S2/E27: The Enneagram

These podcasts have been exploring G. I. Gurdjieff’s and Russell A. Smith’s common sense truths about the work; but, as of yet, have only scratched the surface. Mr. Smith has said, on more than one occasion, that he wishes he could cram all of the common sense truths that everyone should know and understand into one podcast. But, unfortunately, he cannot. 

However, in the 26 podcasts of series 2, he has been able to share quite a few of them with you. 

He did not just take one common sense truth and repeat it over and over, from 26 different directions. But produced 26 podcasts, about different common sense truths, that all point in one direction. A direction that, if followed, leads to awakening. But, again, in comparison to the number of common sense truths that he would like to share with everyone, he has only just scratched the surface.

How he wishes he could just open your brains and dump them all in, making it very easy for everyone to fulfill their human potential. But, since he cannot, he wrote a book, then, he wrote another book and placed in them everything you need to know to awaken. 

He also has a website, and produces these podcasts, to freely share with others some of these common sense truths.

Thank you Mr. Smith.

Episode 1 of this series started with the Enneagram, as it should. 

In it, Mr. Smith explained the basic knowledge of the Enneagram, and breathed life into the labels of the notes, and of the Lines of Supervision that were first formulated by John Bennett. He also elaborated on Bennett’s Enneagram of Feeding the Community, so that you could watch the process of the Enneagram in action.

Later, in episode 9, he further clarified those labels in his discussion on the Enneagram of the Justice System.

But, today, he would like to take us back to before episode 1, and try to guide us through the muddy waters of speculation, conjecture, and guess that have become attached to Mr. Gurdjieff’s beautiful symbol of the Enneagram. 

So, let’s begin our search for real truth. 

What is an Enneagram? 

The Enneagram is a symbol that shows the evolution of reason. Plain and simple. 

And, since we are the only species that possesses reason, we are the only ones that can comprehend it, and further use it to develop our reason. 

That is, only human beings can ask: what, where, when, why, and how. The answers to which spark the creation of the Enneagram; and, allow our reason to advance.

Thus, the Enneagram is not about the questions, but about the manipulation of the answers.

For example: If we ask, “Where do plants come from?” 

We may observe that plants have seeds, which either fall to the ground or are cast into the wind and then fall to the ground… After which, a plant grows.

Thus, the seeds and the ground become connected. 

Then we try to do what plants do. We gather some seeds and either drop them on the ground or cast them into the wind. 

Over time (which is the flow of the circle around the Enneagram), we discover that if we individually push each seed into the ground, or first, turn the soil, and then cast the seeds onto the loose ground, we get a better yield. Thus, an Enneagram begins.

As such; and, again, over time, we find better ways of pushing our seeds into the ground, turning the soil, or casting them into the wind.

So, in truth, the Enneagram is quite simple. 

It is merely the manipulation of the process of accomplishment.

Now, in several chapters of Mr. Smith’s books, particularly in Chapter 7 of his second book, he logically finds, thoroughly explains, and systematically labels all the Lines of Supervision that are in an Enneagram.

Don’t worry, we are not going to take you through the process of finding, explaining, and labeling all those lines, which you can discover for yourself in his books; but, rather, jump ahead, and expose the simple, understandable, and profound implications of their discovery.

Earlier, we learned these basics:

“In Gurdjieff’s cosmology the Universe is represented by the symbol of the Enneagram.”

“An Enneagram shows the processes that must occur in order to successfully complete an event.” 

“The purpose of an Enneagram is to repetitively transform something. Something cycles – transforms something – for some purpose.”

“If things enter at the right time and in the right order, they will produce something.” 

“With the help of an Enneagram, things can be built or improved.”

“And, if we find all the Lines of Supervision in an Enneagram, we can do amazing things.”

So, let’s do some amazing things!

If you would like to see the Lines of Supervision that Mr. Smith discovered, see the “Chap 7 Worksheet-filled in” diagram, and the “Enneagram 14 Lines” diagram.

Most people are familiar with the Enneagram lines drawn in Red, which go from 1 to 4 to 2 to 8 to 5 to 7 to 1; or, from RE to FA to MI to TI to SO to LA to RE. However, if we calculate the octaves that contain two or more of the same vibrations that are found in the Enneagram, and then draw their lines (the ones that go from their RE to FA to MI to TI to SO to LA, to RE), we will discover that some of their lines occur between two of the vibrations of the Enneagram, creating additional Lines of Supervision in the Enneagram. Eight to be exact. The Blue lines go upscale, that is, into the future. The Green lines go downscale, that is, into the past.

Again, we will not encumber you with the discovery of those lines, as that would take several podcasts. But, if you would like to learn how they were discovered; or, perhaps, discover them for yourself, you can do so in Chapter 7 of Mr. Smith’s second book.

The first diagram (Chap 7 Worksheet-filled in) shows the lines, and the second diagram (Enneagram 14 Lines) places them all in a Diatonic Enneagram.                       

However, the second diagram can be a bit confusing. Why? Because, technically, there are two DO’s, not just one. Question: Do the green and blue lines that point to or come from the DO, point to or come from the DO at the beginning or the DO at the end? 

Well, let’s see, since green lines go downscale, MI must be pointing to the DO at the beginning. And, since blue lines go upscale, FA must be pointing to the DO at the end. 

However, to make things a lot easier, Mr. Smith remade the diagram and placed two DO’s at the top: The lower one is the beginning DO, and the upper one is the ending DO. Now, there is no confusion at all… only amazing things!

Then, after Mr. Smith contemplated the position of each of those lines, he labeled them in order to reflect that position. 

Next, he wrote a poem and put the lines to rhyme. Thus, making them easy to memorize and understand. 

OK, assuming his discoveries are proven and accurate, let’s read the poem and learn the labels – the labels that were systematically given to them by Mr. Smith, which can be found in the diagram, “Enneagram With Numbers”.

Evaluating a denying force, 

creates a function to change its course. 

The function cycles, experience grows, 

building up confidence until the man knows, 

that his skills being honed by all past attempts, 

now qualify him for the current events. 

And how after actions, he made in the past, 

he invented new tools to lighten the task. 

He knows he can do it; the decision is made; 

he assembles the workers; it’s time to engage. 

He does have the means; anticipating he sees, 

the way to transform it irrevocably. 

Just knowing it’s feasible lets him prepare, 

all the right data for getting him there. 

Once it’s envisioned he will commence, 

the Harnel-Aoot with great confidence. 

And after his action, re-evaluate. 

To see if indeed it ought to create.

If you memorize the poem and study the diagram, you will know everything there is to know about an Enneagram.

Here is Mr. Smith’s detailed explanation of the lines and labels.

Line 1, LA to FA, is the Line of Evaluation. 

Nothing happens until someone declares something as being undesirable. Before that moment, the thing itself was not a denying force; then, suddenly it was. 

Will sees Being – the third force sees the second force and determines it to be an unwanted force – then, it tries to overcome it. 

Thus, the Reconciling force and the Denying force has been revealed, identified, and labeled.

Line 2, FA to the top DO, is the Line of Creation. 

Interestingly, FA looks to the top DO, to the result it seeks to attain, which sparks a function, a bottom DO, intended to achieve it. We say, “I am hungry, I need to eat.” We do not say, “I am hungry, I need to cook.” That is, deciding on an ending DO generates a specific beginning DO, designed to take us to our aim. Needing to eat, initiates cooking, not digging a hole. 

So, once something is deemed a denying force, man will try to eliminate it; and, since denying forces tend to recur, he will need to create a repeatable function to either halt or alter its recurrence.

The first two Lines of Supervision also reveal the three forces, LA, FA, and  DO (2/3, to 1/3, to 1). That is, it starts at a Reconciling force, evaluates a Denying force, which creates an Affirming force.

Line 3, from the top DO to TI, is the Line of Experience. 

The cyclical nature of a repeatable function provides a vast amount of experience to those who repeat the function. 

Because of this, the note TI is accessible from two directions. That is, the Line of Experience allows the top DO to look down and see TI, which stimulates the bottom DO to work its way up through RE, MI, FA, SO, and LA, until it too can see TI. 

Thus, the top DO, by keeping its eye on the prize, allows the bottom DO to also reach it by going the long way around.

Line 4, TI to SO, is the Line of Confidence. 

Once you successfully reach TI, you are confident that you can reach it again. Enough said.

Line 5, from SO – to RE of the next event, is the Line of Skills. 

This line is obvious, but sometimes overlooked. 

Who should we choose as the worker for the task at hand? 

Simple, the guy who has successfully completed the task before. “Hey, bad guys are coming, let’s get Rambo.” If you have a brain tumor, who is the best brain surgeon? If your car won’t start, do you take it to your neighbor, or do you take it to the nearest service station, or do you take it to a skilled mechanic whom you have used before? And, if you do not know a skilled mechanic, perhaps your neighbor does; or, you search for mechanics online and read the reviews. 

Remember when we were kids, and played pick-up games of baseball? If we were captain, who did we pick? Our friends, of course. That is, we did not necessarily pick the most skilled players; and, probably lost! 

Even grown men will often say, “Honey, I can fix it!” Then, they end up calling a technician. 

Thus, the Line of Skills identifies the best soufflé chef, which informs the Master Chef who should make dessert. Or, the best murder investigator, which informs the District Attorney who should be assigned to that double homicide. 

Line 6, SO to LA, is the Line of Action. 

The most important thing to know about the Line of Action is that it is in lockstep with the line of time. 

It is also where the lines of Function, Being, and Will coincide, which we shall look at in a moment.

Line 7, from LA – to MI of the next event, is the Line of Invention. 

The line of invention shows how, after completing an event, new tools get created. That is, when Ernesto Miranda told the judge, “I did not know that what I said to the police was going to be used against me, I thought I was protected against self-incrimination by the Fifth Amendment.” The Judge said, “You are correct. Case dismissed.” 

Then, a new tool was invented by the lawyers and sent to MI, called the Miranda rights, “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to have an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you by the court.” Solves that. Thus, crooks can no longer use the, “I-did-not-know-what-I-said-could-be-used-against-me”, defense. 

In addition, before beginning an event, we usually ask ourselves, “What tools do we need?” Then, we look to past events. To events which are the same or similar to the task at hand; and, either borrow, rent, buy, or build the tools we need. 

Got it? 

No Line of 7… no Miranda rights.

Line 8, from LA – to RE of the next event, is the Line of Decision.

Enneagrams always go back through past events before they begin new events. Example: I want to transform some unwanted force. In the past, I have transformed similar unwanted forces. Thus, I have both the confidence and experience to transform this one as well. 

In addition, since I have done this many times before, I not only have the necessary skills, but I also have the appropriate tools. Thus, the decision is made, “I am going to transform this one too.” Then, at RE, I become the worker… and the event begins.

Line 9, RE to MI, is the Line of Means; and, line 10, from RE to FA, is the Line of Anticipation.

We listed lines 9 and 10 together because they function at the same time. That is, RE has dual vision. It follows the Line of Means and the Line of Anticipation. It simultaneously sees the thing it wants to transform and the tools that are necessary to transform it; for example, before we make a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich, we check to make sure we have everything we need: Bacon?-Check; Lettuce?-Check; Tomato?-Check; Bread?-Check; Frying pan?-Check; Burner?-Check; Toaster?-Check; Sharp knife?-Check; Toothpick?-Check; Olive?-Check; Plate?-Check: Butter knife?-Check; Mayonnaise? – Wait, what the heck! We don’t have any mayonnaise. Forget it.

Question: Why do we do this? 

Answer: no one wants to run to the store half-way through an event and acquire “what they should have made sure they had” before they started the event. 

Therefore, at RE, our focus is on two things: on what we want to transform, and on what is needed to transform it. 

Thus, by seeing that we have the necessary tools, we are able to anticipate its transformation.

Line 11, FA to MI, is the Line of Feasibility. 

Hold on to the bottom of your chair… this could get exciting. 

First, FA and MI are held in focus by the RE. 

Second, FA to MI becomes the Line of Feasibility. 

Third, we find a green line from MI (MI to DO) pointing to the bottom DO, and a blue line from FA (FA to DO) pointing to the top DO. 

This means that the Line of Feasibility, FA to MI, is connected to the beginning and to the end. 

Wow! MI serves the bottom DO, and directs things towards the beginning. Whereas, FA anticipates the top DO, and directs things towards the end. 

Thus, the line of Feasibility, simultaneously, monitors both the beginning and the end. 

It is truly remarkable. 

In addition, by splitting its focus on both FA and MI, RE sees it all.

Line 12, from MI to the bottom DO, is the Line of Preparation; and, line 13, from MI to TI, is the Line of Envisionment.  

We also listed lines 12 and 13 together because they too function at the same time. That is MI has dual vision, just like RE, simultaneously, following the Line of Preparation and the Line of Envisionment. 

Along the Line of Preparation, the skillet is heating, tomatoes are slicing, lettuce is shredding, and mayonnaise is spreading; or, the cops are watching, wiretaps are listening, detectives are investigating, and evidence is gathering. Thus, the kitchen and the police department move towards the bottom DO. 

Along the Line of Envisionment, the Master Chef envisions the food being eaten; and, the District Attorney envisions the crook being convicted. Thus, the Master Chef and the District Attorney move towards completion.

Then, when everything is prepared and gathered, and the Master Chef and District Attorney can envision completion, it is “point of tension” time. 

The point of tension begins at the note SO. Notice that the journey to SO is clockwise around the circle – from MI to FA to SO. However, there are also two other trails to SO, and MI must accomplish them both. MI must follow the Line of Preparation to the bottom DO, which, then, goes to SO; as well as, the Line of Envisionment to TI, which, from there, also goes to SO. If all three trails are not completed, simultaneously and successfully, the point of most tension will never occur.

Line 14, from the bottom DO to SO, is the Line of Commencement. 

As we just said, when the kitchen is prepared and the Master Chef can envision completion, the Master Chef will merge his confidence with the kitchen and start cooking; or, when the evidence is prepared, and the District Attorney can envision completion, the district attorney (equipped with a warrant) will merge with the police and make the arrest. 

After which, the first and second Enneagram lines cycle again, the Lines of Evaluation and Creation, wherein the Master Chef asks, “Did I cook it right?” “Will they eat it? And, the District Attorney queries, “Did I make my case?” “Will I get a conviction?”

OK. That explains the fourteen Lines of Supervision in an Enneagram. However, we could say, there are seventeen Lines of Supervision in an Enneagram, because the SO to RE line, the LA to RE line, and the LA to MI line, appear twice. That is, they bring knowledge from the past, into the event… and, then, send knowledge from the present, into the next event.

So, in order to achieve success, we must consider every line in an Enneagram. If we forget one, that is, if we do not hire the right worker, if we do not find the right doctor, if we do not invent the right tool, or if we do not have the right experience, we will not have a successful Enneagram; or, if we do not have any mayonnaise… we’ll be lucky to make ourselves a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich.

To help us better understand the Enneagram, here is an event in time and rhyme. 

First, someone decides that something is a denying force. 

Some guy is sitting in his cave, some early man, and water is dripping on his head from the roof of the cave. Water has been dripping from the roof of the cave for quite some time; but nobody ever saw it as a denying force. Nobody ever said, “I do not want water dripping on my head,” until today, and for the first time, the dripping water becomes a force which needs to be altered. 

Gary, either say quote – end quote, or say the blue lines in rhyme and maybe even change your pitch, so that everyone knows when you are saying the blue Enneagram Rhyme.

After deciding that the dripping water is an unwanted force, the man begins to look for ways to stop it. “Evaluating a denying force creates a function to change its course.…” 

If that man was me, what would I try? First, I would try putting my hand up over the drip to see if that stops it. It does. So, I stick mud on it. However, after a few hours, the water finds its way through the mud… sigh, but I still keep trying. “The function cycles, experience grows.…” 

Next, I try mud with straw in it, which stops the drip a little bit longer; but also fails. However, every time I try to stop the drip, I get more experience and gain more confidence as I learn what works and what does not. “building up confidence until the man knows.…” 

Finally, I climb on top of the cave to see if I can discover how the water is getting in. Then, I try plugging the leak from outside, and eventually end up making a thatched roof. “that his skills being honed by all past attempts now qualify him for the current events.…” 

I develop better skills… and become an expert at stopping drips. “And how, after actions he made in the past, he invented new tools to lighten the task.…” 

I have thatching, I have cordage, I know how to mix the right consistency of clay, and I even have a ladder. Hire me! I know how to stop your drip. “He knows he can do it; the decision is made; he assembles the workers; it’s time to engage….” 

They hire me. And, as I am mixing the mud and tearing the thatching, I can see success. “He does have the means; anticipating he sees the way to transform it irrevocably….” 

I see everything that is needed. “Just knowing it’s feasible lets him prepare all the right data for getting him there.…” 

When everything is prepared: the thatching is cut to the proper size, the clay is at the right consistency, the cordage is ready, and the ladders are placed, I will, confidently, attempt to stop the drip. “Once it’s envisioned, he will commence the Harnel-Aoot with great confidence….” 

I then put it all into action, all my tools, all my skills. I am on top of the cave thatching the roof; and, I will stay there until I have stopped the drip. “And after his action, re-evaluate….” 

I did it. That is one of my best thatched roofs ever. “To see if indeed it ought to create…” 

That should do it all right. They are going to be happy.

That is how an Enneagram works. 

If we forget to consider one of the lines, we are flirting with failure.

I will give you another example concerning the process of an Enneagram.

Mr. Smith tells a story about a man who went into a restaurant to eat. It is a beautiful model of the Enneagram; and, of the things we consider as we follow an event through time, as well as, the Lines of Supervision that make it possible.

The customer enters at LA. Service begins immediately. He is welcomed into the restaurant, sat down at the table of his choosing, offered water, and given a menu. He then begins to evaluate the food that the restaurant is prepared to transform (LA to FA) by looking at the menu.

He sees the restaurant has clams. He likes clams. Now he must decide the method of the function that will be used to transform them (FA to DO). Does he want them fried or baked or steamed?

He asks the waiter which is best. The waiter looks to the comments of past customers, which reflects previous completed principles and reveals the experience of the chef (DO to TI), whom he knows is very good at frying clams because he has fried many clams in the past (TI to SO).

He also knows that the chef has proven his skills as a clam fryer (SO to RE), since he has won the annual “fried clam contest” twice; and, in addition, he also knows that his restaurant, which has served a lot of fried clams (SO to LA), has added the most modern clam frying devices known to man to the kitchen (LA to MI).

So, our waiter recommends the fried clams to the customer. The customer agrees, and the decision is made (LA to RE). “I’ll have one order of the fried clams please.” The order arrives in the kitchen where the master chef reads it and starts the function of transforming clams – after he verifies that he has clams and the tools needed to fry them (RE to FA) and (RE to MI).

He tells his staff to grease the frying pan, which he knows is the best tool for the job (FA to MI); and, to shuck and wash 20 clams and to soak them in the secret-sauce-breading-mixture, while other staff members heat the fire to the proper temperature (MI to DO).

The master chef observes this preparation; and, when everything is shucked, and washed, and soaked, and breaded, and hot enough… he will be able to envision the end result (MI to TI). “We are ready to fry some clams,” he says, and merges his confidence (TI to SO) with the readiness of the kitchen (DO to SO)… to reach SO, where the frying begins.

He is Johnny-on-the-spot (moving with the line of time, SO to LA) until the frying process completes itself at LA. 

He is done with the clams! 

His staff serves them, while the chef stays in the kitchen and waits at RE, to receive the next order from some hungry patron.

See how it works? Did you ever think there would be so much involved? 

If we place those fourteen lines on a vertical Enneagram (see the “Enneagram-new color 3 labled” diagram), we see three separate lines of movement. 

They begin at the bottom LA, FA, and DO.

First at LA, follow the Red line through the event. 

Then at FA, follow the Yellow line through the event. 

Lastly at DO, follow the Blue line through the event.  

The red line is the line of Will, the yellow line is the line of Being, and the blue line is the line of Function.

We have just added a musical animation to our website, which follows the Enneagram poem as it sounds the lines of Will, Being, and Function.

OK. Here is another one of Mr. Smith’s stories to help solidify the process. 

Let’s say, we dropped you off in the wilderness with nothing but the clothes on your back, nothing else, just your clothes. You are in the middle of a vast wilderness… not knowing how you are going to survive. There are streams and ponds, so you have water. Your main concern is going to be food. You have to find food.

And, let us suppose, you see a rabbit run by. Your first inclination is to chase it. Right? You chase it and try to catch it. However, you probably do not catch it.

But, an Enneagram has begun, and you have your first encounter with a rabbit. Note to self: rabbits are much faster than me, they turn quick, and are very hard to catch. 

Yet, every time you see one, you chase it; and, in the process of chasing it, you learn more about rabbits. So, you get some experience. Maybe you realize, hey, if I can chase a rabbit between those rocks, into that dead-end, it would be cornered; then, I might be able to jump on it and catch it. 

So, you try that, but it bites you and gets away. Note to self: chasing rabbits is not a viable way of catching rabbits.

OK. So, now what? 

Well, I am still hungry; and, I still see a lot of rabbits. So, I am still going to try to catch one. Maybe, I can hit it with a rock. 

You probably learn pretty quickly that you are not very skilled at hitting rabbits with a rock. You probably miss more times than you hit; and, if you do hit one, it probably does not kill it; it just knocks the rabbit over, and it gets right back up and runs away. Note to self: hitting rabbits with a rock is hard; all it does is knock them over.

But every time you try, you gain experience. 

Chasing them is out. Hitting them with a rock is out. 

But then you think, “What if I had a spear, a sharpened stick? Then, if I hit a rabbit, the spear would stick in it, making it harder for the rabbit to get up and run away.”

So, you get a stick, scrape one end with a rock and make a point. Then, try throwing your spear at a few rabbits. 

However, you quickly realize that you are a worse spear chucker than you are a rock thrower, because spears wobble. So… you probably give up on that one too. Note to self: spears are a no go.

But, by attempting these things, you learn more about rabbits. You see their trails, recognize their droppings, know where they forage, and start understanding their habitat. 

You are gaining experience. 

You might have even caught one with your bare hands, killed one with a rock, or speared one with your stick; but, you need to find something that is more reliable.

Then, you remember about snares, that is, if you rip off a long strip of your shirt, it would be like a little rope. You could then tie a loop in one end of the rope, thread the other end through the loop, and make a snare. 

Since you have been watching where the rabbits go, and have witnessed many of them running into a briar patch through a small opening, you tie one end of your snare onto one of the briars, form the other end into a circle, and drape the circle in front of the small opening. Then, you leave. 

Hoping that, if it is a trail that the rabbits frequent, and if one comes through there again, his head will go through the noose; and, he will get caught.

You come back in a few hours and guess what? You caught a rabbit in your snare. It is running in circles, hopping around with this rope around its neck; and, when you run over and try to grab it, it bites you, and you say, “That is not good.” Note to self: I need to invent a way to kill the rabbit before I try grabbing it. 

So, the next time you go to check your snare, you are carrying a skull crushing rock. 

Over time, you will refine your killing tool… and, maybe, upgrade it to a club. Whatever you choose, you now have your first tool for killing rabbits.

You have successfully begun your first two Enneagrams, the Enneagram of catching a rabbit, and the Enneagram of killing a rabbit. 

You know… you just might survive; but, we are not done yet.

After you catch the rabbit, guess what you do with your snare… you keep it. You keep all the tools that you invent for catching a rabbit.

And, your skull crushing rock, what do you do with that? You keep it, too. However, in the process of using it, you might find a better rock or club, “This rock is easier to carry, that club has a nicer handle, and this one will be a real good head smasher.”

So, your Enneagrams keep cycling and cycling; and, over time, you finally learn how to catch a rabbit, and kill a rabbit. 

OK, you finally caught a rabbit…  Now, you need to eat it.

Well, how do you eat it? 

You could try taking a bite out of it, but it would be kind of furry and fuzzy, and you probably figure out, pretty quickly, that in order to eat a rabbit, you first need to remove its fur, which is not an easy task. 

So now, you need to invent another tool. A sharp rock that you can use to scrape off its fur. One, sharp enough, to gut it, and cut it into pieces.

Eventually, you might even learn that if you cut off its feet and head, you can pull its fur off… just like taking off a glove. You will then have rabbit-lined gloves to keep you warm – with finger holes. Not to mention, the four lucky rabbits’ feet. Well, except, not so lucky for the rabbit.

You have also learned that skinning a rabbit, by pulling off its fur, leaves nice clean meat behind. 

Now, you have to eat it.

You could try eating it raw. Eating raw rabbit would keep you alive, but, you know, it’s kind of gamey and hard to digest; you may even get sick. So, you need to find a way to cook it.

So, now, you need to make a fire, which requires even more tools.

Boy, you certainly need a lot of Enneagrams to survive in the wilderness.

OK. How do you make a fire? 

Well, boy scouts rub two sticks together. So, you try that. Note to self: rubbing two sticks together is hard. 

Finally, you remember about the bow and capstone. 

You rip off another strip from your shirt, and tie it on the ends of a bow-shaped stick. Then, you take a short stick, make a spindle, and loop the bow string around the spindle. Next, you find a capstone, so the spindle does not dig into your hand when it spins. You sharpen one end of the spindle and put it on a dry stick. Then, holding the capstone on the other end, you push and pull the bow back and forth, causing the spindle, which is looped by the bow string, to spin rapidly… first one way, and then the other. As it rapidly spins, it creates friction and the dry stick starts to smoke.

Soon, you have learned how to make a fire; and, after making a fire, I am pretty sure you know by now to keep the bow, the capstone, the spindle, and the dry stick, as they too are tools that are needed for survival. 

Thus, they are added to your growing collection of survival tools: tools for catching a rabbit, tools for killing a rabbit, tools for gutting a rabbit, tools for skinning a rabbit, and tools for making a fire.

Each set of tools is for a different event in the event, and each inner event is its own Enneagram.

OK. Now that you have a fire, you need to cook the rabbit. 

So, you must invent even more tools: a skewering stick to skewer the rabbit with, and two other sticks that you can shove into the ground on each side of the fire, with Y-shapes at the top, on which to place your skewering stick.

Then, you will be able to turn the skewering stick and cook the rabbit evenly. Hey, you have just invented the rotisserie.

You keep turning and turning the rabbit until you think it is cooked. Then, you sample it, “Nope, still raw.” 

Eventually, you learn the amount of time it takes to cook a rabbit. 

After which, you eat it, and survive…. Maybe, you will invent plates next.

Well, that is how it works. 

If you understand the Enneagram, you can be stranded in the wilderness and eventually figure out how to catch a rabbit, kill a rabbit, skin a rabbit, gut a rabbit, make a fire, and cook a rabbit; and, you will even have mittens. 

Thank you for listening.

If you would like to know more about the subjects and exercises we’ve been covering in these talks, including the book and guide that underpins it all, which is available for PDF download, and also gives you access to an ultimate exercise that is able to objectively wake people up, you can find us at the website thedogteachings.com.

That’s T H E D O G teachings DOT COM.

There, you will be able to obtain Mr. Smith’s other diagrams, listen to other talks, as well as learn all the mathematics that supports them, and much much more.

But, most importantly, you will have real time access to the materials we are discussing.

That’s thedogteachings.com

Goodbye until next time.