Blog

In this blog I consider questions like these:

• How likely is human existence to continue?
• How can we improve our chances?
• What is the nature of awareness?

In considering the last question, my aim is improve upon perennial philosophy by co-constructing shared frames among multiple perspectives. My own perspective is influenced by the symbolic interactionism of George Herbert Mead.

For all these questions I cite literature:

• cognitive science and neuroscience: neurobiology, neurodynamics, and neuroimaging;
• comparative religion and philosophy: consciousness and cognition, and consciousness studies;
• integral theory;
• organizational development and learning: action research, business, leadership, management, and systems theory; and
• psychology: adult development, higher education, industrial and commercial training, personality assessment, and personality and social psychology.

William

[He] had true insight into your nature when he said that you were a philosopher, for wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder….

~ Plato¹

Through me, the universe wonders at itself (and watches itself wondering), until my great disappearance.

During the workday I coach and consult to enterprise transformation leaders, fostering teams, and mentoring and developing coaches. I am certified to debrief the Leadership Circle Profile, an advanced practitioner of the Global Leadership Profile (see below), and trained to facilitate Immunity to Change workshops. More details are in my online CV.

In mornings and evenings I am a mindfulness practitioner. I am also a lifelong learner, learning about language, people, and philosophy; and reading about economics, mysticism, religion, and spirituality.

On the weekends I like to reflect and write about the past and the future. On leave I travel across cultures–especially Spanish-speaking countries like Spain–appreciating architecture (for example, Alhambra, Chichén Itzá, and the Taj Mahal), forests, landscapes, parks, wildlife, etc.

My academic background is in engineering. Cognitive science, comparative religion, and mysticism have been self-study.

Global Leadership Profile

Those with whom I have debriefed the Global Leadership Profile have provided this feedback:

I liked you asking for ideas and you following them. I liked the open questions, and the flow of conversation.

• Intent and trust make a difference.
• Natural conversation works.
• It was powerful to see the responses and contrast them.
• The graph was nice.

• I liked being asked what I want to get out of this.
• Good coaching questions (but not a barrage) early on helped lead to thoughtfulness.
• I lost track of time.

• I appreciated you asking what I want, being congnizant of theory and practice.
• I felt you really connected with who I am and what I was saying.
• It was a good prompt, and the follow-up created significance.

• I like that you tuned into my frustration.
• Visuals helped, along with the history, and examples.

[We] are touched that you take a personal interest.

I really liked the questions [in advance] so I could make notes about what I wanted to say.

You saw more from my sentences than I expected. It’s a bit like talking to a psychiatrist or hairdresser. That’s helpful. I’ve saturated myself with personal development material over the years. This is different. It’s quite meaty.

We got to a thread that feels real.

I like the requirement to think about my goals and impact–and how to get there.

Notes