Enneagram Interviews: What It's Like To Be You

Do you ever feel like you're trying to keep it cool, but you’re secretly raging under the surface? If you're a Type 9, or close to one, you’ve likely wrestled with feeling overlooked, overextended, and underboundaried. This rich panel conversation dives into the lived experience of core Type 9s, shedding light on how the desire for peace often masks struggles with anger, identity, and merging with...

Omar Sullivan (SO/SP 6w7 693) is an absolutely hilarious and insightful person, sharing how being a Type 6 and growing up with a loyalty to “doing the right thing” collided with an internal drive to poke holes in systems, ideologies, and even his own beliefs. We trace how a Type 6 mind pings between self-doubt and defiant clarity, often using humor as both camouflage and truth-teller—a sort of “je...

Celia Murnock (SP/SO 6w5 613) is a Type 6 whose intellectual clarity and emotional precision root our conversation in complexity: her passion for biomedical anthropology becomes a metaphor for her life’s work — finding and teasing out gray areas in a world that demands black-and-white answers. We trace the architecture of Six through her eyes: the struggle to trust her own mind, the looping vigila...

Elisa (SP/SX 3w2 378) joins us for a rich and layered conversation that weaves together identity, performance, and the relentless pursuit of autonomy. A pole and circus studio founder with a deep instinct for self-reinvention, Elisa moves through life like a well-rehearsed act — equal parts precision and provocation. We talk about what it means to build a life around something still stigmatized by...

Alex (SO/SP 6w7 693) joins us for a deep dive into the often-misunderstood inner terrain of the Social Six — where loyalty is a vigilant scan for danger, and the mind’s ceaseless activity is less about worry than about building a livable world. From the outset, Alex speaks to the dissonance of being typed as a Six, resisting the caricatures and one-dimensional projections that cling to the type.&n...

Aurel (SO/SP 6w7 693) experienced a major stroke in early adulthood—an event that unraveled his sense of self and fractured his memory. What happens when your personal history goes missing? In this conversation, Aurel reflects on the slow, painful reconstruction of identity and how trauma rewrites not just the past, but the present narrative. We talk about radical empathy, activism, and the emotio...

Mar (SP/SX 7w6 794) joins us for a luminous, chaotic dive into the inner world of an SP Seven — where optimism burns like a flare, vision outpaces feasibility, and connection is often a puzzle missing key pieces. Mar touches on her social blindness — the kind that makes small talk feel like calculus and leads to well-meaning intensity that others don't always know how to receive. We explore her wr...

Cassandra Carol (SP/SO 9w8 972) joins us for a raw and resonant conversation about what it means to carry deep emotional weight while moving gently through the world. Cass, a high-energy and incredibly polite Nine, opens up about surviving childhood abuse, navigating a turbulent past marriage, and understanding the complex aspects of her unique Enneagram type with precision. We explore the paradox...

Ruth (SX/SO 9w1 973) joins us for a luminous and radical exploration of the Sexual 9's longing for union — with God, with others, and, ultimately, with herself. From an early age, Ruth’s life was shaped by profound mystical experiences: claiming Jesus at three, and at nine, encountering a vision of him entering her body — not metaphorically, but viscerally, as a wave of physical love. These moment...

Anna Palumbo (SO/SP 9w8 937) returns for a second conversation—this time reflecting on the shifts she's experienced since our last recording. We begin with a live performance of her original song Wings for the Heart, a piece that emerged in the wake of personal rupture and now stands as both witness and balm. What follows is a layered exploration of emotional fragmentation, the disorienting effect...

Bjarne is an SO/SP 8w9 with 3w2 and 6w7 fixes, though in this episode, he questions whether he might be a core Six. What emerges regardless is a portrait of a powerful, self-directed psyche shaped by an early awareness of exploitation, corruption, the failure of collective systems to protect the dignity of life. From political dreams as a child to his drive to awaken others to their own strength,...

Moses Williams (SO/SP 5w6 513) is back for round two, and we dive straight into what he calls “the mortifying stuff.” We explore the dissonance of being autistic and socially wired — craving connection but feeling like a fish trying to fly. Moses speaks candidly about navigating sexual arousal alongside the fear of being seen as creepy or delusional, and what it’s like to experience intense desire...

Moses Williams is an 18-year-old Social/Self-Pres 5w6 who is also on the autism spectrum. Moses describes growing up feeling that adults were hiding the truth, that essential information was missing, and that everyone else somehow knew how to be human in a way he didn’t. We talk about his often obsessive fascination with taboo topics—pornography, sexual deviance, violence—not to provoke, but to an...

Julie (SP/SO 1w2 126) says being an Enneagram One is like trying to control the lightning bolt you’re riding. We talk about how her pursuit of competence — in painting, music, and even dog training — brought early success but gradually drained the joy from each pursuit. She shares what it’s like to live in a body wired for precision and pressure, and how that rigidity eventually led to serious hea...

Kim (SO/SP 8w7 863) joins us for an intimate and unguarded exploration of the inner world of Eight — where sovereignty is survival, connection is a gamble, and straight talk is an act of love. From the first moments, Kim’s presence is unmistakable: a force of nature, all-in from the outset, inviting others to meet her at full throttle. We explore the emotional paradox at the heart of the Social Ei...

Alice (SO/SP 9w1 973) joins us for a profound and poetic exploration of the inner world of Nine — where the background environment can overshadow the self, and the longing isn’t for pleasure, but for the peace of never having been born. We dive into the quiet ache for pre-conscious coziness, the hesitance to disturb reality with one’s presence, and the existential ambivalence at the heart of Nine...

Sarah’s Type 6 mind moves fast—so fast it can create instant connection and obscure deeper intimacy. In this episode, she unpacks the whirlwind: the pull between independence and support, the trap of victimhood, and how unchecked reactivity nearly derailed a past relationship. With raw honesty, she explores self-sabotage, emotional spirals, and the slow work of learning self-trust. This is a conve...

Kalla Mort shares her jaw-dropping story of escaping the high control religion of her youth (read: cult) and coming out as queer. This is an incredibly rich exploration of Attachment in the Mental Center, and how Type 6 navigates revolutions of core beliefs. Enjoy. LINKS Learn at The Enneagram School https://theenneagramschool.com/ Intro Course https://www.theenneagramschool.com/intro-enneagram-co...

Sara Pryde (SP/SX 6w7 614), trauma-informed massage therapist, joins us from Wyoming. We dive into the existential crisis sparked when her partner didn't finish his weekly banana quota—forcing her into making muffins against her will. Plus, we unpack how Sara, as SP/SX armed with all three frustration types (1, 4, 7), meticulously crafts her ideal cozy cocoon, yet accidentally projects being more...

In this candid Enneagram interview, Kate (SO/SX 7w8 793) discusses her identity as an "entitled brat," her allergy to drudgery and limitation, and her dream (since she was young) of being a "kept woman." She also shares how therapy helped her distinguish between "fun negative" (entertainment) and "real negative" (trauma), allowing her to process difficult emotions rather than "bouncing" away from...

Anna Palumbo (SO/SP 9w8 937) is a Type 9 mother who has been undergoing a profound transformation—untangling herself from patterns of enmeshment and reconnecting with her own life-force. In this episode, we focus on Anna’s relationship with her Type 6 daughter and how her Type 9 tendency to merge initially obscured her ability to be present with her daughter's reactivity. We also explore the Posit...

Janice is a life-coach and an Enneagram 3, and at the time of this interview she is 84 years old. We explore her past relationships, the life-long inner tension between doing "what's expected of me" vs "what I want," and what parts of the Type 3 structure still drive her at her life stage. Enjoy. The Enneagram School https://theenneagramschool.com/ Our Intro Course https://www.theenneagramschool.c...

Mariona M (SX/SO 9w1 973) is a language activist in Catalonia. In the first phase of this conversation, we explore her complex relationship with crying to process emotional backlog, and how her type's pattern of reaching for deeper self-understanding in order to soothe herself can, ironically, create more inner turbulence. In the second phase, we ground ourselves, and Mariona's essence as an...

John Luckovich and I (Josh Lavine) are RELEASING OUR INTRO ENNEAGRAM COURSE. In this conversation, we talk about what it was like working together as a Social 3 and a Sexual 4. We're very proud of the course. Official release is Jan 6, 2025, but you can buy it during our holiday presale at 50% OFF of the founding members price(through Dec 31). Link below. https://www.theenneagramschool.com/intro-e...

In this episode, Nicholas (SP/SO 9w1 936) talks about 9's passivity in relation to their dominant instinct and how they can "hope things just work themselves out." He also talks about how he learned to focus, take himself seriously, and summon the discipline to manifest his life vision. He also works through an intense caffeine spike in self-pres 9 fashion, so you can see in realtime as Nicholas n...