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Blog de Carlos Goga

Yes, I am a SIY Certified Teacher and I am overflowing with gratitude and love

01/09/2018 | | English, experiencias, SIY | 2 Comentarios

Yesterday, August 31st 2018, I received a simple email message in which I was informed that I have received the status as Certified Teacher by the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute (SIYLI). Smile on my face and in my heart, I reflect aloud about this trip that started in May of last year.

It was on my way to the NESI Forum (New Economy & Social Innovation Forum) when Esther, then a new friend of BlaBlaCar and today a good friend of the heart, it was then that Esther told me about a mindfulness program developed at Google. My first reaction was rejection, kind of verbalizing «that does not exist because if it existed I would surely know». She insisted and I kept the question opened.

A few weeks later, I sat at my computer, I launched a couple of searches and … olé! … there it was. I felt a sense of new identity, very strong, like the one I experienced when I discovered Theory-U and Otto Scharmer’s Presencing Institute. I read everything that had to be read and I felt in love.

The story that stuck with me was as follows. A Google engineer, Chade Meng-Tan, designed a course of mindfulness and emotional intelligence to help his (Google’s) coleagues to enjoy more of their work and improve their performance. His success was such, such was the good reception and long waiting lists, that over time that became the headline of articles in the press. He ended up making a «spin-off» that shaped what I had just discovered: the startup of Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute as an independent, non-profit organization, with the aim of offering that same training outside Google and with the great intention of working for peace in the world.

The story that conquered me, however, was my own story, because theirs strongly resonated with mine: people who come from working in the corporate world and digital technology (them Google, me Microsoft and Terra Lycos) were very committed, from their own journey, with the technology inside us (them with mindfulness, me love).

Excited by the discovery, I decided to participate wherever there was an opportunity. And the first one I found was to be train as a teacher and to achieve the status of SIY Certified Teacher. So I did and I presented my application. Some curiosities of the process. I did Excel math to calculate how many hours of meditation I have already in my body (between Kundalini Yoga and Conscious Sexuality) and to verify that it exceeded the minimum of 1000 hours that they requested. I played to dream what I would do if they accepted me and I described another ideal professional future. I recorded a 2-minute video and I premiered in the world of video-selfies (something I had never done before). And I applied for funding or a scholarship (because my lifestyle is short on money) and, great surprise of mine, I was awarded with a scholarship (the first time in my life that I applied for any and, of course, the first time got it!).

And yes, today it is clear that a few weeks later I received a first message in which they told me that they had accepted my candidacy and they were counting on me. I remember a hybrid feeling of excitement and fear, feelings that I well associated with returning to study in a regulated manner, with exams and tests, within a supervised process with evaluation and final grade.

In August 2017, I received the very first instructions (they were about reading and reflecting) to start the course. Then, a first face-to-face week in October 2017 in San Francisco. The next four months we had lots of work from home by focusing on readings, videos, reflections in writing and audio recordings. March 2018 arrived and we had our second face-to-face week, this time at Berkeley. To finish it, a practicum process (in Spanish and English) and some coaching sessions to show, via video recordings, that I had build enough abilities as facilitator of the SIY 2-day program . I submitted all the required material at the end of July 2018 and, here I started this post, yesterday I received my certification (¿my approval?).

Thus written, in a simple paragraph, it may seem like a trip, an easy and fast process. But no, it has not been so easy or so fast. I had to gazed into the eyes, front to front, to some shadows that still resisted in my heart. I have had to accommodate, from introspection and research, this mind of mine that seeks to understand what is said and also what is not said. And I had to open the body to embrace mindfulness and find its place next to kundalini yoga and conscious sexuality.

However, and I write what follows with no doubts at all, it has been a great journey, an extremely rewarding process, in meeting outstanding people and living beautiful situations. Just remembering them my heart opens and I enter into a big smile.

I want to end this post by remembering them all, in a loving memory of those people who have accompanied me and helped me, in some cases unconditionally, and that their simple appearance in my life already deserves all the efforts  which I made:

  • Thank you, Vanda, for choosing to be my «buddy» and accompany me throughout the process by offering me your admiration and your unconditional support. Thanks again, Vanda, for the unforgettable moments of San Francisco and Berkeley. Thank you again, Vanda, for facilitating that my English evolved from a cold business language into a language that expresses the warmth of emotions. Thank you finally, Vanda, for accompanying me in the final moments and open the doors for a future in which we will continue working together.
  • Thank you, Cristina, Juan José, Salvador and Manuel, for forming the Spanish «pod» and be opened to periodically share progress, with its difficulties and achievements. Thanks again, Cristina, for doing the «practicums» with me and offering me two experiences of «co-teaching» that strongly convinced me about its advantages and joy. Thank you again, Cristina, for choosing that our paths will remain close and for sharing with me your will that we cross paths many times.
  • Thank you, Abri, for making me feel very cared for and loved in my stays in the USA. Thanks again, Abri, for those hugs of good morning that allowed me to feel at home even being far away.
  • Thank you, Caro, for coming openly to me when I felt lost, pointing out a path to follow and offering me your trust and support.
  • Thank you, Vasco, for opening up your experience and accommodating mine, making flexible what appeared rigid and expanding the reach where I felt closed. Thanks again, Vasco, for offering me the coaching sessions and filling them with words of recognition and support.
  • Thank you, my 110 companions and new SIY Certified Teachers, Cohort 2017, for your support, inspiration and accompaniment in these 12 months of learning and re-learning.
  • Thanks to Meg Levie, Simon Moyes, Peter Bonano, Brandon Rennels and Linda Curtis for your teachings and your support, for representing the good example to follow and, especially, for offering always your attentive smile.
  • Thanks to all the SIYLI team for making easy what seemed difficult, for doing what seemed boring and for making me feel surrounded by loved ones when I barely knew anyone.

Certified Teacher 2017 Cohort

Etiquetas: cambio, corazón, google, innovación, SiliconValley, tecnología

2 Comentarios

Sofia  on julio 6th, 2019

Wonderful description of your SIY experience, thank you for sharing (especially the video!), Carlos! All the best for you!

carlosgoga  on julio 8th, 2019

Thank you, Sofia, thank you for such nice comment and such a beautiful wish. May life smiles we both

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