"By learning about ourselves more deeply, we can give others the gift of our presence and our full attention." -Dr. David Daniels MD
This 6-week workshop, starting November 8th, will lay the foundations of how inhabiting our three centers of intelligence makes us more available and receptive to ourselves, those in our lives, and to step into our inner guidance led from our heart.
I agree with Enneagram teacher and psychiatrist Dr. Daniels when he said he believes there is nothing more important to human life than our relationship with ourselves and our relationships with others.
How do we become fully human beings capable of greater relatedness with ourselves and with others? It's not a given. We aren't born with emotional intelligence, and, unfortunately, it's not modeled often by our culture. From across time and history, indigenous wisdom, as well as perennial wisdom, speaks to the importance of rituals and practices to help humans grow beyond the ego self.
The Enneagram tells us that humans through the natural course of development tend to be unbalanced and live mostly from one center of intelligence (body, heart, or mind). That center does its best, but this state of separateness leaves us looking for control, esteem, and/or security through ego defensive strategies. Bringing together wisdom traditions and science, Embodied Intelligence Foundations seeks to lay an introductory framework for our growth with experiential practices.
Since the dawn of Enlightenment in the West, cultural norms have conspired to keep us imbalanced, over emphasizing the mind, to the exclusion of heart and body intelligence. Embodiment expert Phillip Shepherd once asked, "In our culture, have you ever wondered why a body count refers to "dead people" and a "head count" refers to alive people?" Often, we're taught not to trust the heart as our emotions can lead us into more problems, and "body awareness" is limited to physical pain, something we leave behind in the yoga studio, or simply something that carries around the head.
What we are now learning from science matches what many indigenous and other wisdom traditions have long understood: the body carries a very different intelligence than the head. Some cultures have called this intelligence "the pelvic brain." The Japanese word for belly is hara, meaning “where we encounter our truth.”
The heart intelligence is where we encounter what is truly valuable and meaningful to us. When the body and heart are aligned with the head intelligence, we experience a quality of spaciousness where clarity can emerge. The true intelligence of our mind is not found in mental chatter or retaining more information.
In Embodied Intelligence Foundations, we will provide an introductory framework and offer experiential practices to grow your capacity to develop your inner felt sense and presence. This is in service of growing an inner spaciousness and receptivity, which allows you to be more attuned and led by your true heart intelligence as we embody all three centers.
We will also provide opportunities to explore how your habits and conditioning can block these centers, often distorting our perception and experience in the moment.
Through teaching, practices, inquiry, sharing, and Q&C (questions and comments), you'll learn about your body, heart, and mind intelligence. Through Enneagram theory and mindful and somatic practices, you'll gain tools/practices for your path to align these powerful centers and become more aware of how they get scrambled. And through forging community with other course participants, you'll experience support as you become more aware, grow your sense of aliveness, and grow in confidence in your inner guidance.
The need today is clear: we must cultivate a robust collective of more present adults who can face the challenges of our times. Our earth and the generations after us need us fully to be here so we can hear and do what our heart is inviting us into.
To learn more, click here…
6 weeks, 90-minute group sessions facilitated by Summer Estes LCMHC.
Each class will feature 40% teaching and 60% group practice and engagement.
The course will be recorded for your convenience. However, we encourage you to participate live, as half of the course will be inquiry, practice, group engagement, and Q&C.
Subscription to the Embodied Intelligence Community of Transformative Practice during the 6-week course.
A short preparatory video of myself guiding you through a breath practice and a second video of a guided meditation in developing your felt sense within your body. These practices will be used some during our sessions together and also as "homework."
Enrollment includes access to the Embodied Intelligence Transformative Online Community of Practice during your enrollment in the course.
We grow through practice and community.
We offer:
-Bi-monthly "wisdom circle" that includes guided somatic and mindfulness practice and time for sharing
-Once a quarter Enneagram teaching with Q&A
-Occasional guest professionals sharing on relevant tools and teachings for well being as well as facilitation of guided somatic and mindfulness practices.
Practice. Grow. Connect.
You will gain two additional opportunities per month during the course duration to practice in community, with time for sharing and Q&A on Zoom. I have created this community as a place to co-create and be accountable to our practice together. Research shows we tend to stick to a practice when we pair it with community. You may continue to be part of the community after the course for a small monthly fee.
-During this course "wisdom circles" with guided meditation practice will be on Thursdays from 12pm-12:45pm(est) 11/18, 12/2, & 12/16. More details to come.
Embodied Intelligence Foundations will take place on Zoom in the comfort of your own home.
This course is on Mondays from 6:30-8pm(est), starting November 8th and ending December 13th.
In Embodied Intelligence Foundations, you will explore:
- A framework for understanding our three centers of intelligence based in perennial and contemplative wisdom, depth psychology, neuroscience, and Enneagram theory
- Symptoms you may experience when not inhabiting your 3 centers
- Experience and sense into some of the gifts, capacities, and qualities of embodying each center within yourself
- Practices to grow in inhabiting these 3 centers in daily life: inquiry, somatic/breath practices, journaling, and mindfulness practices
Through this course, you will discover:
- Greater awareness of your body intelligence and felt sense
- Experiencing the power of the body as a resource for grounding and presence
- Breath practices for anchoring yourself in the present moment
- Insight into what it looks like for you when you are not present in the body, heart, and mind
- Opportunities to grow in attunement and receptivity to each of these centers within
- Increased emotional intelligence
- Tools to be with the "inner noise"
- Inspiration and growth for your spiritual development
The word “religion” derives from the Latin word religio and the Latin verb religare which means to "re-bind" and "re-align." This course is an invitation to explore and be curious about what it is for you to experience a re-alignment of these three centers of knowing.
In this course, you'll learn to identify the signs of when you are imbalanced. These include the following:
- Going through the motions of daily life feeling numb or checked out
- Running around (picture a chicken with its head cut off) doing and reacting to things in your daily life
- Over or under eating, not picking up on body cues and sensations of feeling full or feeling hungry
- Feeling guilty when you are not busy
- Feeling empty, lonely, or depressed
- Having your "buttons" pushed easily by others
- Emotionally reacting to others and within to your internal narratives and dramas
- Feeling anxious, with lots of mental chatter and noise
- Lacking a sense of trust in your inner guidance
Cost:
Sliding scale option based on honor system of financial means:
$247
$147
Please email me at [email protected] should you register at the discounted rate of $147. I will need to email you a separate link for payment.
How to Apply
- Register now to reserve your spot!
- Or, schedule a 20-minute exploratory call with me to determine if "Embodied Intelligence Foundations" is right for you.