The Art Of Conscious Living: Individual and Community a new path to higher consciousness

By Adriaan Bekman

In his lifelong process of research and experimentation some fundamental opportunities became manifest for his own personal development in the social realm. Through a long process of practicing the "social questioning", with a wish to support his clients in a meaningful way, he found a path of initiation in the social realm, which enables him to develop an authentic personality. It is his intention in this book to outline this path of initiation for everyone who has the desire to go out and deal with the social question in today's world. This path has the opportunity to develop an organ of observation for social reality as well as the ability to handle the social reality one is confronted with, both in the organisation one works in and in one's personal life. It also develops an organ of observation for the forces that work between us, in which we can grow as a conscious spiritual person. This is important for our own spiritual being as well as for the whole of humanity, living in the Divine creation given to us. The studying of this book can be the introduction to the path of initiation described in it. Still more important is to practise it in one's personal practical life, for which various tips are given. What he describe here is to be seen as a lens through which to observe one's social reality. On the basis of these conscious observations and their connection to one's own personality, one can then come to a conscious, meaningful deed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Frieling-Verlag, Berlin
• Release date: Dec 22, 2016
• ISBN: 9783941136441

Adriaan Bekman

Professor Dr. Adriaan Bekman is the director of IMO - instituut voor mens & organisatieontwikkeling and a Professor at the Hanze University Groningen and Acadamic Director of its Master in Leadership. He also consults organi­zations and their leaders in organization development issues in seven countries. He is the chairman of the Supervisory Board at the Bernard Lievegoed University. He published a wide range of books on leadership, consultancy and personal development.

Book preview

Table of Contents

Introduction

Our question as a human being

The path of initiation

The basis:

Living with a question

Living in a process

Living in dialogue

Living in your own biography

The context:

Living in organisations

Living in roles

Living in leadership

Living in the soul

The path of initiation

The path of initiation body—spirit—soul

The personal social path to higher consciousness

Closing words

Literature

Introduction

All my life I have been dealing with the social question.

At school I was struck by the experience of coping with wild youngsters in the clubhouse in the centre of The Hague. At the same time I practised a religious meditation which gave me a clear awareness of myself.

This gave me a strong connection to the real practical social question as well as to my inner longing to connect to this social question in a creative and responsible way.

As a student in sociology, I was studying issues such as the meaning of values and norms for community life and, at the same time, as social affairs secretary carrying the responsibility for social issues like housing and insurance in Rotterdam’s student community, I was waking up to the understanding that our outer existence needs a strong connection to our inner world of ideals and strivings.

Working for Shell International, I was asked to guide organisational development processes. The employees were given room to ask themselves questions about their work processes and about the quality of the co-operation amongst themselves when they were invited to practise improvements and further learning steps. I started to see that people live in processes, and when they are seen as partners in processes of organisational development, they can connect their own inner values and strivings with the values and strivings of these organisational development processes.

In my work as an NPI consultant and now as director of IMO, I guide people involved in processes of organisational development. In long-term OD processes I work as a horizontal leader, together with the leadership and the work community in many organisations in different parts of the world, to help them take a meaningful next step in the organisation’s development and their own inner development. I can explore the horizontal space of leadership and, in a responsible co-operation with others, create a meaningful life reality. I can give my own soul the food it needs for rising to a higher consciousness level.

In this lifelong process of research and experimentation some fundamental opportunities became manifest for my own personal development in the social realm. Through a long process of practicing this social questioning, with a wish to support my clients in a meaningful way, I found a path of initiation in the social realm, which enables me to develop an authentic personality.

It is my intention in this book to outline this path of initiation for everyone who has the desire to go out and deal with the social question in today’s world. This path has the opportunity to develop an organ of observation for social reality as well as the ability to handle the social reality one is confronted with, both in the organisation one works in and in one’s personal life. It also develops an organ of observation for the forces that work between us, in which we can grow as a conscious spiritual person. This is important for our own spiritual being as well as for the whole of humanity, living in the Divine creation given to us.

This path of initiation differs from many other paths of initiation, since it does not focus primarily on the personal meditative activity, which concentrates on ones personal development as a spiritual being, but arises from the development process in the community one is part of. These communities are not primarily the natural communities given to us by birth, but are the organised communities that one decides to participate in.

Dealing with the other person is key, whilst also handling the task of the organisation in the wider community context. It is then the personal direction given to this task by the individual and also the shared reflecting on these experiences which form the main parts of this path of initiation.

The studying of this book can be the introduction to the path of initiation described in it. Still more important is to practise it in one’s personal practical life, for which various tips are given. What I describe here is to be seen as a lens through which to observe one’s social reality. On the basis of these conscious observations and their connection to one’s own personality, one can then come to a conscious, meaningful deed.

To support these conscious observations and actions, I will give some practical exercises to strengthen that process.

Through self-chosen study and personal meditations we can strengthen our observations and experiences. This both to gain insights in their meaning for the community we are part of, as well as for the path of personal development we are taking.

Our question as a human being

The human soul as a paradox reality

In order to be able to give meaning to the personal development path we take, it is advisable to face the question what it is that makes up the human soul, and how the human soul can develop itself.

The human soul may be the space, the organ in which our personal development takes place. We shape our soul according to the