From conception, our brains develop from the bottom up: brain stem, limbic system, and then cortex. The nervous system is the first to develop, with the primary responsibility of protecting us from danger. It operates through approach or avoid—going toward what nurtures us and away from what threatens us. From a young age, we perceived our caregivers as doing both. Our personality becomes hardwired into our nervous system as a survival strategy, setting patterns of thinking, feeling, and behavior. While they served us well in childhood, these patterns limit us in adulthood.
Learn about your individual patterns using the Enneagram as a map, and how to work with the nervous system to expand your capacity for spiritual growth. This class will be taught in two five-week terms:
- Term 1: Mondays, February 6–March 6, from 7–9 pm, will focus on understanding the Nervous System and the Enneagram. (suggested donation is $35)
- Term 2: Mondays, March 13–April 10, from 6:30–9 pm, will continue the learning, but will add an experiential element to the academic teaching. You must have completed Term 1 to take Term 2. (suggested donation is $50)
Required Book: The Enneagram: Understanding Yourself and the Others In Your Life by Helen Palmer (available on Amazon). The Rev. Mary Lynn Callahan has a limited number of copies in less than perfect condition for $10/ea or by scholarship if requested.
Click here to download a registration form.
About Our Instructor and Guide, Kerry O’Donnell
Kerry O’Donnell has 25 years of experience working for the United States Institute of Peace, Council for International Exchange of Scholars, and American University. She has taught classes on interpersonal conflicts at Carnegie Mellon University’s Osher Institute, and workshops for businesses and nonprofit organizations. Kerry also founded and directed a community victim-offender dialogue program in Washington D.C., and received the Jefferson Award for public service as a mediator for the Pennsylvania Office of Victim Advocate—facilitating dialogues between violent crime victims and offenders.
Kerry holds a Masters degree in Education, is trained in Traumatic Stress Studies, and is certified in Somatic Experiencing (Peter Levine) through the Trauma Institute. She also is a certified Conflict Management Coach, Enneagram Teacher and Coach, Mediator, and Senior Certified Professional in Human Resource Management.
In her free time, she enjoys visiting the patients at Children’s Hospital with her miniature horse, Lucky Stars.