Ben Campbell has spent the last 15 years studying the Enneagram; a system that can help us classify personalities based on core motivations, desires, and fears. Though he’s passionate about its value as a wayfinding tool for better understanding ourselves and others, he realized early on in his studies that it was insufficient on its own for helping us access our full potential as human beings. It lacked a meaningful connection to the Earth, to the soul — the very things that make us human.

Based on his experiences in nature, as well as his trainings from the Animas Valley Institute and the Maine Primitive Skills School, Ben founded Wild Enneagram. When infused with an array of approaches that are grounded in nature and centric to our souls, this coaching unlocks transformative potential to help us reconnect with the wild ecosystem of our psyches, and learn to reconcile the restraints our modern world places upon them.

"The Tree Agreement" by Elise Paschen The neighbor calls the Siberian Elm a “weed” tree, demands we hack it down, says the leaves overwhelm his property, the square backyard. He’s collar-and-tie. A weed tree? Branches screen buildings, subway tracks, his patch of yard. We disagree, claim back the sap, heartwood, wild bark. He declares the tree “hazardous.” We shelter under leaf-hoard, crossway for squirrels, branch house for sparrows, jays. The balcony soaks up the shade. Chatter-song drowns out cars below. Sun branches down. Leaves overwhelm. The tree will stay. We tell him “no.” Root deep through pavement, Elm.

Show Notes:

* https://wildenneagram.com/

* https://animas.org

* https://primitiveskills.com

* The Enneagram & Nature

* Who Are You? Exploring Personality & Essence with Russ Hudson

* The Lonely Edges of Rewilding the Enneagram

Connect with Andy:

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewjcahill/

* Instagram: instagram.com/wonderdomepodcast​

* Firelight - Winter Solstice 2024

* Register Here

What if everything you’ve learned about self-development is actually making things harder for you? What if there was a way to shift from the self-improvement paradigm, which leaves many of us feeling caught in a constant flux of trying to “fix” ourselves, towards one that nourishes our sense of innate wholeness and resourcefulness?

For Steve March, a coach of nearly 25 years and founder of Aletheia, this question lies at the heart of his practice. He calls for a shift of attunement from a mindset of self-criticism and a drive to always become a “better” version of ourselves, (which often leaves us feeling as though we’ll never be enough) to a more poetic one of beauty and deep acceptance — a process he calls “unfoldment.”

In this thoughtful conversation, Steve describes how through this lens of unfoldment, we can release our hyper-focus on our own deficiencies and embrace a more integrated approach to human development; one that allows us to become participants in the natural unfolding of our being.

A note from Andy:

Although this episode with the brilliant Steve March comes hot on the heels of the 2024 U.S. Presidential election, it was recorded months ago.

Steve has been a wonderful teacher to me. In the last 20 minutes or so of the conversation, he offers his perspective on the collective movements and ruptures we're experiencing. He also shares where we might be headed if we manage to integrate the competing forces and needs that shape our culture and politics.

The election is a big moment. You may be experiencing any number of feelings. I sure am. At the Wonder Dome, our team aspires to take the long view, trading hot takes on current events for more expansive conversations. Conversations that navigate the deeper cultural, political, spiritual, economic, and social terrain, providing ways of making sense of these dynamics in our everyday lives.

However this message finds you today, know that the Wonder Dome will always stand for a world where individuals, communities, societies, and the global web of life can thrive.

Take care of yourself out there and thank you for listening.

"Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on. Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers. Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting– over and over announcing your place in the family of things.

Show Notes:

* https://integralunfoldment.com/

* #143 Lyric Culture (with Bonnitta Roy)

* Firelight - Winter Solstice 2024

* Register Here

Connect with Andy:

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewjcahill/

* Instagram: instagram.com/wonderdomepodcast​

The Wonder Dome is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support the work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Four years ago, in the wake of nationwide lockdowns necessitated by the pandemic, the Wonder Dome was born from a need to foster a space for connection, healing, and hope for humanity. 150 episodes later it continues to endeavor to provide guests and listeners alike with a space of rest and repose for the soul.

In this special episode, Andy takes a solo turn behind the mic to reflect with gratitude on the journey of this long-term creative project; what it means to alleviate the suffering of others and ourselves; to see beauty in the mundane; and to cultivate connection through deep listening and empathy.

Wherever you are in the world, whether you’ve listened to 1 episode or 149, we thank you for being a vital part of the Wonder Dome’s past, present, and future.

"For an Occasion of Celebration" by John O'Donohue Now is the time to free the heart, Let all intentions and worries stop, Free the joy inside the self, Awaken to the wonder of your life. Open your eyes and see the friends, Whose hearts recognize your face as kin, Those whose kindness watchful and near, Encouraging you to live everything here. See the gifts the years have given, Things your effort could never earn, The health to enjoy who you want to be And the mind to mirror mystery.

Show Notes:

* “Guanyin” at the San Diego Museum of Art

Connect with Andy:

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewjcahill/

* Instagram: instagram.com/wonderdomepodcast​

The Wonder Dome is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support the work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.