The Upbuild Enneagram Library

What is the one thing about yourself that you cannot accept? In this episode, Michael, Hari Prasada, and Rasanath introduce the Upbuild original concept of the Achilles Heel. Drawing from years of study and teaching of the Enneagram, they explore how each Type has a specific vulnerability it unconsciously resists accepting, and how that resistance becomes the source of suffering and disconnection....

What keeps each Enneagram Type trapped, and what helps it move toward freedom? In this episode, Vipin, Hari Prasada, and Rasanath explore one of the deepest dimensions of the Enneagram: the Passions and the Virtues. Drawing on the work of Oscar Ichazo, the Desert Fathers, and modern Enneagram teachings, they explain how each Type has a characteristic form of suffering called a Passion that reinfor...

In the Enneagram, there are some Types that disassociate from their Center of Intelligence and other Types where one Center “enslaves” another. Which pattern do you fall into, and what is actually happening beneath the surface? In this episode, Michael, Hari Prasada, and Rasanath explore the concept of the Imbalances of the Centers. They break down the mechanics behind the first and second imbalan...

One of the most overlooked dimensions of the Enneagram is how we handle conflict. In this episode, Michael, Hari Prasada, and Rasanath explore the three Harmonics: Competency, Emotional Realness, and Positive Outlook. Each represents a distinct strategy for restoring harmony, yet each can just as easily create more disconnection when singularly used or distorted. They unpack how each Enneagram Typ...

We live in a constant negotiation with an Inner Critic that tells us we are not enough. In this episode, Vipin, Hari Prasada, and Rasanath shed light on the Inner Critic as the mouthpiece of the ego. Using the Enneagram, they show how this voice operates differently across the Types and how it’s rooted in our Basic Fear, continuously pushing us to become someone we think we should be. They introdu...

This episode introduces the Transitional Fears, the fears that arise at key thresholds between Levels of Consciousness. Vipin, Hari Prasada, and Rasanath show how these fears are expressions of deeper existential anxiety, why they feel so convincing, and how recognizing them can help you interrupt the ego’s patterns and return to a more conscious way of being. Links Enneagram Library Live :  Join...

Every Enneagram Type carries a specific relationship to nurturing and protective energy. That relationship begins in childhood, but it does not stay there. In this episode, Vipin, Hari Prasada, and Rasanath unpack Parental Orientation, the Object Relations framework that explains attachment, frustration, and rejection across all nine Types. They explore how each Type internalizes the nurturing and...

How do we fall in love with the Enneagram Types? In the same way we fall in love with people in real life: by understanding both their gifts and their suffering. In this episode, Michael, Hari Prasada, and Rasanath explore what it truly means to fall in love with every Enneagram Type. They introduce the idea of “access points,” the doorways that allow us to move beyond intellectual understanding a...

Each of us lives from one of three distinct inner stances, yet hardly ever realizing it… “Don’t mess with my world.” “See me the way I want to be seen.” “What can I trust?” In this episode, Michael, Hari Prasada, and Rasanath explore how Anger, Shame, and Fear function as the Predominant Emotions of the Enneagram (and of the human condition). These emotions correspond to the Body types (8, 9, 1),...

The Wing is one of the most powerful forces shaping personality. In addition to the primary Type, it strongly influences what we want, how we show up, and even whether we experience ourselves as more introverted or extroverted. In this episode, Hari, Michael, and Rasanath explore why identifying the correct Type-Wing relationship is essential for accurate typing and meaningful growth. Moving throu...

Do you tend to push forward and make things happen? Pull back and feel easily overwhelmed? Or constantly track how much you are giving so you can be sure you are giving more than you receive? In this episode, Michael, Hari Prasada, and Rasanath explore a core dimension of the Enneagram that is critical in being able to type efficiently and accurately as well as understand better how we show up the...

“What are those lines on the symbol?” is one of the questions we get most frequently during our Enneagram workshops. In this episode, Hari, Rasanath, and Michael explore the critical dimension of the Enneagram: the Directional Movements. They describe how each Type experiences stress and growth, clarifying why we sometimes resemble other Types. These movements toward another Type in stress or grow...

Each of us is wired with a specific hierarchy of three core instinctual drives, shaping how we move through the world. The Instincts (sometimes referred to as Instinctual Variants) is part of the Enneagram framework and plays a powerful role in how our personalities form. One Instinct tends to dominate and demands most of our attention, a second supports it, while a third gets neglected and become...

There might be a lot going on in your head, but that does not mean that you are making good use of it. In this episode, Michael, Rasanath, and Hari Prasada discuss the Head Center’s essential role in managing the complexity of life and the flood of information we face each day. They explore how awareness of thought, not thinking itself, is the hallmark of presence in the Head Center. They unpack t...

Just because you feel a lot does not mean you are present in the Heart Center. In this episode, Hari, Michael, and Rasanath explore what it really means to live from the heart. They look into the realm of emotion, identity, and our longing to be seen. They reflect on how emotions shape our humanity, why we often mistake validation for value, and how the heart connects us to love, gratitude, and on...

In this episode, Michael, Hari, and Rasanath turn their attention to the Body Center of the Enneagram. They explore how presence is experienced as groundedness, sensation, and gut-level knowing, as well as how energy can move from intuition into action when we are rooted in the body. The conversation brings out the distinct gifts of Types 8, 9, and 1 while also showing how every Type can cultivate...

Do you really want to settle for being one third of a human? In this episode, Michael, Hari, and Rasanath build off this very provocative question from Russ Hudson to explore the three Centers of Intelligence: the Body, the Heart, and the Head. These Centers help us live with intuition, emotional depth, and clarity of thought. Yet most of us lean heavily on one while undervaluing the others, and e...

In this episode, we explore how to use the Enneagram in our everyday lives in order to make sure that it has the profound impact on us that it is capable of having. We also discuss how the Enneagram can only take us so far and how a spiritual practice is needed to help us go beyond the limits of our personality. Links Enneagram Library Live :  Join our bi-weekly conversations and teachings on the...

Typing is one of the most critical aspects of the Enneagram, and yet, mistyping is rampant. In this episode, we explain why this is case and what we can do about it. We also explore the one Type that is more likely to mistype than any other Type, and give you a Type by Type run through of how each Type approaches the Enneagram. What we find is that how we approach the Enneagram is often very revea...

Enneagram Type 9s, nicknamed The Peace-Seeker, pride themselves in being calm, easygoing,  and unassuming people who can flow with whatever comes and don’t need recognition or attention. They often don’t admit to themselves their problems or work to resolve conflicts because that’s really difficult and makes them feel not peaceful. Famous examples include Rosa Parks, Grace Kelly, and Jack Johnson....

Enneagram Type 8s, nicknamed The Challenger, are all about strength and showing who’s in charge to reassure themselves that they don’t have a weak bone in their body. They often can’t admit to themselves how scared they really are of their buried weakness, and so they show up larger than life in nearly all situations hoping to leverage their power for the people they love. Famous examples include...

Enneagram Type 7s, nicknamed The Enthusiast, are care-free and fun-loving with a moment-to-moment appetite for adventure and zero tolerance for boredom. They often run from their problems in life which pursue them relentlessly in spite of their intelligence and joyfulness. Famous examples include Robin Williams, the Dalai Lama, Amy Winehouse, and Russell Brand. In this episode, we explore the esse...

Enneagram Type 6s, nicknamed The Loyalist, live in a zone of constant questioning as they strive to be dependable for those they care about. They often wish that they had a cause to dedicate their life to which they could completely trust and that they had the support of others whom they could completely trust. Famous examples include Woody Allen, Adolf Hitler, Jason Alexander, and Larry David.  I...

Enneagram Type 5s, nicknamed The Investigator, are exceptionally cerebral, technical, and keep to themselves in their pursuit of knowledge to understand how things work. They often have trouble relating to people. Famous examples include Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, Eckhart Tolle, Tim Burton, and JRR Tolkein. In this episode, we explore the essence of the Type 5 and the insecurities and motivation...

Enneagram Type 4s, nicknamed The Individualist, try to be authentic with every fiber of their being, but it’s so hard for them to know who they really are deep down. They often feel overwhelmed trying to do justice to their talents, all the while feeling misunderstood by people who move too fast, are too shallow, and act too harshly to understand their full heart. Famous examples include Bob Dylan...