The experience of shame plays a critical role in developing a discerning conscience and an autonomous individuality while at the same time sustaining integrity and dignity. Our ability to imagine how we are affecting the other—our moral imagination—is profoundly linked to the depth and breadth of our engagement with shame. This workshop is an experiential exploration of the role of shame-discerning awareness in transforming relationships within families, communities, and the workplace. This experiential program is an introduction to the principles and practices that guide Transformative Learning at the Institute of Imaginal Studies.

Program Leader:
Aftab Omer, Ph.D. is President and core faculty at the Institute of Imaginal Studies. Formerly a faculty member in the Psychology Department at Sonoma State University, he is currently the President of the Council on Humanistic and Transpersonal Psychologies. Aftab's research has focused on the emergence of human capacities within transformative learning communities and his work has included assisting organizations in tapping the creative potentials of conflict, diversity, and complexity. Born and raised in South Asia, he was educated at M.I.T. and Brandeis University. Aftab's publications include "The Spacious Center: Leadership and the Creative Transformation of Culture" and "Between Columbine and the Twin Towers: Fundamentalist Culture as a Failure of Imagination."