Abstract
Four contemporary domains of practice which answer the problems raised in relation to systems thinking are described: the Human Process Inquiry from the Sumedhas Academy in India, Cooperative Inquiry from the UK, Action Inquiry from the USA, and Holotropic Breathwork from Europe. Drawn from four major world regions and cultures, they have each demonstrated a maturing of method (and theory, in two cases) and evidence documented results. These methods also stand for wisdom approaches that have long been applied by humankind, now rediscovered and redeployed in recent sociological practice with the corresponding development of supporting theory. Each method is reviewed for its correspondence with the systemic ontology and its contribution to an effective systemic epistemology .
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Hereafter, I shall only refer to the deep intelligence field and that would imply systemic interconnectedness.
- 2.
Such deployment is in a restricted sense: most of the holotropic breathwork within group contexts is usually transacted in dyadic arrangements. Nevertheless, there is relevance of such methods to group work of the organisational/systemic sort: this will become clear from later sections of this chapter.
- 3.
For example, I have experimented with a variety of meditation techniques, as well as a range of healing methodologies. Most often, the literature here expounds on methods and carries testimonials from experience; it speaks to the ‘converted’—those who are willing to accept and work with ‘mystical’ spiritual energies or processes. These practices have been extremely helpful to me personally in harnessing such knowings to the practical goals of healing people and organisations and have directly inspired my postulation of the deep intelligence field.
- 4.
This offering has been developed and offered by Raghu Ananthanarayanan, who has pioneered theoretical work on identity and role-taking processes in the Indian cultural context, a legacy extended by several followers of Pulin Garg. The programmes I facilitated were outside of Sumedhas space and offered under other titles; they have differed in some design respects, but essentially followed the same principles.
- 5.
The chief protagonist will not be asked to play her/his own role; there are several cautions about how and when this exercise is used, so this brief allusion to it must not be used by any reader as a basis to try out or experiment with this technique.
- 6.
which is probably best envisaged as the deep intelligence field.
- 7.
In my postgraduate course of study, enrollers into the programme were called participants and treated accordingly, and not as students. This has left a permanent and profound impress on his understanding of adult learning.
- 8.
Heron and Reason (1997) developed the elaborate epistemology of knowing, corresponding to this practice of cooperative inquiry that acknowledges forms of knowing beyond the rational, which was discussed in the last chapter.
- 9.
One testimonial provided in Grof’s book is an indicative example of the potential value of this method:
‘I would like to conclude this report by a passage from a letter which we received a year after the Esalen seminar as a response to our request for a follow-up evaluation of the effects of the above experiences:
You asked about any lasting effects I have had from the breathing workshop. It has been just about a year since that time, so I feel that what is with me now is indeed lasting. Perhaps the most satisfying and amazing result is that I have truly and totally accepted the place where I live as my home—after some 16 years of struggling with a strong desire to leave here! I mentioned in my earlier comments about the workshop that I had suddenly realized that I had flown thousands of miles to be with myself. At that moment, high on the cliffs of Esalen, I began living at home. That realization of home has been with me without a moment of wavering for this whole year since then. All who know me have been amazed.
In addition, there have been some other very substantial changes in my life, which I feel are directly the result of the workshop. After many years of talking, thinking, and reading about spirituality, I actually experienced during the workshop what seemed to me a very spiritual state. This spiritual experiencing has continued to pervade my life. The “issues” continue to come up—work, family, marriage, purpose, and so forth—but there is an increasing tendency to go deeply within myself, and to let these issues heal up from within, rather than trying to control or manipulate external circumstances.
I have been meditating each day for a couple of months now. This just seems like a good path for me. I am not using a particular teacher or spiritual discipline. This is just a time of focusing, of coming into the present moment. The result has been an increasing sense of calmness and quiet joy. I am noticing more love flowing out of me, something that has definitely been blocked throughout my life. Have always longed to share, yet the sharing has too often degenerated into domination and control, with ego getting in the way of Self! I am feeling freer now, and the love is flowing more freely. A number of people have come to me for help and support of various kinds—a spontaneous recognition from “outside” of the progress within’ (quoted in Grof 1988, p. 218).
- 10.
a careful reading of their work would indicate that this element is implicitly included—this is corroborated later in this section with several quotes.
- 11.
A wind based musical instrument with a double reed at one end and a flared metal bell at the other, which is considered very auspicious and spiritually uplifting, and hence used at temples and marriages.
References
Abram, D. (1996). The spell of the sensuous: Language and perception in a more than human world. New York: Pantheon.
Abram, D. (2011). Becoming animal: An earthly cosmology. New York: Vintage books.
Ananthanarayanan, R. (2012). Personal teaching of Yoga Sutras. Notes made by the author.
Banerjee, S. (1997). What is process work? Retrieved June 09, 2015, from http://www.sumedhas.org/media/WHAT%20IS%20PROCESS%20WORK.pdf
Bateson, G. (1972). Steps to an ecology of mind (with a new foreword by Mary Catherine Bateson). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (1999 edition).
Boal, A. (1979). Theatre of the oppressed. Sidmouth: Pluto Press. (2008 edition).
Bohm, D. (1980). Wholeness and the implicate order. London: Routledge.
Bortoft, H. (1996). The wholeness of nature: Goethe’s way of science. Hudson, New York: Lindisfarne Press.
Castaneda, C. (1968). The teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui way of knowledge. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Checkland, P. B. (1985). From optimising to learning: A development of systems thinking for the 1990s. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 36, 757–767.
Cilliers, P. (2005). Knowledge, limits and boundaries. Futures, 37(7), 605–613.
Coutu, D. L., & Misino, D. J. (2002). Negotiating without a net: A conversation with the NYPD’s Dominick J. Misino. Harvard Business Review, 80, 49.
de Sousa Santos, B. (2014). Epistemologies of the South: Justice against Epistemicide. London: Paradigm Publishers.
Elsass, P. (1992). The healing space in psychotherapy and theatre. New Theatre Quarterly, 8, 333–342. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266464X00007120
Estés, C. P. (1992). Women who run with the wolves: Myths and stories of the wild woman archetype. New York: Ballantine Books.
Fay, B. (1987). Critical social science. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Flood, R. L. (1990). Liberating systems theory. New York: Plenum Press.
Flood, R. L. (1998). Action research and the management and systems sciences. Systemic Practice and Action Research, 11(1), 79–101.
Freire, P. (1972). Pedagogy of the oppressed (M. B. Ramos, Trans.). New York: Herder & Herder.
Grof, S. (1975). Realms of the human unconscious: Observations from LSD psychotherapy. New York: Plume Books, 1976 edition).
Grof, S. (1988). The adventure of self-discovery: I. Dimensions of consciousness. II. New perspectives in psychotherapy. Albany: SUNY Press.
Grof, S. (2012). Healing our deepest wounds: The holotropic paradigm shift. Newcastle, WA: Stream of Experience Productions.
Grof, S., & Bennett, H. Z. (1993). The holotropic mind: The three levels of human consciousness and how they shape our lives. New York: HarperCollins.
Grof, S., & Grof, C. (2010). Holotropic breathwork: A new approach to self-exploration and therapy. Albany: SUNY Press.
Grof, S., & Valier, M. L. (Eds.). (1984). Ancient wisdom and modern science. Albany: International Transpersonal Association/SUNY Press.
Hay, L. L. (1984). You can heal your life. Santa Monica: Hay House.
Heron, J. (1970). The phenomenology of social encounter: The gaze. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 31, 2.
Heron, J. (1992). Feeling and personhood: Psychology in another key. New Delhi: Sage.
Heron, J. (1996). Co-operative inquiry: Research into the human condition. London: Sage.
Heron, J., & Reason, P. (1997). A participative enquiry paradigm. Qualitative Inquiry, 3(3), 274–294.
Herrigel, E. (1953). Zen in the art of archery. London: Arkana. (1985 edition).
Jung, C. G. (1960). Psychology and Religion. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.
Laszlo, E. (Ed.). (1999). The consciousness revolution: A transatlantic dialogue. Las Vegas: Elf Rock Productions. (2003 edition).
Laszlo, E. (2007). Science and the Akashic field: An integral theory of everything. Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions/Bear.
Levine, P. A. (2005). Healing trauma: A pioneering program for restoring the wisdom of your body. Boulder: Sounds True. (2008 edition).
Levine, P. A., & Frederick, A. (1997). Waking the tiger – Healing trauma: The innate capacity to transform overwhelming experiences. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.
Lewin, K. (1947a). Frontiers in group dynamics. Human Relations, 1, 2–38.
Lewin, K. (1947b). Frontiers in group dynamics II. Channels of group life; social planning and action research. Human Relations, 1(2), 143–153.
Lewin, K. (1948). Resolving social conflicts. New York: Harper & Brothers.
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Maturana, H. R., & Varela, F. J. (1987). The tree of knowledge: The biological roots of human understanding. London: Shambhala. (revised edition, 1992).
Midgley, G. (2000). Systemic intervention: Philosophy, methodology, and practice. New York: Kluwer/Plenum.
Mind and Life Conversation Series. (n.d.). Retrieved February 12, 2020, from https://www.mindandlife.org/mind-and-life-dialogues/
Olesen, V. (1994). Feminisms and models of qualitative research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Prechtel, M. (1998). Secrets of the talking jaguar: A Mayan shaman’s journey to the heart of the indigenous soul. New York: Tarcher.
Pribram, K. H. (1977). Holonomy and structure in the organization of perception. In: Nicholas J.M. (eds) Images, Perception, and Knowledge. The University of Western Ontario Series in Philosophy of Science (A Series of Books on Philosophy of Science, Methodology, and Epistemology Published in Connection with the University of Western Ontario Philosophy of Science Programme), vol 8. Dordrecht: Springer.
Prigogine, I., & Stengers, L. (1984). Order out of chaos: Man’s new dialogue with nature. London: Fontana.
Reason, P. (Ed.). (1988a). Human inquiry in action. London: Sage.
Reason, P. (1988b). Experience, action and metaphor as dimensions of post-positivist inquiry. Research in Organizational Change and Development, 2, 195–233.
Reason, P. (1994). Human inquiry as discipline and practice. In P. Reason (Ed.), Participation in human inquiry. London: Sage.
Reason, P. (2015). Coral’s voyages 2013-2014. On the western edge: Ecological writing between ocean and land. Retrieved June 27, 2015, from https://onthewesternedge.wordpress.com/
Reason, P., & Rowan, J. (Eds.). (1981). Human inquiry: A sourcebook of new paradigm research. Chichester: Wiley.
Rooke, D., & Torbert, W. R. (2005). Seven transformations of leadership. Harvard Business Review, 83(4), 66–76.
Seeley, C., & Reason, P. (2008). Expression of energy: An epistemology of presentational knowing. In P. Liamputtong & J. Rumbold (Eds.), Knowing differently: Arts-based and collaborative research methods. New York: Nova Science Publishers.
Sheldrake, R. (1981). A new science of life: The hypothesis of formative causation. Los Angeles: Jeremy P Tarcher.
Skolimowski, H. (1994). The participatory mind: A new theory of knowledge and of the universe. London: Arkana/Penguin Books.
Smith, L. T. (1999). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and indigenous peoples. London: Zed Books.
Somé, M. (1993). Ritual: Power, healing and community – The African teachings of the Dagara. Bath: Gateway Books. (1996 edition).
Stanislavsky, K. (1989). An actor prepares. London: Taylor & Francis.
Sumedhas. (2012). The August [2012] meet: Espousing Sumedhian perspectives and stances. [Internal communication to Fellows of Sumedhas, private circulation]. Chennai: Sumedhas.
Torbert, W. R. (1987). Managing the corporate dream: Restructuring for long-term success. Homewood, IL: Dow Jones-Irwin.
Torbert, W. R. (1991). The power of balance: Transforming self, society and scientific inquiry. London: Sage.
Torbert, W. R. (2015). What is action inquiry and what are the benefits? Retrieved June 23, 2015, from http://www.williamrtorbert.com/actioninquiry/
Ulrich, W. (1983). Critical heuristics of social planning: A new approach to practical philosophy. Bern: Haupt.
Wasan Conversation Series. (n.d.). Retrieved February 12, 2020, from https://www.facebook.com/pages/Boundaries-of-Consciousness-The-Wasan-Conversations/772642862760164
Yogananda, P. (1946). Autobiography of a Yogi. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers. (2003 edition).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Rajagopalan, R. (2020). Innovative Knowing Methods and Wisdom Practices: What We Can Learn from Allied Disciplines and Further from Other Ages and Cultures. In: Immersive Systemic Knowing. Contemporary Systems Thinking. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49135-2_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49135-2_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-49134-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-49135-2
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)