In this episode of the Things Above podcast, James Bryan Smith continues a conversation with Chris Huertz about the Enneagram by exploring the holy ideas and virtues of each type. These components offer a map to our soul. Holy ideas are the first truths we have to tell ourselves. Virtues are our unobstructed views of reality. In regards to the Enneagram, our basic fear tells us things will never be okay. We contend with fear in two ways: Our type’s passion and fixation. Our type’s passion is how our heart suffers and our type’s fixation is how our mind tells our heart, “This makes sense, keep doing that.” Understanding these aspects of the Enneagram provides helpful insights about yourself, as well as others. You can explore more on the Enneagram and its impact on our spiritual formation by reading Chris’s book, “The Sacred Enneagram.”

Chris and his wife, Phileena, served with the Word Made Flesh community for nearly 20 years, working for women and children victimized by human traffickers in the commercial sex industry. His vocation has taken him to over 70 countries working among the most vulnerable of the world’s poor.