Welcome to this blog! As you will notice, it’s not only about the Enneagram, but also on inner growth in general. However, since what I am exploring is often the Enneagram, the centres and the instincts and the levels of balance (among other things), I’m assuming that most of you know about these things. But if you don’t, there will be plenty here for you anyway 🧡
Below, you find the 20 latest articles. If you want to read about the centres, the instincts, inner work and growth or other specific topics, follow the links here and find others in the top navigation — and obviously, you can use the archives to the right. Happy reading!
Cicci Lyckow Bäckman
The one who blogs 😉 (click the link for more )Archives
THE THIRD KEY: The specific realm of awareness for each instinctual drive
My “5 keys to understanding the instincts” are based upon what has come up in my instincts courses as well as my general observations…
Sitting in the fire together — or maybe just coming together around it
No. We know discussing others’ types will not help us know ourselves. Nor will nailing down our own personality profile to the smallest detail,…
“No” — such a small word; such huge ripples
The little word “no” is an interesting one. Kids are usually around two or so when they discover the power of this word. It…
Where It Takes Only One to Tango — and Falling from the Dance into the Heart
We, or our ego mind, likes to see things dualistically. As opposites — or, by all means, as complimentary powers; the ego isn’t necessarily…
Behaviour, motivations, or “this thing I’ll just do first” — the true meaning of Enneagram types
In all the navigating between type descriptions, often we might fail to realise the important bit first: Our Enneagram type is not “what we…
Deeper Inner Work: Balancing the Centres (yes, all of them!)
For our self-awareness and depth of presence to be of any real substance, it requires balance in and between our three basic centres of…
Words, context, and nuance — and one particular, natural talent that goes missing on social media
Recently, I saw an online meme saying: “The opposite of judgement is understanding.” And someone commented, “What about acceptance?”, to which the poster replied,…
About the need for “refined typing”: the relationship between type-identification, self-awareness, and inner work
“I find the Enneagram constricting and limiting, encouraging you to work with just one type. We do have all nine types within us; the…
Stress, change, “disintegration” and growth: reflections on the inner lines and the directions of the arrows
We hear A LOT of opinions about the arrows, a k a the inner lines, of the Enneagram. The specific directions of stress and…
Letting the ego out to play, doing actual inner work — and the wisdom to know the difference
The other day when I found myself having (yet) another insolent thought about the ever-more-prevalent occurrence of collages in social media Enneagram groups, I…
Wants, needs, and levels of balance — what “psychological maturity” looks like
A while back, in a presentation of Don Riso’s “Levels of Development” a question around wants and needs came up — do they go away at the healthy levels, or change? Is detachment from wants and needs what we’re after in our strive for balance and diminished ego-identification? Here are some further thoughts on the topic.
You can get lost in the light, too — mind the #1 spiritual bypass
Where inner growth is concerned, the point surely is weeding out darkness, airing out what’s been bottled up and increasingly dwell in the light…
“Threes typically compare”; “No, it’s Fours that do that” — zooming out to understand type descriptions
A friend of mine recently asked me about two of her teachers both using “comparing” as a typical trait when describing type — but…
Don Riso’s “Levels of Development” — the dynamics of ego-identification
An often marginalised although critical part of the understanding of Enneagram points is the vertical aspect of balance that Don Riso discovered, mapped out…
Love, human connection and all the interpretations of “merging” — another go at untangling the confusion
I previously wrote a blog article on the difference between merging, as it is expressed within the sexual instinct, and the dissipating blending (in)action…
Self-awareness: Learning to be present to your experience (and your reactivity)
In self-help books and teachings, there is often talk about the importance of self-observation or self-awareness; to train yourself to be aware in and…
Why do a uniform course on working with the Levels of Development if the whole point is working from my current level?
The levels of development mapped out by Don Riso have been different things to me at different points in my journey. At first, they…
The intangible energy from which our personality develops — a look at essential qualities
One way to look at the Enneagram types is as in originating from an essential quality — or, more accurately, from the loss of…
Anger in the instinctive triad — grasping the subtleties of the “triad theme” descriptions
Recently, I saw the question raised how Ones and Nines were “anger types” — Ones, after all, preferring to not show anger, and Nines…
Moving to higher ground — utilising the concept of the Levels of Development
The “Levels of Development” within the Enneagram always made sense to me — in theory. When I first encountered them (which was basically when…