The capacities and freedoms that tend to arise with the perspectives of Higher Mind are extraordinary — and often life-changing. 

How can you live with these mind-opening insights, which can challenge your perceptions of reality, and not just hold the experience as an interesting memory?

This is where the Enneagram can help you, and where the real inner work lies…  

The concept of Higher Mind is based on many centuries of people discovering and rediscovering the capacities of a deeper part of human experience than you visit in your ordinary consciousness. 

Your ordinary mind and type fixation reduce your world and perceptions. The Holy Ideas, whose qualities you’ll experience through practices Russ will share with you through this training, are the antidote that can open you to more expansive perceptions, and therefore a bigger life.  

In this module, you’ll discover:

• Deeper layers of your mind that can help you cultivate more clarity and focus
• The nature of a fixation and how it works in relation to the passion of each type
• The relationship between presence and the capacities of mind
• The original purpose of the Holy Ideas in the Enneagram work — and how they relate to traditional views of Western and Eastern spirituality
• A quiet mind is the key to moving through and transforming old opinions, difficulties, and suffering into fresh insights and revelation

In this module, you’ll discover the first two Holy Ideas corresponding with points Eight and Nine. Along the way, you’ll discover more about the fabric of the universe.

You’ll explore point Eight as a window to experiencing “living truth” — which has more to do with your contact with dynamic reality than it does with a particular formula you might see as true.

You’ll discover that the more your mind touches the dynamic field of presence, the more you’ll see reality as a living dance. 

In point Nine, you’ll see not only that reality is unity, you’ll discover something kind and holding in the heart of that reality — the direct perception which can give you a sense of hope for human destiny, and an awareness of the presence of love as part of the fundamental fabric of the universe.

You’ll learn about the particular relationship between the fixated view of types 8 and 9, and the expanded perspective of each type’s Holy Idea. You’ll also engage in exercises to explore our own direct experience of these concepts. 

In this module, you’ll discover:

• How the first two Holy Ideas deal with the difference between perceiving the fundamental unity of reality and the more egoic view which sees the world as composed of separate things
• Experiential practices to give you a sense of both the fixation and the liberating “antidote” of Higher Mind for types 8 and 9 
• Why kinesthetic awareness and body intelligence are crucial for opening up to the more expansive, nondual view of the Holy Ideas
• The difference between normal ideas about love and the perspective highlighted by Holy Love, associated with point Nine
• The difference between separate categories and perceptions of “truth” — from your personal truth to the perception of the Holy Truth of point Eight
• How Holy Truth and Holy Love can restore your sense of belonging in the world

When you look beyond your opinions about yourself and the world, what do you see? What happens in your consciousness when you’re not busy reconstituting old views about “how things are”? 

The Holy Ideas of points One and Two are partial answers to those questions, and Russ will walk you through their profound wisdom. 

As you’ll discover, one of the most fundamental features of ego consciousness is the ongoing tendency to have positions about whatever is happening — and to have agendas about what you believe should be happening. 

The fixations of points One and Two highlight these normal tendencies — and also invite you to see what you might discover when you’re able to relax these habits of mind. 

These fixations aren’t exactly wrong. They’re simply very limited compared to what your consciousness is capable of...

In this module, you’ll discover:

• Why most, if not all, of your positions about reality are defensive, tangled up in your egoic structures and sense of self (point One)
• When you stop creating opinions about your experiences, the Holy Idea of Holy Perfection arises (this doesn’t mean everything is perfect, and you’ll see why!)
• The structures of relationship the ego is always trying to create, as well as the agendas you unconsciously bring to individuals who are most important to you (this wisdom comes from point Two)
• That Holy Freedom releases you from endless ego expectations of yourself and others, allowing each relationship and encounter to be exactly what it is
• Experiential practices to give you a sense of both the fixation and the liberating “antidote” of Higher Mind for types 1 and 2
• How to recognize patterns of positions and agendas you’re taking on without realizing it
• Some of the unrecognized needs that often hide in agendas and opinions
• Spontaneous wisdom and more intelligent responses to life’s challenges, when your agenda is relaxed
• Ways to work with your relationships to liberate their inherent joy and creativity, and open you to more ongoing nondual experiences of life

In this module, you’ll discover just how much your perception of reality changes the sense of who and what you are. 

Points Three and Four are about your sense of yourself and your identity — and also help you live in the amazing paradox of being both consciousness AND a particular human being. 

In Point Three, ego-consciousness is invested in seeing itself as the “doer” of deeds, and therefore worthy of credit (or blame) for what happens. 

Yet, some of your most satisfying moments of life are likely those in which the sense of this “doer” relaxes and you’re simply flowing with whatever you’re doing… 

In Point Four, you’ll encounter the ego’s endless search for self, and experience the many ways that you’re likely trying to “be yourself” even when you’re not at all sure what that self is. 

Point Four is clearly about the search for your true identity, and the gradual realization that your identity is not something you CAN construct or create... 

In this module, you’ll discover:

• The profound depth of intimacy that emerges whenever you’re able to relax the ego activity of assigning yourself traits and characteristics
• The Holy Idea of Holy Origin, dropping into a total, beautiful, rapturous intimacy where everything you experience is arising out of this depth — equivalent to the Beloved described in the mystical poetry of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam
• How relaxing into your own felt sense of presence can open up your perceptions of reality and a more direct experience of who you truly are
• Why an open heart is crucial for accessing the Higher Mind
• How Holy Origin opens the deeper mysteries of your heart
• Points Three and Four are “flip-sides of the same coin,” and both are elements for being a true human being
• Profound states beyond your usual range of experience that make you more human and intimate
• An experiential practice to give you a sense of both the fixation and the liberating “antidotes” of Higher Mind for Points Three and Four

It’s one of the basic questions we confront when exploring the nature of mind — and you’ll discover how points Five and Six deal with this question in profound ways. 

At some point, you probably learned that knowing something means memorizing facts about it — like how to swim, or what a strawberry tastes like. This may have diminished the importance of real knowing as a necessary part of your spiritual growth.

As you’ll see in this module, the deeper understandings that the Holy Ideas represent always include the heart. 

You’ll learn how a growing awareness of your mind can serve as a constant ground of clear presence — always here, and always supporting your journey. In the language of the Holy Ideas, this is Holy Faith, a form of direct knowing that’s likely a complete departure from what you believe...

In this module, you’ll discover:

• That Point Five’s concept of direct knowing requires a profound receptivity — interest and willingness in equal measure
• How direct knowing helps you make decisions — the quiet depths of your mind are reliable, an ongoing fountain of intuition and knowing
• An experiential practice to open you to the deeper qualities of knowing
• The amazing ways your Higher Mind can extract knowledge you’ve acquired and synthesize it instantly…
• The connection between “mindfulness” and the steady qualities of Higher Mind
• That your intuitive knowing has been there for you through your entire life — and now you can better tune into it
• Relief from the underlying worry and anxiety of your ordinary mind 

How can you best deal with suffering and loss in life without escaping from yourself or getting stuck in patterns? It’s one of the biggest questions human beings face.

Russ will guide you to explore the aspects of Higher Mind that relate to point Seven, revealing wisdom about what truly brings humans satisfaction and fulfilment — and what helps you tune into the aspect of direct knowing, enabling you to recognize your best path. 

Point Seven reveals a quality of boundless and unconditional positivity that gives you the inner resilience needed to move through challenges.

Like the knowing in points Six and Five, this quality becomes more steady and reliable as you work through your identification with ego patterns and live with greater presence.

This quality first appears as a simple and beautiful appreciation of what is here right now. There’s no need to flee from any experience. Authentic positivity empowers us to meet our difficulties with maximum kindness...

In this module, you’ll discover:

• The concept of Holy Work — the work of transforming life by your willingness to experience it deeply and fully
• A quality of lightness and positivity that comes naturally to your Higher Mind
• The distinct difference between this positivity and trying to control your experiences through “positive thinking”
• Experiential practices to give you a sense of both the fixation and the liberating “antidote” of Higher Mind for point Seven
• Real freedom has little to do with the ego’s false notion that you should always have more options
• That planning for the future can be done from a relaxed and grounded connection with presence
• The arising of this Holy Idea can move you naturally toward supporting the liberation of others — without any forcing or inner-critic activity 

Without adequate integration, these nondual levels of perception you’re beginning to master can become vehicles for “Spiritual Bypass” — the tendency to use spiritual states to move away from your humanity and your real life, rather than as a means to embrace them. 

The Enneagram provides a number of solutions to help you avoid this pitfall — including the teachings of the centers and the way they work together, either for your liberation or to keep old patterns in place.

Other Enneagram elements, such as the teachings of the Virtues and the Passions, or of the Three Instinctual Drives, can work in tandem with the teachings of the fixations and the Holy Ideas. 

The idea is not merely to produce some interesting states, but to shift the ways in which our centers operate individually and with each other... 

In this module, you’ll discover:

• Fixations actually keep the suffering of the passions in place
• That work on the heart center and the body center facilitates the development of Higher Mind
• That perceptions of the Holy Ideas render the Virtues more accessible and stable
• How to be aware of the overall action of all of your centers working in habitual ways, and how awareness can shift those patterns
• Awareness of your instinctual biases, which is essential to this inner work
• That all Enneagram teachings are really a map for soul development and spiritual maturation 

In this final module, you’ll explore with Russ how to customize what you’ve learned and apply it to your inner work, focusing on the areas that have the greatest impact — and on the specific teachings on Higher Mind that will bring you the most growth in your daily life.

This class will include an extended Q&A with Russ, so he can guide you and fellow students to try new tools and methods to support ongoing inner work.  

In this module, you’ll discover:

• Highlights of your journey so far — and how to apply what you’ve learned to ongoing inner work
• Specific ways to help you continue to heal your passion and relax your fixations
• That the enormous implications of this inner work awakens more presence, love, and compassion in you and your relationships
• That your inner resources can help you meet the greatest challenges of our time