Social anthropologist, consciousness researcher, Professor at Sofia Univ, and curious explorer of culture, science, and the wonder of it all.

Transformation

14 Aug

Posted at 02:27h in Death Makes Life Possible, Featured, News and Press, Transformation

Positive transformation is afoot in the world. From various corners of the earth people are coming together to talk about the powers and potentials within us to affect life-affirming changes in ourselves and the world. This summer I engaged in a worldwide tour. I found myself moved by the remarkable people and the extraordinary work that is underway on every continent. This included the kinds of people and the types of activities that are often not featured in the prime time news. And yet, as I learned time and again, it involves groundbreaking initiatives to improve our collective wellbeing that are...

29 Nov

Posted at 10:00h in Featured, Transformation

 Heeding the Call to Transformation  There are many catalysts for conscious transformation. For many individuals and for organizations, the call to transformation can be related to a particular moment or event. For others, transformation may be a process of small steps leading to some moment when the way of conducting business is no longer viable. It can involve positive, life-affirming openings, often thought of as epiphanies or breakthroughs. More likely, the greatest portal for transformation is a painful or disruptive experience; something that upsets the steady state of everyday experience. “Business as usual” no longer fills the needs of the company...

22 Nov

Posted at 10:00h in Featured, Transformation

Examine Your Core Assumptions Examining our core assumptions and worldviews is vital to the creation of business as a transformative practice. This includes the analysis of our core images for work and business. As noted in a report called "Changing Images of Man," written several decades ago by Willis Harman and his colleagues at SRI International: Images of humankind that are dominant in a culture are of fundamental importance because they underlie the ways in which the society shapes its institutions, educates its young, and goes about whatever it perceives its business to be. Changes in these images are of particular concern...

15 Nov

Posted at 10:00h in Featured, Transformation

Developing New Habits Transformative practices are central to moving from the call to personal and professional change to the development of new and sustainable habits and patterns of behavior. In this way, business can become a transformative practice with the right conditions. As we have learned from neuroscience, our brains lay down neural pathways based on repetitive experiences. If these pathways are associated with dysfunctional behaviors, we may find ourselves facing a crisis of meaning and purpose. Historically it was thought that brains are not capable of change as we move into adulthood. But outdated behaviors that limit personal growth and development need...

08 Nov

Posted at 10:00h in Featured, Transformation

Expanding Worldviews For nearly two decades, I have engaged in research on worldview transformations. Working with a multi-disciplinary team of scientists, we have systematically explored the dynamics of transformation. These include the identification of catalysts for worldview shifts, the elements of transformational practices shared across diverse spiritual and psychological traditions, and the outcomes and consequences of conscious worldview transformations for individuals and social institutions, including science, education and healthcare. Worldview transformation practices have been seen to increase self-reflection, personal and social awareness, cultural competence, innovation, resilience, collaborative inquiry, collective problem solving, and prosocial behaviors such as compassion and empathy (Schlitz et al.,...

01 Nov

Posted at 20:43h in Featured, Transformation

 Taking the Hit as a Gift Within every culture throughout history, people have developed modes of economic exchange. Today, business is the dominant institution in the world. Engaging in business encompasses a vital flow of commerce, global exchange, means of livelihood, and the lifeblood of many people who define themselves through their work. Business is a common denominator in our complex and interconnected world. It is also an institution that is experiencing profound transformation that is shaking everyone’s worldview. This is the first in a series of blogs about the application of research on transformative practices on the development of conscious...

01 Oct

Posted at 05:11h in Featured, Healing, Transformation

How can we thrive and flourish when we are constantly bombarded by weapons of mass distraction? How do we find the inner resources to match the complexities of the outer world?  When we are confronted with challenges that pull us off course, what are some simple tools for navigating our way toward healing and positive transformation? Here are some insights I have gained through my years of consciousness research: 1. Examine Your Worldview. As you consider your work and life, it is clear that we all have a unique worldview, belief system, and way of understanding that hinders or promotes our...

20 Sep

Posted at 00:58h in Featured, healthcare, Research, Transformation

Over the past few decades, the field of mind-body medicine has moved beyond the counter culture and into the mainstream. The scientific focus has shifted from the reductionistic view of health as a process based on discrete biological systems to a complex network of dynamic and interrelated systems. It involves the integration of the nervous, immune and endocrine systems, with insights from psychology and emotions research.  This field, that has become known as psychoneuroimmunology (PNI), was informed by the pioneering work of revolutionary scientists. Among them, pharmacologist Candace Pert helped add vital new perspectives on the model of health based...

08 Jul

Posted at 22:25h in Buddhism, Death and Afterlife, Death Makes Life Possible, Featured, Lectures, Transformation

Wonderful Enlightenment Mountain The three thousand great thousand worlds arise in a single thought. When the great manifests within the small, another world is reached. As the breeze blows through Ukiah, fragrant flowers smile. When it rains in Talmage, moistened plants rejoice. With boundless joy and giving, bring benefit to the multitudes. With vows of kindness and compassion, alleviate suffering and bestow happiness. The constant changes of the land are speaking the great Dharma. Wonderful Enlightenment Mountain wells forth from the earth. --Composed by Venerable Master Hua on April 20, 1978 As a public speaker, I have had the opportunity to teach in many venues, from the United Nations to...