It is this exercise of self-understanding that allows clients the opportunity each week to look at life through different or new eyes; they are looking through the eyes of the intellect, the emotions and from their spiritual connection (their place of inner wisdom). When I asked Debbie Ford about this she commented  that “We can bring the light in and connect with our deeper vision of ourselves.  We can take action in the outer world which reflects our inner world.  When we are living in consciousness then we are fully awake.”

Living within consciousness brings us back to the concept of possibility, the life that might be possible for an individual when  key conditions for transformation are present and the transformative process is allowed to unfold, unencumbered.  It is this idea of possibility that is so engaging; that which might be possible for individuals who open themselves to the coaching process and the possibility for humankind that may ensue from their onward journey.

For those clients who open themselves to the process, who do the work the program demands, any one of these analogies may seem appropriate. As I coached a client through session fifteen today, a week from program completion, she shared with me that for the first time she can remember she is waking up without a sense of fear or anxiety in her life. When I asked her what it was that had moved in her life to precipitate this change, she responded that she had a sense of trust in her self and in her life that she had never experienced prior to the program.

The analogy of fragmentation to wholeness seems particularly relevant to me here and I believe there are powerful integrating factors at work that begins to move clients from the uncomfortable experience of fragmentation towards a sense that they are more successfully holding together or uniting the various factions of their life.  I have no doubt that the practice of accessing inner wisdom is an integrating one; or that a relationship between ego and Self (even in its infancy) is integrating; or that the practice of mindfulness and taking actions from that place of mindfulness is integrating; or being held in a supportive yet challenging relationship is integrating; and it would be difficult to argue against the fact that all of these factors combined have a highly integrative influence on human consciousness.

References

Frager, Robert. Spiritual Psychology Lecture Series (Los Angeles, University of Philosophical Research)

In summary, it is clear that there are a number of factors at play in the Essentials coaching process that contribute to the client’s transformation in consciousness. I think it is highly probable that it is a combination of all of these factors which contribute to the transformation — and I should note that there may well be more factors at play than the ones I have chosen to focus on in this exploration. It is possible that for clients who satisfactorily complete the program, some concepts and practices are embraced and integrated more fully than others; some may seem to be more relevant or to have more meaning, but because the program works at both the conscious and the unconscious levels of the psyche we have no real way of knowing which factors might be considered to be more or less influential. Because the integration process for many of these factors may take place at the unconscious level of the psyche, the clients may remain unaware of the level of processing that is, in fact, occurring for them.

 The factors, which I have termed “change agents,” which appear to be most influential in Essentials are as follows:

• The quality of the information that is provided for clients via the distinctions, guiding them to live a life aligned with integrity
• The structure of the program itself, which provides a strong foundation where the client is able to experiment with new ways of thinking, being and doing
• The exploration into the place of inner wisdom and the regular dialogue that takes place, albeit in a limited sense comprehensible to the egoic mind, with the Self
• The development and maturation of the ego structure that occurs in a structured yet flexible environment of trust and support
• The initiation of a dialogic ego-Self relationship
• The focusing tools to open to inner wisdom including the use of breath, relaxation, centering, language and intention
• The use of the imagination in the form of guided imagery to create a powerful vision of a new reality
• Mindfulness brought about by attentiveness to negative thoughts, beliefs, feelings and actions
• Taking action conceived from the place of inner wisdom
• Having the willingness to assert the will and become self-responsible, thus releasing human potential and entering into the process of self-actualization
• The  coaching relationship which provides a powerfully fertile environment for human growth and maturation

Reviewing Maslow’s work on self-actualisation helped me come to the realization that Essentials invites clients to step into a self-actualising process. There are two factors that I believe are initially involved in clients stepping into this process: a willingness to engage in the transformation process, into the possibility of stepping into a new reality; and the engaging of the will to determinedly begin taking responsibility for all aspects of their life. Once this happens it seems the wheel of motivation begins to turn, self-esteem rises and higher levels of energy and consciousness are released. This is my greatest joy in coaching —observing and experiencing human potential fully, creatively and joyfully utilized.

The Coach

 My final area of focus was on the coach and the coaching relationship itself. I explored the process of preparation that is required before each call and the specific coaching skills of active listening and powerful questioning. I examined the training of the coach and was able to determine that this training is a process of self discovery where one explores what Jung would describe as the conscious and unconscious dimensions of the psyche.

While human relationships were shown to be an essential medium for human growth, I was able to observe that the coaching relationship provides a particularly fertile environment. The coach, having journeyed through the terrain of his/her own psyche, is able to show up in the coaching relationship with a personal understanding of the depths of human experience and all that it entails.

In the ideal coaching relationship a skilled, yet humble coach enters into the relationship as a clean and neutral instrument. The challenge for coaches lies in getting out of their own way, that is, standing outside of agendas and righteousness, so that they can be a conduit for clients as clients become aware of the mystical presence of the deeper consciousness, and the opportunity for them to access the wisdom within, which will guide and influence their thoughts and feelings as well as their actions in the world.

Attentiveness to counter-productive thoughts, feelings, speech and actions was the focus of the work on mindfulness. Here again the literature was able to confirm for me the idea that where we place our attention is a key element in consciousness. If we are blind to our thoughts and emotions particularly, then we become an unwitting slave to them; we are unable to choose our course of action.

Research in the West regarding consciousness around negative thoughts and feelings, the teachings of the Buddha regarding mindfulness, as well as teachings of Indian yogis, show us that attentiveness can act like an awakening to the present moment, enabling people to free themselves from conditioned thoughts, feelings, speech, and behavior. A sense of inner calm and peace is then possible.

Clients may come to the realisation that they are not their thoughts nor are they their emotions, rather these are passing events. In my experience, this attentiveness to the inner workings of the conscious mind creates a gradual transformation in the way we view and experience the world and subsequently how we choose to act in it. There is a great feeling of release and freedom as we actively replace old negative thoughts, beliefs, and judgments with those conceived from a more integrative place.

 Action

Essentials is action oriented, in fact, it demands action. Without action, the greatest intentions lead nowhere; clients remain stuck in the conditioned patterns of the past and the visions they want to create remain elusive. This was my experience with trying to put a meditation practice in place prior to being coached. With the greatest intention I just could not get it established. The actions that clients put in place in Essentials are conceived from the place of inner wisdom and are directly related to their inner knowing. Their actions are in alignment with their innermost desires and values and what they want to put into place in the world. The goal setting and action planning process supports them to take this specific, inner wisdom-guided action into the world. These wisdom based actions act like an accelerator, a foot on the gas, in taking us where we want to go. Once clients experience this momentum they frequently experience an increased sense of esteem; “I am capable,”  “I can do it.”  Their point of view and how they feel about themselves transforms.

Thus as clients enter the transformative process of becoming aware of old thoughts, emotions, choices and behaviors that have kept them stuck and resistant to change, they are propelled to engage in new ways of thinking, choosing and behaving that are generated from inner wisdom.  These new actions reinforce and enhance the initial transformation of consciousness experience. Taking action helps clients embody their transformation. Clients may “show up” differently in the external world, which as well as inspiring them to remain committed to the process of transformation, may also act as inspiration for others.

 In order to explore the concept of inner wisdom, I examined Jung’s personality structures that exist within the human psyche, in particular the ego and the Self. As I progressed with this exploration I was intrigued to discover that the idea of the ego-Self axis was highly relevant to Essentials. I discussed how, at some point within Essentials,   the ego, which under usual circumstances thinks it is the center of the psyche, becomes linked to the Self as a result of what I view as an accelerated process of dialoguing with the Self through the internal exercises.

Jungian experts seem agreed that this link, which may eventually develop between ego and Self, is the result of the long, hard work of understanding and accepting unconscious processes. I presume they are meaning work that takes many years. In the past I certainly would have agreed with them. But having been coached through Essentials myself, and having guided clients through the program, when I explored this idea of the ego-Self dialogue I had an unmistakable sense of intuitive knowing that this process takes place within Essentials.

 I am not suggesting that this ego-Self relationship is completed during the Essentials program—in fact, I’m quite sure it can continue into a much deeper connection for many people, continuing to change their worldview following the program—however I am very clear that this program nurtures and strengthens ego consciousness at the same time that it invites dialogic communication (albeit in some limited form comprehensible to the individual) with the Self. I think it is inevitable that at some point in the programme, for clients who are able to surrender to the process — that is, do the work that the programme and their inner wisdom demands of them— the nurtured ego becomes linked to the Self in a positive way creating a powerful spiritual and psychological shift in perspective, experience and choice.

 Breath Work and Inner Wisdom

 I explored how breath work, the conscious process of inhalation and exhalation, and the associated relaxation response, are able to open the client to the possibility of accessing inner wisdom. I used supporting literature to show that this concept has been well explored both in the West and for thousands of years in the East.  I looked into the nature of the human imagination and its power in guiding human beings to bring forth a powerful vision of a new reality.

I was able to summarize some of the processes used by Dr Marcia Emery, to show that accessing inner wisdom or, as she terms it, intuition, is not an extraordinary event but rather a skill that can be developed; an “oracle-to-go” that can be accessed at any time at any place.

 In an ideal, emotionally and psychologically mature society, this is the sort of information one might hope every child would receive as they grow into adulthood. Certainly, similar ideas can be found in the many books and articles written on various aspects of personal development or personal growth. It is good, solid information and useful, even potentially powerful, advice. Is it, I have cause to wonder though, potentially transformational? After all, it was Carl Jung who commented that “advice has so little effect” (cited by Rossman, UPR lecture series).

I do believe for some clients this information alone may be enough to create a consciousness transformation; well-chosen words in a receptive environment can do just that. For the majority of clients, I believe the information provided is assimilated at two levels: at the level of the ego’s intellect and also deeper within the psyche at the level of the Self. As the internal exercises and the questions posed to the client during the internal exercise are based on the distinction for the week, information moves beyond intellectual inquiry and response, and is able to be assimilated within the integrating aspect of the psyche; this integrating aspect unites the conscious and the unconscious.

 It is this “double-hit” of information, I believe, that is able to shift the three aspects of consciousness. This newly integrated information and the action steps that arise from it are able to create a new sense of awareness or of knowing, a different perspective and a shift in volition regarding what the client chooses to believe and to pay attention to.

I also examined the structure of the program itself; sixteen 45-60 minute calls, each call, apart from three review calls, following a largely identical format. Again I believe the structure is a foundational condition of the program, providing the client with consistency and certainty; safe walls inside which transformation is possible.

 References

Rossman, Martin. Essentials of Mind-Body Medicine Lecture Series (Los Angeles, University of Philosophical Research).

 A flat, shiny, brown stone sits on the hard drive of my computer. In the early hours of this morning, as I sit reflecting on this body of work, the stone is cold to the touch. It fits perfectly in the palm of my hand, and as I hold it, my fingers trace the word “integrity” that is etched into it. This stone was given to me when I graduated from the Essentials program.

 As I reflect back over the clients I have coached and am coaching through this program I am aware of how often the word integrity arises on the calls; choosing  to live in alignment with one’s innermost beliefs and values and all the challenges that go with that. It is this call to integrity that seems to me to characterize so much of the work that takes place in the Essentials coaching programme for clients. 

 An article I read recently by psychiatrist and author Nick Arrizza explored the link between integrity and spirituality and found that the two words were essentially the same.  Arrizza uses the same definition for integrity as we use in Essentials, “living a life in alignment with one’s own truth,” while spirituality is defined as “the state of being and living as one’s true self.”  Arrizza believes that being “spiritual” is the same as invoking the constant presence of “you” in your life; that is, being present and sentient at every moment. In other words being spiritual is essentially the same as being in integrity, he explains.  He introduces the term “spiritual integrity” to mean the constant presence and sentience of you as a human being.

 This link between integrity and spirituality is particularly relevant to this work. I delved into what it is that creates a psychological or psychoanalytical shift for clients who do the work that the program of Essentials demands. However following this exploration I now feel that it is necessary to modify the description of that shift to the more accurate “psycho-spiritual” shift.  I believe that the shift that clients undergo is such that they become awakened to an essential aspect of themselves, a transcendent aspect, which enables them to view their world with new eyes; or one could say, awakened eyes.

 As I explored the shift or transformation that takes place in Essentials, there were three specific components or aspects of consciousness that I was particularly focusing on regarding client transformation: 

 The first was the capacity for sentience. This is the ability of the conscious being to feel, to be aware, to know, to experience, to receive.

The second, the capacity for subjectivity, to have a perspective, a point of view.

And the third, the capacity to choose, to have volition and intention about what to believe, what to pay attention to, what to do and which perspective to adopt.

 As I summarize and review the following seven areas in the following posts it is these three aspects of consciousness that I am particularly interested in. Is it likely that each area is able to create a shift or transformation in an individual’s capacity for sentience, subjectivity and choice?

 References

Arrizza, Nick. Integrity and Spirituality (http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Arrizza,_M.D.)

 A coach brings all of themselves including all of their many and varied life experiences to the coaching table and yet ideally, and somewhat paradoxically, they must bring nothing at all.  To be a conduit for transformation the coach must be able to show up as a clean and neutral instrument, in a surrendered and humble space. From this consciously awakened place it is possible to allow oneself to be vulnerable enough to be in the place of not knowing; to be curious and inquisitive; completely open to possibility; to be in the dichotomous  place of offering all and yet nothing at all.

 I would add, from personal experience, that this is no easy task and involves invoking a conscious decision to look within and deal with whatever must be dealt with.  It is this space of natural and unencumbered openness that enables clients to be held in their highest possibility and it is from this relationship that the Essentials program unfolds each week; safe, structured yet flexible, with a deep sense of mystical presence. It is within this relationship, where all the possibility that the client wishes to access, is available to them.

To me humility within the context of Essentials is not about modesty, deference or lowliness; rather it is the inside knowing that comes when one has journeyed inward; it is about ego understanding its relationship to Self; it is about opening oneself to one’s own essence, and the purpose of the human experience in realizing one’s human potential.

Cope captures the essence of this humility in Indian Gurus as described by Ramama Maharsi. “The Guru is one who at all times abides in the profound depths of the Self. He never sees any difference between himself and others and is quite free from the idea that he is the Enlightened or the Liberated One, while those around him are in bondage or the darkness of ignorance…There is no difference between God, Guru and the Self” (Cope, 1999, p.165).

 On the final page of his book, A New Earth, Eckhart Tolle uses the word humble and meek interchangeably.  He believes that the humble (or meek) are those who have awakened to their essential true nature as consciousness and recognize that essence in all “others”, all life forms.  They live in the surrendered state and so feel their oneness with the whole and the Source.  They embody the awakened consciousness that is changing all aspects of life on our planet, including nature, because life on earth is inseparable from the human consciousness that perceives and interacts with it.”

 References

Cope, Stephen. Yoga and the Quest for the True Self (New York. Bantam Books, 2000)

 Tolle, Eckhart. A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose (Maryborough, Victoria, The Penguin Group, 2005)