coachtamara
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Hi, everybody.
I’m Tamara Herl. I live near Colorado Springs, where I own a retreat center on 8.5 acres. I’ve had some training in Parts Work, but not in using it with nature, so I’m VERY excited to learn about this. I am a therapist and Life Coach.I’m looking forward to meeting you!
Sincerely,
Tamara -
Sheri, I love your challenge, and I bet it will transform your life! Enjoy!
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What is your next step on the path of personal leadership. Are you needing to claim direction? Or, are you needing to deepen your expression? Or, maybe it’s both? How do you know this and why?
My next steps are to both claim direction and deepen my expression. The direction I need to claim is the South. I’ve had myself so overbooked that I have not fully integrated the practices that we learned by practicing them each day. I would do them for a couple of days, and then forget about them. This is a pattern that I’ve had for a long time–maybe my whole life. I think this ties in with with the South because I need to actually learn and experience the earth-based leadership practices with my BODY and not just with my head. I want to incorporate the practices into my everyday life until they become second nature. I plan to go back and re-listen to all of the recordings of the classes so I can integrate the material more deeply.
I also want to deepen my expression of Self-leadership in nature. I have become very bored and burned out with practicing coaching and counseling indoors. The first week after the time changed, I was working with a client via televideo at home after having worked inside all day with clients as well at my regular job. I looked out the window and saw my husband going for a walk on our property and I felt a deep longing, a visceral pull in my body to be outdoors connecting with nature. Since then, I have scheduled a 1 hour break after I get home from work before I start seeing clients in the evening. I couldn’t believe how strong that pull was for me to get out in nature!
I am also in the process of deepening my expression as a nature-connected coach. I feel both excited and terrified at the same time! The excitement stems from a deep knowing that this path is in the highest good of both myself and my clients. The fear stems from a lack of confidence in knowing “how” to do this work. I have been trying to find material I can read to help me learn how to incorporate nature into coaching & counseling. My Vision Council also told me to go out and practice/experience techniques myself as if I were a client, and then I will know how to lead these experiences.
Even though I feel scared and uncertain, I am pushing myself to grow and to step into my full potential as a nature-connected coach. I am offering a couple of free team building events that will incorporate the new labyrinth that we built. Does anyone know of a good resource–a book or article about how to use labyrinths for team building? I’m planning to ask my Vision Council and our Labyrinth as well!
Thank you so much for an amazing course. It is so rich and deep. I hope I can take more courses through EBI -
Sheri, good job of naming what is going on with you! In some of my recent parts work with my coach, I got in touch with fear, and also with doubt. I had been practicing energetically creating a boundary for the land that we own to keep trespassers out. I realized that my fear and doubt are like internal trespassers on my vision. Last week when I took time to drop in and be fully present in nature, the experience was so magical that I could sense my internal trespassers getting on board with my vision. It was so cool!!!
This week, I found myself avoiding the homework, too, even though I loved the material. I have been finding it really hard to sit down outside for 10 minutes. Last week, I tried doing it just before I leave for work at 7 am while I’m warming my car up. This week, I just couldn’t seem to get ready in time. My sensory awareness time has been rushed, so therefore not very deep.
My coaching work has been awesome!!! In this week’s session, two new members of my Vision Council showed up: a Native American Elder, and a Tree Spirit. They bestowed gifts on me to honor the progress I’ve made on my vision, and the Tree Spirit welcomed me to the clan. They told me it’s time to celebrate, and that this joy will help me maintain my momentum. Last weekend we cleared all of the junk away from the new labyrinth we built, making the space feel even more sacred. I have invited 3 people I know to bring their co-workers out to do some labyrinth team building. So that feels great! I feel like my Soul, Warrior, and a part I call “Amarah” are working together in service of my Vision. I am loving this class and the coaching so much! It is really helping me move forward after feeling stuck for years! -
How am I living in alignment with my vision? What beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes need to shift or be developed to become more aligned with my vision?
My ability to live in alignment with my vision of having a retreat center on our land varies. I feel like this is a vision and not a dream, because the idea came to me at least 15 years ago, although I had no idea then how I could make it happen.
There are times when I feel afraid about this vision, and other times when I feel hopeful. When I’m feeling fear about my vision, I become tentative, and this is an attitude that I need to let go of, because it will not help me manifest what I want. When I feel tentative, I stop doing the things necessary to help my vision manifest.
One belief I need to keep reminding myself to shift is that my past doesn’t define my future. I recently asked my Vision Council what I can do to promote myself better. They reminded me “You’re not promoting yourself” but rather the amazing power of connection with nature!
Another belief I’m in the process of shifting is that logic is always the best tactic to use when problem solving. Using traditional logic, it didn’t make sense to purchase 8 acres of land, because my husband and I are in our 60’s. But, using a mixture of logic, and intuition, it seemed the right thing to do based on several other factors.
A behavior I need to let go of is caring what other people think. This is hard right now, because my in-laws are negatively judging me (very outwardly and verbally!) because of my vision.
Probably the hardest belief for me to accept right now that’s connected with my vision is the impermanence of the creek and my belief that this is a bad thing. I thought after the summer rains we were done with floods, but now there are ice floods that continue to expand and expand, and they make it very difficult to navigate the land because there is ice everywhere. I get so frustrated and want to give up My victim part takes the stage, and I feel like the Universe doesn’t have my back in trying to take people out for forest bathing. So, I’m in the process of learning to accept the impermanence, and that the Universe has a bigger plan that I can see, if I will just hang in there and not give up. Today after forest bathing on our land, I found a small piece of bark that has a shape that looks like an eye on it. My Sage part stepped in and interpreted it to mean that the Universe IS keeping an eye on me. Continuing these nature connected practices will help me live in more alignment with my vision. -
Hello, everyone!
I hope you enjoyed your weekend. I wanted to share a nature-connected experience with you, and to ask you a question
1. Nature-connected experience. Much of our property is flooded with ice, which makes it very tricky to navigate. So, on Sunday I decided to take the easier route, and focus on an area closer to our house. I sculpted a new trail, letting some of the trees “show me” the way. It was so much fun, and wonderful, because I hadn’t really noticed those trees before! I felt like I “met” some very nice trees.
2. Vision Council. This is something I haven’t really tried or heard of before. I made a list of who I want on my council. I’m guessing the next step is to meditate with them and seek their wisdom about my vision? Can some of you tell me how you use your Vision Council, or are there articles or books I can read about this topic? Thanks so much!! -
What does it mean to be Soul-Directed and Nature-Connected?
Thank you so much, everyone, for your thoughtful replies and comments!
To me, being Soul-Directed means being able to rise above the drama of the everyday struggles we encounter in life, so that we can see the how those challenges are helping us grow and evolve into who we are meant to become. It means being able to come from that place of Wisdom when I am making choices throughout the day. And, it means staying true to what I believe is in my own highest good and the highest good of others, even if others don’t understand or accept me.
I also found interesting the discussion about the possibility of Being Nature-Connected even when we are indoors. That definition makes me think of mindfulness in general, such as eating mindfully and focusing on every step that led from a potato being planted until it ended up on my plate. Right now, I crave the deep connection I feel by going deep into the woods. When I look out my living room window, I can see the beauty of nature, but I don’t feel it at a deep level. It’s like I’m a spectator at a sports event. When I go outside and sit on a bench that’s about 25 yards from the house, I feel more connected—like I’m sitting on the bench at a sporting event. I feel the deepest connection of all when I go out into the wild part of the property. That’s when I really feel like I’m “in the game.”
I have had instances where I felt deeply connected to nature even when I was indoors. I remember that I was leading a workshop, and we were pretending to “be” things from nature, so I became a rock. I didn’t think I would feel much, but I curled up into an almost fetal position and stayed that way for quite some time. I was surprised by how I was able to feel disconnected from the hurried pace of the world around me.
The biggest lesson I’m learning right now related to being soul-directed and nature-connected is related to accepting and working with impermanence. When I go for a walk on our property, by the time I come back, parts of the trail I walked on might be covered by water. I have to develop a sense of trust that the Universe still has my back, and the ability to be spontaneous and think on my feet. -
Awesome, Liz!! Thanks so much for sharing your experience. I’m excited to see where this takes you! I have found that the Universe celebrates with us when we take those leaps, and conspires with us to help us attract what we need to grow and evolve!! So, hold on to your hat!
What I know about my vision now is that it is something that showed up in it’s early stages a few years ago with a desire to coach people in the world who feel strongly called to transform the existing structures and systems in the world that aren’t working. These systems and structures include our money system, health care, mental health, education, etc. I felt called to work with these people, but it didn’t gain much momentum then. So I put it on the back burner. Now, I am being pulled again to work with them. I know this because they are showing up when I give Akashic Records Readings at holistic fairs. I have even been surprised to find them showing up in the therapy work I am doing as I work to transition into coaching full time. So, instead of doubting that these folks are my ideal client, I’m just realizing the Universe was planting seeds 5 years ago, and now the seeds are growing & I can help them thrive. My work with my EBI coach has helped me realize that I can use my own pain of being so strongly called to do this work and yet not quite having found a way to do it for so many years, as a tool to attract these people. So now, when I feel the pain & frustration of working in the existing system that seems so dysfunctional, I ask “What is the pain teaching me?” rather than “How can I get rid of it?” It is helping me realize I AM on the path, and this is moving me closer to living my vision more fully.
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I’m still fuzzy on “programming” but thanks to my supplemental coaching, I’m getting very clear about parts work, and I’m loving it. I’m excited about the progress I’m seeing in working towards manifesting my vision. Over the weekend, I built a rock labyrinth on our property, despite the very strong winds! I have accessed some very determined parts of myself and I’m learning how to integrate the parts that have been holding me back. Today I got to experience firsthand what it’s like to Just Show Up (It’s my new mantra!) I’ve been doing it previously, but didn’t know that’s what I was doing! Lol! I’ve also found myself bringing parts work into my therapy practice. I have taken actions that are helping me feel safe enough to do the sacred work I want to do, and I’ve reached out to an organization to put some of what I’m learning into practice to offer them a nature-connected leadership experience. Loving this course, the coaching, and how it’s supporting my growth!!