Sleeping at Last brings sound to the Enneagram personality test
Sleeping at Last has gained quite a following from Lee University students.
In the age of self-reflection and individualism, tools used as descriptions for identity are rising in popularity. Among them is the Enneagram, a deeply rooted navigation into nine different types that describe the essence of all persons.
Sleeping at Last, the name artist Ryan O’Neal coined for his music, is on a courageous endeavor to capture the substance of each Enneagram type into three-to five-minute pieces. Each month, a new song releases for his Atlas: Year Two project. So far, types One through Three have been given a sound.
The Enneagram is a model of the human psyche as a typology of nine interconnected personality types. According to the Enneagram Institute, the nine types help us “to see ourselves at a deeper, more objective level and can be of invaluable assistance on our path to self-knowledge.”
Chris Huertz writes in his book “The Sacred Enneagram” that “the Enneagram is a sacred map to the soul.”
Sleeping at Last is giving justice to this map and marking the journey into self with powerful lyrics and melodies, furthering his ability to create an experience rather than just something to listen to.
Another recent project of O’Neal’s is his recent debut in podcasting. In each episode, he unpacks a song and describes aspects that might not at first be recognized by the listener.For instance, when he strips “Atlas: One,” he reveals he included things like cleaning supplies and buckets as percussion, symbolizing the tidy and perfectionistic drive of the Type One.
The Enneagram songs also include what O’Neal calls “fingerprints,” recordings by his friendswho identify with that type. Each song is created purely by people who fall under the specific type, and each podcast gives the viewer an inside look into that creating process.
Personally, as a type Two, I saw the song written about my personality as a voice to the inner workings of my mind and actions daily. From the first note to the end, I felt it a journey into who I am. However, I do think that a key thing was missing from “my” song: its look into the weaknesses and failings of Twos. The Enneagram is extremely good at pointing out those things, but O’Neal did not seem to capture that in “Atlas: Two” in the way that he did “Atlas: One” and “Atlas: Three.” I left the song a bit prideful and happy to be a Two.
The podcast, however, was saving grace in that it left me in a perpetual state of self-reflection, questioning each motive and the context I found myself being raised in. Overall, from his use of only stringed instruments to the “fingerprints” of ocean waves, the thought-out lyricsand the soft sound of sheets laid on a bed, I still do reach the conclusion that he did the type justice.
The six remaining types will be released throughout the rest of this year. Until then, we must wait.
And take advantage of Spotify’s repeat button.
If you don't know it already, click here to find out your Enneagram type: http://www.9types.com/rheti/index.php
