face 1: Life Giving God Face 2: Affectionate God Face 3: Providence of God Face 4: Personal God Face 5: Wisdom of God Face 6: Faithfulness of God Face 7: Happiness of God Face 8: God as Lover and Lord Face 9: The Friendship of God Week 3: The Shadow: A Journey through your dark side Week 6: The New Journey: Let Your Life Speak Week 4: The Light: The invitation of God

5 Intro: The world is made of stories. A story is an account of something. What is the story of these unpaid bills? If the world is made of Stories, stories are not just stories. They teach us what is real, what is valuable and what is possible. They become multiple accounts of ourselves and what we continue to tell ourselves of what is true about myself, others and the world and God. Through them I create one story line. Week 1: 3-9 August: This is the story of my life Understanding the deeper meaning behind your own life story. Scripture Reading: The Story of Jacob Gen This is not to deny (or assert) that there is a world apart from our stories, only that we cannot understand anything without storying it. When God decided to tell the world of His existence, He did so mainly through human beings, created in His image, through stories. Genesis and Exodus could be summed up as God that Created and saved His people, but we accompany Him and ordinary people on the journey through their stories. A Good story is made up of the following elements: A Plot, determined by different people and circumstances Negative events like conflict, trauma, loss, disappointments Positive events like joy, celebrations, achievements, victories Secrets, unspoken world views, etc.

6 Stories have genres like Romance, Horror, Thrillers, Comedy, History, Science Fiction, Action, etc. There are characters in stories, some are predictable, and some more unpredictable. Some has stayed for long, others have come and gone. In our own stories we are usually the main characters who lives in an already existing plot, trying to make sense of our stories, trying to make sense of the plot that went on before us. We are trying to find meaning for this main character that is us, trying to find our own voice. In our own stories we come to believe that this is me, this is what I should be, this is who I am. I have access to this being called me, mainly by understanding my story. I can write an autobiography, and name my story, give it a title. This title is of utmost importance, because it gives me an understanding how I frame my life. Parallel to this story that I tell, runs the God-story in my life. This story is one of hope, joy and celebration. It tells of a God who loves me unconditionally. This story invites me to live the life that God wants to live through me. So it is time to ask yourself what is your God-story?

7 Week 1: Small Group Exercise: This is the Story of my life understanding the deeper meaning behind your own life story. Scripture Reading: The Story of Jacob Gen.25: Watch the three short 5 minutes teaching of Ron Martoia on YouTube in the following order: Draw a straight timeline, beginning with your Birth date and ending with the current date.. 3. Mark and name Above your timeline all the significant negative events, disappointments, losses and hurts that impacted in your life.. 4. Now, mark and name Below your time line the significant triumphs, new beginnings and joys in your life.. What has been Jacob s: Me story : What story did Jacob continue to tell himself that he came to believe is true? We story : Who were the people in Jacob s story. What story did they tell their children to live in? The Story : To What new story did God try to invite Jacob into? The Me Story Questions: What have been the most significant events (positive and negative) in your life? In what ways does this still play out in your life? How does this impact on your work, relationships? What did you learn about yourself from this? The We story Questions: Who have hurt you, shamed you, disappointed you, bullied you? Who was your biggest challenge to love or get along with? Who have embraced your struggles and growth? Who have been your mentors and friends at the different stages of your life? What did you learn from those in your we story about relationships, finances, work, faith, values? The Story Questions: What did you learn about God in this story of yours? How has God been present in your Story? What new story do you sense is God inviting you into now? 5. Answer the following reflective questions:

8 Reflective Notes Reflective Notes The My- story Questions: 1.The significant events: The Our Story Questions 1.Who have hurt/ shamed/ bullied/ disappointed you? Negative Positve 2.Who was your biggest challenge to love or stay committed to? 2. How does it still play out in your work, relationships 3.Who have embraced your struggles and growth? 3. What did you learn about yourself from this exersize? 4.Who have been your mentors and friends during the different stages in your life? 5.What did you learn from the people in your we story about:

9 Finances Relationships Sexuality Reflective Notes The Story Reflection How has God been present in your story? Work Values Who is God for you? Happiness Conflict Anxiety What new kind of story do you sense is God inviting your to live into now? Emotions God