Contemplative Leadership

Peter Song has had a successful career as an investment officer and also helps run the World Community for Christian Meditation in Singapore. As such, he has incorporated meditation into his busy lifestyle by cutting out unnecessary activities – indeed he argues that meditation enables one to gain time and become more effective in one's everyday work and relationships. This book consists of three talks and an interview covering some of the same ground and quoting from the founder, John Main. The purpose of Christian meditation is to move from self-centredness to God-centredness so that one experiences a sense of oneness through selfless attention. As we all know, there is a danger that busyness and consumerism can extinguish the inner flame. Meditation helps us prioritise being and reach a state of stillness and silence. Song suggests that there are five qualities to contemplative leadership: the will to lead, clarity of mind, humility and the ability to learn, solitude and aloneness, and the wise deployment of energy. He shows how meditation can contribute to these qualities. This is a simple book with an important message.