Rydell’s Story
Natural Number 6
Rydell Ruff was introduced to the Body of 9 by his girlfriend, Monica—as Susan’s daughter, the Natural Numbers have been part of her life since she was young. Rydell was skeptical by nature, and unsure of what the system had to offer; however, he’d enjoyed his discussions with Susan and Martin, and seeing their passion for the work firsthand, he’d steadily become interested in learning more. Eventually, he decided to give it a try.
Susan identified him as a Natural Number 6, the same as herself (looking back, he remembers noticing that he and Susan seemed to be on the same wavelength since their first meeting). As she described the traits of the Natural Number, Rydell strongly connected with her words, in both his personal life and his work. “We’re drivers,” he says. “We have an end goal that we look at. It’s always achievable; it’s just how to achieve it. We have to figure that out, but that end goal always seems realistic; we can make it happen.” As he listened and reflected on his life, things began to click in retrospect.
Growing up, Rydell had recognized that he could be intense, and had already embraced it as a valuable tool in competition and sports. When he later began his job as a project engineer, he realized he could channel the same determination into his work, and he often found himself slipping into leadership roles, even when the specific duties weren’t formally assigned. Another important part of his job involved handling conflicts within the team; Rydell sometimes felt he had an intuitive sense for the tension and emotions involved in such situations, and how to match or shift the energy to help the team. However, he hadn’t always understood where those instincts came from, and had at times been reluctant to trust them. Though he hadn’t been aware of it, Rydell’s Natural Number had been strengthening him throughout his career, and in other areas as well.
Three years prior to identification, Rydell had been in a bad ski accident, leaving him with broken bones, fractured vertebrae, and—the worst of his injuries—a damaged brachial plexus, a collection of nerves that stretch down the neck, through the shoulder, and into the arm. The healing process required multiple surgeries and sessions of physical therapy; to this day, he’s still working to regain strength and motor control in his right arm. In some ways, he was lucky; he’d survived the crash, and his family came to his aid during his recovery. Still, the accident had effectively halted his college education and work prospects; he often needed physical assistance for everyday activities, and one of his largest struggles was the damage to his dominant hand, preventing him from writing, annotating, or sketching. Feeling stuck in place, with seemingly nothing to do, was deeply frustrating for Rydell. Later learning about his Natural Number 6 put his emotions in perspective: “If we’re not moving, not doing things, you kind of get in your head, and you can’t leave it; you go a little bit crazy.”
Motivated not to remain idle, Rydell focused his internal drive into the clear goal of going back to school and graduating as soon as possible. He spent time reading books and discussing them with his mother (Also an NN7, like Monica), as well as taking up the unofficial role as his dad’s office manager to stay busy. He kept up with his physical therapy, determined to improve despite the pain and the daunting road ahead of him. He started learning to write with his left hand, practicing the ABCs and cursive, as well as sentences that use all letters of the alphabet, such as “the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” He also found pens that felt more natural to hold in his left hand, making the process more streamlined. In some ways, he felt like a child again, relearning skills he should already know, but he persisted. In the end, Rydell only missed three semesters of college in total; relieved and encouraged to be back at school, he maintained a high academic standard from then on, achieving the dean’s list practically every semester thereafter.
Rydell believes having NN6 his Natural Number, though unknown to him at the time, was crucial to his recovery—he used what was natural to his body, created a realistic end goal, and drove towards it wholeheartedly, rather than becoming caught up in worrying whether things could change. “It’s gonna get better, and you’re gonna find the path through,” he’d told himself. Even without identification, Rydell was still an NN6; with his firm convictions and NN6 ability to manifest and with the help of his family, he knew he could make it through.
Looking back on these experiences with the context of the Body of 9 has helped Rydell to trust himself and the gifts he can offer. “After I was identified, it made me realize that this driving factor—this thing that I have in me to constantly move, this thing that I have in me to push people—it’s not something that’s burdening other people, and it’s benefitting everyone if it’s used in the right way.” He knows that when he feels something to be true in his chest, he shouldn’t dismiss his intuition; indeed, NN6s can experience profound anxiety when they doubt their perceptions. This is still something he’s learning to overcome.
At the same time, Rydell is learning to manage his intensity, ensuring it doesn’t come off as aggression or domineering behavior. He knows that trusting others can be as important as trusting himself, and that he needs to allow them come to their own conclusions. “I realize that sometimes I need to take a step back and let people make their own decisions, and it’s more than likely going to be the correct decision.”
In Rydell and Monica’s relationship, the Body of 9 plays a role in helping each better understand the other; as the two have different Natural Numbers, there is certainly room for wires to get crossed. Since Monica, NN7, already has another important NN6 in her life—her mother—Rydell feels she already knows and accepts the good things about him, the things she loves, as well as his flaws. “She really knows how to deal with me,” he says, citing times she has gently helped him turn down the intensity or take a step back; she also recognizes when he shows her love as an NN6, which others can miss. Rydell, in turn, has a clearer understanding of how she approaches situations and relationships differently, and is still learning more. “When you have strong feelings for someone, you want to figure out everything about them,” he says. He believes Body of 9 is helping him to do just that.
As Rydell came to Body of 9 as a skeptic himself, he encourages people to have their own experiences with the Natural Numbers before coming to conclusions. “Susan and Martin have brought people to tears when they identified them. They felt heard and seen.” He recalls. He values the trust he has gained through the work, and the context it has given to his life. He feels that the Body of 9 promotes self-understanding and stronger relationships, things everyone can benefit from! Download the free ‘Four Practices for Presence’ guide here and begin exploring the impact you can have on the world.
