Typology

Our personality types can put us into an almost hypnotic trance, something I'd call the shadow. We relegate to the shadow those parts of ourselves we don't want to see. What the Enneagram does is it takes a flashlight and it goes into the shadow with you. It says, "Okay, we've got to look around." It helps us embrace the journey inward. And no, it's not going to be comfortable. It is going to be painful because embracing pain isn't something we do well. It's something that we avoid well. But it's important to feel those things as they come up, not analyze them, not try and figure them out. Actually just let them be what they are. Let the beautiful things be beautiful and let the painful things be what they are.

In today's episode, Brian Hardin talks about his journey through the lens of a Five. He shares how using the Enneagram as a tool not only gives language to and expands our understanding of each other and of ourselves but also how it helps us pull back the curtain to shed the façade of our personality and find our true self.

Though best known for founding Daily Audio Bible, the revolutionary Scripture podcast, downloaded over 55 million times, Brian Hardin is truly a man of many hats. With his trademark soul patch of whiskers and wisps of hair framing his face, the Nashville creative rose to recognition throughout the Christian music industry producing for the legendary likes of Larry Norman to modern radio regulars like Jill Parr and Manic Drive, earning hundreds of album credits and a healthy collection of Grammy and Dove Award nominations. Along the way, he branched out into photography, landing everything from music industry publicity shots to portraits and corporate portfolios, alongside an eye for graphic design that found his work featured in Time, CCM, Christian Retailing and Gaither Homecoming (to name a mere handful). It was from within these extraordinary accomplishments that an unexpected professional blow set Hardin on a path toward restored faith, and eventually, vocational ministry.

About a month ago, I sat down with author and former White House staffer, Michael Wear, to talk about personality, power, and politics. And I know this is a hot-button topic, but I do think it's an important conversation to have. When we're talking about the President of United States and want to understand who he/she is, how he/she operates, and why our country is where it is, I think it's fair to begin to just think out loud what is happening here and what does it mean?

So listen in as Michael and I provide some Enneagram insight into the politics of the past and present.

Michael is the founder of Public Square Strategies LLC, a sought-after firm that helps religious organizations, political organizations, businesses and others effectively navigate the rapidly changing American religious and political landscape.

Michael is a leading expert and strategist at the intersection of faith, politics and American public life. As one of President Obama's "ambassadors to America's believers" (Buzzfeed), Michael directed faith outreach for President Obama's historic 2012 re-election campaign. Michael was also one of the youngest White House staffers in modern American history: he served in the White House faith-based initiative during President Obama's first term, where he led evangelical outreach and helped manage The White House's engagement on religious and values issues, including adoption and anti-human trafficking efforts. And, he's got a new book out titled, "Reclaiming Hope: Lessons Learned in the Obama White House About the Future of Faith in America in which he provides unprecedented insight into the highs and lows of working as a Christian in government.

He also writes for The Atlantic, Christianity Today, USA Today, Relevant Magazine and other publications on faith, politics and culture. He serves on the national board of Bethany Christian Services, the nation's largest adoption agency, and holds an honorary position at the University of Birmingham's Cadbury Center for the Public Understanding of Religion. Michael and his wife, Melissa, are both proud natives of Buffalo, New York. They now reside in Washington, D.C.

For more information on Michael, visit www.michaelwear.com.

Enneagram Twos are part of the shame triad which, for those who are just getting started with the Enneagram, means that 'shame' is the go-to emotion for Twos, Threes, and Fours. Whatever the external manifestation is of—our struggle, our compulsion, our presenting problem, anger, alcohol, buying stuff that you don't need, sex, helping—shame is always what fuels that compulsion because where there's shame, our soul can't rest, in a sense of being loved. The very thing that we're hungry and thirsty for, which is that kind of deep love for who we are, the shame actually sets us up to never be able to get that.

The antidote to that shame is learning to embrace our failures and shortcomings and accept ourselves as we are. Tune in to part two of my conversation with Michael Cusick as we talk about letting go and finding the freedom to live from a place of self-acceptance.

Michael Cusick is a licensed professional counselor, spiritual director, speaker and author of two books including Surfing for God: Discovering the Divine Desire Beneath Sexual Struggle and Somebody's Daughter: An Experiential Guide. Having experienced the restoring touch of God in a deeply broken life and marriage, Michael's passion is to connect life's broken realities with the reality of the gospel.

In addition to leading Restoring the Soul and equipping Christian organizations around the world, Michael currently serves as an adjunct professor at Denver Seminary. He holds an MA in Biblical Counseling from Colorado Christian University and an MA from the College of Education at the University of Denver. Michael lives with his wife Julianne and two children, in Littleton, Colorado where he enjoys the Rocky Mountains and a host of other outdoor activities with friends and family.

Known as The Helper, or as Michael Cusick prefers to call them, The Giver, Twos can be really great therapists and are maybe the most natural to move into that field, but there's also a lot of things about being a Two that work against that. Twos can care too much for the wrong reasons. Twos are so wired and attuned to the needs and the feelings of other people that they are often clueless as to what their own are. They look to other people to take care of their needs without having to acknowledge or articulate them.

A large piece of the journey for Twos is to understand that you do have needs, acknowledge those needs, and actually learn how to articulate them. On today's show, Michael Cusick talks about how the Enneagram has taught him to become more conscious of when he is over-identifying with those aspects of his personality that aren't healthy and helps him make different choices.

Michael Cusick is a licensed professional counselor, spiritual director, speaker and author of two books including Surfing for God: Discovering the Divine Desire Beneath Sexual Struggle and Somebody's Daughter: An Experiential Guide. Having experienced the restoring touch of God in a deeply broken life and marriage, Michael's passion is to connect life's broken realities with the reality of the gospel.

In addition to leading Restoring the Soul and equipping Christian organizations around the world, Michael currently serves as an adjunct professor at Denver Seminary. He holds an MA in Biblical Counseling from Colorado Christian University and an MA from the College of Education at the University of Denver. Michael lives with his wife Julianne and two children, in Littleton, Colorado where he enjoys the Rocky Mountains and a host of other outdoor activities with friends and family.

For more information on Michael, visit www.restoringthesoul.com or www.michaeljohncusick.com.

Healthy Eights are great friends, exceptional leaders and champions of those who cannot fight on their own behalf. They have the intelligence, courage and stamina to do what others say can't be done. And, as with most Enneagram Eights, Jo Saxton is full of Eight's life-giving energy so when she was available for our podcast, I jumped at the chance to interview her.

When healthy, Eights learn to open their hearts like a healthy Two. And today, Jo shares how she peeled back the layers, let down her defenses and got in touch with their inner heart. Listen in as we discuss healing broken identities and using the Enneagram as a tool for breaking through the junk that we accumulate and that confuses us from seeing who we truly are. And at the end of the show, Jo Saxton shares some tips for Eights who are just beginning to do their work and how they can begin to grow beyond their broken identity, or their broken personality, into their best self.

A few things about Jo...she's a really popular leadership trainer. She's an international speaker. She's a best-selling author. She's passionate about seeing God transform lives across the globe. I mean, she's been featured at conferences like If, Catalyst, Thrive, Propel. She also chairs the board of international discipleship organization called 3D Movements, and cohosts the Lead Stories podcast.

Her latest book, The Dream of You: Let Go of Broken Identities and Live the Life You Were Made For is set to release on January 23, 2018.

For more information on Jo, visit www.josaxton.com

Healthy Eights are great friends, exceptional leaders and champions of those who cannot fight on their own behalf. They have the intelligence, courage and stamina to do what others say can’t be done. And, as with most Enneagram Eights, Jo Saxton is full of Eight's life-giving energy so when she was available for our podcast, I jumped at the chance to interview her.

When healthy, Eights learn to open their hearts like a healthy Two. And today, Jo shares how she peeled back the layers, let down her defenses and got in touch with their inner heart. Listen in as we discuss healing broken identities and using the Enneagram as a tool for breaking through the junk that we accumulate and that confuses us from seeing who we truly are. And at the end of the show,  Jo Saxton shares some tips for Eights who are just beginning to do their work and how they can begin to grow beyond their broken identity, or their broken personality, into their best self.

A few things about Jo...she's a really popular leadership trainer. She's an international speaker. She's a best-selling author. She's passionate about seeing God transform lives across the globe. I mean, she's been featured at conferences like If, Catalyst, Thrive, Propel.  She also chairs the board of international discipleship organization called 3D Movements, and cohosts the Lead Stories podcast.

Her latest book, The Dream of You: Let Go of Broken Identities and Live the Life You Were Made For is set to release on January 23, 2018.

For more information on Jo, visit www.josaxton.com