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Welcome Rollin! I look forward to getting to know you as well.

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I am really excited about using partswork and the programming exercises to really hone in on how best to live my life in many aspects, from how I interact with my family, to how I conduct myself at work, to how to I am addressing my current bout of depression. Everything is connected. And using these tools and techniques, I am able to take a more holistic view of my life and focus on what needs to change in order for me to be successful. I am really glad I have been given this opportunity.

I found the partswork process really interesting and it helped me to see things from a different perspective. For too long, I allowed negative parts, to grow and flourish. Often, they would team up and drown out the soul. When the soul is allowed to lead, all of the other parts seem much more harmonious.

I liked Michael’s example of using the salt and pepper and sugar packets at a table to illustrate the various parts and a thought occurred to me. When cooking, it is best to develop flavors using various spices and flavors (i.e., multiple parts). Using too much of one spice, or trying to eliminate an ingredient altogether will change the experience. The recipe, like life, is best when we allow all of our parts to interact the way they should.

I am tackling programming almost like a meditative mantra. Really clearing my mind and focusing on what I want and doing it again and again until it sticks, until, as Michael said, it becomes ritualistic. Setting the intention and having something to strive for has been incredibly helpful.

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I found this exercise to be both difficult and revealing. Truth be told, I am not living in alignment with my vision, at least not fully. My life seems full of obstacles that prevent me from realizing my dream—a work schedule that is difficult, medical and mental health issues, and life with a 2 year old all seem to slow me down or out right prevent me from living the life I want to live.

Asking the question to Soul and the Vision Council reminded me of a few things:
1. I have the tools necessary to overcome these perceived obstacles. I have completed other EBI courses and have worked with an EBI trained coach. They reminded me that like an acorn, I have all the power already within me to flourish and rule my forest.
2. Despite these perceived obstacles, I am steadfast in my goal to become a life coach. They reminded then of my daughter, fearless in her endeavors to climb on the back of the couch and go down the big slide at the park. What could be seen as an obstacle or fear to her, she conquers. The boulder I perceive to be blocking my path toward fulfilling my dream, she climbs over and yells “AGAIN!”
3. The more I speak of my obstacles and fears and doubts, the smaller they appear, as if the mention of them weakens their power. My vision council reminds me that I am not alone and to ask for help when I need it.

In an attempt to realign myself and strive toward my goals, I have tried to find ways to overcome those obstacles. I have found a sit spot that works a little better for me, I have scheduled a doctor’s appointment (a task I am years overdue for) and I had a good talk with both my wife and my boss about why I haven’t been my full self lately.

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8 Indicators:
I have completed the indicator wheel before, and it was interesting to see how the shape has changed. Since I last completed it, my deliberate actions of trying to better myself and explore parts of myself that are scary have paid off. I am living a much more fulfilled life than before I began this inner journey. Using the wheel is a simple and informative way of seeing where I have made progress and what areas could use a little more attention.

Connect with Council:
The connecting with council exercise was really interesting. I found the more I allowed myself to open to the idea; more unexpected people would “join my circle”. When someone unexpected would arrive, I had to ask myself 1) why were they there? And 2) why where they unexpected in the first place. The conversation with myself and with my council was helpful. This is an exercise I will be excited to share with others.

Soul Directed Life:
To me, living a soul directed life means doing what makes you feel happy and with purpose at your deepest level. It requires an element of faith that I have only just recently begun to listen to. This faith is not necessarily one of belief in the Divine, but belief of yourself. Like Michael said, the soul wont lie to you or hurt you. It took me a long time to understand that. My soul has been directing me to EBI and nature connection for years, but I would always come up with a reason why this field wasn’t feasible, and go into a “real job” that doesn’t make me happy. This time, I quieted my mind and truly listened and allowed myself to follow where my soul is directing me, and it has led me here. I am having faith that this is the right path and attempting to let go of any hesitation and just allowing the soul to lead.

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I will offer myself through various technological methods, in order to reach my client. Our first conversation will be held over the phone or on a video chat like Skype or zoom.

In this initial conversation, we will discuss basic housekeeping items, like scheduling, pricing, and the importance Nature Connection to our sessions.
From there, we would meet as often as is comfortable for the client (with a recommendation of biweekly). My plan is to utilize the many state and local parks and trails throughout Indiana as our therapeutic locations. I want to hike alongside my clients while serving as their guide. We could explore different parks and locations throughout our sessions. Maybe increasing the trail difficulty as we go, utilizing more advanced trails, for cathartic sessions.

I will utilize many of the exercises taught in this course. One of the first I will attempt in person is the 7 breaths exercise. I think this serves as a good icebreaker to really see where the person is, so that we can focus on the most pressing issues. This is a good exercise to come back to periodically to assess progress and see if the guiding needs to focus on another area of concern for the client. I will also incorporate some of the 360 exercises.

I was really inspired by Cindy’s idea to have the client keep a journal, detailing the sights and sounds of their outdoor adventures. As appropriate for the client, I may incorporate journaling or art work into the homework sessions.

I really enjoyed this class and look forward to learning more as I work toward my NCC certification. Thanks to all involved for this experience.

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Welcome Adriana! I’m Joshua. I have a background in social work, though I am currently in retail pharmacy. I’m looking for a change and to get back to my serving roots. I’m looking forward to starting this.

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I have been unable to find a practice client who I do not already have a personal relationship with, so my wife agreed to sit with me and explore some of what we have been discussing throughout the course.

I demonstrated some of the 360-degree exercises from early in the class and guided her through a 7 breaths exercise. At first, it felt really awkward and I was unsure of how to begin the exercise. It felt unnatural to guide my wife, but she allowed me to fault and fluster until I was calm enough to guide her effectively. The words the arose for her were not necessarily surprising to either of us, but I think she felt a revelation at naming the words and the truth that was behind them. It’s one thing to feel scared and unsure, it’s another to claim those feelings and say them out loud. While I really wouldn’t recommend any spouses or family members entering into a formal coaching relationship, I found this exercise to be a good ice breaker that led to a long over-due discussion between my wife and I about our goals and how each of us have been feeling lately.

The experience of guiding my wife taught me some very important things: First, I enjoy this. After over coming my uncertainty around the ceremony of the 7 breaths, I found that the guiding experience itself was really rewarding. Another sign that I am on the right path. The opposite side of that coin is that I need a lot more practice and experience before I can be successful in this. My wife was gracious enough to allow me to become flustered, my client won’t be.

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I apologize for submitting this late. It took quite some time for the words to arrive this time. The videos gave me some inspiration that I would like to take time to share with you all.

In the past several weeks, I have been able to spend some extra alone time out in the woods and on a long car ride for work. Both of which afforded me the opportunity to really reflect on who I am, why I am here and where I want to go.
In a lot of my posts, I talk about my daughter and how she is an inspiration for me. Of course that is still true, but it goes deeper than that. I came to the realization that I need EBI for ME. I have to complete it for myself. There was a deep and personal calling that led me to find this group, a calling that I’m not sure I truly understood until this module. The things I want for her—curiosity, independence, confidence, I can nurture along the way, but I can only do that if I first take care of me, and thus I can only serve my future clients if I am ware of my own needs.

My soul tells me that my purpose is to serve others, using my gifts of heart and listening, but another part of me remains full of doubt and fear—negative emotions that I am working very hard to learn to understand and overcome. On a recent trek through the woods, it was as if the trees and birds and mud hugged me and told me I was ok and I was enough. I want to share that with other people, to do any less would feel like I’ve let myself down.

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I would first like to thank Lyria for asking her question in the video call regarding her feelings of anxiety, eagerness and fleetingness. It is encouraging to me to know that I am not the only member of this group having negative feelings raise to the surface during some of our exercises. Thank you for sharing.

Since finding EBI, I have set the intention of “being a better person”. A very vague and general statement, to be sure, but the vagueness is what has helped me to keep on track. As part of that betterment, I have been thoughtfully practicing objective awareness in every facet of my life, from work, to home, and tackling personal issues. Like other members here have said, my family and my coworkers are noticing my progress. It feels good knowing that I an effecting my environment in a positive way.

However, I recently had a situation at work where a patient became upset at what I perceived to be a small inconvenience. I attempted to use the skills we have learned to understand her point of view and to redirect the situation. She snapped and it left me feeling shaken more than usual. I wonder if anyone in the group has had a similar experience, where practice of these skills has left you more vulnerable to others negative emotions?

As I have stated in these discussions before, my daughter is a huge inspiration for my nature work. Her love of being outside has taken us on walks on nearly every nice day. It is interesting to see how she interprets nature and how that differs from myself and other adults. Without knowing what she is doing, she is practicing some of the skills being taught in this course, particularly the wide-angle vision and 360 listening. She will point out a bird farther away than I thought to look and will ask about sounds that my conscious mind had all but blocked out. When we go on our walk around the pond, she makes a point to stop and sit at each bench along the path, seemingly to recollect herself and be in the moment.

I frequently go back to my experiences with her when writing these discussions, because unwittingly she is teaching me how to work alongside of nature, how to notice the little things and be curious of everything. That wonder and sense of peace and freedom is what I want to give to my clients when I begin coaching. It is an interesting thought experiment to walk with her and have a “conversation” about nature and imagine how that might be similar or different to one I would have with a client.

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I have to be honest, I found the 7 breaths experience difficult. I used to describe my experience as someone who “struggles” with anxiety and depression. Through persistent and deliberate practice (and an excellent EBI guide) I’ve learned to walk alongside those perceived struggles. The exercise, however, showed me how engrained some of those struggles were, because the 7 breaths quickly found destructive words. Thankfully though, positive words also emerged. The mixture of negative and positive words allowed me to see where I am along my journey of recovery.

I also have had difficulty in finding a sit spot outside of my home. I live in an apartment, with a 2 year old. I have no backyard to retreat to. I have woods near me, but allowing a solo journey takes some planning. Instead, I meditate and reflect (and post discussion board topics) at midnight, when my family is asleep. While the location is it not ideal, I do find the regular practice of meditation before bed to be helpful.

I work in retail pharmacy, where things can become hectic. Practicing Objective Awareness has allowed me to approach both my patients and my coworkers with more calmness and positivity.

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Rollin, this was very well said and very insightful. I love seeing how connected you are. I look forward to reading more from you!

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Hi MJ, Welcome!

Having taken a few of the online courses offered, I can tell you that, in fact, EBI does help you to get to know yourself better and helps to hit the reset button.

This is a huge step for me as well, but my comfort zone needs to be shaken up a little.

I look forward to connecting with you more. 🙂

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Cory! I was so glad to see that you joined this class. It was good to have a familiar face. And am I correct that you will be in the January cohort? If so, it will be great to actually meet you.

Yes, my daughter plays a huge part in my vision. Her birth was the catalyst for me wanting to change myself and realign towards my vision. I want to make her proud and raise her in a way that reflects what is important.

I am thankful that I have the tools necessary now to know when something isn’t right. My growth since finding EBI has been noticed by many of my family members and coworkers.

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Cory,
I think it is really cool how you allowed nature to speak to you in that moment and it inspired you to go home and visit your family. It can be life changing in that way. I’m glad that you had the opportunity to reconnect with people that you haven’t seen in a while.

In regards to your family members, it’s interesting to see how your perceptions of them have changed, now that you are employing objective awareness. Hopefully this expanded outlook will only foster stronger bonds.

I had a similar situation where I initially felt hurt by a close friend, but by using some of these techniques, I was able to realize that he wasn’t intentionally trying to hurt me, but was dealing with his own issues. Facing conflicts with this new set of tools has been a really good experience and I am forming stronger relationships because of it, and it sounds like you are as well.

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Thank you so much for sharing your experience. A lot of what you wrote about really spoke to me this week. As someone who has dealt with anxiety and self-doubt, I often struggle with my own control and planning behaviors, usually in an effort to make myself feel safe.

I really liked the analogy of the natural disaster and how it isn’t safe to run away, but rather to shelter in place and reassess when the danger has passed.

In regards to your hum, I think I know exactly what you are describing. You are not crazy!