SPARKS
Explorations in human potential and our perceptual abilities
Thirteen years in academia provided me the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research in leadership development. I wrote papers to offer convincing, succinct, and credible theories about what makes people effective leaders. I am now interested in asking questions that spark curiosity and imagination. These questions draw me deeper towards the Spirit and the magic behind all things – away from the expectation of rational answers and toward a place of not knowing, a place where both comfort and uncertainty reside – leading to more questions.
Instead of the traditional blog I am calling these entries sparks. SPARKS are explorations on topics that pertain to human potential, our perceptual abilities, and how humans might evolve by seeing and experiencing our lives differently. I invite you, my readers, to offer some of your insights, perceptions, and to share your own unanswerable questions. Let me know: What grabs your attention?
Recent Sparks
Attention Grabber
What grabs your attention? This colorful, curious bird, painted by Choctaw artist Karen Clarkson, was one of a trio of paintings that welcomed guests into the Arts Prescott Cooperative Gallery in 2013. It jumped off the wall and communicated directly to me saying “Hey there! Who are YOU?”. In an...
The Gates of Perception
Most of us have been told that ‘you can’t judge a book by its cover’. However, there have been many times that I have picked them by their cover. Stephen Harrod Buhner’s book “Plant Intelligence and the Imaginal Realm: Beyond the Doors of Perception into the Dreaming of Earth” (2014) is one fine...
Re-Membering the Body: Somatic Intelligence
I suspect that one reason physical wisdom is so often overlooked is that as humans have evolved, the primal role of the body (acquiring safety, food and shelter) has increasingly been usurped by intellectual (IQ), emotional (EQ) and spiritual pursuits. These days the body’s vast intelligence (PQ)...
At the Intersection of You and Me
At the intersection of you and me there is much more than meets the mind, more than just the sharing of ideas and perspectives. There are unspoken somatic exchanges and feedback loops that can affect our potential for transformative learning and engagement. “How much consciousness we give to the...
Got Conscientia?
The word ‘consciousness’ is derived from “conscientia” or “knowing with.” It suggests that it is through relationship with others and one’s environment that we come to know ourselves. Philosopher Christian de Quincey (1998) states that without conscientia there would be no communication and...
The Face of Engagement
“The Spirit shall look out through matter’s gaze, and matter shall reveal the Spirit’s face.” – Sri Aurobindo as cited in Murphy, 1971 Clues to purpose and passion, or ‘Spirit’, reside in our own bodies or “through matter’s gaze” according to Indian philosopher, poet and yogi Sri Aurobindo....