The teachings of the Enneagram as a spiritual path rest on a collection of related spiritual truths. It’s the loss of awareness of these truths that gives rise to the False Self and each particular Personality Type. These Holy Truths (also called Holy Ideas) are not unique to these teachings. In fact, the most fundamental Truth is recognized by mystics in many religions and spiritual paths.

The first and foundational Truth is that of Unity. All is One. Everything that arises and appears in all of existence is part of a single Whole. (Everything that doesn’t arise and doesn’t appear is also part of this Whole as well.) Another way of pointing to this Truth is to say that “nothing is separate from anything else”. This goes beyond interconnection, it is what the Vietnamese Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh calls “Interbeing”. The Hindu mystic tradition of Advaita Vedanta that elucidates this understanding literally means “not two” – A-dvaita. These are the teachings known as “non-dual”. Other wisdom traditions understand this as well.

If All is One, why do we see so many different things around us? In fact, it seems that all of life is separate things! This is because of the second Truth – that of Manifestation. Unity is continuously pouring itself forth as the vast and differentiated universe that we experience. It’s like the ocean creating waves. Watching the ocean, we see wave after wave after wave, but none of these is anything but ocean, there is no part of a wave that is not ocean. In that same way, nothing we experience, nothing about ourselves or others or any aspect of existence, is anything but the One.

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We can experience both of these truths, together or separately. We can experience them deeply or just catch a glimpse. I think we experience these truths, and the other Holy Truths, more often than we recognize. One reason for writing about these Truths is so that, when we do have a moment of awareness of one or more of them, we’ll recognize the moment for what it is – a moment of being awake. The word “Buddha” means “awake”. In such moments, we’re in good company!

More Holy Truths arise because of the first two. Here they are below. I encourage you to read them slowly and feel within yourself which ones resonate most strongly, which ones you already recognize. These Truths are functioning continuously in the bringing forth all of existence, right here and right now. They are available to your awareness, right here and right now.

THE HOLY TRUTHS

• The first truth is Unity, all is One, all Consciousness, the ocean.

• The second truth is Manifestation, multiplicity, the waves.

• All boundaries and separate existences are illusory

• Everything arises optimally, according to no-plan

• Each thing and all things collectively are complete and perfect

• Unity is the source of all things

• All that exists and happens is the expression of Unity

• A moment of remembering any of these truths is a moment of Liberation

• Everything that arises is an expression of the ever-changing pattern and nothing is not part of the vast unfolding

• Every apparent individual thing is in complete accord with this unfolding

• This unfolding is optimal

• This unfolding is worthy of our trust

• This unfolding supports and is supported by each and every expression

• Taken altogether, these Truths express what we experience as Peace, Harmony, Love

Each of these Truths is an aspect of Unity, each rests upon and with each of the others. Because of the truth of Unity, each of the others is true as well. I don’t think this list is exhaustive of the deepest truths of existence. I don’t think we can make such a list. I don’t think we can ever fully perceive the vastness and complexity of the wholeness of reality. We can experience these Truths however, and in so doing experience moments and even lives marked by freedom.

Thank you for reading this post, I welcome your comments and questions below. Please do share this with anyone you think may be interested. If you’re interested in classes, one-on-one consultation, or a conversation to help you clarify your likely Personality Type, please contact me at keith at theawakenedenneagram.com.

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At its most basic, the word “Enneagram” refers to the nine-pointed (“ennea”) symbol (“gram”) below. This symbol can be used as a map of various aspects of human experience. In these writings I am interested in tracking those enneagram maps that help us awaken to the true nature of our existence. These maps can help us see what a liberated life looks like, the impediments to our experience of that life, and how we can be free of those impediments so we can experience a life of liberation.

The core map we’ll be exploring is the Enneagram of Holy Truths (also referred to as Holy Ideas). These are deep truths about the ultimate nature of reality, our own true nature, and our lived experience of each of these. The Holy Truths are:

• Holy Unity

• Holy Omniscience, Holy Transparency

• Holy Wisdom, Holy Plan, Holy Work

• Holy Perfection

• Holy Origin

• Holy Will, Holy Freedom

• Holy Law, Holy Harmony, Holy Hope

• Holy Faith, Holy Strength

• Holy Love, Holy Peace

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The spiritual teachings of the Enneagram say that we have fallen asleep to these Truths. This falling asleep is painful and distressing and as a result we naturally have strong emotional reactions to our situation and develop inaccurate ideas about what our lives are in reality and how they actually unfold.

These emotional reactions are detailed in the Enneagram of Passions and the inaccurate ideas are articulated in the Enneagram of Fixations. These Passions and Fixations constellate in consistent patterns that drive our perceptions, feelings, thinking and behavior which together form our Personality Type. The Enneagram of Personality Types is what is commonly known as “The Enneagram” in contemporary circles and has received the most attention in popular culture. The Personality Type is a survival strategy and, asleep as it is to the Holy Truths, it is called the False Self.

The spiritual path of the Enneagram is for each of us to be released from the False Self and to rest more deeply in the True Self. The approach is to observe the functioning of the False Self and to witness its Passions and Fixations and assorted other habits and patterns. Through this process these things naturally release their grip on us. We will more and more consistently experience the True Self. This True Self is more often awake to the Holy Truths, more often experiences helpful traits (elucidated in the Enneagram of Virtues) and is more open to life as it happens in the present moment. The True Self realizes its wholeness with all things and, awake to this unity, is free.

For easier reference, here are the enneagrams I’ve mentioned and that we’ll be exploring in future articles:

• Enneagram of Holy Truths – fundamental facts about existence

• Enneagram of Passions – the charged emotions that arise as a result of us falling asleep to the Truths

• Enneagram of Fixations – the inaccurate ideas that arise as a result of falling asleep to the Truths

• Enneagram of Personality Types – the constellations of Passions, Fixations and resulting patterns that form who we take ourselves to be, our False Self

• Enneagram of Virtues – the qualities that naturally arise as the influence of the False Self recedes

Thank you for reading this post, I welcome your comments and questions below. Please do share this with anyone you think may be interested. If you’re interested in classes, one-on-one consultation, or a conversation to help you clarify your likely Personality Type, please contact me at keith at theawakenedenneagram.com.

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