The Circle of Presence and Hammocks: Enneagram Six Energy on the Camino

I woke up late today and was committed to doing very little. Several of us woke up in Leon with an eagerness to eat a shared breakfast at El Patio. So I packed my bag, walked the streets of Leon and enjoyed my first and second breakfast in the same place. The breakfast was the best. El patio in Leon had a breakfast special of espresso and tortilla (omelette) for 1,40 euro. I had breakfast twice, and we joked about being Hobbits on the way. 

I left at 930 and expected to walk alone to Valverde, but Manuela and Livio walked with me. I am always surprised when we can walk together since pacing is so unique. Sometimes we talked about food, other times, spirituality, and other times enjoyed silence side-by-side. Sometimes i think the exchange between people in silence is more profound than exchanges while talking. Talking is so empty; silence is deep. That’s a bad cliche but true nonetheless.

Four of us arrived to Valverde together. Valverde is a tiny village located on a busy highway. We had a moment of hesitation that we ought to keep going because of the noise (no one loves cars at this point). But we crossed the highway to the albergue (La Casa del Camino), which is more an oasis and resort located on the highway.  Here we found hammocks, a pool, foot baths, and wine. Four of us arrived at noon, and we have been sitting in the hammocks for four hours even as i write this. It is so good to rest together.

Today is enneagram day 6. I love six energy. It’s not mine but i have enjoyed the gifts of multiple colleagues who have six energy. A few years ago i realized that six energy is my natural go to for a colleague. They consider every opportunity that I would choose to ignore. They are more prepared than everyone else. They have considered every situation and gathered the necessary provisions.

Six friends and colleagues inspire me with how their fear leads to productivity. I am sure the abundant anxiety is a frustration to themselves and maybe to others around them, but i find their ability to plan for contingencies essential for good ministry and deep community.

Richard Rohr says this about six energy:

SIXes have chosen an entirely defensive posture against their primal knowing, which was true and perfect Presence. Russ Hudson calls it “the quality of awakeness in which you can feel very directly this Presence all around you and within you that gives you an unshakable courage to take your place and walk your walk in the world.” When SIXes lose the sense of resting in the full presence of God, instead of trustfully being held by Being they insist on forcing the issue. “I will assure it, I will prove it, and I will maintain it,” they say. 

Hudson explains that when SIXes lose presence, their passion or root sin of fear or anxiety begins to grow and their awakeness shifts to vigilance, then to watchfulness, hyper-vigilance, suspicions, and finally paranoia. “Their anxiety is awakeness without presence, [just as] fear is excitement without breathing,” Hudson says.  As in all the head types, a mental fixation feeds the passion and vice versa. SIXes get the sense that keeping myself keyed up like that will keep me on top of things. Hudson calls this constant feeling of angst and anxiety “Pre-Traumatic Stress Syndrome.” [4]

As the SIX starts to breathe through the fear and anxiety, Hudson says, “the virtue of courage arises. It’s the courage to show up, to live in the truth, to stop hiding in our ego delusions and live in the living daylight of this moment, right where I am as who I really am and not make excuses.” Redeemed SIXes have found their true inner authority which allows them to trust in the benevolent universe and perfect Presence they once knew. Then their over-reliance on outer authority significantly lessens, but it is always a struggle for them. Love and be patient with your dear SIX friends. It is not easy to suffer such constant self-doubt.

I woke up knowing today was day 6 (I think I had fully prepared for this). I expected anxiety and fear to overwhelm me. I expected more self doubt than normal.  But today six energy was a gift to me. 

My closest colleagues have been sixes. Their belief that the community knows better than the individual captures my sense of how the joy and playfulness of today emerged. Last night we were sitting around and I was feeling quiet. I watched and listened to the plans people were making, and I felt a deep sense of trust to join their plans. The sense of loyalty to go with them and be with them was beautiful. I had little energy for looking at the guide book or to make my own secondary plan. I simply looked to them to make The Way.

Then today we began our walk, and I was offering two pilgrims antiseptic and bandaids. I was amazed I had this amount of medical supplies. I am usually the guy looking for someone with six energy in order to borrow something. I guess since I am away from work and Pam Bush, I adopted some of her contingency planning mechanisms. I should channel Pam more often.

The walk ended early because we all arrived for our stated rest day. This is where I think I experienced the peace that surpasses understanding so evident in redeemed sixes. We were so present to one another. No anxiety, no ego, and an abundance of love. At one point in the afternoon, we had enjoyed one another’s company but we were extremely tired. Instead of going to our separate rooms, we set a timer for 40 minutes and napped in the hammocks gathered in a circle. My six friends seem to believe it is better to work and play alongside one another than to do it alone. I experienced the joy of this belonging and presence today.

As the evening came, more pilgrims arrived to the albergue. They were attracted to our station on the hammocks. After dinner, pilgrims asked to join us. Of course, we included them and the playfulness and love was abundant. The owner of the albergue came over to us and asked many questions. She seemed truly delighted that we took up her albergue for the night. 

She served us wine all day, and she even gave us a snack midday when I asked for about a local tienda (shop). She made us a fabulous meal of chicken and rice. In the end, she gathered all of the pilgrims and took a group photo that she posted on facebook. What a delight.

The power of collective presence is attractive to a world that feels anxious, afraid, and paranoid. The presence of a community is the witness of Christ. The six energy of the world, in its best sense, gathers many into a circle of presence, where Christ is made known and healing made clear.

I give thanks for my six friends, not simply because they carry the weight of most people’s fear and anxiety but more so because they carry a depth of what presence can offer to an anxious age.