Tom Culham, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver
Daoist Contemplative Practices and Life as a Business Professor:
The Mysteries of Lived Experience
4:00-5:30 pm PT [USA] / 7:00-8:30 pm ET [USA] / 8:00-9:30 pm Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro / Friday, 19 July, morning – check times - Sydney, Auckland, Tokyo
An MSR quarterly series to nourish our spiritual and professional development! At each session, a distinguished presenter shares a contemplative or meditative practice that is important in their life, including background about the cultural context. After practicing together, we dialogue as a group about our own experiences with practice and its contribution in our lives.
Tom writes: "My lived experience with qigong transformed my understanding of myself and my life purpose. It led me to continuing explorations of Daoism as a core part of my life—which I’ll share in this session.
"Daoism is an ancient Chinese philosophy, spiritual practice and religion traced to the oral traditions of prehistory. Chinese Indigenous shamans are thought to be the originators of this mystic tradition. In antiquity, the practices of Tai Chi, Qigong and acupuncture were said to enhance health and contribute to longevity. More recently scientific research has backed up some of these claims. A unique aspect of Daoism that sets it apart from western philosophy and education is its emphasis on lived experience over abstract thought as a means of understanding the mysteries of the universe.
"Qigong literally means working (gong) with life energy (qi). For much of my career as an engineer and business leader, science provided the only means to understanding the matters of health, engineering, management and the universe. I credit learning and practicing qigong with my shift to see that spirit contributes significantly to meaning and understanding. As a consequence, I completed a PhD in philosophy of education in my 60th year and became a university lecturer, incorporating meditation and self-exploration into business teaching."
This session will provide background on the cultural origins of Daoism, and its contemplative practices. Aligned with the Daoist orientation to lived experience, the primary focus of this session is sharing some of Tom's lived experiences and providing participants the opportunity to engage in a Daoist contemplative practice followed by an opportunity to discuss their own experiences and ask questions.