The Encounters of Wisdom by Olivier Onghena-’t Hooft

The Encounters of Wisdom:

Why our society needs more human wisdom and less self-interested ego

by Olivier Onghena-’t Hooft

We are living in times of profound transformation. Transformation that is required to be able to respond to the many challenges we are dealing with: the climate changes, the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic rollercoaster of inflation, recession and shortages, the migration fluxes, the Ukraine-Russia war, the poor and confused political leadership in many countries.

In times of confusion and distress there is need for clarity in the heads, love in the hearts, and empathy and compassion in the souls of those who can and will stand up as inspirational reference points or as ‘guides of light’ for the people. That clarity, love and empathy is something that makes human wisdom. And it’s a true contrast to the self-focused egocentricity we see too much of today.

Meditation, yoga, and meaningful conversations are a solid foundation to connect with that wisdom, and to ‘control’ the ego. the need to drastically change ‘the world’ Our current systems (organizations, governments, political parties, religious institutions, NGOs, enterprises, associations, ...) are losing the plot and their leaders are increasingly confronted with a feeling of chaos and their own inability to take the ship to calmer waters. This leads to ever-growing discontentment with the people, and to visible frustration and pain in society. These developments are reported in detail and even further encouraged by the media, which prefer to set a focus on everything that is going wrong.

I regard this as evidence that ‘the old’ is slowly but surely being replaced by ‘the new’. And as with every transformation, in which the deep identity of the transforming system is substituted by a new identity, with no possibility of returning to the old ways, this societal transformation is experienced as painful. What’s more, this pain of the caterpillar turning into a butterfly, gradually but irreversibly, is accompanied by unrest, tumult, opposition, exasperation, and violence.

I compare the tension, discomfort and uncertainty resulting from this intense societal transformation with the demise of a kind of prehistoric monster. This monster was able to grow unchallenged for many decades, allowing it to become powerful but also resulting in huge societal distortion. It is the symbol for an era when roaring to demonstrate your power was normal, when everyone with a different opinion was shouted down (or worse) and when the only focus – either from a selfish survival instinct or from a more predatory hunter instinct – was on your own path through the jungle.

But the people, confronted with fear, with basic needs not being fulfilled, and with too much chaos, are becoming more and more vocal, are less afraid to stand up for the things and the principles that mean something to them and are better informed than ever before by the virtual connections people have with each other. As a result, they have had enough of the kind of leaders who keep the ‘monster’ alive by feeding it with human sacrifices, and collateral damage. Men and women are now starting to question this old-world order. The blindfolds have been taken off, and they can now see the old system – the monstrous beast! – for what it is, with all its many uncertainties, imbalances, and injustices. They realize that there is an urgent need for a new system, in which transparency, sustainability, respect, citizenship, equality, better balances, and general well-being must be the central pillars. It is this need and hope that has prompted them first to resist and then to actively fight in whatever way they can against the old system, in the hope that a new and better system will emerge.

The monster is now being fought more fiercely and more openly by those many people who wish to join to rid the world of the evils of the past. All this human effort is causing the monster to totter, as it struggles – with increasing hopelessness – against the ever-growing power of new social order. Its frantically beating heart, a symptom of its last desperate attempt to gather its remaining energy for the final battle of survival, will soon give out, conquered by the incessant and unquenchable spirit of humankind, which wants to see something new in its place.

It is high time for a new group of leaders to come to the fore, acting in the genuine interests of society as a whole and using this noble purpose to develop, at the very least, a medium-term vision for the future as builders of a new world order.

LovInShip Leading in general, and such a transformation more specifically, is not a job or a temporary occupation for whatever fool or ego-driven dictator. And fools and dictators there are in leadership positions! Leadership is one of the most demanding forms of ‘human art’ that exist.

LovInShip is developed from a positive and harmonious view of the world. It is based on love for your workforce, your colleagues, your stakeholders, and your fellow wo/men in general, rooted in deep self-awareness, self- respect and coherence with your own values and Life principles. It is focused on encouraging people to free themselves from the obstructive conventions of the past and to liberate their full potential; on setting up an ecosystem in which collaboration, shared responsibilities and self-guidance replace remote systems, limiting processes and demotivating procedures that always demand maximum performance. It is a form of leadership where the leader seeks a balance between mind, body and soul, the wise and sacred ‘trinity’ that is found in yoga, which I value so highly and practice daily.

ego & impact The key question for a leader is: are you communicating as your pure, real, and authentic self, a self that is not defined or kidnapped by your leadership role?

Or do you communicate differently in the context of each of your specific roles, depending on the circumstances? If the latter is the case, do you behave and communicate differently in each of the specific roles you have? We all have many different roles in Life: as employer, boss, owner, entrepreneur, risk-taker, CEO, chairman, vice-president, minister, son or daughter of, brother or sister of, father or mother of, friend of, member of this or that club, stakeholder in this or that organization, spiritual source, etc. Who is the real you in your communication in each of these specific roles? Is there a difference in each case? It is perhaps interesting at this point to ask yourself this question and note down all the different roles you have and how you fulfil them. You will be amazed by just how many of them there are! We switch almost without knowing it from one to the other and, correspondingly, we jump from one communication style to another. In this way, on each occasion we only allow a limited number of our many facets to be seen, and never our totality.

Do you have an idea about your impact? And maybe also about how your ego is taking its ‘small or important’ place in your respective roles, in your life?

wisdom encounters In that context of wanting to contribute to the positive transformation of society, and of inspiring leaders to become aware of their impact at the service of a Humankind in need for hope and love, I have created Wisdom Encounters.

These encounters come from my intention to concretely contribute to the further elevation of wo/men towards higher order thinking and acting, for them to stand out as key players in the creation of a more harmonious economic system, a more balanced society, and a better global world with more spirituality.

Wisdom Encounters is not about ego, not about power, not about net worth, not about titles, not about creating a power network, not about performance, nor about selling services or products to each other.

Wisdom Encounters are meant to be unique human encounters of authentic, inspiring, egoconscious, high impact leaders who want to lead a purposeful Life and actively contribute to Society and the World.

Participants experience the retreat as a fabulous moment of inspirational thinking and ideas sharing, as an uplifting break from very busy intense lives, re-aligning mind, spirit, and body. They allow each one to return to the respective responsibilities with a boost of inspiration and increased clarity about noble purpose and how to serve ‘the world’ with even more courage and commitment. Throughout the journey we use the beauty and wisdom of Nature and the positive energy of the setting to get inspired, to connect with ourselves and to exchange in open council format with each other. Profound group dialogues and sublime walks, yoga practices, breathing techniques and mindfulness, listening to, and interacting respectfully with each other, spending time alone and in group, help the leaders to become more conscious, internally aligned and inspired to reconnect our soul, heart, mind, and body.

Where Wisdom Encounters is only one of the many initiatives in the world, I believe that becoming aware of what we stand for, how we can help humankind and what this life truly means for us, is what this world, our humankind, needs.

Olivier Onghena-’t Hooft, a long time COTT friends, is a Belgian noble purpose entrepreneur, solutionist & investor / Author of ‘The Book of Noble Purpose’, which has created a new awareness around the meaning of Life / Founder of GINPI, Wisdom Encounters, Young Leaders-Inspiring Mentors / A much sought after keynote speaker / Philanthropist / Lover of Life