[teddy]

Ahh, how lovely it is to read all of your responses as I bring up the rear here, per usual. Not sure what that’s about, but it’s a pattern I’ll be shifting as we move into the next phase of EBI!

As I write this, my body aches (literally) to move and to be outside. The weather is gorgeous (70 degrees today – it will be high 80s before the end of the week), and I wish that we were all gathered at the Star House. That said, I am finding plenty of reason to be grateful for where we’ve all come from and where we are going. Truly one of the most energizing things about this program thus far has been to see everyone’s vision unfold and begin to take shape, in spite of navigating a global inversion. While many businesses shutter and individuals default on their loans and rent payments, Cohort 19 and EBI’s impressive leadership keep chugging along, adapting to the realities of the moment.

I find myself pulled by the work of the foundations and the ‘pause’ many of us have referred to into a spiritual center, grounded and rooted like never before in my working life. For me, it’s one thing to attend a 9-Day intensive 10 min from home with a bunch of awesome people doing what I love most; it’s wholly another to show up consistently in an online format to invest in my own personal growth and learning. If I were tasked with this in a silo, I would not be finishing strong the way I am. The fact that I’m here doing the work while juggling a bunch of work-related balls, building one business and visioning another, while getting my physical and mental health dialed back in, can surely be attributed to the strong leadership that you are all providing me with by posting such stimulating reflections, engaging in genuine conversations, and participating on calls. Nothing less would have wrangled my jet-setting chameleoning self to the fertile ground of consistent contribution and focus in which my roots are now planted.

The foundations in hindsight… – *pause*: As I was writing the previous sentence, my eyes somehow picked up on a black-billed magpie flying at full clip through the foot-wide opening behind my computer monitor; this level of noticing is unprecedented for me and a product of having just read the Coyote’s Guide section on birds for this foundation plus a quick google search of our Front Range avian friends. I’m awed that my brain can now pick up on the black and white of a bird as it jets by, and of course I’ll source some meaning for that here: I am present, here, open, grounded, noticing and aware thanks for the foundations and the personal growth they’ve catalyzed. While at times I felt the stretch from Coyote’s Guide, to the practicalities of coaching clients remotely, to academic papers on ecopsych, to ethical consideration offered by J Rodgers to be untenable. Yet, in wrapping up here, I suppose part of the definition of a nature connected coach within the EBI framework must include an extraordinary range and flexibility.

I conclude Foundation Four with deep appreciation for the process to get here and also a strong desire to up-level my coaching. Aside from my other endeavors, I want to be an exceptional, groundbreaking coach. It’s one thing to be able to co-facilitate pretty naturally with more-than-human beings while working with clients in nature; it’s another to be able to coach masterfully and powerfully over the phone or by zoom – to really push clients, to hold the agenda (especially when they don’t want to), and to be ‘ok’ at this point in time with failing to knock every session out of the park. So far, nobody’s fired me – so I guess I’m doin’ alright ;-).

Onwards and upwards!

[teddy]

I’ll keep this brief:

My ideal coaching clients are families of considerable financial resource for whom a Rite of Passage might generate a deep connection with and love for the land; my wager, supported by personal evidence and the experiences of others, is that a family transformed in nature will without coercion feel compelled to realign their investment portfolios and business enterprises to be in alignment with sustainable outcomes. As many of us know, resources are dramatically consolidated within the top .1-1%, and there will be a considerable wealth transfer to the tune of $31.5T USD (at least before COVID) within the next decade or so; my mission is to expose the rising generation who will inherit these resources and who are largely starved for natural consequences to the bounty or true wealth (different from money) that is to be found in the outdoors and through service to the planet.

Other target audiences I’m working with are high-performing entrepreneurs, spiritually curious millennials & gen z, veterans, and transitioning military personnel.

Other organizations that do Rites of Passage with ultra high networth families do not yet exist, hence the gamble and the opportunity (though there are plenty of orgs of course that claim to serve this target market when in fact they provide every service other than the one that’s needed most: transformational wilderness experiences). Companies doing ROPs generally include School of Lost Borders, Wilderness Reflections, Outward Bound, and NOLS.

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@deanna.falge

Love the clarity of your vision, Deanna! It’s amazing to see all the different populations you are interested in working with, and I believe you can serve them all. What I’m hearing in your post is a lot of clarity and integrity in your commitment to authentically bring earth-based principles and lessons into your work with a variety of client segments. That foundation is so clearly a ‘keel’ on the ship you are building to deliver you and the lucky folks you work with to the promised land of nature connection and resilient growth.

I’d like to highlight your desire to work with movement/dance oriented communities as very unique and niche. I have a stockpile of resource connecting movement and dance to social cohesion, trust, and the sorts of bonds that allowed our ancestors to survive everything nature – not to mention competing tribes – threw at them. By far, the strongest communities I’ve been a part of or born witness to incorporated some sort of synchronized movement into their cultural rituals, be it through dance, rowing, or marching. There’s enough science coming our now around “muscular bonding” and dance as a “biotechnology” for bonding groups together that you will be able to take this work into more ‘right brained’ worlds such as corporate america and the like – not sure if you’re drawn to that, but thought I’d mention it.

@hardcorehuntley
So cool to see your vision articulated clearly and thoroughly fleshed out (no pun intended…fleshed out…like raw meat…get it?!). These skills you’re wanting to teach are more relevant than ever given the whole apocalyptic toilet paper hording flight response we’ve just witnessed – your marketing could center around resilience and preparedness for any circumstances (since who needs toilet paper when we know what plants to use for that, right?). And I see what you’re wanting to bring into the world as far more than being just about preparedness – it’s about health, vibrancy, resourcefulness, and nature connection; in short, it’s about what YOU are about. I would reflect also that one of your superpowers is to dive deep into the depths of darkness and emerge with a smile on your face and a spring in your step. Words that comes to mind when I think of you include: Adaptable. Functional. Mindful. Present. I wonder how these could play into what you’re creating so that the latter reflects your unique brand of resilience, playfulness, and purpose. So much of the survival oriented stuff gets bogged down with gravitas, when in fact the best survivors know how to tap into the incredible power of humor in order to heal, move through, and thrive. Saying all this, I’d definitely encourage you to explore at the nexus of play, movement, resilience, fun, humor, improv, primitive skills, and high performing teams…Thanks for reading!

@david.fontaine2
Hi David – I am so glad you’re wanting to focus on initiating newcomers to the outdoors. That’s probably most of the population these days, so your target market is substantial! I wonder how you might focus on a niche audience for starters – are you interesting in working with folks in urban areas? Rural? From what socioeconomic group? Age group? I definitely hope you choose to start a practice or some sort of nature-connection initiative after this course (or during!), because your spirit is so needed and your experience would likely speak to many who would otherwise not find their way into connection with nature. I look forward to following and supporting you however I can as you determine how you’d like to bring your gifts to the world!

[teddy]

What a great discussion to be joining! Thank you all for your considered shares. I absolutely love seeing everyone articulate their visions specifically around ‘the who’ and perhaps ‘the how.’

Replying in order:

@lesliewier
I definitely relate to your desire to focus on resilience coaching, and thank you for sharing about the Resilience Institute – I may well use their assessment with some of the families I work with as a means of measuring resilience before/after Rites of Passage. I’m stoked that you have honed in on this as an area of focus for your coaching, especially given how resilient you clearly are! I love thinking about resilience and how it’s cultivated – not to mention what it means. I used to think of resilience as the grit to survive, no matter what. Think extreme scenarios. But I’ve come around to realizing that true resilience transcends mere survival: a resilient person smiles through the storm, rather than merely tolerating it. A resilient person even dances through the storm, smiling as the elements swirl around her. I wonder, how does the following land for you: “resilience is movement.” As we move through a global pandemic, I find myself drawn to dance and activities which facilitate the movement of energy – so long as we don’t allow ourselves to get stuck – to literally keep moving, one foot in front of the other (literally when I think of armies marching, or Cheryl Strayed walked the PCT in Wild, or Stephen Hawking ‘moving’ thoughts and generating while unable to move physically) – we have the capacity for resilient moments of individual and collective joy.

[teddy]

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.

[teddy]

This module has served as a reminder of the potent framing of ecopsychology. As fundamentally self interested beings, humans in general need to understand how something effects us in order to change our behaviors; the genius of the ecopsychological perspective is that it frames human psychology within its broader environmentally connected context and forces a critical social bond between personal suffering/wellbeing and the health of the Earth. Through the lens of ecopsychology, we come to understand our feelings, moods, and mental health as (inter)dependent participles of the Earth. I would love to imagine a world in which physical health, mental health, and the health of the planet are all seen as different organs of a shared body – without taking care of one, the others cannot function.

Although I don’t hold much hope for the world waking up tomorrow with eyes that see more connections than distinctions, I at least have enjoyed rediscovering and clarifying the connection between my own body/mind and the condition of other living beings and the planet. Yet I am seeking a more granular understanding of ecopsych, as I have many questions about how one might cultivate a more intimate connection with the psychology of the earth; for if we are earth and we have a psyche, then earth must have a ‘mind’ as well. What that looks like I will hold in exploration.

[teddy]

Being connected to Nature is our innate and pure state of existence, whether we are aware of it or not. In a way, we are always and inextricably connected to the earth and other beings, yet our minds – so often trained to see the world as separate in the WEIRD (western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic) parts of the world – frequently fail to connect the dots between what we are experiencing internally and the goings on of the outside world. Being connected to nature, then, is a state of mind cultivated over the journey of a lifetime; it is a process of waking up to the myriad ways in which we are not separate from but rather a part of and connect to the natural world.

The journey to nature connection is a perennial adventure, though there are perhaps two moments of awakening that many people tend to point to consistently: the primary moment has been called ‘the first kiss of awakening,’ and involves a sudden and ‘psychedelic’ state of awareness in which all boundaries between self and other temporarily disappear. This state, enjoyed for a time in all its bliss, is a peak experience from which we are left to make meaning and integrate the non-dualistic world we have been given a glimpse into.

The Coyote’s Guide provides one tried and true pathway along which coaches, mentors, mentees and clients can be guided into a deeper state of nature connection that will, if followed in a devout and disiplined way, yield the second phase of awakening which is far more permanent and sticky than the former. Through developing alongside Coyote and the Eight Directions, these states of being can be consistently cultivated. Furthermore, a framework for understanding our journey through life which establishes coherence among mind, body, and wild soul can be discovered and subsequently leveraged by all parties through learning and acting in accordance with Coyote wisdom and nature connection practices.

Thus nature connection is a developmental pathway along which awareness is cultivated and the boundaries perceived between things dissolve, one by one, revealing the true threads which like mycelium networks bond all things together. Once cultivated, the state of awareness to which I am referring allows for a sharing of information between beings such that the true nature of reality can be mutually understood by a collective consciousness; this information can only be shared between beings whose consciousnesses vibrate at the same frequency, which is why “being connected to nature” is not only a state of mind and a developmental pathway but also a lifelong practice of diving in and out of the deeper states of being; hence we are like dolphins diving beneath the surface of the ocean to find nourishment and wisdom. We then ‘return to the surface’ levels of consciousness for air and to share our treasures with beings who do not yet know how to hold their breath. Thus, being connected to nature is also to see, appreciate, and source things which others who do not yet have the eyes to see themselves as one in the same as other beings will benefit and learn from; such is the beautiful burden of those whose lives and brought them into deep connection with nature: we must bring others with us and hold their hands as we dive together again and again down into the seas of awareness.

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So wonderful to read your recounting of this experience, Susan!

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The experience of being in threshold is, as I experience it, an altered state of being within which I am in coherence internally and externally. In threshold, we’ve ventured from the known into the unknown; not only that, we may also be embodying a future version of ourselves – the person we ‘need to be’ in order to meet our deepest needs. (I’m not sure what the prompt is referring to around “this is not a feedback session to your coach;” what did I miss?)

In any case, threshold is a liminal state of being between who we are and who we are becoming – it’s a space where we begin to wire new neural connections that will better serve us in the lives we are manifesting.

Often, I don’t really remember threshold – it can feel like it was a dream. I’ve had clients tell me this, too, on ‘debrief forms’ where they simply don’t know what happened – yet they will often reflect that something profound occurred or that something shifted, but they’re not quite sure how. My hypothesis as to why we often go ‘blank’ in threshold (at least in hindsight) is that our memories aren’t necessarily evolved to code for experiences of coherence during which our frequencies are synchronized with those of nature, earth, and non-human beings. Threshold, then, lines up with flow states and experiences where we’re “relieved of the burden of our consciousness” – no drugs required!

By embodying, if only for a few minutes, the beings we need to become, a porthole to some divine creative force opens and, with the right guidance, we might swim through it and immerse ourselves in the oneness which surrounds and binds us constantly, but which most have forgotten how to access on their own.

ICF Core Competencies:
Coaching Presence
Coaching Awareness

NCC Competencies:
Guiding the ceremony

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Deanne – While there are many parts of your post I enjoyed, I was drawn to respond in particular to your observation that “conditioned fear of “madness” is a product of the “old colonial-consumerist mind-set” that Linda Buzzell and Craig Chalquist refer to in Psyche and Nature in a Circle of Healing.” Madness is a funny thing – the very existence of a label that dubs someone essentially as broken speaks to the heart of what’s wrong with our world. This was not always so, as during the Renaissance the ‘mad’ were sometimes glorified (see Foucault, Madness and Civilization.) and seen to possess otherworldly gifts.

Going further on the origins of our collective fear of madness, I’d point out that there have been historically sound evolutionary biological drivers of wariness towards the mentally ill: consider the syphillis caused “GPI” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_paresis_of_the_insane). It has been almost a century since the ‘miracle’ of penicillin severed this direct connection between a sexually transmittable disease and neurodegeneration (‘madness’), yet we carry with us a programming that seems important to honor which Buzzell and Chalquist flippantly gloss over. That said, it seems a real threshold of our time to ‘level-up’ and beyond our evolutionary programming in myriad ways; perhaps ecopsychology and nature connected coaching may hold at least a few of the keys needed to unlock this expansion of consciousness (which, ironically, looks like moving past our programming by stepping deeper into our true nature!).

[teddy]

David – I see some shared insight and perspective towards the end of our posts. I enjoyed the way you described the subtle influence a nature-connected coaching process can have ‘with’ (I do not say ‘on,’ because that language would imply a hierarchical relationship that differs from the alliance we forge with nature and) the client. I’m appreciating also your view of “coaching as applied ecopsychology,” which rings true, and your contention that “we’re the only living things on the planet that can mentally separate ourselves from the earth.”

To that point: I was listening to a Masterclass with pulitzer-prize winning author David Mamet while cooking dinner last night, and he suggests that the difference between human beings and other animals is our ability to reason; that is, to draw conclusions from cause and effect. Now, I’m not sure he’s got this right, because I’m quite sure dolphins and perhaps other animals can reason according to this definition. Nevertheless, humans seem to have a unique capacity to draw incorrect conclusions through our ‘powers’ of reasoning. Is there a connection between our capacity to reason and our disconnection from the earth? For instance, “it’s cold out –> I could be more comfortable and/or I need to survive –> I will built a house / I will build a shelter.” Such capacities have led human beings to achieve ‘the social conquest of earth’ (a great book by EO Wilson, by the way, which was mentioned in the Roszak reading) above ground (with ants and wasps dominant below). This makes me wonder: Do ants and wasps in their beautiful intricate nests ever feel disconnected from ‘nature,’ the way we might in an apartment building (which, as Michael pointed out Tuesday, is itself made of nature)? Doubtful, as their structures are biomimicry to the max. Hence the criticality of re-architecting our homes, cities, and landscapes to reflect the natural world. I cannot help but think that by changing our structures to look like the nature they’re all made of, a great deal of suffering would be alleviated without having to change ‘the system’ or ‘re-educate’ people. Thanks for the food for thought!

[teddy]

Ecopsychology and coaching come together as streams of the some river; the latter as a craft fundamentally concerned with supporting and healing the human mind/soul/psyche and the former as the study of the ways in which said “psyche remains sympathetically bonded to the Earth that mothered us into existence.” (Roszak, 5) Presuming a coach takes as veritable the fundamental position of ecopsychology which inextricably links more-than-human occurrences with the ebbs and flows of consciousness, she can and must honor first and foremost her own condition of interconnectedness and seek to understand the world from that place. An understanding of ecopsychology in the coach makes a world of black and white somehow full of color; it widens and deepens the scope of her vision and fixes in place a mindset that allows for a more dynamic coaching style, a more beautiful way of living, and a sense of peace (through a more accurate understanding of the world) – all qualities which serve her own wellbeing, oher clients’ best interests, and our world.

Perhaps it’s worthy to consider a coach who either has not explored the ecopsychological perspective or is simply moored to dualism. Said coach would likely have a difficult time guiding towards successful outcomes in individuals who themselves have a propensity for nature connection. Indeed, she would have to operate in a narrow range and would, I believe, be outperformed by a coach who brings a more accurate and full understanding of the nature of reality into her work.

Although ecopsychology is a powerful field of study for a coach to honor, she need not ‘throw it in a client’s face;’ rather, it can be a quiet philosophy that inspires a style of guiding which connects clients to themselves and to the natural world slowly but surely – even unwittingly. So long as a coach embraces an understanding that the mind/psyche/soul and the other life forms that inhabit this planet are one, that is enough to get going in the right direction.

[teddy]

Apologies for being late – it was my birthday on Thursday, so I took the day to myself. I also took Patch to see Call of the Wild and bought him a hot dog. It was a great birthday present to give myself the gift of that experience. I almost didn’t bring him for fear of being told I couldn’t, but a handy red vest and his best behavior ensured he was able to join me.

Patch is proving increasingly often to be a source of nature connection for me. Indeed, one of the most powerful assignments I took away from the intensive was to see him as a seal, which reminds me I’m a playful dolphin. Though I can’t say I’ve consistently practiced my morning meditation of embracing play through him as a reminder, I have noticed a shift internally towards greater playfulness. My inner child seems to be breathing through me with renewed vivacity and self-acceptance.

Reflecting on Foundation One, I’m noticing how personal development such as that mentioned above flows directly into and undergirds professional growth, which I’ve noticed through the couple coaching sessions I’ve had been able to guide since our intensive. The personal and the professional are of course linked, yet it’s been a joy to see the two become indistinguishable.

I have noticed a marked enhancement of my personal coaching sessions thanks to having learned the basics of the EBI methodology. It’s as if there’s a map now in my soul which can be consulted any time I am lost – whether during a session or in life.

Though the process for moving forward in a session looks different from the means by which I navigate life, fundamentally the wisdom I’m drawing on to inform my decisions springs from the same well. The consistency and reliability therein is reassuring and refreshing.

I am looking forward to bringing more nature connection practices into my life right here, right now. Not tomorrow or next week – now. That’s been a huge learning for me as of late along with some foundational dietary changes. Perhaps the fact that I’ve resolved chronic pain in the past couple weeks thanks to cleansing dietary changes is worth mentioning in this post: nature connection for me involves a sacred, mindful relationship to food. I’ve noticed myself taking more interest in what I’m putting in my system and really tending to and caring for the beings whose consumption sustains me. Greater enjoyment of cooking and food has opened my soul up to a deeper experience of the world and a more intuitive connection to my clients. Anytime I revert to old patterns or habits, I worry I’m going to fail or relapse; I must remember that there’s no going back, and that I’ve been growing in leaps and bounds – that I am whole and in connection with you beautiful wonderful people and the work we are blessed to share in.

Thank you all for your patience as I’ve gotten in here and started posting. I’ve been keeping up with the readings by and large am glad we have this space to interact, share, reflect, and keep momentum going. Wohoo! Intensive two, here we come!