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Foundation Three C23 Discussion
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Foundation 3 summary post
I am still blown away by the power of the threshold experience. This amazing feeling that we get after experiencing it in Nature… this feeling of empowerment and of courage to step into this new person. It is carved forever in our soul, we can easily get back to this feeling by just thinking about it. I can still remember myself with open arms facing the valley and feeling unstoppable and so supported by my classmates. I can easily connect to this feeling/emotion if needed.
I believe this quote came from Mickael during the intensive week in Gunnison and it really resonates with me “most impactful adventures require getting outside of our comfort zones and away from our hometowns. In doing so, we put ourselves in new places and new situations that require us to fully engage in what’s going on around us”.
This explains 100% the threshold experience.
This explains the need to surrender, to let go and to accept what is about to come.
This explains the transformation from the uncomfortable unknown to the known.
Just unbelievable! I am not the type of person that likes to speak or write a lot. And sometimes I struggle to explain things the “right way”. This threshold experience doesn’t need to be explained, just need to be lived. You understand once you’ve been through it.
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Initial Post
Q: Reflect on your experience as a client in the “threshold”. How does that experience inform your coaching and why? How did Nature participate in your process and what does that tell you about coaching others? What ICF core competencies are essential for you to practice and build on to feel confident in that “place” as a coach?
I love threshold experiences—to me they are the value-add of Nature-Connecting Coaching. It is a safe and supported sample of how I actually want to be. They are definitely an “edge”/challenge, and I think it is so important to create a safe and supported space for the client. In my experience so far, I have usually felt supported by my coach, but sometimes I have held back if I have been observed (e.g., fishbowls or online practice sessions) or if I think I will be heard if I make noise, for example (by my neighbors).
Actually doing a threshold outside and involving Nature has been particularly powerful, because I have felt held by the earth, connected to something larger than myself. I remember the fresh air being stimulating for the brain as well as a feeling of expansiveness. Sometimes I think asking a client for how nature can play a role in their threshold can be challenging for them, particularly if we are doing a session over Zoom.
Some of the core competencies that I think are particularly relevant here are:
– Cultivating Trust & Safety: a threshold can be a scary proposition, so the client has to feel safe, not judged; has to be something the client wants/feels comfortable with (though of course, the whole experience may still be a bit of an edge)
– Maintains Presence: be right there with the client, holding the space and participating in the way the client says would be most supportive
– Listens Actively and Evokes Awareness: these are important for the space leading up to the threshold as well as for the threshold itself
– Facilitates Client Growth: this has the potential to be a powerful experience that helps a client go beyond their fear and blast through long-held assumptions/beliefs to experience how they want to be. To me it is the ultimate test of a big assumption to try on something new (described in Chapter 8 of Coaching Skills, p. 181)
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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 blank sheet of paper in a pastels class many years ago—my nervous system was caught in “freeze” as my mind felt overwhelmed not knowing where to even start); a coach creating a container of safety and support is thus really important.
It’s also important to recognize that each session will be a little different; it’s not always linear, and we will not always get to threshold. As a coach, I want to stay in the mode of curiosity and openness and not be attached to a particular outcome in a session.
I am also inspired to encourage my clients to use all five* senses when tapping into nature for inspiration.(*six, if they want to see dead people**)
(**bonus points if you get that reference***)
(***is anyone reading these posts anyway? ;-))
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Summary Post
Ah, the beauty and power of Threshold. As Sara calls out in her summary post, Threshold is THE thing that makes nature connected coaching unique and differentiated in a sea of (somewhat) sameness in coaching modalities. This is not something that I appreciated when I was consciously evaluating the NCC program which, as Sara also highlights, points to the opportunity we as nature connected coaches have to creatively articulate during discovery sessions (or, earlier in our broader marketing efforts) the unique approach and value of the NCC approach.
As NCC we are not just going to talk about things our clients could do to facilitate change or transformation, we are actually going to do it. We are going to feel it. We are going to experience a new way of being. And, we are going to experiment and learn from this new way of being. AND, AND, we are going to collaborate with nature to support threshold’s conscious experimentation. When those two concepts collide, true awareness and change can occur in profound ways for our clients.
As I reflect on threshold experiences and our time on the land during Foundations, I am struck by the importance of non-judgmental creativity and playfulness. As coaches, it is critical that we create the container and conditions for our clients to trust us and the space we co-create. This will allow our clients to create threshold experiences that allow them to more deeply surrender into their new way of being.