Exploring Enneagrams

When first introduced to Enneagrams, I met them with the same level of skepticism reserved for zodiac signs and other pseudoscientific tests.

But after understanding the history behind them, which was born out of the desire to improve one’s state of ‘presence’ and self-awareness, I decided to give the test a try.

The outcomes were insightful, but not necessarily new. What I did appreciate and found valuable is that each characteristic has an accompanying ‘dark’ side – the behaviours that we exhibit when under stress or feeling fearful. This concept builds off of the work by Carl Jung – who identified universal archetypes that derive from our collective unconscious.

Explore their origins and give the Enneagram test a try – you may find that you carry traits of all 9 roles (I think we all do to some extent) but it may help explain why you exhibit more of one than another.

On the journey towards experiencing self-actualisation and expressing your art, the ability to better understand one’s traits, both conscious and subconscious, is invaluable.

Song Exploder

As Song Exploder comes to Netflix in visual form, it’s a great time to celebrate this wonderful podcast which is what I, and every other musician, wished their friends would listen to.

In a simple but engaging manner, Song Exploder dissects individual songs and looks into the technical process behind their creation, how the artist and producer came together, and the secret sauce that helped the songs explode in popularity.

My favourite episode is actually a look into how the Black Panther soundtrack was composed by Ludwig Goransson – who most recently worked on Tenet.

Catch up on past episodes here, and look out for it on Netflix.