Jennifer LeCompte
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Looking at how a plant grows, one can easily see the plant will not go from seedling to full maturity overnight. We can readily understand time as a necessary element and contributing factor to the growth of any plant, mineral, or animal that belongs to the earth’s ecosystem. It must follow then, that the processes for change and growth occur at a rate negotiated within the confines of our given biology, as opposed to the artificial constraints and assumptions of a hurried and impatient society. Pervasive technology and production standards have created unrealistic expectations in unnatural environments, obfuscating our origins and need for intuitive rhythms of life. Despite the inherent wisdom and longing for these rhythms, the psychology of the larger masses urges us to exist within a maelstrom of intrusiveness by texts, notifications, and unyielding availability. Jenny Rogers writes that “the human brain and nervous system have not evolved to keep up with this barrage.” (Coaching Skills, 75) Creating a working model where we can walk closer to indiginous understandings of our place on the earth is an integral part of where ecopsychology and coaching can converge.
Linda Buzzell and Craig Chalquist’s article on Psyche and the Nature of Healing expresses an “inner deadening, and increasingly deployed defense against the stresses of living in an overbuilt industrialized civilization.” (19) In essence, the vehicle for production and being cocooned in our industrialized manner has done much to sever us from our own internal wisdom. While this separation occurs, people will naturally sek out that which brings life back to the inner self. As a society, this is where we become caught in a cyclical mechanism, as most of the solutions proffered to quench human longing is often a contributor to that sense of lifelessness. For example, activities such as shopping, socializing at a restaurant, or even watching a movie may give a temporary reprieve and distraction to loneliness, depression, and anxiety. Once those activities are over, the original emotions and disconnectedness still persists. Connecting ourselves back to internal wisdom and nature, however, can have much more far-reaching effects. Nature can open up the possibility for interrupting what Dr. John Miles calls the “emotional treadmill.” (Wilderness as a Healing Place, 48) Further, Dr. Miles speaks to how working within nature “can allow reflection that can lead to discovery of a different self, a self less conflicted, more integrated, and more desirable.” (46)
As a coach, bringing in nature to access that less conflicted and more integrated self can lead to great confidence and self awareness. Ecopsychologists persistently recommend new and indigenous methods that bring “reconnection with nature and one’s own body.” (Buzzell and Chalquist, 20) If we take nature as the original playground of self exploration and the model for deeper understanding, then nature simultaneously becomes a play mate and teacher. By introducing challenges to a coaching session, clients can meet these challenges in a place free of distraction and expectation. Dr. Miles points out that as people begin to surmount challenges in nature, they start to “experience an increase in self-confidence and a feeling of tranquility,” which leads to greater confidence in their abilities. (45) Confidence earned in nature’s classroom can translate to all areas of life, where the significant challenges a client faced on a mountain can surpass challenges in the day to day. Trusting ourselves in wilderness requires more survival skills, overcoming fears and perceived limitations. Excelling at a challenge in nature has a very different feel than scoring well on a test or giving a solid presentation to a group of peers.
As a coach, being a part of the process of connecting a client with themselves through the medium of nature feels like sacred work. While we are in and of ourselves sacred and part of the greater spirit of all things, our sacredness can be obscured by living in that overbuilt society that Buzzell and Chalquist speak of in their article. This is where I feel I can add value as a coach, and perhaps is a contributing factor to my vision – bringing people back to themselves. The limitations in working with nature in this manner are completely dependent on the degree of the interaction. A casual walk in the park requires both parties to be responsible to a relatively normal day to day set of safety expectations such as wearing proper gear, staying hydrated, and respecting individual limitations. Taking a client or group of clients on an extended journey requires specified training that I don’t have. I’m contemplating getting training for more rigorous outdoor experiences, as I feel like that training alone can help me gain confidence and meaningful connection to my place in the world. I see the wisdom of bringing ecopsychology and coaching together for the benefit of clients, as well as myself.
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Cool, so I just posted the same thing twice. 🙂
My takeaway from Foundations 1, a lot. LOL. During one of our zoom calls, someone in the cohort mentioned that it was like drinking from a fire hose. There is a lot to unpack and think about. I feel like it is one of those programs where the more you learn, the more you realize what you don’t know and how much there is to learn. It’s exciting and also challenging at the same time. Lots of stretching and growing to do.
Other takeaways:
– Even though I hike a lot, I feel like I haven’t really been in tune with nature the way I thought I was. The wide angle vision meditation we’ve done has really uncovered just how much is going on around me and how tunnel vision can leave a lot out of the equation. In trying to juggle so many things in my life, it has left me missing the depth and slowness I’ve been craving.
– The sacred questions are huge for me. Simple, but incredibly revealing. They are almost a meditation in and of themselves, where each question takes you one step down. I have really enjoyed using them even in casual conversations and with myself as well.
– I’m glad to be doing this with all of you. Cohorts are wonderful, my college class was a cohort of 15 and was lovely. I can tell that we will have a really special connection going through this together. I’m excited for that. 🙂 -
I’m intrigued by your thoughts on being in the present, Sophie. I’ve noticed this too in myself over the years and in this program as well. We talk a lot about the present in yoga teacher training, and how being in the present allows us to really take in what is being offered. So, I have a question to pose to the collective. I used to be wicked good at multitasking and remembering everything that needed to be done, what people said, etc. Now, it is like my brain will not allow me to multi-task at all. It is most as if I have to be fully engaged with what is in front of me and that is all I can do. Has anyone else experienced a shift in that way? Just curious….
Loved reading everyone’s posts. Looking forward to your thoughts!
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Sophie, I felt a deep resonance with your thoughts of how nature brings you to the present. We talk a lot about this idea in yoga teacher training, about staying in the present to fully experience what the present has to offer. I have felt very much grounded and rooted in the present through this process. In fact, I want to pose a question to the collective. I used to be wicked good at multitasking and remembering every little thing that needed to be done. Since studying yoga and now this coaching program, I’ve noticed that my attention has to be fully present on what is in front of me. It’s almost as if my brain will not let me multitask anymore, or juggle multiple thoughts. Has anyone else experienced this since starting this program?
I’m intrigued by all your thoughts!
Thank you for the lovely posts, all.
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“What does it mean to be connected to Nature, and how can that relationship support your coaching?”
Excellent question…. In the last few weeks, I started reframing my relationship with the natural cycle of everything, most notably – death. Death is change and transformation. In the tarot and in dreams, death is not taken as a literal construct, but as a recognition that big change is happening. For us biological folk, death is a very scary proposition. We know it is going to happen, we know that it is a part of life. However, not having the knowledge of how it works and what happens to this consciousness we have is incredibly daunting. I’ve had a fear of death my whole life. It seems funny then, that I should happen to have my foot in that world on the “other side” as an empathic medium. I suspect that my fear of death has been exacerbated by feeling it and not understanding what I’m feeling. But that is a different story.
As I’ve sat in my spot, listening, watching, observing everything around me, something happened for me. I feel as though I’ve been pulled out of the illusion that I am somehow a person with nature around me, that I must accomplish many things before I die, that I will have failed if I didn’t find my purpose. I feel as though nature has pulled me close to her chest, the way a mother holds her child, and helped me rejoin the natural cycle and rhythm of life. My deeper integration with nature in some way brought me the awareness that I am part of the greater natural world, already significant and humbled at the same time. In doing the work that is ahead of me, I am like the ant that carries food back and forth to the colony. I am like a tree in a family of trees, or a drop of water in the ocean. All of it matters and supports each other in the great link. This means, for me, that I am already significant as part of the chain, not because I have to prove I can do great things and accomplish certain tasks before my time is done. The nature connection shows me that each day, I continue to chop wood and carry water to support the community around me and the greater community. In doing that, I accept the already important place in the ecosystem, just as everything in the ecosystem is integral for our success and survival. These ideas take the fear and burden of death and transforms it into the natural conclusion to the life that I and every other organism on this planet encounters.
As a coach, this takes an enormous burden off my shoulders. If I walk with my clients as a guide, as a human, same as them, then it is as Ram Dass said, “We’re all just walking each other home.” In the readings, there was a great deal mentioned about moving at a slower pace, slowing down to observe, being still. These ideas resonate with me personally, but also as a guide. I’ve experienced anomie and alienation, at the same time, mentioned in Wilderness as a Healing Place. I recognized those feelings so strongly when I read the article. Since I’ve experienced those feelings, it better helps me recognize it and witness it in others. Now, practicing the Core Routines in Coyote’s Guide, Sit Spot, Thanksgiving, Journaling, Wandering, Mind’s Eye Journaling, and the rest, helps me guide others back the rhythms and cycles of life as I have been pulled. Maybe I can be of some help as a guide as I have been guided by nature.
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Hi All!
I know, late to the forum party. 🙂
I’m Jen, currently living in Austin, Texas. That will change one day when the kiddos graduate high school and find their footing in the world. We hike, love being in the mountains, and exploring new places we haven’t seen before. It is the love of the mountains and hiking that led me to this program. My intention is to help others with problem solving, growth, evolution, working with grief, and illuminating the highest self. I write and hope to publish a book or three. I guess it is safe to say that the world is wide open and expansive. I’m just fortunate that I can experience it with all of you!