I definitely think that’s the magic of full sensory awareness!

I had the same thoughts in regards to the auto-pilot racing of my thoughts, and how un-grounded and disconnected I feel when this happens, even though I am rarely even aware of it. I found the Surround Sound activity to be a really simple to access more connection and groundedness, just like you mentioned.

LONG TERM Coaching Initial Post

My initial reaction to the idea of long term coaching and especially charging for it, fit my typical pattern of I don’t know enough and therefore am not good enough to be charging money. So I looked at myself from the perspective of immunity to change and recognized that instead of diving into coaching I keep r…

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Trauma: Summary Post

I have been working with a client, mentioned in previous posts, for about a year now. It’s been a journey for both of us and has given me the opportunity to put together much of what I have learned throughout the NCC program. It began when she, in an ungrounded state, spoke frenetically about her traumatic childhood, her 4…

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Gestalt Initial Post:

Like most of my posts, I base them off of my current work. Although it is not one-on-one or a “session”, I often see the module topics show themselves within work, so I am able to integrate and utilize the teachings then.

I can see myself using Gestalt within my work in coaching. My senses are fine tuned to picking up bod…

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I enjoyed using this with deep breathing to ground myself vs having my eyes closed. Am happy to be incorporating all my senses into my practices

Such a powerful exercise! I realize how often I do this without realizing or being intentional with it. Each and every exploration of the woods I take I find myself doing this, especially as my mind tends to wander…I always come back to sounds to bring me deeper into present moment awareness.

Cecile,

Totally feel you on reading and feeling people’s emotions was a curse. And as you said once one is able to harness and get to understand a gift, then we are able to utilize it, and wow what a skill and tool to use with clients!

Great observation about your client! It’s cool how these new awarenesses become so obvious when in space with…

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Oh my goodness this is amazing Lindsay!

Thank you for sharing your session in depth! Amazing. Such a good representation of bringing nature, the way of being and how to approach daily life tasks in a more conscious way. This particularly resonates because I personally want to create a business basically out of nature, which I feel many of us…

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John!

Thank you so much for this reflection and sharing your notes, I feel that you put your energy and effort into it. The key parts that stuck out to me within your post are: “Gestalt therapy focuses more on process (what is happening) than content (what is being discussed). ” (Oof what a relief!, I feel like this at least personally drops the w…

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Aloha Joy! So neat that you stated your intention to the client at the start of session. I feel like that is very Gestalt-like and reminds me of when Derik mentioned ” As coaches we want to include ourselves in our experience our client. Because you are in the room, apart of your clients experience in the here and now.” I can see this helping the…

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Gestalt is admittedly one of the more challenging concepts we’ve encountered for me to fully wrap my head around. For me, it seems most useful as a set of concepts and principles that can be applied primarily in part throughout a coaching or guiding session. Even more specifically, it has been a set of things to ‘listen’ for in a session versu…

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I have long struggled with the question of which population most excites me for guiding and coaching. Feeling the call to guide, but feeling not oriented towards a clear sense of direction.

Throughout the Foundations Modules and beyond, I have struggled with the tension of wanting to guide people find purpose through coaching work versus helping…

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Cecile—How wonderful that you made the connection that your client was laughing in uncomfortable situations; I think it shows how in tune and observant you are. Sounds like you had a valuable experience recording and transcribing the session too—thanks for the motivation for my future assignment.

Lindsay—This is such a wonderful example of nature-connected coaching and the Gestalt-like experiment. I love how your client envisioned this practice being part of her “busy work” business tasks moving forward. I also appreciated the example of you (coach) suggesting a high-level idea and letting the client customize it; I’m always explori…

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John—I love how you matched the three sacred questions with the different levels (mind, heart, and soul). I don’t know if it was presented to us that way and I forgot (highly likely, ;-)!) or if that is something that you created, but/and that really resonated with me. I also really appreciated the reminder about how coach+client are really jus…

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Joy—I really appreciated your reflective questions related to your own presence as a coach and how you were holding space! I also liked the reminder to stay present ourselves and really listen, rather than focus on the question we are going to ask next (<–raises hand: guilty!).

Discussion Question (it looks like this is going to post under Joy’s posting, but it’s really my initial post! ;-))

Client is in her 50s and has been contemplating leaving her current part-time job to do something that is a better fit for her desires and passions.

In a recent session with my client I focused on Gestalt principles. For example, I…

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Hi Lindsay, absolutely love the threshold experience that you’ve co-created with your client. What an amazing way for your client to connect with her tree and make it part of her inspiration for her business tasks! 🙂 thanks for sharing!

Hi John, thank you for doing such a good job at summarizing Gestalt key principles and sharing your notes. One thing that struck me in your notes is the comment “No matter which disturbance is employed, when the client breaks contact, I need to repeat the comment back to the client. I will ask the client to speak to whatever/whoever broke the…

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Thank you for sharing Joy! Awareness and insight are definitely keys in the gestalt principles. I love that you’ve been able to experiment and feel like it was flowing just fine. Trusting that the present moment brings us just what we need, whether as a client or as a coach, is a powerful thing 🙂 And I love what you say “it is important to see…

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Initial post

Gestalt is all about awareness, expression, creativity, relationship, authenticity, “NOW” and “how”. As I’ve been practicing more and more with my practice client, I realized that no coaching session can happen without the Gestalt principles. I feel Gestalt is naturally ingrained in my coaching sessions. I’ve always been connected w…

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Summary Post

It has been really fun and inspiring to reflect on this and to see everyone’s else’s reflections and thought process. I can really feel everyone’s passions coming through, which is why I love this program and this creative process. It has also confirmed in me that I want to support others because I know how much being—and feeling…

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I totally agree with Cecile, Toni—what a wonderful support you would be for women going through this transition. I have been listening to a variety of podcasts on menopause and what women should know (how is it that information has been so scarce?).

My sweetie found some inspiration from this book too (The Women’s Wheel of Life: The Women’s Wheel of Life“>https://elizabethda…

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John—So many of the things you touched upon resonated with me. Re: ability to pay, I’ve been thinking about reserving a certain number of discount sessions each month that I can offer to those with financial need (e.g., maybe 2-3 per month). I might not advertise them per se but offer if it comes up.

I love that you are getting clients via word of…

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Sara—I really appreciated how in the “Planning” section you brought this back to the “why” for your clients—why is this important to them, and that question of what would happen if they didn’t do this—very powerful! I recently experienced this as a client in a nutrition session with a coach (not EBI but definitely ICF-like!). He asked me why ea…

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Summary Post

The threshold experience can be so powerful: it is actually practicing what you want to take with you, sampling how it feels to be the person you want to be. While it can be empowering to step into the creativity to figure out what you want; it may also be a scary proposition for a client (I am reminded of feeling overwhelmed by a…

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I forgot to put this at the end of my post!

A nature and soul connected guide that seems very aligned with what I want to explore is SoulSkin Journeys (https://www.soulskinjourneys.com/offerings). I particularly like the range of offerings they have: shorter circles, one on one sessions, a 9-month deep dive, and support for those who are parenting…

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Summary:
I want to consider what it would be like to be as beautifully explicit as Cynthia in my work with clients. I want to ask them to explore Soul-centered practices (like 360 awareness, sit spot, gratitudes, journaling, wandering, vision council, pendulation, radical daydreaming, altars, parts work, ceremony, and so on) and choose one or two…

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Wow, Cynthia! This is such a beautiful vision. I feel that, like Suez, you speak so clearly here because you know this territory intimately. Your expertise in the field, as a professional woman in male dominated arenas, and as someone with such a deep relationship to nature, will be an incredible gift within the coaching container.

Reading how…

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Suez, once again the depth and clarity of your vision, and how developed your sense of what you are up to, inspires me. I agree with the others that your personal experience with these topics brings such richness and integrity to your vision.

I also came at this from places of resistance on multiple fronts. Thanks for modeling how it can be done…

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I’m coming back to this very belatedly, here at the end of our program. Other than the discussion for Foundations 2, this has been a spot I have felt most resistant. Prior to EBI, every time I looked at how to start a coaching practice, the talk has been about niche, client avatar, very specific demographics, and so on. This has stirred up s…

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The core of threshold for me is experiential. It is the direct contact with what is and what might be. It is embodied, felt, congruent. It is contact with self, Soul, world, Spirit, that has the capacity to transform us, at least in the moment, or to invite us into new territory. In threshold, something becomes possible that might not have existed…

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I love the inclusiveness of your exploration here – with your own experience, with how you are in threshold, with the way you reflect each of us with such clear seeing, with how nature came through even in this virtual context.

Your Cloak of Coaching! I want to know more – what color is it, what texture, what is in the inner pockets? How do you…

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I feel like I actually wrote most of my summary and take away questions in my initial long post.

After reviewing what we’ve all written here, I continue to walk away with a desire to explore how broadly we can hold the ecopsychological perspectives, in our lives and in our coaching. We have these amazing tools through the NCC program and our own…

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Two lines stand out to me in the overall richness of your post, Rachel.

Juniper saying “you treat nature the way that you treat yourself.” And the question you ask:
“I wonder how many people may be turned off to the idea of connecting with nature.”

I’m coming back to the experience and concept that WE are nature. If we are treating nature the way…

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Whew, I’m really feeling your framing of the Great Disconnect. My child (he/they) is totally absorbed with their phone. It runs in the background even when they are doing other things. And the need for a phone and computer arose during Covid and the necessity of having ways to contact friends or participate in school during lockdown. I feel this…

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Amanda,

I love your statement about nature-connection itself being the practice of your spirituality, from the ideas in books and studies, to the experiential aspect of being outside. And the modified Trinity – Humans / Source / Nature – what a way to reinvigorate those concepts.

I’m curious, all this time later, how you are committing to the…

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