What happens when we choose to honor our deepest “yes”es, even when life gets hard?

In this episode, I’m joined by my dear friend, Freya Kennedy, a Transformationalist (she’s where I got this word!) and Enneagram Executive Coach whose work is to support others in the process of Self Remembering.

After experiencing a significant amount of loss recently, she has been interested in the grief process and how that is impacting her life. In this conversation, Freya touches on her journey of grief and ongoing healing, the mysterious unfolding process, and allowing herself to be loved through the messy long game of saying yes to the inner work.

We also reflect on our uniquely special friendship, the beauty of witnessing each other’s growth, and the learning that has come through highs and lows in our relationship.

We dive into:

✨ What it means to meet ourselves with rigorous honesty and compassion

✨ How grief and loss become openings for deeper presence

✨ Learning to let go of seeing ourselves as problems to be solved and following the breadcrumbs toward attuning to the mystery of life

✨ The healing role of companionship and calling ourselves and each other back home

✨ How Freya’s Enneagram work has changed her perspective on Christianity

✨ The long game of the inner work

…and more!

Freya is so wonderful, and I’m grateful to call her an Essence Friend!

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Connect with Freya:

Instagram: @youaremore.enneagram

https://www.freyakennedy.com/

Navigating Transitions (September 2025 - March 2026): https://simongoland.com/navigating-transitions/

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Connect with Caryn:

Instagram: @carynberley

Events & Resources: https://www.carynberley.com/links

Subscribe to Enneagram Invitations and get the show notes straight to your inbox! carynberley.substack.com/podcast

What if transformation didn’t have to be so heavy—and instead could be rooted in softness, story, and sacred silliness?

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🛠️ Andrew created the Gentle Change Starter Kit —a step-by-step guide to engaging in activism in a way that feels grounded, clear, and just-right for you. He's offering it free for listeners! Grab it here: practice.andrewglang.com/starterkit

“I genuinely think it's pretty solid stuff!” – Andrew

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In this playful and wisdom-filled conversation, I’m joined by Andrew Lang, an educator in the Pacific Northwest and lead facilitator of the Gentle Change Collective. Andrew identifies as a Type 1 on the Enneagram, and in our time together, he offers a heartfelt reflection on how his work with grief, community, and story continues to soften and expand his inner world.

Together, we explore:

🔷 How Andrew engages in grief work and joy work through story and community

🔷 His capacity to hold the both/and: the sacred and the silly, structure and fluidity, and how he relates to the 1 energy and the 7 energy within himself

🔷 Andrew’s experience of the loneliness of being the one who sees what’s wrong—and the importance of recognizing the necessity of relationship in order to make things better

🔷 The countercultural messages Andrew absorbed and how they shaped his self-inquiry and inner practice (including what it means to be a man)

🔷 What the Enneagram literature doesn’t reflect about Ones and the inner critic

🔷 How Andrew’s inner work has influenced his political engagement and the importance of not bypassing the inner or the outer work of transformation

🔷 The role of anger in acting with clarity and focus—and when it isn’t so helpful

🔷 How Andrew has learned to get less hung up on behaviors and look at self and others with soft eyes

…and so much more!

I’m touched by Andrew’s playful essence that reminds us we can be gentle as we take action for meaningful change.

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Connect with Andrew:

Instagram: @andrewglang

https://www.andrewglang.com/

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Connect with Caryn:

Instagram: @carynberley

Events & Resources: https://www.carynberley.com/links

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Subscribe to Enneagram Invitations and get the show notes straight to your inbox! carynberley.substack.com/podcast

What if the shocks and “interruptions” in our lives are actually invitations to tap into the potential we were too afraid to see?

In this episode, I’m talking with Seth Abram, a fellow Social 9, to explore what it means to say yes to the life that is here—without bypassing, numbing, or drifting away. Seth shares his journey of dispersal and anchoring and the powerful ways he’s learning to engage with his true capacity.

Before we even hit record, I got to experience Seth’s ability to hold loving presence—because some big emotions came up for me. His grounded, compassionate witnessing set the tone for this entire conversation, making it not just a discussion, but a real-time experience of what it means to be with what is.

We dive into:

✨ Why Seth was initially turned off by the Enneagram—and why it shook him when he said yes to it

✨ The hidden fear of discovering our true potential as 9s—and what we stand to learn from getting curious about it

✨ The important role Seth’s kids play in his inner work—and how he maintains structure and rhythm while caring for 4 small humans

✨ How self-sabotage and codependence show up for a Social 9

✨ How shocks to the system can become invitations into deeper presence—if we don’t trick ourselves into seeming unaffected

…and a lot more!

Seth is such a gift to the Enneagram community, and I’m touched by how authentically he shared in our conversation.

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Connect with Seth:

Instagram: @integratedenneagram

Fathoms | An Enneagram Podcast: https://www.fathomspodcast.com/

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Connect with Caryn:

Instagram: @carynberley

Events & Resources: https://www.carynberley.com/links

Subscribe to Enneagram Invitations and get the show notes straight to your inbox! carynberley.substack.com/podcast*

Abi Robins is a Certified Enneagram Teacher through The Narrative Enneagram and a C-IAYT Yoga Therapist. They are the author of The Conscious Enneagram: How to Move from Typology to Transformation, host of the Conscious Construction podcast, and founder of Queer Enneagram. They have led in-person workshops across the country and at The Enneagram and Coffee Summit, The Shift Network's Enneagram Global Summit, and The International Enneagram Association's Global Conference. Abi lives in Austin, Texas.

Connect with Abi:

Instagram: @consciousenneagra

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ConsciousEnneagram

Substack: https://abirobins.substack.com/

Book: The Conscious Enneagram: How to move from Typology to Transformation by Abi Robins

Other books mentioned in the episode:

Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor

Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside by Nick Offerman

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Connect with Caryn:

Instagram: @carynberley

Events & Resources: https://www.carynberley.com/links

*Subscribe to Enneagram Invitations and get the show notes straight to your inbox! carynberley.substack.com/podcast

In the inaugural episode of Enneagram Invitations, Caryn Berley introduces herself and shares her personal lineages. She discusses her background in social work, therapy, and the pivotal role the Enneagram has played in her journey of self-awareness and personal transformation and why this podcast exists—to learn from personal stories of people who are saying yes to their own liberatory transformation.

Learn more about Caryn’s work and listen to her previous podcasts and podcast interviews at https://www.carynberley.com/links

Your new favorite Enneagram podcast!

Big news! Enneagram Invitations: Saying Yes to Transformation is HERE! 🎉

This podcast is about the life-changing, bone-deep transformation the Enneagram invites us into—if we’re willing to say yes. It’s not always pretty, which is why I’m inviting colleagues, teachers, and fellow seekers who are truly embodying their inner work to share the highs and lows of their journeys.

Whether you're just beginning your journey or have been diving deep for years, I hope these conversations spark insight and inspiration to support you on your path and find the courage to say yes to what life is inviting you into.

The conversations ahead are filled with gold nuggets and you are not going to want to miss them, so be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends!

https://carynberley.substack.com/podcast