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Conceptualizing and Enabling Transformative Learning Through Relational Onto-Epistemology

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Beatriz Carrillo Garcia puts forward Theory U as a framework for developing a more holistic and embodied understanding and approach to the practice and conceptualization of transformative learning.

Image courtesy of interviewee. August 7, 2024

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This video is a detailed discussion about **Theory U**, an interdisciplinary framework developed by Otto Scharmer that focuses on transformative learning and systemic change. The speaker outlines the theory's context, highlighting its use in education to foster transformative learning experiences through awareness-based methods. The key divides that Theory U addresses include ecological, social, and spiritual divides, which impact individuals’ and societies’ ability to create desired change.

The theory emphasizes a transformation journey from ego to ego awareness, where individuals gain a deeper understanding of their mental patterns and connect with a higher purpose. It integrates concepts from various fields, including systems thinking and leadership studies, and encourages educators to adopt a holistic approach to learning.

Furthermore, the speaker discusses the **U-Lab**, a MOOC associated with Theory U that facilitates experiential learning through activities like mindfulness and reflexive journaling. It also highlights the importance of listening—transformative listening practices among participants foster trust and safety, allowing for deeper discussions and co-creation of insights.

The findings suggest that cognitive shifts alone are insufficient for transformative learning; emotional, relational, and spiritual dimensions are critical. The speaker calls for more research into integrating embodied practices in education and emphasizes that acknowledgment of individual learner experiences can lead to broader acceptance of transformative methodologies.

The overarching conclusion indicates that while Theory U and its practices hold potential for significant impact in education, particularly in higher education, there is still work to do in mainstreaming these ideas and their applications.

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In my research and also in my teaching, I engage

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with Theory U as both a theoretical

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and a methodological framework to do two things.

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One is to, to foster transformative

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learning in the classroom.

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And in my research, I use it as a conceptual frame

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to develop new understandings

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of transformative learning as a process.

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So Theory U is an interdisciplinary framework

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that draws on various, bodies of knowledge,

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various fields, including systems thinking,

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leadership studies, phenomenology,

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and action research, among other, other influences.

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So, broadly speaking, the theory seeks to develop,

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new theories of change and of learning.

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So, Sharma who developed Theory U, defines it

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as an awareness based method for changing systems.

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And so he argues that there are three sort

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of core device in our current world,

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and ecological divide, which is, you know, the,

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the continued, view

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that we are separate from the natural world,

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and that we control the world, so to speak.

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Uh, a social divide, which

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manifest in the growing inequalities

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that we experience across and within societies,

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but also a spiritual divide by which he means, you know,

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the disconnection with, with our inner self,

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and with a sense of a sense of purpose.

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So we kind of lost, lost meaning in life kind of thing,

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which often manifests in, in the current mental health

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epidemic that, that we experience.

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So he argues that we are collectively producing results

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that nobody wants,

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and yet we dunno how to change that, right?

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So to tackle those divide theory, you puts for a process,

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a kind of a journey of transformation of the self, sort of,

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of the individual, but also of the collective.

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And it says, you know, the two are very

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closely interrelated.

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Uh, so the transformation of the individual, is related

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to the transformation of the system.

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Um, and in terms of the transformation of the self

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or the individual, this is gained through greater awareness

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of our mental patterns and our ways of being.

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Which, you know, this awareness allows the individual

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to connect with a, with so to speak, a higher purpose.

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What am I really, what's my work? What do I really wanna do?

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Uh, and but also from a different perspective,

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from the perspective, not just of what do I want

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as an individual, but what is the, also the system needs.

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Uh, and Sharma calls this shift, you know, a shift from ego

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to ego awareness, or a perspective from the whole.

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Um, this transformation from ego toco awareness,

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is based on the development of, a new

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rationality, a waste of relating to each other

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that is, underpinned also by a, a new worldview

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and a different, a different way of being.

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And, I, I can elaborate more on how, how

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that happens later on.

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Uh, so this is what I refer to in my work as a, as a new

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relational on Epistemology theory Review is actually a

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relatively new framework.

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Uh, Sharma first, published his book,

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a Theory Review in 2009, which followed from the work,

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and publications he did with his colleagues at MIT,

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Sloan School of Management.

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So they, the people he worked

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with actually come from organizational learning,

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people like Peters, Betty Flowers, Joseph Ky

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for example, who were researching organizational change

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and the leadership styles that supported

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that organizational change.

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That's kind of like the, the background

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of the, of the theory.

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Uh, and it was in that joint work of Sharma with,

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with those other colleagues that they developed the concept

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of presencing, which was, a holistic view

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and awareness, in leadership within, within leadership.

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And that becomes sort of a core,

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a core concept in, in Theory U.

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So, I, I think, you know, up until quite recently,

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there was really very little published, around Theory U

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Uh, there was very, a, a modest output of, of research.

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Um, 'cause initially the theory, as I said, you know,

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was used primarily to discuss, leadership and,

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and management styles.

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Uh, but from there, it also began to be considered

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and used by researchers in, in adult education studies,

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mainly those, who were,

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who were researching transformative learning,

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which in itself is a, it is a relatively new, new area

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as well in education.

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So, I guess as a, you know, as a framework

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of transformative, transformative change theory, you seem

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to be a natural feat for educators who were seeking

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to foster transformative learning in their classroom.

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Um, and this engagement of Theory u with Theory U

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among educators, came about, mainly from the

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participation in the UA, the Ulab MOOC that,

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Sharma also launched, that was launched in 2015.

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And this is actually how I came to

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Theory UI enrolled, in the Ulab, which is,

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provided by MIT, the EDX platform.

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Uh, I did, the Ulab in 2016.

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And after participating in the course, I just thought,

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you know, this could be a real game changer for

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how we teach, how students learn.

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Uh, but also, you know, we we're, as educators,

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we are really, interested in how our, our teaching

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and the learning experience can bring about

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broader social change.

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So that's kind of how I came into theory.

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So earlier I talked about theory uses, journey

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of transformation from ego to equal awareness.

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And that journey requires, again, a greater awareness

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of self, of our worldview, of our behaviors,

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and the way we interact with, with others.

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Uh, and so the, the theory speaks to that.

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And then in ulab, this embodied process, is guided

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through a series of experiential learning activities,

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drawing on a variety of awareness based practices such as,

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you know, mindfulness, different ways of listening,

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reflexive journaling, also body movement.

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So it's, it's quite varied, the kinds of, of tools

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and methodologies that, that are used,

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because there's, there's a sense that the body, it's, it's,

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it is as much an, an embodied processes, a

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as a cognitive process.

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Uh, so as part of that,

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or as part of the theory,

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listening is probably the most important tool

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for enabling transformation.

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So the way, sham put said is that changing

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how you listen means that you also change

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how you experience relationships

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and how you experience the world.

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And he says, if you can change that, if you can change

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how you experience relationships in the world,

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then you can change anything, right, or everything.

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Uh, so that's kind of like, it, it urges people

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to pay attention to how they listen

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and how that then relates to how they engage with others.

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So, very early on in the Ulab course,

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participants learn about the different ways of listening

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and conversing, and about how to negotiate,

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you know, our internal voices of, of judgment, of ci,

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of cynicism or fear, you know, like when we talk to people,

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one of those is sort of in the, in the background.

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And, and by sort of being more aware of how we listen,

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we can sort of manage, manage that.

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So participants are sort of learning

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to engage in sort of more empathetic ways

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of listening and listening.

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That is, you know, as, as it's put in the, in the theory

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that is guided by an open mind, an open heart,

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but also an open will to generate new knowledge

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or new perspectives, rather than only listening to kind

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of support your own, your own beliefs

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or whatever you already hold, you know,

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release, you already hold.

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Um, and I guess in a group setting,

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fostering such a generative dialogue, you know, we're,

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we're listening again, with an open mind, open heart,

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and open will necessitates, you know, a sense of a sense

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of safety and,

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and a degree of trust among participants for them

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to be able to participate again, without fear of judgment

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or even of retaliation.

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Uh, and so you, you've, you've gotta, you know,

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listening is a skill you build, right?

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And you have to build it in a, in a safe, in a safe space.

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So at the hub sessions that we held as part of the ulab,

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all participants agreed, you know, we came in

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and we all had to kind of like, make an agreement

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that we would listen and interact again with an open mind,

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open heart, and open will.

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Uh, so trust

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and safety, you start to develop it over time

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through these principles.

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And, and that allows people to be, to be more vulnerable,

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in what they share.

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So they're starting to, to be more open to sharing things

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that they may not share, elsewhere

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or in other contexts, knowing

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that their remarks will not be met with either judgment

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or cynicism.

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So these more open and

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and empathetic interactions created the space

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where individuals and the group could co-create new insights

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and, and perspectives,

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into whatever issue we were discussing at the time,

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or whatever challenge somebody had brought

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to the group in order to force the,

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to foster transformative learning experiences.

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A cognitive shift is not enough

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to bring about transformation in the individual.

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Instead, what we found is that you need something, a,

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a more integrity framework such as that, that I argue, Teri,

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you and new lab offer, to allow not only

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for a change in perception,

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but one which also engages in more emotional, relational,

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or spiritual dimensions of the learners personal

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or even professional development.

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Uh, so, you know, the, I guess, you know, many

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of the participants talked about how, you know,

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they might have been at the time going

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through a personal sort of crisis or a personal issue,

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but they were also concerned about sort of more societal

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or world issues, and they, they didn't know

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how the two were interrelated,

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but actually through that, you, they find

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that they are interrelated,

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and they, they, they give some tools to how to, how

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to deal, how to deal with that.

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Um, so I guess theory, you

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provided both the epidemiological

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or the theoretical framework to underpin that transformation

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so that it doesn't feel like it is just about, you know,

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emotion and we're all kind of good to each other and so on.

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Actually, there is, you know, there's a theory,

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behind this, a systems view,

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awareness based per perspective of change,

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which is also helpful for people.

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Um, and so, and,

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and then on the, on the other hand, you have ulab

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that gives you kind of that scaffolding and,

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and the exercises

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and the tools to bring those new awareness, in,

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in the way in which we relate to, to others.

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So I guess deep

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or empathetic listening as mentioned earlier,

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is, was, was key.

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And this is something that participants mentioned once I,

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once I became aware of how I listened and I changed that,

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and I changed how interacted that, that really became,

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a pathway for transformation.

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Uh, the other thing is again, that that skill needs

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to first be, be built in a safe space.

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You can't throw people out and go, you know, be empathetic

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and in, in, in the world where you need to build

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that skill first and, and,

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and build the awareness so

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that then people can bring it out into other interactions

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outside of that, of that, of that initial group.

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Uh, so, they, they need to hone that that's,

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that that skill in the safe, in the safe space,

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and safe spaces

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and the, the trust that underpins them can be, again,

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further cultivated through mindfulness,

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through journaling exercises.

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So, for example, every day, participants needed

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to journal about their listening.

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They needed to do some reflection about how they listened

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to others in any, any interaction that they had

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during the day, and how did that affect

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how they related to the other person.

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So when you're doing that on a, you know, on a daily basis,

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it really kind of forces you to start.

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Every time you listen to somebody,

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you're thinking, okay, hang on.

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How am I listening? You're become aware rather than letting,

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as I say, you know, the voices take, take over.

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Um, so what is established is, is really a practice

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through iteration that enhances self-awareness, new ways

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of being, and new ways of thinking, which is, you know,

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a transformative learning process that we will,

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I would argue is a transformative, learning process,

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which will become, you know, a stepping stone for,

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for further transformation.

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It's an emerging, research field.

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Uh, and so there's, there's a lot to still to be done

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to, to better

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Conceptualize, the, the process

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of building self-awareness

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and building sort of, different ways of, of being.

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And there's, you know, there's, there's probably also

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more research needed in terms of how we connect that to

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mod embodied ways of, of, of changing.

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Uh, so that would probably be, you know, areas for,

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for further research to make it more mainstream.

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'cause I think, you know, particularly in, in,

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in the field of higher education, I think a lot

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of the methodologies that I mentioned before,

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and the tools that I mentioned

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before, are not, are not really,

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or have not really been embraced.

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I'm not seen as, you know, tools that, you know,

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I perhaps, you know, you in the individual,

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educator can implement, but they, they're still not

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as recognized as other, other pedagogies or their,

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or their impact has not been, as, as as recognized.

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You know, particularly when we start to talk about,

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you know, more effective

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or more spiritual, aspects of, of,

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individual change that a lot of academics go, hang on.

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That's, that's, that's not my, my area.

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And if, you know, if we are able to kind of,

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bringing people to this understanding that those aspects

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of the individual learner

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of the individual students are just an important to reach

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and to bring about new knowledge, then there might,

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there might be, you know, more, more widely used within,

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particularly within, higher education.

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I think.

"Engaging Theory U: A Framework for Transformative Learning and System Change"

00:00:00 - In my research and also in my teaching, I engage with Theory U as both a theoretical and a methodological framework to do two things. One is to, to foster transformative learning in the classroom. And in my research, I use it as a conceptual frame to develop new understandings of transformative learning as a process. So Theory U is an interdisciplinary framework that draws on various, bodies of knowledge, various fields, including systems thinking, leadership studies, phenomenology,
00:00:43 - So, broadly speaking, the theory seeks to develop, new theories of change and of learning. So, Sharma who developed Theory U, defines it as an awareness based method for changing systems. And so he argues that there are three sort of core device in our current world, and ecological divide, which is, you know, the, the continued, view that we are separate from the natural world, and that we control the world, so to speak.
00:01:22 - manifest in the growing inequalities that we experience across and within societies, but also a spiritual divide by which he means, you know, the disconnection with, with our inner self, and with a sense of a sense of purpose. So we kind of lost, lost meaning in life kind of thing, which often manifests in, in the current mental health epidemic that, that we experience. So he argues that we are collectively producing results that nobody wants, and yet we dunno how to change that, right?
00:02:05 - a kind of a journey of transformation of the self, sort of, of the individual, but also of the collective. And it says, you know, the two are very closely interrelated. so the transformation of the individual, is related to the transformation of the system. and in terms of the transformation of the self or the individual, this is gained through greater awareness of our mental patterns and our ways of being. Which, you know, this awareness allows the individual to connect with a, with so to speak, a higher purpose.
00:02:47 - and but also from a different perspective, from the perspective, not just of what do I want as an individual, but what is the, also the system needs. and Sharma calls this shift, you know, a shift from ego to ego awareness, or a perspective from the whole. this transformation from ego toco awareness, is based on the development of, a new rationality, a waste of relating to each other that is, underpinned also by a, a new worldview
00:03:26 - And, I, I can elaborate more on how, how that happens later on. so this is what I refer to in my work as a, as a new relational on Epistemology theory Review is actually a relatively new framework. Sharma first, published his book, a Theory Review in 2009, which followed from the work, and publications he did with his colleagues at MIT, Sloan School of Management. So they, the people he worked with actually come from organizational learning, people like Peters, Betty Flowers, Joseph Ky

"Exploring the Foundations and Impact of Theory U in Leadership and Transformative Learning"

00:04:09 - and the leadership styles that supported that organizational change. That's kind of like the, the background of the, of the theory. and it was in that joint work of Sharma with, with those other colleagues that they developed the concept of presencing, which was, a holistic view and awareness, in leadership within, within leadership. And that becomes sort of a core, a core concept in, in Theory U. So, I, I think, you know, up until quite recently, there was really very little published, around Theory U
00:04:52 - 'cause initially the theory, as I said, you know, was used primarily to discuss, leadership and, and management styles. but from there, it also began to be considered and used by researchers in, in adult education studies, mainly those, who were, who were researching transformative learning, which in itself is a, it is a relatively new, new area as well in education. So, I guess as a, you know, as a framework of transformative, transformative change theory, you seem
00:05:31 - to foster transformative learning in their classroom. and this engagement of Theory u with Theory U among educators, came about, mainly from the participation in the UA, the Ulab MOOC that, Sharma also launched, that was launched in 2015. And this is actually how I came to Theory UI enrolled, in the Ulab, which is, provided by MIT, the EDX platform. I did, the Ulab in 2016.
00:06:12 - you know, this could be a real game changer for how we teach, how students learn. but also, you know, we we're, as educators, we are really, interested in how our, our teaching and the learning experience can bring about broader social change. So that's kind of how I came into theory. So earlier I talked about theory uses, journey of transformation from ego to equal awareness. And that journey requires, again, a greater awareness of self, of our worldview, of our behaviors,
00:06:53 - and so the, the theory speaks to that. And then in ulab, this embodied process, is guided through a series of experiential learning activities, drawing on a variety of awareness based practices such as, you know, mindfulness, different ways of listening, reflexive journaling, also body movement. So it's, it's quite varied, the kinds of, of tools and methodologies that, that are used, because there's, there's a sense that the body, it's, it's, it is as much an, an embodied processes, a
00:07:32 - so as part of that, or as part of the theory, listening is probably the most important tool for enabling transformation. So the way, sham put said is that changing how you listen means that you also change how you experience relationships and how you experience the world. And he says, if you can change that, if you can change how you experience relationships in the world, then you can change anything, right, or everything. so that's kind of like, it, it urges people to pay attention to how they listen

"Fostering Empathetic Listening: Creating Safe Spaces for Transformative Learning"

00:08:13 - So, very early on in the Ulab course, participants learn about the different ways of listening and conversing, and about how to negotiate, you know, our internal voices of, of judgment, of ci, of cynicism or fear, you know, like when we talk to people, one of those is sort of in the, in the background. And, and by sort of being more aware of how we listen, we can sort of manage, manage that. So participants are sort of learning to engage in sort of more empathetic ways
00:08:53 - That is, you know, as, as it's put in the, in the theory that is guided by an open mind, an open heart, but also an open will to generate new knowledge or new perspectives, rather than only listening to kind of support your own, your own beliefs or whatever you already hold, you know, release, you already hold. and I guess in a group setting, fostering such a generative dialogue, you know, we're, we're listening again, with an open mind, open heart, and open will necessitates, you know, a sense of a sense of safety and,
00:09:37 - to be able to participate again, without fear of judgment or even of retaliation. and so you, you've, you've gotta, you know, listening is a skill you build, right? And you have to build it in a, in a safe, in a safe space. So at the hub sessions that we held as part of the ulab, all participants agreed, you know, we came in and we all had to kind of like, make an agreement that we would listen and interact again with an open mind, open heart, and open will. so trust and safety, you start to develop it over time through these principles.
00:10:18 - in what they share. So they're starting to, to be more open to sharing things that they may not share, elsewhere or in other contexts, knowing that their remarks will not be met with either judgment or cynicism. So these more open and and empathetic interactions created the space where individuals and the group could co-create new insights and, and perspectives, into whatever issue we were discussing at the time, or whatever challenge somebody had brought to the group in order to force the, to foster transformative learning experiences.
00:10:58 - to bring about transformation in the individual. Instead, what we found is that you need something, a, a more integrity framework such as that, that I argue, Teri, you and new lab offer, to allow not only for a change in perception, but one which also engages in more emotional, relational, or spiritual dimensions of the learners personal or even professional development. so, you know, the, I guess, you know, many of the participants talked about how, you know, they might have been at the time going through a personal sort of crisis or a personal issue,
00:11:40 - or world issues, and they, they didn't know how the two were interrelated, but actually through that, you, they find that they are interrelated, and they, they, they give some tools to how to, how to deal, how to deal with that. so I guess theory, you provided both the epidemiological or the theoretical framework to underpin that transformation so that it doesn't feel like it is just about, you know, emotion and we're all kind of good to each other and so on. Actually, there is, you know, there's a theory, behind this, a systems view, awareness based per perspective of change,

"Fostering Empathetic Listening: A Framework for Transformative Learning and Individual Growth"

00:12:19 - and so, and, and then on the, on the other hand, you have ulab that gives you kind of that scaffolding and, and the exercises and the tools to bring those new awareness, in, in the way in which we relate to, to others. So I guess deep or empathetic listening as mentioned earlier, is, was, was key. And this is something that participants mentioned once I, once I became aware of how I listened and I changed that, and I changed how interacted that, that really became, a pathway for transformation. the other thing is again, that that skill needs
00:13:05 - You can't throw people out and go, you know, be empathetic and in, in, in the world where you need to build that skill first and, and, and build the awareness so that then people can bring it out into other interactions outside of that, of that, of that initial group. so, they, they need to hone that that's, that that skill in the safe, in the safe space, and safe spaces and the, the trust that underpins them can be, again, further cultivated through mindfulness,
00:13:43 - So, for example, every day, participants needed to journal about their listening. They needed to do some reflection about how they listened to others in any, any interaction that they had during the day, and how did that affect how they related to the other person. So when you're doing that on a, you know, on a daily basis, it really kind of forces you to start. Every time you listen to somebody, you're thinking, okay, hang on. How am I listening? You're become aware rather than letting, as I say, you know, the voices take, take over. so what is established is, is really a practice
00:14:26 - of being, and new ways of thinking, which is, you know, a transformative learning process that we will, I would argue is a transformative, learning process, which will become, you know, a stepping stone for, for further transformation. It's an emerging, research field. and so there's, there's a lot to still to be done to, to better Conceptualize, the, the process of building self-awareness and building sort of, different ways of, of being. And there's, you know, there's, there's probably also
00:15:09 - mod embodied ways of, of, of changing. so that would probably be, you know, areas for, for further research to make it more mainstream. 'cause I think, you know, particularly in, in, in the field of higher education, I think a lot of the methodologies that I mentioned before, and the tools that I mentioned before, are not, are not really, or have not really been embraced. I'm not seen as, you know, tools that, you know, I perhaps, you know, you in the individual,
00:15:48 - as recognized as other, other pedagogies or their, or their impact has not been, as, as as recognized. You know, particularly when we start to talk about, you know, more effective or more spiritual, aspects of, of, individual change that a lot of academics go, hang on. That's, that's, that's not my, my area. And if, you know, if we are able to kind of, bringing people to this understanding that those aspects of the individual learner of the individual students are just an important to reach