Jennifer Joss, PhD (Dr. JJ)
I am a coach and consultant, teacher and fellow journeyer. I see all of my work as a kind of “bridge-building.” At one level, I help bridge the gap between how you are and how you imagine you could be. In doing this work, we seek to bridge disparate parts within you, in order to evolve “higher” or whole Self leadership; build bridges between yourself and others to help you be a more skillful leader, coach, or partner; and bridge your inner work and professional life, to help you contribute to the world in fulfilling and unique ways.
All of this bridge building aims at “jumping curves” which means something like reaching new levels of being, leading, and loving by effectively navigating the unknown (and often challenging) space between present day and your possible future. A guide to that process of bridging the gap can be found in the Enneagram, which not only helps us find our primary obstacles to growth, but also serves as a map for the evolutionary process.
I am a psychologist by training, a coach and consultant by profession, and a hermetic philosopher at heart. To help facilitate healing and growth in people and systems, I integrate psychology and neuroscience, systems dynamics, and leadership development with the wisdom of spiritual and mythic traditions, as well as inner technologies that have guided people for centuries.
While I am a continuous learner, my formal education includes a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Stanford’s School of Education and a BA from Harvard with high honors in psychology. I have spent 30 years studying and teaching the Enneagram, and am certified by the International Enneagram Association. I am also certified in psychedelic-assisted therapy and integration work by the Integrative Psychiatry Institute, and I practice an energy healing method called VortexHealing®.
Why “Jumping Curves”?
We often think of growth as a straight line to better.
But often growth looks more like this...a process that includes stops and starts, and often...messiness and confusion, as the old ways break down.
As you’re standing at the edge of order or the-way-things-are, the way to a new horizon is often unclear, or worse, seems like nothing but chaos. But that chaotic space is filled with both challenge and new potential.
Because each new horizon arises out of the sacrifice of the one before, the art of navigating this growth process, or “jumping curves” lies in engaging the potential of the unknown to stretch and challenge yourself...without getting swallowed by the dragon of chaos.
It helps to know that some level of chaos or deconstruction is always necessary in order to integrate the new energy and information required for growth. And there is a tried-and-true way to bridge the gap between the order of what is and a “higher-order” curve of what will be.
Because this growth process is as old as time (it’s literally baked into the structure of reality...but that’s a long story), guidance is available. One enduring guide for crossing the chasm and returning transformed by the adventure is the archetypal hero’s journey.
This pattern has resonated with humans across time and cultures not because it is “popular” but because it is true. It is a reflection of a growth process inherent in creation, embedded as deeply in the human psyche as it is in the cosmos.
