The Lean In
Conversations to get close to.
Sense-making in fragmented times.
Today, many of us are facing challenging questions at the heart of the human experience. How should I live? What about the future? How to navigate uncertainty? What really matters?
The Lean In is a quarterly series of conversations for making meaning in our changing world. Like a podcast, but in person. Held at Human.Kind, it’s a space to gather and turn towards big issues without easy answers. A space to huddle and find solace in our shared humanity.
Hosted by Tessa Leon, with a range of special guests and community leaders, we’ll explore topics at the intersection of culture, science, and spirituality. Dialogues will traverse contemplative traditions, ethics and morality, eco-dharma and neuroscience, social philosophy, politics and poetry. We pursue understanding, and explore new ways of engaging creatively with our current reality.
Come listen or engage in vitalising discussions that spark the collective imagination, generate ideas to orient by, and offer a sense of refuge in our tender and tumultuous world.
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Session 1: Joy & the Apocalypse.
11 April 2024. With Amber Cronin and Becca Gross.
Wendell Berry once said, “Be joyful, even though you have considered all the facts”. This conversation is for those who understand the facts, and are struggling with them.
As we confront the real prospect of civilisational collapse and mass extinction in the not-too-distant future, how do we stay engaged? How do we continue to care and take compassionate action, when faced with immense suffering?
Overwhelm, eco-grief, and even the daily news can leave us in despair, or even worse, apathy. Burnout in activism is real. We must find ways of living that keep us buoyant and connected to purpose. As the impacts of our changing world gain momentum, this art will be critical for community resilience, creativity, and our ability to take care of eachother.
“We must risk delight and enjoyment. We must have the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of this world. To make injustice the only measure of our attention is to praise the devil.” – Jack Gilbert
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Session 2: Fall of the Guru
6 June 2024. With Tess Fuller and Adam Whiting.
Content Note: contains discussion about sexual abuse.
Sex and power: two eternal forces that shape human behaviour. The cultural ramifications of privilege and patriarchy have caused great harm in many institutions and religions. And the traditions of yoga have been no exception. In recent history, leader after leader of yogic lineages has fallen from grace. Often through accusations and convictions of abuse against women.
Today, in the contemporary ‘wellness’ industry we see the rise and adoration of celebrity experts, given guru-like status, only to witness their subsequent dethroning through scandals, lies, or unethical personal conduct.
As students and teachers of these beloved wisdom traditions, it is hard to watch. We witness how these practices can be used as medicines for social and cultural repair. And we also witness hierarchies of power in ‘spiritual communities’ becoming hotbeds for the silent proliferation of gendered violence.
How do we respond? Collectively moving forward requires entering into a dialogue with the past, understanding cultural contexts, and re-visioning ways to share power safely within communities. Let’s talk about it.
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Session 3: Women On Top
5 Sep 2024. With Senator Sarah Hanson-Young and Eloise Hall.
What does it take to stand up for equality, integrity, and lead from the front in business and politics today? Let’s talk resilience, vulnerability, and courage with women who are shifting the balance of power to centre diversity and put people and the planet above profits.
In a time of hyper-partisanship, conflicting morality, and plural truths, integrity in leadership is more crucial than ever. Are we seeing a shift where voters and consumers are getting behind powerful women with the courage to call out injustice and take bold steps to make change?
Let’s talk about sustaining the strength and candour to stand up to marginalisation and bullying. And understand how we can all help scaffold systems of power to invite and include more diverse voices at the front.
The face of leadership is changing.