Let's do the time warp agaaain...
My brain is slightly melting as it adjusts to the knowledge that it's been 4 years since the pandemic shut things down in 2020.
This is very Millennial of me to admit, but 4 years is longer than I've ever held any single job.
4 years is the amount of time it took me to get my college degree and more than twice the amount of time it took me to go through graduate school.
Which got me curious…
What would you name the diploma you've earned in these last 4 years?
Here are a couple I came up with for me:
Associate in Opening to the Unexpected, with coursework in Life Transitions, Identity Shifts, and Absurdly Intimate Connections via Zoom
Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Solitude, with a focus on Podcasts and Puzzles
Master of Science, majoring in Ruminatology, specializing in Spiritual Seeking, with a minor in Skepticism
Over these last 4 years, I’ve encountered so much more of myself than I ever could have imagined. I’ve seen the underbelly of so many of my parts that I’ve heavily identified with, and I’ve come into contact with parts that are open to things I would have swiftly dismissed a few years ago.
I imagine I will be reconciling this period of my life for a long time to come.
In a more classically academic way, I’ve spent the last 4 years in deep study of the Enneagram, not so much as a typology, but as a framework for understanding the nature of consciousness, the distortions humans perceive and interpret reality through, and a path to self-remembering in service of collective liberation.
It’s been a lot of learning.
After my “pre-reqs” of therapy, reading and listening to podcasts, and attending a couple of live workshops and one weekend retreat, I enrolled in my first “post-secondary education”: 6 intensives through The Narrative Enneagram, followed by an internship with mentorship where I got feedback on facilitating and teaching the work myself.
Starting in person and moving online, I learned a ton about myself and each of the Enneagram types and I earned a certification as a Narrative Enneagram Teacher in 2021. But I knew it was still the beginning.
In 2022, I enrolled in a year-long program in the Enneagram and Conscious Living with Russ Hudson & Jessica Dibb. I dove into the energies of each type within myself, exploring how to really live into this material; what it means for each of us to polish our own inner jewels to be ready to meaningfully and skillfully contribute to the challenges of our times.
I followed up that initial year with a 7-month Teacher Training, where I learned different approaches to Enneagram education. I gleaned a great deal about how I do and do not want to teach, beginning to sense into my own flavor more clearly.
My “Senior Year” has been largely about deepening into the somatic work - transformation through embodiment. I’ve been studying with Marion Gilbert since 2021, learning how to work with the roots of reactivity of our type patterns to create lasting transformation.
After more than 200 hours of online and in-person modules, a ton of personal practice, and exploring this work with my clients, I’ve recently stepped into somewhat of an apprenticeship with Marion.
Working with this beautiful system has offered me solace and hope through a time of great suffering and polarization that is clearly ongoing.
Slowly, I’m beginning to feel as though I’m find my place in the larger picture of bringing this work forward.
My learning is far from over, but as spring approaches, I’m feeling myself being prepared for somewhat of a “graduation” — a bit of a push to release the identity of “full-time student” and step into the world as a skilled steward of this work.
I’ve got some exciting things on the horizon, but I’m being mindful not to rush them. I’m looking forward to sharing them with you when it’s time.
With Love,
~Caryn
P.S. Send me an email or message me on Instagram to let me know what your pandemic degree would be in!
