 The Development Intensive: A Journey towards an Opening Within
By Dixon T. de Leņa
The Executive Development Intensive, known simply
as The Development Intensive, is a seven-day educational and experiential
program for individual executives, business or social entrepreneurs and
transformation agents whose vision for business, community and Planet warrants
a developmental path not offered in most conventional business, academic or
spiritual traditions.
Throughout the years, the Development Intensive continued to validate my experience that there are people whose impetus for life at work, life for their community, and for life in general, is unequivocally tilted towards manifesting a positive future. They value life-long development, possess a Planetary point of view, love the Mind-Heart-Soul expanding experiences and have a more complete picture of their personal and professional development. For these people, their development is ultimately a gift that benefits those around them and the rest of the world. The Intensive soon became a unique program specifically aimed at helping these individuals develop themselves through the introduction and mastery of ever-evolving perspectives, experiences and capacities.
The Intensive originated in 1986 when seasoned clients wanted more advanced forms of development in the art and understanding of transformation. They wanted a unique personal experience that would enhance their leadership development, and as importantly, help them find the heart in their chosen vocation. They had hope that a more complete and holistic inner development would empower them as they led their organizations into the extraordinary changes they knew lie ahead. During these early days The Intensive focused mainly on the nature of inquiry and its various forms, introductions to ontology, epistemology, and linguistic models - useful as tools to address barriers to experience freedom in their roles as leaders and to be open to expanded experiences of who they, and who others truly are.
The Promise
The Intensive week is intended to provide "an opening" for the participant - an opening experience into one's authentic nature - from where wisdom and energy for true motivation and creativity arises. The Intensive is a safe and empowering space where the individual may inquire freely, either into suspected limiting boundaries of their experience, into the mysterious and boundless freedom they experience in moments of optimum performance, experiences of absolute freedom, or any other experiences that arise as a result of their work in the world as managers, community leaders, family member, or any of the many roles they have.
Ultimately, returning to their lives and work is a new beginning, simply because they have access to aspects of themselves that were previously unknown or out of reach. What often results for many participants in the months and years following their Intensive is a growing inner cohesiveness and the resulting clarity helps them see their world as it really is, along with an expanding inner confidence to take innovative actions to build a better life for themselves, their families, co-workers and others.
Throughout The Intensive week, from the numerous modules and modalities, their insights and new understandings are carefully, consciously and continuously integrated into their personal inquiry regarding their being in the world. Within a co-creative partnership, the Faculty and Program Facilitator acts as guides and co-Inquirers to help the participant design new pathways for their development and continued learning.
An ever evolving design
In the late 1980s, through my short-lived but invaluable association with John Scherer, I began to include additional practices such as yoga therapy, natural medicine, and various movement practices to the program. In the 90s, I integrated into the Core Program more inquiries into psychological, emotional, philosophical domains, multiple learning styles as well as new understandings of mind/body phenomena. Today, The Development Intensive now offer more forms of meditation, somatic trauma inquiry, acupuncture, bodywork, massage, introduction to natural and organic foods, breathing practices, yoga, tai chi, qi gong, stress mastery education, and many more additional modalities for a participant to experience within the structure of the Core Program. Our Adjunct Faculty members and Associates are experienced teachers and practitioners of modalities that help participants consider new personal practices to adopt, possibly for their lifetime. In addition, the Program Facilitator may recommend particular modules of learning for the participant based on their intuition of what's needed and their experience of supporting others in developing in more complete ways.
Contact us for more information or to schedule a confidential interview.
In a society that struggles to evolve into a more cohesive whole to address its threats to resiliency and sustainability in all possible measures, is it essential that we have key individuals, and eventually society as a whole, who are truly free to Be, to think for themselves, and free to act for the benefit of the whole. I believe this to be the true measure of an enlightened organization or society.
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