[Ben Marchman]

Wish I could join yall this time around but will be missing this upcoming intensive due to my wife not being back at work yet and needing help with the little baby, and new adventures with NatureLink during the intensive time.

Love to you all and will see ya in September!

[Ben Marchman]

This post may be a little similar to my Gestalt post. Mostly because the same client I used Gestalt with I also used Partswork with.

What I found interesting is that when I used Partswork with Gestalt I had a tricky time at first finding a middle ground with the client. They didn’t seem to resonate to much with the Partwork at first. Yet, when I tried the second Gestalt Experiment I used some metaphors to represent her “Parts” which were objects in nature. This was really cool and I started to find out more on how she processed things visually.

Then the second challenge came which was to get her out of her head into establishing more soul directed conservation towards her issue. When I did Partswork with this all of sudden the magic kicked in. She started registering the metaphorical objects as people and with more repetition we started getting to the answers to her deeper needs.

So cool!

[Ben Marchman]

Finally I was able to post on here! We are deep in pilot programs here so have not been around the computer lately.

My practice client in Gestalt was a fun one! It seemed natural for me to fit Gestalt into my coaching session which was funny…..because when I stoped worrying about what to do and how to do it, things just came more naturally. I have started to use coaching before and after the pilot programs we have been doing in Vision Quest and Rites of Passage work. This has been working well because once the person signs up for a Vision Quest they have two coaching sessions before they meet up with the entire group for the Quest itself. This has been impactful I think because it has not only been prepping them for the Quest itself but also opening up a ton of trust and other insights for the client.

The first client was interesting. She was coming with multiple issues and having trouble narrowing down what she wanted to talk about. Once we started some hands on gestalt and experimenting I noticed that she not only was gaining more insight but she seemed to want more answers. It was like one issue ran into a deeper issue and we just kept getting deeper. It was a neat session in which we actually had it at my house. We started inside and got to her deeper need through questioning and co-conversation but once we moved outside instead of jumping straight into Gestalt we just simply walked and talked. I felt that there was a moment that when our trust was stronger then we jumped into our first gestalt experiment. After that we must of had like 3 back-to-back-back experiments and all were very helpful.

In this case I thought that Gestalt opened up more trust and a deeper bond with my client that I wasn’t able to get to earlier. It also provided a fun and safe environment for us to work in. Just great client and had a blast trying it out!

[Ben Marchman]

* Summary Post *
Hey everyone. Can’t wait to see you all on Monday…which is right around the corner! 🙂

I have been really thinking, talking, and dreaming about who my ideal clients are lately. I enjoyed Ivy’s comment in the webinar when she mentioned that we should be approaching this question with curiosity and joy. And also resonating with Lisa’s comment, “Who is it that I want to share my gift with?”. What an awesome question Lisa!

This is right in line with what I am trying to do with NatureLink. When a participant in a program or through coaching, finds their “Vision” their “Intrinsic Gifts”, they may not be able to have full clarity or insight on it. It may just be a feeling and nothing very powerful, which most people think it would be. This is why I am trying to do this work at the community level…meaning that when a person has a “Vision” or a “Gift” to share then they can’t fully leverage their gift, incorporate it, unless there is a community that supports them to do so.

In other words, your dreams/your vision determines your destiny. And that others need to know your gift so that it can be used in the community. This was common understanding from even our ancestors and indigenous society. Even from Prophets – “Without a vision the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18. Meaning that groups of people with vision and direction will struggle!

Those thoughts above have made me think that I need to create capacity through multiple facets and methodologies within the community in order to bring people into leveraging their own gifts to find true life purpose. Those facets/methodologies are using Deep Nature Connection Mentoring in our youth and family programs(starting 2020!); Transformational Guiding in our Rites of Passage and Quests (starting in August!); and Nature Connected Coaching.

All of the above came to me about two months ago where I reached back out to an old friend of mine Kedar Brown (actually a neighbor when I lived in Asheville NC!) and started training with the Rites of Passage Council and 4 Shields. I am slowly figuring out how to use Four Shields work with Quests and that Coaching can be used with all of my young adult and adult programs! It can be used very effectively as a post guidance tool after programs which is a cool. And coaching is not just a 1-on-1 separate service and that it can also be working with the entire community & the groups that we work with.

[Ben Marchman]

Initial Post:

When I think about coaching and/or guiding others, I sometimes have trouble narrowing down my ideal client. At first I started with just that anyone who comes to me is my ideal client. When I tried that specifically it backfired immensely! Since I was getting people who needed more counseling than coaching or people who just weren’t committed. Just recently I was able to tap into some ideas that allowed me to have the ideal client though. My ideal clients are people who truly want to make a change in life and fulfill their life purpose through guidance and coaching.

The population that excites me the most is young adults from 18 to 30 year olds….where most of my clientele some from anyways. Even though just recently I have two practice clients that are 50+ year olds which is interesting.

At NatureLink I am trying to offer Nature Connected Coaching along with other methodologies such as mentoring(youth & families) and transformational wilderness guiding(youth & adults). For example….. The NatureLink school (After School, homeschool programs, etc) uses Deep Nature Connection mentoring(8 Shields modeling) to implement stronger connections between self, nature, and others.
– The Nature Connected Coaching is a service that we offer for 1-on-1 clients and also for groups…even though I haven’t figured out how to do it more effectively with groups other than do it within a workshop.
– The guiding takes place within our immersion programs (The Guild School/Community School- a year long program for 18 to 22 year olds). And possibly some other immersion programs that I haven’t started yet.

So what I guess what I’m trying to say above is that I am slowly figuring out how to blend mentoring, guiding, and coaching into multiple platforms in at NatureLink. Surprisingly it has been working out very well, even though things are still somewhat slow with the coaching part.

A lot of my potential Nature Connected Coaching clients are coming from previous programs and I can see this as a fun way to obtain clients since I have already gained their trust. I also have been really trying to meet them exactly where they are and really use their surrounding greenspace to work with. Just recently I have been using my house/farm to take clients and have been seeing some really cool interactions + understanding more and more on how to use my space effectively.

I feel that using nature/wilderness sessions as close to where the client actually lives/works is very effective. Sense of place is a big factor to our work and by using the energies of the local landscape and mirroring that back into the clients present lifestyle really resonates with me. They also seem to get out more often and create their own sitspot experiences if you use places nearby that they can access. A client can’t relate to much if this place is foreign to them and a completely different landscape and by using places they are familiar with it creates as safe container and space to work in.

I really enjoyed this past Foundation and can’t wait to learn so much more in Foundation 5!

[Ben Marchman]

Summary Post:

This module had many insightful moments for me….. one insight for me was that it made me think more in the clients eyes during the threshold experience. During the intensive I felt like my threshold moments weren’t as powerful as I had expected them to be. I was sort of frustrated that I came problems that I thought I had already worked out but when I finally dove deeper I realized that I definitely needed to turn off my logical side of the brain and think of better routines and actual practices to help……But when I was the coach and going through the threshold together with the clients was definitely more impactful for me.

As I continued to run in circles with these confusions I started to realize that both client and coach are in such a relationship, that we are both in a dialogue/process that is much bigger than both of us. This makes me think of a passage from Buzzell & Chalquist – Ecotherapy, they ask “Who are we in service to? Many Therapists might answer that we are in service to the client. But are we not, primarily, in service to our vast self, to this living body, of which we are all part of?”. Meaning that we are part of a living body, a world that is full of life and it truly shapes us as humans….including shaping our threshold experiences.

[Ben Marchman]

Initial Post:
So glad we are talking about the threshold experience…..because honestly I can relate to Ben’s initial post. I too felt like it was awkward at first and had a feeling of like, “oh it’s not going to be that impactful for this person since they are already a coach and have a ton of experience.” But when I really just focused on being curious and deeply listening, then I had some breakthroughs.

This is so fascinating to me. In that it is simply just establishing intention and confidentiality at the beginning of a session and showing the client that you are there to be in a co-guided conversation through curiosity and deeply listening to them. During the intensive I found that when I knew the core ICF competencies better, as well as,. the structure of the Severance and Threshold experiences, I found that reading patterns on the landscape came more naturally. My questions came to be much easier.

I think it was Brooke who was my client when this happened (can’t quite remember though). There was a point where I found myself deeply searching for the right questions to ask and it took me out of the moment for a second, but when I slowed down and focuses back on the conversation with just listening to nature/reading the landscape, then the questions just came to me through reflection it back to the client.

So inspiring!

[Ben Marchman]

Summary Post:Hi friends,
Wow there are some amazing posts in here!
I feel awful that I am finally getting back to catching up on coursework and responding this forum. I have been piloting two programs at NatureLink for our community school as well as working a little deeper with the Rites of Passage Council and being mentored by Kedar Brown. Been quite a journey the past month!

Ecopsychology is something I have always been interested in, have applied the little training I know of it in my work, and of course want to learn so much more about it! Whats so neat about Ecopsychology is that people can have different takes and understanding on it but apply it in very different ways.

I really like what Ivy mentions in that “Ecopsychologists are attempting to shift the cultural vision from within and are using language of new dialogues, methods, options, to inspire, demand and create justice”. To me this resonates with me because it seems whenever I dive deeper in that realm of ecopsychology and am now being mentored in more to create Vision Quest models within my business, I can definitely see this work and impact a much deeper levels.

It definitely influences who we are as people but also how we are so interconnected on this crazy place we call planet earth.

[Ben Marchman]

Initial Post

Loved the readings! These readings helped me really define the Eco-psychology piece more in my life. Even though I don’t have a psychology background I can really relate to Eco-Psychology a little more after these readings.
Coming from a teaching and Ecology background The Nature Connected Coaching practice provides a great pathway for me in life since it just jives so well with my calling. But now when I read more of Eco-Psychology and put more of it into practice I am just fascinated in how well it links into what I do.

While coaching meets people in the present moment and its structure is behind ceremony I feel that Eco-Psychology is the same pathway. They are both working with the Eco-Consciousness and that we are all connected to something much bigger in life.

Can’t wait to read more of these articles and readings!

[Ben Marchman]

Brooke,

I love your mission and can relate deeply to it. Your Soul-Path is very similar to mine. I too am very interested in more of the immersive yet long term coaching/guiding practice as well as identifying clients to their “Calling”.

I like your comment when you said – “More importantly, the type of person I’d like to identify and work with is someone who has heard nature’s whisperings but doesn’t exactly know how to connect on a deeper level. Someone who feels the sentience of nature but who doesn’t have the tools or support to access it. Someone, like me, who grew up fascinated by stories of nature connected pioneers, researchers, trackers, indigenous peoples, and wanted to know if their stories were true.”
–––– Yes! To me, this is EXACTLY what our work is all about. Well said!

Reminds me of some words from one my beloved mentors Kedar Brown when he was sort of rephrasing Carl Jung and more recently Joanna Macey’s work during one of our past Rites of Passage trainings – “In every life there is one great question that runs like a thread. And if you find it you are very fortunate, because then the life you lead becomes a response to that question.”

[Ben Marchman]

Lisa, I am always inspired to hear how you plan to use NCC in your practice. You have such a unique passion for this work that creates bridges of connection to population groups that desperately need it. I love that your work in hospice creates a deep scared space of connection. And that you have goals to bring this into the social worker field.

To me this makes me more curious into how you will promote it. Yet, you did bring me into more awareness last intensive. I love how we all are having to be super creative in getting clients within our current lines of work.

[Ben Marchman]

Yes I agree Ben…the world still holds so much mystery for us. Your comment for some reason made me think of a conversation that I had a couple of months ago with my Grandfather. The comment below doesn’t really relate to much of what you mentioned but I will write about it anyway….

Him and & I were talking about GOD and the bigger things in life. ((Lately I have started to journal my thoughts and notes from conversations I have with Elders, mentors, and people like my grandfather. Ancient/elderly wisdom is precious to me. ))

Anyways…. He said, “I believe that GOD/The Great Spirit made things for us to never fully discover and that will always make us humans curious about the bigger questions in life. GOD/The Great Spirit & Earth aren’t supposed to fully understood and they never will be, because the more we know, then the more greed and spoils we will then create on this planet and for the next generation”.

[Ben Marchman]

Following up/catching up on coursework here. Daniel this is amazing. Did not know you wrote a book! Sort of reminds me of Joseph Campell’s work and the way you write and discuss is very mythopoetically. My main question Daniel is – how can your storytelling and transpersonal thoughts + experience help guide people into deeper understanding of themselves while using nature? This is the work we are all here to spiritually do and you are doing it brother!

[Ben Marchman]

Lisa I like your “steps” to establish your client agreement. Those are not only very similar to mine but also how I gain the trust and confidence from my “clients”. You mentioned being Respect and deeply listening to your client….those of course are important for all us, but I like the way you word it.

“The coaching relationship seems to me to be establishing a coaching presence. So that is basically respectful, open, thoughtful, non-judgmental reflecting and listening. Then going on to clarify and summarize the main issue, and start moving it toward an understanding of the deeper need, all while keeping an intention of promoting forward movement and positive change.”

Great summary and so cool how you are using therapy and defining coaching when needed!

[Ben Marchman]

Thanks for sharing Sandy! I can relate to your post. It seems that lately I have had to start most of my clients inside and then move outside. When I move outside every single client so far is looking for me to take control and I am definitely having to rely on the 50/50 and convincing them to lead the way before we go into threshold.

To me, the 50/50 has a lot of trust built into it meaning that my own sense of the place and my relationship with it are everything. For example, I have actually been seeing clients at my house lately. We start inside the office or in the barn, then we move outside when/if we get to threshold. Since I have a strong sense of place here and grounding then I have found that my questions towards the client seem to be different compared to the local parks and state forest lands where I also have sessions at. Its sort of hard to explain but I tend to be able to feel and work with more powerful energies at the house and surrounding woods than in the neighboring parks/forests.

Just thought that was interesting and reflecting and reading from what you just said as it relates to the 50/50 approach.