2006 Authentic Leadership Summer Program

Meditation

Shambhala meditation is a centuries-old practice that underlies many contemplative traditions. It can be practiced as a foundation for a spiritual path or as a secular discipline that prepares one to engage in the world with greater accuracy, flexibility, and authenticity.

Meditation is not a quick fix but a discipline that, when cultivated, can provide ongoing and powerful support for the practice of leadership. Without such a discipline, even our best intentions can be undermined by the human tendency to retreat into habitual ways of seeing and reacting, especially in times of change and stress. The mental habits and awareness cultivated through meditation enable one to approach new ideas, people, situations, and challenges with greater openness, intelligence, and courage.

As a community-building activity, group meditation helps establish a culture of listening, learning, and spontaneity. Each day of the program will begin with a guided session of group meditation, and participants will come back together for a shorter meditation session before dinner. Individual meditation instruction and consultation will also be available. No prior experience is necessary.

"As leaders, the success of our actions not only depends on what we do... it is the quality of attention and awareness that matters most."
— Otto Scharmer, co-author, Presence: Human Purpose and the Field of the Future. Summer Program faculty, 2003, 2004.

"Meditation is about how to open to our own authenticity by relaxing into awareness. This is quite different than the way we usually think about relaxation. It is a profound relaxation, but it demands, as any profound accomplishment does, rigorous discipline and energy."
— Michael Chender, Chair of the Shambhala Institute and meditation faculty

"In this case, meditation isn't about engaging in a self-improvement regimen that we will have to struggle with. Quite the contrary. If we become skillful at seeing and letting go of our confusion, then what remains is excellent."
— Richard John, meditation faculty

From previous Authentic Leadership participants

"The meditation made this conference a profoundly deep experience of transformational learning and community building."

"I had feared dogma and instead greatly appreciated the gentleness of instruction."