{"id":870,"date":"2013-10-07T21:27:44","date_gmt":"2013-10-07T21:27:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/?p=870"},"modified":"2014-01-06T02:08:32","modified_gmt":"2014-01-06T02:08:32","slug":"the-mindful-leader-an-invitation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/2013\/10\/07\/the-mindful-leader-an-invitation\/","title":{"rendered":"The Contemplative Leader: An Invitation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our greatest natural resources are our hearts and minds,<\/i> together with those of the people around us.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 –Diane Dreher, The Tao of Personal Leadership<\/i><\/p>\n

We live in a world challenged by climate change, social and technological upheaval, political polarization and violence. Yet our world also offers us new possibilities for creativity, joy, and personal growth.<\/p>\n

\"Cosmic<\/a><\/p>\n

In today\u2019s world, the old top-down, command and control model of leadership has become obsolete, producing only mindless polarization, short-term solutions, suffering, and stagnation. We need leaders with a new vision to see through the problems that divide us to discover the possibilities that unite us. The complex challenges of our time call us all <\/span>to be leaders, mindful men and women who can create new synergies out of the experiences and situations around us.<\/p>\n

The mindful leader does not dictate policy, does not pretend to know all the answers; rather, he or she is someone who is always in discovery, bringing greater clarity, cultivating trust, and building community, finding new solutions by drawing upon the talents of everyone involved.<\/p>\n

The good news is that we can all become mindful leaders by leading a contemplative life and cultivating virtues such as clarity, courage, compassion, creativity, and community. Taking time to listen to ourselves and others, we can move forward mindfully, learning from daily challenges, building a world of greater harmony, cooperation, and understanding.<\/p>\n

In our blog, we\u2019ll be drawing upon centuries of wisdom from diverse spiritual traditions along with our own real-life experience, cultivating a vision of mindful, contemplative \u00a0leadership for our world today.<\/p>\n

We invite you to join us on this journey through your own mindful practice and journal writing.<\/p>\n

To begin, try this exercise:<\/b><\/p>\n