The Gathering for Change Agents
Year 13
The Art of Agility: Navigating the
Natural Rhythms of Change”

Welcome!

On this page you’ll find the full collection of audio and resource archives from Year 13 of our monthly Gathering calls. Speaker bios, call summaries, audios and recommended resources for each month’s call will continue to be added to this page soon after the call.

Our theme for this thirteenth year of Gathering together is a continuation of last year’s theme  “The Art of Agility: Navigating the Natural Rhythms of Change.” Along with our Year Thirteen offerings, please take some time to explore the past 12 years of program archives. This is a treasure trove of information, insights, strategies and practices to support you as an agent of purposeful change!

Year 1 Program Archive – “Mastering the Inner Game”
Year 2 Program Archive – “Align Your Outer Game with the Inner”
Year 3 and 4 Program Archive –  “Integrating the Inner and Outer Collectives: The Dance of ME and WE”
Year 5 Program Archive – “Co-Creating the Global Collective”
Year 6 Program Archive – “Radical Relationship; Embracing the Gifts of Polarity”
Year 7 Program Archive – “Creating Agile And Sustainable Change That Matters”
Year 8 Program Archive – “Love in Action: Connecting for Impact”
Year 9 Program Archive – “Agents of Love; Weaving the Tangled Threads of Irreconcilable Differences”
Year 10 Program Archive – “Dancing in the Space Between; Creating Resilience and Possibility in the Now”
Year 11 Program archive – “Paradigms and Possibilities: Embracing Humanity’s Divine Potential”
Year 12 Program archive – “The Art of Agility: Navigating the Natural Rhythms of Change”

Study Materials:

Browse the Year 13 archives:

12/3/25: “Community Harvest – What We’ve Learned and Where We Go Next”
11/5/25: “Collective Change Through National Identity”
10/1/25: “The Art of Agility: Navigating the Natural Rhythms of Change”
9/3/25: “Creating Meaningful Connections in Challenging Times – a Community Integration Session”
8/6/25: “Participating in Change: Awareness, Timings and Life’s Cycles”
7/2/25: “Higher-Self-Actualization Using Neuroscience and Mind-Hacking”
6/4/25: “Community Circle”
5/7/25: “Navigating Change with the Five Elements,” bringing an East Asian perspective on how we can be most effective within ongoing change.”
4/2/25: “Understanding how our Enneagram Type influences how we Navigate Change”
3/5/25: “The Pivotal Power of Perception and Perspective”
2/5/25: “Exploring Deep Connection in Deeply Changing Times”

 

12/3/25: “Community Harvest – What We’ve Learned and Where We Go Next”

Call audio

“Plant seeds of happiness, hope, success and love; it will all come back to you in abundance. This is the law of nature.”
—Steve Maraboli

Our Gathering began with a review of programs where we explored different perspectives related to our two-year theme, “The Art of Agility: Navigating the Natural Rhythms of Change.” This year we examined what shapes our perspectives through diverse lenses: the neuroscience of change, engaging with change as part of nature’s rhythms, conscious AI, and the wisdom of two animal guides—the Bison and the Eagle. These programs were thought-provoking and rich; if you missed them, we invite you to check out our audios from 2025 on this page.

Aligned with our theme, we established a rhythmic cadence for reflective practice this year: community mini circles. Each quarter we paused to integrate what we’d experienced with our guest speakers—gathering in extended small breakout groups to deepen our understanding of what we were learning and our connection with one another. These sessions sparked both insights and intimacy.

It seemed fitting to close our year with circles exploring these questions:

  1. As you settle into this space, what are you noticing about where you are in your life right now?
  2. When you think back on 2025, what stands out—not because it was dramatic, but because you were surprised by yourself, or something shifted in you?
  3. This year we explored our capacity to dance with change—what rhythm have you been learning to dance with? What images or metaphors have stuck with you?
  4. As you look toward 2026, what does your body know that your mind hasn’t quite named yet?

Some highlights of what people shared:

  • The deep connection and safety we felt being in community together
  • Recognition that so many of us want to make a difference in the world
  • A growing sense of coherence and alignment in relationship with all that is moving through and around us, all that is emerging in the world
  • The importance of choice and discernment
  • A desire to show up more consistently, in a gentle and loving way, to ourselves and others
  • The recognition that choosing to be in love with life and the world is itself an act of change agency

We thank each of you for your participation and look forward to seeing you all next year on February 4th.

Gift Video

We are experimenting with publishing The Gathering in video format as well as audio. Here is our video of the May 2025 Gathering with Kevin John Fong.

11/5/25: “Collective Change Through National Identity”

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“I am large, I contain multitudes”
—Walt Whitman

Our last Gathering for Change with Brandon Peele invited us to reflect on the natures of two animals—the eagle and the bison, the national bird and mammal of the United States respectively. This lens invited people from wherever they were in the world to consider the energy of these animals, regardless of their civic connections.

After Walt Whitman lit our fire with wild prairie grasses and spoke of ceaseless change and the composting earth, we entered our journey together. Brandon shared the bison ethic as one of regeneration and harmony with the life around it, while the eagle represents apex predation. Both have their place in the ecosystem, so the question is which one do we want to model our society after and use as a symbol to guide our values?

In small groups we pondered this question, which we invite you to reflect upon now: “What are your deal-breakers that would cause you to leave your country?” Answers were varied as we sunk down deep to determine what exactly might inspire any of us to pack our bags.

Brandon then explored the purpose of the United States through one of the founding statements: All Men Are Created Equal. While “all” and “equal” are clear mathematical concepts, and we can reason that “men” now means adults, he focused on the word “created” as a path of deliberation. What does it mean to develop a civic culture that holds the strata necessary for us to realize millions of equally created adults?

And how does this help us navigate change? Consider how the bison react to a storm. Not only do they turn to face it, but they run into it, knowing that this courage will get them through it more quickly.

Brandon Peele is an American Midwesterner, best-selling author, and Purpose Advisor at Unity Lab. He’s trusted as a keynote speaker, consultant and program leader by organizations such as Google, Harvard Business School, Johnson & Johnson, Stanford University. Brandon has facilitated gatherings on civic faith, national purpose, and community building with organizations such as Rotary Club, Citizen University, The ManKind Project, and Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church. You may have heard him on The Soul Podcast or in his civic sermons: The Idea of America, Our Nation’s Purpose, and Bison vs. Eagle.

In his book Bison Medicine: The Cure for a Troubled Nation, Brandon explores three powerful ideas:

  • Our nation holds a beautiful purpose—one we can realize when we understand its meaning and the science of how to fulfill it.
  • The behavior of the Bison, our majestic National Mammal, is a better match for our nation’s purpose than the bald eagle.
  • Each of us can live our best life by activating our unique purpose in true community.

Resources:

10/1/25: “The Art of Agility: Navigating the Natural Rhythms of Change”

Call audio

“All that you touch You Change.
All that you Change Changes you.
The only lasting truth Is Change.”
— Octavia Butler

October’s Gathering for Change Agents offered a space to explore our relationship to a facet of change that is untenable in its aggressive pace, insidious manifestations, and fantastic possibilities—artificial intelligence. Ada Lovelace lit our fire and offered her innovative spirit to spark our conversation.

“I am in a charming state of confusion.”
― Ada Lovelace

Our guide for this adventure was Rachel Zargo, co-founder of CoGo—AI designed to foster human connection and peace. Rachel Zargo is an entrepreneur and experience designer who innovates technology (ancient and modern) for human connection. Her purpose is to calm our collective nervous system so we may fully enjoy the beauty within us. With more than 25 years in creative and business leadership—from scaling yoga festivals to building intimate dialogue networks. Rachel is a mother, artist, Circle Keeper, and co-founder of CoGo with her husband, Andy Swindler.

In our check-in, the group revealed its diverse familiarity with this technology. Some were “looking forward to developing a conscious relationship with AI after avoiding it,” adding “This call is exactly what I needed.” Others had backgrounds in computer science or were deeply immersed in AI experiments.

We started with an open mic share of the words that emerged to express our current perception of AI, which you can see portrayed below:

People also shared:

  • AI is our new sword of truth
  • Positive impact to improve writing, ideas. But stops people (young people) from using their minds and developing their abilities
  • I go to two places: Dystopian future – downfall of mankind. On the other hand, AI also has the potential to deepen the question: what does it mean to be human?

Rachel then led a guided pranayama breathwork exercise to help the group ground into this moment and prepare for a more mindful conversation together. You can do this yourself – at any time – by following these instructions:

  1. From a comfortable seated position, gently tuck your chin
  2. Plug your ears with your middle fingers
  3. Inhale and then on your exhale, hum
  4. You’ll do this 5 times on your own and then come back to the room

Our first questions focused on the potential of AI. (If you missed the call, take a moment to answer these questions for yourself)

  • How are you using AI in ways that amplify your work or better serve the community? If you are not using it, what would you be curious to try?
    Responses included:

    • Consulting, strategic planning
    • Helped me create my first podcast series
    • Deep research assistant, exploring how to raise the next generation of healthy boys and connecting with a trusted source of guidance

Small group breakouts were very engaging as folks talked through these questions to investigate how they are or might use AI to enhance their relationships and work:

  1. How has AI changed your life or the lives of those in your circles?
  2. What is your purpose, or something you care deeply about?
  3. Are you using—or could you use—AI to enhance this purposeful work?
  4. OR: If you choose NOT to use AI for this purpose, what informs that choice? Are there other ways you envision engaging with AI?

Coming back together as a full group, we had a lively discussion to harvest the wisdom that emerged and weave it together more broadly. We heard:

  • Inspired to get started, good conversation, good possibilities – when used with caution. Possibilities that I can’t ignore.
  • Long-term challenges for humanity and benefits that are so manifest now for good.
  • AI seems to be an inevitability. It’s here and here to stay. Amplify our shadows. Feels like the best thing I can do is have a conscious relationship with it for purposeful work.
  • Greatest concern is our reality crumbling—bring us back to hyper local, trusting the person across the table from you,
  • LOVED THIS SESSION

With an intention of leaving this space with a clear next step, participants were asked to write down one concrete way you can use AI in alignment with your purpose.

  • What’s one concrete way you can use AI in alignment with your purpose? Write that down.

Given the state of AI and the wide diversity of this gathering, we left with a richer understanding, new ideas, and inevitably far more questions than answers about how this paradigm-shifting technology will change our lives.

Resources:

Rachel and her husband/co-founder/Gathering host, Andy, are building an AI mediator called CoGo. They are seeking collaborators, investors, and couples/coaches/therapists to interview about how they navigate conflict in relationships. If you would like to participate, email them at connect@cogo.now.

9/3/25: “Creating Meaningful Connections in Challenging Times “

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Once again, The Gathering of Change Agents gathered in small groups to connect in the ancient practice of Circle. We will continue this powerful practice every three months, as attendees have shared how much it means to them to have this space where we encounter one another in a much more intimate way. For those who haven’t joined us yet, Circle offers a practice of deep listening and witnessing, creating space for connection, intimacy, and shared wisdom.

Om this call, we explored the convergence of the neuroscience of change and the rhythms of nature. From this reflection arose the metaphor of a river—ever flowing over, under, and around obstacles, while also offering sanctuary and movement. The following prompts were used for our conversations:

  1. When you think of a river or flowing water, what qualities come to mind that also describe how you’d like to navigate change?
  2. If your current life situation were a body of water, would it be a rushing river, a calm lake, ocean waves, or something else? What does that tell you about your relationship with change right now?
  3. Rivers are shaped by both the landscape they move through and the landscape they carve. How has navigating change both shaped you and been shaped by you?
  4. At the confluence where two rivers meet, the waters blend and create something new while honoring what each brought. How are you honoring both who you’ve been and who you’re becoming as you navigate this season of change?

We met in groups of 4 and shared our ideas and insights for each question. Coming back together, we shared themes from the small group discussions. Here are some of those reflections:

  • When I think about the river – it has a certain direction. It goes downstream and if there is a rock or something in its way, it flows around it. Balancing having focused action and direction – adjusting and being agile with the flow of life
  • The persistence of the movement – allowing the river to flow where it’s going to go
  • Recognizing how I’ve been changed by the flow of life, and how it has also changed other people
  • Am I the water or carried by it? Can I view myself as the water, and not just tossed around?

We walked away feeling seen and nourished in our exploration together.

8/6/25: “Participating in Change: Awareness, Timings and Life’s Cycles”

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“Change is a process that brings us home to ourselves even as it evolves the world.”
~ Marti Spiegelman

When we understand ourselves as part of living systems rather than isolated individuals, change transforms from something we resist into the very essence of how we grow and evolve.

On this call, consciousness-based leadership pioneer Marti Spiegelman joined us to explore why we struggle so much with change in Western culture, and how we can learn to participate in change as a natural part of life’s cycles. Marti, co-host of the “Leading from Being” podcast with Todd Hoskins, brought more than 30 years of experience training leaders to tap into what she calls our “extraordinary gift of human consciousness.”

Marti is a leadership advisor and consciousness teacher who brings precision awareness skills to business and governance. With over 40 years of business experience and training in three original human wisdom traditions, Marti works to restore our human genius for collective evolution. She holds degrees from Harvard and Yale, and was president of her own design firm for 20 years.

Key Insights from Our Conversation:

On Why Change Feels Difficult:

  • We love to grow and accomplish things, but we hate to change – yet growth requires us to “throw off our husk” like a seed and move in new directions
  • Our culture promotes over-individuation at the expense of belonging, leaving us disconnected from the larger systems that could support our evolution
  • When we’re not rooted in our essential selves or connected to something bigger than us, change feels threatening rather than natural

On Finding Our Essence Through Connection:

  • Everything inside us came from outside of us — we are inherently connected beings
  • We discover who we are through exchange with the world, not through isolation
  • Like a river flowing from headwaters, our life creates tributaries that express our unique essence in the world

On Natural Cycles and Timing:

  • Everything in nature operates in cycles of growth and evolution
  • Each cycle naturally generates the energy needed to leap to the next phase
  • When we create things outside of these natural systems, we lose the regenerative momentum that sustains life

On Developing Awareness:

  • Most people in Western culture use only a small part of their awareness and brain capacity
  • Full consciousness involves being aware within our physical structures while simultaneously connected to the world around us
  • This creates a state of constant exchange where we beam our light into the world and receive information back

Continuing the Journey:

For those inspired to explore consciousness-based approaches to change and leadership, Marti has generously offered several ways to continue learning:

Free Consciousness Discussions with Marti:

  • August 19th at 2:30 PM Pacific
  • Email Marti directly for Zoom links

Additional Resources:

Leading from Being Podcast: Available on Apple, Spotify, and all major platforms – find it at https://www.leadingfrombeing.com/podcast
Precision Consciousness Course: https://pc.martispiegelman.org/

Reflections to Carry Forward:

As we heard from our community members:

  • “I feel like I’ve come home to myself” — recognizing the internal momentum that comes from authentic growth cycles
  • “Change is a process that brings us home to ourselves” — reframing change as an opportunity rather than a threat
  • The importance of finding resonance and support in community as we navigate life’s natural rhythms

7/2/25: “”Higher-Self-Actualization Using Neuroscience and Mind-Hacking””

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In this Gathering, we explored the topic of “Higher-Self-Actualization Using Neuroscience and Mind-Hacking” with our guest speaker, Due Quach (pronounced ‘Zway Kwok’). Due is one of the world’s leading experts on integrating neuroscience and mindfulness into leadership development. Her book, “Calm Clarity: How to Use Science to Rewire Your Brain for Greater Wisdom, Fulfillment, and Joy,” was one of Fast Company’s Best Business Books of 2018.

Due’s life is a testament to the power of neuroscience as a tool for healing and self-actualization. Having started life in poverty as a refugee in inner-city Philadelphia, Due healed the effects of trauma on her brain by developing mind-hacking techniques that enabled her to graduate from Harvard College and the Wharton School of Business, as well as rise to leadership roles in management consulting and private equity investments. Then in 2013, Due started Calm Clarity to share her “user manual for steering brain development” to support people, organizations, and communities to successfully navigate adversity, elevate their performance, and realize their full potential.

Due began by sharing her definition of the word “mind hacking—using science to enhance the best qualities of being human by proactively steering brain development in a way that physiologically supports greater physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being.”

“When people go through early childhood trauma, adversity, rejection, marginalization, bullying, etc.,” Due said, “they fragment and dissociate. The networks of the brain that allow you to experience alignment and wholeness don’t fully develop. And if you’ve had early emotional trauma, physical trauma, spiritual trauma, many of us may never have experienced or don’t know what it feels like to be aligned and whole.”

Due’s profound personal journey of healing and scientific discovery led her to see patterns common in human behavior that she defines as Brain 1.0, Brain 2.0, and Brain 3.0. Below is a quick snapshot of these brain states — and you can learn much more about these brain states, Calm Clarity and Due’s personal journey on the recording for this session.

  • Brain 1.0 is a state of self-preservation where your threat system is always taking over. It’s all about survival. You’re hypervigilant, you don’t feel safe, you’re going to armor up. You’re not open to perspectives. It’s easy to lose hope and fall into despair and to transmit fear and pain in relationships.
  • Brain 2.0 is where we try to escape Brain 1.0 as much as possible. We chase rewards and we try to acquire things to make us feel better. Still, you tend to actually be anxious, insecure, impulsive, and restless the more you live in Brain 2.0. You’re chasing external validation.
  • Brain 3.0 is when the voice in our head brings out our best selves. We can be open, connected, curious, creative. We can embody our core values and aspirations. We can see a bigger picture, and take a long term time horizon. This is where we feel we can be wise, attuned, collaborative, and agile.

To navigate change with agility, we need Brain 3.0, which allows us to appreciate, lift up and inspire people no matter what’s happening in the world. Our call was filled with information and discussion to help us:

  • Become aware of how you respond differently in three patterns of brain activation, and how to discern which one you are responding from in the moment
  • Discover the 4 key systems of your brain that strengthen your capacity to embody a higher state of consciousness
  • Learn strategies to increase your resilience and let go of stories that no longer serve you
  • Connect with spirit more readily by identifying what can impede spiritual conductivity

When we apply the keys Dues shared – to strengthen the four key systems in the brain – it allows us to live and lead in a state of alignment and wholeness, enhancing our performance and well-being. This expands our spiritual conductivity as we listen to our inner sage more and more.

What supports you to experience spiritual conductivity and transmit Brain 3.0?

Resources

Upcoming Events from Due and Calm Clarity:

Due’s Resources:

You can also access the slides Due shared here.

6/4/25: “Community Circle”

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Once again, The Gathering of Change Agents used our monthly time to gather in small groups to connect in the ancient practice of Circle. We will continue this powerful practice every three months, as attendees have shared how much it means to them to have this space where we encounter one another in a much more intimate way.

The Wisdom of Circle

Though we appeared in separate screens, our intention was to gather in humanity’s most enduring form of community. The circle is found across millennia and cultures—a sacred geometry where hierarchy dissolves, where no one stands above or below, ahead or behind. It expands to welcome each voice and contracts to hold intimacy. Within this embrace, we become both teacher and student, speaker and listener, known and knowing.

We honored this timeless practice through five agreements that create the container for authentic sharing:

  1. Be Present & Welcome – Setting aside distractions to create welcoming space
  2. Speak Your Truth & Listen Deeply – Sharing authentically while witnessing others without trying to fix or advise
  3. Honor Confidentiality – What’s shared in the circle stays in the circle
  4. Trust Your Experience – Paying attention to body wisdom and taking space when needed
  5. Stay Open to Discomfort – Approaching challenges with curiosity rather than judgment

Our Circle Journey

In small groups of four, we moved through these four meaningful prompts, each person sharing for approximately 3 minutes per question:

  1. What is present for you in this moment?
  2. With all that’s going on in the world, what have you learned about yourself and your relationships? And how has this learning allowed you to find hope?
  3. Talk about a recent time you made a difference in someone’s life.
  4. Looking back at what you’ve shared today about where you are right now, what you’ve learned, and how you’ve impacted others – what is “change” teaching you about who you’re becoming?

Honoring Sam Keen

Our fire lighter for this gathering was Sam Keen (1931-2024), the beloved philosopher and author who passed away just a few months ago. Sam spent his final decades discovering that true wisdom comes not from libraries but from patient attention to the natural world—from watching birds at dawn and tending to life on his Sonoma ranch.

In his approach to our circle, Sam reminded us that transformation happens not when we try to control life, but when we learn to dance with its deeper rhythms. Drawing from his work with the flying trapeze, he shared that meaningful connection requires the courage to let go—to trust the space between what was and what might be, knowing that our safety net is each other.

Rather than posting the full session recording, we invite you to experience Sam’s profound fire-lighting presence through this month’s special recording, using the audio link above.

5/7/25: “Navigating Change with the Five Elements,” bringing an East Asian perspective on how we can be most effective within ongoing change”

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As Kevin John Fong closed our May gathering with a powerful poem by Taj James, many of us felt a renewed sense of connection and purpose:

“If we only knew
how profoundly
we matter

how important
our every decision

if we could only remember
how inescapably
we belong.”

~ Taj James ~

These words resonated deeply as we explored the ancient wisdom of The Five Elements—reminding us that our work as change agents is profoundly connected to understanding how we belong within larger cycles. In this call, Kevin John Fong introduced us to this 4500-year-old East Asian framework that revealed how seemingly opposing forces can work in harmony, offering us both philosophical insights and practical tools for these transformative times.

Kevin Kahakula’akea John Fong is an internationally recognized cultural translator, facilitator, and speaker in transformative justice, leadership development, and building beloved communities. As Founder of the Kahakulei Institute, Kevin works to “weave people and possibilities to cultivate communities of belonging.” He has brought The Five Elements to hundreds of organizations and thousands of people, from Silicon Valley to rural Mississippi, from primary schools in New Mexico to the White House.

The Circle Opening

We began our gathering with a beautiful fire-lighting ceremony led by Andy, honoring Kevin’s kumu (teacher) Aunty Puanani Burgess (1947-2024), the beloved Hawaiian poet, community builder, and peacemaker whose life’s work was dedicated to “Building the Beloved Community.” Her presence and wisdom set a tone of welcome and reflection for our conversation.

Bridging vs. Breaking

Kevin shared John A. Powell’s framework of “Bridging and Breaking” responses to change. As change occurs, anxiety rises, and we have a choice in how we respond. People look to leaders (like us) to frame the narrative. In times like these, we have the opportunity to spread narratives of bridging.

The Five Elements Framework

Kevin introduced us to The Five Elements—Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal—as a way to understand the natural cycles of change. Each element represents a distinct phase of the organizational lifecycle:

➢ Water (Consolidation): People come together through a common purpose or identified need, developing organizing principles and philosophy.

➢ Wood (Creation): The group explores all possibilities of expressing the purpose or addressing the need, engaging in research, brainstorming, and visioning.

➢ Fire (Direction): The group identifies specific strategies and attracts the larger community of supporters and investors, focusing on prioritized goals, branding, messaging, and collaboration.

➢ Earth (Coordination): The group hires staff and develops systems, teams, policies, and procedures, creating functional teams and operational systems aligned with values.

➢ Metal (Implementation): The group enters full production mode where projects are fully functioning and tasks are accomplished, producing and delivering products or services.

Where Do You Stand?

In a powerful interactive activity, we were invited to reflect on and position ourselves within The Five Elements framework by answering these questions:

  • What element/phase best describes the state of the world as you see it?
  • What element/phase best describes the state of your community as you see it?
  • What element/phase best describes where you are?
  • What element/phase best describes where we, as change agents, need to be?

This exercise helped us identify where we stand individually and collectively, revealing areas of balance and imbalance. The key concept of The Five Elements lies in understanding how each element can support or restrain the other, and how balance among the elements fosters health and well-being. You can access the slides from the Where do you Stand? activity here.

Applications of The Five Elements

Kevin explained how The Five Elements framework has been particularly effective in:

  • Communication & Conflict Resolution: Providing a unique way of looking at group and interpersonal dynamics that affirms differing views
  • Leadership Development: Acknowledging the spectrum of leadership styles and providing a model for constructive development
  • Teambuilding: Clarifying roles and responsibilities based on inherent strengths and gifts
  • Strategic Planning & Implementation: Addressing philosophy, premises, and processes involved in effective planning and implementation

Resources

Recommended Books:

Recommended Websites:

4/2/25: “Understanding how our Enneagram Type influences how we Navigate Change”

Call audio

“Being blind to parts of ourselves means that there is often a difference
between the personwe think we are—or the person we would like to see
ourselves as—and who we really are as we walk through the world.”
~ Beatrice Chesnut

Knowing ourselves and how we habitually navigate change helps us to understand that there might be many more options available to us, if we understood our natural patterns. The Enneagram is one model to help us do that.

On our Gathering call on April 2, our very own True Purpose Consultant, Monika Steimle, introduced us to the Enneagram and explained how each of the 9 Enneagram Types responds to change. Within the Enneagram model, there are different ways to gain deeper insights into thoughts, feelings, and actions. To better distinguish how the different 9 types respond to change, we explored the three Hornevian Centers—The Assertive Types, Compliant Types, and Withdrawn Types.

Using this model, we chose either the Center that our Enneagram Type belonged to or the Center that most resonated for us. To gain deeper insights, we asked participants to reflect on a recent change and answer these four questions:

  • What was your first emotional reaction to this change?
  • What thoughts went through your mind?
  • What did you physically do or how did you behave?
  • What did you need most during this time?

Dividing into the three Groups, we shared our responses and learned what we needed to break through our habitual reaction to change. Some of the insights we gleaned:

  • For the Assertive Types (Enneagram 3, 7, 8) recognizing how much Trusted Source guides us, and helps us to separate from our habitual patterns
  • For Compliant Types (Enneagram 1, 2, 6) processing out loud is really important and how we prefer to deal with what’s happening in the “present”
  • For the Withdrawn Types (Enneagram 4, 5, 9) seeing the movement from going within and the past and then moving out; and the importance of having space and time to process

Monika Steimle is a senior practitioner and member of the Integrative Enneagram faculty who uses the Enneagram in coaching, team development, and organizational transformation processes.

She was the first certified True Purpose® Coach in Germany (for individuals and organizations), and guides individual leaders, small groups, and organizations to find their higher purpose, and the unique transformational impact and manifestation of their purpose.

Monika lives in Berlin, Germany, and, as a Best-Ager ;), explores purposeful impact and raising love consciousness in the world.

To learn more about Monika’s offerings, connect with her here: https://www.steimleconsulting.de/. In addition to the Enneagram, Monika provides Purpose Coaching and other consulting services.

Resources

For people who are interested in learning more and diving deeper into the Enneagram Model, here are some useful resources:

Recommended Books:

The Complete Enneagram and The Enneagram Guide to Waking Up – Beatrice Chestnut PhD
The Enneagram Development Guide – Ginger Lapid Bogda
Deep Living and Deep Coaching – Roxanne Howe-Murphy
The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey of Self-Discovery – Ian Morgan Cron
The Path Between Us – Suzanne Stabile
The Wisdom of the Enneagram – Don Riso and Russ Hudson

Recommended Podcasts:

Typology with Ian Cron https://www.typologypodcast.com/
The Enneagram Journey with Suzanne Stabile https://open.spotify.com/show/7Hj72xjaqJnxegORtw0E9z

Enneagram Document:

Monika also prepared for you a document with detailed information about each Enneagram type and its response to change. Get the document here.

3/5/25: “”The Pivotal Power of Perception and Perspective”

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“Attachment constrains our vision so that we are
not able to see things from a wider perspective.”
~ Dalai Lama

As agents of change, we’re well-aware that people can shift their experience of themselves, others and the world as they pivot their perception… and perspectives… about what is true and what might be possible. Neuroscience, quantum science, focus, attraction, imagination, shifting beliefs and expectations, parts work and more —- so many ways to initiate change. That’s what we do, right?

And yet, with all we know and all that is possible, we still get stuck in our particular versions of a story about what’s going on and what’s around the corner – especially in times that are overwhelming, daunting or uncertain.

We humans are meaning-making beings! What factors contribute to the story we see… and stick to? How can we loosen our attachment to our version of “reality” and expand our ability to perceive possibilities from a wider perspective?

On our Gathering call March 5th, Beth Scanzani led us through experiential exploration of an essential aspect of navigating change: “The Pivotal Power of Perception and Perspective.”

As a full group, we shared our thoughts, perspectives, challenges, success strategies and curiosities around perception and perspective as it relates to shifting our inner and outer experience of life – and our ability to more consciously choose how we react and act in response to what we perceive as “real”.

We also spent some spacious time together in smaller groups to move through a very useful, insightful… and impactful experiential exercise that was designed to help us pivot our perspective and invite new possibilities for what’s real and possible.

If you missed the call, you can enjoy the interactive discussions and content that we shared, and follow the directions to experience the small group exercise via the recording.

2/5/25: “Exploring Deep Connection in Deeply Changing Times”

Call audio

“The Times They Are A-Changin””
—Bob Dylan

In our first Gathering for 2025, we welcomed “Change” through the experiential and energetic lens of connecting with each other in circles. Our newest co-host, Todd Hoskins, made good on his promise to mix things up!

Participants gathered in small and large group spaces to share our thoughts, feelings and sensations of the fast-paced, far reaching and tumultuous changes around and in us. What a gift it was to share with each other in ways that felt so authentic… and so deeply moving energetically, mentally and emotionally.

How often do you have the opportunity to share a welcoming and non-judgmental space
with people who are there to listen and graciously receive your words and feelings?

In this circle format, we each took turns passing the virtual talking pieces and answering prompts below. If you missed the call or want to try your own circle, here are the prompts:

  1. “What patterns of change are you noticing in your life and work right now?”
  2. “What practices help you stay grounded when everything around you is in flux?”
  3. “How has your understanding of change and transformation been evolving?”

When we came back together as a full group, people were enlivened, with a sparkle in their eyes – and so deeply touched from heart to heart.

Here is a taste of what people shared in the large group. (Check out the recording for a fuller appreciation of the group’s insights and shares):

  • Nourished and grateful. Personal reflections that I hadn’t articulated to myself. Hearing other people’s articulations helped me articulate my own.
  • Don’t know what will come out of my mouth. Sense of discovering new things I could not have come to on my own. Agility, fluidity to be meeting the moment. Surrender into non-understanding.
  • No right or wrong answers, nowhere I had to be. Very spacious in that way. Felt like each of us was putting a log on the fire, pausing between rounds. Cool fire, nourishing flame
  • Surprised and delighted at the sense of timelessness. Easy, spacious, connected, real, evolving. Rich, delightful, just what I needed.
  • A flower unfolding. Petals unfolding into their fullness. Amazed at the ease and flow of it. A lot of hope, needing these days, possibilities. Grateful.

We’ll definitely be offering more expansive time for deeper sharing throughout the year… such a gift!

 

Your Gathering Hosts

 

About Beth Scanzani

Beth Scanzani is a highly respected and multi-faceted transformational coach, teacher and speaker. A lifelong student and curious soul, she has enjoyed exploring and integrating a wealth of knowledge, resources, and strategies that draw upon a wide range of psychological, scientific, and spiritual teachings. Prior to her transition into teaching and coaching in support of evolving consciousness, Beth enjoyed a successful career as a human resources executive in the high tech and healthcare industries.

True to her nature, Beth’s studies encompass a purposeful blend of psychological, scientific, and spiritual perspectives. She has attained numerous coaching certifications including True Purpose Coach™, Belief Closet™ Practitioner, Master Career Coach, Dream Coach™, iPEC Empowerment Coach™, Energy Leadership Coach™ and Theoretical Foundations of Coaching with David Rock. In addition, she is a trained facilitator and teacher of the Voice Dialogue™ process.

Beth is deeply passionate about sharing knowledge and strategies that create meaningful and sustainable transformation in service to co-creating a world that works for everyone. Beth has co-developed and/or co-taught many tele-seminars for the True Purpose Institute ™, the Shift Network and others including Voice Dialogue Mastery, Inner Harmony Practitioner Training, Evolving Beyond Your Wounds, Shadow Quest, Purposeful Coach Training, Blessing Yourself, Divine Guidance on Purpose and Purposeful Marketing. Beth also serves as a valued guide for those who wish to explore deeper meaning, insight and guidance through their sleeping dreams and waking life stories. She co-developed and teaches Stories from the Night Shift, a NASW CEU eligible seminar for therapists, coaches and other practitioners who want to increase their competence and confidence in accessing the treasures buried in sleeping dreams.

People who work with Beth value her insightful, strategic, fun and results-oriented coaching which helps them to achieve breakthrough results on short-term goals while simultaneously creating fundamental shifts that build a strong foundation for ongoing success and fulfillment, personally and professionally. Her eclectic approach and natural agility enable her to customize her coaching style, strategies and processes to help clients create a clear vision, navigate their way out of uncertainty and restrained momentum, and successfully achieve their desired outcomes.

Through her work as a teacher and coach, Beth demonstrates her dedication to providing transformative courses, workshops and coaching in service to those who are ready to reclaim their inner wisdom, embrace their life purpose and true nature, and wholly offer their unique gifts to others…and to the world we all share.

About Andy Swindler

Andy Swindler’s brings hearts together. He envisions a world that embraces healthy tensions to nurture dignity and agency for every person. Andy’s Chicago-based practice, Lead From Love, empowers conscious leaders and inclusive organizations to shift the dominant narrative from fear to love through an embodied expression of purpose and values.

He began his entrepreneurial journey at age 24, which led to owning a boutique digital marketing & software development company for 14 years until exiting at the end of 2016. Andy’s journey of studying human interaction and shepherding human flourishing now culminates in FeelReal, which he has incubated and evolved since 2007.

Andy is a Certified True Purpose® Coach & Consultant, Barrett Values Centre® Practitioner, Collaborative Operating System Consultant and Voice Dialogue™ Practitioner. He co-hosts The Gathering For Change Agents each month and is the Strategic Partnerships Chair for Conscious Capitalism Chicago Chapter. Andy speaks and writes on issues of equity and inclusion. He developed The Metamodel framework to visualize the alignment between more than 100 different conscious leadership, business and dialogue frameworks.

About Susan Alexander

Susan Alexander, PCC, is an executive and life coach with an extensive business background. She created her company Rosebud Coaching and Consulting to specialize in helping individuals to create new possibilities for their personal & professional life to fulfill their most important goals and aspirations. Her work focuses on individuals connecting with confidence and clarity to what’s most important to them (their purpose) and removing barriers of beliefs and assumptions that stand in the way of their full and authentic expression. Susan helps individuals be extraordinary leaders in all aspects of their lives. She coaches executives, managers and individuals with a special emphasis on the power of self-perception and communications and their impact on job performance.

She is a certified True Purpose Individual and Organizational Consultant. She is also certified in numerous instruments including Enneagram, Myers Briggs, Gallup Strengthsfinder, Conversational Intelligence, EQi, Positive Intelligence.

About Todd Hoskins

Todd Hoskins helps people and organizations work better together and reimagine what’s possible by learning from the patterns and rhythms that emerge in living systems. Through his practice, Canopy Gap, he combines insights from ecology, network science, and human behavior to support teams and organizations as they navigate complexity and change.

As both a practitioner & guide, Todd works in three interconnected ways:

  • Designing organizational systems that enable more natural collaboration and adaptation
  • Facilitating ecosystem partnerships that create value across organizational boundaries
  • Coaching individuals and teams to discover new ways of seeing, being, and moving through the world

Todd brings a unique perspective shaped by his graduate work in psychology, training in somatic awareness, and deep study of natural systems. He has helped launch and transform organizations across sectors – from technology startups to public media, from educational institutions to environmental initiatives.

In addition to his work with Canopy Gap, Todd co-hosts the podcast and leadership program Leading from Being. He serves as Senior Fellow for Architectures of Collaboration at the People-Centered Internet, and his board work spans digital equity, youth mental wellbeing, and building bridges through meaningful dialogue.

Todd splits his time between the tropical dry forests of Costa Rica and the wilderness of Northern Michigan. Together with his partner Pia, he teaches Argentine Tango – an embodied practice that mirrors his work with organizations, blending structure with spontaneity, and technical skill with creative emergence.