EU Diplomat Shares His Personal Thoughts About Russia & Ukraine: Holding Multiple Perspectives for a Sustainable Peace in the Face of War, Reactivity & Rage (Part 2)

Ep. 35 (Part 2 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 2

• How the Enneagram fosters self-transformation, awareness of your own reactivity, and gets you out of black and white thinking (01:02)
• If we are skilled at taking multiple perspectives into account, how do we narrow it down and make a good judgment? (05:50)
• Practical wisdom: how do we skillfully and benevolently respond in the world? (07:14)
• And how this works in Ukraine now; when to take responsibility for actions and break the rules (09:01)
• Bureaucracy and its purpose; and the purpose of the Enneagram (12:28)
• Back to the situation in Ukraine now: a cocktail of emotions (16:20)
• Frederik’s personal self-transformation in the last 7 years with Ukraine as a catalyst (24:51)
• We need to merge head and heart if we want to find a sustainable peace (27:16)
• How do we cultivate the willingness to understand each other, to have a dialogue? (29:47) 
• Roger reads aloud excerpts from Frederik’s Facebook postings addressed to Russians and to Ukrainians (32:59)
• The deep wisdom questions: what am I called to do? How can I make myself a more effective instrument of service? (36:10)

Resources & References - Part 2

• 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