Flavio Alessio Geisshuesler
Unlocking the Power of Meditation as a Technology of Change
I am a scholar, teacher, and consultant with a lifelong passion for meditation. Unlike dominant approaches to meditation, which emphasize its function as a stress-reduction technique, my work explores contemplative practice as a technology of change. Specifically, I strive to map how meditative exercises transform us across multiple dimensions, including our minds, our personalities, our relationships, our institutions, and our world. After nearly two decades of ethnographic and textual research in the Himalayas, writing articles and books, and teaching at universities across the globe, I have recently been appointed as Khyentse-Macready Senior Lecturer for Tibetan Buddhism at the University of Sydney.
Fascinated by the powerful psycho-physical practices I encountered in Indian and Tibetan religions, I spent many years living in the Himalayan regions of Asia. Learning ancient and modern languages allowed me to receive instructions on secret techniques of meditation performed by local meditators, yogis, and tantrikas over the ages. Subsequently, I turned this first-hand experience into a successful academic career, receiving several fellowships for research, completing two PhDs, and publishing numerous articles and books on the subject. I am currently pursuing an Executive MBA at HEC Paris to establish a consultancy specializing in leadership development. Having taught courses about meditation at universities on four continents, I am passionate about supporting present and future leaders by teaching them simple, science-based, and life-tested exercises as they prepare for a rapidly changing world.
My interests have been described as eclectic and my activities build bridges between areas of knowledge that are usually kept separate within the specialized disciplines of universities. On this website, you can find out more about three particular dimensions of my work with meditation, namely
1. intercultural experiences with transformative contemplative practices.
2. interdisciplinary research on cognitive mechanisms of transformation.
3. intersectoral impact by teaching meditation to transform the world.
I also added a biography, which traces some of the most important stages of my life.
