Aspire Magazine: Inspiration for a Woman's Soul.(TM) Dec/Jan 2018 Aspire Mag Full Issue: Taking Time fo | Page 51

BY CATHERINE HAYES K nowing your Enneagram type can be transformational. For me, it was life- changing. The moment I first understood my Enneagram type is indelibly etched in my consciousness. It was 2006. I was sitting at a workshop in San Francisco with my Enneagram teacher, Russ Hudson. As Russ talked about the many ways the Enneagram Type 3 abandoned themselves to prove their worth and value, I felt deep moments of sorrow and recognition. This was how I’d been living my life. I grew up in Boston’s public housing projects for my first 22 years and went on to Harvard University to earn both Masters and doctoral degrees and then as a full-time faculty member. My life journey included working hard, overcoming obstacles and achieving, achieving, achieving. Before this workshop with Russ, I’d been to a couple of weekend Enneagram workshops 12 years prior and a weekend workshop with Russ just two months earlier. In fact, that last workshop was one year to the day after my life-changing accident. One year to the day. There are no accidents. I knew the Enneagram was a powerful teaching with potential for transformation. I 51 How the Enneagram Opened THE DOORWAY TO MY SOUL & TRANSFORMED MY LIFE