Enneagram & Whiteness

a workshop and pilgrimage

Workshop: Saturday November 12 from 9:00am-4:00pm (lunch is included)

Optional Pilgrimage: Sunday November 13 from 9:30am-12:00pm

This event is in-person and facilitated by Milton Steward & Chelsea Forbrook. This event will be limited to 45 registrants, so please sign up ASAP if this is a topic of interest to you!

“Culture is to a group what personality is to an individual.” - Debby Irving 

Workshop:

When it comes to race, disadvantage and oppression, it’s safe to say that most people are well intentioned and want to cause no harm. We go about our lives trying to treat others with kindness, even if they’re different from us. When it comes to race, we try our best to love “those people” of other races and cultures.

The problem with this (just like the problem of trying to fix others' personalities without first seeing our own clearly) is that we need to start with us, with our own race and our own culture. Those who are White have been trained to see others as having a race while they are just “normal.” To understand the deep, systemic issues of race within our American context, we must first understand Whiteness.

What is white culture? How and when did whiteness emerge as an ideology? What are the invisible, underlying values, beliefs and assumptions within white homes, businesses, governments and communities? What about Whiteness is helpful and what is unintentionally harmful to those of other races?

Just like working with our Enneagram type, once we see it clearly and understand it within a larger framework, we suddenly WAKE UP to our patterns and have the freedom to choose more skillful ways of living. The individual work we’ve already done with our Enneagram type will be used and useful in this exploration. 

In this daylong workshop, Milton and Chelsea will:

• Use the tools of the Enneagram, presence, compassion, and curiosity to explore the legacy of Whiteness and race in our culture and context

• Share their own personal stories of encountering Whiteness in their lives and how their understanding has evolved over time

• Engage all three Centers of head, heart and body in the exploration of Whiteness

• Create a safe atmosphere free of shame, lecturing or advice. We will do this work together with curiosity and compassion for ALL

• Provide historical context around Whiteness in Minnesota and the United States and what this means for us today

• Help you explore the harmful aspects of Whiteness and how your Enneagram type plays into this cycle

• Explore stages of grief in learning about Whiteness, help us understand the automatic advantages of being white, and understand where our cultural beliefs and assumptions come from

• Inspire you to take real, practical action towards justice, equity and building the beautiful world we all know is possible!!!

Both Chelsea and Milton are Accredited teachers through the IEA, so if you are looking for credits toward your own accreditation certificate, this workshop will count towards your allotted hours.

Scholarships are available for those who need it, with preference given to those in marginalized communities. Please email info@mn-iea.org to request scholarship rates. 

Optional Pilgrimage:

After the day-long Saturday workshop, you are invited to an optional pilgrimage on Sunday morning, free of charge. You can come to one or both of these events as a way to integrate the learning you did in the Saturday workshop. This will be a powerful and moving experience. 

PART 1: Attending a multi-racial, multi-class, queer, liberationist church service in the heart of South Minneapolis, at New City Church. Pastor Tyler Sit is also a trained Enneagram teacher and anti-racist activist, and this experience will be sure to get you thinking and feeling some surprising and wonderful things! (You need not identify as Christian to attend. New City Church welcomes people of all faiths or none into their community). Service is 9:30-10:30am at 3104 16th Ave South, Minneapolis MN 55407 

PART 2: Visiting the pilgrimage site of George Floyd’s murder at George Floyd Square from 11:00-Noon. This is not a “tour,” but instead a time for quiet contemplation, reflection, and integration of the information presented in the workshop. It is a time to feel into our bodies and our hearts and to open our minds to Reality. We will meet as a group at the “Say Their Names” cemetery at the corner of Park Avenue and 37th Street. (Find street parking along Park Avenue or a side street. If you need a specific address for your GPS, you can use 3715 Park Ave, Minneapolis).

Facilitator Bios

Milton Stewart, MBA is the founder of Kaizen Careers, Coaching and Consulting LLC, loves facilitating the Enneagram and helping people feel seen. He is one of the very few African-American male Enneagram teachers in the world. Milton believes the Enneagram is more than just a personal tool but a map of how to truly honor the humanity of others. He uses the Enneagram in many ways but the most powerful way he uses it is in spaces of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Milton is the creator and host of “Do It For The Gram: An Enneagram Podcast”, that teaches the Enneagram from a very practical standpoint. Milton is the first African-American male International Enneagram Association Global Board Member. Prior to full-time work in the Enneagram space, he worked in education. He helped with adult students who were working to achieve their high school diplomas. He also worked as an administrator in an elementary school, providing tools for the students and staff to succeed.

Learn more about Milton at kaizencareers.com

Chelsea Forbrook is the President of Enneagram Minnesota (MN-IEA) and is a Spiritual Director and Enneagram Educator based in Minneapolis, MN. She takes great delight in making spiritual principles and practices easy and accessible for all. Chelsea is certified through Full Circle Enneagram, The Enneagram Institute, and Russ Hudson’s year long Depth Certification in Conscious Living. She teaches a 10 month experiential Enneagram Course for personal transformation, is the creator of the Enneaplaque (a meditation tool for awakening), and hosts a podcast called “The Enneagram of Essence.” Before Chelsea discovered the Enneagram, she was immersed in anti-racism facilitation work through ASDIC (Anti Racism Study Dialogue Circles), the YWCA, and People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond. Chelsea holds a degree in religious studies with an emphasis on Liberation Theology, and a certificate in Leadership Toward Racial Justice from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. 

Learn more about Chelsea at www.chelseaforbrook.com