Leslie Hershberger

03/13/2026

Joan Ryan, my co-teacher for our Inner Shift retreats, has just published an article in Enneagram Monthly. From the article:

"Most people think of the Enneagram as a typing system and Internal Family Systems (IFS) as a therapeutic model. When you put them side by side, you can begin to see that each Enneagram type actually has its own constellation of IFS defined Parts that shape how that type shows up in the world.

Working with our Enneagram patterns is often a quest to soften the impact of the habitual, to open the limited view screen that our patterns create, as we interact with our world.

Using the IFS method, we can work with our Parts to loosen (in IFS speak, unburden) and repurpose these facets of ourselves. I am going to walk around all nine types and look at how IFS can accelerate Self-awareness and growth."

As a note: in our Inner Shift retreats, we add a 3 Centered contemplative dimension to the work...this is the core of "The Inner Shift." For sustained transformation, we have to activate an Inner Observer where you can notice when your Head center is caught in habitual thinking, when the Heart is activated by the emotional passions, when the Body is numbed, contracted and "dug in."

Self observation allows the insertion of the Pause.

Inner Shift work is
*Patterns (Enneagram)
*Parts (IFS)
*Presence (3 Centered Harmony of coherence where the spiritual centers are online)
*Practice (Pause. What we practice, we become).

Mapping Parts Across the Nine Types Joan R. Ryan, JD What’s included in this article • Why the Enneagram + IFS belong side by...

12/10/2025

🌀 Only 3 Spots Left: February Retreat - https://mailchi.mp/lesliehershberger/february-retreat-only-3-spots-left
Join The Inner Shift:

A 3-day immersive, in-person intensive:
Enneagram + Internal Family Systems
3 Centered Presence along with practices to take home with you.

We have just a few spots left. If this work is calling to you, we encourage you to register soon—we’d hate for you to miss it.

10/23/2025

Aging parents. Mortality. The loss of a friend, sibling, parent. A fractured relationship. Estrangement. A health challenge that turns your world upside down. Economic insecurity. Spiritual restlessness. Mental health challenges. Changing bodies.

Adult children who were once our babies, grade schoolers and teens are forging their adult lives, some are having their own kids and making decisions in a challenging, time so different from the one where we raised them.

All of these are thresholds and some destabilize us.

It's not a disaster although it can turn our world upside down.

It's the human condition.

It's a psychological invitation to do some shadow work.

It's a spiritual invitation to deepen.
To let go of the energetic drain of believing we can somehow control life's inevitabilities.

And then there's the D word which people are absolutely terrified to say out loud. Cognitively, we know we're going to die. But my God, this is an incredibly death avoidant culture.

(When I first told a friend, I was going to start working with people in the 2nd half of life, she said, don't call it that no one will come. We sold out our class and Tyler's Summit has almost 5000 people registered so clearly, people want to actually talk about this!)

Each Enneagram type tends to have their most tenacious stuff come up in this time of life.

All the stuff you believed you worked out in the 1st half will come roaring in in new layers in the 2nd half.

The Enneagram is not about identifying with our type.
It's about dis-identifying.
The 2nd half of life gives us all sorts of opportunities to let go, let go again and let go again.
There's a lot of creative life force sitting underneath that Pause when you let go.

A huge thanks to Tyler Zach, who put together the EnneaSummit: Midlife and Beyond. He's put an inordinate amount of work into it.

To watch today's lineup for free: https://tinyurl.com/55fw4rbv

All access link for lifetime access to the interviews, presentations and Sage panels:
https://tinyurl.com/4xjeddd6

He reached out and invited Clare Pizzimenti Loughrige and me to do a Q & A tonight at 8 PM ET.
Link for the live YouTube (which I've never done before!):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMooi2avPx4

Hope to see you tonight!

Day: Thursday, October 23rdTime: 7:00pm CST (8:00pm EST)We’re going live with Clare Loughrige and Leslie Hershberger—two of the most trusted voices in the En...

10/08/2025

A 3-Day Enneagram and Internal Family Systems In-Person Intensive in Cincinnati Feb 19–22, 2026 | Cincinnati, OH
Bringing together Enneagram + IFS + Contemplative Presence

The Inner Shift is a 3-day Enneagram and Internal Family Systems (IFS) immersive designed to move you from Enneagram and IFS concepts into lived transformation in all 3 Centers: Head, Heart, Body/Moving.

You’ll experience presence, practice and integration in a grounded, supportive space.

Facilitated by Leslie Hershberger and Joan Ryan JD, master Enneagram teachers and IFS practitioners with over 50 years of combined experience, you’ll be guided through somatic practices, parts work, and real-time group process that create grounded presence, clarity and practice-focused change.

We are asking that participants apply to the retreat. Why?

Completing this application helps us to understand your experience with inner work in the Enneagram and/or in IFS and/or Meditation or Contemplative Practice.

While we provide Enneagram prep work for people new to the Enneagram and IFS prep work for those new to the IFS, space is intentionally limited to ensure each participant has the opportunity for meaningful engagement.

A frequently asked question has been: Do I have to be a counselor, therapist or spiritual director to participate?

Not at all! You may be a parent, a partner, a friend or someone who wants to live more consciously in the world and the field of relationships. Your level of intention and experience with one of these modalities is what matters most.

Early bird pricing is now available until November 30 and you can make a $200 deposit to secure your price before it increases.

https://lesliehershberger.com/the-inner-shift-experience/

To register: https://innershiftexperience.com/sales

About Joan Ryan, my friend, colleague and Inner Shift Co-Teacher   Joan Ryan is an internationally recognized Enneagram expert whose Enneagram work is grounded firmly within the Narrative Enneagram methods. When I certified in the Narrative Enneagram, Joan was one of my teachers. With time, we beca...