When I found out that there was a Zen Institute of
Leadership, I immediately knew that I had to talk to the founder and find out
more about the organization and its approach to life and leadership.
I was thrilled but also a bit nervous to talk to Dr.
Ginny Whitelaw over Zoom. My slightly apprehensive feeling was due to my Zen conception
of the stern overlooking master with a stick who would not hesitate to
discipline the ones who lack or falter in terms of discipline. Dr. Whitelaw to whom I
shall respectfully refer to as Ginny from now on, looked like the embodiment of
Zen: she has that stern focused no-nonsense look about her but the moment she
spoke, I was immediately put at ease because she oozed warmth, sympathy,
passion, and kindness in a measured and controlled fashion emanating from the
other side of the Zoom screen.
It is not only in terms of Eastern and Western
upbringing, outlook, and experience that she is the perfect combination and
embodiment of Zen, but this is also reflected in her own educational and
professional formation.
Ginny started off with the dream of exploring outer
space. As a child, she wished to become an astronaut, so her parents cleared
the kitchen broom closet and used a vacuum cleaner to recreate the environment
of a capsule floating in outer space. Space flight to her represented a
potential way of bringing peace on Earth and of uniting everyone for a common
and universal purpose. In fact, she ended up landing an executive position at
NASA for over a decade before she decided to fully explore and dedicate herself
to the inner space via Zen Buddhism.
She is no stranger to philosophy either as she has
studied it but, more importantly, she has always been curious about life and its
purpose and meaning. In addition, she holds a doctorate in biophysics, and she
is a Zen Master. Moreover, apart from having a 5th-degree black belt
in Aikido, she also has psychology under her belt as she has studied the
nervous system and neuroscience in graduate school, and it must certainly help
to have a husband who is a psychologist.
All things considered, the interview was very pleasant
and went extremely well as we were from the get-go in perfect alignment
regarding values and philosophical outlook. The difference lies in the details
on how we approach it and the different paths we have taken – her focus is more
on the physical aspects, the body, while I tend to put more emphasis on the
mind; notwithstanding, the end result is the same: a holistic quest and aim for
uncovering and finding one’s true essence as well as reaching a sense of peace
and bliss that vibrates through every fiber of one’s being.
I will not attempt to explain Zen, a feat that is
deemed not only fallible and impossible but also futile and pointless as well
as beyond the point. Put simply, Zen is both a view on life as well as a manual
on how to live it. When Ginny talks about energy that needs to be balanced and
to flow harmoniously, an inner sense of movement in lieu of stagnation that is reigned
by chaos and rigidity in body and mind, I feel comforted by the fact that she
is not merely uttering buzz words or providing empty jargon but that she
intuitively as well as scientifically is aware of the connotations and the
meanings and the implications of those processes.
But science - hand in hand with the Western conception
and understanding of the body and of personhood - is severely restrained and limited.
Trying to understand human motivation by using logical concepts will lead us
nowhere in particular except have us do pirouettes while we anxiously and
desperately are trying to chase our own tail. Zen inherently knows about the
limitations of both language and rational thinking and this has been its most
startling and astounding asset. Our thinking can only get us so far; we need to
tap into a world beyond it to fully grasp and experience the world.
This can perhaps be best expressed and understood by
the practice of koans. They are riddles that do not have logical answers and I
sometimes doubt they have any answer at all. To solve this riddle or at least to
come close to a possible solution, we need to put aside the brain, rationality, and
language and instead delve into pure intuition and insight.
As Ginny herself puts it, during Zen practice and
training, we start off with mountains being mountains, then we reach a point
when we see them no more as mountains, while finally, we return to our first
understanding of mountains being mountains but this second time around, we see
and perceive them through significantly different eyes with a transformed and
transcended point of view and outlook.
Language is an immensely useful tool; it has given us
science, literature, civilization, culture as well as philosophy and religion
but it has its inherent limitations and imperfections. Science can explain many
things and it is most useful in understanding processes in and of the world,
but at the same time, it cannot touch and reach everything and this is why no
one has ever succeeded in the Holy Grail of science: the Theory of Everything.
In addition, our bodies, our “meat suits” according to
Ginny, are imperfect in and of themselves; yet it is through this living and
breathing device that cosmic energy can flow and which helps us connect and
adapt to eternal flow if we manage to set and tune it wisely and mindfully. Put
differently, the body is an instrument, which is often out of tune and we need
to tune it to resonate with life; we need to free it up from stuck trauma so
that it can synchronize with the natural rhythm of life and with the flow of
energy.
How can we do this and what does it all have to do
with leadership? Although there is a difference in our respective methodology, Ginny’s
and mine, I use a mindful existential version of psychoanalysis, while she uses
Zen meditation and physical training and activities, it is all about connecting
with your true self.
The true self is not the same as the ego, which is a
term that is used in both approaches but with slightly different connotations.
Generally speaking, in psychoanalysis we want to fortify the ego, which is sandwiched
between forces that often seem out of its grasp and control (unconscious
processes of the id and the superego), whereas, in Zen, we want to see through
its sham and disguise and “battle with the ego armed to the teeth” (it is not
surprising that Zen and martial arts are natural allies in that respect) and
steal its apparent show and arrogant glamour or more positively to notice that
it is merely a mask and often an impostor but not the true authentic self or
being. The ego is, according to Ginny, stealing our identity and making us
think that we know who we are, but we need to see through it instead of being
spun around by it.
This has everything to do with living one’s life and gaining ownership regarding the direction our life will be taking from this
moment on. Once we feel connected to powerful energies flowing through and
within us, we can gain a sense of peace and a feeling of well-being and
happiness. In its activated sense, this is what Zen monks mean when they claim
to have their feet half a foot above the ground throughout the whole day.
It is like experiencing a natural and constant high
but without using drugs, chemicals, or other types of stimulants. It is the
feeling of being both free as well as in control of one’s life to the humble
extent that we do indeed and in fact have control over those aspects. It is
breaking free from the bonds of earth and gravity and breaking free
psychologically from the prison of self. It is finding one’s calling and living
it from fleeting moment to moment. It is about figuring out the most personal
and satisfactory dance moves while the music of the spheres is resonating
through us so long as we are blessed with the breath of life.
At one point through my own exploration of
psychoanalysis, there was a moment where I gained this momentary awareness and
experience of bliss and I was immediately reminded of Zen Buddhism. It came to
me as not too surprising that such a link had already been explored and
established to a degree with the work of Erich Fromm and his book Zen
Buddhism and Psychoanalysis.
It comes then as little surprise that a person who
feels satisfaction, meaning, and purpose will be not only a more effective
leader but will also feel healthier and also have a sound and healthy effect on
their surroundings and their fellow beings. Ginny explained to me the approach
they take at her institute and it is a manner of switching to the appropriate
leadership style of the given situation.
For this purpose, Ginny engages in what is called FEBI
during which they test and determine the personal characteristics of each
individual joining the program. The result is not only a clearer understanding
of the psychological underpinnings and preferences of the individual but also
the best way of guiding and managing their progress. As this is not merely a
psychological measure but also provides the groundwork for physical and spiritual
path and guidance, it will address the person as a whole.
As such, it is holistic and mindful in nature. The
goal of this type of training is to provide a different sense of the self in
which we are able to see the whole picture and not just mere fragments or
distortions of the self. We cannot get rid of the ego, but we can use it as a
tool in service of the whole picture. We must keep in mind that the ego has a
job to do, that is, to keep us safe and alive but its perception of life and
death is immensely distorted and its point of view and method of judging things
and events as either thumbs up or thumbs down are limited, naïve
and inherently selfish in nature.
In fact, the ego is generally a narrative device, a
piece of fiction that merely exists in reference to other parts of one’s being
but it tries to freeze-frame our lives and hold us hostage with
experiences and stories from the past. But instead of just reacting to the ego
and letting it keep us in the confines of what it deems as innocuous comfort
zones, we ought to step up and step out and face the world inside and outside
of us. We can gain control of this rudderless ship and not just react but guide
the light and energy to serve the world. During the messy and confusing time as
we are grasping for light and understanding, it is often good to work with a
master, whether it is in Zen and through psychoanalysis.
Here, we may disagree slightly. She believes that a
master is indispensable for such growth and mindset; I have a more solitary
self-made lone wolf approach and think that in some cases it can be done
without actual guidance and presence of a master. Yet I do not doubt that the
presence of living - and more often nonliving - masters are essential for
learning about oneself and for getting set on one’s unique path. Nothing
valuable can be achieved in isolation but like the Buddha himself, we must do
the work ourselves to achieve insight and to alight the true eternal and
ineffable spark within us.
We must be guided not by our tiny and puny ego who
thinks it has all the answers (when it clearly does not) but by real and
genuine wisdom. And the caveat is that this light and wisdom will not reveal
itself nor open up to us unless we are ready for it to occur. Zen is not for
everyone but rather for people who are stable; they will have doubts about life
and existence but they want to know more and gain knowledge and are willing to
work hard.
As mentioned earlier, the end result, whether we
embark upon the path of Zen or psychoanalysis is essentially the same. Whether
we use inspection, reflection, or meditation, it provides and supplies us with
a better way to be and breathe in the world. Our life is then filled with
resonance and purpose. We vibrate with ourselves and the world around us and as
a system, we interact with the energy and field in our environment. It is not
something that can be solved in the head; it is not a purpose or mission
statement nor repetitive thinking and behavior. It is about what truly
resonates within us, what calls us; a call for action, and a call for
transformation, for becoming and for being.
How we resonate with the world is our choice. As Ginny
says, we must breathe anyway, so why not get it right and breathe more slowly
and more deeply. Why not be a little more grounded and centered and more caring
and connected? But resonating with the world means accepting its struggles and
its fair share of suffering. We are not immune to that and pain and suffering
come as part of the deal with life. And yet, it is suffering that can teach us
the most valuable and most life-changing lessons in life. As one of her Zen
teachers once told her, there are two great teachers in life, suffering, and
meditation, but he prefers the latter when given a choice.
A true leader is someone who acts on behalf of
themselves as well as others. A good leader is a person that knows when to
focus but is flexible enough to adapt to circumstances and reframe their
viewpoints and actions. There are times and situations when we need a narrow
focus and other times, where we need to expand our view and look at the big
picture. The framework and training that Ginny proposes are learning to use and
harness these different styles although we may have certain personal
preferences for one or the other. Most importantly, we would learn to reframe
and flip from coping with life and surviving to use the energy around us and
effectively working with paradoxes and ambiguities.
The leader and the conscious and mindful person would be able to connect the inner with the outer world and work with their fears and self-limiting beliefs. They would bring the future into the present, and this will go beyond being successful but more about realizing and fulfilling one’s purpose in life. And that is also where healing resides as sickness and disease occur when life becomes lopsided, that is, when the energy becomes stuck and there is an overall lack of wellness and balance in one’s life.
For more detailed information, you can check out Ginny Whitelaw’s recently published book Resonate: Zen and the Way of Making a Difference as well as visit the website Embodied Facilitator and you can watch the entire interview on YouTube
If you prefer to listen to the interview, here is the link to my podcast: Arash's World Podcast
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