[Ivy Walker]

I appreciate how you all are holding curiosity for Gestalt. I hear a lot of good questions arising as you are exploring and noticing with your clients. What is this modality, how does one sense it? how does it show up in a session, in life? It is an interesting dance of being conscious of, “what is happening now?” As the guide, you are caught in the dance, too, because it’s not always just– what is happening now with my client, but also what is happening now with me? Like a light awareness over the whole “gestalt”, (used in this way the word can also refer to the specifics of the entire scene).

With this type of awareness, continue to be curious about when contact is held or lost, or what the body is revealing or not. I appreciate the examples in the forum so far: how do I show up to the present moment? I notice something drops away in this part of the conversation repeatedly, how does contact look or feel between bodies & in/with nature, what is effective? What is stored in one particular, repeated gesture? Lightly tracking any or all of these within a session gives you another avenue of vision into your client’s reality and helps you to develop your ‘x-ray vision’ as a guide.

[Ivy Walker]

Hi Lauren,
Thanks for your vulnerable share here. I hear how much this affects you to have/see the loss and struggle in all these layers and not really be able to control, alter, change, or, really, help your Mom and not to mention the whole option to have space to also address your multifaceted feelings. This feels difficult and hard to witness in its full scope for a compassionate human being and, even more so for a daughter. Sending some love and acknowledgment right to this soft spot.

You bring up a real investigation and question: where do you start with a client like this?

If you have a client who is in a pre-contemplation-contemplation dance with chemicals to keep the feelings at bay, what might you ask, as a coach, to see what their reality is?
What do they want?
What are they afraid of?
Is their reality suitable, feasible, desirable?
What is their belief system?
How are their habits serving and honoring their needs in a functional way?
And creating a ton of space to just tell their story and be honored by the hearing of it, again and again, until they can begin to make the sense of it that they need to.

If you have a client, there is the implication that you might somehow support them through the change they are investigating– either by choice or by mandate. With a family member, the power relationship is different, though just as important and, perhaps, more so. Sometimes with family, we can say stuff and they just won’t let it be heard. With a client, we have more distance and less history and have been invited, in some manner, to help them reflect on their lives and choices for some reason.

So, how to start, seems to me about getting curious with them and creating space for that investigation, what even it can look like in the amount of time you have together.
What’s it like to be you?
What happened?
And where are you now?
Maybe—Is this what you want? If not, what do you want?

These questions and conversations may take place over a long period of time. Depending on their necessary pace. And there is the opportunity to normalize the grief, allow them to hear themselves and be heard, to be with the grief together, bring out resources, be a solid listening place for the organic movement of change to come and/or being a resource to draw in other professionals who can address the multi-levels of complex grief, coupled with trauma, that might need to be thrown into the mix to help a client find their way to something that feels like living forward, rather than caught in the chemical loops of trauma and grief. What else? What do you see, Lauren?

[Ivy Walker]

Hi Gina and all,
About lodging–Past cohorts and/or individual students have stayed with the A-Lodge and enjoyed it. Other cohorts have found good housing in Boulder via AirBnB. I don’t have one favorite place to share– it seems like cohorts mix it up due to a variety of space and travel needs.

The retreat cabin at the Starhouse is always a nice option though it has been booked lately by long term renters. You’ll need to check it out. Here’s the link https://thestarhouse.net/stay-at-the-retreat-cabin/
Be aware that the retreat cabin only has two bedrooms– one with Queen size bed and the other a twin. It is good for folks who don’t mind staying in close quarters and are willing to be creative if over two to three people. You might also want to ask the Starhouse how many they would allow in there if this becomes an option for you all. If anyone has camping cots that could work to set up a few in the living room. There is also a couch. The cabin is on Starhouse property so skipping the commute is a bonus.

The Starhouse is about a 10-minute drive up Sunshine Canyon– you may want to be looking for rental opportunities on the West side of Boulder near the canyon.

Best,
Ivy

[Ivy Walker]

Yay! I am feeling gratitude and admiration on how you all are showing up to yourselves, each other and ultimately your visions/your future people by this new energy in the forums. <3

Amanda, yes--the reprogramming is so important and takes time. How to embody this in yourself and to underline, highlight and hold this for your clients as you go forward? I think of the power of naming the mythic image (what the client is seeking to become) and the importance of creating ritual around this. The initial connection (threshold) experience of that which they want to become is the beginning of the new neural pathways. The ritual is constant tending and strengthening of these new physical attributes of the brain and new coordinates. An empowered, somatic ritual brings together the body-mind into knowing, growing, firing and wiring-- stepping into and BE-ing the mythic image.

[Ivy Walker]

Hi Cohort 18,
Here’s a tip to share, born out of a good question from Melody:

You do not need to bring any books to the next Intensive. You also do not need to bring your Foundations booklet– though you might find you’d like to refer to it. Most likely, might want to have the Severance Process page to refer to. You could make a copy of this to bring if you are thinking about keeping your luggage light.

Please do bring your ICF Core Competencies. We will use them at every Intensive to refer to during the Fishbowl sessions on Fridays.

Safe travels!
Ivy

[Ivy Walker]

Hi everyone! Please use this forum to introduce yourself, share ideas and information, and even to coordinate details for coming to the Foundations Intensive in January 2020.

[Ivy Walker]

Hi Lauren and Amanda, My apologies for the technological issues with this course, Brain 1 and Trauma, from the beginning! Here is the new forum for Trauma specific posts. Very best, Ivy

[Ivy Walker]

Hi everyone, I am sharing a resource. This is a link to the Eight Indicators of Awareness from Coyote’s Guide to Connecting with Nature by Jon Young, Ellen Haas & Evan McGown.

https://drive.google.com/a/earthbasedinstitute.org/file/d/1q7kIpTsEJhmlVDXHXosnqF7xGD5vzlD6/view?usp=sharing

[Ivy Walker]

Hi everyone– Here is the link to the first webinar for Applying Nature Connection to your Life and Career. This course opened last night and the webinar contains introductions and a conversation about nature connection. Listen in for inspiration on the front side of the Foundations! 🙂 .

Step 1: Participate in the Live Class (or, review recording)

[Ivy Walker]

Hi, here’s the link for the bus from DIA to Boulder:

http://www3.rtd-denver.com/schedules/getSchedule.action?routeId=AB

Also, for High Altitude, you might want to look into “Acli-mate” which is produced locally by a N.D.

[Ivy Walker]

Hi again,

As you are preparing for the Foundations Intensive, I’d like to add one more item to your list: basic rain boots. These can serve two purposes– not only for boots in the rain, but also for morning dew the long grass. Rain boots are a good way to keep your pants dry and stay warm.

Best,
Ivy

[Ivy Walker]

Hi Wendy, I am appreciating your reflection on where this client IS in her grief and loss process. I also appreciate you trying to figure out a way to introduce it– in service of creating a space for her to acknowledge and be with her grief in, maybe, a new way. I think your straight up question you pose above is a good one (about the relationship to loss and self confidence). I wonder if it could be as simple as that. Another opportunity for all of us as coaches is tuning into those places where our clients are skating over an emotion repeatedly. We do this as humans: try to bypass that super uncomfortable feeling. In Mindsight, Daniel Siegel points out that in “the presence of a caring, trusted other person, one who is attuned to our internal world, is often the initial key to widening our windows of tolerance” (pg 138). He goes on to expand upon how this “resonance circuitry” helps us to learn how to regulate our internal state, that being present with someone helps them to open into the possibility of feeling safe with these uncomfortable emotions (138-139). A piece of the goal as coaches is to help clients to “widen their window of tolerance” so they can show up to their lives, emotions, challenges and dreams with more flexibility and empowerment. All of this to say, that along with the powerful question — remembering that your being present to her grief feeling state could also be an effective way create a space for feeling witnessed and, then maybe, a shift for anything that is ready to organically change, according to your client’s individual grief timeline. I hope that adds in a little something to ponder. How does it land? 🙂

[Ivy Walker]

Amanda, What a great example of showing up in the moment with your client in such a powerful and intentional way! You knew that to “make explicit” the intention for the hug was an important piece of your client understanding her own motivations and where these come from– external validation that she didn’t receive and still doesn’t feel–I’m enough. And you took this meaningful step further into the role play that brought out important revelations. You helped her to gain clarity and have more pieces of her own puzzle to move forward with. Appreciating you following your internal cues and wisdom combined with what you’ve been learning at EBI and especially in the Gestalt and Grief modules.

[Ivy Walker]

Hi All,
I am curious too, about the different approaches you each would take with a client who may be very attached to or identified with the self sabotage. My thought would to be the ‘holder of hope’ while she is unable to fully hold it for herself. I imagine my impulse in the moment would be to highlight whatever comes forward as “where s/he wants to go”. And also, if possible, explore the blocks that brings more awareness and maybe illuminates choice points. This could be a slow, multi session process to help a client find the glimmers of hope or ropes out of the deep dark hole….so sometimes just being present and listening serves the purpose to move what needs to move at that time. Trusting a client’s journey, especially when we are not able to help catalyze the energy towards the change they desire or help them in the way we desire, can be a tough. In these cases, I like to remember the larger consciousness that is at work and release the client to that wisdom. Lauren, you may never know what your listening presence, reflections and caring questions did for this client– I trust that whatever transpired was meaningful in that moment and continue to connect to the ripples. I really do.

[Ivy Walker]

Hi Matt, I hope the others will have something specific to recommend. Right now I am using a backpack has been deemed uncool by daughter and also an Eddie Bauer larger day pack that was won in a raffle. 😀 Your question reminded me to pass along information about Pro Deals so everyone in the cohort is aware. Outdoor gear manufacturers might give you a ‘Pro Deal’ on their products so you can be an in-the-field recommendation for them. Run a Google search on Pro Deals Outdoor Gear.