The Journey Toward Wholeness – Enneagram Wisdom for Stress, Balance, and Transformation

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We suggest that each of the 24 character strengths can be “spiritual” or sacred and support the individual and community along their psycho-spiritual journey. Each strength is a capacity for expressing goodness – being good, doing good for others, and expressing meaning or purpose in the world. In these ways, coupled with the summation of the preceding levels, the 24 strengths can be viewed as representing a “spiritual language,” or what we call a decoding of the human spirit. Additional Level: Superordinate or Master Virtue Wholeness Level

Discover profound insights and practices that will help you to access deep levels of love and freedom. Explore soul retrieval, shadow work, and more. Start your Spiritual Awakening journey now!

Spirituality as part of nurses’ DNA

We argue that each of the 24 character strengths holds the capacity to be “spiritual,” or a psycho-spiritual quality. While some strengths are more obviously aligned with spirituality (see section Strength Level: Spiritually Oriented Strengths), those less obviously aligned not only correlate with spirituality (McGrath, 2013, Unpublished) but have been shown in studies to be particularly important to it. Take the strength of self-regulation or self-control, for example, which is not traditionally viewed as a spiritual strength (although temperance is certainly a related spiritual virtue). Studies have found substantial connections in which higher levels of spirituality or the priming of spirituality led to improvements in self-regulation ( Laurin et al., 2011; Watterson and Giesler, 2012). Another example is the link between creativity and spirituality (e.g., Borooah and Devi, 2015). These less obvious spiritually related strengths have the potential to add richness, depth, and perspective to self-transcendence, spiritual expression, and development. In professional relationships, Split Definition individuals can bring a unique dynamic to teams and collaborative projects. Their natural drive to bridge gaps can translate into an ability to bring together diverse perspectives and facilitate cooperation among team members. At different points throughout our lives, we’ll receive different callings and come across new doors that await us.

A cross-sectional and comparative research design is used, using survey data of business students from Germany, Indonesia and the USA (N = 475). The proposed mediation models are tested by bootstrap procedures using Hayes’s (2013) PROCESS macro for SPSS. Practicing self-compassion involves learning how to firstly practice self-care and secondly learning how to love yourself. David: It absolutely is. It’s the things about ourselves that we do not accept that become the source of our greatest bondage. The dynamics of relationships for Split Definition individuals are deeply influenced by the specific Centers and Channels involved in their split. Each Center carries a unique energy, and the Channels represent different aspects of human experience. By understanding the nature of their split, they can gain deeper insights into their relationships and interactions. The Importance of Bridging Gates and ChannelsBridging Gates and Channels represent the potential paths for connecting the separate defined areas in the Split Definition. They symbolize the potential for wholeness and integration within their design. The nature of these Gates and Channels can shape the specific themes and experiences that play a key role in their personal journey. Implications arise for researchers to investigate the engagement of future managers with different personal value types in sustainability practices and to gain insights into values and sustainability conceptions as a learning outcome. Limitations of this research – for instance, arising from potential common method bias – are discussed. Wholeness is not achieved by cutting off a portion of one’s being, but by integration of the contraries. Conditioning plays a significant role in the experiences of Split Definition individuals. Given their inherent need to bridge the split in their design, they can be particularly susceptible to the influence of conditioning. Understanding this dynamic can provide valuable insights into their personal journey and self-realization.

This dark side is often referred to as the shadow self because it’s hidden from us, buried within the unconscious mind, and suppressed from everyday awareness. We propose that there are two main ways that spirituality and character strengths become integrated and positively impact each other. We use the term path or pathway in a conceptual way, as opposed to using it as a scientific or empirical term that definitively captures causal directions, mediating or moderating effects. To elucidate these “pathways,” we start with either spirituality or character strengths (whichever is the focal point of a research study or the best practice being primarily focused on) and then consider how it is enhanced by the other construct. The purpose of individuation is the development of what Jung referred to as the “Psyche” (the Greek word for “Soul”) which goes deeper than the ego. David: That’s a great way to describe it. We are all broken; wounding is inevitable. The only alternative to ever experiencing a broken heart is to have a shrink-wrapped, shrivelled heart. Daring to love may involve risk, but the costs to the soul of refusing the openness and vulnerability of love are much greater. Cautious living has its own costs, and they are very high. So, we can’t avoid wounds. But fortunately, our wounds are essential to our journey toward greater wholeness.The psychospiritual approach is a bit different in that it talks about creating unity in our being. To do this, we must integrate the many often opposing parts of ourselves. It’s a pragmatic approach. Self-transcendence values translate into more nuanced sustainability conceptions since individuals with self-transcendence values are more likely to conceptualize sustainability beyond their own (narrow) self-interests. In turn, the stronger individuals’ sustainability conceptions, the higher the likelihood that they prefer sustainable management practices in their future professional working field. And shadow work is the final step, allowing you to experience more inner peace and opening a doorway to greater spiritual growth. Wholeness = Holiness Character strengths and spirituality sit within domains of virtue, what people hold sacred, the fulfilled life, meaning and purpose, wisdom, the pursuit of moral goodness, and the enhancement of what matters most to people such as cultivating good relationships and making a positive impact on the world. In this regard, the integration of spirituality with character strengths and virtues creates an opportunity to make these positive outcomes, aspirations, and pursuits more deliberate, conscious, and a more likely reality for individuals and groups ( Sandage and Hill, 2001). David: Let’s start with wholeness, and then brokenness is easy to understand. You speak of the importance of embracing our brokenness. That embrace of our brokenness is, I think, the essence of wholeness. We often respond to our longing for wholeness with a quest for perfection. We try to fix the things in us that we sense are broken. We attempt to be less critical or more loving, to overcome our addictions, or eliminate our fears, anxieties, and depression. But wholeness is not perfection. It is, as you say, embracing brokenness as part of human existence.

This article will explore the integration of spirituality and character strengths and consider how spirituality serves as a unique lens through which we can view, understand, and perhaps enhance character strengths, as well as how the latest science, core concepts, and best practices in character strengths inform and deepen our understanding of spirituality and offer the potential to advance spiritual practices and experiences. To provide an integrative framework, we reflect on research from a variety of methodologies and sources such as quantitative, qualitative/phenomenological, theological, psychosociological, philosophical, and other fields, as this integration requires insight from multiple perspectives as opposed to being rooted solely in one field such as positive psychology or theology. Significance is the feeling-oriented level of meaning. It involves feeling that one matters and that life matters, not only sensing and knowing the value of life but feeling that appreciation for oneself, others, and the world in a deep way. For significance, the heart-based character strengths are likely to be of central importance. An individual might consider situations in which they have deeply expressed their strengths of love, gratitude, kindness, and forgiveness and then reflect on how they have used these strengths strongly in a positive way in one of their closest relationships and how they have contributed to their sense of significance and validation. Practices for the Sanctification Path Individuation is not only the process of cultivating wholeness and becoming our “ authentic and true selves.” It is also the process of becoming a fully mature human being. In our congregations white culture is considered to be the norm and People of Color are expected to assimilate into this white culture.

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The specifics of the split – the defined Centers and Channels, the bridging Gates and Channels – can shape their life experiences and personal journey. These elements represent specific themes and challenges that they might encounter along the way. Engaging with these elements in a conscious and intentional way can support their growth and self-realization. Jung called this inner work the process of individuation. Individuation is the Enchanted Door to Wholeness Character strengths are also universal ( Peterson and Seligman, 2004). Character strengths are defined as positive personality traits that are core to identity, elicit positive outcomes (e.g., improved well-being, relationships, health, meaning, and achievement), and contribute to the collective good ( Niemiec, 2018). Modern research from a 3-year collaboration of scientists ( Peterson and Seligman, 2004) involved an investigation into common humanity and the qualities of a full and meaningful life. From the “fruits of the spirit” of Saint Aquinas (1989) to the character strengths and virtues outlined by Benjamin Franklin and King Charlemagne, major texts in virtue, theology, psychology, and related fields were reviewed. Remarkable parallels across these works – spanning ancient philosophies and each of the major world religions – were found ( Dahlsgaard et al., 2005). The result of this impressive project was the VIA classification of character strengths and virtues ( Peterson and Seligman, 2004), a common language of 24 positive qualities that make us most human. These 24 character strengths nest under universal virtues; for example, the character strengths of curiosity and creativity fall under the wisdom virtue, bravery, and honesty under courage, love, and social intelligence under humanity, teamwork, and fairness under justice, forgiveness and prudence under temperance, and hope and gratitude under transcendence. The integration between character strengths and spirituality ultimately offers us a grounding in everyday life in addition to a perspective that everything has the potential to be sanctified as sacred. Mindfulness scholar Kabat-Zinn (1994, p. 182) offered it this way: