I just attended a wonderful experience in San Francisco- Wisdom 2.0.

The participants of the conference “seek to live with greater wisdom, purpose, and meaning, while using technology in ways that create a more open and healthy culture.” Wisdom 2.0 website http://www.wisdom2summit.com/About. The conference brings together neuroscientists, coaches, tech executives, artists and Buddhist monks- among many others from diverse walks of life to discuss the challenges and opportunities of remaining connected in a digital age.

One of the high points of the conference for me was hearing Byron Katie discussing “How Self-inquiry Can Transform the Way We Live and Work”. One of the central premises of Katie’s work is that we shouldn’t believe everything we think and that by questioning our thoughts (metacognition) we can create space to challenge our filters and assumptions- our “lens” on life. When we are able to change our “lens” we are able to see new actions that are available to us, new choices that were not available to us before.

Achieving a brain state of meta awareness promotes the process of metacognition. Cultivation of the ability to self-reflect is a core goal of successful leadership coaching. The brain state of meta awareness can be likened to watching yourself as an actor in a movie, or getting up on the balcony of your life and looking down at yourself on the dance floor. This is a great place to visit but you wouldn’t want to live here because it is not a place of deep focus. One’s focus is divided between the thinking itself and the awareness THAT we are thinking.

In the language of adult development, this state helps move from “subject to object”- when a person transitions from being held “subject to” thoughts and emotions to viewing them as “objects” which can be road tested for qualities such as: Is this really true? Is this helpful? Is this thought working for me? Activities that promote this brain state, which is mediated by the middle pre-frontal cortex, are those which focus attention on the present moment- such as a breath meditation or the “Wheel of Awareness” meditation by Dr. Dan Siegel which you may hear on his website: http://www.drdansiegel.com/resources/wheel_of_awareness/

I invite you to listen to Katie’s wonderful talk from Wisdom 2.0 at: http://new.livestream.com/accounts/2635433/events/3845334/videos/78627058)