Mindfulness Meditation

Morning sessions of mindfulness meditation set the tone for each day. Meditation is a rigorous exercise in recognizing habitual thinking and response, and clearing the way for fresh insight and authentic communication. As a community-building activity, group meditation helps establish a culture of listening and reflection.

Each day of the program will begin with a guided session of group meditation. Participants will have sufficient instruction to be able to continue this practice at home if they so choose.

Listen to Alan Sloan's introduction to meditation at the 2007 Summer Institute.

"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 Institute 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, Founding Chair of the Shambhala Institute and meditation presenter

"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 presenter

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."

"Thank you for your inclusivity. I am Roman Catholic and follow that spiritual path. I felt welcome, open, was gifted by the experience, and intend to add meditation to my practice."

See also ...
The Discipline of Letting Go: Introduction to the View and Practice of Meditation
(PDF) Richard John