So, late one night this weekend some friends and I did the Enneagram test, which is similar to Myers Briggs personality test. I didn’t know much about it but it was really interesting, and a great idea to do it with a bunch of friends. It gave us an opportunity to laugh at the traits it picks out, after you answer a series of questions. Chase, has known about it for sometime and wanted us to do it and it was quite fun. Here are some things I learned:

I am an average 9 (or peacemaker) with an 8 (or challenger) wing, combined being “the referee.” ha. Don’t pay to much attention to the titles, they are a bit vague for a more defined description. Here’s a breakdown:

“Awakened Nines with an 8 wing have a modest, steady, receptive core. They are charged by the dynamism of 8 – when focused on goals they often have great force of will. Get things done, make good leaders. May have an animal magnetism of which they are only partly aware. Can seem highly centered, take what they do seriously but remain unimpressed with themselves. 8 wing can bring a strong internal sense of direction. Relatively fearless and highly intuitive. Generally not intellectual unless they have it in their background. When more entranced, they manifest the contradictions of the two styles expressing them in sequence. Could be passively amiable like a Nine and then turn horribly blunt like an 8. One moment they are opinionated or nasty, next moment kindly and supportive. Often don’t hear their voices when angry. Can have a sharp, grating edge. May be slow to anger and then explode. Or angry but don’t know it; may confuse being assertive with being rude. Placidly callous – both styles support numbness. Tactless and indiscriminate and indiscreet. May be unwittingly disloyal, sometimes they are driven by lust.”

So, if you ask me that sounds pretty accurate. Sounds pretty accurate to my friends too. Haha.

Some examples of other 9′s with an 8 wing are Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, and Albert Einstein.

If you are interested, this is the book we used. http://bit.ly/aAaBt8 Really interesting, I highly recommend getting into it.

Sometimes I connect with the simplest of songs.

Kele – Everything You Wanted

I am discovering more and more the absolute epic effects of a chill song while I am running.

I listened to this–

Band Of Horses – For Annabelle

–during my run a couple mornings ago. I never used to listen to music while I ran, I felt it was a distraction. I slowly have learned to appreciate the effect music has on more importantly me, while I run, rather than my running. At first I figured that only high energy songs were what I needed to be listening to. Oh how I was wrong.

I can only describe it as spiritual.  It was raining so hard, so so hard. Imagine sitting parked in your car with the windshield wipers flopping as fast as they will go– and still not being able to see through the windshield. It was pouring. I was drenched head to toe in water and mud. I could hear my long, rhythmic breaths in between the pat pat pat pat of my feet under my body. Four steps. Inhale. Four steps. Exhale. In these moments I feel that I am truly connected to life.  Everything means so much. Everything seems to make sense.

Music is my spirituality. I think I have always equated god to spirit, and worship to god was what I thought my spirituality was. Music is when I feel absolutely in touch with everything around me.  Everything makes sense in these moments, and in so many ways in calms everything inside of me.

I think we substitute god into our lives to try and explain our different ways we experience that. Whether it is through nature, music, friends, family, or whatever… it’s easy to say that it is god, when I don’t really believe it is anymore.