The Awareness to Action Enneagram Podcast

YouTube: ATA Podcast Network

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

ATA’s Subtypes And Instinctual Biases Two-Day Workshop: thesubtypes.com

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Book: How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear Thinking

María José Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Coaching Navigators: Strengths, Challenges & Growth

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Skora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore talk about coaching Navigators.

Connect with us:

YouTube: ATA Podcast Network

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

ATA’s Subtypes And Instinctual Biases Two-Day Workshop: thesubtypes.com

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Book: How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear Thinking

María José Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Coaching Preservers: Strengths, Challenges & Growth

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Skora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore talk about coaching preservers.

Connect with us:

YouTube: ATA Podcast Network

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

ATA’s Subtypes And Instinctual Biases Two-Day Workshop: thesubtypes.com

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Book: How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear Thinking

María José Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Instinctual Biases: The Three Patterns Every Coach Should Know

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Skora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore talk about the instinctual biases, focusing on the pattern of expression. The instinctual bias provides a good framework to explain what happens with clients, team dynamics and cultural implications in companies. Understanding the three instinctual biases and how they transpire through the pattern of expression provides valuable insight and a significant accelerator in the work.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:02] Intro

[01:27] Why is this useful?

[03:07] ATA’s approach differs from others

[09:22] Understanding the pattern of expression

[13:15] The same language, different accent

[16:36] Why we do it

[21:22] Pattern of expression for each instinctual bias

[26:18] Confirmation bias

[29:44] Provides valuable insight

[34:45] Outro

Connect with us:

YouTube: ATA Podcast Network

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

ATA’s Subtypes And Instinctual Biases Two-Day Workshop: thesubtypes.com

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Book: How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear Thinking

María José Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Mastering Growth with the Awareness to Action Process

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Skora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore talk about the Awareness to Action process. This three-step process is the heart of all the work that they do with their clients. Most change doesn’t fail because of a lack of insight—it fails because insight gets mistaken for action. They unpack why growth often stalls after awareness and what actually helps change stick.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[02:01] The ATA Process

[05:10] Other models and approaches

[09:52] Defining awareness

[13:58] Certain changes will be difficult

[17:56] Pay attention to your patterns

[22:47] Why authenticity?

[28:04] Realigning with reality

[35:27] Requires a lot of practice

[40:22] Action: the part that matters

[47:21] Reflect on how it makes you feel

[51:20] Outro

Connect with us:

YouTube: ATA Podcast Network

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

ATA’s Subtypes And Instinctual Biases Two-Day Workshop: thesubtypes.com

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Book: How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear Thinking

María José Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

What Actually Happens in a First Coaching Session

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 08:30:00 -0400

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Seth Abram:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Coaching Isn’t Therapy — And the Enneagram Isn’t Either

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Skora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore start their series on coaching by discussing how they coach as well as ATA’s approach to coaching.

Connect with us:

YouTube: ATA Podcast Network

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

ATA’s Subtypes And Instinctual Biases Two-Day Workshop: thesubtypes.com

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Book: How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear Thinking

María José Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

What to Expect for "Season 2"

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 02:45:00 -0400

In this brief episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore preview what to expect in the upcoming Season Two and other things in the works, including a new YouTube channel and more ATA podcasts.

“What we do is not just for work. We talk a lot about work because that’s how we make our living, but the reality is what we do applies to using the Enneagram in any area of life, whether it’s your own self development or just about anything.” -Mario [08:47]

“I’m excited because in this next batch of recordings, we’re going to be stepping into more practical, stepping into more actionable, which is the whole point of why we do this work.” -Creek [11:41]

“Sharing things that are useful to the different strategies and instinctual biases, and the impact it has on them and all that, I think it will be interesting to hear, but it’s also fun to talk about.” -María José Munita [12:32]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:19] In the past four months

[05:14] Now with video

[07:22] Why should you listen?

[09:17] What’s in the works

[16:57] Outro

Connect with us:

YouTube: ATA Podcast Network

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

ATA’s Subtypes And Instinctual Biases Two-Day Workshop: thesubtypes.com

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Book: How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear Thinking

María José Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

"It Just Works" - Micky ScottBey Jones & Ahmad Wazir

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 13:56:00 -0400

Connect with Micky ScottBey Jones

Ahmad Wazir's Podcast

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Reflecting on the ATA Podcast

Thu, 24 Jul 2025 05:00:00 -0400

In this week’s episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Skora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore reunite to reflect on what they’ve discussed in the past 140 episodes with the three year anniversary approaching in September. The three hosts assess where they are with their initial objective to share and explain the ATA approach and share three things for listeners to consider during their brief hiatus from the podcast.

“I think that our approach is not just theory about the Enneagram. It’s how we use the Enneagram. How we think about human nature. How we think about how the mind works. And in that context, there are things that are very important to us that might seem as separate from the Enneagram, but to us, it’s a way of working with the whole model.” - María José [09:54]

“Our approach—and I think this is something that is embedded throughout each of these episodes—is that it’s not just about seeing ourselves more clearly. It’s just not about understanding human nature, but it’s about being able to do those things so we can develop more skillfulness in living our lives.” -Mario [12:22]

“What I’m learning right now is curiosity has always been my super power. It can cause instability, but if you learn to use the tool well, it’s like steroids for growth.” -Creek [37:11]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[02:03] Why this podcast exists

[07:05] Where to start with the ATA approach

[13:57] Aspects of the model

[17:18] Claude’s perspective

[21:29] Anything to reconsider with the podcast?

[27:32] Three things for growth

[36:57] The spiral of growth

[43:21] Outro

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Book: How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear Thinking

María José Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Q&A with Claude (Part 2)

Thu, 17 Jul 2025 05:00:00 -0400

In this week’s episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Seth “Creek” Creekmore returns to answer more questions from AI, aka “Claude,” with María José Munita.

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

María José Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Q&A with Claude

Thu, 10 Jul 2025 05:00:00 -0400

With Seth “Creek” Creekmore not available for this week’s episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora and María José Munita answer questions from AI, aka “Claude,” about their partnership and how the Enneagram helps them through their challenges, collaboration and coaching. Claude’s deep analysis of the ATA podcast also created questions that asked them about the Instinctual biases, where they think the Enneagram is heading and their approach for engaging with skeptical executives.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:58] Not just another personality system

[05:46] MJ and Mario’s partnership

[11:59] Biggest misconception

[16:33] First sacred cow

[19:22] Working with skeptical executives

[26:52] How their types shows up in coaching

[31:53] Being a woman influences MJ’s approach

[35:58] Where the Enneagram is heading

[41:33] Personal development

[46:34] The most important lesson

[50:14] Outro

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

María José Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Conclusion of the Coaching Series

Thu, 03 Jul 2025 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore wrap up their series on coaching. They reflect on key takeaways from their dive into coaching different Enneagram types and the instinctual biases.

Connect with us:

How to Grow From Doing Hard Things | Michael Easter

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

María José Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

The Role of Instinctual Biases in Coaching

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore continue to talk about coaches and how their instinctual bias affect how they coach. These biases shape how we approach things, so understanding a coach’s instinctual bias show how it shapes a coach’s approach, what they tend to focus on and prioritize as well as reveal any potential blind spots.

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

María José Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Managing the Hard Things

Thu, 19 Jun 2025 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore discuss their approach to the hard things when they’re coaching clients. They share tips on how to set clear expectations and find the minimum dose with the biggest impact that will help rewire brains to do something different that is also realistic and possible.

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

María José Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Coaching Instinctual Biases

Thu, 12 Jun 2025 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore talk about coaching clients in relation to the instinctual biases.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:02] Intro

[03:06] Coaching Preservers

[10:48] Working outside of organizations

[16:39] Understanding the requisite skills

[20:26] Solve specific problems

[23:44] Coaching Navigators

[26:45] The zone of inner conflict

[32:24] Depends on the person and the subtype

[36:28] When to share and when not to

[40:03] Coaching Transmitters

[50:41] Outro

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

María José Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Coaching Type Nine

Thu, 05 Jun 2025 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore wrap up their coaching series with Enneagram Type Nine–Striving to Feel Peaceful. Mario and MJ share that they have worked with a lot of leaders who are Nines, but this type is also the peacemaker, meaning they tend to avoid difficult conversations and downplay their needs. However, they are also likable for the most part and create good environments for their teams.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[00:54] Thoughts on Nines

[03:33] Pay attention to instinctual biases

[06:06] Inner conflict with ambition

[12:03] How they reshape the narrative

[14:45] The idea of regret

[17:42] The need to contribute

[23:53] Teaching how to ask good questions

[28:09] The Nice Guy syndrome

[32:38] Things that happen at the fault line

[35:18] Create a good environment for their teams

[39:28] Outro

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

María José Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Coaching Type Eight

Thu, 29 May 2025 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore talk about coaching Enneagram Type Eight. With Mario being a Type Eight himself, he provides personal insight on how this type strives to feel powerful, which makes them tough, strong willed and assertive, which can make them resist feedback. Rather than share more of what they coach to an Eight, they discuss how to speak to an Eight to gain the most results.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:36] Mario, how do you coach yourself?

[06:03] Resistant to feedback

[10:29] Striving to Feel Powerful

[12:37] Mario’s cat food dish story

[16:11] Find a way to speak to an Eight

[23:59] Being stubborn vs being strong

[32:03] Do you have enough to offer?

[33:37] Specific things they work on with Eights

[37:26] The three subtypes

[38:42] Other things for Eights to work on

[43:28] Control is a way to feel powerful

[50:18] Final words

[54:52] Outro

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

María José Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

The History of the Enneagram - Featuring Fathoms

Thu, 22 May 2025 08:56:00 -0400

For today's episode, we decided that since we are all currently traveling we'd highlight an important episode from Creek's other podcast, Fathoms | An Enneagram Podcast. We'll return next week with more from your favorites! In the meantime, we hope you enjoy this episode and make sure to follow Fathoms and their important work of comparing and contrasting the different schools of the Enneagram.

Art of Science

Thu, 15 May 2025 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Lee Fields joins Mario Sikora and Seth “Creek” Creekmore to discuss the philosophy of science and how this way of thinking can be useful when it comes to the Enneagram.

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Lee Fields:

Orlando Workshop Live Q & A

Thu, 08 May 2025 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore interact with the audience during their annual retreat in Orlando, Florida to compare and contrast their subtypes. Mario and MJ also share their influences and their approach to their ever-evolving process.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:02] Intro

[01:30] First thing they notice

[10:38] I relate to that, but not that

[13:46] Disagreeing with best friend

[17:36] Influences to their journey

[30:29] An ever-evolving process

[35:27] What excites them and dream client

[41:50] Fathoms Season 5

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Coaching Type Seven

Thu, 01 May 2025 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore talk about coaching Enneagram Type Seven. With this type “Striving to Feel Excited,” they can be the most challenging client to coach as they tend to avoid unpleasantness, which includes looking for gaps and places for growth. The hosts share why it’s easier to work on a vision with a Type Seven rather than address derailers or gaps and other ways they coach them. This episode was recorded during their annual retreat in Orlando, Florida, so they also answer questions from the audience throughout this conversation.

“That can be the challenge with the Seven is corralling them in and finding what’s the real issue that they need to work on, that they want to work on. But again, if they’re in a serious place about doing the work, just like any other type, they can make tremendous progress.” -Mario [03:54]

“If you work with them on what’s missing, they will tend to avoid it more than when you work with them on a vision of where they want to get to. And when you’re doing that, working on their derailers or their gaps, it’s much easier.” -María José [06:52]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:32] Coaching Type Seven

[06:15] Common issues

[11:17] Feeling trapped

[18:03] Sevens in leadership

[21:24] Build in options along a plan

[27:01] Practice savoring

[34:22] Why Sevens are often mistyped

[38:22] An existential trap

[46:14] Final words

[48:57] Outro

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Coaching Type Six

Thu, 24 Apr 2025 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore talk about coaching Enneagram Type Six.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:00] Intro

[00:31] Things to clarify from the last episode

[02:25] Common issues when coaching Type Six

[07:10] Never say relax to a Type Six

[11:31] Find security in rules

[14:11] The neglected strategy and blind spot

[20:22] Other things with Type Six

[28:10] Skills and gifts Sixes have

[31:52] Dog with a bone syndrome

[36:34] The other subtypes

[39:57] Outro

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Coaching Type Five

Thu, 17 Apr 2025 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore talk about coaching Enneagram Type Five. This type—“Striving to Feel Detached”—tends to manage interactions with people strategically and proactively by building a wall as a way to defend themselves. They are also known to say what they think which can be difficult for people to read if they're not used to it. Mario and MJ discuss their approach in addressing this type’s challenges and blind spots, such as not saying what’s on their mind, and why they enjoy helping them articulate how they see things without overdoing it.

“What does mark them is this need to engage with the world through a feeling of detachment, which sounds contradictory, but they’re trying to create their way of coping with the world. Their way of interacting is through creating an emotional or an emotion-free buffer between themselves and the world, so they can step back and kind of protect themselves.” -Mario [13:11]

“They want to know more so that they can understand things and not feel overwhelmed. It’s like feeling overwhelmed, it’s something they want to avoid. And they’re very sensitive. So when you think that they’re not feeling, it’s usually that it’s a way to defend themselves, because they’re so sensitive that they need to build a wall.” -María José [21:45]

“I will admit that the Five is a bit of a blind spot for me, still trying to find the edges of it, and so like for that, for instance, how do you determine what’s transmitting and what’s that just the Five found their area of expertise and they’re going. How do you turn those dials? ‘Cause mistyping between Five and Seven happens a lot.” -Creek [29:39]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[02:21] This week’s adjective

[07:55] Experience in coaching Fives

[12:03] Striving to Feel Detached

[18:33] The coping mechanism is to detached

[23:28] Attachment theory

[27:25] Common problems

[32:44] Pulling the wings off of a fly

[35:20] Other issues

[39:27] Defining detachment

[42:06] Get your hands dirty metaphorically

[48:13] Typical assignment to a Five

[55:20] Outro

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Coaching Type Four

Thu, 10 Apr 2025 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore talk about coaching Enneagram Type Four. Even though it’s not a common type in Mario's and MJ’s line of work, they discuss how they would approach coaching by addressing their blind spots and accelerators as Creek shares personal insight as a Type Four.

“Yeah, I think that this is not self-interest. It’s identity. It’s like whatever I take in must say something about me, so what is this saying about me?” -María José [14:23]

“The Fours who do really well are the ones who are able to continue to grow into their ability to recognize what really matters and what really doesn’t.” -Mario [22:57]

“Another thing to never say to a Four is can’t things just be ordinary and mundane? Yes, of course they can, but it’s like, but it’s not. To me, ordinary and mundane is just the things we haven't spent time thinking about.” -Creek [29:09]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[02:18] Don’t coach a lot of Fours

[06:14] Understanding their blind spot

[12:56] Defining the Four’s self-absorption

[17:24] What’s the appropriate investment?

[25:09] Stop being like every other Four

[34:49] A skewed view of the world

[39:40] Breaking news to Fours

[43:13] Outro

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Descriptive Predictive Prescriptive

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 23:26:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora and Seth “Creek” Creekmore have a philosophical etymological conversation about three terms–descriptive, predictive and prescriptive–and how they can be misconstrued when it comes to the Enneagram of Personality.

“I also think that the Enneagram works better in the context of a set of other tools. I think that the Enneagram should always be a piece of a toolkit and not the toolkit itself.” -Mario [19:14]

“But to me, the specific prescription is very personal depending on the person and the issue at hand. If someone is experiencing pain, there's a direction of travel that the doctor will go down to address that. To me, that’s the extent of the Enneagram’s prescription of like, here’s where to look, but beyond the where to look and some potential specifics, it’s mostly just personal. It’s everything external to the Enneagram.” -Creek [21:08]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[02:53] A descriptive model

[09:40] A predictive model

[16:34] A prescriptive model

[21:46] Pair it down than fill it up

[28:19] An A chord

[33:12] Outro

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Coaching Type Three

Thu, 27 Mar 2025 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore return to their series on coaching the Enneagram types by talking about Type Three. Mario and MJ explain how this type of Striving to Feel Outstanding is often misunderstood so it’s important to understand the instinctual bias as each subtype requires different coaching needs. However, they also share why this type provides some of their biggest success stories in their work with the corporate world.

“I also think that the Threes are often misunderstood, misrepresented, misdescribed in a lot of the Enneagram literature.” -Mario [04:27]

“And I’ve seen when it starts to become too hard and too obvious that they’re struggling, they’ll ditch.” -Creek [13:26]

“I think that for them, it’s just so fundamental to have goals and to kind of make the effort to get there. And it almost defines them. I think that with the others, we can all have goals, but they’re not that important to us or they don’t define us as they do for Threes.” -María José [15:07]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:02] Intro

[01:32] Feedback on Coaching Type Two

[03:16] A lot of misunderstandings about Type Threes

[08:41] Fundamentals of Threes

[14:32] Setting goals to know who they are

[17:14] Common things to work on with Type Threes

[23:21] Think about the subtypes

[28:50] Potential mistypings

[34:17] How to build trust

[35:45] Type Three Accelerator: Purpose

[39:18] Ways to incentivize Threes

[46:04] Mario’s final words

[47:03] Outro

Connect with us:

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Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Fathom's Feature: Lindsey's Not A Two

Thu, 20 Mar 2025 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora and Seth “Creek” Creekmore present this bonus episode of Fathoms, an Enneagram podcast Creek co-hosts with Seth Abram and Lindsey Marks. Lee Fields joins as Lindsey discusses the realization that she was mistyped as a Type Two. This conversation highlights that identifying an Enneagram type is a lot harder than people think, so mistyping can happen. Initially thinking she was a Type Two, Lindsey shares why she thought she fit into this type and how learning that she's in fact a Type Seven has helped her grow as a person.

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Lee Fields:

Lindsey Marks:

FB: Marks Music Studio

Seth Abram:

Music: sethabram.bandcamp.com

Coaching Type Two

Thu, 13 Mar 2025 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore continue their series on coaching the Enneagram types by talking about Type Two.

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Coaching Type One

Thu, 06 Mar 2025 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore start their series on how Mario and MJ coach the Enneagram types, starting with Type One. Each teacher will bring their personal perspectives and share how they approach their style, especially working with their own type.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:32] Too close to home

[08:19] Derailers and blind spots

[15:35] Building a Golden Bridge

[21:44] Redefine perfection

[25:13] Pay attention to the connecting points

[29:57] Willing and able to learn from the client

[31:49] The role of the coach

[40:30] Outro

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

What's Your Type? Featuring Jonny (Part 3)

Thu, 27 Feb 2025 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, María José Munita returns to share her insight and feedback to this debrief of Jonny’s typing interview. Mario Sikora and Seth “Creek” Creekmore explored various hypotheses to determine Jonny’s Enneagram type in the past two episodes, so the three hosts analyze the two probable types – Navigating Seven and Transmitting Nine.

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Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

What's Your Type? Featuring Jonny (Part 2)

Thu, 20 Feb 2025 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Jonny returns to reflect on the typing interview he did with Mario Sikora featured last week. As they continue to explore Mario’s preliminary hypothesis, Jonny shares what resonated with him. Seth “Creek” Creekmore also brings to the conversation his insight about Jonny and the Enneagram as well as asks questions.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:39] Jonny’s initial reflections

[07:21] Resonating with Type Two

[11:16] Creek’s observations

[17:26] Jonny’s emotionality and demeanor

[26:40] Could he be a Type Nine?

[34:26] Behind Mario’s typing approach

[38:19] Subpoints of Transmitting Nine

[43:58] Unpacking Transmitting Nine

[53:43] Outro

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

What's Your Type? Featuring Jonny

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora conducts a typing interview with Jonny, a certified life coach. Jonny attended ATA’s certification program and had questions about his type, so Mario asks him specific questions to form a preliminary hypothesis. Next week, Seth “Creek” Creekmore will join these two as they unpack this conversation from December.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:36] What Mario looks for in defining type

[05:41] Jonny’s work in higher ed

[09:33] Growing up on a farm

[13:48] Being a people pleaser

[18:22] Does this person want to be helped, heard or hugged?

[22:08] Instinctual biases and being mistyped as a Four

[26:27] Mario’s preliminary hypothesis

[31:30] What he’s not perceiving from Jonny

[33:39] Navigating vs transmitting

[37:44] In the limelight

[41:53] Why this Enneagram type

[49:19] Jonny’s predictions and other thoughts

[1:02:32] Outro

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Knowledge is Power: ATA Recommended Books

Thu, 06 Feb 2025 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora and Seth “Creek” Creekmore explore a list of books that have had the biggest influence on Mario and the way he thinks about the Enneagram. Even though none of the books are about the Enneagram, they have influenced how Mario thinks about concepts, such as cognitive dissonance and social psychology.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[02:04] Knowledge is power

[07:09] Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me)

[11:34] The Demon-Haunted World

[22:42] Philosophy and the Real World

[25:58] The Selfish Gene

[36:13] Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

[39:20] Sacred World

[44:47] The Essential Drucker

[56:44] Other book recommendations

[59:29] Outro

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Books:

Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me) by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson

The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan

Philosophy and the Real World: An Introduction to Karl Popper by Brian Magee

The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryū Suzuki

Sacred World: The Shambhala Way to Gentleness, Bravery, and Power by Jeremy and Karen Hayward

The Essential Drucker by Peter Drucker

The Wisest One in the Room: How You Can Benefit from Social Psychology's Most Powerful Insights by Thomas Gilovich and Lee Ross

How We Know What Isn't So: The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life by Thomas Gilovich

Psychology of Intelligence Analysis by Richards Heuer

The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch

Behave by Robert Sapolsky

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Type Four and Disidentification; or, the Boys Talk About Masculinity

Thu, 30 Jan 2025 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora and Seth “Creek” Creekmore talk about masculinity and how it relates to the Enneagram. Each point has an accelerator – a practice that helps cultivate the core quality at that point. For Enneagram Type Four, the core quality is individuality and the accelerator is disidentification, which applies to each subtypes. Mario and Creek discuss how identity is important but can be limiting, dismissing and misleading, leading to a broader conversation about masculinity.

Connect with us:

Are men okay? Our modern masculinity problem, explained.

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Type 9 - The Vice Virture & Fixation

Thu, 23 Jan 2025 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora and Seth “Creek” Creekmore return to their series on the vice, virtue and fixation for each of the Enneagram types. Seth Abrams joins them as they discuss Enneagram Type 9.

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Seth Abram:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Define our Terms First

Thu, 16 Jan 2025 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore provide more context to the claims and ideas they provide in the ATA approach. As the Enneagram becomes more popular, it is assumed that everyone is on the same page with the Enneagram model they use. However, the three hosts explain why it’s important to define their terms and be specific about the claims they’re making in regards to the Enneagram, such as the instincts and Enneagram types.

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

The Nature of Knowledge

Thu, 09 Jan 2025 05:00:00 -0400

Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore return from their holiday break to give an overview of what to expect in the next season of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast. With last season providing the groundwork on the ATA theory, these next episodes will transition into the practical applications, which is fundamental to understand why they choose the applications and theories that they do. Through more case studies and typing interviews, the three hosts will draw the connection between good theory and good practice, because to understand the practice, you have to understand the theory as well.

“Good solid theories set the foundation for good solid practice.” -Mario [06:54]

“In so many words, it feels like this is about how to ask better questions and to get to more accurate results.” -Creek [13:11]

“Those explanations make a lot of sense. We have tested them, and they’re really, really useful. It explains so much more, and–I don’t know–they’re more accurate. And they’re more actionable. It’s easier to do something with them than with the other explanations.” -María José [24:09]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:02] Intro

[01:36] Holiday treats

[05:37] A summary of what to expect

[10:15] The nature of knowledge

[14:50 ] Where knowledge stops

[19:45] Anomaly hunting

[24:34] The world is not static

[28:11] Enneagram as a science

[34:46] Why does this matter

[39:34] Outro

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

The Hiatus is Not Quite Over

Thu, 12 Dec 2024 02:00:00 -0400

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

The Importance of Developing Awareness and Foundational Skills

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Lindsey Marks shares with Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore on what she’s learning from the second module of the Awareness to Action Enneagram Foundation certification program. During this second round of this program, Lindsey realizes that it’s not just learning about the Enneagram types. It’s about developing a set of foundational skills that assist in the lifelong journey of growth and development.

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Lindsey Marks:

FB: Marks Music Studio

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Intention vs. Perception (part 2)

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora and Seth “Creek” Creekmore are joined by Lee Fields to continue the discussion on intentions and perceptions of the Enneagram Types. The three explore how their types are perceived, some of the potential motivations behind those perspectives and why clear thinking is important.

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Lee Fields:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Intention vs. Perception

Thu, 17 Oct 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Lee Fields and Ahmad Wazir join María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore to discuss intentions versus perceptions of Enneagram Types. Drawing from their personal experiences, they share how each type can be perceived, including themselves, and what they do to help mitigate it.

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Lee Fields:

Ahmad Wazir:

IG: @AhmadWazir19

Pod: Totem Confidence

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Embodied Mind

Thu, 10 Oct 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore talk about the embodied mind, the newest quality of the mind that informs emotional intelligence and how we interact with the world. They typically talk about six qualities of the mind, but they discuss why they added this new one that teaches us to become aware of our bodies–how we’re feeling and how we’re doing–to ground us and help us be more present.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[03:53] The six qualities of the mind

[07:06] The idea of the embodied mind

[10:15] Approach with care

[14:42] Terminology to know

[20:36] Why we’re talking about this

[25:42] Presence vs awareness

[30:02] Enhance this ability in ourselves

[36:17] Outro

Connect with us:

The Six Qualities of the Mind (Part 1)

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

The Six Qualities of the Mind (Part 2)

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Why the Enneagram Isn't Ancient: Separating Fact from Fiction

Thu, 03 Oct 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore talk about the history of the Enneagram, inspired by an online debate. As Mario has studied this model for decades, he provides the timeline of the Enneagram and how it led to how we use it today.

Connect with us:

The origin of the Enneagram - Claudio Naranjo speaks - June 2010

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

"Owning Enlightenment: Proprietary Spirituality in the 'New Age' Marketplace" by Walter A. Effross

Letter to the Transpersonal Community by Oscar Ichazo

Mythmaking and the Evolution of the Enneagram of Personality, Part 1 by Mario Sikora

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Studying Different Enneagram Models with Lee Fields

Thu, 26 Sep 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore get to know Lee Fields a little better. Lee is one of the training assistants in the online certification programs led by Mario and MJ. Lee shares her experience with the Enneagram and how the ATA approach contrasts with the other Enneagram models she’s studied. She also discusses why she accepted the offer to become a training assistant.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[04:53] About this week’s guest

[08:18] Lee’s experience with the Enneagram

[17:41] The state of the Enneagram

[25:28] Being a training assistant

[33:13] Why the ATA approach

[34:20] Outro

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Lee Fields:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Misconceptions of the Enneagram Types

Thu, 19 Sep 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore reiterate the importance of clear thinking skills and how important they are when it comes to the Enneagram. They discuss how developing critical thinking skills can be applied to every aspect of life and understanding of some of the misconceptions or stereotypes for each Enneagram type.

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

How to Wrestle and Adopt New Ideas with Micky Scott Bey Jones

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Micky ScottBey Jones joins Mario Sikora and Seth “Creek” Creekmore as they discuss the ATA approach. Micky shares her expansive career trajectory and how it led to her work with the Enneagram today. Then the three hosts talk about their mindset when it came to adopting the ATA approach and give us a sneak peek of the upcoming online certification program, Awareness to Action Enneagram Foundation (Level 1), led by Mario and MJ and includes Mikey as one of the training assistants.

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Micky ScottBey Jones:

IG: @electric_lady_msj

Twitter: @iammickyjones

Web: mickyscottbeyjones.com

Pod: BRC & Friends

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Type 3 - The Vice Virtue & Fixation

Thu, 05 Sep 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore are joined by Dr. Joel Rothaizer, a Master-Certified executive coach and organizational consultant, and Board Certified Psychologist in Organizational & Business Consulting Psychology. Joel brings his personal insight as they discuss the vice, virtue and fixation for the Enneagram Type Three. This type is driven by the need to be seen as valuable, and therefore creates an image of themselves. However, what we typically don’t see is the anxiety behind the behavior.

“And they’re being portrayed in such an unfair way. I think the most superficial thing is not Threes, it’s the way they’re portrayed by many, many people out there.” -María José [06:32]

“Oftentimes, we ostracize the things that we don’t like about ourselves. So what is that sort of thing in the Enneagram community? Why do we have such an issue with Three energy?” -Creek [07:54]

“It’s striving to feel outstanding, but it’s striving to feel outstanding in the eyes of others. I mean, I think Enneagram Three hell would be to do something remarkably outstanding and have nobody know it.” -Joel [30:08]

“One of the things that Threes are very good at is being productive in a way that is meaningful.” -Mario [43:24]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:14] About this week’s guest

[04:06] The myths about Type Three

[12:35] Vice: Deceit

[22:00] Constructing a valuable image

[28:39] Fixation: Vanity

[37:24] Path to veracity

[46:56] Veracity: truthfulness

[54:21] How to contact Joel

[55:16] Outro

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Dr. Joel Rothaizer:

Web: clear-impact.com

Book: Clear Impact: Building Your Leadership Capacity

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Instinctual Branding (Part 2)

Thu, 29 Aug 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore continue their conversation about instinctual bias branding and how Enneagram type and strategy plays into branding.

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Instinctual Branding

Thu, 22 Aug 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore discuss the instinctual biases and branding. They explore how they use the Enneagram and the instinctual biases in their work and how it applies to branding. Using examples of different brands–from phones to coffee–they show how the instinctual biases can engage with their potential audience, revealing what they’re offering and the domain it appealing to.

“You have to understand what is the instinctual bias message of my brand. Now it does not have to be who you are. If you’re a Preserver, you don’t have to have a preserving brand, and you don’t have to take in a preserving approach to promoting that brand, but you need to know what it is.” -Mario [20:59]

“I think that the clearer we are around what is it that we’re providing, the value we’re providing, the more we will get to those who are looking for exactly that.” -María José [37:12]

“Another way you can that is knowing your brand is knowing how you’re useful to other people and leaning into that.” -Creek [42:02]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[02:48] This week’s topic

[04:36] What they mean by branding

[07:28] Commerce and the Enneagram

[11:03] Why it’s important to build a cohesive brand

[19:07] The instinctual bias of your brand

[24:46] Contrast between three coffee brands

[34:06] Comparing cars

[36:59] Why is this important?

[40:13] Important takeaways

[43:10] Outro

Connect with us:

Send a voice message: speakpipe.com/AwarenesstoAction

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Celebrating 100 Episodes with Listener Questions

Thu, 08 Aug 2024 05:00:00 -0400

It's the 100th episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast! To celebrate, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore reflect on reaching this milestone as well as answer listener questions.

“To find the people that we connect with on some level, the people that love to critically think, love to push back, love to find what works and not just make you feel things, but actually do things, and the podcast has been a ringing bell of sorts for those types of people.” -Creek [10:35]

“The most important point is to be patient and to be provisional. Never assume you have somebody’s Enneagram type right, really ever, but especially the first time you’re interacting with them. Always be open to more information because people are complicated and they can show you something for a little while but not maintain that over the long term.” -Mario [42:41]

“The Enneagram is useful but it is not enough in and of itself… So you need to see what the problems are just with individuals, with the teams or the organization in general. What is it that they’re trying to address and how can the Enneagram be helpful in that way?” -María José [55:05]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:00] Intro

[00:49] Reflecting on the 100th episode

[08:38] Listeners response

[13:05] Dynamics of the Zones

[22:24] Zone of Inner Conflict

[25:33] Determining instinctual bias

[35:24] Why are people mistyped?

[43:18] Clients breakthrough and/or growth

[45:38] The importance of clear thinking

[52:45] Using the Enneagram in organizations

[59:31] Looking a year forward

[1:04:02] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Type 2 - The Vice Virtue & Fixation

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore speak with Christopher MacGuire, director of the Universidad Católica Language Center, about the vice, virtue and fixation for Enneagram Type Two.

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Type 7 - The Vice Virtue & Fixation

Thu, 25 Jul 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore return to their series about the vice, virtue and fixation for each Enneagram type. This week, they explore Type Seven–Striving to Feel Excited–with special guest Sarah Wallace, Founder and CEO of Enneagram MBA, a Certified Enneagram Coach, speaker and host of the Enneagram at Work podcast. As a Type Seven, Sarah shares her perspective on how the vice of gluttony, the virtue of sobriety and the fixation of planning show up in her life.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:00] Intro

[00:16] This week’s guest, Sarah Wallace

[03:32] Vice: gluttony

[08:38] Experiences where gluttony shows up

[16:18] Instinctual bias

[20:13] Perpetual disappointment and frustration

[26:54] Desire to be good and get needs met

[32:21] Fixation: planning

[36:58] What’s good about planning

[43:22] Sarah’s experience with sobriety

[50:09] Advice from Sarah

[51:23] Outro

Connect with us:

Sarah Wallace:

Web: enneagrammba.com

Pod: Enneagram at Work

Mario’s episodes: Part 1, Part 2

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

"If I Cook, Am I Preserving?"

Thu, 18 Jul 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore take a break from the vice and the virtues and answer questions they’ve received about instinctual biases. They explore how ATA defines navigating, preserving and transmitting and explain why we need to think about our relationship with each of these domains. They also preview their upcoming events in Austin that will take place from September 12-15.

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Type 5 - The Vice, Virtue & Fixation

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore talk about the vice, the virtue and the fixation for Enneagram Type Five with special guest, Ahmad Wazir. Ahmad draws from his personal experience on how the vice of avarice and the fixation of stinginess show up in his life as well as the virtue of nonattachment.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:34] This week’s guest, Ahmad

[03:35] Defining our terms

[07:54] How avarice shows up in Ahmad’s life

[13:17] Striving to feel to detached

[22:11] Fixation: stinginess

[26:01] Navigating Five in a group setting

[28:16] Virtue: nonattachment, not detachment

[31:41] The sense of who I am

[36:36] Trying to gather information

[42:52] Protecting their vulnerability

[47:48] Outro

Connect with us:

Ahmad Wazir:

IG: @AhmadWazir19

Pod: Totem Confidence

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Type 4 - The Vice, Virtue & Fixation

Thu, 04 Jul 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore talk about the vice (envy), virtue (equanimity) and fixation (melancholy) for Enneagram Type Four. Creek shares his perspective on how he experiences these three emotions.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[03:50] Vice: envy

[05:47] How Creek experiences envy

[10:49] Fixation: melancholy: The Bright Sadness

[16:46] The decision-making process

[22:48] The trope of Fours are artists

[26:59] Virtue: Equanimity

[30:41] Draws into the moment

[36:55] Melancholy & three instinctual biases

[46:46] The other side of envy is admiration

[48:55] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

What's Your Type? featuring Jess Junke

Thu, 20 Jun 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, María José Munita and Seth “Creek” Creekmore conduct another typing interview with Jess Junke, a self-employed administrative consultant. Jessica works with a client in the Enneagram world, but is a rookie when it comes to knowing her Enneagram type. MJ interviews Jess about her personal and work life as a way to show how she and Mario do a typing session and put together the different puzzle pieces towards their hypothesis.

“This is supposed to be as a way to understand how Mario and MJ do typing sessions. This is also a way to–in some ways–practice your own skills of observations and putting together the different puzzle pieces, turning the knobs and trying to come up with some sort of hypothesis at the end of what Jess may be. So we make sure to hold these things very loosely as humans are complicated, and there’s lots to discover.” -Creek [04:08]

“Part of growing up for me has been realizing that sharing the hard things with people is a lot more fun actually. It makes the hard things –I don’t know about easier–but they’re not as heavy to carry and so I can go a lot farther.” -Jess [14:05]

“That’s what the Enneagram is for. It’s not just a fun game or questionnaire. It’s so that we can apply it in ways like this to manage ourselves and being able to change the narratives we have, understanding that my narrative is related to striving to feel connected in your case.” -María José [59:16]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[00:43] This week’s guess, Jess

[03:59] Things to remember

[05:41] Interviewing Jess about relationships

[14:20] Jess’ work life

[25:34] Learning to ask for help

[40:15] Time to come up with a hypothesis

[41:48] Things MJ considered and disregarded

[46:11] Jess’ preferred strategy

[50:50] Does Jess resonate with this?

[1:00:32] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Type 8 - The Vice, Virtue & Fixation

Thu, 13 Jun 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Lee Fields talk about the vice (lust), virtue (vengeance) and fixation (innocence) of Type Eight.

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Lee Fields:

Type 1 - The Vice, Virtue & Fixation

Thu, 06 Jun 2024 04:30:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore return to their series about the vices, virtues and fixations for each type. This week, they discuss Type One and its vice of anger.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:08] A quick recap

[04:28] Why are you so angry?

[10:31] Comparing angers

[15:55] Wrath and anger are different

[21:05] Fixation closely tied to the passion

[30:49] Calibrating and communicating expectations

[34:34] Virtue: How do we fix all this?

[45:12] Practices and cues to temper the vice and fixation

[49:31] MJ’s final remarks

[51:29] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

To Not-Countertype or Not to Countertype

Thu, 30 May 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, María José Munita, Seth "Creek" Creekmore and Lee Fields talk about countertypes–or “not-countertypes”–inspired by last week’s debrief episode. They go deeper into the other Enneagram type combinations that are harder to make sense of and why “countertype” is not the ideal term for it.

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Lee Fields:

What's Your Type? Part 2: The Debrief

Thu, 23 May 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita, Seth "Creek" Creekmore and Lee Fields recap last week’s episode with Christian McClain. María José and Lee share their hypotheses from their initial listen of the episode, and Mario provides a more in-depth look into his thought process in determining Christian’s Enneagram type.

“Expect that there will be confirmation bias. Expect that you’re looking for both of these components and they might be in conflict with one another, and so hold room in your mind that you’re not precisely sure what you’re seeing until you have disconfirming confirmation.” -Lee [13:42]

“Treat it as entertainment that you can learn some skills from and understand a little bit more about how the game is played.” -Creek [16:16]

“Look, you just have to master the fundamentals of this. You have to understand what these instinctual biases are really all about, and what these strategies are really all about, and what really happens related to the connecting points. Not what we read about in the books.” -Mario [25:50]

“In my mind, I need to pay attention to the things that are being said and not get trapped into my initial hypothesis.” -María José [32:37]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[02:13] MJ’s conclusion

[04:09] Conflicting combinations

[09:23] The importance of the instinctual bias

[16:23] Some of Mario’s fundamental principles

[17:51] Why not these types?

[24:52] Master the fundamentals

[32:21] Types not considered

[36:55] The connecting points

[43:46] The neglected strategy of Three

[46:53] More tips for people to consider

[54:25] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Lee Fields:

What's Your Type? featuring Christian McClain

Thu, 16 May 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this special episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Seth "Creek" Creekmore and Mario Sikora are joined by Christian McClain, a songwriter and musician, for an exercise that determines someone’s Enneagram type. Mario conducts a typing interview, talking to Christian and asking him questions about his career and family to try to understand who he is. Mario then shares his thought process towards his provisional hypothesis as a result of this conversation.

“I’m getting to know Christian in a different way, which is fun.” -Creek [17:16]

“My goal when I’m talking to people is just to get them to talk. And I don’t care what they talk about or where they go, I just want them to talk.” -Mario [17:53]

“I think putting something and leaving something behind, it sounds silly, because no one knows who I am as an artist. I’m not a big deal, but to know that there is something, a little piece of me, a journal entry that was put to music, to know that that’s out in the world, it’s kind of nice to know that there’s something that would live past you.” -Christian [26:07]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[00:19] This week’s guest, Christian

[01:02] This week’s exercise

[03:34] What listeners should look out for

[05:16] Getting to know Christian

[16:51] Seth’s thoughts and Mario’s goal

[18:05] More about Christian

[27:06] A few of Mario’s observations

[30:27] Disconfirming questions

[34:32] Mario’s process

[36:37] A moment to gather your thoughts

[37:27] Mario’s provisional hypothesis

[47:09] Suggestions and feedback

[52:39] Where to find Christian’s music

[54:35] Outro

Connect with us:

The Instinctual Biases and Subtypes Weekend Workshop: subtypesworkshop.com

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Christian McClain:

IG: @christianmcclain_

Parties and Your Instinctual Bias

Thu, 09 May 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, María José Munita, Seth "Creek" Creekmore and Lee Fields talk about an exercise they conducted during their recent Instinctual Biases and Subtypes Weekend Workshop. The hosts explain some of the takeaways and common themes they observed from asking the participants to plan a party. Listen as they summarize how this reveals a clear representation of the instinctual biases and insight into the dynamics between them.

“You lose so much in the digital realm. And I think I was just reminded with the workshop of like theory is interesting, but it’s so boring and dead unless you actually get to work with it and observe it and interact in person with it. I think that it just kind of made it come alive to me in a different way.” -Creek [11:10]

“Is this party going to happen? And will it be fun? It’s a complimentary nature that you need all of the pieces to be represented, but different things will be highlighted if that group is solely in charge of the actual outcome.” -Lee [15:52]

“And that’s the main takeaway from all the groups that I’ve worked with, it’s that I can now see the value of having these three domains considered, and I can also see how some of these truly bother me. I look at it and I just find it not compelling, not interesting, not important, but I can understand that it’s important. I can understand that we need to have them all.” - María José [30:07]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:02] Intro

[01:08] Most hilarious moment in Nashville

[03:13] MJ and Lee explain the exercise

[07:53] The dynamics and what stood out

[11:35] The point of the exercise

[13:46] Typical takeaways between three groups

[16:31] Strategies for relationships

[20:47] Common themes among the instinctual biases

[32:10] How Pattern of Expression plays into this

[38:14] Outro

Connect with us:

The Instinctual Biases and Subtypes Weekend Workshop: subtypesworkshop.com

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Lee Fields:

Nashville Workshop Live Q & A

Thu, 02 May 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora and María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore host their first live Q and A podcast, answering questions from their recent Instinctual Biases and Subtypes Weekend Workshop in Nashville.

“I used to get frustrated because our materials would change every time we changed a concept, an idea, the way in which we thought about something. Now I see it as a strength, because it means that we are challenging our own ideas, and not staying stuck into what we think because it’s printed. Because we already taught it. We’re not identified with those ideas.” - María José [26:34]

“I think what I’ve experienced as I’ve come into ATA more is that this model and these words tend to capture a more broader explanation of this phenomena of my human existence. And that doesn’t mean that the others are wrong. I’ve just found personally that this terminology captures more and gives more flexibility for me to have my own personal expression of who it is to be me with my own personal story.” -Creek [27:20]

“Everything we teach applies to every aspect in your life. We just tend to contextualize it in organizational life. And my view is if any idea I have doesn’t pass muster with a critical audience, then I shouldn’t be teaching it. So it’s almost like that’s the litmus test. If it’ll work here, it’ll work anywhere. But it’s really no different than things you would apply in your regular life.” -Mario [37:58]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:06] Describing strategies

[02:40] The connecting points and instinctual biases

[14:31] Applying the ATA approach to your life

[18:12] Recommended reads

[21:24] An ecumenical approach

[31:42] Conversations with other schools and teachers

[36:31] Plans for a new book?

[40:33] Questioning things

[43:15] Most grateful for with the Enneagram

[47:18] Outro

Connect with us:

The Instinctual Biases and Subtypes Weekend Workshop: subtypesworkshop.com

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

A Look at the ATA Enneagram through the eyes of Creek

Thu, 25 Apr 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this special episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora and María José Munita check in with Seth "Creek" Creekmore and hear his perspective on the Awareness to Action Enneagram approach. As Creek as worked with Mario and María José for the last few years, he shares the impact this different approach has had on him as well as his thoughts, observations and lingering questions.

Connect with us:

The Instinctual Biases and Subtypes Weekend Workshop: subtypesworkshop.com

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Introduction to the Vices, Virtues, and Fixations

Thu, 18 Apr 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, Seth "Creek" Creekmore and Lee Fields start their series on the vices, virtues and fixations. Vices, or passions, are usually associated as the opposite of virtues and are the emotional reactions to the loss of the essential virtues. Fixations are the mental reaction to this loss. The three hosts first discuss the origin and evolution of these terms before they get more specific with the nine different Enneagram types and how it fits with the core qualities.

“The vice, or the fixation, could develop because of a loss of contact with the virtue, or it could be from a loss of contact with God, or it can be a loss of contact with the healthy ego. So whenever we feel the loss of something, we need to fill it in with something else, and so that’s one way of thinking about these things.” -Mario [15:11]

“Coemergent doesn’t mean that they magically appear or they’re already implanted in us or anything. How we develop is through nature, nurture, the whole thing, and even nature and nurture is a duality that I’m learning is not exactly accurate.” -Creek [27:29]

“Sometimes, you really need anger, but overidentifying with it or using it maladaptively is where the struggle comes in.” -Lee [29:51]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:17] The vices, virtues and fixations

[04:28] Things that are objectively wrong

[10:00] The origin and evolution of the terms

[20:04] Defining terms

[22:10] How it fits with the core quality

[26:57] Coemergent doesn’t mean innate

[30:51] All ideas evolve

[34:37] What are they good for?

[45:49] Action steps

[47:25] Outro

Connect with us:

The Instinctual Biases and Subtypes Weekend Workshop: subtypesworkshop.com

Lee Fields:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Benevolence - The Core Quality at Enneagram Point 9

Thu, 11 Apr 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora returns to discuss the core quality at Enneagram Point Nine–benevolence–with María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore.

Connect with us:

The Instinctual Biases and Subtypes Weekend Workshop: subtypesworkshop.com

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

The Neglected Strategy as a Path to Growth (Part 2)

Thu, 04 Apr 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, María José Munita, Seth "Creek" Creekmore and Lee Fields continue their discussion of the neglected strategies by exploring Enneagram Point Five through Nine. They talk about the dynamics between the connecting points for these type strategies and share practical tips that integrate the neglected strategy in a more adaptive way.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:00] Intro

[05:53] Point Five’s neglected strategy

[09:59] Changing the narrative

[15:49] It’s always something small

[17:37] Point Six’s neglected strategy

[25:38] Go to sleep earlier

[28:45] Point Seven’s neglected strategy

[33:05] Take time for yourself

[35:23] Point Eight’s neglected strategy

[41:51] That must be hard

[43:55] Point Nine’s neglected strategy

[48:12] Outro

Connect with us:

The Instinctual Biases and Subtypes Weekend Workshop: subtypesworkshop.com

Lee Fields:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

The Neglected Strategy as a Path to Growth

Thu, 28 Mar 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Lee Fields joins María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore to discuss the neglected strategies for Enneagram Type One through Four. The neglected strategy is the connecting point that people neglect to use at a time when they should, so they share practical tips to help try to integrate the neglected strategy back into their life.

Connect with us:

Lee Fields:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

How to Win Friends, and Adopt New Ideas

Thu, 21 Mar 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, María José Munita gives insight into her personal and working life with Seth "Creek" Creekmore and special guest, Lee Fields. She shares what it was like growing up in Santiago, Chile and how it played into her introduction into the Enneagram. She also talks about her time on the IEA board and her collaboration with Mario Sikora.

“So that’s one of the reasons why the ATA approach started making sense to me, because it was a mindset. It’s not just Enneagram theory. It’s a mindset that I really resonate with and like.” -María José [19:27]

“You sort of touched on or what I’m hearing is something around satisfaction. That there’s more freedom or ease or satisfaction with your present and presumably future self than your past self.” -Lee [22:14]

“Our impulse is always to run from the contradictions and uncertainties, and I think it’s those who are voraciously curious, that their curiosity gets the better of them. To like, I think I can manage this a bit longer, and a bit longer and all of the sudden you’re like oh, yeah, this other side isn’t so bad.” -Creek [40:30]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:00] Intro

[00:20] This week’s guest, Lee Fields

[01:35] MJ’s upbringing in Chile

[07:29] Exploration of personal growth

[12:05] Three teachable moments

[19:42] Do her kids know about the Enneagram?

[21:09] Satisfaction with present and future self

[23:47] How MJ came to the Enneagram

[27:57] The IEA board and meeting Mario

[33:01] Deciding to collaborate with Mario

[36:32] What informs her approach

[41:00] Teaching critical thinking

[44:55] Outro

Connect with us:

Lee Fields:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Confidence - The Core Quality at Enneagram Point 6

Thu, 14 Mar 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita, Seth "Creek" Creekmore talk about the core quality of Enneagram Point Six – confidence – and the connecting points at Three and Nine.

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Value - The Core Quality of Enneagram Point 3

Thu, 07 Mar 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita, Seth "Creek" Creekmore talk about the core quality of Enneagram Point Three – value, the feeling of worth independent of accomplishment, identity or external validation.

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Intuition - The Core Quality of Enneagram Point 5

Thu, 29 Feb 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita, Seth "Creek" Creekmore talk about the core quality of the Enneagram Point Five– intuition– and the connecting points at Eight and Seven. They discuss how intuition, the inner knowing without thinking or conscious intentional processing, plays into the strategy of Striving to Feel Detached.

“I think it’s especially, there’s often a mistaking of observations in intuition. Just hearing all the time like trust your gut, trust your intuition. It doesn’t mean you're right, but it does mean that there’s a new data point that you need to consider, and learning how to recognize that data point and then how to analyze that data point is important.” -Creek [18:31]

“My point is that, and I think what María José’s point is, is that we can know all the facts about something, but until we do it, until we live it, until we experience it, it’s like trying to take advice from somebody about swimming who’s never been in a pool.” -Mario [38:18]

“It’s more about more than predicting. It’s understanding, and having the skills or the competencies to respond to it.” -María José [33:18]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:19] Core quality of intuition

[03:24] The strategies related to Point Five

[07:26] Based on past experience

[09:19] Examples of intuition

[12:13] The way knowledge creation works

[17:26] Guessing vs intuition

[26:39] What intuition feels like

[34:06] Wisdom and conscious practice

[38:07] The connecting points

[46:09] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Joy - The Core Quality of Enneagram Point 7

Thu, 22 Feb 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita, Seth "Creek" Creekmore talk about the core quality at Enneagram Point Seven - joy - a feeling of strong wellbeing, an internally creative state that’s independent of external stimulation. They also discuss its connecting points to Point One and Point Five, which are objectively and intuition.

“So this speaks to the challenge of joy and the challenge of the Seven, I think María José hit the nail right on the head here, that once we become dependent on external stimulation for our well-being, for that hit of dopamine that we’re all searching for, it becomes never enough.” -Mario [06:29]

“The Sevens that I know, several of them see things that I just pass by and don’t even notice, and they just enjoy that. And it’s very simple things.” -María José [19:11]

“And I think it’s not just about the internal sense of joy, but I think it’s sharing the joy. If you’ve ever had anyone be almost more excited about something that’s happening in your life than you are. It’s an act of love, honestly.” -Creek [20:16]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[02:45] Define joy

[06:27] The challenge of the Seven

[07:48] What actual joy feel like

[15:04] Immature version of joy

[20:45] The Dalai Lama

[24:17] The core qualities for the connecting points

[34:12] Distinction between pain and suffering

[36:28] Practical things to implement

[41:52] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Objectivity - The Core Quality of Enneagram Point 1

Thu, 15 Feb 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita, Seth "Creek" Creekmore talk about the core quality at Enneagram Point One – objectivity – and the connecting points to Point Four and Seven, which are individuality and joy.

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

The Deep Emotional Work of Clear Thinking with Mario Sikora and María José Munita

Thu, 08 Feb 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this special episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora and María José Munita are interviewed by the International Enneagram Association podcast team – Seth "Creek" Creekmore, Seth Abram, Lindsey Davis Marks and Lee Fields – on how to use the framework of clear thinking with the Enneagram. They discuss why we should think through the logical steps and effective remedies to address our emotions and feelings and the tools to discern what is true and what is not.

“I don’t know that I would use the word heighten, but it certainly didn’t detract. I think it clarified. It gave me a way to see what I was feeling with more clarity and then to make a better choice about what I wanted to do about what I was feeling.” -Lindsey [09:23]

“So all of these things are interwoven. And if we’re ignoring one of them, we’re incomplete, and the others don’t work as well.” -Mario [11:52]

“I’m trying to learn how to apply emotions intentionally or learn how to dance with sensation or whatever thing, learning how to effectively use the mental center to seek clarity is its own discipline, …maybe.” -Lee [14:05]

“If you want to be truly emotionally brave, then you need to be able to embrace that discomfort and that tension of being wrong or of not seeing clearly or all the different ways that mentally we can be led astray through our biases. So do you want to be emotionally brave and actually do the work? Then we have to learn critical thinking." -Creek [44:23]

“Thinking that you have to agree on everything with someone in order to be close to them, I think, is a fantasy. You can disagree and you can discuss.” -María José [32:37]

“What I hear you saying is that Rabbi Jonathan Sacks says that we have to learn to feel enlarged by difference, not separated or threatened. But that doesn’t mean that the difference is just as valuable or accurate as another.” -Seth [39:00]

TIMESTAMPS

[01:18] Intro

[01:59] What they’ve learned teaching clear thinking

[03:31] Different tools to understanding different “truths”

[07:02] Partnering clear thinking with the Enneagram

[14:42] Common biases

[21:19] Comparing ATA to other models

[30:03] Emotional connection to a teacher

[33:40] How to disagree better

[43:58] Be emotionally brave

[49:59] One plea to the Enenagraam community

[52:28] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Seth Abram:

Lindsey Davis Marks:

Lee Fields:

International Enneagram Association:

Web: IEA2023.com

Individuality - The Core Quality of Enneagram Point 4

Thu, 01 Feb 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita, Seth "Creek" Creekmore talk about the core quality of Enneagram Point Four – individuality – and its connecting points. Individuality is the idea that everybody is distinct, whether they try to be or not. They discuss how this is more important to this type that they need to address it and manufacture their distinctness somehow by striving to feel unique.

“Society needs to classify people, needs to see patterns, and we keep trying to find those.” -María José [11:54]

“The thing that we all learn when it comes to change is that progress is measured by how quickly we get out of the hole.” -Mario [51:33]

“It doesn’t matter if I’m going anywhere or if I’m doing anything. Like existing is enough to be happy or at least neutral. It doesn't even have to be happy.” -Creek [48:24]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:21] What is individuality

[04:01] The connecting points

[05:39] ATA definitions of these terms

[08:45] Immature version vs mature version

[11:33] When the quality get stunted

[16:12] Process of exploration

[22:04] Natural unfolding and being purposeful

[27:26] The accelerator of the Type Four

[31:09] Where compassion and objectively goes wrong

[36:54] Where to start with disidentification

[43:51] Practical steps

[54:09] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Compassion - The Core Quality of Enneagram Point 2

Thu, 25 Jan 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita, Seth "Creek" Creekmore talk about the core quality of Enneagram Point Two – compassion – and the dynamics with the connecting points. Compassion is feeling what other people are feeling, which moves you to do something about it. They share practical ways to cultivate compassion for others as well as ourselves and how to handle compassion fatigue.

“I like to think of boundaries as more of where relationships begin rather than where they end. It’s the starting point of a healthy relationship, not just keeping you out of it.” -Creek [08:53]

“When we only feel affective or emotional empathy, we tend to project what the other person needs from what we think, as Mario was saying. But with cognitive empathy, we think more around, kind of taking more perspective and see what the other person really needs.” -María José [21:48]

“In order to be good at empathetically or compassionately reading other people, we have to have some sense of who we are.” -Mario [31:34]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[00:58] The baby analogy

[05:30] How the other points interact with Point Two

[09:13] Defining compassion

[16:06] Dealing with compassion fatigue

[19:33] Cognitive empathy

[29:32] The dynamics of the connecting points

[32:30] Be careful of Enneagram cosplay

[37:06] Practical ways to cultivate compassion

[47:39] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Vitality - The Core Quality of Enneagram Point 8

Thu, 18 Jan 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita, Seth "Creek" Creekmore talk about the core quality at Enneagram Point Eight – vitality – and the connecting points to Eight.

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Nurturing Your Core Qualities

Thu, 11 Jan 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita, Seth "Creek" Creekmore starts their discussion on the core qualities and accelerators, two things in the ATA approach that are helpful in redefining the old language to something that is a little more flexible to the human condition. We all have characteristics of what it means to be human and the three hosts discuss how these core qualities are reflections of that.

“The key distinction here is that we do not see these qualities as fully formed. We see them as things that exist in us in an immature form, and ideally they mature as we go through life.” -Mario [03:44]

“So core qualities are another way of saying specific human potentials, aspirations?” -Creek [13:32]

“We see how in the work that we’re doing and within ourselves, the stunting of the core quality and the loss of that connection with the core quality is something that shows up when we’re going through some difficult or challenging times. And when we work with it, we see how it’s almost painful for people to experience it. But it’s not something that we teach lightly. We use it in coaching or in certain trainings where it is important to understand that it’s subtle and it’s deep.” -María José [19:08]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:30] The origin of core qualities

[06:34] Pushback on Point 1 and Point 5

[08:08] Each type and their stunting

[13:32] Core qualities are like an acorn

[17:43] We do experience all nine of them

[25:38] An internal state?

[30:13] The accelerators for each type

[48:21] In the coming weeks…

[48:57] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Talking Sufism and the Enneagram with Abdul Hayy L. Holdijk

Thu, 04 Jan 2024 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita, Seth "Creek" Creekmore speak with Abdul Hayy L. Holdijk, a Sufi shaykh, scholar, professor and teacher of alternative medicine. Abdul talks about his journey with Sufism and the Enneagram. He discusses what drew him to this religious tradition, but how there are certain aspects of the practices that are not covered by the Enneagram. He also shares how his Enneagram type shapes his worldview.

“I’m trying to just reflect back, just to make sure I’m understanding how you’re describing this. So I’m a musician. Is it something along the lines of in order to play in the band and create the magic that is music, you kind of have to know all this rigid theory and structure of chords, of rhythm, of subdivision and all these other sort of things? And that’s required in order for the thing to happen.” -Creek [13:46]

“What you have described applies to several, if not all, religions, how is Sufism different? Or what are the key things that distinguish Sufism from other religions?” -María José [15:50]

“The moral is that you can’t see yourself. You can’t see how you are stuck. And it needs someone who has less ego than you to be able to say, Listen. Either you need a kick in the pants or you need something to push you.” -Abdul [30:07]

“We all bring this lens that we have that shapes even the best and highest of us.” -Mario [39:38]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[00:19] This week’s guest

[02:12] Abdul’s journey with Sufism and the Enneagram

[10:32] What is Sufism

[19:49] Learning Arabic

[24:39] Recognizing your teacher

[30:27] Enneagram comes from Sufism?

[36:18] How his Enneagram type shapes his worldview

[41:09] Managing conflict with faith and reason

[49:07] Grow, flow, glow

[54:02] How to contact Abdul

[55:12] Outro

Connect with us:

Abdul Hayy:

Email: ahholdijk@gmail.com

Web: h2rc2.com

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Creating Change...All Year Round

Thu, 28 Dec 2023 05:00:00 -0400

With the New Year approaching, Mario Sikora, María José Munita, Seth "Creek" Creekmore discuss in this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast how to help carry out your New Year’s goals, resolutions, reset, etc in light of what they know about the Enneagram. Rather than discuss which goals to set, they share how to minimize any possible derailments towards those goals.

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

'I Am That,’ the Enneagram and Indian Philosophy with Vibha Gosselin

Thu, 21 Dec 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita, Seth "Creek" Creekmore continue their series on spirituality with Vibha Gosselin, an Enneagram consultant and coach. Vibha shares her grounded knowledge of spirituality and how it intermixes with the Enneagram.

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Vibha Gosselin:

Web: enneagramprisonproject.org

Naming and Unnaming with Jason Adam Miller

Thu, 14 Dec 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita, Seth "Creek" Creekmore speak with Jason Adam Miller, a pastor based in South Bend, Indiana. Continuing with their series on spirituality, Jason shares his spiritual journey with the Enneagram and the importance of self-awareness for good spiritual work. He also talks about his book, “When The World Breaks: The Surprising Hope and Subversive Promises in the Teachings of Jesus.”

“We’ve been doing a series on spirituality and the reason that we’re having people on to talk about it instead of us just talking about it is because we’re not pastors.” -Creek [01:27]

“I’m a fan of it when it’s really well used by wise practitioners, and I’m very concerned about it when it just becomes another way to reduce people.” -Jason [06:45]

“For me, it always comes down to what kind of question am I asking? Is it a question rooted in objectivity or subjectivity? And there are different tools for addressing those things.” -Mario [28:02]

“When you’re intellectually curious and honest and value these things, you tend to change your mind along the way, and when you’re teaching, changing your mind might be tricky.” -María José [35:21]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[00:59] This week’s guest, Jason Adam Miller

[04:28] Jason’s experience with the Enneagram

[07:07] Personal frustrations with the Enneagram

[12:17] The cycle of naming and unnaming

[15:24] Jason’s spiritual journey

[22:21] Two types of knowledge

[31:33] Science vs faith is the wrong question

[35:12] Changing your mind might be tricky

[40:45] Process to weigh non-definable knowledge

[45:14] How Jason’s Enneagram type shapes him

[48:18] About Jason’s book

[49:37] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Jason Adam Miller:

IG: @jasonadammiller

Web: jasonadammiller.com

Book: When The World Breaks

Efficacy and Compassion

Thu, 07 Dec 2023 03:30:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita, Seth "Creek" Creekmore and Lee Fields continue their conversation on the pillars of spirituality – wisdom, efficacy, compassion and wonder – that help us engage with the world. They discuss how understanding how the mind works makes people more compassionate.

“In my experience, understanding how the mind works makes me more compassionate.” -María José [12:25]

“I think if anybody takes anything away from this, it’s that this is what we’re advocating for. In order to truly grow as a human being, you have to go out into the world and engage with it. And to do so skillfully, you have to cultivate wisdom, compassion and efficacy, and a good dose of wonder as well.” -Mario [18:53]

“I didn’t always quite understand why is it an important fact that you work with business people? Rigorous environment, that sort of thing and it was really helpful for me to understand that it’s because the consequences are a lot more measurable than a book club on a Saturday afternoon.” -Creek [22:02]

“It’s practicing the tool and there’s a “spiritual component” to that. To your point, Creek, it’s getting up everyday and doing this stuff. It’s applying it in real life. And that’s enabling people or empowering people to be leaders in their own lives, to be managers of their own lives, whether they’re business people or not.” -Lee [33:24]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[04:21] To recap what we’re striving to develop

[05:46] Definition of efficacy

[10:38] Thoughts on compassion

[14:43] Thinking is a doing

[19:16] Our approach is for people, full stop

[27:13] Measuring results

[32:08] We use it because it works

[37:30] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Lee Fields:

Wisdom and Wonder

Thu, 30 Nov 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Lee Fields joins Mario Sikora and Seth "Creek" Creekmore to continue their discussion on ATA’s view on spirituality.

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Lee Fields:

Talking About Spirituality and the Enneagram

Thu, 16 Nov 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore discuss the use of the Enneagram alongside spirituality traditions. They first dive into the background and traditions brought into the Enneagram community, and what spirituality means to them. They are frequently asked why they don’t talk about spirituality in their work, so the hosts share why they don’t talk about certain aspects of it, but also why it doesn’t mean what they do is not spiritual.

“So I think just doing this work pushes us to cultivate wisdom. To try and understand human behavior, try to understand the world around us, try to understand ourselves, and then glean lessons from that that we can use. Knowledge is just knowing things. Wisdom is applying it.” -Mario [22:37]

“If the Enneagram is a tool, it can be used in a lot of different scenarios. And that doesn’t mean that just because I have a hammer doesn’t mean I’m a carpenter, also doesn’t mean I’m an auto mechanic, but they can both be used in those situations.” -Creek [33:47]

“We’re not trying to be seen as spiritual, but we’re trying to convey these skills, and a lot of people see that and appreciate that.” -María José [36:50]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:05] Intro

[03:00] A bit of background

[06:02] Defining our terms

[09:15] Questions about spirituality

[15:36] A spiritual aspect of the Enneagram

[19:03] Practices to cultivate this work

[26:00] What we leave to other people

[34:22] Final words

[37:12] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Why We Still Use the Enneagram (and Listener Questions)

Thu, 09 Nov 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore answer a listener's question on why they still use the Enneagram. They share how they use the Enneagram in their own lives and why they teach it and do things with it. Each host also discusses how the Enneagram has helped them evolve into the person they are today.

“Look, I still have work to do, and the Enneagram is a really good tool for that. It’s not the only tool. And I think again, we really have to be careful about making a religion or a whole philosophy out of the Enneagram, because as we’ve been talking about it, it’s insufficient for that, but the things that it does really, really well are worth keeping around.” -Mario [21:05]

“The better way to define a problem, the more useful or the easier it would be to find a good solution for it, and I think the Enneagram provides these good frameworks to define problems. Not every problem, but a lot of problems.” -María José [34:43]

“Honestly, the Enneagram came into my life at a point where I really needed some structure of how to move about in reality. And admittedly, I probably clinged on to it a little too tightly, but when you’re in a desperate situation, you cling on to what works. So how the Enneagram has helped me is just constantly making me question my reality than what I perceive to be reality.” -Creek [23:30]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:00] Intro

[02:51] Why continue to use the Enneagram

[05:55] The overdoing of Navigating

[11:02] How Enneagram helped MJ and Mario evolve

[22:23] Creek’s story with the Enneagram

[25:30] Using instinctual biases

[34:59] Listener question on confirmation bias

[46:53] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Talking About Our Emotions

Thu, 02 Nov 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore address listeners’ concerns and feedback on centers and provide a further explanation of what ATA teaches instead. They discuss how they address emotional intelligence with their clients and within their own understanding of human nature.

“Now again, emotions and feelings are the data that we have to think about in the context of our environment.” -Mario [17:28]

“My thinking skills allow me to not fool myself with a bad narrative. With those feelings, we will explain them somehow, that’s for sure. Now, those explanations, the better they are, the more effective we’ll be in moving forward. So we need to learn to interpret our feelings, to know ourselves the best way we can, to see how we’re fooling ourselves, and that we have to do through thinking.” -María José [18:46]

“I do sense like this thing that I hear constantly, as if processing emotions has nothing to do with thinking or your brain. No, it has everything to do with your brain.” -Creek [20:54]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[02:09] A few responses to past episodes

[04:34] A brief history of these concepts

[10:40] Understanding & processing emotions

[22:32] Books recommendations

[24:57] Data vs experience

[26:40] Another angle the centers are used

[33:36] Outro

Here is a list of some of our current favorite resources on thinking, sensing/feeling, and emotion:

Clear Thinking Resources:

“Mistakes were made… (but not by me)” by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson

“The Wisest One in the Room: How You Can Benefit from Social Psychology's Most Powerful Insights” by Thomas Gilovich and Lee Ross (also, “How We Know What Isn't So: The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life”)

“Thinking 101: How to Reason Better to Live Better” by Woo-Kyoung Ahn

“Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results” and the The Knowledge Project Podcast by Shane Parrish

“How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear Thinking” by Mario Sikora

On emotion and the brain:

“Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain” and “How Emotions are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain” by Lisa Feldman Barrett

Speaking of Psychology : “Your Brain Is Not What You Think It Is, with Lisa Feldman Barrett, PhD”

The Knowledge Project Podcast: #92 Lisa Feldman Barrett: Balancing the Brain Budget

Huberman Lab: Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett: How to Understand Emotions

“Emotional: How Feelings Shape Our Thinking” by Leonard Mlodinow

“The Nature of the Beast: How Emotions Guide Us” by David J. Anderson

Other:

“Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst” by Robert M. Sapolsky

“Intuition: Its Powers and Perils” by David G. Myers

“The Experience Machine: How Our Minds Predict and Shape Reality” by Andy Clark

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

More Triads We Don't Teach

Thu, 26 Oct 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore discuss why we need to be careful when discussing other ideas and/or models linked to the Enneagram, such as the triads. The Enneagram is a model with every hypothesis and scientific theory providing the best existing explanation that will eventually upgrade or evolve. Some of these ideas make things more complex while some are problematic. As the three hosts seek to find the best explanations for certain phenomena to solve a particular problem, they explore the construction and framework of the triads and why they personally don’t include them in their training.

“It’s always good to take a moment and imagine somehow that someone proved the Enneagram completely false. And those emotions will arise of like, Well, crap. I’ve invested so much time in this. I’m maybe making money from this. There’s so many different things, and what would you do if it was false? And if you’re clinging on to it, then that’s a sign of something. It’s a sign of some level of attachment that isn’t allowing you to see clearly. If it’s just a tool, then yeah, when it ceases to be useful, you can let it go.” -Creek [14:18]

“I would like to see Enneagram teachers question their concepts more. And be more open to the idea that maybe some ideas are not as robust as we think they are. Maybe some ideas are outdated. Maybe it’s time to start seeing some things in a different way.” -Mario [25:45]

“We don’t see a problem in the model itself, I think. It’s just when we make some kind of simplistic correlations with the Enneagram, which applies to some people, but not to everyone and not all the time.” -María José [33:57]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:08] Two kinds of explanations

[07:42] 27 different versions of people

[11:57] The Enneagram doesn’t explain everything

[17:31] Is this a tool or an identity?

[21:01] The more scrutiny, the less utility

[25:02] It’s time to see things in a different way

[34:13] These models start to break after a while

[37:09] The Hornevian Triad aka social styles

[43:55] The Harmony Triad aka object relations

[49:35] Enneagram Tritype

[55:53] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Centers: Why We Don't Teach Them

Thu, 19 Oct 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore continue their discussion on topics they don’t teach and talk about the Enneagram’s three Centers. They explain why they feel there are easier and more modern ways to talk about human nature and how this could also lead to mistyping.

“To reiterate, just because we don’t teach something, doesn’t mean that it’s quote-unquote wrong. It’s about the degree of utility that it brings corresponding to the degree of complexity that it adds. Does it answer more questions than it raises? And for me, the Centers, as they’re taught generally, raise more questions upon pressure than they answer.” -Mario [04:31]

“It’s just a contortion in that it only feels good when you’re talking to Enneagram enthusiasts. And if you try to explain that to reasonable people who are not familiar with the Enneagram, it looks like a crazy idea.” -María José [11:13]

“I think the thing we can all agree on is there’s both maladaptive and adaptive ways to think, act and feel.” -Creek [24:39]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:30] What Creek likes about the Centers

[05:06] Centers and the Enneagram

[10:29] Centers can cause mistyping

[14:58] Can it be helpful?

[23:27] Maladaptive and adaptive ways

[25:05] The wisdom is still there

[32:31] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Wings: Why We Don't Teach Them

Thu, 12 Oct 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore talk about the commonly used things they don’t teach in the Enneagram, including the ideas of the wings, centers and triads. They start this series with the wings, which are two passions on either side of the Enneagram Type on the diagram that are folded in like wings to create another passion. The three hosts discuss why they don’t teach it and instead focus on instinctual biases and subtypes.

“And this is the key: When we say we don’t teach things, it’s not because we necessarily think they’re wrong. Because we know that we’re wrong too. But we don’t teach them because the amount of complexity and the amount of distraction they add is not overweight by the benefit that they bring. They create more confusion than clarity in our view, so we don’t teach them.” -Mario [17:27]

“In my mind, the Enneagram is just a drawing that it’s trying to portray the dynamics of personality, like different specifications and the dynamics between each point, but it’s a drawing. It’s like when you’re trying to create a mental map of an idea that you have. You just draw something, connect with arrows and things like that. It doesn’t mean that that drawing exists out there. It means that that’s your way to show how you see it working, but it’s your way to describe it. -María José [21:18]

“Now that doesn’t mean that people can’t try things out, can’t push on the system or add things to the system. But if you believe in your idea enough, then you’re going to be patient before you start presenting it.” -Creek [28:42]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:34] An Enneagram history lesson

[06:34] Passions, not fixations

[09:29] Teaching Enneagram in 10 sessions

[12:39] Different theories on wings

[18:00] These are redundancies

[24:41] The Barnum effect

[29:29] It doesn’t cover the whole spectrum

[32:58] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

TikTok: @mariosikora

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Subtypes of Enneagram Type Nine

Thu, 05 Oct 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore return to their discussions about the subtypes by talking about the subtypes for Enneagram Type Nine, “Striving to Feel Peaceful.” They discuss each subtypes’ approach to achieve their peace–whether it’s their attention to detail or maintaining a routine–and their pattern of expressions.

“It makes me think of a diplomat who has to understand the group dynamics and navigate it in a way that doesn't create conflict or that’s kind of the last resource.” -María José [19:25]

“What’s interesting is that they’re the kind of person that you feel like you know well until you start to think about it, and then realize that ‘Wow, I don’t know this person,’ because they’re great at connecting.” -Mario [23:50]

“It’s hard to feel intimidated by a Nine in a good way. That’s been my experience.” -Creek [42:21]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:10] Nines in the hosts’ lives

[02:55] Common mistyping

[05:17] Preserving Nine

[10:56] The issue of value

[14:35] The Pattern of Expression

[18:32] Navigating Nine

[24:58] Strengths of each profile

[27:15] The Pattern of Expression

[31:23] Transmitting Nine

[35:47] Examples of actors & actresses

[39:07] The Pattern of Expression

[41:01] What they like about Nines

[43:29] Outro

Connect with us:

Striving to Feel Peaceful (Enneagram Type Nine) with Seth Abram

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

What are First Principles and Why are They Important?

Thu, 28 Sep 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora and Seth "Creek" Creekmore talk about first principles that guide the way we frame problems. The two hosts share why understanding them is a great way to solve problems and discuss the 12 first principles Mario presents as they relate to the ATA approach.

“If you want to change the way you feel, change how you think first.” -Mario [28:14]

“There’s some level of I need to feel those sensations, but that’s not going to change it necessarily ultimately. It’s just going to make it more manageable so that I can address the change.” -Creek [31:48]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:40] What’s important about first principles

[02:53] What are first principles

[05:14] The four bedrocks of the ATA approach

[07:27] Six first principles

[18:41] Why you want to feel unique

[21:10] The other six first principles

[38:57] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Facts and Beliefs about the Enneagram

Thu, 21 Sep 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora and Seth "Creek" Creekmore explore trends that they’ve noticed in the Enneagram community, trying to better understand this question – what is the Enneagram for?

“What we’re talking about when we’re talking about the Enneagram is a shared concept or structure, a system that helps identify and explain, conceptualize these patterns that we’ve observed over time.” -Creek [09:29]

“Every explanation is a start, even if it’s incomplete, even if it contains inaccuracies. And we have to remember that our own explanations are a start, and the process is to continue to evolve those explanations as we look for errors in them and correct them.” -Mario [22:35]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[00:51] What’s the Enneagram for?

[06:02] What is a materialist

[09:23] Fixed or evolving body of knowledge?

[13:53] Which Enneagram application?

[17:42] Different teachers and different versions

[23:35] Alternative hypothesis

[27:54] The Euthyphro dilemma

[31:03] The use of religious faith

[34:40] Enneagram becoming more a religion

[38:49] Similarities in every tradition

[42:02] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Subtypes of Enneagram Type Eight

Thu, 14 Sep 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore talk about the subtypes of Enneagram Type Eight, “Striving to Feel Powerful.” While Mario thinks Type Eight is one of the easier types to figure out (as he’s a Type Eight), other types are commonly mistaken for this type. Listen as they draw from the film, The Godfather, which provides perfect examples of the three subtypes of the Eight.

“I think that Eights are very visible. You can easily tell when somebody’s an Eight.” -María José [03:21]

“What’s driving the Eight deep down inside is this need to feel alive. It’s not stimulation in the same sense of the Seven. It’s something deeper. It’s something more visceral. I just need to feel like I am engaged with the world in some way.” -Mario [30:25]

“I think of my experience with–Not Mario, but another Navigating Eight–they assume they understand and have mastery until they don’t.” -Creek [24:46]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[00:29] Common misunderstandings

[02:59] The Preserving Eight

[08:17] Types mistaken for Preserving Eight

[10:48] The Godfather, the perfect example

[12:18] Pattern of Expression for Preserving Eight

[17:37] The Navigating Eight

[19:44] Eights assume leadership

[25:36] Pattern of Expression for Navigating Eight

[30:17] This need to feel alive

[32:10] The Transmitting Eight

[38:46] Pattern of Expression for Transmitting Eight

[45:45] Mario’s word of wisdom

[46:39] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

The ATA Debrief of the Ego/Essence Conversation

Tue, 12 Sep 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore debrief and critique their last two episodes about the concept of ego and essence.

“I think that’s why in some ways, I’m like if you really want to use essence, at least use it where you’re not leaning on those mentalities of thinking that you’re done, thinking that there is a point where you don’t have to deal with your type structure, with trauma, with nature, nurture, all those sort of things.” -Creek [13:49]

“I do believe that what you’re saying, it’s meaningful for everyone in their personal journeys as well as their work challenges. It can be really deep, but if we use these big words, which we don’t know what they mean, we’re just fooling ourselves.” -María José [23:56]

“I can understand why people would see what I said as simplistic, but that’s only if you think I think that it’s something that happens once and you’re done. The reality is it’s something that you need to be doing all the time.” -Mario [26:04]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:44] María José’s initial thoughts

[04:09] Useful insights

[05:48] Campaign in poetry and in prose

[09:32] Essence is a word of art in philosophy

[14:47] Human qualities

[18:36] There could be more disagreement

[24:18] Personal growth is not simple

[31:33] Doing the work

[37:23] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Fathoms Feature | Revisiting Ego and Essence (Part 2)

Thu, 07 Sep 2023 04:15:00 -0400

Here’s Part 2 of our Season Finale: Revisiting Ego & Essence. To end our season, we have a deep and meaningful conversation with enneagram legends Russ Hudson and Mario Sikora on these often used, often misunderstood concepts.

Lee Fields joins the Fathoms crew for this conversation, which always makes us better.

[2:00] How can we move forward with these terms despite the issues?

[13:05] Ego & Essence as bypassing

[19:05] It’s about the process, not a destination

[24:00] Individuality, Mutuality, & Unity in relation to ego and essence

[31:35] Russ’ and Mario’s closing remarks for people using the enneagram

[35:40] The Fathoms Cohosts provide their initial reactions to the conversation

[45:05] How we’ll use the terms “ego” & “essence” moving forward

[60:00] Abram shares a story

[1:01:00] Linz hands out podcast awards to the guys

[1:05:30] Why we do this podcast

—

Fathoms | An Enneagram Podcast: “Discovering our inner depths, one fathom at a time.”

—

Co-hosts: Seth Abram, Seth Creekmore, Lindsey Marks, Drew Moser

Production/Editing: Seth Creekmore

Follow us on Instagram: @fathoms.enneagram
Follow Abram: @integratedenneagram
Follow Creek: @_creekmore
Follow Drew: @typetrailenneagram
Follow Lindsey: @lindseyfaithdm

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Fathoms Feature | Revisiting Ego and Essence (Part 1)

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 04:00:00 -0400

It’s here! Part 1 of our season finale: Revisiting Ego & Essence. To end our season, we have a deep and meaningful conversation with enneagram legends Russ Hudson and Mario Sikora on these often used, often misunderstood concepts.

Lee Fields joins the Fathoms crew for this conversation, which always makes us better.

[1:00] A quick recap of this season

[5:30] We talk about (and cringe a bit) our Season 1 episode on Ego & Essence

[12:30] Lindsey’s thoughts about the first episode as a listener

[14:15] Our thoughts behind ending the season with the topic of Ego & Essence

[18:50] Some tips listening to this conversation with Russ & Mario

[23:00] Our conversation with Russ & Mario begins

[25:15] What’s the conversation we need to have today about ego & essence?

[27:45] Having beginner’s mind with ego & essence?

[28:50] Russ & Mario’s first meeting…and first impressions!

[30:45] Their common fascination with zombies

[32:50] What Russ and Mario admire about each other’s enneagram work

[35:45] Russ and Mario’s definition of “ego” and “essence”

[45:00] Examples of how they’ve changed their minds on ego and essence

[55:30] How Mario interprets Russ’ view of ego and essence

[1:00:00] Russ on “essence”

[1:08:00] Mario’s problems with the term “essence”

[1:11:45] Why are still using these words in these ways?

[1:18:45] Lindsey pushes back a bit

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our conversation with Russ & Mario next week!

—

Fathoms | An Enneagram Podcast: “Discovering our inner depths, one fathom at a time.”

—

Co-hosts: Seth Abram, Seth Creekmore, Lindsey Marks, Drew Moser

Production/Editing: Seth Creekmore

Follow us on Instagram: @fathoms.enneagram
Follow Abram: @integratedenneagram
Follow Creek: @_creekmore
Follow Drew: @typetrailenneagram
Follow Lindsey: @lindseyfaithdm

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Subtypes of Enneagram Type Seven

Thu, 24 Aug 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore talk about the subtypes for Enneagram Type Seven, “Striving to Feel Excited.” They discuss the common misconceptions about this type and explore if they are truly the life of the party which can vary by subtype.

“There’s this public persona about Sevens that’s very different from the reality of the Sevens.” -Mario [02:25]

“With Preserving Sevens, I think that when you try to put them with other Sevens, they don’t look that Seven-ish, and when you put them with other Preservers, they don’t look that preserving. So there’s always something off there.” -María José [11:41]

“I think I’m also realizing that the bias of even the language of ‘Striving to Feel Excited,’ I need to expand my definition of what excited looks like.” -Creek [20:20]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[00:42] Misconceptions of Type Seven

[07:22] The Preserving Seven

[09:40] Can look like Type One at times

[12:22] Two different Preserving Sevens

[14:41] Pattern of Expression

[15:44] The Navigating Seven

[24:23] The Transmitting Seven

[33:23] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Subtypes of Enneagram Type Six

Thu, 17 Aug 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore discuss the subtypes for Enneagram Type Six, “Striving to Feel Secure.” This type reminds Mario of little birds making their nests as they need to secure their nests as well as their people in them. The three hosts explain how this need for security can make this type seem more anxious, detail-oriented and be at service to the group.

“To some people–and I put myself in that category–this is like ‘Why you worry so much?’ But it’s also a pretty good quality to have around. I mean, there’s an adaptive use to it. It’s good that somebody’s thinking to check the locks on the doors or check to make sure that we turn the gas off. So as with everything else done adaptively, it’s a really positive quality to have.” -Mario [12:00]

“Navigating Sixes can kind of blend more and sometimes if you don’t pay enough attention, it’s hard to identify them. They have–at work, at least–they’re very, very, I think they’re very loyal, but they want to be at the service of the group and the leader, and do whatever they think they need or expect from them.” -María José [21:04]

“I’m thinking of a few people in my head that I’m not entirely sure are Transmitting Sixes, but there’s a level of peacocking and just very opinionated, very go, but there’s a crippling self-doubt at the same time.” -Creek [31:57]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[02:28] Misunderstood subtypes of Type Six

[09:25] The Preserving Six

[15:17] Understanding the social dynamics

[18:58] The Navigating Six

[25:52] Advice to the Navigating Six

[28:04] The Transmitting Six

[34:45] The pattern of expression

[41:22] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Subtypes of Enneagram Type 5

Thu, 10 Aug 2023 04:45:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore return to their previous series on the Enneagram subtypes and talk about the subtypes for Type Five, “Striving to Feel Detached.” Type Fives are typically misread as insensitive and the hosts discuss why that is and how self-protection drives their sensitivity.

“There’s this myth that they’re insensitive. They don’t feel, but the truth is that they feel overwhelmed more easily. They can be more sensitive to stimulation. They can be more sensitive to environmental impacts, and therefore, they have to create this buffer. So a lot of what looks like stinginess or holding on to myself is kind of self-protection.” -Mario [07:46]

“Having routines and regular schedules is also a way to minimize that use of their energy and a way to detach.” -María José [14:58]

“Feels like there’s a natural inner conflict about transmitting in general for a Five.” -Creek [24:48]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:08] Common misunderstandings

[06:09] What’s different from a Five’s perspective

[11:45] The Preserving Five

[22:19] The Navigating Five

[29:59] The Transmitting Five

[37:39] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Why Falsification Matters: The Need for Challenging Our Ideas About the Enneagram

Wed, 02 Aug 2023 20:32:00 -0400

After talking about the obstacles of critical thinking in previous episodes, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore discuss some of the solutions of how to begin to think critically in this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast. They start with falsification, which attempts to find errors in our explanations about the world, and how it applies to the Enneagram and the work that they’re trying to do.

“So the thing that falsification does is that it allows us to be rigorous and cautious and responsible about the claims we make regarding the Enneagram types.” -Mario [06:48]

“There are consequences to holding on to beliefs that are not true or accurate.” -María José [10:20]

“It strikes me that, especially in this day and age, we can talk about falsification until we’re blue in the face, but falsification requires some level of trust in someone else that they know what they’re talking about.” -Creek [13:04]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[00:42] What is falsification

[01:54] How it applies to the Enneagram

[07:29] The past vs the future

[10:25] Protects us from nonsense

[13:01] Requires some level of trust

[16:48] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Availability Bias & Fundamental Attribution Error

Thu, 27 Jul 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore continue their mini-series on critical thinking and discuss availability bias. They explain how availability bias shapes the way we think and why it’s important to know about it. They also discuss fundamental attribution error and what is helpful about drawing conclusions.

“Everything that we do that involves thinking in any way is enhanced by understanding how the mind works.” -Mario [01:04]

“When we are used to seeing certain things, they’re more available to us, we tend to think that that’s what we’re seeing.” -María José [04:55]

“Availability bias could be they just don’t have the data available to know how to push further into and refine what it is that they’re teaching.” -Creek [05:07]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:48] What is availability bias

[06:54] Fundamental attribution error

[10:57] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

How Confirmation Bias Shapes the Way We Apply the Enneagram

Thu, 20 Jul 2023 05:00:00 -0400

Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore continue their mini-series on some of the topics that Mario and MJ will cover at the IEA Global Conference on critical thinking. In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, they talk about confirmation biases – how we look for ways to justify our existing beliefs – and why this one matters within the Enneagram. They also discuss anchoring bias which is the tendency to give disproportionate weight to our first hypothesis.

“We tend to see what confirms our beliefs and not see what doesn’t.” -María José [01:42]

“I see that in myself in the rushing to a conclusion. That’s when I fall mostly in the confirmation bias.” -Creek [08:25]

“We have to be careful about what ideas get stuck in our head and how they provide a filter for how we interpret everything related to that idea.” -Mario [11:01]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[00:38] What is confirmation bias

[05:03] Confirmation bias in instinctual biases

[06:39] Why this matters with the Enneagram

[09:01] Anchoring bias

[11:47] Ways of anchoring

[13:30] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Cognitive Dissonance & Reshaping the Way We Think

Thu, 13 Jul 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore discuss an aspect of critical thinking – cognitive dissonance – and the mental stress we feel when we have two conflicting ideas. The three hosts talk about how this can shape not only the way we think about ourselves and the world, but also how we think about our Enneagram types and Enneagram theory.

“I’m a big fan of this concept. I hate to feel it, but I love to see it, because it’s like catching myself in the act.” -María José [05:52]

“The thing that’s really important to keep in mind here is that people don’t do this on purpose. They don’t do it deliberately. They don't do it consciously. It is something that our brains do without us realizing that we’re doing.” -Mario [11:23]

“I’d imagine cognitive dissonance, no matter what form it takes, it’s the difficulty piece is has to do with identity.” -Creek [15:31]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:36] A quick refresh

[04:01] Cognitive dissonance

[07:34] Personal examples

[10:08] Retreat back to what they’ve known

[18:18] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Critical Thinking

Thu, 06 Jul 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore briefly preview the upcoming IEA Global Conference on July 20-23 in San Francisco. In their talk, “Clear Thinking About the Enneagram” at the conference, Mario and María José will discuss the importance of critical thinking when teaching the Enneagram.

“I see people fall into this all the time about themselves, about other people. They look for confirmation of their assessments of people, rather than disconfirmation, because disconfirmation is not natural.” - Mario [10:01]

“This is how we think. We don’t think clearly naturally. We are biased. Understanding these biases allows us to get closer to what’s real, but what’s natural is that we don’t have clear thinking.” -María José [14:39]

“Ironically, I’m not seeing myself clearly if I’m using clear thinking as a way to find distinction or find some of those superiority. I’m actually doing the opposite of what I’m trying to accomplish.” -Creek [15:40]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:22] Intro

[02:04] The most memorable conference

[05:14] The purpose of their IEA topic

[10:51] The challenge of seeking the truth

[13:38] Understanding biases

[18:00] Why this conversation is important

[23:23] It’s how you interact with the contents

[26:55] Outro

Connect with us:

IEA Global Conference

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Subtypes of Enneagram Type Four

Thu, 29 Jun 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore talk about the subtypes for the Enneagram Type Four, “Striving to Feel Unique.” They share examples of this misunderstood type and the pattern of expression for each subtype.

“In a way, I think their emotional intensity is a gift and a burden at times.” -María José [01:22]

“For the preserving Four, we can think of their environment as a work of art.” -Mario [13:46]

“I get this a lot that Fours are delicate in some way. Sure, sometimes people feel like they have to walk on eggshells around them, but I think Fours are very, very resilient in turning something around eventually and in keeping on going despite pain and suffering, whether that’s self-inflicted or actual external inflicted” -Creek [54:59]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[00:59] The hosts’ general feelings on Type Four

[02:26] Fours are very misunderstood

[06:09] The Preserving Four

[07:55] Examples of the Preserving Four

[15:37] The understatedness

[17:29] Pattern of expression for the Preserving Four

[21:55] Common issues with the Preserving Four

[26:50] The Navigating Four

[31:36] The art of navigating

[34:38] Pattern of Expression for the Navigating Four

[42:34] The switchers

[44:36] The Transmitting Four

[50:40] Pattern of Expression for the Transmitting Four

[56:44] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Subtypes of Enneagram Type Three

Thu, 22 Jun 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore discuss the subtypes of Enneagram Type Three, “Striving to Feel Outstanding.” They talk about why the three subtypes are different and why the Navigating Three is the stereotype for the Type Three.

“Productivity is something that they really aim for. It’s not so much the applause or the recognition, but being productive, using their time, keeping themselves busy, accomplishing as much as they can, and it’s not so much about the image they’re projecting.” -María José [07:20]

“There’s a lot of good to this amazing ability they have to read people, to read the group, to figure out how people are going to perceive something.” -Mario [27:43]

“It’s a lot more of ‘Be like me’ attitude than ‘Let me figure out how to be like you,’ as like the Navigating Three.” -Creek [36:18]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:52] Visit us on Instagram

[02:39] The stereotype of the Three

[05:41] The Preserving Three

[12:38] Compartmentalizing emotion

[16:25] Pattern of Expression for Preserving Three

[19:40] Learn to delegate

[22:18] The Navigating Three

[24:58] Why Navigating Three is the stereotype

[31:40] Pattern of Expression for Navigating Three

[34:21] The Transmitting Three

[39:54] Pattern of Expression for Transmitting Three

[42:42] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Subtypes of Enneagram Type Two

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore continue their conversation about subtypes and discuss the subtypes of Type Two, “Striving to Feel Connected.”

“I think that preservers in general are very deliberate in the way they choose to use their energy, their personal resources, and it’s limited.” -María José [07:30]

“Now one of the differences here between the Three and the Two, when it comes to Navigating Twos, is that the Navigating Two is usually more comfortable being the kingmaker than the king themselves.” -Mario [19:36]

“I see that in Fours as well though. Of this ‘I’m not happy because I’m not getting that sort of attention.’ Is that just the line to Two?” -Creek [30:35]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:00] Intro

[00:57] The Preserving Two

[03:01] Understand the motives

[09:59] Two contradictory sides

[14:40] The Navigating Two

[18:33] How else they look like Type Three

[22:40] The Transmitting Two

[29:04] Transmitting Two vs Type Four

[31:15] Patterns of Expression for each sub-type

[39:21] Important to know about Type Two

[43:23] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Subtypes of Enneagram Type One

Thu, 08 Jun 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore dive into the three Enneagram subtypes for Type One, “Striving to Feel Perfect.” But first, they discuss their criteria for dissecting the subtypes, reminding us that data points are part of the story and not the whole story.

“Preserving Ones are more rigid. There’s something more serious, I think, about Preserving Ones. They’re less difficult to mistype.” -María José [12:28]

“Ones are ambitious people. Ones want to do things the right way, because doing your job and doing it right, doing it with excellence, is part of being perfect.” -Mario [34:17]

“Again listener, make sure you’re taking all these sort of talking points as data points.” -Creek [35:47]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:00] Intro

[01:59] New Instagram page

[02:56] Criteria first

[05:25] Data is part of the story

[10:16] Preserving One

[13:47] Navigating One

[18:25] Pattern of Expression

[24:55] Transmitting One

[28:24] Common mistypes

[31:09] Pattern of Expression for Transmitting One

[33:47] Navigating One mistyping

[35:56] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Book: Awareness to Action: The Enneagram, Emotional Intelligence, and Change

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Introduction to Subtypes

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 03:45:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore begin their conversation around the subtypes, which is the intersection of the three instinctual biases and the nine strategies. Before they dissect the subtype for each Enneagram Types, they first discuss how they define these independent variables and how their approach differs from others.

“The instinctual biases shape what’s important to us and what we spend our time and energy on. It’s what we want to devote our resources to. Our resources being my attention, my energy, my money, whatever it is. The strategy is how we go about achieving that.” -Mario [23:40]

“In some ways, I’m hearing that what counter type is trying to name is the tension of the energies, but if it becomes just the counter type, then we’re still in stereotypical land.” -Creek [31:30]

“I think that it is important to type people, including ourselves, correctly, but it’s even more important if we want to do something with it.” -María José [35:59]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[00:59] The importance of defining the terms

[04:07] Defining subtypes

[10:59] Other analogies

[12:24] How the ATA approach differs

[20:09] The common view

[26:26] Counter types

[35:28] Why it’s important to learn how to type

[37:27] Avoiding complicating terms

[48:59] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

How Can We "Know"? The ATA Process and Enneagram Theory

Thu, 25 May 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore go deeper into the foundation of the Awareness to Action process. They discuss the philosopher Carl Popper, who is most known for the concept of falsification in science, which set the tone for how science is done. The hosts discuss how this idea applies to working with types and in working with the Enneagram theory.

“When you have this idea that you’re getting closer to the truth, but it’s not the truth that you’re seeing compared to you know, I know what I’m seeing, you stop looking. So this provincial hypothesis allow you to continue to pay attention.” -María José [19:02]

“All of our emotional states, they’re data that point us in the direction of something, so we have to be aware of something not working. And the way we do that is through self-awareness, emotional intelligence, being tuned in to what’s happening with us.” -Mario [25:31]

“Collaboration doesn’t always mean consensus, but it’s about a focus on finding the next step towards truth.” -Creek [46:24]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[00:43] A quick recap

[02:25] Why listen to this episode

[08:00] The last guru

[10:47] Popper’s fundamental insights about falsification

[16:01] Calcification of ideas vs gravity analogy

[20:46] How to filter information

[26:26] Operable definition of the strategies

[35:01] Way to be better paced

[38:34] Applying it to Enneagram theory in general

[46:17] Collaboration doesn’t always mean consensus

[50:38] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Book: Awareness to Action: The Enneagram, Emotional Intelligence, and Change

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Emotional Intelligence and the Process of Change for Types 7, 8, and 9

Thu, 18 May 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore wrap up their discussion about the process of change and discuss Types 7, 8 and 9.

“I think regardless of where you think the universe is inherently meaningful or meaningless, I think that the point stands but all you have is what’s in front of you.” -Creek [23:10]

“For Eights, life is battle. There’s some kind of contest going on.” -Mario [38:22]

“For me, that’s one of the most important things about the Enneagram, it’s understanding how other people probably perceive you and manage that.” -María José [44:29]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[03:31] Type Seven: Self-Control

[08:28] The act of resistance

[18:36] The secret of contentment

[25:46] Problematic mindset of the Seven

[29:48] Type Eight: Empathy

[35:19] Incessant drive to slay dragons

[41:02] Examples of what Eights can do

[45:37] Type Nine: Improving Initiative

[49:00] Binary thinking

[51:34] Motivation to feel good about contribution

[58:31] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Book: Awareness to Action: The Enneagram, Emotional Intelligence, and Change

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Emotional Intelligence and the Process of Change for Types 4, 5, and 6

Thu, 11 May 2023 04:15:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore continue their conversation about the process of change by talking about types Four, Five and Six. They discuss how each is framed in Mario’s book, “Awareness to Action: The Enneagram, Emotional Intelligence, and Change” and the emotional intelligence that is required for each of those to engage in the ATA process.

“I like to think of what happens for each of the types, for all of us, is that we break down on our fault lines.” -Mario [16:12]

“Like everyone else, they can be really good people and be trying hard to do what’s needed. Sometimes don’t know or miss some cues, mainly emotional, I would say.” -María José [31:18]

“I’ve seen Sixes striving to feel secure, but through constantly changing. They are adapting to every minute, little detail and change.” -Creek [38:15]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[00:43] A quick recap

[03:54] Type Four

[08:38] Cultivating confidence

[13:21] Breaking down fault lines

[22:01] Type Five

[26:09] Sheldon Cooper

[30:01] Communicating with a Five

[35:11] Type Six

[38:15] Unskillful adaptability

[41:30] How to work with a Six

[45:02] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Book: Awareness to Action: The Enneagram, Emotional Intelligence, and Change

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Emotional Intelligence and the Process of Change for Types 1, 2, and 3

Thu, 04 May 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore talk about the process of change with each type, starting with Types One, Two and Three. They provide specific examples on how to apply the ATA process with these specific types. Mario shares how he and co-writer Robert Tallon originally talked about this in their book, “Awareness to Action: The Enneagram, Emotional Intelligence, and Change,” and how things have evolved since then.

“Accepting doesn’t mean that you agree with it or that you think that it’s good. You’re just accepting that it happens, and mistakes will happen whether you want it or not.” -María José [13:30]

“You have to make sure you’re taking care of yourself before you can take care of others. And in order to take care of yourself, you have to know what it is you really want and be honest about it.” -Mario [21:52]

“I feel like what you’re not saying is these are the emotions that each type needs to work on.” -Creek [27:03]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:55] The process 20 years ago

[06:12] Intention to rewrite books?

[07:31] Type One

[10:58] An example from the book

[16:05] A personal example

[19:39] Type Two

[22:06] The inner story of self-awareness

[25:02] An experience with a Two

[27:04] Emotional competencies

[29:57] An example from “Runaway Bride”

[32:27] Type Three

[35:13] Amplifiers of accomplishments

[37:12] How to use this awareness

[40:49] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Book: Awareness to Action: The Enneagram, Emotional Intelligence, and Change

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Without Action, Awareness Doesn’t Matter

Thu, 27 Apr 2023 04:30:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore talk about the last step of the ATA process: action. The Enneagram helps us understand the stories in our head that prevent us from doing the things we need to do. The three hosts discuss how the ATA process can help us start applying what we need to do by creating a plan of action, focusing on practicality rather than theory and analysis.

“I think the common thing that I’ve seen in the Enneagram community, and something with Fathoms that we’ve struggled with, is how quickly things get into theoretical or fluffy language, esoteric language, and it ends up a little void of groundness.” -Creek [02:36]

“None of this is worth the time if it doesn’t lead to some more skillful way of being in the world.” -Mario [07:15]

“Once we unlock that resistance to change in the authenticity step, we go into action. And what people tend to do there is to have big projects, big goals and wanting to change, ‘I want to be more focused in every aspect of my life.’ Well that doesn’t work.” -María José [12:39]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[00:11] One uncomfortable action

[02:33] Missing the mark on practicality

[06:16] Focus on application

[08:37] What people miss

[12:39] Creating new connections in your brain

[17:04] Examples of the process

[23:46] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Authenticity: The Struggle and the Secret

Thu, 20 Apr 2023 02:45:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore talk about authenticity, the middle step between awareness and action in the ATA process. They discuss how this constructive act can help people change in a truly sustainable way and create a narrative that is more true to reality and how the world works while still respecting our nature and needs.

“The problem is people tend to think that changing a behavior is the same as changing who you are.” -Mario [05:00]

“I think to me, the middle step that truly ensures that we change in a sustainable way.” -María José [13:55]

“We don't need to build stronger walls. We need to build a stronger body to go outside those walls and be able to explore and to adapt to the things that come at you instead of you having to be in this really strong fortress at all times in order to feel ok.” -Creek [30:10]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:23] What is authenticity

[03:15] How its used in their spaces

[08:07] The middle A

[11:16] Authenticity involved an act of creation

[13:46] Why understanding yourself matters

[18:12] There is no true self

[25:02] In practical terms

[29:38] Expanding the walls

[35:58] Change can be scary

[42:28] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

The Six Qualities of the Mind (Part 2)

Thu, 13 Apr 2023 00:41:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore continue their discussion about the six qualities of the mind, describing the fluid mind, the discerning mind and the conducting mind. They also discuss how these qualities of the mind inform emotional intelligence and how we interact with the world.

“The fluid mind is more… this is where you hold the tensions of opposites and you allow two things to be true and inform you.” -Creek [05:59]

“Our emotions always point to something. Emotions are not random. They’re not purposeless. They’re a mechanism that has evolved over time to indicate an issue of some sort. Either something we need to be aware of because it’s dangerous or an opportunity.” -Mario [07:58]

“The Enneagram can show us how we might be biased in particular ways.” -María José [12:44]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[00:57] The difference with these minds

[01:37] The fluid mind

[05:53] Resolve and cling to certainty

[10:00] The discerning mind

[13:05] Outsourcing the discerning mind

[15:57] Critical thinking skills are important

[17:51] The conducting mind

[21:33] Informing emotional intelligence

[28:30] Awareness is foundational

[33:42] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

The Six Qualities of the Mind (Part 1)

Fri, 07 Apr 2023 04:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore start their discussion about awareness and the six qualities of the mind. They start by defining what awareness is and the process from awareness authenticity into action. They also break down the six qualities of the mind, starting with the beginner’s mind, the focused mind and the noticing mind.

“The value of self-awareness is to give us the ability to course correct.” -Mario [09:54]

“I think that when you’re aware, there’s always a decision to continuing to be aware, to pay attention to something.” -María José [12:28]

“Something that my housemate started using that I kind of adopted is ‘I’m just pushing the pan around the palette right now. I’m just seeing what does it look like.’” -Creek [21:04]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:28] Defining awareness

[07:18] Self-awareness vs awareness

[10:31] The act of being aware

[12:38] The six qualities of the mind

[13:43] The beginner’s mind

[16:24] Cultivating and expressing the beginner’s mind

[24:00] The concept of the Dunning–Kruger effect

[24:46] The focused mind

[26:46] Exercise to practice focused mind

[31:26] These qualities don’t work in isolation

[32:53] The noticing mind

[35:53] What to expect in the next episode

[36:28] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

How People Change Using the Enneagram

Thu, 30 Mar 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore continue their conversation about the inner triangle and its lead to change. In the previous episode, they discussed how each point represents the way we write their stories, so they talk about Awareness to Action’s tools that allow us to continue to grow and evolve despite having a story that is not useful. They share their approach to rewriting your story in a way that keeps the same theme but is authentic and gets you better results in life over time.

“We don’t have to wait for some problem to come along to work on ourselves.” -Mario [04:03]

“I think there is a way in which we can reject stories that aren’t working, the distorted version of that type and that strategy.” -Creek [22:50]

“You need to create a goal for change that is very, very specific and actionable.” -María José [35:55]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[00:52] Understanding change that allows for growth

[03:58] Pro-active self-development

[05:32] The conflicting commitment

[08:31] Examples of conflicting commitment

[13:37] Short-term vs. long-term thinking

[18:17] The story is never done

[23:47] What does it really mean to be perfect?

[31:15] Identifying what you’re striving for

[33:04] Active recovery

[38:30] Respecting the preferred strategy

[40:17] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

How We Create Stories

Thu, 23 Mar 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore talk about the inner triangle of the Enneagram and how it leads to change. The psyche is constantly functioning on autopilot but tries to create a story when we encounter something that causes friction or anxiety. The three hosts explain how this can be a useful thing and how each type writes their stories.

“The work is all about recognizing our stories.” -Mario [08:39]

“It is fascinating to see how people see behaviors, but always have a story around that behavior.” -María José [25:48]

“When the story becomes static is when it becomes a problem.” -Creek [29:09]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[00:26] The history of the inner triangle

[03:54] Creating stories

[07:41] The quality of our stories

[11:04] Examples of how this happens

[16:10] Exploring each of the numbers

[23:00] How different types write their stories

[28:02] A story can be sabotaging

[32:32] Philosophical caveat

[35:00] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Here "Ego" Again...

Thu, 16 Mar 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore talk about ego, what it means and some of the misnomers. They discuss how it differs from personality and how people can work with the ego rather than against it.

“We can’t reject our Enneagram type, and we shouldn’t try. We should not demonize our bias to rely on one of the strategies more than the other Eight.” -Mario [13:08]

“When you see it as a whole package, which has light and dark aspects, you start feeling better about yourself.” -María José [19:09]

“What I think is important to name is that self-acceptance is not a light switch.” -Creek [19:36]

TIMESTAMPS

[01:53] Intro

[02:29] The ego and the personality

[05:23] False self vs true self

[07:45] Change in a healthy way

[10:29] Working against vs working towards

[14:36] The path to self-acceptance

[19:37] Self-acceptance is not a light switch

[25:05] There’s nothing wrong with you

[29:38] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Self-Awareness isn't Enough

Thu, 09 Mar 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore discuss how self-awareness isn’t enough with the Enneagram. The Enneagram can be a tool to create change, but it has to be used for action. The three hosts discuss why we should use this tool to give us the capacity to observe not only our patterns but others’ patterns so that we can develop skills that are more intentional and skillful in other areas.

“The Enneagram is a tool for creating self-awareness, but then it has to be used for action. It has to be used for creating change.” -Mario [02:29]

“If we have a line of doors, self-awareness is the key to unlock a door of a path we want to go down, and the more we unlock it, the more likely it is to stay open by itself.” -Creek [14:47]

“When there’s no cost to continuing as we are, why change?” -María José [27:03]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:00] Intro

[00:39] What the Enneagram ultimately for

[03:07] Self-awareness is not enough

[10:58] Two kinds of change we’re striving for

[14:01] Key to the door

[18:48] Better identify sources of friction

[26:41] Why change?

[29:06] Coping is not always bad

[32:08] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Lines or The Connecting Points

Thu, 02 Mar 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore talk about lines, as how Awareness to Action refers to them, the connecting points. There are many theories out there and the three hosts explore how ATA approaches them.

“Just like we don’t choose the preferred strategies every time we’re doing something, it just happens. The same way when we switch or we use another strategy in one of the connecting points, it’s not conscious. It just happens, but we can see the pattern. We see the dynamics working that way.” -María José [05:28]

“It’s important to clarify real quick that the lines, think of them as arms. You’re not moving to that other number. You’re using that arm, grabbing that and bringing it back to your preferred strategy.” -Creek [12:43]

“I have found that the biggest payoff for your energy is focusing on your Enneagram point and the two connecting points. The other things are at best incremental and relatively minor adjustments.” -Mario [31:07]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:02] Intro

[00:36] The connecting points

[02:56] Adaptive strategies

[06:32] Adaptive and maladaptive ways

[09:38] The neglected strategy

[17:12] Directions of integration and disintegration

[21:28] The support strategy

[27:39] Using both connecting points

[30:22] Why not use all nine strategies?

[34:44] What it means to feel powerful

[36:46] ATA’s approach to the connecting points

[38:42] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

How Do We Make the Enneagram Credible?

Thu, 23 Feb 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore talk about intellectual credibility and the Enneagram. Inspired by an article that grouped astrology with this model of personality, the three hosts discuss how they can position the Enneagram in a way that makes it more credible, but also address why this criticism is justified.

“There’s so many aspects of the Enneagram that look like astrology that I think it’s fair that they’re kind of considered similar, and it’s really frightening.” -María José [10:57]

“A lot of this can and should come back to humility.” -Creek [24:42]

“So for me, it’s all about what kind of claim are you making and does that claim meet the requirements for evaluating that claim? And that is what will make the Enneagram respectable.” -Mario [35:05]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:02] Intro

[00:27] The inspiration behind the episode

[02:44] Differences from astrology

[08:05] Is astrology accurate?

[11:14] The intellectual credibility of the Enneagram

[14:58] Prescriptive vs descriptive

[21:33] Legitimize the Enneagram

[28:38] The next step to work on

[39:54] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Striving to Feel Detached (Enneagram Type Five)

Thu, 16 Feb 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore speak with Sali Honess-Ondrey, a clinical social worker and enneagram trainer, to discuss Enneagram Type Five. The name of this strategy, “Striving to Feel Detached,” typically gets pushback for its perceived negative connotation, but detachment is a required element of existence. Sali explains the role being a Type Five plays into her life and shares why a yucky truth is better than a sweet lie.

“It’s only negative when it’s being done in a maladaptive way, but the reality is that life requires emotional detachment for all of us.” -Mario [09:28]

“It’s not like I’m indifferent, but it’s that I’m just approaching it as this is the situation and we’re going to figure this out.” -Sali [15:05]

“I’ve seen Fives use that ‘Striving to Feel Powerful’ by using their knowledge to eviscerate people.” -Creek [28:01]

“I couldn’t help thinking about this information and how it may look different for different subtypes of the Five. Like a different tone, but also a different topic.” -María José [37:54]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[00:10] Today’s guest, Sali Honess-Ondrey

[03:34] Who Sali works with

[09:03] About the Enneagram Type Five

[13:07] How Sali discovered the Enneagram

[16:13] The language Sali uses with the Five

[18:19] How the ATA approach influences how she teach

[20:36] Maladaptive and adaptive ways

[26:21] The connecting points

[29:51] How the connecting points show up

[37:55] Difference in the way these navigate

[40:50] Resistance to the word “detachment”

[47:22] The subtypes

[51:11] The negative bent in Enneagram community

[57:30] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Sali Honess-Ondrey:

Web: salihonessondrey.com

Striving to Feel Excited (Enneagram Type Seven)

Thu, 09 Feb 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore speak with Becky Gorman, a leadership coach and partner at Awareness to Action, to talk about Enneagram Type Seven. They discuss why this type, “Striving to Feel Excited,” means to feel a bit of a buzz in some way, but not necessarily doing something extreme. Becky draws from her personal experience to share how she sees herself as a Navigating Seven and shares how she uses the Enneagram in coaching leaders and leadership teams.

“The Transmitting Seven has this thing in them that needs to create a buzz in the environment around them, so that they can feel alive in that way.” -Mario [25:39]

“I’ve been coaching Sevens lately, and there’s something about dealing with issues they have to work on that it’s challenging. So our experience coaching Sevens many times is that once you get to the issue, suddenly it disappears. It’s not an issue any more for the Sevens.” -María José [47:00]

“Approval’s a tricky thing. I still want approval, and I still think I seek it in ways I don’t even realize I am, but on the other hand, I want to be experienced as real. So that’s more genuine and important to me more and more these days than approval.” -Becky [52:50]

“I have some dear, dear friends that are in that Seven space, and it pains me how much they’re characterized.” -Creek [57:00]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[00:19] This week’s guest, Becky Gorman

[00:50] Start working with the Enneagram

[04:28] Using the Enneagram today

[05:26] Enneagram Type Seven

[10:47] How Becky learned about her preferred strategy

[14:47] Navigating Seven

[23:28] Transmitting Seven

[25:50] Strategy coming out in maladaptive ways

[31:20] Being a private person

[37:37] Dealing with the feeling of incompetence

[41:37] The Connecting Points

[46:54] Working with a Type Seven

[49:11] Entrenched attitudes and contradictions

[53:23] Other myths about the Seven

[57:29] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Becky Gorman:

Web: beckygorman.com

Striving to Feel Peaceful (Enneagram Type Nine)

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore speak with Seth Abram, co-host of Fathoms | An Enneagram Podcast, about Enneagram Type Nine, “Striving to Feel Peaceful.” They discuss this type’s desire to feel inner harmony and how they can be self-deprecating and resistant to change. Seth shares how being a Type Nine shapes how he approaches things as well as debunks misconceptions about this type.

“He is the reason that I know about the Enneagram. I will admit that.” -Creek [01:36]

“Everybody thinks ’Oh Nines are easy going and get along with everybody, and they’re nice.’ They are until they aren’t. Most Nines when you get to spend some time with them, you will see flashes of temper. You will feel anger. You will see assertiveness that comes out, but it’s usually in response to not feeling peaceful.” -Mario [10:31]

“There’s no such thing as a Nine. There’s a person. There’s an individual who has some patterned way they express themselves, but there’s no such thing as a Nine. And I just think that when people confuse a person for this type, you don’t let me be anything else than the idea you have in your head. And that limits me, and I hate being limited.” -Seth [45:26]

“So much of what you were describing as Nine-ish is also very similar to navigating, so that might be one of the reasons why it’s hard to see the navigating, because it might be seen or perceived as Nine-ish. Some of the things, at least.” -María José [1:03:33]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:28] This week’s guest, Seth Abram

[05:26] The strategy of the Nine

[09:35] Striving to Feel Peaceful

[12:13] The connecting points

[13:26] How Seth learned about the Enneagram

[17:32] Resistance to change and holding space

[20:01] Seth’s experience with ATA

[24:04] Adaptive and maladaptive ways

[31:38] Flipping of the switch and self-deprecation

[39:40] Type Nine as a leader

[42:56] Misconceptions about Type Nine

[47:50] Tips to using the strategy in a better way

[53:12] The Nine’s subtypes

[1:10:08] A level of security, feeling seen and safe

[1:12:30] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Seth Abram:

Music: sethabram.bandcamp.com

The Complicated History of the Enneagram

Thu, 26 Jan 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore answer questions they’ve received about the history of the Enneagram. They discuss what they’ve gathered about the history of the Enneagram and why it’s important to know it, but they also remind listeners to think critically about the Enneagram, including what is discussed in this episode.

“There are lots of different approaches to the Enneagram that are valid as long as they meet those criteria and as long as they stay within some fundamental rules.” -Mario [14:53]

“On Fathoms, we just had a conversation, and part of it was about if all these details and structures and explanations of your inner psyche isn’t leading to some level of growth and more compassion for yourself and others, then it’s not useful or you’re not using it well or whatever. And I think that’s the biggest thing.” -Creek [26:34]

“It is really tempting to fall for these great stories, even more so with a teacher who is charismatic teacher. And we need to be alert and try to think critically when we’re listening to these stories.” -María José [32:34]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[00:13] Why it’s important to know the history of the Enneagram

[01:45] Working with validity and source of authority

[06:50] Secret knowledge makes people seem cool

[12:31] Ideas evolved and that’s ok

[15:21] What the hosts have gathered about Enneagram history

[20:55] The Trifix idea

[29:44] A recap of Enneagram history

[31:41] Be critically thinking what you hear about the Enneagram

[34:29] Outro

Resources:

Letter to the Transpersonal Community by Oscar Ichazo

The origin of the Enneagram - Claudio Naranjo speaks - June 2010

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Typing: It Ain't as Easy as it Looks

Thu, 19 Jan 2023 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore talk about the difficulties and problems with assessing someone’s Enneagram type. Humans have a fundamental desire to put a label on things, but the three hosts discuss things to keep in mind when typing other people.

“I think it’s not a wrong thing to do when you’re first learning the Enneagram. Like it’s just a practice. It’s a practice of observing patterns, but you can’t stop after observing three patterns. You have to keep going.” -Creek [02:15]

“Enneagram assessments and the weight that people put on Enneagram assessments is really problematic, because assessing someone's Enneagram type in an online test is really, really tough.” -Mario [05:31]

“I would say that to me in my experience, the main mistakes are made when you don’t understand the instinctual biases.” -María José [20:57]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[00:24] Typing our pets

[05:13] The weight of Enneagram assessments

[08:47] Rubrics and provisional hypothesis

[13:59] Keep in mind the subtypes and instinctual biases

[16:15] Open ended questions

[24:21] Hold your type lightly

[26:38] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Uses and Limitations of the Enneagram

Thu, 12 Jan 2023 04:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore focus on the potential limitations of the Enneagram. They discuss how not to use it and why it’s important to have conviction and humility when exploring the Enneagram. They highlight some things that they’ve seen to suggest caution and critical thinking.

“The Enneagram is a really powerful tool with lots of great uses, but no tool does everything.” -Mario [02:28]

“When we limit other people by their type is a form of dehumanization.” -Creek [26:21]

“It goes against the possibility of me understanding myself better because you oversimplified the model trying to apply to so many areas that it loses its power.” -María José [27:14]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:00] Ways to use the Enneagram

[06:50] Overcomplicating vs oversimplifying

[12:58] Putting a band together

[17:52] Instinctual bias plays more of a role

[20:22] Be careful when making assertions

[27:30] The importance of conviction and humility

[38:20] Playing with fire

[42:00] Sum-total of your experience and expression

[45:26] Childhood experiences

[50:27] Relationships

[56:09] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Striving to Feel Outstanding (Enneagram Type Three)

Thu, 29 Dec 2022 04:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore discuss Enneagram Type Three, “Striving to Feel Outstanding.” Drew Moser, co-host of Fathoms | An Enneagram Podcast, joins them to share how being a Type Three shows up in his life. The four talk about how Type Threes aim to feel like they’re standing out in some way, the blind spots that occur from this and how there’s so much more going on under the surface. They discuss the misconception that while Type Threes can appear self-centered and selfish, they also want to make other people’s lives better as well.

“I think that’s at the core of the Type Three is that they're always calibrating the proposition of their lives.” -Drew [09:07]

“So they have this reputation in the Enneagram world of being self-centered and selfish, but healthy Threes are really, really trying to make the world better for everybody.” -Mario [11:13]

“All I’m hearing is the pattern of expression is as sure as gravity, is what Mario is saying.” -Creek [23:22]

“I wanted to highlight how your description of Type Nine is nothing close to what a Nine would say about being a Nine, I think, because of how a Three embodies the Type Nine strategy of ‘Striving to Feel Peaceful,’ and that’s interesting.” -María José [34:57]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[00:58] This week’s guest, Drew Moser

[03:49] About Type Three

[07:42] Adopted language for describing Type Three

[11:51] How Drew learned about the Enneagram

[14:57] Drew’s understanding of the Enneagram

[18:05] Patterns of expression

[24:25] Drew’s strategy in adaptive and maladaptive ways

[32:01] The connecting points

[40:24] Achievement vs anxiety

[44:25] Why use neglected and support strategy

[47:17] Type Three blind spots

[52:01] Check in on Threes

[54:17] How to contact Drew

[54:44] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Drew Moser:

Web: typetrail.co

IG: @typetrailenneagram

Twitter: @drewmoser

Striving to Feel Connected (Enneagram Type Two)

Thu, 22 Dec 2022 03:30:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore are joined by Lindsey Marks, co-host of Fathoms podcast, to talk about Enneagram Type Two, “Striving to Feel Connected.” Drawing from her personal experience as a Type Two, Lindsey shares how she connects with people and why she believes love is the answer to everything. She also discusses misconceptions about being a Type Two as well as her blind spots.

“There’s several things that Twos do that not only help other people, but make you feel connected with them.” -María José [10:22]

“But I think particularly for Twos, just this wholehearted commitment to compassion, empathy and this belief that if you just love people, everything can be healed. The whole world can change.” -Lindsey [14:33]

“The thing I always go back to when I’m working with Twos is just let’s go back to this conversation about boundaries. Let’s make sure we’re setting effective, skillful boundaries. And boundaries are not walls.” -Mario [30:06]

“For all listening, this is not the complete guide to Two-ness. And none of these episodes are complete guides to how to understand insert-type-here. We’ll be talking about the instinctual biases, the subtypes, all of those sort of things in episodes to come, so consider this an appetizer to the types.” -Creek [35:09]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:01] This week’s guest, Lindsey Marks

[05:45] About Type Two

[09:09] Identifying Two by gender

[10:30] How Lindsey describes Type Two

[11:58] How Lindsey discovered the Enneagram and Type Two

[14:54] Connecting with yourself vs with others

[18:38] Listening to physical cues and checking in

[23:11] The connecting points of Eight and Four

[29:53] Setting effective, skillful boundaries

[32:30] The Type Two’s blind spots

[35:04] Misconceptions about Type Two

[40:23] Access to emotional world

[43:32] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Lindsey Marks:

FB: Marks Music Studio

Striving to Feel Secure (Enneagram Type Six)

Thu, 15 Dec 2022 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore talk about the Enneagram Type Six, “Striving to Feel Secure,” with special guest, Chelsea Jackson. The four discuss why this type of vigilantism and alertness is misunderstood, drawing from Chelsea’s perspective. Chelsea shares how it truly feels to be a Type Six on the inside and talks about the disconnect with how this type feels about themselves versus how others view them.

“Particularly in the corporate world, where I work, it’s a type that can frustrate people because of their perceived hesitancy, their perceived negativity about things, but what I find is that when the times get tough, Sixes are actually really prepared and they’re very effective people in those situations.” -Mario [06:05]

“Besides Type Six being misunderstood in the Enneagram world, I think they’re sometimes hard to read in the real world. People, I think, have a harder time making sense of their behavior or jump very quickly into conclusions to why they’re doing certain things when in reality their inner process is sometimes very different to what people perceive of them.” -María José [07:17]

“What we’re all kind of expressing… this confusion that a lot of people in the Enneagram community have around Sixes.” -Creek [08:50]

“I have a pretty good BS radar. Like I can know when you’re not being authentic. I can know when you’re just asking me for lip service, but you’re not actually going to do what I suggest. And that makes me not want to be invested.” -Chelsea [47:58]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[00:10] This week’s guest, Chelsea Jackson

[04:08] About the Type Six

[08:49] Misconceptions about the Six

[14:58] Reaction to “Relax”

[17:54] Knowing when to pull back

[24:33] The decision making process

[28:10] The Type Six connecting points

[35:35] Making time for inner peace

[38:06] Chelsea’s relationship with Type Three

[41:55] The instinctual biases

[48:52] How to contact Chelsea

[49:15] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Chelsea Jackson:

Web: chelsea-jackson.com

IG: @sea_c_j

Twitter: @sea_c_j

Striving to Feel Powerful (Enneagram Type Eight)

Thu, 08 Dec 2022 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore discuss Enneagram Type Eight, “Striving to Feel Powerful.” Mario shares what makes him a Type Eight, how “powerful” can be interpreted in different ways and the blind spots that come with that. This discussion will hopefully provide a deeper sense, and not so much fear, about Type Eight.

“I think that it’s so limited to think that Eights are angry or pushy or like that all the time. I think that if you leave them alone in their domains, and there’s no threats, there’s no need to push, they will be just like anybody else.” -María José [09:16]

“What I’m looking for and I think most Eights are looking for from other people is to just give it your best effort.” -Mario [22:47]

“It’s never more clear than when I watch Eight friends of how much and how deeply they feel and want to have an effect on the world in the way that they feel like is the best way to do that.” -Creek [38:41]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[00:42] Mario’s origin story with Type Eight

[04:29] Certainly, Eights have a reputation

[07:29] A wake-up call

[10:05] Striving to Feel Powerful

[12:45] An example of magnanimity

[17:38] Vengeance: a distorted form of power

[20:45] The biggest learning curve of working with Mario

[27:15] The connecting points: Five and Two

[33:04] Type Eight blind spots

[41:02] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Striving to Feel Unique (Enneagram Type Four)

Thu, 01 Dec 2022 04:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore discuss Enneagram Type Four, “Striving to Feel Unique,” through the personal experiences of Creek. They share how the Type Four appears in the workplace, what drives them and growth strategies.

“I think a lot of times Fours feel like they’re the most tapped into reality because they see more of the darkness of life. Depths do contain darkness, but just because you’re tapped into darkness doesn’t mean you’re tapped into depth.” -Creek [13:07]

“For me, the growth for the Four is in realizing that most of what they’re doing is just derivative of say Holden Caulfield in ‘Catcher in the Rye.’” -Mario [14:27]

“I think we all have beliefs that are our biases given by our type. In the case of Type Four, while striving to feel unique, when you think that your situation is more difficult, tougher, you suffer more, and it is a misrepresentation of reality. And my experience is that Fours who are able to see that and be more objective about situations they’re in have a better time responding to it. They’re more adaptive because they see more objectively and they suffer less.” -María José [43:38]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[00:52] Everyone wants to be a Four

[03:06] ATA approach to Type Four

[06:00] Four in the workplace

[10:50] Tendency to compare to other people

[13:44] The Holden Caulfield syndrome

[18:05] Connecting to Point Two and One

[26:11] Same type interactions

[29:05] Strength of opinion and perspective

[38:55] What’s driving the Four

[41:55] Growth strategies for the Four

[47:06] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Striving to Feel Perfect (Enneagram Type One)

Thu, 17 Nov 2022 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore start their series discussing the types, aka the strategies, in the Awareness to Action Enneagram model. They start with Enneagram Type One, “Striving to Feel Perfect,” by discussing what it means in theory and through María José’s personal experience.

“One of the things that I’m really proud of is how you can use it in a way that perfectionism doesn’t capture you, but you decide what perfection is.” -María José [05:31]

“It’s fueling your desire for the most ideal situation to occur. I can definitely resonate with that and find myself being paralyzed as well in certain situations.” -Creek [10:09]

“We have to be aware of the complexity of the connecting points to really understand the types, and you can’t understand a One if you don’t understand their relationship to the strategy of Point Seven.” -Mario [32:19]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:28] How biases slip into the types and biases

[05:01] What it feels like when the strategy is used really well

[06:50] Looking for ways to make things better

[07:49] Being a perfectionist vs striving to feel perfect

[13:47] What it means to striving to feel perfect

[19:13] How self-critical Ones are

[22:39] The connecting points

[33:31] How striving to feel unique makes you a better person

[38:37] Another way this strategy manifest

[40:27] What the hosts appreciate about Ones

[43:27] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

It's Not Who You ARE, It's What You DO

Thu, 10 Nov 2022 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore share the origin story of referring to the Enneagram types as strategies. They discuss the implications and explanations on why Awareness to Action uses that word and the corresponding words associated with it.

“When one strategy doesn’t work, we go to another, and that’s again what I liked about strategy. The Enneagram is set up in such a way that the connecting points have a logic to them.” -Mario [11:35]

“When you understand the logic, it’s a very powerful tool. That’s what truly allows you to put yourself in other people’s shoes.” -María José [17:13]

“I think the Enneagram already fosters compassion to begin with, even in the language of be, but I think your language takes it a step further in that it’s more dynamic and it encapsulates things a little bit more freely.” -Creek [18:15]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[02:51] Why call types strategies?

[08:45] When one strategy doesn’t work, we go to another

[13:59] Thinking how people get into trouble

[16:39] Strategies speaks to the logic of each profile

[23:42] “Just stop it”

[28:05] Finding neutral language

[33:17] The nine strategies

[43:01] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Do We Have To Prove Our Claims About the Enneagram? (BONUS)

Tue, 08 Nov 2022 04:00:00 -0400

In this bonus episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore revisit the pattern of expressions and the instinctual biases. Creek asks Mario why his view on the pattern of expressions is exempt from the falsifiability standard.

“Once we’re agreed on the definitions, which may be different from other people, and if you’re using a different definition, then that’s fine. What I’m suggesting doesn't apply to different definitions, but to these definitions, to all the empirical experience I have over 25 years, it holds up.” -Mario [10:26]

“I’ve seen people who for different circumstances have developed skills and habits that are different to what we understand through the pattern of expression or it has to do with their preferred strategy. There are different reasons. And to me, it doesn’t really matter because if we go back to understanding that the Enneagram is a model, and they’re all wrong, but some are useful. This part of the model, the pattern of expression, is useful most of the time, and I think it’s valid for that reason.” -María José [11:40]

“The more I’ve gotten into the Enneagram, the more I’m less interested in being a ‘Enneagram person,’ but rather just a skilled user of the Enneagram that is more focused on the flourishing of myself and those around me.” -Creek [16:26]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[02:20] Mario’s view on pattern of expression not falsifiable

[07:24] Mario’s observations on instinctual biases

[10:47] Non-intentional focus of attention

[14:40] Leaps of inference

[19:02] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Intro to Critical Thinking

Thu, 03 Nov 2022 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore continue their deep dive into critical thinking as a fundamental thing they believe is important for the Enneagram community. They discuss a few ideas on how to think critically and why it’s important.

“If you are positioning yourself to be a teacher of the Enneagram, but you are not working on your critical or clear thinking skills, then you are being irresponsible.” -Mario [20:41]

“When we’re working with the Enneagram, if we were seekers after truth, we need to think critically, and that involves seeing other people for who they are and not who we think they are.” -María José [30:54]

“As a rather emotional human, critical thinking has aided me in being able to actually more clearly and more deeply experience these emotions, whether they make sense or not.” -Creek [31:17]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[02:17] Examples of using critical thinking

[04:41] What is Neoplatonic essentialism

[10:29] Religion and the Enneagram

[17:54] Critical thinking does not goes against spirituality or religion

[21:10] Five obstacles to critical thinking and five solutions to them

[25:37] High degree of confidence and intellectual character

[31:08] What’s happening is not always the whole situation

[32:17] Fundamental attribution error

[34:34] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Final Thoughts on the Patterns of Expression (for now…)

Thu, 27 Oct 2022 22:05:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram Podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore share more thoughts on the Patterns of Expression. They break down the terminology through analogies and how patterns of expressions are more of a profile and less of a stack or an order.

“It’s hard not to think of them as 1, 2, 3. So are they all on level ground? Are they all glasses in front of you and you’ve just tend to pick one up more than the other? Is it like a rate of flow?” - Seth "Creek" Creekmore [06:33]

“And to me, it helps to think about it as a profile rather than me with three different aspects that are independent. They’re not independent.” - María José Munita [10:05]

“People often seem to think of it as almost switching in some way. I’m being self-pres now, but I’m navigating, now I’m being social. Now I’m being this. As if it’s like three different subway stops almost that visit instead of just being this soup of complexity that has particular patterns that we see.” - Mario Sikora [11:29]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:21] An advantage to the pattern of expression’s order?

[02:25] Why it’s called pattern of expression

[06:23] More a profile than an order

[12:32] It’s about intention

[16:51] Language is another example

[19:44] Any sense of the pattern of expression?

[24:30] Be careful with leap of inference

[28:29] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Working with the Instinctual Biases; or, A Damned Fine Beef Stew

Thu, 20 Oct 2022 05:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram Podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore discuss how to use and understand the instinctual biases.

They bring awareness of how the instinctual biases affect behavior and some of the contradictions that go along with that. They also share strategies to work with instinctual biases.

“We have to be really careful about making any broad assumptions or ensure that any broad assumptions we’re making actually captures the whole category.” - Mario Sikora [22:41]

“I don’t think it’s even smart to try to be good at everything, because we wouldn’t be really good at anything, and society in general would not benefit from it.” - María José Munita [41:17]

“So really what I’m hearing is there may be some value in all the other ways in which people teach the Enneagram as far as ways in which to see parts of yourself and work on certain aspects of yourself, but more than likely, it’s the biggest boulder to move is to work within that pattern of expression.” - Seth "Creek" Creekmore [1:03:29]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:00] Intro

[01:36] Examples of level of dissonance

[07:37] The difference of being skillful and focus of attention

[10:39] How instinctual biases express themselves

[15:21] Cultural bias towards women attending at home

[18:24] How familial/cultural biases will show up

[25:36] The complexity and variables of instinctual biases

[28:50] Pushing our attention towards action

[33:16] Working outside dominant instinctual bias

[46:46] Where to begin

[51:02] Skill and competent in zone of indifference

[53:34] What does all this mean

[58:55] Industries with very clear instinctual bias

[1:00:16] How it plays into family dynamics

[1:03:29] Working within pattern of expression

[1:09:19] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

The Transmitting Domain: More Than Just "Sexual"

Thu, 13 Oct 2022 09:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram Podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore talk about the transmitting domain. Mario explains the meaning behind the name. The hosts discuss how this domain can help and/or hinder as well as common misconceptions. They break down the three subdomains: broadcasting/narrowcasting, asserting and impressing.

“I always think of the transmitting domain as a cluster of behaviors focused on bringing something into the world.” - Mario Sikora [09:44]

“There’s also the additional layer of culture. The stories that you come up with have to do with culture as well. Like in the states, if you are more transmitting and you have a flashier car or clothes, it’s fine. Nobody will ask you about it, and you will not probably have a hard time saying that you just like it. Here in Chile, it’s a more navigating culture. And if you’re asked about a red car or flashy clothes, you will start explaining yourself, giving excuses on why this is not what you usually do or that it was a special occasion. You will feel more conflicted, even if you’re transmitting.” - María José Munita [25:39]

“Just because someone is a talker or is not a talker, does not make them a transmitter. For those that are maybe not super extroverted or desire to talk to a bunch of people, maybe it’s not so much that they aren’t a transmitter, but more that you just haven’t hit the subject that they really love transmitting about.” - Seth "Creek" Creekmore [54:44]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:00] Intro

[00:21] A disclaimer

[01:25] Defining transmitting

[02:45] How transmitting helps and hinders

[08:32] A feeling of stimulation and creativity

[12:03] Why its named transmitting

[15:58] Misconceptions

[19:43] Broadcasting and narrowcasting

[27:15] Asserting

[33:46] Attracting and bonding

[36:27] Impressing

[45:44] The dissonance and contradiction

[57:00] Pattern of expression

[1:04:37] Helpful part of the transmitting bias

[1:09:18] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

The Navigating Domain: More Than Just "Social"

Thu, 06 Oct 2022 09:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram Podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore talk about the navigating domain and how it operates. They discuss why it’s the misunderstood of the three domains. They also break down the three subdomains: trust/reciprocity, status/identity and power/influence dynamics.

“What navigators tend to do is look at the people and classify people according to different criteria.” - María José Munita [13:22]

“What it has to do with is understanding group dynamics, understanding the people in the group, so that I know where I fit and I know how to make my way through this social environment I find myself in.” - Mario Sikora [14:10]

“So when it comes to status and identity, I don’t think it’s entirely related to belonging.” - Seth "Creek" Creekmore [36:10]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:00] Intro

[00:22] Circles the hosts were surprised to be in

[08:24] The most misunderstood domain

[11:59] Transactional networking

[14:50] Misunderstanding about the Social One

[16:31] Trust and reciprocity

[23:59] Power and influence dynamics

[32:43] Status and identity

[44:34] External contradiction

[48:33] Paralyzed by inhibition

[49:10] Pattern of expression

[52:57] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Pod:

The Preserving Domain: More Than Just the "Self"

Thu, 29 Sep 2022 09:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram Podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore talk about the Preserving Instinctual Bias. They discuss what it means to preserve by breaking it down into subdomains and sub-subdomains, and why they don’t call it self-preservation. They dig into the heart of this instinctual bias by explaining why it’s more about how the preserver focuses their attention around their supply rather than the quantity of the supply.

“When it comes to holidays, I’m a big holiday person, and I don’t know if it’s the cultivating of nostalgia or if it is more of that preserving the way things were.” - Seth "Creek" Creekmore [12:12]

“There’s a lot of times, it’s the why of what we’re doing in addition to the what of what we’re doing.” - Mario Sikora [13:00]

“It’s not about having a lot or a little. Because depending on the type of strategy, some people would like to have the minimal, optimal amount of things. Some people would like to have a lot, but I know how much I have. I know how much time I have until I run out of it. I’ll probably go and buy before I run out of it or put money in the bank before I run out of it. So it’s the attention I pay to the supply rather than how much I have or I don’t.” - María José Munita [31:33]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:57] Laughable moments about preserving

[08:00] What is preserving

[09:45] Can you preserve with ideas?

[15:49] Attention to preserving personal resources

[18:28] Preserving as a subdomain

[23:15] Introversion vs extroversion

[27:36] Risk management

[35:53] Health and maintenance

[40:27] Contradictory behavior in preserving domain

[48:15] How a preserver navigates and transmit

[56:09] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

The Three Instinctual Profiles and Why They Matter

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram Podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore talk about the instinctual biases’ patterns of expression and provide a more in-depth explanation on the order and the practical applications of them.

“The truth is that the more I use it, the more I see how it is present, and the more I see how useful it is.” - María José Munita [02:08]

“What we’re proposing here is that each of us has a specific relationship with the three domains, and that relationship plays itself out in only three ways rather than six ways.” - Mario Sikora [03:46]

“Whether you agree with how this is formed or not, I think you can still approach it with some curiosity.” - Seth "Creek" Creekmore [07:49]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:30] The three zones and profiles

[04:12] A tool to examine ourselves

[09:33] Where it came from

[13:25] How each profile relates to three domains

[19:53] The need of the zone of enthusiasm

[21:47] Real world applications

[28:28] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Pod:

The Instinctual Subdomains and Patterns of Expression

Thu, 15 Sep 2022 09:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram Podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore talk about the subdomains of the instinctual biases and the inside of the three: the transmitting, the preserving and the navigating. They also talk about the instinctual biases’ pattern of expression and why they are important.

“I like to think about these instinctual biases as three buckets of drives.” - Mario Sikora [01:56]

“That could take different shapes or forms as we have said before. Could be ‘I want people to notice my ideas, my values, my body, my home.’ It could look different, but it’s always about making an impression of some sort.” - María José Munita [10:56]

“In some ways, all the instinctual biases are in an attempt to reproduce on some level, to maintain your survival and continue your survival through having children.” - Seth "Creek" Creekmore [11:16]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:06] The subdomains of the instinctual biases

[04:26] The preserving domain

[06:56] The navigating domain

[09:15] The transmitting domain

[11:15] An attempt to reproduce on some level

[16:51] The patterns of expression - Why?

[22:16] What are the patterns of expression

[28:28] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Pod:

The Instinctual Biases

Thu, 08 Sep 2022 09:00:00 -0400

In this episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram Podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore talk about the instinctual biases. They discuss the origin of the instinctual biases and their role with the Enneagram.

“To be honest, I don’t think they’re hard to understand. I think they’re really easy to understand if they’re explained correctly.” - María José Munita [07:44]

“It’s always harder to see things in ourselves than it is to see it in other people.” - Mario Sikora [09:33]

“The thing that has really helped me understand your approach better is as soon as I sense that I’m starting to get into noun territory, how do I reframe this thing that I’m working through in more verb language?” - Seth "Creek" Creekmore [22:27]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:00] Intro

[01:36] The origin of the instinctual biases

[07:37] Why are they so hard to understand?

[12:25] Changing the terminology

[21:11] Always use verbs

[22:59] Intensity is a subjective word

[25:24] What to expect in the next episode

[26:55] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Pod:

Introducing Your Hosts

Tue, 06 Sep 2022 09:00:00 -0400

In the premiere episode of the Awareness to Action Enneagram Podcast, Mario Sikora, María José Munita and Seth "Creek" Creekmore introduce themselves by sharing their background with the Enneagram. The three hosts discuss why they want to participate in this podcast and also give a sneak peek on what to expect in future episodes.

“It became my mission in life to find a way to present the Enneagram in a way that was simple, clear, direct and accurate without losing the depth of the system, and that has been my work ever since.” - Mario Sikora [09:52]

“I think in a lot of ways you’re teaching people how to cook instead of just giving them the recipe. And I think that is how we want to approach anything.” - Seth "Creek" Creekmore [25:13]

“I think that the way in which we see human nature and how we take it and use it, how we see ourselves, and how we take ourselves lightly, and laugh about each other and ourselves, I think that is not just for a show or the podcast. It’s the way in which we use the Enneagram, and it’s part of our Awareness to Action approach.” - María José Munita [28:59]

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01] Intro

[01:30] What we’re trying to accomplish with this podcast

[02:48] Why this podcast?

[07:52] Mario’s background with the Enneagram

[12:12] Mario meeting María José

[14:55] María José’s introduction to the Enneagram

[18:19] Pattern of expression

[21:59] Creek’s origin story

[26:57] How do we put this to work?

[28:24] What to expect on this podcast

[37:36] Outro

Connect with us:

Mario Sikora:

Maria Jose Munita:

IG: @mjmunita

Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

Awareness to Action Enneagram Podcast

Sat, 03 Sep 2022 17:37:00 -0400

Launching September 6th!