Episode Description

“What are those lines on the symbol?” is one of the questions we get most frequently during our Enneagram workshops. In this episode, Hari, Rasanath, and Michael explore the critical dimension of the Enneagram: the Directional Movements. They describe how each Type experiences stress and growth, clarifying why we sometimes resemble other Types. These movements toward another Type in stress or growth reveal important layers of motivation and insecurity. The conversation highlights why coping is easier, growth includes moving through the shadows of another Type, and understanding this dimension can help prevent mistyping. The team offers a concise tour of what each Type looks like when secure and when overwhelmed. They close by bringing greater focus to the practical and spiritual implications of these movements.

Podcast Hosts: Michael, Hari Prasada Das and Rasanath Das

Listen to this episode on Apple, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform

Highlights

• [01:10] What Directional Movements are and why they matter

• [03:40] The power in understanding the Directional Movements of your own Type

• [11:10] Stress and growth

• [17:00] Type 1’s move to 7 in Growth, 4 in Stress

• [19:10] Type 2’s move to 4 in Growth, 8 in Stress

• [20:30] Type 3’s move to 6 in Growth, 9 in Stress

• [22:30] Type 4’s move to 1 in Growth, 2 in Stress

• [25:30] Type 5’s move to 8 in Growth, 7 in Stress

• [28:00] Type 6’s move to 9 in Growth, 3 in Stress

• [30:10] Type 7’s move to 5 in Growth, 1 in Stress

• [31:50] Type 8’s move to 2 in Growth, 5 in Stress

• [33:30] Type 9’s move to 3 in Growth, 6 in Stress

• [35:50] The idea from Russ Hudson that he wouldn’t teach a Type unless he’d fallen in love with them

• [44:30] How the lines help illuminate the journey from the ego to the true self

Quotes

• “Health means self-awareness and…owning the difficulties, the struggles, the weaknesses…our insecurity and desire to control other people in situations for validation.” -Hari Prasada

• “Our lifetime of work is in owning our Type and our Wing.” -Hari Prasada

• “The Inner Critic is the mouthpiece of the ego, and the ego is what's covering the self… If I want to reign free as the self, I have to actually see that my Inner Critic is blocking me. And for each of the Types, that manifests in a different way around the fixation of that Type, which the Direction of Growth offers a key...” -Hari Prasada

• “These Types are complex, they're human. There's so much beauty in each of the Types when they're healthy, and there's a lot of darkness and difficulty when they're not healthy…in stress.” -Michael