The Enneagram in a Movie

For Season Two, hosts Mario Sikora and TJ Dawe will explore the Enneagram through the lens of movie directors whose work demonstrates themes related to the nine Enneagram types and three instinctual biases. In this season premiere, Mario and TJ discuss Type Nine through Clint Eastwood and the first of four movies, “The Outlaw Josey Wales.” While known for his tough-guy roles as cops, cowboys, and...

S1E19: “Movies, the Creative Process, and the Enneagram: A Conversation with TJ Dawe” We are joined by writer, director, performer, Enneagram teacher and movie lover TJ Dawe for a wide-ranging conversation on movies and the Enneagram. TJ shares how the Enneagram has helped in his maturation as an artist and a human being, and how he uses it in his own work and as an advisor to creative artists. We...

S1E18: “Rocky, Rocky Balboa, Creed, and the Inner Triangle of the Enneagram” (Part 3) Our epic podcast on the saga of fictional boxer Rocky Balboa draws to a close as we explore the distinct relationship between Enneagram points Nine and Three. Mario, Maria Jose, and Tamer discuss the concept of generativity, that practice of giving selflessly to the next generation that is so critical to the deve...

S1E17: “Rocky, Rocky Balboa, Creed, and the Inner Triangle of the Enneagram” (Part 2) This episode takes a deep dive into the Core Qualities and continues with the saga of the underdog boxer from Philadelphia, Rocky Balboa. We skip over all the Rocky movies with a number in the title and meet up with middle-aged Rocky wrestling with personal loss and deep sadness but ultimately finding meaning in...

S1E16: “Rocky, Rocky Balboa, Creed, and the Inner Triangle of the Enneagram” (Part 1) The Enneagram is both a model of “kinds” of people and a model of each of us. That is, we can point to different “Ennea-types” and understand why people are different, but we can also use the Enneagram to understand different aspects of ourselves. In this podcast, we use three of the films from the venerable “Roc...

S1E15: “The Subtypes at the Movies” Now that the podcast has covered the three instinctual biases and the nine strategies, Mario, Maria Jose, and Tamer explore what happens when the two intersect and create “subtypes.” They discuss the relationship between the strategies and instinctual biases, as well as common misunderstandings about the subtypes—especially what happens when the IB and strategie...

S1E14: “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and the Ennea-type Seven, Striving to Feel Excited. “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” These words set the stage for Ferris’s adventure in the big city with best friend Cameron and girlfriend Sloane, on a late-spring day when they should all be in school. Ennea-type Sevens are sometimes thought of simply...

S1E13: Part Two of our conversation with Special Guest Russ Hudson about “Contact,” and Ennea-Type Five, Striving to Feel Detached. We continue our conversation with Russ about the movie and then discuss the importance of critical thinking to the development of discernment on one’s path for personal and spiritual growth.

S1E12: Special Guest Russ Hudson, “Contact,” and Ennea-Type Five, Striving to Feel Detached. (The first of two parts.) How do we maintain the clarity-providing space between ourselves and the emotional messiness of life without losing contact? This is the question Fives wrestle with, and it is the question at the heart of “Contact,” the 1997 movie starring Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey. Fos...

S1E11: “Defending Your Life” and Ennea-Type Six, Striving to Feel Secure. We all face fear and uncertainty and seek ways to create a sense of security; for Sixes, this can become a central focus of their approach to life. “Defending Your Life,” a romantic comedy starring Albert Brooks and Meryl Streep, centers on Daniel Miller (Brooks) finding himself in the afterlife and coming face to face with...

S1E10: “Lost in Translation” and the Ennea-Type Four, Striving to Feel Unique. “Who am I? Where am I? How did I get into this strange place surrounded by these strange people? Why don’t I fit in?” These questions haunt the Four, and they are at the heart of the 2003 Bill Murray/Scarlett Johansson movie about two kindred spirits at different stages in life trying to understand themselves and the wo...

S1E9: Mario and Maria Jose continue their conversation with Tom Condon, author of “Enneagram Movie and Video Guide” and an internationally known Enneagram teacher with 35 years of experience with the system. They talk about Tom’s work, changes in the Enneagram world over the decades, the Enneagram in film, and the relative merits of fast and slow zombies. Find out more about Tom at http://www. The...

S1E8: “Jerry Maguire” and the Ennea-Type Three, Striving to Feel Outstanding. We hunger for a feeling of value—inherent worth independent of accomplishment—but often seek it through achievement. As a result we never feel satisfied—no effort is great enough, not success fills the void. This is the dilemma of Enna-type Three, and Tom Cruise as Jerry Maguire is a pitch depiction of an Ennea-type Thre...

S1E7: “Almost Famous” and the Ennea-Type Two, Striving to Feel Connected. Who are we without others? What happens when we lose ourselves into someone or something else? What brings us together and what drives us apart? How do we describe the ineffable feeling of what it is to love in all its forms? These are the themes of the Ennea-Type Two and the 2000 movie written and directed by Cameron Crowe.

S1E6: “A Few Good Men” and the Ennea-Type One, Striving to Feel Perfect. Can YOU handle the truth? If so, join us for a discussion of the Tom Cruise/Jack Nicholson classic “A Few Good Men,” a movie that captures the spirit of Enneagram Type One. We discuss the intersection of—and clash between—idealism and expediency; the tension between doing the right thing and doing the best thing that is at th...

S1E5: "The Big Lebowski" and the Ennea-Type Nine, Striving to Feel Peaceful. “Sometimes there’s a man, I won’t say a hero, because what’s a hero, but sometimes there’s a man, and I’m talking about the Dude here… Sometimes there’s a man—well, he’s a man for his time and place…” That man is Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski and the time and place is this episode of the Enneagram in a Movie podcast, which loo...

S1E4: "The Godfather" and the Ennea-Type Eight, Striving to Feel Powerful. An offer you can’t refuse. The desire to shape your own destiny rather than be a puppet on someone else’s string. Protecting the family against all threats. Doing favors and expecting loyalty in return. Walking right up to someone and—Bada-bing! In other words—POWER. Perhaps the greatest movie ever made, “The Godfather” is...

S1E3: "Cast Away" and the Preserving Domain. The Preserving domain is not just about self-preservation, it is also about a need to preserve those things that life consists of—our nest, our traditions, our artifacts. Tom Hanks’ Chuck Noland finds himself stranded on a deserted island and must learn not only how to survive, but also how to preserve some sense of who he is by maintaining his psycholo...

S1E2: "The Breakfast Club" and the Navigating Domain. Five high school students spend an afternoon in detention in John Hughes’ exploration of how people Navigate ever-shifting social dynamics on their search for identity and role. “A Brain, a Princess, an Athlete, a Criminal, and a Basket-Case” slowly feel each other out—observing, listening, sharing; attempting to understand the implicit hierarc...

S1E1: "Saturday Night Fever" and the Transmitting Domain. Disco! White polyester suits! Gold chains! And, most of all, Travolta! The Transmitting instinctual domain is about display, passion, intensity, desire, and dreams, all of which are captured in this classic John Badham-directed crowd-pleaser starring John Travolta as Tony Manero, a hardware store clerk by day/disco king by night who yearns...