[Daniel Brisbon]

Hey all, I have really enjoyed reading all your posts and responses to this discussion. Seeing the different perspectives and insights that you each share through your posts and comments has been a great experience for me and I’m sure you guys have got a lot of value out of it too. And you guys write and articulate your insights so dang well!

I’m excited to see more of your posts as time progresses and learning more about you all through the process. Keep up the good work!

[Daniel Brisbon]

David, thanks so much for sharing the story with the coyote. You bring up some really great insights in this post, but sharing that experience you had on the land is what intrigued me most. It seems that your experience with the coyote that you shared was a great representation of trust and surrendering out in nature. With this somewhat “heady” topic that you all have been discussing it’s wonderful to read about your personal experience that was felt in the body and soul.

I would be curious to hear more personal stories from everyone else like this, even though I’m sure we don’t all get a chance to encounter a coyote regularly, about taking everything we’ve been learning and discussing and sharing/experiencing it out on the land. What intention did you bring while you spent some time on the land? What lens/vision were you looking through?

Thanks again for sharing all of this David!

[Daniel Brisbon]

Yes! Thank you for sharing this personal experience with the cottonwood tree and how your experience relates to ecopsychology! Sometimes the best thing we can do with learning and understanding new reading material is to take a from a thought/mindful experience and intertwine it with a felt/visceral experience. Tying the two together can create a deeper understanding and familiarity that cannot be duplicated any other way.

I really get a sense that your really understanding that the connection with the earth, like they talk about in ecopsychology, is directly related to the connection we have within ourselves. And that the inner-connection must be created before a greater connection outside of ourselves can be manifested.

Thanks so much for sharing a personal story that relates to the material. This was exciting to read and I think we all took away some good stuff from what you have shared with us. Thanks Mandy!

[Daniel Brisbon]

I really appreciate the honesty and authenticity that you, and your other cohort members, have shared through this post on Ecopsychology. The fact that you express how certain concepts and practices shared in the writings can help in your personal coaching vision, and other parts may not, is a great testament to how this material can serve you best.

Not everything we cover needs or has to be applied in your coaching practice, but it is meant to open your perspective and possibilities in this line of work. For me personally, Ecopsychology is one “extreme” side of the NCC spectrum and has allowed me to broaden my coaching skills and methods, but I only apply what feels like honest expression in my own coaching.

I’m glad to hear that the reading material has given you a few good ideas for coaching practices with your own clients and that you are able to distinguish between what hits home for you and what parts may not. Keeping this openness and awareness throughout the program will be a huge benefit as we keep working on new material over the year! I encourage everyone to practice this awareness while still being open to what the learning material can show you.

[Daniel Brisbon]

Thanks for sharing your insights Hannah! It is so great to see that you guys are really understanding and integrating what you learned directly into your lives outside of EBI. And I appreciate your honesty about your past and present relationship with the outside world, as many of your classmates share similar experiences.

What I am really seeing is that we may all have different visions in our coaching, but our experience and relationship within our own inner wilderness and the outer wilderness are very similar. We are all so unique yet so much the same.

Remember that as you practice in your own life, as well as working with clients. We all share many commonalities with each other and we are not alone on this journey.

[Daniel Brisbon]

David, thanks for such an open and honest response that you have shared with us. Yesterday I decided to get my “flow” on with some yoga at my gym and the instructor quoted an African proverb that made me think of what you have shared:

“When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot harm you.”

Starting with your first EBI intensive it can bring up a lot of our own inner struggles and inner darkness that we need to face. And it’s not about seeing these parts of you as bad or as your enemy, but rather as opportunities for growth. My question for you, and the rest of the cohort, is how can you turn your inner demons from enemies into allies, or opportunities,along your journey with EBI?

My own personal practice is to remember and perceive everything I experience as Rob’s abbreviation, AFGO. A Friggin Growth Opportunity!

Hope you’re enjoying beautifual Hawaii!

[Daniel Brisbon]

Brian, so well put! I really appreciate your honesty and being willing to share your experience with us. It seems that you have really understood and experienced how nature connection is a mirror to our own internal connection with ourselves. And the quotes you shared in your post addressed that issue so well for all of us to understand.

I’m glad we were able to chat via zoom the day after you posted this and one thing we talked about that you brought up in your post is “spend as much time in connection as possible, not just in big adventures, but in the seemingly mundane moments”. And that’s when I shared about having an alarm on your phone to go off a few times throughout the day with a sacred question attached to it, such as “am I connected within myself right now?” or “how am I showing up when my own internal mud and rain start to appear?”

And what I mean by this practice is not just being attuned to your “higher self” or “soul” only during the 9 day intensive, but how can you be attuned to soul on a minute by minute basis? Not just when it’s easy, but when it’s tough as well.

I invite you all to think about how you can personally apply nature-connection and soul-connection to that micro level.