Most of us are terrified of conflict, says Arnold Mindell, PhD, author of fifteen books and internationally recognized for his innovative synthesis of Jungian therapy, dreams, and bodywork. But we needn't be. His burning passion is to create groups and organizations where everyone looks forward to group processes instead of fearing them. He calls this the deep democracy of open forums, where all voices, thoughts, and feelings are aired freely, especially the ones nobody wants to hear. Since 1992, one of Mindell's prime interests has been the bringing of deeper awareness to group conflicts. Conflict work without reference to altered states of consciousness is like a flu shot for someone in a manic or depressed state of consciousness. Most group and social problems cannot be well facilitated or resolved without access to the dreamlike and mystical atmosphere in the background. The key is becoming aware of it. Mindell introduces a new paradigm for working in groups, from 3 to 3,000, based on awareness of the flow of signals and events. You can take the subtlest of signals indicating the onset of emotions such as fear, anger, hopelessness, and other altered states, and use them to transform seemingly impossible problems into uplifting community experiences. As Mindell explains, I share how everyone--people in schools and organizations, communities and governments--can use inner experiences, dreaming, and mysticism, in conjunction with real methods of conflict management, to produce lively, more sustainable, conscious communities.
Most of us are terrified of conflict, says Arnold Mindell, PhD, author of fifteen books and internationally recognized for his innovative synthesis of Jungian therapy, dreams, and bodywork. But we needn't be. His burning passion is to create groups and organizations where everyone looks forward to group processes instead of fearing them. He calls this the deep democracy of open forums, where all voices, thoughts, and feelings are aired freely, especially the ones nobody wants to hear. Since 1992, one of Mindell's prime interests has been the bringing of deeper awareness to group conflicts. Conflict work without reference to altered states of consciousness is like a flu shot for someone in a manic or depressed state of consciousness. Most group and social problems cannot be well facilitated or resolved without access to the dreamlike and mystical atmosphere in the background. The key is becoming aware of it. Mindell introduces a new paradigm for working in groups, from 3 to 3,000, based on awareness of the flow of signals and events. You can take the subtlest of signals indicating the onset of emotions such as fear, anger, hopelessness, and other altered states, and use them to transform seemingly impossible problems into uplifting community experiences. As Mindell explains, "I share how everyone--people in schools and organizations, communities and governments--can use inner experiences, dreaming, and mysticism, in conjunction with real methods of conflict management, to produce lively, more sustainable, conscious communities."
Most of us are terrified of conflict, says Arnold Mindell, PhD, author of fifteen books and internationally recognized for his innovative synthesis of Jungian therapy, dreams, and bodywork. But we needn't be. His burning passion is to create groups and organizations where everyone looks forward to group processes instead of fearing them. He calls this the deep democracy of open forums, where all voices, thoughts, and feelings are aired freely, especially the ones nobody wants to hear. Since 1992, one of Mindell's prime interests has been the bringing of deeper awareness to group conflicts. Conflict work without reference to altered states of consciousness is like a flu shot for someone in a manic or depressed state of consciousness. Most group and social problems cannot be well facilitated or resolved without access to the dreamlike and mystical atmosphere in the background. The key is becoming aware of it. Mindell introduces a new paradigm for working in groups, from 3 to 3,000, based on awareness of the flow of signals and events. You can take the subtlest of signals indicating the onset of emotions such as fear, anger, hopelessness, and other altered states, and use them to transform seemingly impossible problems into uplifting community experiences. As Mindell explains, "I share how everyone-people in schools and organizations, communities and governments-can use inner experiences, dreaming, and mysticism, in conjunction with real methods of conflict management, to produce lively, more sustainable, conscious communities."
This new spiritual guide defines, explores, and applies earth-based psychology and the related idea of path awareness—the ability to sense where to turn at any given moment. Drawing from physics, aboriginal beliefs, and shamanism, it presents new ways of determining the best direction through inner turmoil, relationship trouble, team and community issues, and world issues. With a background in applied physics and Jungian psychology, Arnold Mindell extends the work of C. G. Jung and links it with diverse disciplines and wisdom traditions, making scientific ideas accessible to non-technical readers. He presents theory and experiential exercises in a simple and imaginative manner, with diagrams and illustrations to strengthen their ability to instruct and inspire. Book Review: Arnold Mindell's work with finding directions on the Earth reminds me of old Aboriginal Wisdom, finding directions we Aboriginal people have always known and done. -- Auntie Nancy Hill-Wood, Bunjalung Woman, Elder and Citizen of the Year for Manly Warringah Regional Council, Sydney, Australia
This is the first book on climate change denial and lobbying that combines the ideology of denial and the role of anthropocentrism in the study of interest groups and communication strategy. Climate Change Denial and Public Relations: Strategic Communication and Interest Groups in Climate Inaction is a critical approach to climate change denial from a strategic communication perspective. The book aims to provide an in-depth analysis of how strategic communication by interest groups is contributing to climate change inaction. It does this from a multidisciplinary perspective that expands the usual approach of climate change denialism and introduces a critical reflection on the roots of the problem, including the ethics of the denialist ideology and the rhetoric and role of climate change advocacy. Topics addressed include the power of persuasive narratives and discourses constructed to support climate inaction by lobbies and think tanks, the dominant human supremacist view and the patriarchal roots of denialists and advocates of climate change alike, the knowledge coalitions of the climate think tank networks, the denial strategies related to climate change of the nuclear, oil, and agrifood lobbies, the role of public relations firms, the anthropocentric roots of public relations, taboo topics such as human overpopulation and meat-eating, and the technological myth. This unique volume is recommended reading for students and scholars of communication and public relations.
Pressures for transformational change have become a regular feature of most fields of human endeavour. Master-thinkers and visionaries alike have reframed existing divisions as connecting relationships, bringing together as dynamic systems the supposed opposites of parts and wholes, stability and change, individuals and society, and rational and creative thinking. This reframing of opposites as interconnected wholes has led to realisation of the power of a collective mind. This book offers ways and means of creating the synergies that are crucial in influencing a desired transformational change towards a just and sustainable future. It describes how and why our current decision-making on any complex issue is marked by clashes between the different interests involved. More optimistically, the book pursues a mode of thinking that brings together government, specialised and community interests at the local, regional and personal scales in a collective transformation process. Practical examples signal the emergence of a new knowledge tradition that promises to be as powerful as the scientific enlightenment. Written in accessible language, this book will be insightful reading for anyone struggling with transformational change, especially researchers, students and professionals in the fields of administration, governance, environmental management, international development, politics, public health, public law, sociology, and community development
In "The Leader’s 2nd Training," Mindell introduces tested 2nd Training Inner Work, Bodywork, Relationship, and Large Group methods for personal, group, and world conflicts. Two key ideas are that everyone is needed as a 2nd Training leader to facilitate conflicts worldwide, and that 2nd Trainings are based on a Big TOE (Big Theory Of Everything). 1st Trainings in Leadership should include, at the minimum, diversity awareness, group process skills, business leadership concepts, and conflict methods. Such cognitive trainings, while very much needed, are not enough to help our planet’s worst social and environmental problems. Therefore, this book introduces 2nd Training methods to enable all 1st Trainings to work better. 2nd Trainings help people to become effective leaders by increasing their awareness and ability to FLOW—and be creative and powerful during conflict! 2nd Trainings reduce tension, and thus create solutions and friendships. Thanks to physicist Stephen Hawking and others, the TOE intends to unify the immense spaces of Relativity and tiny spaces of the Quantum world. Mindell now suggests a Big TOE, which includes not only Physics, but also Psychology, Spiritual experience, and Social awareness. Mindell’s 2nd Training methods have been widely tested around the world, with thousands of people and dozens of organizations, including the U.N. and government leaders.
Queering Safe Spaces explains how safe spaces are determined by those with privilege and power, those who choose to invite us in or leave us out. Whether we encounter boundaries at national borders, bathrooms or birth certificates, our personal safety, and well-being are at stake. Gender-diverse and queer non-binary people have bodies, brains, and hearts that challenge traditional ways of being male, female, gay, straight, Black, white, good, and bad. These practitioners—at the interfaces of policy, architecture, art curation, group work, sex work, and tattooing—explore cancel culture and free speech, considering what it takes to be brave. In these times of global conflict and binary oppositions, there is urgent need for accessible and inclusive spaces everywhere. To listen and speak across the ideological voids that divide us, we must understand the differences that underpin our feelings of safety and discomfort.
“Shakil is a rare jewel in the work of what it means to heal, repair, and take responsibility... This book is required reading for anyone interested in building a loving, just and diverse world.” —Sensei Koshin Paley Ellison, Zen teacher & author of Wholehearted: Slow Down, Help Out, Wake Up Racial justice without shame or blame. Road-tested tools to start making a difference today. In Deep Diversity, award-winning racial justice educator Shakil Choudhury explores the emotionally loaded topic of racism using a compassionate, scientific approach that everyone can understand—whether you are Black, Indigenous, a person of color (BIPOC), or white. With clear language and engaging stories that will appeal to readers of Brené Brown and Malcom Gladwell, Choudhury explains how and why well-intentioned people can perpetuate systems of oppression, often unconsciously. Using a trauma-informed approach that removes shame or blame, he offers us the tools to recognize, take authentic responsibility, and enact deep change. In easy-to-absorb chapters, Choudhury interweaves research into the brain and studies on human behavior with hard-won lessons from his career of helping organizations and CEOs create more inclusive environments. He models vulnerability and mistake-making, sharing examples of his own bias-missteps so readers are encouraged into their own racial justice journey without judgment. Readers will come away from the book with practical tools and an understanding of: How to becomes a systems thinker by developing “racial pattern recognition” skills in order to challenge racism and other forms of systemic discrimination when we encounter them, while minimizing the tendency to shame or blame ourselves or others. How to recognize when the unconscious influence of bias, identity, emotions, or power contradict our beliefs about equality, and how to realign our thoughts/words/actions. How to break the racial “prejudice habits” we have all been socialized into since birth, using research-based strategies. How the rise in authoritarianism and income inequality (among other factors) contribute to a rise in hate crimes and racial discrimination, and what to do about it. Traditional approaches to anti-racism overly rely on analyzing history to explain systemic discrimination, which only tells us a part of the story. What’s missing, Choudhury argues, is to understand why humans do what we do, the evolutionary impulses underlying our group-ish nature and our struggles with power, bias, and social dominance. This is why psychology and neuroscience perspectives are critical to integrate into anti-racist work, as is practicing compassion for ourselves and for others. Deep Diversity is a unique, evidence-based approach to racial justice that seeks to overcome feelings of shame that so often block our progress and prevent deep change at individual and systemic levels. Deep Diversity meets you where you’re at, regardless of your identity, class, ability, or belief system, and invites you to come along on a journey of self-discovery, social awareness, and lifelong learning. It’s only just begun. “Choudhury draws on heart-touching stories, research on the brain, and hard-won lessons from real-world interventions to offer useful strategies to know ourselves, and others better.”—New York Times-bestselling author of Buddha’s Brain, Rick Hanson
Being! Five ways of leading authentically in an iConnected world is rooted in leadership practice across many sectors and its raison d'etre is to build adaptiveness and resilience in uncertain times. It is credentialed by leaders who have honed their personal effectiveness, grown spiritually and become more effective and impactful, because of their engagement with its content.It channels wisdom at the intersection of many disciplines and multiple world views to provide deeper insight and meaning to the leadership dilemmas and choices that you constantly face. It integrates both western leadership-thinking with its more evidence-based, cognitive approaches, and eastern philosophy with its more 'mystical' and spiritually-oriented homilies, into a rich tapestry that engages your attention, challenges your capabilities, and leaves you richer and more fulfilled for the effort.
