The Energy Template of the Self
Although the existence of the Chakras is accepted in the east
it is not so readily recognized in the west. In fact, it is not so uncommon
to be greeted with a look of bewilderment at the very mention of the word,
followed by utter skepticism and scorn when attempting to explain their purpose.
—albert einstein
As we’ve discussed, we are not just our body/mind/brain and emotions. We are also a complex energy system that in the Eastern traditions are described as nonvisible lines of energy throughout the body called meridians and centers of energy called chakras. In this chapter, we will consider the history of how the various energy systems have come to the West. We will examine what chakras are, how they can be activated and balanced in your body, and how the five elements of earth, water, fire, air, and space relate to the five key chakras that we will work with in this process of energetically identifying your ego personality. Also, in this chapter we will explore your personality type through an ancient system called the Enneagram, a nine-point system of different personality types that will help you reveal more clearly the construct of your unique constricted self. You have the opportunity to take an Enneagram assessment to determine your particular type.
The Chakras
Chakras are an ancient system that originated in India and moved and changed in description to different cultures. They reveal a system of understanding that provides tools and experiences that can heal, rebalance, and energize your life. According to the Vedas and the Upanishads—the oldest of the Indian spiritual texts—the chakra system originated between 1500 and 500 BC. A similar energy system can be found in Chinese medicine based on the meridians that is still used today. There are also energy systems like the chakras in Tibetan Buddhism, the Jewish Kabbalah, and Islamic Sufism. For our purposes, we will focus on the Hindu chakra system.
Chakra means “wheel” or “wheel of life.” The chakras are spinning energy wheels at seven major points along the spine from the base of the spine to the top of the head. Each of the seven spinning wheels of energy is connected to the nervous system through the endocrine system. For example, the crown chakra at the top of the head is related to the pituitary gland. The forehead chakra is linked to the pineal gland, the throat chakra is connected to the thyroid gland, the heart chakra to the thymus, the solar plexus chakra to the spleen/pancreas glands, and the groin chakra to the testicles or the ovaries. The base or root chakra at the adrenal glands is where the “kundalini” or serpent energy that activates the chakras is coiled (the core energy of the body) and where physical survival for a person is protected.
You may be aware of the energy system of the meridians in Chinese acupuncture. These meridians, or channels of energy, are connected to the “hubs” called the chakras. Neuroscientists have demonstrated with an electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) and electroencephalograph (EEG) that there is a constant electromagnetic energy exchange between cells and there is continuous electrical magnetic activity of the heart and brain as well as other parts of the body. There is much more information about electrical magnetic fields of the body, but all I want to do at this point is to indicate that chakras and meridians have been the physical-spiritual methods of ancient teachings and current neuroscientists, as they both have explored and mapped the electrical magnetic energy of the body.
This remarkable chakra system is an energy template that has helped me understand how the personality develops and how it can detach itself. The chakra system is also a helpful guide to show when the chakras are in balance and out of balance. Each chakra has an energy force that vibrates at a particular frequency. The chakra system can be compared to computer hardware with software and a power cord connected to an energy source. The body is the hardware and the mind is the software. If there are energy problems with the power cord, it will shut down the computer system.
Similarly, if your internal energy system represented by the chakras and the physical electromagnetic forces begins to get out of balance or shut down, it can dramatically affect your physical body, your clarity of mind, and your emotional state as well as your overall physical, mental, and emotional balance. Even if there are minor disruptions in the various elements of your chakra/electromagnetic system, your energy flow goes down and that will affect your mood, difficulty in problem-solving, and susceptibility to colds, as well as other mental and physical imbalances.
The seven wheels of energy currents maintain your physical, emotional, and mental health. Each chakra carries a different level of mind consciousness. The lower three chakras (root, sacral, and solar plexus) link you to the dense material energies of your body. Through these three energy wheels you experience how to perceive the physicality of your body and environment. These three centers of energy focus on your experience in the material world. The upper four energy centers (heart, throat, brow or third eye, and crown) express your heart of compassion, joy, freedom, and, eventually, liberation.
There is a color and sound unique to each chakra frequency. As frequencies increase up your spinal cord, these chakras are like a rainbow bridge of color vibrations. As the frequency in the wheels move faster, the color and sound change. When you are vibrating at a particular frequency, you will receive information at these different chakras in the form of images, emotions, sensations, thoughts, or perceptions of that chakra. You then can assimilate what you receive from this information and use it to inform your life. Learning how to unblock energy imbalance in the chakras and to keep the frequency of each center vibrant and strong is part of maintaining your physical, emotional, and mental health.
Figure 1: Chakra figure
Exercise: Chakra Balancing Practice
As you practice this meditation, you will discover the placement of each energy center. With practice, you will also notice which center has less energy and what in your body or mind may be creating the imbalance. Again, either record the exercise or have a partner or friend read it to you. Pause between each instruction. After the exercise, record in your notebook your sensations and experience in each chakra. You may want to do this exercise several times to become familiar with what sensations each chakra has for you. As you practice, they will become more differentiated for you. Let’s begin.
• Find a quiet place and sit with your body comfortable, with your back straight, or lie flat on a bed or the floor. Close your eyes.
• Take three deep abdominal breaths through the nose, focusing on relaxing your entire body. Feel your body relaxed and centered in either your sitting or lying position. In this relaxed state, visualize a root growing from the base of your spine into the earth and feel your connection to the solidness of the earth.
• As you visualize and feel the root go deeper into the earth, experience even more relaxation in your body.
• Imagine a spinning wheel at the very base of your spine. It is a red color.
• Tighten the muscles in this area for a moment as you visualize the wheel and the red color. Then let go, relaxing your body. Notice the sensation of energy at this point.
• Slowly move your attention to each of the chakra centers up your spine, tightening muscles in each chakra area, then relaxing, and then observing the different sensations of energy at each chakra.
• Move first from your root chakra to your pelvic area. Here the color is orange. Note the sensation.
• Next is the solar plexus where the color is yellow. Note the sensation.
• Move to the heart where the color is green. Note the sensation.
• Move to the throat where the color is blue. Note the sensation.
• At this point before moving up the spine, take a few more deep breaths and feel your body relax more deeply.
• Move now to your forehead chakra, where the color is purple. Note the sensation.
• Finally, move to the top of your head, where the color is violet. Note the sensation.
• As you reach the top of your head, also notice if your entire body is vibrating.
• Review and then recall what chakras seem to spin or vibrate more than others.
• Which of the chakra centers seemed stronger or weaker in their sensations?
• Finally, be aware of your body and the room you are in. Move your body and open your eyes. Please record your experience in your notebook. The writing will bring your inner experience more consciousness and increase your learning about your chakra system.
Ways to Activate Each Chakra
In both the Indian and Chinese systems, everything in nature is made up of five basic elements: earth, water, fire, air, and space (ether). Each chakra is made up of a different element as well. The qualities of each chakra include the elements, physical functions, emotional, and psychological states. Knowledge of these states and functions in each chakra allows you to experience the chakra and to give you a sense of whether there exists balance or imbalance at a particular chakra. As you become more familiar with your own chakra’s characteristics, you will be able to balance the energy within the chakras. Experience of this balance will then give you an awareness of the development of the constricted self and ways to detach from it.
Another reason it is valuable to gain a perspective of your own particular chakra characteristics is that the five basic elements are also the same nature elements that are prominent in the dying process, as described in the first half of the book. Here is a brief overview of the characteristics of the elements related to the chakras.
The first chakra, the root, is energized by the earth element, located at the base of the spine. This element represents stability. You will notice when the root chakra is not in balance, you may feel unstable, worried, and fearful. What is needed to bring the energy into balance is to seek ways to be connected, nurtured, and grounded in the earth element, which will create stability for you. One of the easiest things to do when feeling unstable is to go outside to a safe place and lie on the ground. The earth has a natural balancing frequency called the Schumann Resonance, which is the earth’s electromagnetic field spectrum. What you will experience from the earth is a frequency of approximately 5 to 7 hertz as you lie and absorb its healing power. This is a basic repairing and rejuvenating energy frequency for your body and mind.
The water element is the energy characteristic of the second chakra, located in the pelvic or sacral area of the body. The water element represents the flow in life. If this chakra is obstructed, you will not be able to move your lower spine appropriately. When you are out of balance, you may feel stuck and rigid, as well as emotionally and sexually drained. Without the appropriate water element, there is little to no pleasure or feelings of sensuality in you. There is also no release of built-up toxins in your body when you feel sluggish or stuck in some part of your life. There are many ways to reestablish the water element. Taking a bath or a shower, being in a hot tub or a sauna, walking in the rain or snow, or just sitting by a pond, lake, river, or ocean. All these water conditions will provide negative ions that neutralize stress, charge the energy cycle of the body, remove negative bacteria from the air, and create a sense of well-being by reducing the production of serotonin, which creates the breakdown of positive flow in our body and emotions. In general, any type of hydrotherapy rebalances and smooths the energetic flow of your body, mind, and emotions.
The fire element is the energy characteristic of the third chakra, located in the solar plexus area of the body. This chakra has to do with producing action in your life. It is the kind of action that you need to make your life a success. When this chakra is in balance, you develop your own power and passion in your life. When this chakra is strong and balanced, you have inspirational goals, courage, strength, and follow-through to fulfill your dreams.
When you can’t put your passion and dreams into action, there is an imbalance and an energetic block in this chakra. If blocked, you may feel heavy, limited, restricted, closed down, or depressed and need inspiration. When the fire element has cooled, research indicates that one of the fastest ways to recharge is to exercise and to stimulate the brain’s neurotransmitter dopamine. Meditation, certain foods such as avocados and leafy vegetables, and green tea can revitalize your fire element.
The air element is the energetic characteristic of the fourth chakra, located in the heart region of the body. The air embodies lightness and the freeing quality of love. When you are open to loving yourself and loving others, you are living in balance. When you are balanced in your body, mind, and emotions, you accept love and give love. You feel worthy and, like air, your awareness holds love all around you. When there are challenges in this chakra or blockages, you will have an inability to offer love and be very self-contained and unsure of your own self-identities. When this chakra is blocked in some way, it is also hard to know that you are worthwhile and have meaning in life. The most obvious way to respond to a closed heart feeling is breathing. Conscious breathing charges the body, warms the heart area, and recenters you by changing mood and mental conditions.
The space element characteristics are energy, spirit, love, emptiness, freedom, and being everywhere. This embodies the upper three chakras of the throat, brow, and crown. Each of these three chakras has individual characteristics, but for our purpose of understanding the elemental forces, I include them in the space element. When our four elements of air, earth, water, and fire are balanced, we connect to the Universal Life Force element of space. This element is at a very high frequency, and the three upper chakras are activated together to move your energetic awareness to experience the power and grace of this element. Continuing to be present with the space element is fundamentally maintained in various forms of meditation, tai chi, Qigong, prayer, and contemplation practices. At a body/mind/emotion level, these practices open you to a continued state and development of balanced energy, calmness, and openness to life, which are the conditions that nurture the space element.
Find a quiet place and sit with your back straight but your body comfortable, or lie on a bed or the floor. Again, either record the exercise or have a partner or friend read it to you. Pause between each instruction. After the exercise, record in your notebook your experience.
• Close your eyes and take three deep abdominal breaths through the nose, focusing on relaxing your entire body. Take time to move through your body and relax each area, starting from your head and moving down to your toes.
• Move your attention to the base of your spine. Feel the solidness of your root chakra connected to the earth as you sit in your chair or lie on the floor. Notice the growing heaviness in your hands and arms resting on your lap or beside you. There is a heaviness to your entire body as it becomes more relaxed.
• This perceived weight is the heaviness of gravity and the earth energy. As you feel the solidness, notice if you feel supported, connected, and stable within yourself. Also notice what keeps you from this awareness if you are unable to sense the heaviness.
• As you stay aware of your connection to the earth through the root chakra, notice if you have any tingling pressure sensations in your body.
• Now turn your attention to the pelvic area of your body and notice a sense of pleasurable warmth enveloping this area of your body. Let go to this flow of warmth. When you let go, it will be like a flow of moving water. Follow the moving water and drop your body and mind into the ebb and flow, like waves moving in and out of your body. Let your body physically move with this warm flowing energy. Feel the undulation of your spine as you slowly move your body parts.
• Consider in your emotional life where you may not be in this easy flow of energy. If you are aware of this possibility, let your body relax even more and say. “I let go of this … and I release myself into the flow of my life.”
• Move your awareness upward and into your solar plexus as you open to this center of your body. Either with your inner visual or your sense feeling, notice a brilliant fire burning in your belly.
• Feel the heat coming off the fire and notice your energy increase as you put your attention there.
• This energy of power brings a burning self-confidence and passion inside of you. What is the source of this power in you? Notice the strength of this power, confidence, and passion you are feeling.
• Take a moment to consider what puts out the fire in you and reduces your power, passion, and confidence.
• Now move your awareness to your heart area and experience your breath flowing in and out of your heart. This air is the element that moves you out of the material world into the domain of spirit, energy, and presence.
• Follow your breath and notice the air as it goes in and out at your heart area.
• Let your mind and body move into and become the air. Let yourself become as light as the air. Feel yourself floating.
• Notice how free and aware you are and of the rest of your body floating as the spirit of air holds you and passes through you.
• Notice how your identity shifts being in this quality of freedom in the air. Can you perceive yourself as loving others and being an expression of love in your life? What difference would it make for your life if this love was always moving in you and through you?
• Finally, be aware of your body and the room you are in. Move your body and open your eyes. Please record your experience in your notebook. The writing will bring your inner experience up into your conscious mind and increase your learning about your own element system.
The Enneagram
The energy template we are exploring also includes the work of the Enneagram. The Enneagram is a model of the human personality and has nine interconnected personality types. These nine personality types are described as who we are not. It is a description of our constricted self. The Enneagram will help you identify your constricted self, and you can use your personality type as a reference as we go through the awakening process. Here I give an overview of the Enneagram. I encourage you to go to the Enneagram Institute website for further information.
The symbol of the Enneagram is ancient and has been found in Egyptian ruins that date back ten thousand years. The Enneagram appears in Pythagorean philosophy, the work of Plato, Judism, Sufism, and early mystic Christianity. The reemergence of the Enneagram in modern times came through the Russian mystic George Gurdjieff in the early 1900s and then emerged in more modern spiritual form in the late 1970s with Oscar Ichazo in Chile. It then came into broader culture through Claudio Naranjo, a pyschologist, who learned the concepts and practices from Ichazo. Naranjo framed the material in psychological concepts and brought them to the United States, where he began to teach groups. This psychospiritual process of understanding and working with personality structure has spread throughout the world, and the nine types are recognized in different world cultures as the universal nature and functioning of human beings.
Figure 2: The Enneagram
Following are the four-word trait sets for each type. Keep in mind that these are merely highlights and do not represent the full spectrum of each type.
Type One is principled, purposeful, self-controlled, and perfectionistic.
Type Two is generous, demonstrative, people-pleasing, and possessive.
Type Three is adaptable, excelling, driven, and image-conscious.
Type Four is expressive, dramatic, self-absorbed, and temperamental.
Type Five is perceptive, innovative, secretive, and isolated.
Type Six is engaging, responsible, anxious, and suspicious.
Type Seven is spontaneous, versatile, acquisitive, and scattered.
Type Eight is self-confident, decisive, willful, and confrontational.
Type Nine is receptive, reassuring, complacent, and resigned.
Besides learning to identify which of the nine types fit you, there are other ways to use the nine points. The first is with “centers.” Each one of the nine types is related to three basic centers: the thinking center, the feeling center, and the instinctive or body-oriented center. For example, you can note that the feeling center represents types two, three, and four.
Figure 3: The Structural Centers
The centers give you an orientation of your type to how your personality basically functions in each of the three centers. For example, my type is a six, so my challenge, growth, and development come from my thinking. Thinking for me has both positive and negative issues I need to work with in my development. My husband is a one, so his issues are around being a body type which is described as the instinctive center. Our son is a three and our daughter is a two, so they confront their types around the issues of feelings and emotions.
There is also the dominant negative emotion of each of the three centers. These center emotions reveal how we tend to cope emotionally. These negative emotions tend to be unconscious for us, so the method of the Enneagram system helps to bring these to conscious awareness for our healing.
The work with the Enneagram to transform our lives and to awaken to our true nature covers a wide breadth of insights and understanding. Beyond what I’ve mentioned, there is the understanding of your type’s “wings,” meaning the types on either side of your primary type that influence your personality pattern. Most important, the major contribution that Don Riso and Russ Hudson of the Enneagram Institute made to modern Enneagram understanding is the work with your nine levels of development ranging from unhealthy to average to healthy. Levels give you a measure of where you are in your own type development and what challenges of growth are the next steps in your life cycle development. Beyond all of this material, there is the work of direction of integration and of disintegration in your personality structure, the work with subtypes, and many other factors such as complementary types in relationships.
What I have found most useful in understanding the patterns of personality is how my Enneagram type affects my different emotional conditions. Your type will also demonstrate what you become fixated on and therefore where your resistance is to life’s flow. The Enneagram points to the patterns that reveal your fundamental self-identification, with the way you create your “me, my, and mine” projections into the world around you. The unique structure of your Enneagram template reveals the compensatory patterns you developed from your family conditioning and onward through life. It will teach you what generates your pattern of stress and what conditions you need to create, integrate, and grow in your life.
Please take a short assessment below. This assessment will help you identity your Enneagram type. You will need to know your type to do many Enneagram exercises that are in the next four chapters. I strongly recommend you explore the many facets of the Enneagram in your life as you continue to explore your own awakening. You can also find further resources on the Enneagram in Appendix C.
Overview of the Enneagram Triad Assessment
The Enneagram is a word that refers to nine personality types. Ennea is a Greek word for “nine.” Within the nine types are three centers that are called the triads. There are three Enneagram types in each triad. The triad centers are called: the thinking center, the feeling center, and the instinctual center. They are sometimes called the head, the heart, and the body or “gut.” Each person tends to have their primary Enneagram type in one of these three triads.
• Thinking triad has the Enneagrams five, six, and seven
• Feeling triad has the Enneagrams two, three, and four
• Body triad has the Enneagrams one, nine, and eight
Note the graphic of the triads in Figure 4. Each of the three triads is dominated by a particular negative emotion.
• The thinking center’s negative emotion is fear.
• The feeling center’s negative emotion is shame
• The body center’s negative emotion is anger.
The underlying principle of the Enneagram is a pathway to discover our true nature. The Enneagram is then a very helpful model to work with our constricted self and discover our expanded self. Each triad center responds to all types of emotions but is significantly affected by one of the particular negative emotions above. The negative emotions of the triads represent the constricted self’s main issues of self-worth, emotional reactions, mental anxiety, and our means of self-protection. These triads with their particular Enneagram types can assist us in uncovering aspects of our constricted self that we will identify as we proceed through the next four chapters of the book.
One of the clues to your primary Enneagram type is how you identify with one of the three triads and one of these three negative emotions. It is these two aspects that are the basis of the following assessment.
Exercise: Taking the Enneagram Assessment
This short assessment uses the triads as a way of helping you identify your primary Enneagram type. This assessment is a general indicator of your Enneagram type. The process of fully understanding your type may need a more comprehensive review. You can find additional information on other Enneagram assessments in Appendix C.
Step 1: Review the Three Groups
There are three statements in each group below that describe behaviors, identity, emotions, and beliefs representing that triad. Read through all three groups. After reading each group, select one group with the three statements that seems most like you (either when you were younger or the way you are now). Within your chosen group select the one statement that is most like you.
GROUP I
1. I like to be organized, but I can be strongly critical of myself. My drive is that I am never good enough.
2. I am self-reliant and strong, and I don’t like being weak or dependent.
3. I can seem peaceful and placid, but I am critical of myself for not taking initiative and being disciplined enough.
GROUP 2
1. I am loyal and supportive of others, but tend to be sensitive, hypervigilant, and nervous.
2. I have a deep need to know and understand everything, but have trouble expressing succinctly what I know.
3. I am restless when not having fun, being spontaneous, or contributing to the world. But I also tend to avoid my inner pain and any physical or emotional suffering.
GROUP 3
1. I don’t want to be ordinary, as I am motivated by my strong feelings, by my drive to be creative, and time alone to be introspective.
2. I am very busy and productive in order to be successful. I avoid failure and want to be recognized.
3. I need to be valued and to be loved by others, but I also can be manipulative with my generous and often possessive love to get people to support my self-esteem.
Step 2: Finding Your Enneagram Description
The nine Enneagram descriptions are below. Go to the group and the statement you’ve chosen and read that Enneagram description. This will represent your primary Enneagram type. If you are not fully satisfied that the Enneagram represents you, read the other two descriptions within that same group to find the one that best represents you.
GROUP 1: The Instinctual or Body Group
1. This is Personality Type One and is often referred to as the reformer or the perfectionist. They tend to have a hard time making mistakes and become disappointed when their expectations are not met. This type can become obsessed with taking things too seriously and overtly concerned by not doing things perfectly. Type ones tend to be serious, inflexible, and resistant, and they believe that they are not good enough. They are hard on themselves and judge themselves about their thoughts, actions, and behaviors with others. At their best they are ethical, reliable, idealistic, and live their life the right way as they improve their life and the world. They are organized, orderly, self-disciplined, and able to accomplish a great deal. They are responsible in everything they do. When they put facts together they figure out wise solutions and take their anger and criticism of the world by turning it in on themselves.
2. This is Personality Type Eight and is referred to as the asserter or the challenger. They are direct, powerful, and authoritarian. They are assertive, strong and aggressive when they need to be and can overwhelm people. They tend to be restless and impatient with other’s incompetence. They put a lot of pressure on themselves and express anger toward people who don’t obey the rules or when things don’t go the right way. At their best type eight supports the underdog, fights for what is right, and respects people who stand up for themselves. They take their anger and project it out into the world.
3. This is Personality Type Nine and is referred to as the peacemaker or the compliant. This type tries to keep the peace, be gentle, and appear mild mannered. They don’t like expectations or pressure. If they do not have a structure, they procrastinate and have difficulty getting things done. This type would rather walk away from a disagreement rather than confronting someone. At their best they are kind, reassuring, supportive, and nonjudgmental. They focus on being positive and supportive and comforting others. Personality type nines are often unaware of their anger and suppress it. However, they can be outwardly judgmental, which is a cover-up for their anger.
GROUP 2: Thinking Type
1. This is Personality Type Six and is referred to as the loyalist or the committed. This type is often in a constant push and pull trying to make up their mind. Procrastination is due to their fear of failure, which can lead to low confidence in themselves. They are continually scanning for danger, protecting their need for security and support. Their rigidness and self-defeating attitude can make them controlling and defensive. At their best sixes are loyal and committed to their family and friends. They are hardworking, witty, warm, compassionate, and very responsible. This type is outwardly fearful in their environment and seeks approval.
2. This is Personality Type Five and is referred to as the investigator or the innovator. This type can be defensive and can become arrogant, believing that they know it all at all times. However, they are deep thinkers and very intelligent. Also, they are not attached to having a lot of material possessions and status. They are not influenced by social pressure and can remain distant while being critical of others. Type five at their best are able to concentrate on complex ideas and are very sensible, persevering, wise, analytical, and self-contained. The five Enneagram type can be moody, high-strung, and experience ongoing anxiety and tension.
3. This is Personality Type Seven and is referred to as the enthusiast or the adventurer. This type never has enough time and can’t even count the many “happy” things they want to do. They have the tendency to be scattered with a host of activities that often feel overextended both in work and play. With their many interests and abilities, they have difficulty keeping focused on their priorities. They are restless and have problems with impatience and impulsiveness. At their best, they are spontaneous, quick mentally, charming, fun loving, and they can focus their talents on worthwhile projects. They often struggle with exhaustion from all the activities. This struggle drives them to hide the anxious uncertainty and fear that is often the driver of their emotional pain.
GROUP 3: Heart Type
1. This is Personality Type Four and is referred to as the individualist or the creative. This type tends to feel defective and will tend to focus on feelings of shame and self-hatred when things are difficult in their life. This may lead to crying with dark melancholy moods and becoming nonfunctional for days. They are highly sensitive to criticism and becoming hurt, but long to be understood and not disappoint others. At their best, they are sensitive, creative, introspective, and self-aware, as well as being warm and caring with an independent and individualist nature. The dark side of the four Enneagram type is that in being so self-aware it also can cause them to renew their sense of shame and guilt about their lives.
2. This is Personality Type Three and is referred to as the achiever or driver. This type keeps busy working to achieve success and seeking appreciation for their accomplishments. They have difficulty with inefficiency and incompetence as they have a strong push to get things done quickly and thoroughly. They are overly concerned with their image to impress others. As a result of this inner pressure to achieve, they can become exhausted from keeping up the image and facade of success. At their best, Enneagram type threes are pragmatic, optimistic, energetic, and confident. Their challenge is to become overly competitive, and to deal with the fear of failure.
3. This is Personality Type Two and is referred to as the helper or pleaser. This type is driven to be close to others sometimes being overly accommodating as a manipulated way to be needed. This type also has trouble saying no and then begins to feel drained from not taking care of themselves. With their low self-esteem they sacrifice themselves to care for others often becoming possessive of loved ones. At their best, they are knowledgeable in determining how others feel so they can take care of others in a loving, caring, insightful, and generous manner.
In your notebook write down what your Enneagram type is, as we will be doing Enneagram exercises related to your type.