Inquiry: Research & Abstracts
Paper Presentation: Harmonizing Inner Self and Outward Expression Through Personal Style to Facilitate Self-Actualization and Self-Transcendence
To what extent does developing alignment between our inner selves and outward expression of personal style contribute to both self-actualization and even further to transcendence of self? Abraham Maslow’s seminal work on the hierarchy of needs, introduced in 1943 and later expanded in the 1970s, supplies the theoretical foundation for this paper. Maslow’s original model identifies self-actualization as the pinnacle of human development, representing the pursuit of self-fulfillment and the realization of one’s fullest potential. In The Farther Reaches of Human Nature (1971), Maslow goes beyond self-actualization with the additions of cognitive needs, aesthetic needs, and self-transcendence, which is described as human consciousness at its most inclusive and holistic level.
This autoethnographic exploration seeks to determine the potential for individuals to achieve higher levels of self-actualization and create a foundation from which to transcend self by intentionally aligning self-identity with self-expression through personal style. Drawing inspiration from Maslow’s expanded hierarchy, with a specific focus on aesthetic needs, this hypothesis posits that conscious efforts to strengthening one’s self-identity and expressing one’s true self through personal style not only leads to self-actualization, but also fosters a profound sense of fulfillment and purpose extending beyond the individual characteristic of self-transcendence. This study aims to shed light on the transformative power of harmonizing inner authenticity with outward expression, as guided by Maslow’s enduring insights into human psychological development.
This paper was presented in July 2024 at the International Possibility Studies Conference University of Cambridge UK
Workshop/Experience: The Third Space: Alchemy of the Physical and Digital in Ritual Practices
Technology and AI play ever-increasing roles in our lives, functioning as mystical “black boxes” whose inner workings remain opaque even as we become more reliant upon them. While technology offers undeniable benefits, it often detracts from real-world engagement. Drawing upon Iain McGilchrist’s insights into the interplay of attention and meaning and David Abram’s reflections on technology’s dual role as both enabler of magic and disruptor of our connection to the earth, this workshop reimagines technology’s role in ritual practices.
Anthropological studies of myth cite the power of ritual in cohering the space between chaos and connection/certainty and in this workshop it serves as an alchemical “philosopher’s stone,” dissolving boundaries between physical and digital, individual and collective, to facilitate the emergence of a third space that expands both imagination and consciousness.
Participants will explore how merging tangible and virtual elements creates a new whole by engaging in craft-oriented and somatic activities that integrate technology as a transformative element. This experience is an invitation and opportunity to rethink our relationship with technology, seeing it not as a necessary tool or source of mindless distraction, but as a partner in restoring balance, fostering creativity, and reconnecting to human and spiritual sensibilities.
This workshop was co-presented with Dr. Barbara Doran, Transdisciplinary School, University of Technology Sydney (UTS), in July 2025 at the 5th International Possibility Studies Conference at Maynooth University, Ireland
Paper Presentation: Transcendent Leadership & Living: Bridging Individual Potential with Collective Purpose
Transcendence – often relegated to the mystical and metaphysical realms – is rarely a focus in traditional leadership and life coaching, however, its principles offer promise for possibilities in our increasingly disconnected world. As social disparities widen and individualism overshadows community; a transcendent-focused model of coaching based on growth, creativity, and contribution can bridge these divides.
Transcendent Leadership & Living is a coaching methodology designed to guide individuals beyond the ordinary limitations of ego to cultivate a mindset of awareness, openness, and purposeful action. This approach offers a new definition of leadership – whether in the hierarchical context of an organization or the context of one’s own life – one that is not based on either authority or ambition; rather, it is based on the commitment to use one’s unique abilities and potential in service to the greater good.
This coaching construct empowers individuals through three integrated pathways: facilitating personal awareness and growth, fostering openness through creativity, and aligning actions with the spirit of contribution. Through guided practices, participants learn to recognize and amplify the best in themselves and in others to create environments of expanded possibility in which organizations, communities, and individuals can thrive.
The model supports individuals in transcending immediate individual gains to embrace a more humanistic and holistic perspective that prioritizes the long-term well-being of the whole over short-term successes. Ultimately, Transcendent Leadership & Living enables participants to create lasting legacies of positive impact, building toward a more equitable and connected world while inspiring others to do the same.
This paper was presented in January 2025 at the Virtual Possibility Studies Conference
Workshop/Experience: Facilitating Emergent Possibility as a Creative Practice
This session offers a practice-led exploration of facilitation as a creative, generative practice oriented toward emergent human possibility. Rather than treating facilitation as the delivery of predefined outcomes, the session investigates the role of the facilitator in creating and stewarding conditions under which meaning, insight, and direction may emerge unpredictably and idiosyncratically for participants.
Drawing implicitly on phenomenological sensibilities such as epoché, bracketing, and attentional presence, without formal instruction in these methods, the experience invites participants into a lightly structured, reflective inquiry designed to surface what is quietly alive, nascent, or calling for care. The facilitator’s role is understood not as expert or interpreter, but as a steward of the relational and temporal conditions that allow possibility to appear.
The session combines brief framing, guided experiential practice, individual reflection, and collective sense-making. It will be of interest to scholars and practitioners working in possibility studies, facilitation, coaching, education, leadership, and creative practice who are curious about non-instrumental approaches to cultivating emergence without prescribing outcomes.
This session is not designed to produce solutions, but to explore what might become possible when facilitation prioritizes conditions for emergence rather than achieving pre-determined objectives.
This is practice-led research: I investigate facilitation by facilitating and generate knowledge through practice. Participants in this workshop are thus co-researchers exploring how phenomenological methods applied to groups reveal possibilities that cannot be attained solely through individual inquiry.
This workshop will be presented in July 2026 at the 6th International Possibility Studies Conference at University of Sussex, UK
Paper Presentation: Transcendent Leadership & Living: Empowering Growth, Creativity, and Contribution in Practice
Transcendent Leadership & Living is a transformative coaching framework that bridges individual potential with collective purpose. Designed to inspire a mindset beyond the limitations of ego, this approach integrates awareness, openness, and intentional action as pathways to self-actualization and self-transcendence. Grounded in the principles of Growth, Creativity, and Contribution, the framework fosters personal and professional development while encouraging meaningful impact for positive and lasting change.
This presentation introduces the self-coaching tools developed to support the framework: ultimately to be produced in a guidebook and prototype card deck. These tools are designed to enable individuals to explore and deepen their practice of the framework’s principles, helping them recognize and amplify their potential, align their actions with their values, and embrace a broader perspective of interconnectedness with the greater whole.
By showcasing the framework, tools, and card deck; this session invites reflections on the transformative possibilities of a transcendence-focused coaching model. It also offers an opportunity to gain insights into how these tools can create environments of expanded possibility and inspire meaningful contributions that extend beyond personal growth and achievement to a way of being that positively impacts the world around us.
The framework and guidelines for practice were presented in July 2025 at the 5th International Possibility Studies Conference at Maynooth University, Irelan