George Burr Leonard (August 9, 1923 – January 6, 2010) was an American writer, editor, and educator who wrote extensively about

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

and

human potential Human potential is the capacity for humans to improvement, improve themselves through studying, training, and Practice (learning method), practice, to reach the limit of their ability to develop aptitudes and skills. "Inherent within the notion of h ...

. He served as President Emeritus of the

Esalen Institute The Esalen Institute, commonly called Esalen, is a non-profit American retreat center and intentional community in Big Sur, California, which focuses on humanistic alternative education. The institute played a key role in the Human Potential ...

, past-president of the Association for

Humanistic Psychology Humanistic psychology is a psychological perspective that arose in the mid-20th century in answer to two theories: Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory and B. F. Skinner's behaviorism. Thus, Abraham Maslow established the need for a "third force ...

, co-founder of Integral Transformative Practice International,"Leonard's ITP Page"
and an editor of ''Look Magazine''. He was a

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

pilot, and held a fifth-degree black belt in

aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a modern Japanese martial art that is split into many different styles, including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practiced in around 1 ...

. Typical of his philosophy, life's work, and the times (1960s), Leonard stated: "Western civilization has been a 2,000 year long exercise in robbing people of the present. People are now learning the powerful joys that hide in the narrow place of the hourglass, the eternal moment. Here is their golden learning: to see - really see - spring flowers; to feel - really feel - the grace of love." Leonard co-founded the Aikido of Tamalpais dojo, originally in Mill Valley, now in

Corte Madera, California Corte Madera (; Spanish for "Chop Wood") is an incorporated town in Marin County, California. Corte Madera is located south of San Rafael, at an elevation of 39 feet (12 m). The population was 10,222 at the 2020 census. The town was named after ...

. He also developed the Leonard Energy Training (LET) practice for centering

mind The mind is the set of faculties responsible for all mental phenomena. Often the term is also identified with the phenomena themselves. These faculties include thought, imagination, memory, will, and sensation. They are responsible for various m ...

body Body may refer to: In science * Physical body, an object in physics that represents a large amount, has mass or takes up space * Body (biology), the physical material of an organism * Body plan, the physical features shared by a group of anima ...

, and spirit. Leonard died at his home in

Mill Valley, California Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States, located about north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge and from Napa Valley. The population was 14,231 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

on January 6, 2010, after a long illness, survived by his wife and three daughters. He was 86 years old. Jones, Carolyn (January 7, 2010
"Human potential pioneer George Leonard dies"
''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

''. Retrieved January 10, 2012.

Books

*''The Decline of the American Male'' (1958) ASIN B000JWGFBW *''Shoulder the Sky'' (1959) ASIN B000HLSI5Q *''Education and Ecstasy'' (1968) *''The Man & Woman Thing, and Other Provocations'' (1970) ASIN B0006DY0R0 *''The Transformation'' (1972) *''The Silent Pulse'' (1978) *''The End of Sex'' (1983) *''Walking on the Edge of the World'' (1988) *''Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment'' (1992) *''The Life We Are Given'' (1995) *''The Way of Aikido: Life Lessons from an American Sensei'' (2000) *''The Ultimate Athlete'' (2001)

References

External links

Article
in the Encyclopedia of Aikido
Aikido of TamalpaisThe Samurai Game
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leonard, George 1923 births 2010 deaths American aikidoka American magazine publishers (people) American martial arts writers American motivational writers United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces pilots People from Mill Valley, California Sportswriters from California Military personnel from California