Rollin Goering
Forum Replies Created
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I continue to learn vast amounts of new information through Foundations, but this module takes the cake for me. I’m getting a more vivid picture of my ideal client/s, as I communicate about my vision more. I’m discovering the services that I may and may not provide to people and where I may be providing these services. We/I am looking at how nature’s role plays a part in the clients journey. We discussed gap analysis in this module and the spiritual side of this work got to meet the professional side of this work, at the stage I’m currently at. Most of all, I’ve noticed the shift in my family at home. My consistent nature connection and the consistent fun exploration of the activities in the Coyote guide has transformed my family unit. It occurs to me, looking back over these last couple of months, that my family went from hurry, hurry to….HEY! check out the dark eyed Junco in the bush in the backyard! I’m forever grateful.
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@Deanna
I can totally see all of your ideal clients in my vision. They will be so lucky to have you as a guide. Also, I enjoyed all of the websites you referenced! Noted!
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@Susan – “The program’s goal would be to help empower young women and to teach them wilderness skills and to also have a travel portion of our studies built in (such as a three month wilderness adventure in the southwestern United States.)”
After speaking with you today I notice the “East” energy that you were talking about…in your post and quote (above). Don’t you just love this work? When work becomes love…is it really work? In your quote I hear you empowering young women while empowering yourself…and traveling and having fun while you do it. Is that right?
Thank you for bringing your consistent and connected energy to the group.
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When I think about guiding I think about nature. Who I think about is a developing exploration. The list of family, friends, co-workers, colleagues, acquaintances, people griefing, parents that are too busy, campers that haven’t been camping in a long time, trackers, bird watchers and so many more. My mind state has shifted from who should I leave out to who can I include!
From this list, the population I’m most excited to work with are parents that are too busy. I can picture talking, smiling and hiking with them. Slowing down and enjoying the little things with them. I see me playing in the wilderness with them by natures rules. The impact of our time together would be felt by their children.
I can see me building spontaneous relationships and guiding people in the Colorado outdoors through conversations, thresholds and integration. A couple of the common goals that I see my clients working toward would be a daily meditation practice, improved reading habits, vision board creation, scheduling time for nature connection, tracking, primitive skills improvement/practice and more. I plan to use the disconnect to connect approach with nature to amaze and point clients to the present moment. I plan to use and be used by nature to create and dance with wonderful ideas that lead to powerful questions for the client. Questions that have the client discovering for his/her self what is truly needed in that moment that would make a difference in their life.Here are a few websites that offer something similar to what is in my mind:
– earthbasedinstitute.org
– trackerschool.com
– trackercertification.com/calendar
– naturecoaching.net/forest-coaching/When I compare these different websites/schools/nature connection options I notice similarities and differences that stand out right away. All of these programs are connected to nature and use nature at it’s core to drive home to never ending and mysterious lessons of life. I notice that EBI offers training to coaches that will be coaching in nature. The Tracker School is a school where nature is the coach. Tracker certification provides coaching to clients using nature and offers certifications (like EBI). Also similar to EBI and Tracker school, tracker certification can also bridge nature with the professional world. I’m not as familiar with naturecoaching.net but it looks and feels how I vision my work. Me, amazing people…out in the wilderness…walking down a trail…pointing out this and that….yes!!! This site appears to offer nature coaching to those who want coaching (like EBI).
I’m enjoying the process of building myself and this coaching business from the ground up. My thoughts are summed up best in Jon Young’s, Coyote Guide, “To see the invisible. To inspire a mental state of extra-ordinary attentiveness and the practice of moving without creating a disturbance.” This is literally my goal as a nature connected coach. -
As I reflect, I really understand how fitting this module is in relation to the current events in the world. I believe someone in our cohort mentioned that “it’s like the world is in a threshold experience” and I couldn’t agree more. In coaching as well as in my life I continue to return to the 90/10 plan in threshold. Asking powerful questions like “what are they seeing?” and “tell me more about this/that experience!” can continue to quench the thirst of my curiosity about our current times as well as heal and listen to those I interact with. In summary, this module taught me a lot about how to apply this work, this coaching style to my personal and professional life (outside of coaching).
The discussions with the cohort during this module were stimulating and fun for me. I took time to really get into the world of a few writers posts and get curious about their mindset and thought process. It is so fascinating to me how many ways coaching/guiding can be approached. I’m learning so much for the discussions specifically. When I was interacted with…I sat down to give thought to my teammate’s comments and questions. The challenge of applying that intellectual effort was so rewarding in the end…when clarity showed it’s face. I got to be clear about what I’m doing and thinking during the threshold process. Now that I’m clear, in practice, I’m now noticing different awareness gaps and strengths. I wouldn’t have progressed in my craft…from home over the last few weeks…with as much profound growth without the discussions and questions. I continue to be in awe…of the work…and of the people. -
@Maria…
–How do you find the balance of “less is more” while still being close enough to hear the unspoken words? Thank you for this question. I find that silence is really powerful. So that is how I approach the less is more. Less talking from me and more silence, nature, miracles etc. I ask myself…can I see what they are looking at? can I hear what they are hearing? I want to be close enough for that experience until they tell me not to be. Some people want more interaction and less silence I find…so the balance of all of this…for me…is listening to the body language, words and vibe of the client. The client will ultimately tell me what they want at all times. As a coach, if I miss something, I use that as a foundation to get interested about what I missed, what they saw and what they are hearing etc.
“I find this difficult myself, as sometimes I wonder how to hear the unspoken and if its just my imagination.” – I relate to a Toltec way of life…and consider that I’m always dreaming. So ALL of this is my imagination in my opinion. I don’t spend much time trying to figure out the difference between the two (reality/imagination)…and I just surrender and let go…and go with the flow while coaching. I would offer…if YOU are hearing the unspoken…go with it..it’s probably real. HAha!
You also mentioned having confidence as a coach. It seems this is a perennial concern with all coaches…. Maybe intended to keep us humble and close to the earth? – For me, confidence is naturally there when I arrive to the present moment…complete. I don’t have a concern with confidence…more the integrity (and the maintenance of) that provokes and supports confidence for me. Part of maintaining the integrity of nature connected coaching, for me, IS being humble and consistently ground to mother earth.
Do we just embrace our own vulnerabilities, accept our lack confidence, and step out in trust anyway? This is a really interesting question. I relate to vulnerability as an access to true power. So bringing vulnerability into my coaching happens early and often. If I arrive to a coaching opportunity moment, and I’m not “complete with my stuff”, and a lack of confidence shows up…I’ll forever remember what I learned at the Starhouse with Cohort 19. To separate my personal “stuff” from what is possible for the client through my coaching presence and powerful listening. To complete my responses…it is so appropriate that you addressed trust. I thought about stepping out and trusting anyway…and tend to take that route with clients. Our clients are amazing and miraculous people. It’s my honor to step out with them and trust them…which is to trust mother earth and myself.
Love
R
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@James…
Right on James. I’m a fan of your perspective. I appreciate you taking a moment to respond.
To dance and move with the seasons is such a beautiful art. You seem to wear it well my friend…meaning, that I respect that your journey includes a constant space of discovery (“…,but I like the concept and feel like it is worth looking into for the same reason.”). Your openness to consider…and look deeper into all these different concepts in the training continues to be a great example for us all.
Cheers!
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@David…
Thank you for the response. Right on!
“Getting to practice this knowledge and seeing the fruits of that practice has brought a smile to my face on several occasions.” – David Fontaine
I love it!
R
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@David…
Thank you for taking us on the journey of your threshold experience through your post/share. As I tend to, when you share, I learn so much from your connectedness and enthusiasm for nature connected coaching (yourself and others). Your insights are brilliant every time in my experience. What direction (using the compass rose in relation to the natural cycle of moods AND learning) would you say is calling the loudest to you today? Right now? Can you feel the directional pull? Why is THAT direction pulling you? Just curious…
“My coach had an incredible sense of when to be quiet and when to check in (Coaching Presence: accesses own intuition and trusts one’s own inner knowing). He tied little bits of our past conversation into the threshold experience to make it more impactful (Active Listening: integrates and builds on client’s ideas and suggestions). These are both competencies I feel good in but want to continue to build on as they are so critical to the client/coach relationship.” – David Fontaine
This quote is interesting. You referenced two skills you are great at currently. And…if you spot it, you got it. What I took away from this part of your share…is that you are committed to Mastery in the art of active listening and coaching presence. Is that accurate? I know that is accurate for me. The importance of daily practice and life time growth…in the art of coaching presence and active listening. Yes! The WHY, for me, is the acknowledgement of how important it (those 2 skills and more) is to the process (threshold and more) and to the impact on the experience for the client. Your sharing is a valuable teacher. Thanks friend!
Clean Water,
Rollin
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@James…
Thank you for your post and share. I find myself being inspired by the power you generate through vulnerability. I watch you play and live inside of the sacred questions…never really playing the game of life attached to the actual answers (and I get there may not be answers…it is the question that has the information needed). Your approach to nature connection and coaching is a very organic Jedi style. I’m a fan.
I grabbed this quote from you…”I am finding that it is just as necessary to change our relationship to our internal nature/psyche as it is to change our relationship with the expression of Nature that exists outside of us.”
In regard to this quote of yours…how do you see the natural cycle of moods and learning (and the compass rose directions) playing a part in our internal and external “nature” (or do they play a part?)? I would love your take on this angle for my own tool belt.
From the Force,
R
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I remember…
I stood up and stretched after a great conversation that was complimented by the back ground music of a gentle fire. I felt heard and only somewhat understood as I made my way to the bench to put on my boots. There was an energy and a pull in me to just “go”! “There is a lot still incomplete for me and I get to discover so much by having this great conversation” I thought. There was still a lesson for me to learn. The topic I was dealing with at the time was heavy and just discussing the topic triggered anger in me. I could sense that my guide could hear and feel something about my situation that couldn’t hear, feel or see yet. I remember feeling so grateful for the space, that my guide gave me, to wander and honor that calling from within to just “go”! I took off running in some random direction. I had the experience of stepping into another world and my guide wasn’t ever too far behind. My guide was there to experience the silence that taught me some of the secrets of survival, my guide heard the birds that said something to me that I’ll never forget and my guide was interested in the tracks that spoke to me about the story of my life. The whole time I was wandering, living, exploring and learning, my guide was present. That day, Mother Nature taught me that she will NEVER let us down. My guide showed me how powerful of a teacher Mother Nature is and my guide showed me how to guide without making about the guide. I took away a humbling experience and some action items that are still active in my life today. This was a glimpse into my first “threshold” experience and some of what I remember from it.
This experience informs my coaching, some of my dos and don’ts and parts of who I am as a guide. What I received in experience that day, is what I’m inspired to give away to others. In Jon Young’s “Coyote’s Guide to connecting with nature”, the book discussed the natural cycle of learning and in the Northeast addendum my attention was grabbed my the rites of passage. In learning and growth experiences from the rites of passage I found this quote – “Enjoy and take advantage of this “sacred space” you have created, in which the duties and roles of mundane life remain suspended, where you will shape opportunities for transformation and lasting learning”. This space, the beginning and the end of the “Northeast” is what I would like to give others as a gift. The gift of the compass rose informs my coaching.
Nature turns out to be the hero character in this story. The participation of nature was clear in the speed of a downhill slope and the struggle of an uphill climb. The wind chimed in with wisdom and the birds whispered until something was cause for alarm in the area. Nature spoke softly in my ear…the lessons that no human could utter. The guide I was with that day allowed nature to do most of the work, which I thought was brilliant. What the power of Nature is telling me about coaching others is very clear. When I’m coaching others, let Nature do the work. Allow for the co-creation of the guide and client to come alive with Nature in the threshold. Ultimately, as a coach/guide, less is more but be close enough to the client to hear the unspoken words.
I reflect on the ICF core competencies and what would build self confidence in that “place” as a coach? For me, to build additional self confidence, I’m practicing putting a “punctuation” on the end of threshold experiences with clients (i.e. primal scream, declaration, a physical action or act) through powerful questions. I’m also developing the consistent practice of co-creating goals that impact personal and professional aspects of life for the client through powerful listening. In Jenny Rogers, “Coaching Skills” she said “My philosophy of coaching has an explicitly whole-person perspective. So it follows that the goal-setting process must encompass the personal as well as the professional. Coaching will then have a powerful double focus”. With this double focus and a powerful coaching presence, the miracle of reconnecting humans back to nature is possible. -
@Susan:
“Ecopsychology is the idea that everything is connected in nature and that we come from the earth and that we are nature. It is believed that the manner in which we treat nature affects all of us. The Gaia Principle proposes that Earth and all its inhabitants are more than the sum of its parts, but a whole system in and of itself. When the Earth suffers, we suffer… and when we suffer, the Earth suffers.”
I didn’t get too far into your share, before I ran across this gem of a quote from you (above). I got for myself (while reading your response), that I’m also part of a WHOLE system. I’m grateful to be part of the system with you.
I appreciated how you brought in a primal aspect to coaching and guiding. For me, it simplifies the process and makes coaching about nature connection…not “me”. To coach as a way to contribute something positive to the world is admirable as well. Mostly, I highlighted your reference to the importance of daily practice. I couldn’t agree more. I learned a ton and got inspired by what you wrote. Thank you.
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When I look back at the entire learning experience of this module, I smile and feel complete. The reading material, the prompts and posts and the lessons picked up along the way over the past couple of weeks have played an important part of my decision making at work and at home. I’m completing this module knowing myself and my cohort on a deeper level.
As I reflect on the pieces of the dream that stay with me from this last module, I notice that I continue to recall the reading material. I really discovered who I am (nature connected coach) and who I am not (therapist, manager etc) through the reading. I have an understanding and a want for connecting people “back to” nature. I trust that miracles are possible on the “other side” of the human/nature connection.
This module is the source of a shift for me. I’m beginning to see and interact with people and the world as though…they are me. What I do to myself, I do to them. What I do to them (the planet), I do to myself. I can now see what I didn’t know I didn’t know. Thank you. -
In “Ecopsychology – The Principles”, Ecopsychology seeks to heal the more fundamental alienation between the person and the natural environment. Ecopsychology and coaching have distinct differences, yet swirl and come together like “the needs of the planet are the needs of the person”. Coaching, in my experience, DOES deal with foundations of human nature and behavior just like ecopsychology is noted to do in “Where Psyche Meets Gaia”. Coaching is needed in Ecopsychology to heal nature disconnection and Ecopsychology gives another “place” for a coach to explore in the process of developing their coachee.
Coaching and guiding in the world of Ecopsychology really inspires me. Ultimately, connection and/or reconnection to nature through healing is what draws me to this work. This blend of coaching and Ecopsychology gives me an opportunity to mutually heal with the client. While they are connecting to nature, as the guide, so am I. Where this blend falls short, for me, is coaching without the nature connection doesn’t seem as interesting. I can coach business, finance, time management and more. None of these topics light up my soul like coaching nature connection. In “Where Psyche Meets Gaia” they sum up my experience in the following tribute “A man who is in love declares that “I” and “you” are one, and is prepared to behave as if it were a fact”.
The skills needed to navigate the landscape of this blend between Ecopsychology and Coaching are diverse and infinite. Theodore Roszak in “A Psyche as Big as the Earth” noted the importance of a sympathetic bond with the natural world. The powerful listening required in effective psychology, the willingness to psychoanalyze entire cultures, survival skills, outdoor safety skills and patience touch on a small sample of the skills needed. The reason I’m involved in this style of coaching work is put into language beautifully in “Psyche and Nature in a Circle of Healing”…hopes for an end to the long and self-destructive war between humankind and Earth depend on repairing the damage inflicted on both.