Integral Education: The CIIS Blog

Leadership, Hope, and Creativity

By Alfonso Montuori, Professor and Chair of the Transformative Inquiry Department 

A cursory look at leadership literature will show a field with a wide range of perspectives, from The Leadership Lessons of Jesus to Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun. Within academic literature there is an extensive body of research and a general agreement to disagree.

We in the Transformative Leadership program at CIIS think that, because the field of leadership is wide open, it provides us with a wonderful opportunity. In these uncertain and complex times, it’s no surprise that what constitutes leadership is up for grabs; the who, what, where, why and how of leadership are all being questioned and redefined, and it’s about time.

Many of the individuals who join the Transformative Leadership program haven’t always thought of themselves as leaders.  They didn’t necessarily grow up dreaming of becoming presidents, CEOs, or anything like that. Some believe passionately that they must make a contribution to a particular issue—such as the environment, education, social justice, or the private sector. Others are transitioning into a new life, leaving established careers behind. Now they are moved to explore something new, something that reflects the passion, commitment, and participation in the complex challenges facing all of us.

Along with the ability to lead and create positive change in the world, the Transformative Leadership program offers students an opportunity for self-creation. Students don’t simply read about leadership research and different leadership theories. They draw on their experience, their context, as well as the research, so that they themselves can answer the who, what, where, why and how of leadership. The program gives them the opportunity and the resources to create the leader they want to be. It also asks them go out into the world for their action capstone, to make a difference in a way that reflects their passion, values and goals—and to test their leadership mettle.

Our students are moved by their passion, their hope for a better world, and their desire to make a contribution. The election of President Barack Obama on a mandate of hope is therefore tremendously symbolic. In his inaugural address, President Obama pointed out that 60 years earlier, his black father would not have been allowed to eat in some restaurants in Washington. Obama’s win surprised many, not least civil rights advocates who could not have hoped 40 or even 20 years earlier that an African-American man would become president of the United States in their lifetime.

Now that we have broken down some of the assumptions about who can lead the country, we have to ask ourselves, what can we hope for the U.S. and for the world? It’s obviously not enough to talk about exit strategies, whether from the war in Iraq, or from the economic and environmental crises. This is why in his inaugural speech the president also argued for a new era of responsibility. The U.S., and indeed humanity as a whole, he said, should leave “childish things” behind. The clear message is that the world is in a tremendous period of transition; that this transition is not going to be an easy one, and that we should leave childish selfishness, greed, and ambition to dominate others behind.

But implicit in the mandate for change and hope and the president’s call for responsibility is the need for creativity. Creativity is needed now because all the indications are that an old world is dying but a new one is yet to be born. Can we transition into a new and better world? If, following the president’s biblical imagery, we leave childish things behind can we create a more mature, generous, wise world?

Creativity can bring us visions of better worlds. Creative individuals, groups, and communities can turn these visions into realities. New ways of working together towards common goals can draw on the creativity that is recognized all over the world as central to the American spirit. Creativity will also give us a new understanding of the American dream, and of what human beings can be and achieve.

In the Transformative Leadership program we acknowledge the audacity of hope. And we invite the leaders of the future to accept their responsibility for the world to come, and embrace the passion and commitment of creativity. 

Earth, Community, and Change

By Jessie Kostosky, Program Coordinator for the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness Programs

We know that we are not alone on Earth. Every day, we interact with others—friends, family, colleagues—but we know there is still more. If we look around and truly feel into our relationships, we can see them expand outward faster than a comet hurtling through the night sky.

When I stop to notice, I see that I include my neighbors in my relationships, but also my non-human pets and the talkative jays that visit outside my window. If I look outside of the two- and four-legged boundary, I see that some important beings in my life are the plants in my garden, as well as the redwood tree across the street. All of this continues to the micro- and macro- levels, where I see that I'm deeply related to the creatures that hold together the soil and work to make it healthier, as well as to the energy and power streaming down to me through the sun's electrons.

Am I in community with these other beings? I think so. Ecology, in a very real way, is community; I find myself already part of a web of interrelationships, spanning from the smallest microscopic creatures to the largest cycles of the planets and stars. On one level, community is not a choice, yet I can become increasingly more aware of it and decide to participate with it at a greater than surface level. I can be not simply aware of those "others," but I can relate to them in different ways. I can get to know them through histories where I find out about their past, or discussions and observation where we mutually probe each other’s inner worlds.

This is the part of being in community that is a choice: It is the decision to go deeper than the mundane and superficial in order to bring the "other" closer to oneself.

In the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness program, we work to become closer to these so-called "others." We learn about them from varying approaches, and in doing so we learn more about ourselves. By placing ourselves in relation to other entities, our worldview shifts—we are more than the skin encapsulated ego, more than our names and histories. We are as large as our concept of community allows. I think when this happens, when I become a reflection of my understanding of community, an ethical shift occurs—I am now responsible to and for my expanded circle of relations.

This, to me, is one way that the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness program is changing the world.

Discover Bali

By Richard Buggs, Dean of Alumni and Director of Travel Programs

Are you looking to getaway this summer to a breathtakingly beautiful South Pacific island that also provides an immersion into the arts? Look no further than the CIIS Travel Program, which is hosting a tour to Bali.

The Arts and Spirituality of Bali tour is a unique opportunity that combines deep relaxation with an exploration of Bali’s most important religious and artistic traditions. Wake up early and stroll through verdant rice paddies; snorkel in startlingly clear, warm water, with miles of coral reefs and schools of technicolor fish to gaze upon; put on your finest batik sarong for the full moon festival at goddess Saraswati’s temple; and learn the ancient art of shadow puppetry.

While Bali has shares many commonalities with other Asian cultures, it’s set apart by its Bali-Hindu religion (a blend of Hinduism, Animism, and Buddhism). According to Balinese Hindu tradition, the arts are seen as powerful bridges, connecting the sekala (tangible world) and niskala (intangible world of spirit). In this way, Balinese Hindu tradition invokes transformation on an individual and collective level through its arts, rituals, and festivals.

Our Bali tour will be based in the city of Ubud, considered the center of Bali’s artistic life. Participants will study a wide range of artistic practices, from Balinese gamelan music to dance, batik and woodcarving. We will take a 3-day tour of the island and visit various religious sites, including the most sacred Mother temple, Besaki Temple.

Join us this summer from July 20 through August 7. For more information, please send an e-mail to rbuggs@ciis.edu.

It’s Not Over ‘Til It’s Over

By Alec MacLeod, Professor in the School of Undergraduate Studies

On the last day of the fall semester—and for several days thereafter—students in my classes gave me papers and projects. With a sigh of relief they proclaimed, “I’m done!” and “It’s over!” It seemed ungracious to remind them that when it’s over for them, it’s just beginning for me. But that is just how I felt as I considered the pile of papers, cds, and binders I had acquired. It is always a juggling act to fulfill their reasonable expectations of a timely assessment while still sneaking some time off to recharge before the start of spring term (not to mention spending time with my step-son, who was home for just two weeks over holiday break).

As January unfolded, I fell behind slightly, with the narrative assessments for the fall semester still incomplete. In many ways I find that winter break adds perspective to things; I have a sense of all of each student’s work rather just the parts at the end. I can see the development of ideas and skills, of growing confidence as fears are quelled. I read through the papers from the semester, as well as my comments over the course of the term, and reviewed the self-assessments.

Writing an assessment means participating in a complex genre, one with several audiences. First, I want each student to feel that I have attended to his or her work. I take pleasure in noticing the qualities for which each student is most proud.

However, these are also part of the permanent record: when this student applies to graduate school, this is likely to be a part of their transcript. I need to be sure that not only the work but also the expectations that each student has met are understandable to someone outside our curriculum. Fortunately, in the School of Undergraduate Studies at CIIS we do not give letter grades. This allows me to speak directly to the quality of the work rather than justifying why I gave a B+ rather than an A-.

Most delicate are the times when I need to call attention to something that a student could have done better on, or that he or she simply blew off, without damaging his or her reasonable chances for advancement to the next level. It is a kind of dog-whistle writing: I want only one of the readers to clearly hear what I am saying. I want the other audiences not to notice.

Of course, when writing 18 to 20 of these assessments over the course of a few days, I must avoid becoming formulaic, using the same turns of phrase or organizational structures in each one. This time around, I think I’ve achieved this goal. I hope that, in addition, my assessments have made an impact on the development of these students.

Spurring the Creative Process

By Justin Tisdale, CIIS Admissions Counselor

I’ve always considered myself an artist, but after finishing my MFA in Poetics, I was at a loss as to what to do to pay the bills. Last fall, when California Institute of Integral Studies introduced two new MFA programs adopted from New College—one in Writing and Consciousness and one in Creative Inquiry, Interdisciplinary Arts—I found my niche as an admissions counselor, helping others to decide whether to pursue a degree focusing on self expression through writing or art. Though I love working with prospective students and interacting with the fabulous artists and writers in the programs, I felt my office job stunted my poetic output. I struggled extensively with this feeling until reaching a critical realization: Why not utilize my employee benefits and take a writing class in one of the very programs I represented?

I decided to take The Creative Process and the Creative Work with Sarah Stone. I picked this class because it seemed specifically designed to jump start the creative process; furthermore, it allows the student to focus on (and finish) a creative project of his or her choice. It seemed perfect because I was working on a poetry manuscript and desperately needed a deadline in order to motivate me to finish it. The class description also promised to implement a long-term artistic routine for the student. I was doubtful. I couldn’t imagine fitting anything else in my overbooked life, but decided to give it a try.

During our first class, we took turns sharing our projects and reading excerpts or showing video clips. The class was intimate—only six people—and we were all working on very different projects. There was a memoir writer, a buto dancer, another poet, a peace activist, and a short fiction writer. I was surprised at how supportive everyone was of each other and I was grateful to get my mind in gear thinking about my project.

For the next class, we had to make specific commitments to our project and our process. As we moved around the circle classmates stated commitments like, “I commit to finish my project and write for two hours a morning before work.” This made me anxious. There was no way I could make a commitment like that. I interrupted the class, saying, “Okay everyone, I’m really beginning to panic.” We all laughed, but I wasn’t kidding.

Then we moved on to the class exercise, collage. As I sat down with my magazines, poems, and quotes, I discovered a creative flow and forgot my anxiety. I finished first. The professor, Sarah, came over to my table. I must have looked as hopeless as I felt, admitting my inability to cut anything out of my life to make time for writing; everything I do felt so important. After talking for some time, she said, “Maybe it’s enough for you to just work on believing that it’s possible to fit writing in. Just work on that right now.” I mulled that advice over for the rest of class.

That night, at home, I had a small but important moment. I decided I would commit to 20 minutes of writing a day, six days a week. It sounds minuscule, but it really shifted something. My 20 minutes in the morning usually bleeds into 35 or 45 minutes, longer on the weekends, and keeps me thinking about my work all day. I made a commitment to myself, and my writing, and it actually worked. I’m taking it seriously.

It’s ironic that the thing I blamed the most for not writing, my job, was the thing that allowed me access to Sarah Stone’s The Creative Process and the Creative Work class. Because of it, I discovered a way to recommit myself to my craft. Now, when I talk to prospective students, who are people all along the continuum of having an arts practice, I have no doubt that they too can have a breakthrough. In a way, building a writing routine made me realize the importance of my job. I, too, can introduce others to a method of prioritizing their art.

CIIS, Now in the Blogosphere

Welcome to the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), a pioneer in integral education located in San Francisco, Calif. Who are we? CIIS is an accredited institution of higher education that strives to embody spirit, intellect, and wisdom in service to individuals, communities and the Earth.

The Institute offers interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, and applied studies in psychology, philosophy, religion, cultural anthropology, transformative studies and leadership, integrative health, women’s spirituality, counseling, community mental health, and the arts.

To learn more about CIIS, click here. To see a list of our academic degree programs, click here.

This is our new blog, which in the coming weeks will take shape as we assemble a top-notch group of contributors. We encourage you to check back often, and if you have any questions about CIIS, don’t hesitate to call at (415) 575-6100 or send an e-mail to admissions@ciis.edu.