Workplace Centre for Spiritual and Ethical Development

Ethics for Breakfast presents

Wednesday, Dec 14, 2011
7:15 - 8:30 am

The Gift of Awe:
Deepen Your Relationship to Life, Work & Ethics

with John Anderson, MA, RPsych,
Senior Psychologist and Therapeutic Innovator, Vancouver, BC

Do you feel awe in daily life? If so, how has it changed you?

"Awe is the key to making a commitment to deep change."
-- Dr. K. Schneider, 2009

Most of us have had at least some powerful encounters with nature that evoke reverence and awe for all that is. They often feel too deep for words. But that doesn’t stop them from influencing our lives. Such moments of humble wonder can serve as compelling wake-up calls that help us discover the aspects of life and forms of service that we care about most deeply.

Once we believe we are doing meaningful work, it is only natural to further deepen our capacity for awe-inspired ethical insights and work practices. We can do this by savouring every opportunity to be freshly moved by our amazement, finding ways to build the best hope for all to find common ground within even the most extreme differences.

Join dynamic psychologist John Anderson as he suggests ways to discover & deepen our personal connection with the most timeless times in life. He'll share many of his awe-related experiences with parents, children, friends, clients, staff, strangers, the natural world, as well as death and the darker side of awe. How can our own such experiences inspire us to make ethical choices more meaningful and heartfelt rather than just bare-bones, conditioned responses?

            click here to RSVP   or  call: 604-685-6560

DATE:            Wednesday, Dec 14th -- 7:15-8:30 am

LOCATION:    BC HYDRO Building
                      333 Dunsmuir Street, Vancouver
                      2nd Floor, Auditorium
                      Check-in at Security Desk - Main floor lobby

COST:          Members - $7.00     Non-Members - $10.00
                 - muffins, tea and coffee included
                     - RSVP requested (if possible)

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About Our Speaker:

John Anderson is a Vancouver-based senior psychologist who, during his training in clinical & organizational psychology in the 1960s, dedicated himself to developing the most natural ways to maximize people's strengths. He based his work on research that pointed to key factors that create a fully engaged personal, professional or corporate life. Since then, he has frequently experienced a sense of awe about his endless learning opportunities and has acquired skills to spot & develop others' talents & capacities for curiosity, mutual trust, commitment, and collaboration.

While heading an outpatient clinic in Vancouver, John developed a "film therapy" group & other therapeutic innovations related to replacing control with curiosity. Eventually, he developed a busy private tri-city practice and also conducted "burnout-proofing" & resilience workshops for people from the Canadian Labour Congress to management, health, psychiatry, dental, child welfare, correctional & religious professionals.

Since 1998, John has pioneered his insights as a consultant & workplace psychologist for an up-and-coming Canadian manufacturer. In this role, he believes that he is in a strong position to help executives and staff learn to leverage the best of their talents & styles to celebrate diversity without division.

Previously working in Manitoba, John honed his team-building skills on various boards and as director of regional teams, which he hired for a successful community psychiatry pilot project in the province. He chaired the regional directors’ planning group and coordinated professional services to several Winnipeg school districts. John honed his early passion for consensus-building by volunteering to oversee negotiations among a dozen official bodies. This one-day process produced certification standards for all professions serving Manitoba schools.

click here to RSVP or call: 604-685-6560