Foundation Three Discussion (WI/SP 2018)

[Kaity Holsapple]

Reflect on your experience as a client in the “threshold”.
I immediately think of one particular instance of threshold during our intensive in January. My coach and I discovered my deeper need and I wanted to affirm it in threshold by standing on top of a rock, dancing with the wind, and yelling “I am sunflower!” It felt a scary, and like I was moving “against the grain” of how I normally exist, to do such a silly, loud, thing and call so much attention to myself. My need was to allow myself to be big, bold, and to take up space. And actually doing that was really scary, and really profound. My coach held a very safe and light-hearted space for me to summon the courage and be big. As I stepped up onto the rock, I felt an opening and awakening. I allowed myself to do and be what my heart really wanted and it felt like I was leaning into myself fully rather than running away.
Thinking about it now, the feeling of going “against the grain” of how I normally live went with the grain of my Soul. And allowed me to realize that it’s not always about living in alignment with what’s comfortable, but living in alignment with what is deep and real. It’s like I’ve been in a river swimming upstream against certain parts of myself, and surrendering to the current feels like a big, scary, forbidden pathway. But in threshold, I allow myself to surrender to the stream. And in the process, I realize that it’s way easier to go with the flow of the water, of my Soul, that it is to constantly struggle against it.
My experiences as a client in the threshold often feel like a stepping into the unknown and into parts of myself that have been rejected. Each time I am entering threshold I feel subtle to obvious levels of courage it requires to step into the experience. But once I make the move, fear transforms into wonder. Awareness and connection open up and I feel like I am finally listening to lost parts of myself, to my deeper needs. In threshold, I listen to the need and take action on behalf of it. What could be more precious and powerful than that?
How does that experience inform your coaching and why?
This is deep work that we are doing. And I believe it is meant to “go against the grain” a bit. I keep saying that phrase, because I truly believe that there is a process of switching directions that may feel unnatural at first, yet afterword opens up into something more natural and free. Anytime we are switching habits or challenging deep core beliefs, it is probably not going to be easy. While some clients may feel amped up and ready to leap into threshold, other clients may feel afraid, ashamed, uncertain, or in disbelief of themselves. It reminds me as a coach to make and hold space for all of these experiences, no matter where on the spectrum they fall. And as my coach did with the experience above, to maintain safety, confidentiality, and lightness in my presence.
How did Nature participate in your process and what does that tell you about coaching others?
In my process described above, the wind spoke to me. The second I climbed up onto the rock, the wind grew strong as if encouraging me to move my body and be light. I feel Nature sends symbols like this to encourage me, lead me in the direction of the Soul, and connect me to my greater role in all of creation. This tells me that nature speaks to those who listen. She speaks in differnt languages for different people but is available to support and lead the process of transformation.
What ICF core competencies are essential for you to practice and build on to feel confident in that “place” as a coach?
I feel that coaching presence (with the client and with nature) and creating awareness allow Nature to participate more in coaching. In Threshold experiences, creating trust and intimacy is integral, as well as maintaining a coaching presence. Threshold is a peak experience that as a coach I want to really be present and open for. Creating safety feels huge, which is why I see establishing trust as an extremely important competency for this process.

[David Raffelock]

Kaity,

Thanks for your raw post. I love your illustration of swimming upstream in a river! I agree with you in that entering that place of threshold is really a place of flow and surrender, and stepping into rejected parts of yourself. It’s interesting how your two metaphors of “against the grain,” and “going with the flow” contrast each other, but still make sense to me. While cutting with the grain (and I’m thinking of a steak, currently salivating) the its easier than locating the grain and slicing with more effort against it, however the end product is less tender and enjoyable. It often times can seem much easier to mindlessly (or soullessly, rather) go through the motions of life and society doing what seems normal. Tom Brown Jr. calls this dwelling in the land of the flesh. However, on a soul level, its like swimming upstream and the effort it takes to listen to which way the water wants to flow is much less than the benefit of surrendering to Soul and allowing that flow. Exploring your metaphor further, I wonder at what point in one’s life does one realize they’ve been swimming upstream. What does it take to come to the realization, and what does it take to trust in where the river is flowing? Just some thoughts to explore 🙂

[Kent-Singing Panther]

Thank you Kaity for sharing some vulnerable parts of yourself; parts that are transforming into strengths. I re-read this statement several times and it has sunk in for me too, “But once I make the move, fear transforms into wonder. Awareness and connection open up and I feel like I am finally listening to lost parts of myself, to my deeper needs. In threshold, I listen to the need and take action on behalf of it. What could be more precious and powerful than that?” Indeed, what could be more precious and powerful? I think what you said here is at the center of this work and it IS extremely precious and powerful!

[Mandy Bishop]

Beautiful Kaity! I picked out the same quote as Kent that really resonated with me from your post, and also that threshold “allowed me to realize that it’s not always about living in alignment with what’s comfortable, but living in alignment with what is deep and real.” Wow, so true for me as well!

This is part of what stands out for me so much in what can be so transformative about threshold — that we are entering environments in which parts of ourselves and our deeper needs can be acknowledged, tended to and met. And I would guess that many times these are parts that have been ignored or quieted for a long time which can be totally uncomfortable to then greet and allow for. But, these shut away parts will not go away no matter how much we try to ignore them, and will most likely grow and become a wedge between living our most authentic lives — so allowing for them, moving with the current and going with the grain of our souls — what could be more precious than that!

[Hannah Grajko]

So great to read you post, Kaity! Thank you for giving us a beautiful and clear image of your processes through your threshold. Like David noted, the way you used both “going with the flow” and “against the grain” made a lot of sense to the description of your experience. Although they classically look to be opposite one another, I processed your assertion as “surrendering to the flow IS going against the grain”, at least in the way society programs us to be avoidant of vulnerability. I really got a lot out of you using both those phrases to support your experience in threshold.

A passage that jumped out to me was, “In my process described above, the wind spoke to me. The second I climbed up onto the rock, the wind grew strong as if encouraging me to move my body and be light”; I resonate a ton with this, as I find the wind to be a part of nature’s communication! I often find the wind to be jarring if I’m in a tense, locked up place of being. However, as soon I let go to the messages within the wind, I typically walk away with a nugget of wisdom that feels powerfully transformative. It sounds like you totally surrendered to the wind in your experience, and got the push you needed to be the sunflower 🙂

[Brian Crosby]

Thank you for sharing Kaity. The theme that stood out to me was something you repeated a number of times. “Going against the grain”. This is something that I have always struggled to do. Fulfilling others expectations instead of my own. Going into the Threshold is exactly that…Going against YOUR grain. Doing something different than you have been doing. Stepping into something that is foreign, or that has been avoided for so long is scary, yet offers immense opportunity for growth and discovery.

[Z Baker]

Katy,

Your comment ” it’s not always about living in alignment with what’s comfortable, but living in alignment with what is deep and real” not only resonated with me, but brought goose bumps to my flesh. Beautiful beautiful words!

Your analogy of “river swimming upstream against certain parts of myself, and surrendering to the current feels like a big, scary, forbidden pathway. But in threshold, I allow myself to surrender to the stream. And in the process, I realize that it’s way easier to go with the flow of the water, of my Soul, that it is to constantly struggle against it”.

What your describing, in my mind is following your vision or original instruction. This is at the core of who we are as unique individuals. As a coach, being able to recognize and name these things is essential in working with your clients vision process. Thank you!

[Hannah Grajko]

The threshold – so much comes up in my mind and emotional state when I reflect on my experiences there. A word that comes up when I conjure the memories is “mystery”; I may have had an idea of what might happen or be manifested during the thresholds experiences, but it always surprised me as to what I find and discover. I found that the accompaniment of my practice guides (when they were present) was not distracting in the way that I may have anticipated; rather, the force of the threshold was too strong for me to become distracted, and if anything, the support in that vulnerable space felt welcomed. The threshold seems to have its own direction and heartbeat, and the more I surrendered to its course, the more I realized that I was being swept up by a wave that I held no control over. Threshold resonates with an excitement and energy that is akin to a first date or the start of a new, potentially life-changing adventure in young adulthood. Something startling that always seemed to happen was that I left the experiences with an overwhelming feeling that I learned just what I needed to; it’s rather difficult to put that feeling of divine providence into words.

This informed my coaching in a few significant ways. For starters, it dramatically showed me that the powers of the threshold are real if the entrance into it is solid and intentional. This is true for my experiences, and it will be so for the threshold experiences of my clients. Along those lines, it gave me an indication that as a guide, I need to put emphasis on my clients’ experiences in building clear and urgent need so that the threshold can show what is best for them at that moment. Knowing that the threshold is a place of vulnerability and wonder, I want to be the kind of guide who can hold space for whatever comes up, and has the intuition to interject or support when needed. If this can be the case, I’m reminded that I need to practice relying on that intuition, and trusting the process of the forces of the threshold that I’m witnessing. As someone who feels passionate about what the threshold can show my clients, I also need to relinquish control over where it goes. This feeling informs my coaching by allowing myself to surrender so that my clients can fully surrender to the magic of the experience.

Nature informed my experiences of threshold by appealing to my visual sense of learning. When I think about nature “having a mind of its own” in directing my experience, I regarding it as a playful and almost humorously obvious trickster that showed me images that made me say, “oh, of course!”, often while laughing at the blatancy of it all. Nature played into my previous experiences and symbols that hold great importance for me to remind me of lessons I already know and needed to recollect. In these experiences, nature felt like the writer of a play who was showing me characters who were going to teach me something. In an experience where what I needed was a commitment to spiritual nourishment, I found clumps of vividly green moss (which has come to represent seeking the “nutrients” you need) presented to me. When I was grappling with giving one of two parts of my personality more agency than the other in my life, I was met with numerous physical symbols of the essential value in blending seemingly diametrically opposed ideas and directions (in the form of wishbone-shaped elements). Nature was a direct collaborator in my threshold experiences, and I know with certainty that the same can and will be true for my clients. I think as a coach, I want to be aware of all the symbols that arise from nature in the threshold, and emphasize that when my clients come upon them. I imagine that they may benefit from, like I needed in my process, being reminded that these symbols are real, and meaning-making isn’t a negative thing in this space; on the contrary, making meaning in the threshold is most of what it’s all about. I know that for some folks, orienting oneself in this way can feel foreign and strange, but encouragement to enter into that space can feel like permission in a sense.

In terms of the core competencies, one that jumps out for me with the work of guiding a threshold is “Establishing Trust and Intimacy with the Client”. This feels absolutely crucial to be present alongside a client in this place of tenderness and learning, because they need to feel confident that they can go forward and let go to the lessons, while feeling held and supported by someone who will look out for them no matter what. I know that this is what I’ve needed in those experiences, and it has always made a huge difference to be confident in that knowing. I want to be able to foster this trust, and am striving to work on being a trustworthy guide; this, I believe means standing by what I say, being genuine in my expressions, and being clear and communicative in what my role will be in the relationship. Another one that comes to mind is the tenant of “Creating Awareness”. This is huge in the threshold because, often, the client is coming to us as coaches for the keys or nudges to open a part of themselves that they know is there, but they perhaps haven’t been able to access yet. They want newness, and as a coach, I want to help them unlock their own insights to the wisdom that is already present. I think that in order to achieve this, I, again, need to foster my own trust in my intuition. As we discussed many times at the intensive, if we are able to open our own awareness, we will be able to do that for the client. That is what I’m working on and intend to nurture and grow!

[Kaity Holsapple]

Hannah, I love how poetic and real this is:

“The threshold seems to have its own direction and heartbeat, and the more I surrendered to its course, the more I realized that I was being swept up by a wave that I held no control over.”

It feels really relatable to my own experiences in Threshold. There is something bigger driving the experience, and you describe that feeling in a very relatable way.

I also really love how you describe threshold as a place of vulnerability and wonder, and your desire to “be the kind of guide who can hold space for whatever comes up, and has the intuition to interject or support when needed.” That is a powerful want, and I also want that for myself as a coach.

The final part of your writing that stood out to me was:
“I imagine that they may benefit from, like I needed in my process, being reminded that these symbols are real, and meaning-making isn’t a negative thing in this space; on the contrary, making meaning in the threshold is most of what it’s all about.”

The recognition and affirmation of meaning and symbolism during threshold feels very potent. Some of my most powerful experiences have been driven by the symbolism of the earth, and having a coach affirm that meaning can drive away doubt and amplify the power of the experience.

Thank you for sharing, Hannah! It has been really powerful for me to read about your experience and I look forward to hearing everyone else’s! This is a cool opportunity to look at what threshold means for each person individually!

[Kent-Singing Panther]

Thank you for your wondeful metaphors, Hannah 🙂 I though you showed great insight/awareness in this statment, ” As someone who feels passionate about what the threshold can show my clients, I also need to relinquish control over where it goes. This feeling informs my coaching by allowing myself to surrender so that my clients can fully surrender to the magic of the experience.” We do have to put a great amount of trust in the process, our clients, and nature, that what happens, happens and it is good.

[Mandy Bishop]

Thank you Hannah for sharing your thoughts on threshold — I got a lot out of reading your post and hearing your insights. There were several sections that I really resonated with, but this one in particular:

“I imagine that they may benefit from, like I needed in my process, being reminded that these symbols are real, and meaning-making isn’t a negative thing in this space; on the contrary, making meaning in the threshold is most of what it’s all about.”

I have only had one non-EBI practice client so far, but I realized in that experience that it was part of my job as coach to create space for and affirm for my client that nature really truly is a co-collaborater in this process and that symbolism can and does hold much meaning when we have the eyes to see it. It felt like part of the container I was creating was to allow for and encourage my client to go into dreamtime, into the power of the nature threshold, and — like a child would — see everything and allow for meaning-making from absolutely anything that held a charge or a spark.

[David Raffelock]

Wonderful post, Hannah!

You really gave the threshold the power and recognition it deserves. And I love how you brought a practicality and awareness to building up to the threshold, saying “the powers of the threshold are real if the entrance into it is solid and intentional,” and that “building clear and urgent need so that the threshold can show what is best for them at that moment.” That’s a great reminder for me that the need, intention, and plan really have to be there in order for the threshold to be almighty and transformative.

I also resonate with reaffirming clients that the symbolism is real. I recently had a threshold experience with a client and noticed deep connections happening when I reflected back to her some symbols I noticed, without applying meaning to them.

The threshold is such a powerful place, and I think the more familiar we become with it, the better we can guide clients through it.

[David Raffelock]

Sorry, I meant to post that as a reply, not its own post

[Kent-Singing Panther]

The threshold allowed me to solidify and commit to the insight, awareness, and goals I gained during the severance. And the fact that, for the most part, I designed what my threshold would look like was very empowering. I believe that sense of empowerment is important for my clients to experience, especially after a participating in a vulnerable severance process where they may, or may not, have stepped closer toward their authentic selves. Severing old ideas, beliefs, and routines most often feels confusing and scary. Stepping through the threshold, and into nature, naturally helps relieve feelings/sensations of unease, anxiety, fear, doubt, etc. This has been my experience in the threshold and I trust it to be steadfast for my clients as well.
In many ways I see the threshold as the “filling” after much has been emptied during severance. This is a unique, and attractive, action utilized as a NCC. I also see the threshold as the “breathing out” portion of the ceremony. During severance a lot of “breathing in” and tension can be built up, even if the client is experiencing many positive insights about themselves. Threshold turns the focus, energy and intention outward and into the wild. The wild is the best place to be filled and to feel a grand, supportive, expansiveness.
Threshold also offered me the opportunity to celebrate who I am and what I’ve learned; to take my goals into nature to acknowledge and honor them as a part of the real me. This is part of accomplishing what Jenny Rogers encourages in Coaching Skills, “Goal setting is at its most effective when it builds on strengths – so it is even more motivating to ask How can I be better at something I’m already good at? “ (133). In severance I was aided by being coached to clear out the clutter of my mind and allow space for the soul to be present. With soul present I was able to see a deeper, truer me that has natural strengths; some of which that were hidden away or denied their usefulness. Becoming aware of them/me, I was more than ready to step through the threshold to fully accept myself/my vision and give thanks for the positive changes happening in me.
Like it says in Coyote’s Guide, “We already know the Natural Cycle intimately.” (197). The cycle, rhythms, and flow of the day directly affects me regardless if I’m aware of it or not. But when I do become aware of my interconnection with it I gain deeper insight into how I can better spend my energy for the day, or more specifically in my threshold. The threshold provides the space to move within the cycle and attune to the moment where I can hear the soul speak. Even the best coach cannot be substitute for nature’s unfiltered reflection of myself and visa versa.
However, during the coaching session my coach helped guide me to the intention of my threshold. That guiding gave me the confidence to give a sense of direction for, and to enter through, my threshold. Even the couple times when I wasn’t sure what I was going to do for my threshold experience, as soon as I walked through the Starhouse door I felt like I immediately knew what it was. My coach and I could have sat around trying to come up with what I could do in my threshold to force some kind of experience, but I believe if I would have made a plan that wasn’t coming from a soul space my encounter would potentially have been muddled. Trusting that nature would provide as I stepped through the threshold served to increase my trust that much more. But it was a dual effort with my coach, my coaches trust in nature, and nature herself, that awarded the most power to the moment.
As a coach I see myself being responsible for setting a good foundation for my client of which the experiences of nature connection can be built upon. By aiding my client in obtaining a sense of direction through powerful questioning, together we lay the grounds of intention. This is done by establishing trust and intimacy and by creating a safe, supportive environment that produces ongoing mutual respect and trust.
As a Nature-Connected Coach I am also responsible to be nature connected! As I maintain that connection, reflect it, and make it an integral part of my existence, it brings me into the present moment where I am able to be fully conscious, creating spontaneous relationship with my client and employing a style that is open, flexible and confident. Deep, active listening is also necessary as I need to be sure my client clearly understands where they are coming from and where they want to go. And of course creating awareness is certainly key in my place as a coach; integrating and evaluating multiple sources of information to create interpretations that help the client gain greater understanding, awareness and clarity in order to achieve agreed-upon results.

[Mandy Bishop]

Kent, the part of your post that really resonated for me was when you bring up the notion that, no matter how disconnected we seem to become from nature and our natural cycles, some part of us always knows. That there is some part of us (possibly unconscious or asleep at times) that knows this interconnection and the threshold experience can bring us back into awareness of that, ultimately bringing us back into contact with our own soul’s natural voice.

“The threshold provides the space to move within the cycle and attune to the moment where I can hear the soul speak. Even the best coach cannot be substitute for nature’s unfiltered reflection of myself and visa versa.”

This points to that element of what we are learning through EBI that the coach does not contain any answers for the client, but that the answers lie solely with nature — the nature of the soul of which nature’s reflection helps us to regain contact with.

[Hannah Grajko]

Awesome post, Kent! Thanks for going into such rich detail about how you felt and conceptualized your experience in the threshold. I’m especially struck by the following excerpt: “In many ways I see the threshold as the “filling” after much has been emptied during severance. This is a unique, and attractive, action utilized as a NCC. I also see the threshold as the “breathing out” portion of the ceremony. During severance a lot of “breathing in” and tension can be built up, even if the client is experiencing many positive insights about themselves”. I see this filling up after severance while concurrently letting go of the tension built up as a really beautiful and accurate description of how threshold feels. It’s almost as if we are severing ourselves from beliefs or ideas we previously held, and that newness can cause tension in the hard working of our minds, but the threshold allows for that feeling of tension to be released as we incorporate the fresh way of being into our selves in the held space of nature. I can totally see it as both an intake and release at the same time!

[Ivy Walker]

Hi Kent,
I appreciated the way you’ve directed attention towards ’empowerment’ as an important element for moving into the threshold, having just experienced the vulnerability of severance. This reminds me of the guide tracking the sense of energy as the session progresses. Initially, when a client is sensing into the issue, the opposition becomes exposed and the energy is still yet on the low side or prickly. The client might be pondering– how am I going to figure this out or ever “do” this? Then, as the session progresses, the energy from the want to the deeper need, continues to rise. Almost at the threshold, the opportunity to experience it RIGHT NOW becomes irresistibly exciting or elevated. I appreciate the word “empowerment” for this moment. As coach and client together, the two have found a sweet spot for the client to believe s/h/ze can experience something else beyond the opposition— the self trusting into the flow of nature and finding what is needed to BEcome the highest vision of oneself. Empowering indeed.

[Z Baker]

Kent,

Thank you for such a deep soulful telling of your experience. I really resonated with your comparison of the severance and threshold to your qigong training. “I see the threshold as the “filling” after much has been emptied during severance….I also see the threshold as the “breathing out” portion of the ceremony. During severance a lot of “breathing in” and tension can be built up, even if the client is experiencing many positive insights about themselves. Threshold turns the focus, energy and intention outward and into the wild”.

I also loved your expression of Threshold offering you the opportunity to celebrate your truth and to take your goals into nature to acknowledge and honor them as a part of the real you. These insights will be valuable touch-point and points of reference with your clients. Thank you! -Z

[Brian Crosby]

Kent, I noticed in a few places in your post you mentioned trust. Trust in your clients experience, establishing trust between coach and client and trusting in nature to do it’s thing. Trust, for me is a challenging thing. Trusting in others, nature, and myself. The process has become easier, especially since the face to face. It was amazing to watch you “trust” during the intensive. My hope is that you continue this as you move toward your vision. You stated…”Trusting that nature would provide as I stepped through the threshold served to increase my trust that much more.” Stick with it, and excited to watch it continue!

[David Raffelock]

My first significant experience of the threshold was at age 18 when I took a two month trip to Europe on my own with no itinerary. Though drastically longer than my experience of threshold at the foundations intensive, the feeling and way of being remained the same. I remember my trip being my first experience of wide-angle-consciousness. It was as if all the subtle laws that governed my life beforehand became massive, more meaningful, and more apparent than ever. I noticed how my mindset altered how I interacted with the outside world, and how the world interacted back. Every moment and experience was a conscious exchange between myself and the world, and I took every moment beyond face value, allowing a deeper meaning-making process to happen.

There is a profound level of awareness, presence, and deep interaction that happens for me in threshold. My senses become a portal into a world so crisp and clear, so alive and real, that my daily navigation of the world seems like a high speed race with a blurred periphery. My environment becomes a reflection of my inner wilderness. I can clearly see how my psyche paints the picture of the world, and my perspective shifts from the world being set in it’s ways to the world being malleable and simply taking the form I’ve sculpted it into. In the threshold I become one with everything around me, and I can begin to take ownership of myself and how I navigate the world.

It is this deep inquiry into the wilderness of ourselves that is the essence of coaching as I see it. I’m currently working with a practice client who is eager for coaching and fertile for transformation. Yesterday, after our second session, she told me that this is the first time in her life that she’s begun to look deeply inward, and that the level of introspection has already begun to transform her life. In that moment, a similar question to this prompt came into my mind. What is the difference between guided and unguided inner journeying? I’ve been through threshold on my own before, but almost always felt the threshold experience became a profound experience in my memory that only informed my current self on an intellectual level – it never fully integrated into who I am.

Part of this lack of integration, of course, can be spoken of through the lens of incorporation. However, I’ve realized through comparing my guided and unguided threshold experiences, that the difference is beyond accountability and coaching in the incorporation phase. Alone in threshold, it’s easy to glaze over a meaningful experience offering itself as a portal to further inquiry and growth. The parts of me afraid to change can dismiss an experience as insignificant. However, the skilled and trusted guide can offer a safe container to push through those barriers. The simple act of being asked the sacred question, or having a symbol reflected back in threshold, can solidify the validity of that portal inward which some parts may want to ignore. But the reflection by a guide can give enough attention and validity to the portal that the Soul can speak louder than the afraid parts and dive into exploring the meaning.

My mind goes to two places when I think of the difference here between guided and unguided threshold, and how it changed my ability to face the symbolism that offered transformation. One is when I was traveling alone through Morocco as an 18-year-old. I crossed paths with someone who I ended up sharing the next week of travel with. A lot came up for me and I had to move on without them. Unguided, my conclusion was that this person was annoying and I no longer wanted to be around them. Though looking back, if someone had nudged me through reflection and questioning, I may have noticed that this person perhaps represented my fear of intimacy, or surfaced my deeper feeling of suffocation and confinement I experienced in high school. In my threshold experience as a client, I was called to a circle of large rocks on a wander. After identifying a deeper need of self love, my coach asked what I see in the structure. While I otherwise may have moved on, afraid of the impact of feeling the symbolism, I cried while speaking the words “feeling held,” before I dropped into the space and allowed myself to hold my body and give myself love.

As a client, I can sometimes resist diving into the meaning of an experience in threshold and sometimes need someone to nudge me deeper – offering a container and validation that the experience is real and meaningful. So as a coach, I’m informed by the importance of those symbols. I understand that even though the symbols are there, some parts of the client may not want change and deter importance and attention. But when a guide is there to offer validation of the experience, deeper connections can be made, and the safety of the container may allow the client to dive into the feelings the may have avoided on their own.

The other day I guided a client through a threshold. She went on a medicine walk after identifying her need to be gentle with herself. After being off trail, walking down steep hills and through cactus and mullein, she heard people on the other side of the hill. Starting to climb up a steep face, she paused and walked 20 feet over to a much more gradual slope. The rest of her wander was on a trail. I asked her how she felt to be on the trail, and later reflected back her decision change course when climbing the hill. Both times her face lit up with a smile when she realized she chose to be gentle on herself.

As far as ICF competencies go, I see four being most important for me as a coach/guide in the threshold. Trust and intimacy for one, because reflection and questioning will lead nowhere if the client doesn’t feel safe to explore their feelings and psyche in front of me. Then active listening, powerful questioning, and creating awareness all make up the medley of coaching/guiding presence. Active listening (and observing) allows me to see symbolism and portals to deeper inquiry, and creating awareness through reflection and powerful questioning offers an allowance to explore the deeper meaning behind the experience.

[Kent-Singing Panther]

Wow David, at eighteen it’s so awesome to see that you braved such an adventure on your own and gained such a rich experience to set you off into “adulthood.”

This statement stood out to me as a great example of why NCC is important, “After identifying a deeper need of self love, my coach asked what I see in the structure. While I otherwise may have moved on, afraid of the impact of feeling the symbolism, I cried while speaking the words “feeling held,” before I dropped into the space and allowed myself to hold my body and give myself love.”

I’ve silently asked the “guided vs un-guided” question to myself in the past. I know my unguided experiences have transformed me but for the most part it took a longer amount of time. Having someone like a coach to reflect back to me and encourage me to go deeper would have, I believe, brought me into that tranformative place faster. I related it back to the chapters we read for this module in Coyote’s guide about direction. On my own, my experiences felt like a lot of wandering without much intention. Sometimes that is good thing, and a needed thing. My unguided wanders were a result of my “seeking” but I didn’t really know what I was trying to find. Have the kind of sense of direction talked about in Coyote’s guide would’ve helped me with that.

[Rachel Thor]

David I appreciate this post and your storytelling capability. This paragraph felt particularly poetic and resonant:

I can clearly see how my psyche paints the picture of the world, and my perspective shifts from the world being set in it’s ways to the world being malleable and simply taking the form I’ve sculpted it into. In the threshold I become one with everything around me, and I can begin to take ownership of myself and how I navigate the world.

The whole paragraph about how you feel and how your perception changes in threshold sticks out to me because the vivid descriptions lend me to believe we experience at least some part of threshold in a similar way!

And I LOVE the noticings you brought to guided vs unguided threshold experiences. As a self-improvement loner for many years of my life, and still at times resisting vulnerability or intimacy with others (even thought I’m pretty cool with it myself), I’ve also had many unguided or self-guided thresholds. While I think I may have done some more poignant learning had I had help from someone wise, grounded, and able to see me during those times, I also was forced to learn how to do that for myself or be swallowed whole by my states. So even as such, I think there was still a lot of learning that happened, it just landed in a slightly different place and more experiences later filled in what I had missed. Same for you?

[Angela Jones]

Threshold
Reflect on your experience as a client in the “threshold”

No matter the age, time or place throughout life thresholds have had a significant impact and enlightening vision to answers and deeper meaning always for me. I recall as a child going to Nature at a very young age to seek answers and share my thoughts and emotions with what surrounded me, awaiting and listening as nature would reflect back to my soul and guide me to places of surrender and often times a threshold. The wonder and anticipation of trust in what and where I was guided and what spoke to me in my quest for reasoning or answers always and to this day captures the laughter of my soul. Sometimes that laughter comes in waves of fear, tears, or amazement in what I experience in the moment of story and the threshold. I experience these feelings each time to this day as a client in the awe and adventure of a Threshold.

How does that experience inform your coaching and why?

I would like to share a experience that I had the opportunity to reflect back on while with a client recently. After speaking to a distant friend and explaining to him my journey to work with others in a guiding way of coaching he asked if I would be willing to meet him and help guide him. I offered him a time for meeting and holding space for him. We met on what turned out to be a cold dreary day and it was an honor to explore and then reflect to him; what I heard and his experience of the answers he was searching for came to light as he told me his story. He shared how for almost 2 years he had the same visions daily of our dear friend who was like a brother to us both and he shared with me the reflections of his daily conversations he would have with our Friend who had passed away over 2 years ago. The answer he longed to know is how long would he go on having this daily vision. As I held the space for him to express what he felt inside and how it made him feel, he walked me through the emotions and connection of what he had came to question. As we set in the mist of the cold rain falling on our faces looking out over the field where we had chosen to sit, the wind picked up and he expressed a dream he had one night that had caused these daily conversations and thoughts of our Friend to subside. He dreamed that they went to a foreign land to visit, and as night fell they went outside of the place they were visiting of ornate detailed architecture. The night was clear and the sky full of stars as they looked up. He asked our Friend to return inside and enjoy the beauty of the architecture they had traveled to see, but our Friend asked him to look up into the sky and why he didn’t want to stay there in the moment, outside and admire the stars. Did he not find them peaceful and feel the connection of the wonders of the earth? He asked our Friend do you not want to return inside we can see stars anywhere.

How did Nature participate in your process and what does that tell you about coaching others?

At that moment he stood up and asked me to stand with him and look to the sky with the mist of the light rain falling on our faces. I joined him in this moment and as the daylight faded to dusk and the wind picked up blowing my ball cap from my head I turned to reach for my ball cap and he said let me. As he picked it up and turned to give it to me he said I just realized that in this moment Omar is here with us again as you and I have not seen each other in over 2 years only to speak on the phone. I now am at peace and realize it was that dream when I asked him to go back inside with me and he said, “No don’t you want to stay here with me and look up at the sky? For me this is where I want to be, I will stay. You go if you want to see the architecture.” I have not thought of him everyday or heard his voice until just now, and I am here again with you and looking out onto the land he cared for while you were gone, and again I am able to admire the architecture of your home that I love!

We hugged as he handed me my ball cap and he said I am at peace in this moment. I set back down with him and reflected to him the story he had just shared and he said he felt as if he had crossed a threshold and felt at ease in all of the connection and peace. I realized in that moment the importance of trust and intimacy as in the core competencies. This allowance of the vision and story that allows for one to experience such a profound Threshold. And this is What ICF core competencies are essential for me to practice and build on to feel confident in that “place” as a coach?

It was a touching and personal reflection after he left for me of the threshold I had last time in CO and how our same Friend had brought me to a place to explain how we came from two worlds to meet and share a journey of life. As I journal and reflect of his session with me I’m drawn to conclude that I truly believe we all experience Thresholds in a manifest of ways, and yet there is always a thread that ties them together in reflection of our “necklaces or bracelets of life” that are collected throughout our lives of our stories and if we look at our “necklaces or bracelets” some of the strands are black on the end where the Threshold is yet to be met. The ones in vivid color have been brought to light and dipped in a bright color; those are the ones that one day will tie into the others as it always comes back to ‘One’.

[Angela Jones]

Threshold
Reflect on your experience as a client in the “threshold”

No matter the age, time or place throughout life thresholds have had a significant impact and enlightening vision to answers and deeper meaning always for me. I recall as a child going to Nature at a very young age to seek answers and share my thoughts and emotions with what surrounded me, awaiting and listening as nature would reflect back to my soul and guide me to places of surrender and often times a threshold. The wonder and anticipation of trust in what and where I was guided and what spoke to me in my quest for reasoning or answers always and to this day captures the laughter of my soul. Sometimes that laughter comes in waves of fear, tears, or amazement in what I experience in the moment of story and the threshold. I experience these feelings each time to this day as a client in the awe and adventure of a Threshold.

How does that experience inform your coaching and why?

I would like to share a experience that I had the opportunity to reflect back on while with a client recently. After speaking to a distant friend and explaining to him my journey to work with others in a guiding way of coaching he asked if I would be willing to meet him and help guide him. I offered him a time for meeting and holding space for him. We met on what turned out to be a cold dreary day and it was an honor to explore and then reflect to him; what I heard and his experience of the answers he was searching for came to light as he told me his story. He shared how for almost 2 years he had the same visions daily of our dear friend who was like a brother to us both and he shared with me the reflections of his daily conversations he would have with our Friend who had passed away over 2 years ago. The answer he longed to know is how long would he go on having this daily vision. As I held the space for him to express what he felt inside and how it made him feel, he walked me through the emotions and connection of what he had came to question. As we set in the mist of the cold rain falling on our faces looking out over the field where we had chosen to sit, the wind picked up and he expressed a dream he had one night that had caused these daily conversations and thoughts of our Friend to subside. He dreamed that they went to a foreign land to visit, and as night fell they went outside of the place they were visiting of ornate detailed architecture. The night was clear and the sky full of stars as they looked up. He asked our Friend to return inside and enjoy the beauty of the architecture they had traveled to see, but our Friend asked him to look up into the sky and why he didn’t want to stay there in the moment, outside and admire the stars. Did he not find them peaceful and feel the connection of the wonders of the earth? He asked our Friend do you not want to return inside we can see stars anywhere.

How did Nature participate in your process and what does that tell you about coaching others?

At that moment he stood up and asked me to stand with him and look to the sky with the mist of the light rain falling on our faces. I joined him in this moment and as the daylight faded to dusk and the wind picked up blowing my ball cap from my head I turned to reach for my ball cap and he said let me. As he picked it up and turned to give it to me he said I just realized that in this moment Omar is here with us again as you and I have not seen each other in over 2 years only to speak on the phone. I now am at peace and realize it was that dream when I asked him to go back inside with me and he said, “No don’t you want to stay here with me and look up at the sky? For me this is where I want to be, I will stay. You go if you want to see the architecture.” I have not thought of him everyday or heard his voice until just now, and I am here again with you and looking out onto the land he cared for while you were gone, and again I am able to admire the architecture of your home that I love!

We hugged as he handed me my ball cap and he said I am at peace in this moment. I set back down with him and reflected to him the story he had just shared and he said he felt as if he had crossed a threshold and felt at ease in all of the connection and peace. I realized in that moment the importance of trust and intimacy as in the core competencies. This allowance of the vision and story that allows for one to experience such a profound Threshold. And this is What ICF core competencies are essential for me to practice and build on to feel confident in that “place” as a coach?

It was a touching and personal reflection after he left for me of the threshold I had last time in CO and how our same Friend had brought me to a place to explain how we came from two worlds to meet and share a journey of life. As I journal and reflect of his session with me I’m drawn to conclude that I truly believe we all experience Thresholds in a manifest of ways, and yet there is always a thread that ties them together in reflection of our “necklaces or bracelets of life” that are collected throughout our lives of our stories and if we look at our “necklaces or bracelets” some of the strands are black on the end where the Threshold is yet to be met. The ones in vivid color have been brought to light and dipped in a bright color; those are the ones that one day will tie into the others as it always comes back to ‘One’.

[Mandy Bishop]

What a rich post, David! I appreciate hearing your transformative experiences that have occurred outside of EBI. It totally makes sense to me that the way in which you’ve experienced travel has been a long threshold experience.

This part of your post really stood out to me as something I can identify with and a part of what gives context to the power of accompanying a client through a threshold experience:
“Alone in threshold, it’s easy to glaze over a meaningful experience offering itself as a portal to further inquiry and growth. The parts of me afraid to change can dismiss an experience as insignificant. However, the skilled and trusted guide can offer a safe container to push through those barriers. The simple act of being asked the sacred question, or having a symbol reflected back in threshold, can solidify the validity of that portal inward which some parts may want to ignore. But the reflection by a guide can give enough attention and validity to the portal that the Soul can speak louder than the afraid parts and dive into exploring the meaning.”

I can really resonate with this especially having spent a significant amount of time exploring my questions through my own Medicine Walks and having had a couple powerful threshold experiences where I was accompanied by a guide. I know for myself, it is easier for me to glaze over or dismiss a symbol that could be incredibly significant. It really seems powerful and real to me that a guide reflecting back the symbols encountered could provide a safe ground to investigate further down the rabbit holes that we might not go down on our own.

[Mandy Bishop]

In my experience as a client in the threshold I seemed to have received something I had needed to receive for a long long time. I felt listened to, paid attention to, I felt like my issues and my feelings and my experience mattered and were important. I was given the undivided attention of my coach and I was allowed to be imaginative, to dream and to play. It felt as if my inner child and the deeper terrain of the soul were intertwined in an exploration that existed outside of time, outside of age, and outside of inhibition and fear. They both seemed to receive drops of nourishment they had desperately needed after what seemed to be a long trek through the desert.

In my session, my coach helped me to become clear about how there felt like a cloud of doubt and confusion around my head, and it felt difficult to see and hear through that thick cloud in order to hear the voice of the soul. My mind and soul felt like separate entities all together that were not in communication, and what I really wanted was to foster a greater relationship between the two. By the time we got to the part of the session where my coach asked me how I’d like to play with this realization and deeper need, there had been enough trust and safety built up that the voice of the soul spoke up. She knew exactly how she wanted to play with this need and knew that she wanted to create a visual representation of myself on the land. I needed to see myself, my critical space, the cloud that was hindering my senses, and my soul space all laid out to make sense of it. I had a sense that if I could map it out in the land visually, something else might transpire. My coach readily agreed to this plan and we stepped into the threshold. My coach helped build up the sense that I was actually crossing a threshold by having me stop at the edge of a structure and having me restate in my own words what my intention was in crossing over the threshold. I reviewed what I was aiming to do, and then I stepped into the dreamtime. I began gathering pinecones and twigs and herbs and all sorts of supplies to create this “drawing” of myself. The gathering proved to be just as powerful as every other part of the threshold, which I wouldn’t have expected. Once I got into the space of following the pull and listening to my instincts, I picked up things based on instinct that my coach then inquired about. For example, my coach asked me about why I was gathering pinecones and what significance they held for me. This caused me to reflect on something I had done just purely based on the call of my instinct, but immediately I knew the significance these held. And it has really impacted me to have articulated this significance to my coach. It really helped me to go deeper into my own process and to understand the symbolism that my soul speaks with.

This is one example that I think points to the power that this process of coaching holds as I am coaching others. Had I been alone in this experience in a solo Medicine Walk, I would have still had the powerful experience of creating the drawing on the land, but I probably would not have taken the time to really reflect on why I chose pinecones and what they represented to me. I’m sure that the same part of me that answered my coach would have known why I was choosing them, but there is something very potent about bringing the deep intuitive knowing to the surface, and expressing and articulating it to someone who listens with an open and understanding ear. It nudges the client to dig deeper to understand themselves more, to bridge the gap between their heart/soul and their mind/brain, which is exactly what I needed. It builds that relationship between mind and soul, and builds the client’s internal trust that they contain all their own answers within themselves. They know what they need, and why they need it, and they can hear themselves speak it aloud which has a lot of power.

The threshold experience continued and unfolded in some ways I expected and some ways that surprised me, and my coach allowed for the 50/50 rule that Jon Young speaks about in the Coyote’s Guide. My coach held space for the experience to move in the direction that it needed to flow while we both held onto the original deeper need and intention for the experience. This gave me a sense that my needs and my experience were the most important thing during this time, and it empowered me to truly lead the experience. This can be such a powerful and reparative experience for clients that have perhaps been disempowered in some way, or have not had the experience of being respected or listened to in their lives. It gives the client a taste of what it feels like to be the leader of their own life, igniting a sense of empowerment and excitement that can fuel the change they are looking to create.

I think the threshold had the ability to nourish me in such a profound way because of a number of factors that were continually and conscientiously being built throughout the entire experience. It helped me realize that as a coach there are several things that could really contribute to the threshold experience being a transformative experience for my clients, such as creating a container in the very beginning of a safe environment for the client to explore the really deep and vulnerable feelings happening in their heart, building up the moment just before stepping into the dreamtime of the threshold and having the client re-state their intention, being open and flexible to allow for the 50/50 rule and allow nature to be a collaborator in the threshold, and asking relevant questions of my client during their experience that allow them to hear themselves speak their own truths.

Some of the essential core competencies for creating a threshold experience are in the Coaching Presence section. It feels essential to be “present and flexible during the coaching process, dancing in the moment”, in addition to “going with your gut” and “open to not knowing and taking risks”. These speak to the 50/50 rule that Young talks about, contributing to the empowerment of the client and the collaboration with the natural world. It also feels important to practice Powerful Questioning in “asking questions that evoke discovery, insight, commitment or action” at appropriate times during the threshold to allow the client to articulate what they are experiencing and hear themselves speak their own truth. This is also reflected in Creating Awareness as “invoking inquiry for greater understanding, awareness and clarity”. Plus, the entire threshold seems to be part of the Designing Actions competency in that it “helps the client ‘do it now’ during the coaching session”.

[Brian Crosby]

Sorry I have been MIA. I have had some stuff going on. I will post here by the end of the week hopefully.

[Z Baker]

In reflection to my client experience with Katy, one…I was feeling extremely under the weather, and two…truth be told much of that day is a blur. That being said, I liken my experience as client to that of the entire Foundations Intensive. My experience up to this point has been that the entire EBI journey has been one of crossing “Thresholds”, of stepping away… and into transformation, deeper into “self”.

My specific “threshold” experience that day was a culmination of the entire nine days. I literally felt myself stepping into and onto a new path for myself. With it came a shift in energy and trajectory that was supported by my community (both EBI and the greater community, Earth).

The effect the entire Threshold experience has had on my coaching style is profound and foundational. I am a firm believer that as a teacher, leader or guide, I cannot lead/guide someone to a place which I have not been, a place which I do not have an understanding and experience of. I believe that experience/knowledge is crucial in guiding another into their “uncharted” soul.

Nature is the reliable yet “unknown” factor in the Threshold experience. As Jon Young calls it, the “50/50 Principle”, simply…you can plan a whole coaching session or retreat around a certain schedule or structure, but like clock-work we can count on fifty percent being unexpected. My interpretation of that principle is that once Intention has been set and the client has put emotion (energy + Motion) into that intention the Universe/Creator rises to meet that energy.

As a coach, this principle allows me to craft sessions around certain activities and outcomes, while remaining in a state of deep listening and heightened awareness for changes in the baseline. Being “ok” with the “unexpected” nature of NATURE.

The ICF core competencies I deem to be essential to enhance these skills as a coach and guide are;

• Setting the Foundation; this sets the groundwork, creates the safe infrastructure for a “relationship of trust” to be established.
• Communicating effectively; by applying deep listening and awareness, key power words can be identified, and sacred questions crafted around (these tools are key in a coach’s authenticity and presence). This further deepens the “trust” between the client/coach.
• Through these sacred questions, learning is facilitated and results (actions) are initiated. Agreed upon threshold experience is enacted.

My initial impression of the ICF material was one of revulsion. I had perceived them as unnecessary “hoops” required by a “board of suits” somewhere saying I was qualified to coach. In retrospect, my current feeling is that the principles espoused by the ICF and EBI link together almost seamlessly. -Z

[Z Baker]

In summary…its interesting to watch my cohort and to see the parallel experience we are all having. My takeaway form this Foundation 3 discussion is one of experience, authenticity and vision. At the Starhouse, Micheal said many times, WE are our first and most revealing client. This is beginning to sink in, we cannot take a client someplace we have not been, experience something we are not familiar with. Learning the tools to find OUR unique visions and pathways, offers us a unique perspective and tools which we can assist our clients in that same pursuit. -Z

[Rachel Thor]

Zach, responding to this late but WOW does this feel more true than ever. That we can only guide people to places we know well. If we are wanting to guide them through suffering to compassion, we must be familiar with that path. If we want to guide them into their bodies, we must inhabit ours.

Every practice session I have with a client feels like two sessions, one for them and one for me, because in order to stay present with them I am constantly noticing and dissolving my expectations and assumptions as quickly as I can, or naming them so they are not floating around messing with our present moment interactions unconsciously lol.

[Brian Crosby]

Again thank you all for the patience as this discussion post is way late. I enjoyed reading everyone’s thoughts

Reflect on your experience as a client in the “threshold”.
My experience in the threshold during the face to face was one of empowerment and validation. Going in to this program I had much self doubt and trust in myself. My first wander, the solo one, was very powerful. During my threshold experience with my coach I decided to retrace the steps of this original wander as a way to stay connected to my deeper need. The original wander replayed itself almost identically. This validated to me that I was following the right path and that not only did I have the capacity to listen to what my soul was telling me, but that it is necessary for me to follow what it says. The threshold for me was stepping into my power, purpose, and vision.

How does that experience inform your coaching and why?
I like control. It is comforting to know exactly what is going to happen and when. Letting go and letting the client nature unfold naturally is the only way for the client to experience the threshold authentically. In my experience I had set a very clear intention about what and why. I held that as I moved through the experience. Creating the space for the client to create clear intention based on their deeper need seems imperative for the client to experience that forward movement and growth.

How did Nature participate in your process and what does that tell you about coaching others?
Nature literally had me slip and fall in a pile of deer poop on 2 different occasions. The day of my original wander there was snow on the ground. Easy to follow a set of footprints. The day of my threshold experience of retracing with the Mandy, the snow had melted along most of the route. I was concerned I would not be able to follow closely. I just trusted in the pull and I was taken, by nature, on the exact same route without footprints in the snow to follow. Another item of note here is that a rabbit appeared in the same place both during my solo wander and the threshold. My coach was there with me physically, yet allowed me to have my experience and let nature “take me away” so to speak. She asked poignant questions at powerful times to help me notice what was happening at a deeper level. This just highlights again that as coaches we are there simply as a guide. The client has the power and the knowing already in them. Giving them the space with clear intent may be what they need. Allow them to make the meaning for themselves. We as coaches do not always need to be asking questions, nor do we have the answers.

What ICF core competencies are essential for you to practice and build on to feel confident in that “place” as a coach?
I think that “Coaching Presence” is essential to feel confident in that “place” as a coach because without trusting you gut, being flexible, and taking risks it seems as though it would be challenging to truly meet the client where they need to be met. “Active Listening” and “Powerful Questioning” are two other competencies that are imperative. One stems from the other I think. Listening actively will help the coach to know when to ask powerful question in the threshold and when to stay in the background and allow the client to have their experience through trusting their intent and nature.

[Brian Crosby]

In summary, I am reminded of something I heard and experienced at the foundations intensive…”All Roads Lead to Home.” This is something Daniel and I have talked about on several occasions since the intensive ended. This is true whether it is manifesting in our own personal lives and journey’s, or guiding and watching our clients experience the idea that all the answers are within themselves. Nature and the coach are simply there to help guide the client to that place. As my vision has shifted toward working with young children I have found it challenging to see out how I will apply what we learn at EBI to programs tailored to little ones. As I write this summary post, the basic answer lies in what I wrote in the first few sentences of this post. “All Roads Lead to Home.” If I create space for each child I work with to naturally experience and explore their curiosity and instinctual inquisitiveness I am sure I will see the direct parallels that exist between working with adults in a coaching environment and doing nature connection activities with children. The “Threshold” exists outside the world of coaching. It can be seen all over the place in varied environments and scenarios. As I move toward my vision, I think it will be imperative for me to keep these parallels and similarities between coaching adults and working with children at the forefront of my mind. Trusting that the client, or child knows what they need and trusting that nature will help guide the way.

[Hannah Grajko]

Summary post:
It has been such an utter joy and adventure to read everyone’s posts about their threshold experiences. I struck by how readily (no matter if you like control or find it easy to give up) everyone spoke of such deep surrender to the forces of nature. I got a very clear picture that nature and your souls were conspiring to whisk you all away on a journey of the heart to be shown something hiding just below the surface, and how you all seemed let the pull lead with humility. It was beautiful to be reminded by a few of you of the 50/50 rule in this regard. Something significant that I’m taking away from foundation three is that, as a coach, I need the pull of my client’s threshold to carry me along in a similar way so that I too can spot the important opportunities nature is presenting for learning and transformation; this chance for our clients is so much about submerging into the intensity of the threshold, but we must also hold on to our highest awareness in order to be present for the subtle movements of the Earth and reinforce those lessons for the client.

I love how all of our experiences looked and felt differently, but at the core, were all characterized by this profound submission to the process. Reading all your posts also made me SO EXCITED for the cohort to be reunited back on that magical land <3

[Kent-Singing Panther]

Summary Post:
I think for the most part the threshold is how I, as a coach, can build the most empathy with my clients. I don’t remember much of what was said during my coaching sessions at the intensive, but I do remember my threshold experiences and I carry those closest to my heart. As much as I enjoy speaking one on one with people I am always eager to have them step into the wild. My clients experience in the threshold won’t be exactly like mine, but I have no doubt the impact nature will have on them. I have brought every emotion into nature and she has always met me just where I am. She has healed me and encouraged me to keep stepping forward. I will have days where the trust in myself as a coach will be shaky, but I absolutely trust that nature will more than make up for my lack.

I think back to just before the program started and my first conversation with Ivy. As I spoke about my state of being at the time, she shared a vision she had of me paddling a boat. I saw myself paddling and enjoying myself, though getting tired because I could not find a place to rest. I considered this vision and brought it with me to a lake, which is actually made by a damned river. As Winter approaches the floodgates are opened and the water level recedes exposing several islands. This made me think about my vision and the meaning of the water. To me the water symbolized intention. I had let so much of my intention build up that I believe it caused an inner flooding of sorts. I realized then that in order to find a place of rest I had to open my own internal floodgates.

So as I’m making connections I see the threshold as the floodgates. I remember during the intensive, Michael talking about the building up of intention and then having a release of stepping through the threshold. “Intention” had been a keyword for me for the past couple of years, and now it has come back around to help me see that intention is only a part of the process of soul work. This process has a “flow” to it and understanding it is helping me navigate my soul and purpose so that I can support others to experience the same.

[Kaity Holsapple]

Summary post:

The threshold is an experience of allowing the client to connect to their deeper need in an experiential way, and in doing so, also connecting to the client on the level of their deeper need. It builds intimacy, requires trust, and results in transformation on a deep level. It is an experience of the deeper need as reality in the client’s present moment experience!