By: David Whitaker
The first-ever Transcendent Leadership Orientation took place from August 20th to August 26th, 2018.
Orientation marked the official launch of the new MSS in Transcendent Leadership (TL) program offered by Peace Theological Seminary and College of Philosophy (PTS) — a historic event for PTS as its first new program since the creation of the foundational MSS and DSS programs under the guidance of John-Roger decades ago. The TL program is blessed as the first program introduced with the guidance and support of John Morton as Traveler.
Many people have asked me since the orientation, “How’d it go?”
In short, I was blown away.
I was blown away by our students: Their dedication and commitment to showing up each day to connect with the Transcendent Leader within, to share their insights, to use everything for their upliftment, growth, and learning. I’ve never seen anything like it.
Each student took responsibility for their own learning in such a way that even the “mistakes” became opportunities for learning. The students squeezed maximum learning value out of everything we did together, and that made all the difference. Whether we were doing SEs, incorporating a movement activity into an exercise, or learning the logistics of using Moodle (the online platform that we are using to teach our classes), the students were all in, asking not only “What’s in this for me?” but also “How can I share this and use this in service to others?”
I was blown away by the faculty who presented the three Fall courses with loving flare, each course co-taught and uniquely constructed based on years of learning and experience. And the faculty who led special workshops developed just for orientation including Andreé Leighton, Greg Stebbins, and David Bransky.
I was blown away by our advisory board. Members showed up in a big and generous way, with sessions led by David Allen, Paul Kaye, Leslie Boyer, and Leigh Taylor-Young.
I was blown away by our Traveler, John Morton, who joined us three times during the week for sharing and to commune with us in the essence of Transcendent Leadership.
And I was blown away by the energy. Each time we called in the Light, the quality of deep focus in the room was beyond comprehension. It was as if each time we called in the Light, the Transcendent Leader walked among us and within us, guiding us in our learning.
The cohort gelled in a major way. There were innumerable demonstrations of loving, caring, and sharing among us all — we were living love.
Like Magellan and ground control to Major Tom
it was Seaworld meets Disneyland
meets the white cliffs of Dover.
It was aspen trees in the Fall,
and the smell of Tall Grass in the Spring.
It was drinking the sweet waters
of the Mystical Traveler
for days on end.
And we’ve only just begun. The TL cohort and faculty have embraced the online learning platform that enables us to share and connect with each other from around the world.
I was blessed to wear many hats during Orientation, and one of them was “photographer.” Here are some photos from Orientation, please enjoy — and if you feel the Spirit moving in your heart in the direction of the Transcendent Leadership program, email Joanie Clingan at joanie@pts.org to lean into joining our next cohort in the Fall of 2019!