Alchemic Leadership Programs

The principle interest of many alchemical philosophers was spiritual. These alchemists did not merely look for the substance of gold; they sought to give the quality of gold to their own being-to transmute the base metals (gross and impure parts of their own nature) to spiritual gold (wisdom). To them gold, the metal that never tarnishes and cannot be corrupted by fire or water was a symbol of illumination and salvation.

The ultimate benefit of alchemic leadership is that it motivates people from within, and is not dependent upon an external reward system. This form of leadership is associated with the values, beliefs, attitudes and skills that form the core of who we are. It is what gets us up in the morning. The beauty and simplicity of alchemic leadership is that it utilizes the natural resource of who we are and ultimately transforms us into being the best of who we can be.

"The only kind of learning which significantly influences behavior is self-discovered or self-appropriated learning - truth that has been assimilated in experience". Carl Rogers

We offer a variety of delivery models to best suit your specific needs and interests. Our curriculum varies from a one - day method of delivery that can be urban or wilderness based to three, five, and eight days. There is also a one month long program that is expedition based. These programs if chosen in the wilderness context, can be delivered water or land based. Please call us for details on costs, and designing a program as unique as you are.

What is Alchemic Leadership?

Genuine leadership resides in each and every one of us. Whether or not we choose to unlock the potential that resides within is what determines our future as leaders.

Genuine leadership is dependent upon three interdependencies; an awareness of the natural world within which we live, our self, and community.

Nature has evolved laws or rhythms, which are fundamental to continued existence. These natural laws are the very essence of what nature is, the seasons, the tides, the cycle of the moon, and all natural systems. It is balancing of opposites, of complementary polarities that enable nature to endure and flourish.

In order for human beings to be genuine, compassionate leaders we must model our leadership upon the laws of nature. We must have an awareness of the subtleties and complexities of what it takes to lead ourselves in this life, and ultimately others, if we so choose.

We must have a wholeness of leadership based on a balance of the intellect or the rational side of being human, in balance with the imaginative, creative, heart side, of what it means to be human. With this evolves wholeness or a "holistic" leadership style of potent effectiveness, durability, and value.

We must continually strive for a reconciliation of the whole, the shadow and the light, the mind and the heart, the give and the take, the equilibrium of the totality. With Alchemic Leadership we recognize the need for a holistic approach as the only means to a sustainable future of ourselves, our communities and the very planet upon which we live.

It is imperative that leadership is a "giving" and a "taking", equilibrium of balance, based on the polarity of opposites, and the laws of nature.

Alchemic Leadership is a reconnecting with the lost arts of imagination, creativity, mystery, humility and compassion for who we are, who others are, within the non-judgmental natural world. A world that is real, and filled with true meaning.

Alchemic leadership presents a way of looking, hearing, sensing, touching, tasting, smelling, and being a part of our environment as opposed to just being a passive bystander. It means taking responsibility for who "I" am in this world.

Alchemic leadership enables people, to connect to the sacred space within. A place where the worlds of the inner and the outer flow together as opposed to apart. The visible with the invisible, the conscious with the unconscious, the natural and the human made to create wholeness and completeness within".

Human Levels of Consciousness and Competency

1. Unconsciously Incompetent - We do not know what we need to know, we are innocent and ignorant. It is only through education and rule based decision-making that we gain an increased awareness in our selves, and the world surrounding us. We are very extrinsically motivated in our observation techniques, and validations.
2. Consciously Incompetent - We are now through experience gaining a better understanding of who we are, and how little we truly know. We are still dependent on external observation, but we are starting to develop and understanding of how emotion plays a significant part in decision making. Our intrinsic antenna begins to develop.
3. Consciously Competent - Knowledge has now been acquired through experiential learning and experiences. We have started developing the skill of judgment based on an application of knowledge in the context of experience. We realize the value and importance of experiential learning. We begin to have an understanding of the interconnectedness of our actions within the context of our external environment.
4. Unconsciously Competent - We are internally focused, in relation to decision making, which we now call intuition, and we are empowered internally through self-validation. We have the realization that we are merely a part of something that is much larger than ourselves; Nature, and we look for connections in our actions, responses and overall impacts, both on others and the environment. We are self actualized, and empowered by being a part of something that is greater than just us. We look for ways to reduce our negative impact on others and the natural world. We have become Alchemic leaders.

Some of the World's great Alchemists: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Plato, Rudolf Steiner, Rembrandt Leonardo da Vinci, William Blake, Mozart, Beethoven, Somerset Maugham, Carl Jung.