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Summary Post- Foundation 3- Cohort 19
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9 Replies
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I think one of my greatest takeaways from this module, particularly in how it relates to Threshold, is the idea of trust. There needs to be a balance of trust going in all directions between coach, client, nature, and the coaching process. There are of course nuances within this – what does it mean to “trust”? What does “trust” look like in terms of specific thought and action? As I went through to make a list of what that trust actually looks like for each constituent, I realized I could write an entire thesis on just this subject. Thus we see the importance of it!
Another thing that I noticed is the heavy use of metaphor within Threshold, and how we use metaphor of the external wilderness to make sense of our own internal wilderness. Metaphor is a unique thing to navigate because it can be interpreted differently by every person. That is also the beauty of it though, and what makes it such a powerful tool in coaching. I see nature as the ultimate metaphor, and Threshold as the expression of that metaphor in thought, feeling, and action.
One more powerful thing to note is that Threshold needs to be flexible. A classmate mentioned that when they hold the intention of entering Threshold too rigidly or too loosely, the session feels strained or not as powerful. I feel this flexibility really comes with experience as we explore the nuances of Threshold and how our intuition reacts with and to nature and the client. The more we practice being in Threshold as coach and client, the easier it will be to navigate it in an empowered way.
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When I reflect on Foundation 3, I think about the “critical space” exercises we did out at Star House on that beautiful morning of day 5 of the face to face intensive. I was really surprised with my sensitivity to feeling the threshold and critical edge of others. With my first partner particularly, I would approach her and then would be standing with a foot in the air, contemplating whether I could go the last step because I was sensing the boundary. Each time I was playing with that last step, she indicated I was there. As I think about this as it applies to my life right now, I am understanding why I have been very often triggered at work, where it can be a full day of dodging around people in close proximity. It has certainly made me more aware of how I honor others’ space in that environment. I remember we played around with this exercise, changing the approaching person’s intention and how that did have an affect on the feeling of that interaction. This was a great exercise for building onto our own personal leadership and creating awareness for how our proximity and our intentions can affect others.
It was touching to read the very vivid recollections of the cohort on their experiences being guided in threshold. This should serve as a reminder for any of us having doubts in the process or in our capabilities as coaches. Our experiences left lasting impressions on us and it sounds like many of us are incorporating the action items from those sessions into our lives now. If that can happen out on the Star House grounds, it can happen anywhere. WE witnessed and supported those experiences by showing up for each other as coaches and as clients. Threshold time for me in some ways felt like a relief in the role of guide. Severence can be a lot of hard work and energy and, when the deeper need is reached, it’s like breathing room. Now we get to go explore this and invite nature to participate in the process. From a coach’s perspective, we’re witnessing nature participating in our client’s process but I think one of the most incredible things that happens here is that our client now becomes part of nature’s reflection to US. Now we’re in kind of a multi-dimensional learning process and we can ask ourselves the sacred questions to find deeper meaning in that for ourselves.
One big takeaway for me is tracking of the energy within threshold. This is so crucial to the process and having awareness of the energy flow can help us guide the process. We’re looking for that peak of energy within threshold and then a decline in energy as that sinks in with the client. It almost feels like a realization that there’s now work to do to achieve this way of being. While it can be envisioned and felt as though it’s already been attained, we must now guide them into creating some goals that will feed that new path.
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When I reflect on Foundation 3, I’m immediately brought to thinking about honoring Nature- honoring nature within us, honoring nature around us, and honoring the sacredness of Nature as a whole. I also think about wholeness and energy in the greater world. There is such a deep awareness that is required of us as coaches. We need to be aware of our client, the environments we coach in and the client’s environment. We also need to pay attention to/watch for subtle and not so subtle shifts in voice changes, pauses, tone, body language, and overall energy… and honor our client as a whole person. I think about being a coach and how I feel like I’m a combination of a radar and a mirror. I’m a radar in the sense that I am sending out waves of support and loving energy as I help guide my guide clients through the coaching process. My intention is to help clients discover their gifts and needs. I help facilitate growth and at the same time I am receiving information in return. I’m also a mirror in the sense that, along with Nature, I provide the reflection needed for the deeper awareness and internalization to occur. I know that it is a need of everyone to be simply ‘seen’ and ‘heard’.
I also reflect on learning about how we move clients through Severance to to Threshold and into Incorporation. As coaches, we have the gift of being able to connect with others and the land. As we lead with intention we also dance with surrender and trust. We are dancing with Nature, listening and letting it co-guide with us and are constantly practicing tuning in. We track the energy of clients and are gifted the opportunity to witness our clients step into having their deeper needs identified and ultimately met.
Again, I think back to my personal experience being guided by others in our group… and specifically how the energy of my guides helped me to keep my momentum in moving into Threshold with purpose and energy. The mirroring by all of you- and your deep commitment to helping me to identify my needs- was mind blowing. It is so much about simply being present, being aware, trusting the process, letting go, and just being present with our co-guide (Nature), client, and self. You are all gifted!
There is such a need in the World for our work right now and this is our time to continue to move forward- and this is truly our time as Michael said, “to anchor into vision.” I am grateful for all of you. You are my chosen/EBI family and the connection we have brings me a sense of feeling more grounded and peaceful. You all give me hope and inspiration… thank you!
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As I reflect on Foundations 3, I think about balance. The readings in the coaching handbook spoke to exercising specific skills and techniques while my experience around the threshold requires holding skills loosely and fluidly. I feel like this concept was repeatedly revealed to me in my practice with clients and in my daily life over the last couple of weeks as I’ve been trying to apply what I’ve learned.
I also learned that balance is a moving target, requiring an openness, suppleness, skill and humility adequate to dance with whatever may arise in any particular moment. I realize that I hold balance as a static target that can be hit every time using the same skills as the last time. This is a beautiful practice for me because it requires me to stop (or greatly reduce) analyzing the situation and really tune in.
I appreciate reading everyone’s description of threshold. It is really amazing to me how powerful threshold can be.
I have learned to value the wilderness of my psyche as a pure expression of Nature, and to surrender to the truth of that, even as I hold the intention of facilitating other humans deeper relationship with the external psyche. -
As I reflect, I really understand how fitting this module is in relation to the current events in the world. I believe someone in our cohort mentioned that “it’s like the world is in a threshold experience” and I couldn’t agree more. In coaching as well as in my life I continue to return to the 90/10 plan in threshold. Asking powerful questions like “what are they seeing?” and “tell me more about this/that experience!” can continue to quench the thirst of my curiosity about our current times as well as heal and listen to those I interact with. In summary, this module taught me a lot about how to apply this work, this coaching style to my personal and professional life (outside of coaching).
The discussions with the cohort during this module were stimulating and fun for me. I took time to really get into the world of a few writers posts and get curious about their mindset and thought process. It is so fascinating to me how many ways coaching/guiding can be approached. I’m learning so much for the discussions specifically. When I was interacted with…I sat down to give thought to my teammate’s comments and questions. The challenge of applying that intellectual effort was so rewarding in the end…when clarity showed it’s face. I got to be clear about what I’m doing and thinking during the threshold process. Now that I’m clear, in practice, I’m now noticing different awareness gaps and strengths. I wouldn’t have progressed in my craft…from home over the last few weeks…with as much profound growth without the discussions and questions. I continue to be in awe…of the work…and of the people. -
My biggest take-away from this module is the orientation to the 8 directions. Following the natural cycle not only through the seasons but also through the day has been extremely grounding. I had the opportunity to use this model for my recent Full Moon Circle and though we had already created the “container”, I was able to use the 8 directions as points of reference for myself during the ceremony. I can see the correlation between the 8 directions and our ceremony process. It is a great way to track the movements and different energies through the ceremony. I want to be mindful of the 8 directions as I coach–feeling with my client the spacing energies of the directions as we move through them. I find that tuning into the directions throughout the day gives the day balance and shape. Experiencing the sun as it moves across the sky while hiking, driving, walking, or just sitting outside is a wonderful way to connect with the eternal cycles of Nature. I feel connected to my place on the Earth and our place as we rotate around the Sun. My perspective changes and I realize I am interconnected with the eternal and the universal. To integrate the directions more fully into my being, I have started an 8 directions mandala in my sit spot so I am physically aware of where I am in space.
Another take-away is the importance of holding the whole person while coaching. Their life background is an important aspect of who they are and plays into their desires for coaching. Understanding what life event or experience might be a trigger or obstacle for them as they move towards their goals is an important context as it may reveal their deeper need.
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I’m taking away from this module alongside my coaching with clients the importance of having enough time and sufficient space to really get into threshold and return. When we’re out on the land and the client is primed with a want or even a deeper need along with a perspective that ‘sees nature’ as more than a bunch of dead matter, a lot can be accomplished in an hour. However, I’m finding that over the phone – especially when working with ‘city folk’ who can’t quite justify driving somewhere in nature for an hour – an hour is rarely long enough to get into and stay in threshold for a considerable period of time.
That said, some of what emerges in cities can be super interesting and full of information: for instance, the other day I was coaching a client by phone and guiding her into a threshold experience at a park in San Francisco. She sat in a circle of trees and placed her hands and feet barefoot on the ground. As she did this, a homeless woman yelled something nasty sounding at her yet specifically used the words “connecting with nature.” I could even hear that by phone. Though my client decided to move away from the woman and had a difficult time returning to presence with the earth (though she did quite successfully, because she spoke about “feeling the pulse of the earth” for the first time in the city before the end of the call), I helped her see that somehow she’d connected with that homeless woman through connecting with the earth. She had been seen for what she was doing, and that woman in spite of her vitriolic tone had recognized something in my client’s actions that was universal.
I longed to have a lot more time in threshold after this occurred to facilitate my client’s deepening and feeling into the Earth Pulse she described (which I related to her as being quite measurable to the tune of 7.83 Hz (The Schumann resonance)); alas, we had to end the call.
I’m taking away from this module and my direct experience with a client that threshold can be difficult to access when there are distractions, yet the right framing even of ‘distractions’ can offer insights that will become available in her lived experiences in her ordinary surroundings.
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When we first posted for module three in March, we were all at the beginning of quarantine in the US. Three months later, I now view the last three months as preparation for a threshold. I feel that as a collective, we have been, and still are, in the severance phase. We are realizing our issues, realizing what matters and what we value, and realizing what kind of world we want to live in. We are becoming more and more aware of what needs to die, what needs to birth, and what we want and need, individually and as a collective.
I am reminded that in entering the threshold, one must be ready, and have thoroughly gone through severance. Thorough severance is necessary for threshold to occur. I am remembering my vision fast journey. I was ridden with anxiety the night before heading out for the four-day fast, but I also knew that I needed to go. I trusted that the risk was going to be worth taking. My trust was established from the serious intention setting in the days that led up to the fast (during the severance phase). The threshold is nothing without serious severance.
Entering the threshold feels like taking a big risk. It is saying “yes” to something unknown, which can be terrifying for people. In reflecting upon the threshold experience in my coaching sessions, I realize that most of my sessions with teens (which are the majority of my sessions), have not gone into threshold. I have several teen clients who I have been working with for a couple months, but we are still in severance phase. I realize that entering the threshold requires deep trust in self and the coach/guide. Trust can take a long time to establish with teens.
In knowing that it is challenging and can take a lot of time for teens to be ready to enter threshold, I am wondering what this means for our society as a whole. Bill Plotkin refers to our western society as a patho-adolescent society, meaning that our society is stuck in an unhealthy, extreme adolescent phase. I wonder if understanding how teens transition from severance to threshold may give us insight into healing our patho-adolescent society. What is needed for us to sever from and transition out of a patho-adolescence?
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There are many takeaways from working in the threshold. As I pause, I realize the Threshold is part of the Natural Cycle of inner/spiritual growth. Remembering to allow nature to be part of the experiential process, as a metaphor, messenger, mirror, and co-creator of reality. The threshold is a powerful space for transformation. Though, nature has it’s natural cycles, it’s also unpredictable and uncompromising. Nature just is. As humans beings, we have forgotten to be, and forgotten to listen, we have forgotten our inner compass and knowing. It’s when we begin to see ourselves in nature and nature in us, that the threshold can deliver wisdom to those open to receiving it in a way that is ancestral, through spirit, through allies (North/South, East, West…Eearth, Wind, Fire, Water, etc…), brings out the hidden wisdom that already exists deep in are hearts and bones.
Being in the threshold can be a scary just as easily as it can be an exciting place to be when entered into. It’s important to not rush into the threshold. The process of severance and clarity of the goal is important prior to moving into the threshold is important. If a severance is not complete and the goal not clear, well going into the Threshold may reflect that lack of clarity and can be confusing. There is still a message in it, however; it’s important to remember, as a coach, that the process is marathon, not a sprint. Being Aware of limitations, surroundings, feelings within the body, emotions, etc. supporting the client with foundation of tools/skills is important when working in the threshold. I found that that navigating the threshold, and being in the ebb and flow requires a culmination of skills, Trust and Awareness. Arguably, the threshold is perhaps one of the most important stages of ceremony, because it can be so fluid and unpredictable, yet powerful. As a coach the ability to hold space and be comfortable, grounded and flexible becomes important. Allowing the unfolding process to occur for the client. Guide the client into and out of the threshold “safely.” and lead into the integration process. It’s important to remember, integration can occur over an undetermined amount of time. The coach can support integration, but ultimately, it’s the client having the experience of integration into the “new” version of themselves and world around has changed because the client’s perspective and bodies (physical, emotional, mental, spiritual) have potentially changed. The client may not realize right away in what way(s) they have changed. The same tools of awareness, trust, allowing, etc. become just as important out of threshold and into integration.
