Enneagram Type 4 and Spiritual Practices Spiritual practices enrich our lives in many ways. A practice can add rhythm and structure to your day. A daily discipline grounds you mentally, and continually gives you benefits from that initial place of centering. When you combine the enneagram with a daily spiritual practice, the growth and benefits sky-rocket! Today, we are focusing on enneagram type 4 and spiritual practices that will best fit this type. It is my experience that type fours are quite familiar and comfortable with spiritual practices. More than other types, enneagram type four enjoys exploring a variety of spiritual practices. “Going deep,” is sort of type four’s specialty, so they naturally thrive in the area of spirituality. Nothing is too strange, taboo, or far fetched, for these hearty feelers. I love and appreciate the openness of fours. Their attitude makes it possible for growth, and deep diving on many levels. In fact they are so good at searching through their own feelings and exploring their own soul, that the spiritual practice I am going to recommend is quite the opposite. The Spiritual Practice for Enneagram Type Four If you’ve been following the series, you know that we all have practices that come easy to us. We call these down-river practices. They are natural and comfortable, but don’t necessarily make us grow tremendously. Practices that are uncomfortable and challenging, we call up-river practices. We want to focus on these up-river practices because they force us to grow the most. Each type has a certain practice that will help them develop into a higher, healthier version of themselves. Check out previous posts in the series here: Enneagram Type One and Spiritual Practices Enneagram Type Two and Spiritual Practices Feasting as a Spiritual Practice The practice I am recommending for type four, is feasting. How is feasting a spiritual practice? Feasting is about celebrating. Usually the focus is on a certain individual, cause, or for a certain purpose. Feasting develops three things: 1. Hospitality 2. Generosity 3.Community Why is Feasting a good spiritual practice for fours? Fours have access to hospitality, generosity, and community building, but it is often hidden. They spend a lot of time dwelling on their own feelings, as well as past occurrences. Fours are naturally inward focused, as well as past focused. So then, the practice of feasting brings type four to the present, as well as pulls them out of their inner world. It allows them to bless others in a new and creative way, using their skills of relating, and deepening relationships through connection. Furthermore, type four has a beautiful ability to sit with. Meaning, no matter what someone is going through, a type four can listen and not be scared off by big feelings. This comes in handy at a gathering, and becomes a blessing when the four allows it to be. How to Practice Feasting… Plan it. The first step of feasting, is deciding who or what you are celebrating. This isn’t just a pot luck, feasting is all about meaning, honor, and being present. Who do you want to honor? What meaning to you want to bring to this gathering? How can you make sure you and your guests stay present to yourselves and those around you? Decide What Matters To You. What colors will evoke the meaning you are trying to initiate? Will there be music playing to add to the mood? Add special lighting, or light candles. What food will you make, and how will you present it? How will you serve the drinks to make people feel welcome, and feel honored? Conversation. To really celebrate, words need to be spoken, and honor needs to be given where honor is due. How will you incorporate this into your feasting time? Depending on your purpose, you can also add conversation cards, or a game to help people stay on track or in the moment. The key is in the connection, and the combination of hospitality, generosity, and community being developed. Practice. Add feasting to your weekly or monthly calendar. To make it stick, you need repetition. This will become something you really look forward to. You will begin to look for people and things to celebrate! Thanks for reading! I hope you found these ideas about feasting helpful! You might also like: How to Create a Space For Your Spiritual Practice Enneagram Type 4 and Fictional Characters Want to learn more about the enneagram and all 9 types? Check out the packet below including an overview of each type! Grab the 9 Types Overview Packet using the button below: 9 Types Overview Packet!
