09/26/2025
We are in times of what Cynthia Bourgeault calls, “radical diminishment” where the highest values we hold dear are reduced to toxic levels fractiousness, fear and anger in the collective atmosphere.
There is much we can do, but as one client said,
"THE PAUSE is deceptively simple, right in front of our nose and what is most needed.”
Together, we can consciously practice a Pause and offer something different when we show up in the world.
I have 2 offerings to help you cultivate your capacity to Pause and choose a more conscious response in our beleaguered world.
I currently meet with people on Wednesday mornings for a Contemplative Pause at no charge:https://lesliehershberger.com/weekly-practice/
The iAwake team and I spent over a year creating personalized meditations for each Enneagram type.
Meditation and/or Contemplative Prayer is crucial for these times, but so many tell me it is hard for them.
I wanted to create something for you to cultivate the ability to return to Presence when you feel knocked off center whether you’re in a difficult conversation, under pressure or on social media.
Given your Enneagram type, you have a different dilemma. You get reactive to different things and different things knock you off center.
For example, 9s check out and numb out in conflict while 8s’ excessive energy gets reactive around the truth (as they see it) and issues of fairness and justice, losing control. In the meantime, 1s devolve into judgmental right/wrong rigidities and lose touch with spacious serenity that lives within.
6s distrust their mind’s own stillness as worst case dominates their thinking, 5s over rely on mental constructs and avoidance of engagement while 7s feel restless, critical and stimulant seeking.
Meanwhile, 3s contract the heart, shut down, work harder on product and performance, 4s are drawn into fluctuating moods and emotions and 2s can’t stay with themselves long enough for fear of touching that inner anxiety and their attention reflexively wanders to others’ needs.
These habits are tenacious. A practice is non-negotiable for resourcing grounded presence which lives inside each of us.
I partnered with old friends John and Pam Dupuy, founders of iAwake Technologies. They create innovative, sound-based tools for people like us who are passionate about offering a more thoughtful conscious response in fractious times.
We got to talking about creating a meditation exclusively for each type.
Enneagram Meditations contains nine guided meditations carefully crafted and led by me, accompanied by the audio sounds of brainwave entrainment wizard Leigh Spusta, which infuse the meditations with additional transformational power and efficacy.
Taking time for meditation or contemplative prayer is not just about inner peace and calm.
It’s about cultivating the ability to center yourself so you can act skillfully when you’re reactive in these times when reactivity is at a peak.
These tracks can be used to aid in one’s psychological self-knowledge and healing.
Even more, they are a tool for spiritual presence that grounds you in something deeper and more expansive than fear, ideology, collective thinking and type-related reactivity.
We had no idea how these would land with people so we tested them out before sharing them with you.
I am happy to report, they are having the impact we’d hoped for:
Highest recommendations! This is up there with the very best if not the very pinnacle of [iAwake] products. – Brian Romine
“The Enneagram Meditations and information tracks were enjoyable and informative.
Leslie’s encyclopedic knowledge on the topic comes through, not in a pedantic or overbearing way, but with just the right nugget of information at the right time.
I have come away from these tracks appreciating the Enneagram as an integrated system of typology that’s much fuller and richer than my understanding of it before. I had lots of ‘aha’ moments as the meditations helped me to see each type and how it operates on the mental, emotional, and physical levels.
I also found myself having greater clarity about what I was doing or how I was reacting to things in the environment. This was due to the meditations giving me more ‘space’ to have the reactions I have based on my type.”
- Greg Skyles
I was especially thrilled to read this one:
“I was delightfully surprised. It is the first time the Enneagram made sense to me.The meditations were well thought out, conveniently short yet powerful.These meditations go beyond stress relief. They provide practical resources for dealing with and understanding people and events.” – M. Halbfish
Click below to purchase the meditation for your type and let me know your thoughts.
And please, take good care of yourself and others. Join me in conscious practice in order to cultivate a more conscious response.
https://tinyurl.com/wyrf74us
