Episode #31 feat. Nine Lives with Jeff King

Why am I sharing an episode from another podcast on our feed? Because understanding the Enneagram is an incredibly powerful tool for the masculine spiritual journey—and I wanted to share a conversation that dives deep into it! Rest assured, there is also plenty of relevant discussion here about Illuman and the Men's Rites of Passage.

In this special thirty-first episode of Follow Me to the M-R-O-P!, the tables are turned as host Brian Mueller becomes the guest on Nine Lives with Jeff King: Live Your Best One. Jeff, a counselor and coach with the Narrative Enneagram, interviews Brian about his experience navigating life, faith, and community as an Enneagram Type One (The Reformer).

Episode Highlights

• The Enneagram as a Spiritual Tool: Why understanding your personality type is essential for growth, and how the "Type One" drive for perfection can be both a gift and a heavy burden.
• What is Mine to Do?: Learning to discern the difference between healthy responsibility and codependent fixing.
• The Origins of Illuman: Brian reflects on Richard Rohr’s early New Jerusalem community in Cincinnati, the history of the MROP, and the deep, universal hunger for authentic brotherhood.
• Poetry and the type 1-to-4 connection: How stepping into creative expression through mystic poetry allowed Brian to silence his inner critic and process the grief of his divorce
• Choosing Presence: Reclaiming meditation and contemplative prayer as a deeply Western, Christian tradition of the heart.

Links & Resources

• Jeff King
• Nine Lives with Jeff King (podcast)
• Brian Mueller (Host)
• BriansPoems.com
• Illuman MROP
• The Universal Christ by Richard Rohr
• Adam's Return by Richard Rohr
• Breathing Under Water by Richard Rohr
• Trust Stillness by Brian Mueller

Credits

• First and foremost, thank you to Jeff King for allowing me to share an episode of his podcast - Nine Lives with Jeff King: Live Your Best One.
• Thank you to Fr. Richard Rohr and the men of Illuman who have stewarded the Men’s Rites of Passage since 1996.

Music Credits:

• Slow Mo Dreams by Soundroll
• Becoming a Legend by Vens Adams