Being Grounded Archives - Bhavana Learning Group

Politics, Coaching, and the Practice of Democracy

Democracy is not an end state. It is not just a value or a process.
Democracy is a commitment to a way of being.

This commitment invites a more human view of politics — not as a struggle for control, but as the courageous work of shaping what’s possible together amid differences. Without the inner disciplines shared by coaching and human development, democracy can easily become reactive, transactional, or hollow.

Since November 2024, I’ve reflected more deeply on what it means to live within a pluralistic democracy — the most defining and fragile feature of the American experiment. To address this inquiry, I DOWNLOAD PDF

A Grounding Practice in a Fragmented World

About six years ago, I noticed a shift in my coaching practice. People were coming to their sessions more fragmented and with heavier loads. I also noticed that it took a little longer to get into each session.

Since then, two comments I often hear at the end of sessions have stuck with me:

I feel more grounded.
I feel lighter.

As a researcher, such trends and patterns have given me pause.

Being a Coach Today

Over the last two years, three events have rocked so many Americans: the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the George DOWNLOAD PDF