The Road Back to You: Looking at Life Through the Lens of the Enneagram

Chris Gonzalez is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and the Director of the Marriage and Family Therapy program at Lipscomb University. He is also a husband, father and an Enneagram 9.

In his conversation with Ian, Suzanne on The Road Back To You, they discuss how understanding the Enneagram can be valuable in therapy, and some very helpful tools for resolving family conflict.

To round out their conversation, Chris gives a therapist perspective of living life as an Enneagram 9; we hope you will enjoy today's program.

Today's guest on The Road Back To You is Sarah Bessey (Enneagram 9): Blogger, Speaker, Wife, Mother of four, and Author of two books, Out of Sorts: Making Peace with an Evolving Faith and Jesus Feminist: An Invitation to Revisit the Bible's View of Women.

If you tend to do anything to avoid conflict or wrestle with the importance of your life, then Sarah's perspective will be eye opening for you. From this incredibly insightful woman who jokes about being passive aggressive as her "spiritual gift," you will learn how being a peacemaker can become both a virtue and a vice.

Listen now as we discover how 9's are natural meditators and why healthy nines learn to make decisions based on right priorities.

Our guest in Episode 22 is Jo Saxton (Enneagram8);Author, Speaker, Host of the popular podcast "Lead Stories," Chairman of the Board for a large non-profit, Lutheran Pastor, and as she so energetically puts it, “a Nigerian Londoner.” And if that isn't enough, Relevant Magazine has just listed Jo as one of “7 Leaders to Follow in 2017.”

Jo is every bit an Enneagram 8. She’s a bundle of energy who doesn’t just walk into a room; she owns it. But with this confidence, you will learn that there is a price to pay. A price because she is a woman and also because she is a woman of color.

If you have every felt betrayed, misunderstood, or judged before someone took the time to get to know you, then this episode of The Road Back To You could change your life.

As Jo talks to Ian and Suzanne, you will begin to see how she has learned that she is not just tolerated by God, but rather she is fearfully and wonderfully made. God celebrates her personality and her life!

You would think that a Professor of Philosophy and author of five books would, for the most part, have life figured out. But what we learn from today's guest Jim Danaher (Enneagram 3) is that we all need to continue to do soul-work, to strengthen the muscles of self-observation to get to a place of honesty.

Jim, an academic and expert on contemplative prayer, speaks of how coming into stillness helps us see that it's not enough to find our identity in our image and what we accomplish.

In Ian and Suzanne's conversation with an Enneagram 3, we learn how to step away from the constant need to overachieve and recognize the importance of being instead of just doing.

Enneagram 8's are known to be aggressive, champions of justice, and people who welcome opposition. Our guest Patrick Chappell is the only African American staff member in a large southern church, an Enneagram 8, and one of the best people we know to help us understand how our individual life story shapes our personality.

Ian, Suzanne, and Patrick explore dealing with feelings of betrayal and how to manage our anger to live a life of grace.

Because of Patrick's unique situation, he offers keen insight to help us gain a deeper understanding and compassion for one other.

Our guest today on The Road Back To You is Jeff Chu (Enneagram 6), a journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Travel+Leisure, The Wall Street Journal, and Time Magazine. He is the author of Does Jesus Really Love Me?: A Gay Christian's Pilgrimage in Search of God in America and currently a student at Princeton Seminary.

As a writer who has professionally spent most of his career telling other people's story, Jeff explores how examining his own story has lead to the discovery of a kinder, better, more loving version of himself.

His conversation with Ian and Suzanne will help you understand how a person who comes from a culture that doesn't tend to honor self-examination and uniqueness of identity has utilized the Enneagram to help provide a better framework and new vocabulary for shaping his life.

Enjoy!

The election is over. How do you feel?

For some, the response to what happened last week is pure elation, and others complete disgust. But for most, the feelings are likely surrounded by confusion, fear, apprehension, and uncertainty about the future.

As promised, author and political strategist Michael Wear returns to The Road Back To You to help Ian and Suzanne examine what just happened and how it profoundly affects everyone.

Here are some things that you don't want to miss:

• How to approach opposing viewpoints with the expectation of gaining perspective that sharpens your thinking.

Join Ian, Suzanne, and Michael as they navigate the troubled waters of our current times and help us all see the need for grace, compassion and a deeper understanding of self as we move into the future.

Do you feel like St. Paul, wondering why you continue to do the very things you don’t want to do?

Do you desire something that seems unavailable to you … knowing you are safe; feeling like you are wanted; believing your needs will be taken care of?

This week on The Road Back to You, Suzanne and Ian interview Michael Cusick, a psychotherapist, ordained minister, speaker, and author of Surfing For God: Discovering the Divine Desire Beneath Sexual Struggle.

Michael brings an incredible depth of professional and personal experience to our conversation as he describes his life as a broken man on a journey to wholeness.

Listen as we explore:

• The wisdom of the Enneagram as a helpful tool for healing and change in your marriage

Don’t miss this opportunity to understand and experience both mercy and grace. We can all experience a deeper intimacy and love for ourselves, God and others.

Have you been listening to The Road Back To You podcast and still don't know your Enneagram number?

Then you're not alone.

Our guest this week is Austin Graff; Talent Acquisition and Branding Specialist for The Washington Post, and former social media specialist for International Justice Mission and Honest Tea.

Austin has known about the Enneagram for several years and is struggling to choose between the two numbers that sound like him. In this episode, as Austin explores whether he is an Enneagram 2 or 6, Suzanne and Ian will help you walk this road of discovery. You will take the beginning steps of living life with intentionality and awareness through life's imperfect journey!

Also, Austin will help you understand how social media can improve or damage your ability for self-awareness, and how you can utilize it to extend grace to others and be more authentic.

This week, in Part 2 of their interview, they dive deeper into their Enneagram numbers, and explore:

1. How 4's are the only number on the Enneagram who can bear witness to the pain and not have to fix it.

And once again, Cindy and Andrew will share two songs that exhibit the emotion of their particular Enneagram number. Enjoy!