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As I age, my attention goes more frequently to health and wholeness. Many of my friends, colleagues, and family members have begun to deal with illness—specifically, cancer. I am struck with the many different types of cancer and will focus on two to increase our awareness of these two types. I also want to encourage “conscious health and healing” and learning to respect the “inner physician” that resides in each and every one of us.

The Enneagram’s ancient wisdom gives us a map for human purpose and possibility… and lays out a modern-day, personalized path to wholeness for each of us. You’re invited to join an immersive Enneagram program designed for you to become part of a life- and world-changing movement toward a new and just reality.

1. Striving for happiness is the surest way to experience unhappiness. Avoidance of emotional pain causes unhappiness. Happiness is a byproduct. The soul is getting everything that it needs for evolution in the present moment.

Spirituality has become about “me” and making my “me” feel good. But we need a more universal and collective way forward. Simply said, our spiritual traditions, institutions, and practices need to guide us from a personal “me” to a universal “we” consciousness — a more collective way of being and understanding of identity.

Isn’t it what we wish for in our lives? We are still in winter, a cold and bare season, that often presents itself with thoughts of hibernation and low energy. Some people let themselves go to dormant that they act as if they’re in a deep sleep, feeling moody, or even getting depressed. It’s a tougher time for us if we want to overcome it, due to the crises that surround us. So, what can we do to brighten up this mood—or even further what can we do to have more experiences of WELLNESS?

Life for 2020 will have an asterisk by it, if only because our decisions are colored by uncertainty. Why clean out the closet. I pin hopes on a return to some normalcy where I can dress up, go out to dinner, laugh and talk with friends and now worry whether they smile or not behind the mask. Someday, I’ll return to the bucket list of places I want to fly to, and not be relegated to day trips that I tried so desperately to spin as vacations. And someday, my dog won’t fall asleep on my laptop during a Zoom game night forcing me to return to the silence.

In 2021 we will have to put the doorway back together. Piece by piece. Patiently. Gently sanding off the rust, replacing the rotten wood, polishing the self, and begin to open the heart again.

We find ourselves in a place of great chaos. Grasping for answers to serious questions. Grappling with emotions from anger to joy, sadness to panic, hurt to confidence, strength to weakness. We are caught behind the veil of online connections, when we are starved for human touch.

You keep hearing the word “Enneagram” and wonder if you should check it out. Then maybe all the Instagram memes might make some sense, right? Sure, go ahead, but chances are you’ll actually feel a little slapped in the face with hard truths once you do. Just a fair warning: the Enneagram is for people who are ready to commit to deep inner work. It’s not really a party trick.

Dr. Deborah Ooten was recently interviewed twice on The Enneagram and Awareness for the Awareness Houston podcast! Listen to or watch her interview with Jennifer Christian.