EU Diplomat Shares His Personal Thoughts About Russia & Ukraine: Holding Multiple Perspectives for a Sustainable Peace in the Face of War, Reactivity & Rage

Ep. 34 (Part 1 of 2) | Frederik Coene, a European Union diplomat stationed in Kyiv and world authority on Russia and Eastern Europe, describes the current situation in Ukraine—"a cocktail of emotions"—and outlines what it would take for us to find a true solution to the conflict and create sustainable peace. Frederik brings the multiple perspectives of Integral theory to bear: he discusses how developmental stages play into the ways Russians and Ukrainians are thinking, acting, and reacting, and emphasizes the need to get beyond black and white thinking, foster compassion, and take responsibility for our thoughts and our actions. How do we cultivate the willingness to understand each other, to have a dialogue? Because as Frederik says, “the war may be fought on the battlefield, but peace is only going to come through dialogue.”

The fruits of Frederik’s own personal transformative practice and understanding of the Enneagram and Spiral Dynamics flow into his work as a diplomat/bureaucrat, pointing the way towards change. Besides effectively deepening our understanding of what’s going on in Ukraine and Russia now, this talk is a real inspiration for those interested in weaving together personal growth, professional responsibility, and dedication to service. A humble, open, and wise transmission. Recorded on June 29, 2022.

“If we want to find a true solution, sustainable and lasting peace…we can no longer be guided by our heads alone. We have to include the heart.”

(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)

Topics & Time Stamps - Part 1

• Introducing Dr. Frederik Coene, world authority with multiple perspectives on Russia and Eastern Europe (01:52)
• Life in Ukraine right now: no safe place, where violence might occur is completely unpredictable (04:20)
• How the Russians use fear to control people (07:34)
• Living in survival mode we fall into black and white thinking and how that affects our decision making (08:28)
• What makes the war in Ukraine distinctive is that it affects people around the globe: inflation, food scarcity, resources (12:19)
• What is not being seen? Both the complexity of the Ukrainian side and the complexity of the Russian side (14:16)
• Looking at the Russian perspective with a degree of empathy is necessary for a lasting, sustainable solution (16:47)
• What are they thinking in Russia? (20:00)
• The spiritual perspective: everyone has a soul, even Putin. Can we hold compassion for everyone (even Putin)? (26:53)
• Gaining inner strength from a daily gratitude practice; no matter how horrible the war and how great the suffering (33:19)
• Bureaucracy and Spiral Dynamics’ levels of development (37:45)
• Raising consciousness in the blue bureaucracy and the experience of teaching the Enneagram to bureaucrat colleagues (39:36)

Resources & References - Part 1

• Frederik Coene, The Caucasus - An Introduction*
• Frederik Coene, Euro-Atlantic Discourse in Georgia*
• YouTube 1420, live street interviews
• Clare Graves, adult developmental stages psychologist foundational to Spiral Dynamics
• Don Beck & Christopher Cowan, Spiral Dynamics*
• Enneagram, a model of the human psyche taught as a typology of nine interconnected personality types
• Don Riso & Russ Hudson, The Wisdom of the Enneagram*
• Richard Rohr & Andreas Ebert, The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective*
• iAwake’s Funnel to Help, Heal, and Support the Ukrainian People

* As an Amazon Associate, Deep Transformation earns from qualifying purchases.

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Dr. Frederik Coene is an EU diplomat based in Ukraine and heads the team in charge of all EU-funded development programmes in the country. His previous assignments were in Tajikistan, Georgia, and Belarus, and prior to that he worked for humanitarian NGOs in Chechnya and Abkhazia. He holds an MA in economics, an MA in Caucasian and Central Asian Studies, and a PhD in Political Science. In his free time, he works on integrating stages of development with the Enneagram and Spiral Dynamics into a single framework using ancient Vedic wisdom on transpersonal development. He also conducts research and lectures on the topic of human sexuality and the Enneagram/Spiral Dynamics.

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Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell