Lissa presented the Embodiment Tradition in relation to the Jungian concepts of Shadow and Awakening at the Atlanta Jungian Society on August 24th, 2019.

The 9 Enneagram Types can be understood as archetypes. In their most fixated or dysfunctional state they are darker archetypes, in their essential nature they are closer to more divine archetypes. In this talk she demonstrates the physical, emotional, and behavioral expression of each type.

The work of the Enneagram in itself is shadow work. From finding what our dominant type is, to accepting every aspect of the pattern, to releasing the fixated aspects of the pattern. Most people find it hard to identify what their type is, because it is in shadow. Once it is accepted there are aspects we can’t relate to because these aspects are just in shadow. Releasing the fixated aspects of the pattern allows the essence to shine through. This too is in shadow, most people have a difficult time acknowledging that their essential nature is so infinitely beautiful.

The Embodiment Tradition of the Enneagram by Lissa Friedman

The embodiment tradition began around 1998, while I was working as a psychotherapist in private practice. It occurred to me that many of my clients were getting stuck at a particular place in their process. That’s not to say that it was the same for each person, but the threshold seemed to be energetically similar across clients. They could release or transform so many aspects of their conditioning, but were unable to go beyond a certain point. For each person this threshold seemed to challenge an intrinsic part of their identity.

In this video, Lissa provides an overview of the Embodiment Tradition.

Overview of the Nine Types

It is helpful to break up the nine types into 3 groups. There are the core points, or the mutable or adaptors – 3, 6, and 9. The outward energy points – 2, 7, and 8. And finally there are the inward energy points – 1, 4, and 5.

In this video, Lissa presents the energetics of Enneagram Embodiment.