Alaina Mitchell
Certified Contemplative Enneagram Practitioner CPE Facilitator
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. I’ll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase each other doesn’t make any sense.”
Rumi
“Without community, there is no liberation.”
Audre Lorde
Professional Background
I am a graduate of the University of Central Florida with a B.S. in Molecular Biology and Microbiology, and I bring more than 25 years of project management experience across a variety of business sectors.
After three decades in the corporate world, I felt a strong and undeniable knowing to leave this career. In August 2024, I took a yearlong sabbatical devoted to a very different pursuit: to “know thyself.” That season launched my entry into the “cloud of unknowing” and it afforded me space and time to unravel and fully focus on myself. My time away became an intentional journey of self-discovery and discernment, a process of exploring how I might create a new path that allows me to do what I love while showing up in the world with greater authenticity and purpose. One of the most significant revelations to emerge was a desire to work at the intersection of spirituality and social justice, bringing together two areas that deeply resonate with my values and sense of purpose.
Reimagining Faith
My spiritual journey includes many Christian communities (African Methodist Episcopal, Baptist, Word of Faith, Deliverance, and non-denominational). Over the past decade, I have been gradually deconstructing and expanding my faith. As I began exploring life beyond the norms and expectations that had previously shaped my spirituality, I discovered meditation and a growing openness to encountering the Divine in new ways. Long walks on the beach, contemplative practice, and books that opened new windows of understanding became sacred spaces for me.
Paradoxically, the more I ventured beyond traditional church settings, the more open and curious I became, not only about God, but about myself.
The Journey Inward
My journey eventually led me to classes with Identity Exchange and the Center for Action and Contemplation, where I was introduced to the Enneagram and contemplative practices that have profoundly shaped my life. The Enneagram helped me recognize the depths and patterns of my personality and, importantly, understand that my personality is not the entirety of who I am.
Through practices such as Centering Prayer and Welcoming Prayer, I have learned practical ways of letting go, becoming more present to my inner experience, and allowing emotions to be felt without suppression, resistance, or judgment.
Contemplation in Action
Since April 2023, I have been journeying with Evolving Enneagram through its Contemplative Practices & the Enneagram (CPE) community. What began as participation grew into a deeper path of study and formation, and in September 2026, I became a Certified Contemplative Enneagram Practitioner through Evolving Enneagram’s yearlong training and certification program. I am delighted to now serve as a facilitator for the CPE community that has been such a meaningful part of my own journey.
I remain deeply curious about the places where contemplative spirituality, the Enneagram, and social justice meet and how greater self-awareness and inner transformation might help us participate more consciously and compassionately in the transformation of our world.
A favorite quote, often attributed to Margaret Mead, captures something of the hope I carry: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.”
