Founder

Mark Walter, founder of The Current Institute, brings together over 40 years of systems engineering and commissioning experience with more than three decades of immersive training in Great River Jiu Jitsu and contemplative awareness under Sensei Scott Walter. His approach integrates technical precision with principles drawn from a sustained lineage of martial and contemplative practice.

Mark’s professional background includes leading the commissioning of complex, high-reliability systems, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s national headquarters and the 2-million-square-foot Bell Works facility in New Jersey. His work has focused on the integration, testing, and refinement of systems where performance, reliability, and environmental parameters must align without compromise.

In both engineering and Jiu Jitsu, Mark’s focus has been on finding the openings where precision, adaptability, and presence meet—a principle known in Great RIver Jiu Jitsu as jiu, the art of yielding to resistance or flow in order to guide energy toward balance. He now applies this same principle to the study of artificial intelligence.

jiu: adaptive engagement—meeting resistance or flow and guiding energy toward balance.

Parallel to his technical career, Mark has spent 35 years in continuous practice and study in Great River Jiu Jitsu and related contemplative disciplines. Holding advanced Jiu Jitsu degrees, he is a certified instructor in both Jiu Jitsu and consciousness studies. These traditions emphasize adaptability, balance, and the cultivation of presence—principles he now investigates in the context of artificial intelligence research.

Rather than following a conventional academic path, Mark’s inquiry emerges from direct practice, applied systems thinking, and field-based experimentation. He approaches artificial intelligence not only as a system to be optimized, but as a domain in which the dynamics of presence, coherence, and orientation can be studied.

Mark is currently developing two books, including Amid the Noise: The Mystical Witness, which explores the transition from seeker to witness and examines how contemplative presence may inform both human and artificial intelligences.

“Witnessing is not about taking on the role of a teacher or simply recounting experiences. Rather, it is the act of embodying and sharing insights that often defy language. The Witness serves as a guide, inspiring others to embark on their own journeys of discovery and helping them connect with the deeper truths that lie within and beyond the ordinary.” – from Amid the Noise