Social Mindfulness, Collective Intelligence & the Return of Relational Coherence — with Mark Leonard
In this episode of Roots of Enlivenment at Parallax Media, host Cordula Frei speaks with mindfulness innovator, organisational consultant, and systems thinker Mark Leonard about the growing crisis of coherence in modern culture — and why traditional models of leadership, optimisation, and “mental fixing” are increasingly failing to create meaningful transformation.
Mark Leonard has spent decades working at the intersection of mindfulness, organisational culture, collective intelligence, and systemic transformation. Originally trained in ecology and fisheries biology, his path evolved toward the deeper question of how human consciousness and institutional systems can transform together in times of fragmentation and uncertainty. He later became one of the pioneering figures behind Mindfulness-Based Organisational Education (MBOE), helping organisations integrate mindfulness, psychological safety, social intelligence, and relational awareness into leadership and culture development.
In dialogue with themes explored in Cordula Frei’s recent essays and her recent book Wild & Wunderbar, this conversation explores the limits of control-based systems thinking and asks what forms of intelligence may emerge when coherence is no longer understood as something we engineer from outside, but something we participate in relationally.
Together they explore:
* Social mindfulness and collective intelligence
* The collapse of purely managerial leadership models
* Mindfulness beyond self-optimisation
* Psychological safety and relational coherence
* Organisational transformation in times of uncertainty
* Embodiment, ecology, and systems awareness
* The difference between fixing and listening
* Burnout, disorientation, and cultural transition
* Enlivenment as an alternative to optimisation culture
This conversation is part of the ongoing podcast series *Roots of Enlivenment* — a space for dialogues on consciousness, embodiment, ecology, transformation, philosophy, and the recovery of relational ways of being in a rapidly changing world.
About the Guest
Mark Leonard is a mindfulness educator, organisational consultant, and faculty member at Mindfulness Academy Global. He is internationally known for developing Mindfulness-Based Organisational Education (MBOE), integrating mindfulness, collective intelligence, organisational wellbeing, and systems transformation.
About the Host
Cordula Frei is a writer, consciousness researcher, editor, and founder of the Roots of Enlivenment-Podcast Series. Her work bridges embodiment, ecology, mythology, systems thinking, and female consciousness research. Through essays, books, and dialogues, she explores how humans reconnect with relational forms of intelligence in times of cultural transition.
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