Wisdom Community

Since the pandemic a group has been meeting online to share insights and reflections particularly using a wisdom lens in the context of coronavirus, the ‘lockdown’ and the impact on our inner and outer lives.

Recorded below is a ‘diary’ with notes of some of the things discussed, often orienting with framework of wisdom characteristics and levels which are offered through Cultivating Wisdom.

23 April 2021 – still in third lockdown

Wise Elders

Exemplars (people, books, artworks, ideas, places, animals, the natural world…..) can help guide us on the quest for wisdom.

This discussion explored the notion of the wise ‘elders’ as valuable exemplars. It was prompted by the death of Prince Philip on 9 April (aged 99) with many commentators remarking on his long life of duty and service. The death of politician Dame Shirley Williams (aged 90) followed three days later with Lib Dem party leader Ed Davey noting:

‘Political life will be poorer without her intellect, her wisdom and her generosity…a limitless empathy only too rare in politics today; she connected with people, cared about their lives and saw politics as a crucial tool to change lives for the better.’

Our discussion focussed on who we regard as wise elders and why? The individuals named were diverse – some were public figures both alive and dead. Others were individuals known personally to us with a number of people naming family members. Cats were also mentioned!

Wise elders … descriptors

humble, down to earth, listening, let go of ego, integrated, authentic, supportive, encouraging, want the best for you, willing to be uncomfortable, not afraid of fallibility, open, curious, non-judgmental, courageous, seeing truth in the moment, help find the wisdom within, thrash things out, find what really matters, decency, integrity, peel your blinkers off, give you space to explore

Wise elders …behaviours

There was a sense that wise elders are often quite quiet and may not be highly visible. One of the group felt they appear when you need them. Their wisdom is very often held in the quality of their listening and silence. But it is also evidenced in words and action (including in our examples teaching, creativity, intellectual and technical expertise, political, social and community engagement and activism). Always it seems to be in service of something beyond themselves.

Wise elders…the paradox of wisdom, age and experience

Some of the exemplars were older, others were not. Wisdom is not age-dependent. But there is a worry that we are an ageing population ‘robbed of elderhood’ . Some of us yearn for more visible older figures to guide and support us. So (how) can we become wiser with age? Meacham (1990) paradoxically sees age and experience as the biggest threats to our wisdom – particularly if they lead to dangerous certainty and over-confidence in our worldview and capabilities. In this case he suggests we need to generate more questions and doubt!

26 March 2021 – third lockdown continues

The wisdom of balance

Our conversation was on the notion of ‘head, hand and heart’ wisdom prompted by the closing remarks in David Goodhart’s recent book on 21^st century work. Below is a brief summary of points from the discussion on the balance we notice in ourselves and in wider society.

Head heart hand wisdom – our balance

As individuals

As individuals we notice differences in which ‘centre’ feels most natural for us
But wisdom feels more holistic rather than fragmentary and reductionist
‘In whole ness lies happiness’
We are brought up through school with a strong focus on head
The head seems to be a place of control and order
Perhaps we become unfamiliar with our heart intelligence
It seems a place of vulnerability

In wider society

In the pandemic we have trusted each other more, controlled less
Heart energy has been more present?
Do we sufficiently understand and acknowledge the importance of our emotional and sensory intelligences?
Is the mental health crisis a sign of imbalance – ‘head’ focus on control outcomes, results, not making mistakes, comparison; brings fear, anxiety
In wisdom we are more imaginative, generative and creative
Acting with courage (Coeur – heart energy)

Group 1	The what really* matters* question is a calibration for the what matters question. It provides a rudder to steer with in the day to day what matters. It is a question to keep attending to – to stay open. It is about how you do things.	Some things we thought mattered have been lost – and they don’t seem to matter as much as we thought they did (eg travel).
Group 2	The importance of people, our decision making, our ability to notice things, to notice our discomfort.	Collectivism matters more than we realised.
Group 3	It matters that we digest and learn. Wisdom is what you become. If you understand more about yourself you become more understanding. Live your life. Enable another.	As things have changed for many at work, people are valuing themselves more
Group 4	Keeping open to possibilities. Having space for the imagination. Eyes. Unlocking. *Great art stops you being afraid* (Jah Wobble – musician) There is a Moment in each Day that Satan cannot find Nor can his Watch Fiends find it, but the Industrious find This Moment & it multiply, & when it once is found It Renovates every Moment of the Day if rightly placed (From Milton by W Blake)	Consciousness of young people – how the pandemic is shaping futures.

26 February 2021 – third lockdown continues; vaccination programme ongoing

Mindful Wisdom

Look at whatever is in your field of vision. Listen to whatever is in your field of hearing, including my voice. Really look and listen, without thinking, without judgement, without interpretation. Look and listen and at the same time notice how the experience feels, particularly in your body. Let this sensory, emotional and physical experience be what it is. Focus on the direct sensory experience (and notice what it’s like to be conscious without thought), then relax and try to sustain this attention in the present moment when thoughts return.

This is what we mean by mindfulness, knowing directly what is actually happening in this field of experience, knowing moment by moment, the way this experience is.

Mindfulness is a quality of being, rather than doing.

Mindfulness hacks the experience we typically have most of the time, the experience created by thought which turns direct experience into subjective experience, the experience of moving from the past into the future, the experience of being driven by desire for something we believe we lack in the present moment, something else we imagine will make us happy, the experience of being subject to the fictions we believe will give us what we believe we lack. Mindfulness hacks this ‘normal’ experience, conscious awareness becomes free from these dynamics, free from the cravings, misunderstandings, fictions, views and opinions and all other types of thought we typically identify with.

Again, look at whatever is in your field of vision. Listen to whatever is in your field of hearing, including

my voice. Really look and listen, without thinking, without judgement, without interpretation. Look and listen and at the same time notice how the experience feels, particularly in your body. Let this sensory, emotional and physical experience be what it is. Focus on the direct sensory experience (and notice what it’s like to be conscious without thought), then relax and try to sustain this attention in the present moment when thoughts return.

What then is realised in mindfulness?

Experience in the present moment is dynamic, sensation and feelings vibrate, they constantly change, experience itself is experienced directly in it’s true nagure, as transitory, always changing.

Experience in the present moment is known for what it is, prior to our interpretation of these experience as ‘my body and my mind’.

Experienced mindfully, sensations and feelings (and if our mindfulness is strong enough, our thoughts as well), are accepted, there is no belief that happiness lies in anything being different to the way it is in the present moment, and the suffering caused by the belief that something is lacking in our experience ceases, and as we let go of the hope that our happiness lies in a future condition.

In traditional as well as in contemporary practices of mindfulness, these experiential insights are the definition of wisdom, the realisation of the true nature of experience.

Expanding the relevance of this ‘mindful wisdom’ to everyday life:

By staying with ‘what is’, we will see in sharper focus, the difference between direct experience and the way we squeeze and reduce that direct experience, through thought, into a personalised experience which we then try to manage, (sometimes we believe well, but normally unsuccessfully and with painful consequences). We come to realise the ‘relativity’ of the world we create with thought. This opens up the possibility for us to take responsibility for much of our suffering as well as our personal development.

Remaining mindful of what we find difficult is a reversal of the belief that happiness lies in escaping from, reversing, or avoiding what we find difficult, or in getting what we want as a solution to what we don’t want to accept.

Mindfulness has aliases:

Presence in coaching is defined as ‘the ability to be fully conscious and create spontaneous relationships with the client, employing a style that is open, flexible and confident’. This is recognised as helpful because it enables a deeper connection between coach and client, it implies trust in the clients’ potential, and it supports reflection and self-awareness.

“So, why does being with the client matter? This mode, if conducted well, can be rich in meaning and content: by being with the client, practitioners give space for reflection, attention, empathy and support that are intrinsically beneficial. However, this mode is probably the most intricate aspect of one-to-one practice… because [it has] to be genuine…. this is a non-directive, reactive, defused mode. This means that we need to resist, when in this mode, any temptation to do something, fix a problem, jump to conclusions and offer solutions…. which would not work, because it would be the practitioner’s answer, not the client’s answer. The process of arriving at an answer, counts as much as the solution”

Extract from ‘Personal Consultancy, A model for integrating counselling and coaching’, by Nash Popovic and Debra Jinks (Routledge, 2014 (p 58-59)).

Core counselling skills include: attending – giving the other our full attention; silence – inner listening / listening to silence in the dialogue; immediacy – noticing and focusing on the here and now. These skills in the counsellor invite client into the here and how to understand what is happening in their own experience; clients often feel understood and supported when attended to in this way; the counsellor is also enabled to draw on their intuition, notice change or fracturing in the dialogue

Again, and for the third and final time, look at whatever is in your field of vision. Listen to whatever is in your field of hearing, including my voice. Really look and listen, without thinking, without judgement, without interpretation. Look and listen and at the same time notice how the experience feels, particularly in your body. Let this sensory, emotional and physical experience be what it is. Focus on the direct sensory experience (and notice what it’s like to be conscious without thought). Relax and try to sustain this attention in the present moment when thoughts return.

Coming back into yourself, coming back into your everyday subjective experience, created as it is by thought, recalling what it was like to be mindful, what was it like?

Stuart Nevill

29 January 2021 – third lockdown

What matters? What really matters?

We began with some discussion and I offered a quote from Nicholas Maxwell, a UK academic explicitly arguing for a focus on wisdom inquiry in universities: The basic aim of wisdom inquiry is wisdom, understood to be the capacity and the active desire to realise what is of value in life for oneself and others….Nicholas Maxwell (2014) ‘How Universities can help create a wiser world’.

We then moved into smaller groups to share our responses and reflections on the opening questions – including any impact the pandemic is having on this. Looking across the groups perhaps there was a sense that it is the questioning itself which matters a great deal ……

What matters? What really matters?

Group 1	The what really* matters* question is a calibration for the what matters question. It provides a rudder to steer with in the day to day what matters. It is a question to keep attending to – to stay open. It is about how you do things.	Some things we thought mattered have been lost – and they don’t seem to matter as much as we thought they did (eg travel).
Group 2	The importance of people, our decision making, our ability to notice things, to notice our discomfort.	Collectivism matters more than we realised.
Group 3	It matters that we digest and learn. Wisdom is what you become. If you understand more about yourself you become more understanding. Live your life. Enable another.	As things have changed for many at work, people are valuing themselves more
Group 4	Keeping open to possibilities. Having space for the imagination. Eyes. Unlocking. *Great art stops you being afraid* (Jah Wobble – musician) There is a Moment in each Day that Satan cannot find Nor can his Watch Fiends find it, but the Industrious find This Moment & it multiply, & when it once is found It Renovates every Moment of the Day if rightly placed (From Milton by W Blake)	Consciousness of young people – how the pandemic is shaping futures.

16 October 2020 – Lockdown loosened

What am I dealing with now that need wisdom?

Wisdom is both ‘inner and outer’. It is thoughtful and it is also massively practical. Encouraged by the quote from David Attenborough the focus was on practical wisdom in what is going on for us at the moment. As a vehicle for doing this we used the cultivating wisdom framework with the six characteristics of – Consciousness, Conscience, Context, Collaboration, Compassion and Courage – relevant for individuals, groups, organisations and

What am I dealing with now which needs wisdom? Which characteristics of the wisdom framework feel most important?

Complex governance arrangements – recognising multiple perspectives, contradictions, ambivalence, importance of equality (context), being guided by moral compass (conscience) and moving forward (courage)
Facing personal change – being aware of what is guiding me; using the inner characteristics of consciousness, conscience and context as a ‘checklist’
Working remotely – humility and empathy in relationships; understanding different needs (context, compassion)
Young people struggling with unexpected challenges – having the courage to let them find their way forward
Impact of Covid on work and family life – not seeing loved ones; things feel confused, recognising multiple perspectives (context)
Huge demands of leadership in current context – slowing down enough to be be wise (consciousness); coping with the present ; having courage to look forward; beware risks of abuse of power when under too much pressure (lack of compassion); avoiding burnout – more collaboration; bring people together; have the courage to advise
Navigating business challenges – people and financial – looking after people (compassion)
Learning from suffering – eliciting the wisdom from this liminal moment (consciousness)
Working with leaders exploring what they need to do differently – spirit of innovation; collaboration, compassion, courage
Promoting what we are doing to the world – having courage; can require compromise; stretching boundaries; and there’s a tension things can become corrupted
Dealing with pressures on my team – collaboration and compassion
How to make a difference in adversity – best placed if you work on yourself first; attitude of service; self-world; grounded (consciousness; conscience; context)
Building a new not for profit venture – how to get things out there in the best way (without compromise/corruption) calls for courage and collaboration

31 July 2020 – lockdowns continue locally – How might we collaborate with others?

Col laborare – working together

We really need collaboration on the big issues

In collaboration the outcome is more than the sum of the parts
How else are we to proceed on the big issues – climate change; Black Lives Matter etc?
The evolutionary premise is that we are more successful if we collaborate – as a species we have shown this

The essence of collaboration

Collaboration is generosity, safety, having a safe space for boldness
From ‘I to we’
Conceding to generate
Persevering when others are different
Compassion
Small groups, teams, larger systems
Some consistency
Pragmatism
Collective responsibility
Held in communication
Enrichment through different viewpoints
Understanding strengths
Diversity, creativity, flexibility
But also with clear goals and values – to hold things together
Adaptive through diverse means
Across different fields for example multiple inputs to design and build
A balanced and dynamic flow – Ora et Labora model – time alone and time together to reflect and to work

Challenges of collaboration

Tensions between leadership and collaboration – especially as leadership can tend towards coercive
To get shared ownership of ideas takes time across different fields and perspectives
Lack of trust; lack of time; if we have deadlines we think it is quicker to do things ourselves
But it is rewarding because it takes you somewhere you may not get to yourself

Issues we would like to collaborate on now (recognising we have already stepped into some collaborative initiatives)

Future of Work
‘Getting out of my enclave’ (white, middle-class, privilege)
How to sustain the support and regularity of this community and to expand and develop it

5 June 2020 – 7 weeks in lockdown

What is the wise action asked of us now?

Keeping a view of wisdom as inter-connected at personal and wider levels we focussed both on individual experiences and bigger picture issues (eg climate change, inequality and technology opportunities). Strongly in our consciousness over the past fortnight were the killing of George Floyd and the Dominic Cummings controversy.

Thank you to those who supported our thinking at the start who spoke of being personally challenged in responding to injustices, finding a compass, walking the path as ‘pilgrims not tourists’ and acting with compassion and realism in keeping work going as best we can.

Here is a link to think-tank work on future community scenarios https://localtrust.org.uk/big-local/events/after-covid-where-will-we-be/

And on the Circular Economy https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/

In the break out groups there was energised discussion – sometimes a mix of anger and frustration grappling with steps to take but also clarity on the need to focus on doing the right things. Group discussion summaries are shown below:

What is the wise action asked of us now?

Tolerance, understanding, non-judgmental, enlightened self-interest, not pushing our ideas on others
Invest in ourselves for the knowledge to take wise action
Absolutely paring back, I’m incensed about, this is unsticking me, protest and legislation, take the first steps, wisdom sounds slow but we do not have to be slow, compassion for the individual
Action in the long term, Black Lives Matter, Lives Matter, Every Life Matters, what’s my knock-on effect?

And here is the link to the extraordinary speech by Martin Luther King at the Illinois Wesleyan University, 1966. https://www.iwu.edu/mlk/ and the ‘myth of time’ argument which holds that ‘Only time can bring integration into being….. I think there is an answer to that myth. That time is neutral, it can be used either constructively or destructively….in so many instances the forces of ill will… have used time more effectively than the forces of good will.’ And finally, with hope: ‘the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice.’

19 June 2020 – lockdown begin to ease

What are we doing with our heightened awareness?

Our continued focus was heightened consciousness and conscience in the light of the continuing Coronavirus pandemic and what was described as the ‘pandemic of racism’. Our emotions are being stirred, along with humility in our limited capacity to understand everything fully. There was a desire for compassionate action epitomised in the media photo of a black protestor carrying a white protestor to safety – ‘finding common ground’, ‘laying down arms… tender conversations’, ‘not just wishful thinking but taking the plunge’, ‘you have to do it yourself’, ‘commitment to go deep’, ‘real need for human connection’, ‘anyone can lead…if mindful’, ‘hold on to consciousness’.

Thank you so much to Stuart Nevill who supported our thinking by exploring Integrity and Conscience – sharing insights on sensitivity, moral autonomy and personal maturity. He challenged us to think for ourselves. Here is a recording of what he said https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLTrecHmDI4

17 July 2020 – lockdowns locally – Continuing our focus on Work and wisdom (with attention to courage)

What’s inspired us in the last couple of weeks?

Possibilities, big narratives, also noticing foolishness
‘Lionhearts’ – sister who spends so much time caring for others
Courage of those who are prepared to move towards what is difficult
People – rather than ideas – recognising things are not black and white
Podcast wisdom quote: ‘In the current situation people are looking to be instructed instead of looking inside for our own wisdom’
Example of a big national charity getting on the move again; allowing common sense
Listening to the wisdom of elders who have seen change happen
Allowing the liminal space; people gradually adjusting to a new reality

Rachel guided us into thinking in pairs drawing on the principles and practices from Nancy Klines’s ‘Time to Think’ which we have used at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park leadership wisdom sessions. Listeners offered generative attention without interruption as we considered the question:

How am I rethinking my work going forward?

As we re-joined the group there was a strong sense of ‘peacefulness’, ‘promise’, ‘can see things I couldn’t see before’, ‘clearer,’ ‘revisiting my creative process’, ‘pulse’, ‘connection to others’, ‘creating a space for something to emerge.’ Our final question was:

What courageous action is now called from me in my work?

Reach out, engage more with wider people, not good enough to just turn up, reach for more hopeful, creative meaningful action for its own sake
Be patient
Step into the edge of my comfort zone, do, be, take action rather than verbalising
Challenge and lead with empathy
Keep on, keep going, even if the destination is not clear
Speak up, ownership, self-promotion, owning it, stepping beyond my comfort zone
Visibility, vulnerability
Stay focussed on the work/vision, more than worry about practicalities
Share thinking with others on a different way forward

3 July 2020 – lockdown easing further

How are we rethinking work?

View from a leader in a global industrial company

Dealing with challenges:

An existing focus on safety has served people well (no workplace COVID cases); the value of a shared way and clear protocols
Use of crisis teams; working in an agile way; quick shift to home working; and now moving back
Responding to different policies and approaches across country boundaries; managing complexity
Paying even more attention to trust, connections, purpose, belonging

Looking forward:

Reimagining the workplace bringing the best from the experience of the crisis
Managing uncertainty, building resilience
Continuing the attention to trust, courage, control (appropriate; resist the big control tendency); ‘run your business like you own it’
Really listening to people on Black Lives Matters

Personal perspective

A very challenging time – particularly at the start
Coaching sessions helped to work things through
Half an hour of reflection time in the evening each day to get clear on priorities; focus on people
Time for exercise and relaxation – going for a walk or run each day

View from a leader in higher education

Dealing with challenges:

Safety and wellbeing has been given a priority through the crisis
The sector has been under a lot of strain for some time
Public recognise the value of excellence in research at this time (maybe more than usual)

Moving forward:

The impact of COVID on student numbers is unknown; rethinking internationalisation
Rethinking the civic duty to domestic constituency – local practices, environments and social actors
Rethinking carefully a balanced model of delivery – physical and online
We are more vulnerable – so needs us to really listen to each other; team creativity

Personal perspective

Fiercely optimistic, incredible opportunities, politics, green economy
Just the transition
Join the dots
A time for big narratives
Risk, courage, optimism!

Views from wider group on evolution of work

In a partial transition state; importance of humility, care, recognising vulnerability; incorporating into values
Collaboration; noticing the effectiveness of collaborative leaders (Merkel, Ardern) rather than dominant (Trump); maintaining generous/distributive decision making (example of sharing funds)
Acknowledge the loss of social interaction; yes, there must be change; but be clear what aspects of life we are grateful for and what affirmative action to keep these alight
More responsible capitalism; less focus on short-term returns; collaboration; complex systems; migration to new ways of working
Heightened consciousness; being and staying involved in things; seeing complex systems

22 May 2020 – 9 weeks in lockdown

How do we access collective wisdom?

We began by sharing reflections on the closing words we had chosen 1 May. We moved into a discussion with opening comments on the challenges of the current situation and how politicians and advisers decide what to do in incredibly complex situations. We mentioned some wisdom writers (Meacham, Weick, Vaill) who see wisdom in a careful balance between knowing and doubting and the importance of discovering wisdom in healthy dialogue with others. We focussed on the collective wisdom present in many examples of compassionate action with examples we are seeing around us.

In our discussion the interconnected nature of wisdom felt very present – finding our personal wisdom, in our families, with our friends, our work teams and clients. Here are some of the words used around practices and insights clustered at three levels from the wisdom framework

Intrapersonal wisdom	Interpersonal wisdom	Extrapersonal wisdom
Difficult choices – my family needs and others’ needs	Empathy – we are in the same storm but not the same craft	Taking action for homeless
Looking at myself – being my biggest self; what is possible; transcending myself	Being loving	Reimagining work and how to do it
Reflecting early in the day; calm; using my reflections booklet more	Supporting friends in need – compassion and rule breaking	Setting new horizons
Having great thoughts whilst out walking	Recognising different people are in different situations – with different feelings and thoughts	Looking for leaders who show courage
Cat and bird – consistently questioning the nature of things	Using language to help others shift perspective – ‘Best of times – worst of times’
Hoping – when one step forward and two steps back	Emotional literacy
Reimagining myself
Showing courage

1 May 2020 – 6 weeks in lockdown

What are we noticing about wisdom now?

Consciousness

Awakening to the wisdom within
An opportunity to step back and focus on what’s important; stop and think; reflect and question
We are so busy and now the system slows down and we are less caught up in it
Remembering the importance of the external world, the environment
Noticing invisible things – homeless person can’t access help; knock on the door; becomes visible

Conscience

Shift in role; more responsible citizens; not passing on the virus
Reconsidering the rules; living by your own rules

Collaboration

The young and the old doing amazing things – Captain Tom; 10 year old making visors

Compassion

Acting compassionately, kindly, positive aspects; kindness

Courage

Sometimes wise to break rules
Some things are changing for the good – and the bad. How can we make sure the good things are retained?

Cultivating wisdom closing words

Others – Accept – Enquiry – Authenticity – Hope – Patience – Compassion – Fragility of life – Reflection – Act differently – Your big self – Trust – Cognisance – Calm – Be kind to yourself and others – Sitting in – Empathy – Love – Heterotopia – Critique – Selflessness – Heart – Open – Calm – Fierce compassion – Reimagining – Caring – Kindness – Please love me – Enrichment – Deep thought – Realise – Kindness