Thinking with the Heart in Mind – In-person

Thinking with the Heart in Mind is about leading with heart and mind for greater connection. We live and work in a time of great volatility, uncertainty, polarisation, and crisis. Now, more than ever, we need to be able to create the conditions in which we can connect well, think well, act well – the conditions in which we treat ourselves and each other well.

The work of the Thinking Environment has identified ten behaviours that generate the finest independent thinking. We call them the Ten Components of a Thinking Environment and when we offer them to others, the human mind soars – we think with rigour and grace –  because, ultimately, our presence impacts the thinking of the group.

In other words, how we treat others as they think, impacts the quality of their thinking.

Those fluent in creating Thinking Environments offer rich and generative attention, encouragement, ask incisive questions, welcome difference, appreciate five times more than they criticise… As they do this, the quality of the thinking improves.

If our thinking is good, it’s likely our decisions are good. If our decisions are good, it’s likely our outcomes are good.

But our presence – or how we ‘show up’ – depends on how we’re navigating what’s on the inside (our inner worlds). To offer others any encouragement or generative attention, we need to know how to offer this to ourselves.

How we treat others, depends on how we treat ourselves.

If we want to influence independent thinking and resilient, agile, attuned people capable of navigating today’s complexity, then we need to cultivate these capacities inside of ourselves too. We need to nurture and cultivate our capacity for self-regulation, self-awareness, and self-compassion.

So, join Thinking Environment Faculty Member, Trisha Lord, who offers her deep understanding of the work of the Thinking Environment and mindfulness and compassion facilitator, Françoise Gallet. Together, they invite you to explore what it takes to Think with the Heart in Mind.

Their programme, Thinking with the Heart in Mind, weaves the work of The Thinking Environment, with the insights, practices and contemplations of secular mindfulness and compassion training.

It offers a framework for generating the finest independent thinking at the same time as supporting participants to develop and cultivate their innate capacities of self-regulation, self-awareness and self-compassion. It’s a learning journey in which you build both a skill set for inner mastery and a skill set for creating the conditions in which all of us can be – and think – at our best.

Over six months, participants will meet in-person once a month for a full-day workshop. In addition, between sessions, participants will have access to guided practices to embed their learning as well as an individual coaching session with each of the facilitators (a total of two coaching sessions per month).

What to expect from this programme?

• Guided instruction in a variety of Time to Think applications.
• Guided instruction in a variety of meditative practices.
• Individual reflection through journalling.
• An experiential learning process designed to prompt personal insight.
• Discussion and presentations guided by formal research from the fields of neuroscience, psychology, and contemplative science and observations from years of Time to Think applications and practise in a variety of geographic locations and contexts.
• Daily assignments with materials (guided formal practices, informal practices, and worksheets).

It’s better to think of this programme as an invitation to explore new ways of being not only during the sessions but in the days and weeks between the sessions.

In this six-month programme, you will:

• Learn and/or deepen your understanding of the building blocks and applications of the Thinking Environment.
• Learn to use the Thinking Environment to stay connected when thinking diverges.
• Nurture and deepen your capacity to listen, to yourself and others.
• Learn to treat yourself and others in ways that free the human heart and encourage the mind to soar.
• Cultivate your capacity for self-regulation and befriend your nervous system, for a greater sense of day-to-day ease.
• Learn to befriend your mind, for greater mental stability, clarity, and enhanced self-awareness.
• Learn to befriend yourself, as an act of self-compassion in ways that support greater resilience, accountability, and growth.
• Learn to offer awareness and compassion to self and others.

What past participants of the shorter 2024 pilot took away:

Thinking with the Heart in Mind has been incredibly enriching, insightful, and healing for me! The interweaving of the Thinking Environment, mindfulness, and compassion had an impact on me that gave me the strength and courage to look at the old, painful, let go and pave the way for the new. If you are on the path of self-discovery and self-realisation, then this course is the best thing that can happen to you.

Thinking with the Heart in Mind created tangible benefits for me. I am using the meditations almost daily — it helps me notice my thoughts without getting caught up in them. The course was an interesting mix of knowledge transfer and hands-on practice. I also appreciated the calm, thoughtful space that was created by Trisha and Françoise in each session.

I felt by the end I was a little more ‘being’ the thinking environment and a little less ‘doing’ the thinking environment. It ignited my interest… in the compassionate practice side of contemplative practice….

Self-soothing. Calmness! The wonderful meditations! All the valuable theory!

Programme logistics:

Location: In-person, alternating between Muizenberg and Imhoff’s Gift, Cape Town.

Dates: Six full-day workshops beginning in February 2026 and running to July 2026 from 9.30am to 5pm (SAST).

Facilitated by: Françoise Gallet & Trisha Lord.

Individuals: ZAR30 000 (or ZAR5 000 per month). Please reach out around payment plans or alternative pricing schemes. Trisha and Françoise would dearly like for money not to be an obstacle to heartfelt participation.

About payment:

The rate of ZAR30 000 reflects what we believe to be a fair and reasonable renumeration for our offering of time, resources, and expertise. However we understand that in these uncertain times, financial pressures can be a common challenge for many.  Meanwhile, some enjoy the privilege of financial comfort or abundance. With this in mind and heart, we are open to receiving payments in the spirit of dana – a tradition of offering financial contributions that are commensurate with both your financial capacity and the value you personally deem to receive from the programme. For some this may mean paying at a rate below ZAR30 000. Others may wish to extend their financial contribution to subsidize colleagues, friends or loved ones. Please be in touch if you would like to think more about this with either Trisha or Françoise.