Resources
The following are internal and external resources you may helpful on the journey.*
Books:
Awestruck by Jonah Paquette.
Awakening Mode is recognizing our Pure Awareness and learning to live as that. It includes a transformation of our ego that allows for a more consistent groundedness, open heartedness, and clear mindedness. The integration of these qualities allows us to perceive and experience life as an expression of Pure Awareness. There is a more prevalent experience of freedom, flow, awe, love, and joy.
Consciousness, Awareness, and Conscious Awareness. Although there are subtle distinctions among these three terms, they are used interchangeably throughout Thrive and Awaken®. In the Tools section you’ll find a video describing Conscious Awareness.
Essentially these terms are the experience that is ever-present throughout one’s life. This underlying sense of self is why you feel the same inside at 50 years old as you did when you were 20. As the thoughts and emotions associated with the ego-mind evolve, the underlying presence of being is experienced more deeply as our true nature. This is referred to as Pure Consciousness or Pure Awareness.
Many teachers and philosophers propose this experience is a part of the universal consciousness. While this is a possibility, we really don’t know enough about the nature of reality to claim this perspective with certainty. You’ll find throughout these teachings that there are many other tangible ways we are integrally connected with the greater reality that don’t require consciousness to be the underlying essence. I’m comfortable with the mystery and possibility there may be some other force that weaves this amazing tapestry of life.
Ego. I tend to use ego, identity, self, and personality interchangeably. Freud and others referred to the ego as one of three aspects of the personality, the other two being id (instincts) and superego (the judging part of your mind). I have found the Freudian perspective helpful but limiting. I see all three aspects as interwoven so for simplicity I use ego, to include that sense of self as well as the id and superego.
Surviving Mode is our day-to-day default way of living with the primary function to keep us safe and connected. This is programmed into our brains through our ancestral genetics, family history, culture, personality style, and physiological predispositions.
Thriving Mode is learning to manage all the reactivity associated with Survival Mode. When thriving there is greater awareness of our personality, a development of thriving tools, and a conscious application of the tools so we choose how to think, feel, and act. It leads to a balanced, healthy, happier, and lovingly engaged life.
Reality or the nature of existence is referred to in the following terms:
Universe, Essence, Pure Awareness, Greater Consciousness, Life, Ground of Being, Life Force, True Self, Deepest Nature, Conscious Awareness, Absolute, Infinite. Although there are significant differences between these terms, they are all inclusive of a transcendent and mysterious dimension that is the foundation of our presence.
Assessment:
The most validated instrument is the RHETI.
Another great assessment is: Integrative Enneagram
Websites:
Enneagram Institute
Enneagram the Narrative Tradition
Overview Books:
Wisdom of the Enneagram by Riso & Hudson; Great place to start
Understand Yourself, Understand Your Partner by Schneider & Corn
Personality Types by Riso & Hudson
Spiritual Dimensions of the Enneagram by Sandra Matri
Deep Living with the Enneagram by Howe-Murphy
Parenting Books:
The Enneagram of Parenting by Wagele
Knowing Me Knowing Them by Tresidder, Loftus, & Pollock
Workplace Books:
Deep Coaching by Howe-Murphy
The 9 Types of Leadership by Chestnut
The 9 Ways of Working by Goldberg
What Type of Leader are You by Lapid-Bogda
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Apps:
Thrive and Awaken® has many meditations to sample by clicking here. The following apps are additional resources for meditations.
Headspace
Insight Timer
Calm
Books:
Altered Traits: Science Reveals how Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body
by Goldman & Davidson
Aware: The Science and Practice of Presence
by Dan Siegel
Best Guide to Meditation
by Victor Davich
How to Meditate
by Pema Chodron
The Now Effect
by Elisha Goldstein
Wherever You Go There You Are
by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Mindfulness as Flow
The Flow State, Where Creative Work Thrives. BBC (2019) by Robb
The Inner Game of Tennis, Golf, & Music (2020) by Gallaway
Research:
1. “Despite the limitations of the literature, the evidence suggests that mindfulness meditation programs could help reduce anxiety, depression, and pain in some clinical populations.” from:
Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis in JAMA Internal Medicine (2014) by Goyle et.al.
2. “Psychological scientists have found that mindfulness influences two different stress pathways in the brain, changing brain structures and activity in regions associated with attention and emotion regulation.”
Mindfulness meditation: A research-proven way to reduce stress. American Psychological Association (2019) by Creswell et.al.
3. “Mindfulness meditation interrupted the communication between brain areas involved in pain sensation and those that produce the sense of self. “
Mindfulness Meditation Reduces Pain by Separating it from the Self. UC San Diego Today (2022) by Zeidan
The Tapping Solution
This is a great resource for examples of tapping and research about it. They have an annual summit where experts provide examples of tapping.
Physiological Mechanisms of Energy Psychology Treatments (2025 Energy Psychology Journal)
Meta-Analysis of Tapping Research. Article demonstrates that tapping is better than placebo and traditional treatment of trauma. Frontiers of Psychology (2023) Stapleton et.al.
Tapping: Self-Healing with the Transformative Power of Energy Psychology (2024) by Eden & Feinstein.
Association for Comprehensive Psychology (ACEP): Research Fact Sheet
ACEP is a professional organization for licensed healthcare providers and allied health disciplines, which serves to organize and unify Energy Psychology methods, provides professional support and education, and establishes ethical guidance in practice.
Institute for Noetic Science (IONS): Research Overview
Founded by astronaut Edgar Mitchell, IONS mission is to “reveal the interconnected nature of reality through scientific exploration and personal discovery.”
Science and Nonduality (SAND) is a community inspired by timeless wisdom, informed by cutting-edge science, and grounded in direct experience. We come together to explore the big questions of life while celebrating the mystery of being. SAND is a place for an open-hearted, authentic connection with people who are drawn together to explore what it means to be a human being, standing at the intersection of spiritual inquiry, science, social healing, and the arts.”
David Feinstein, Ph.D., Psychologist
Dr. Feinstein has published the most comprehensive reviews showing the positive impact of Energy Psychology. This is a list of his publications.
Specific Studies:
Can Biofield Therapy Influence Pancreatic Cells?
Effectiveness of Emotional Freedom Techniques in Alleviating Symptoms Associated with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. 2025 Tapping dramatically outperformed virtually every intervention it was compared against for treating PTSD.
Books:
The following books are aligned with the teachings of Thrive and Awaken®:
Adyashanti, Falling into Grace, The Way of Liberation, & Sacred Inquiry
A.H. Almaas, Unfolding Now, Keys to the Enneagram
Anita Moorjani Dying to Be Me
Debbie Ford, The Other Side of Light Chasers
Deepak Chopra, Meta Human, You are the Universe
Don Miguel Ruiz, The Voice of Knowledge and The Four Agreements
Don Riso & Russ Hudson, Personality Types, Wisdom of the Enneagram
Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now and A New Earth
Joe Dispenza, Becoming Supernatural
Joel Goldsmith, The Infinite Way
Jon Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go, There You Are
Katie Byron, The Work
Lynn McTaggert, The Field
Mark Nepo, The Book of Awakening
Michael Singer, The Untethered Soul & The Surrender Experiment
Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God, Book 1
Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
Pema Chodron, Welcoming the Unwelcome
Raymond Moody, Glimpses of Eternity
Richard Rohr, Falling Upward, Immortal Diamond, & Divine Dance.
Rick Rubin, The Creative Act: A Way of Being
Rupert Spira, The Nature of Consciousness
Sandra Maitri, The Spiritual Dimensions of the Enneagram
Sharon Salzberg, Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation
Tara Brach, Radical Acceptance
Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness
Tony Parsons, The Open Secret
Victor Davich, Best Guide to Meditation
William Peters, At Heaven’s Door
Teachers/Companions:
Immediate Crisis:
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org for lots of resources. You are not alone!
National Sexual Assault Hotline:
RAINN is the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization. RAINN created and operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline in partnership with more than 1,000 local sexual assault service providers across the country.
Call 800-656-4673 or chat online at: www.online.rainn.org
Domestic Violence Support:
https://www.thehotline.org
1-800-799-7233
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*Thrive and Awaken® does NOT receive any commissions in its suggested books.