Leadership, Coaching, & Transformation

What somatic practice and Tibetan Bön teachings reveal about the heart's capacity for luminosity — even in conditions of extreme suffering.

Bön is among the oldest indigenous spiritual traditions in the world. It originated in Central Asia thousands of years ago in what is now Tibet and is still being practiced globally today. Rooted in ancient cosmology, visionary practices, and ritual technologies, the tradition of Tibetan Bön offers a distinctive and sophisticated understanding of mind, embodiment, and awareness that speaks directly to contemporary questions in psychology, comparative religion, and consciousness studies.

In this special event, CIIS welcomed Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, globally renowned master in the Bön Dzogchen tradition, for a rare and illuminating conversation on consciousness through the lens of the Tibetan Bön tradition. Tenzin Rinpoche was joined by CIIS Transformative Inquiry Department faculty Dr. Constance Jones and Dr. Fernando Ona, whose approaches create a fertile ground for inquiry into the nature of consciousness.

Dr. Constance Jones, drawing from her extensive work in the comparative study of religion and New Religious Movements, frames the dialogue through a global lens. She brings attention to the historical mobility of consciousness theories across Buddhist and Bön lineages, the role of ritual and cosmology in shaping experience, and the ways traditions negotiate authority and knowledge through meditative and visionary practices. Her line of inquiry invites Rinpoche to articulate how Bön conceptualizes the architecture of consciousness and how these understandings of luminosity diverge from or complement other Buddhist models.

Dr. Fernando Ona, whose work spans anthropology, mental health, ritual studies, and trauma-informed healing praxis, brings an embodied and community-rooted perspective. He explores how consciousness is shaped through lived experience, the body, and relational environments, particularly in contexts of suffering, displacement, and the reclamation of sacred space. His contribution invites Rinpoche to speak to the role of Bön ritual, elemental practices, breath, and visualization in supporting the reintegration of mind, energy, and presence during moments of rupture or transformation.

Addressing wicked problems takes more than analytical skills. Heart-knowing brings the relational depth that systems-thinking needs to heal.

CIIS' Blue Sky Leaders program is built around a wager: that visionary leadership can be done with care, complexity, and contemplative depth.

For centuries, Filipino lifeways were presented to outsiders through the distorted lens of colonization—and the oppression, exploitation, and denigration suffered by Filipino ancestors are well-documented. In his work, psychologist and author Carl Lorenz Cervantes draws from Filipino folklore, language, and culture to reorient toward an Indigenous worldview: one that rejects being seen as a passive object in history.  

In this episode Carl and CIIS faculty Niralli D’Costa explore Indigenous Filipino worldviews for embodied well-being. Drawing from his latest book, Sikodiwa, Carl shares how to uplift Indigenized Filipino ways of knowing and offers a timely and inspired path toward collective consciousness, cultural authenticity, and embodied well-being.   

This episode was recorded during a live online event on April 2nd, 2026. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Around the world, practitioners are rediscovering what artists, cultural workers, and community healers have long understood: that creativity and human connection are powerful forces for wellbeing.  

In this episode CIIS faculty Dr. Christine Brooks and Dr. Elizabeth Markle discuss how arts-based practices, dynamic community experiences, and connection-centered programming are reshaping the landscape of health. Together they examine emerging innovations such as social prescribing, a model that reimagines healthcare by formally “prescribing” experiences like movement, art, social connection, and service—elevating these everyday resources as legitimate pathways to wellbeing alongside medical care.  

This episode was recorded during a live online event on March 25th 2026. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Systems thinking equips changemakers and doctoral researchers to find meaningful intervention points within complex social and ecological challenges.

Discover how these approaches differ and why the arts can unlock new pathways for growth and self-discovery.

Find your path to an expressive arts coaching career at CIIS.

Professor Phil Weglarz leads CIIS' Expressive Arts Therapy program, preparing students to integrate creative modalities into mental health services and community transformation.

Three Transformative Leadership alumni share how they navigate bias, build community, and create inclusive spaces for change.

Professor Mimi Savage introduces CIIS' new Expressive Arts Coaching & Community Building master's program, designed for artists and coaches seeking to support transformation through creativity.

Expressive arts coaching uses creativity to foster resilience, connection, and meaningful change.

In a divided world, two Blue Sky Leaders explore how deep listening, jazz, and integral education create connection and shared leadership.

Fernando Ona, Chair of Transformative Inquiry at CIIS, carried questions from Iraq to the classroom—and found space to explore them.

Chris Heuer reflects on his conversation with CIIS’ Bruce Alderman about the Blue Sky Leaders program, exploring how slowing down may be the key to thriving in the age of AI.

Chair Christine Brooks spotlights CIIS’ fully online M.A. in Expressive Arts Coaching and Community Building—a transformative program that blends creativity, connection, and empowerment.

At Human + Tech Week in San Francisco, Bruce Alderman of the Blue Sky Leaders program revealed how human wisdom and presence redefine leadership in the AI era.

Ginny Whitelaw brings decades of experience to the Blue Sky Leaders Certificate, helping leaders move beyond ego and into deep connection and purpose.

CIIS’ new M.A. in Expressive Arts Coaching & Community Building is the first degree of its kind in the U.S.

We live in times of uncertainty, with climate change and AI racing ahead. Blue Sky Leaders Facilitator Ginny Whitelaw discusses why leaders must balance AI's potential with nature's wisdom for a thriving future.

The Blue Sky Leaders program equips leaders with wisdom and skills to navigate the global metacrisis, fostering transformative leadership for a sustainable, compassionate future.

Blue Sky Leaders Associate Director Bruce Alderman on how conscious leadership integrates awareness, adaptability, and values to foster growth and holistic success.

Read about former Major League Baseball player Bruce Bochte’s special friendship with CIIS Professor Emeritus Dr. Brian Thomas Swimme

Alumna Jessica DiVento Dzuban, Global Head of Mental Health for YouTube, talks with CIIS about her mission and her passion to bring the highest quality mental health content to users worldwide, and to keep those users safe and emotionally supported.

Transformative Leadership alumna Shannon C. McQuaide designed an original yoga program for firefighters 

Sarah DeVincenzi, Integrative Health Studies graduate, describes how her degree led her to leadership opportunities

How our Transformative Leadership grads change society

Transformative Leadership alum Daniel Glenn launched the Podcast Creative Inquiry: Scholarship for the 21st Century

Why I teach Transformative Leadership at CIIS