Consider the following. Imagine closing your eyes and using a pen held in one hand to investigate the shape and texture of an object that is sitting on a desk in front of you by tapping around the object. In your mind you are building up a sense of the object. The object is opaque (o) to you, you cannot ‘see’ through it, but the pen is transparent (t) to you, you are ‘seeing’ the object, not the pen.

Now, continue tapping, but imagine shifting your attention from the object to your pen.The pen is now opaque to you, you are ‘seeing’ the pen rather than the object.You can do this again by shifting your attention to the sensations in your fingers as they are holding the tapping pen.These sensations now become opaque to you, you become aware of them.

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It is insight that allows us to suddenly see something in a different light and, therefore, to think, feel and behave differently about it. We are all subject to institutionalising forces (see here) that have shaped our responses over time, not to our agenda but to someone else’s.

To break these learned responses, we need to bring insight to bear which needs two things: a practice that encourages insight (and Inquiry is such a practice) and practices that strengthen insight - concentration meditation and mindfulness meditation combine to do this.

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The Step Back to Empower program uses a two-pronged, two-stage approach to enhance staff wellbeing and improve student learning and outcomes. The two prongs:

• the use of practices that are associated with enhancing wellbeing (for example mindfulness*)

• using these practices in a way to enhance teacher-to-teacher and teacher-to-student relationships to increase the life meaning from these relationships - meaning in life strongly correlates with wellbeing**

The dual approach increases the possibility of positive outcomes for more participants.

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Recently, I was thinking about a deputy principal I worked with in the UK some years ago who was incredibly student (pupil!) focused. It was a joy to see her engage so easily and unconditionally with young people as she encountered them around the school.

During a coaching session, she had the realisation that she was highly judgemental of her colleagues but not at all judgemental of young people. She was perplexed by this apparent paradox when she knew that there would be so much less friction with - and amongst - staff if she applied what she knew how to do with young people to her colleagues.

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