Around the Circle | An Enneagram Podcast

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In this episode of the Reading Room, we finish our journey through Brené Brown’s Atlas of the Heart, turning to pride, hubris, humility, and the complicated work of seeing ourselves clearly. We explore the difference between healthy self-regard and self-obsession, and ask how wisdom might help us find an honest assessment of both our value and our limitations.
Along the way, we move into Brown’s conclusion and the relationship between emotion, theory, and meaning. What stories do we use to make sense of ourselves and the world—and where might the Enneagram fit as a theory of human motivation? We consider the role of self-awareness, the centers, and the stories we tell in creating meaning from our experience.
Lastly, we explore Brown’s distinction between the “near” and “far” enemies of connection and what it might tell us about love. Attachment can masquerade as love, just as other emotions can appear to connect us while actually pulling us apart. We end with a question at the heart of the entire book: How might knowing ourselves more deeply help us become people who can more freely love and connect with others?
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In this episode of Around the Circle, Jeff continues his introduction to Spiral Dynamics by looking at the high side and low side of each stage—and what each color can teach us about human growth.
This time, we move through Beige, Purple, Red, and Blue, exploring survival, belonging, individual power, and belief. Along the way, Jeff connects Spiral Dynamics with the Enneagram, showing how our values shape what we want, how we understand ourselves, and why we sometimes talk past the people closest to us.
Lastly, we consider an important possibility: growth doesn't always mean moving forward. Sometimes the healthiest move is reclaiming something valuable from an earlier stage—and learning to recognize the wisdom each color has to offer.

In this episode of Around the Circle, Jeff sits down with a panel of Enneagram Ones to explore their relationships with the head, heart, and body—and what those relationships reveal about stress, security, and growth.
This time, the panel talks about thinking repression, the inner critic, the need to fix what has gone wrong, and the grief Ones experience when relationships or ideals fall apart. They also explore why emotions can feel messy and why Ones so often turn their feelings into something to manage or solve.
Lastly, the conversation turns toward the body, anger, limits, and the ever-present language of “should.” What might growth look like when Ones learn to bring the gifts of the head, heart, and body together with greater freedom and grace?
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In this episode of The Reading Room, Jeff continues through Brené Brown’s Atlas of the Heart with Chapter 12, “Places We Go When We Feel Wronged.”
We begin with anger: Is it a primary emotion, or is it often an indicator pointing toward something deeper—grief, betrayal, fear, shame, disappointment, or pain?
This time, we follow Brown through contempt, disgust, dehumanization, and hate, asking what happens when the experience of being hurt begins separating us from other people. Along the way, Jeff brings the Enneagram, the ethics of Jesus, and questions of prejudice and human dignity into the conversation.
Lastly, we turn to self-righteousness and the danger of becoming so convinced of our own rightness that we lose curiosity, connection, and compassion. Anger can be a catalyst—but what would it mean to transform the pain of being wronged into something life-giving: courage, love, justice, compassion, and meaningful change?
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In this episode of Around the Circle, Jeff sits down with a panel of Enneagram Twos—Amy, Sarah, and Jennifer—for a candid conversation about how Twos experience the Head, Heart, and Body Centers. They talk about thinking through relationships, the deep drive toward connection, and the challenge of knowing when helping becomes overstepping: “Is this mine to do?”
This time, the conversation moves into rejection, relational rupture, emotional intelligence, and the complicated relationship Twos can have with their own needs and bodies. The panel considers the Heart Center as a “bonding center”—an intelligence constantly tracking connection and the state of relationships.
Lastly, they explore the Two’s movement toward Eight: the power and agency it can provide, but also the temptation toward control when vulnerability feels threatening. What does growth look like when a Two can care deeply for others without taking responsibility for everyone—and can trust that connection doesn’t have to be earned?
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