“Becoming Compassionate Participants in our World—deepening self-awareness”

“Becoming Compassionate Participants in our World—deepening self-awareness” will be presented by Sandra Smith at the Sunday, November 16, 2025, meeting of the Ethical Humanist Society of Asheville, 2:30 – 4:00 pm at 227 Edgewood Rd, Asheville, NC. Sandra will be with us in-person for her presentation and Q&A. There will also be a hybrid Zoom option. All are welcome to attend.

This presentation will give focus to the nuance between being “present” and being in “presence” and the role receptivity plays in the quality of our lives. To be available to ourselves allows us to be available to others and to our deeper knowing. Being present to ourselves and developing inner spaciousness is the foundation of self-observation, an essential first step in using the Enneagram Map. Sandra will reference teachings from her recent book The Enneagram Map to Your Deeper Self: Living Beyond Your Type (2024) and invite participants to engage in some simple practices from this book.

The Enneagram (“ennea” is Greek for nine) is a map of our ego structures automatic patterns. This map names nine unique perspectives and ways humans filter information. No type is better than another type. We retain the same type throughout our lives, however, behaviors change as we become more self-aware.

Additionally, the Enneagram System suggests we have three centers of intelligence: head or thinking center, heart or feeling center, and body the center of sensing. Depending on our Enneagram type, one of these is our lead center of intelligence. Knowing our lead center shapes our communication, decision-making and problem solving.

Sandra Smith (https://alchemyworksevents.com/sandra-c-smith-enneagram-consultant/), is a Certified Narrative Tradition teacher, an Enneagram Consultant, and an IEA (International Enneagram Association) Accredited Professional and Spiritual Companion. Sandra began teaching this system in 2001 and founded AlchemyWorks in 2008, which began her full-time Enneagram Teaching and Consulting.

Sandra received her BS in Business from Wake Forest University and MDiv from Candler School of Theology at Emory University. She is certified in nonprofit management through Duke University and is a trained community mediator. She spent 17 years in the corporate world and 14 years directing a nonprofit.

The Ethical Humanist Society of Asheville endeavors to nurture the capacity and responsibility of human beings to act in their personal relationships and in the larger community to help create a better world. We are inspired by the ideal of working to create a more humane society, recognizing each person’s worth and dignity, and helping to bring out the best in them. We are a member of the American Ethical Union and an affiliate of the American Humanist Association. We join together to assist each other in developing ethical ideas and ideals, to celebrate life’s joys, support each other through life’s crises, and to cultivate ethical behavior in our community.

For more information: call 828 687-7759, email EHSAsheville@gmail.com, visit our website at: [http://EHSAsheville.org](http://ehsasheville.org/), or see us on MeetUp: www.meetup.com/Ethical-Society-of-Asheville.

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The Ethical Humanist Society of Asheville offers individualized, custom wedding services. Honoraria for officiating are direct contributions to the Ethical Humanist Society of Asheville, a 501(c)(3) organization. For more information: email [EHSAsheville@gmail.com](mailto:EHSAsheville@gmail.com%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank).