The Buddhist Enneagram: How Mindfulness Transforms Your Personality Patterns with Susan Piver (S09-043)

 
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What happens when two powerful paths—Buddhism and the Enneagram—sit down for a conversation?

In this episode, Ian welcomes author and Buddhist teacher Susan Piver (The Buddhist Enneagram) to explore the overlap between these two systems. Susan’s new book, The Buddhist Enneagram, offers a fresh lens on personality—not as something to fix, but as something to understand, soften, and ultimately hold with compassion.

This conversation goes beyond personality labels and into something deeper: How your patterns form, why they stick, and how awareness—not willpower—is what actually creates change.

If you’ve ever felt stuck in your reactions, overwhelmed by your emotions, or quietly convinced you’re “doing life wrong,” this episode offers a different path forward.

Together, they unpack:

  • How the Enneagram and Buddhism overlap (and where they challenge each other)

  • The difference between mindfulness and awareness (and why both matter)

  • How meditation helps you notice your reactions without being ruled by them

  • Why trying to “fix yourself” often backfires—and what works instead

  • How Enneagram subtypes shape conflict, connection, and relationships

As always, this isn’t about becoming someone else. It’s about becoming more fully who you already are—with a little more grace along the way.

 

About Susan Piver

Susan Piver is the New York Times bestselling author of many books, including The Wisdom of a Broken Heart; Start Here Now: An Open-Hearted Guide to the Path and Practice of Meditation; The Four Noble Truths of Love: Buddhist Wisdom for Modern Relationships; and The Buddhist Enneagram: Nine Paths to Warriorship. Her latest is Inexplicable Joy: On the Heart Sutra.

Susan has an international reputation as a skillful meditation teacher. She has given talks everywhere, including Procter & Gamble, Google Paris, Google London, and Harvard University.

A student of Buddhism since 1993, Susan graduated from a Buddhist seminary in 2004. In 2012, she founded The Open Heart Project, the world’s largest online-only dharma center. The Open Heart Project offers meditation classes, virtual retreats, and community gatherings.

Susan Piver has been a practicing Buddhist for over 30 years and is widely known for her ability to translate ancient teachings into modern, relatable language. Her work has been featured on The Oprah Show, TODAY, CNN, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, and she is the founder of the Open Heart Project, one of the world’s largest online mindfulness communities. She also hosts her own podcast channel, Buddhism Beyond Belief.

 
 
 

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Type 4, Spirituality, Instincts and Subtypes, MeditationIan Cronenneagram, spirituality, self-awarenessComment