Toni Blanton
Forum Replies Created
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Summary
In reflecting on this question after my initial post, I have a few things to add.
I’m currently undergoing the physiological transition from mother to crone. I’ve found that there is very little discussed or share about this transition and our medical community treats is a condition to eliminate. I recently found a class called the Alchemy of Menopause about honoring that sacred initiation of the crone with ceremony. It really spoke to me and has me wondering how I might support this community in a way that honors the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of the transition. Its been a challenging experience for me and I consider myself fairly well resourced compared to the world at large. I can’t imagine what its like to go through with less resourcing, capacity and support. I’d like to find a way to provide support.
I’ve also found a few more organizations that I find interesting and likely serving a similar community.
Wildkind Academy is located in Olympia, WA. The founder has a background in nutrition, exercise physiology and yoga. She’s offering individual sessions in multiple package options with prices posted on her site. It also appears she intends to offer classes at some point.
EarthWalk Northwest was founded by a couple that taught at Tom Brown Jr.’s Tracker School. They have a wide variety of offerings as well as other recommended programs and suggested readings. I look forward to exploring what they have to offer.
Washington Outdoor Women offers programs to connect women with the outdoors.
Wilderness Awareness School offers programs for children and adults covering a range of nature connected areas.
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When I think about coaching others I think about people that are curious and have started yearning for what’s possible in their life. Some people will reach that edge because they want to leave something behind, others will want to add something, many will have tried a thing or two (or twelve!) but the consistent thread is their curiosity and yearning for change.
I’m also excited to create opportunities for people to be more connected to nature and the world around them. To nurture curiosity and connection. I envision creating nature experiences at our local parks and wilderness areas. Morning walks out by the bay to watch the seals and eagles in the stillness of the morning. Quiet walks through old growth forests to feel the way the ancients hum. Ceremonies under the full moon to release what they’re ready to let go of. The possibilities are limitless!
To the extent possible, I’d like to work with clients on the land. I’m blessed in that I have easy access to many beautiful areas. Looking back through foundations, I’m drawn to the idea of the 50/50 plan and being aware of nature to show up at any point in a session and spontaneously contribute to the experience.
In my past experiences working with clients in other modalities, the right clients always find me. People that I can help that also have something to teach me. It always works out and the less I try to figure it out, the easier it is for us to connect.
In terms of finding my ideal clients, I believe that if I stand in my own power, in the my truth, my clients and I are drawn to each other in perfect timing.
One group that I’m particularly interested in working with are my colleagues and former students from my nutrition training. As a graduate and instructor, I saw a need in that community that isn’t being met. Graduates receive an education in the practice of nutritional therapy as well as some business training. But they aren’t getting any coaching on how they become the practitioner they want to be. It’s a gap I’ve envisioned filling for many years, that now seems possible.
I’m also part of a group of practitioners with a widely varied background that are all serving a similar population. Our backgrounds and area of practice are highly varied, from functional medicine doctors, massage therapists, Reiki masters, human design experts, nutrition professionals, herbalists and a variety of other modalities. But we all work with similar types of people and often refer between group members.
I’ve also recently become aware of an organization called Wild Grief located in my town. They are doing wilderness experiences with people going through the grieving process. The information on their website seems to imply they have a focus on grief caused from the death of a loved one. They have groups for adults and youth. While their work seems closely aligned with our work as coaches, the credentials of their staff seem to be more therapy focused but they also rely on volunteers. So I’ll be reaching out to them in the future to see about possible connections or maybe volunteering.
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Summary
After reading what others had to say on this topic, I want to add a bit to my original thoughts.
One of the keys to the client having a transformative threshold experience requires them to be able to surrender to the experience. Allowing themselves to be open and receptive to whatever shows up allows for a deep, transformative experience. As a coach, it’s my job to create trust with the client so they feel safe surrendering to the experience. The depth of their experience will be directly related to the safety they feel within the coaching space at that moment.
The Touch Tree experience in the threshold not only connects the client to the experience, but also to the feeling of empowerment that comes from identifying what you need and taking action on it, in the moment. Surrendering not only to the experience, but their own power to choose. Again, my ability as a coach to create trust and safety will have a direct impact on the client’s experience and actions in that moment.
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As I reflect on my threshold experiences, what stands out as a key is it’s ability to increase the capacity for change. Change requires us to engage in the process of dancing with the edges of what is known, moving into the unknown and transforming it into the known. As humans in this culture, our ingrained behavior is to try to “think” our way through the changes. Our brain wants to find a safe place to put our feet rather than step blindly into an unknown darkness. Our internal warning systems ring with fear as we approach that edge. Until we have some experience of the dance, some understanding that we can be safe, we will shy away from the unknown edge.
The threshold experience initiates the dance, initiates the process of making the unknown known. It’s this dance with the edge of our comfort zone that increases our capacity to tolerate the transition. Moving from the identification of the deeper need in severance directly into the threshold experience creates a somatic experience that grounds the deeper need into the body while also giving the brain a safe experience to tether itself to as the client builds their capacity to dance with their edges.
In one of our readings, the idea of a touch tree was introduced. I don’t recall the context of how the author described it, but I internalized it as a metaphor for creating safety while navigating the wildness, the darkness, and the edges of our experiences. By creating a touch tree, we always have a safe place to retreat to, to regroup, to process and integrate our experiences before we set out again to continue the dance. The threshold experience creates that touch tree for the client.
Reflecting back on my threshold experiences, I can’t recall the specifics of what I was thinking or pondering as I started the experience. There’s a vagueness, fuzziness to those details. But I remember with absolute clarity the entities I connected with and every message I received during the experience. The beauty of the scars on a fallen tree, Aspen trees waving in the wind, the sun and the wind on my face and the temperature of the air are as clear as they were in that moment. I hear the message each had to share with clarity. The experience is grounded in my body and soul and I can return there instantly. As the client, the experiences are my touch trees. When I need to remember that message, I do. I can drop back into that experience in the time between breaths. Each time I drop back into the safe space, I increase my capacity to tolerate the edge and move through the changes I’m inviting into my life. As a coach, this tells me that how the client enters the threshold isn’t as important as how they move through it, the messages they receive and the integration of the experience into their body and soul. I can invite them to step back into those experiences when they need to ground or build capacity. I can remind them of their touch trees.
Threshold creates experiences that nurture our growth. They create a reservoir of nourishment that feeds the process of becoming someone we’ve never been, to do something we’ve never done.
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Summary
I’ve spent a lot of time considering this question, reflecting on the perspectives presented.
I’ve considered the collaborative opportunities possible between the coaching and therapeutic professions.
As a practitioner, I see great value in the inclusion of nature connection as part of the body of research and knowledge associated with a licensed medical profession.
I’ve considered that the two professions don’t necessarily have any connection or influence on each other.
It all comes down to just one thing for me. The recognition and inclusion of nature as essential to human healing.
As humans, we know this inherently, though we’re often unconscious to it. We rationalize our desire to go for a walk after a stressful day as “getting some fresh air” or exercise. But it’s really a healing process that does things like reducing stress hormones, calming our nervous system and easing muscle tension.
Ecopsychology, Ecotherapy, and Nature Connected Coaching are all ways in which, as a culture, we’re starting to explicitly name & recognize nature as an essential healing force. As the community of nature oriented practitioners grows, the roots grow deeper, the branches reach higher and nature starts to reclaim her space in our culture as a core part of human health.
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Ecopsychology and nature connected coaching come together in the belief that humans have an intrinsic connection to nature. Both view nature as a partner in the healing process. Both modalities bring awareness to our nature connection and provide opportunities to work with nature, in nature as a tool for healing. They complement each other rather than being competitive.
Ecopsychology benefits nature connected coaching in its longevity and ties to a licensed medical profession. 30 years of history, writing, and research into the connection between humans and nature provides a solid, scientific foundation for our work as nature connected coaches. For those people that need that kind of validation, ecopsychology provides that foundation to coaching. That’s an invaluable contribution to our work as coaches. It provides a robust garden we can use to educate and increase awareness.
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Summary Reflection
I’m reflecting on the concept of nature connection through the lens of this last week in my life. Last weekend my father called me from the ER. He’s been in and out of the hospital since. As his primary caretaker, his health issue activated the thread in my life that’s connected to him as “caretaker”. This activation pulled me into a whole web of complex issues and people in his life that I was previously unaware of but am now connected to.
Shifting my perspective outside, my thoughts are drawn to the tendency to see nature as trees, plants, animals, weather – things that can be seen out our windows. This tendency misses the most profoundly intricate connectivity in nature – the soil beneath our feet. The vast mycorrhizal network beneath our feet is like a invisible communication super highway, creating connections between all the things we see out our window. The trees are not individuals, existing on their own. They are each part of a vast network of organisms working in relationship to each other, providing support and sharing resources so everyone thrives. Each new tree that sprouts joins the network. Each tree that dies feeds the network. Its all connected. Nothing in nature stands alone. Nothing in my family stands alone.
My family is a reflection of nature. Nature is a reflection of my family. As above, so below. As within, so without. Connection exists at all levels, even if we’re unconscious of it.
As a coach, bringing awareness of this interconnectedness to our clients’ is an important part of the process. Every shift we make, changes the agreements our relationships are based on. We can invite people into a new relationship with the new person we’re becoming, but we can’t force them. In my personal experience, I’ve chosen to end relationships because I was no longer willing to be the person the relationship agreement required me to be. And those choices rippled through my life web, touching every person connected to the relationship. Our clients will be faced with similar choices and challenges as they embark on their journeys. As a nature connected coach, we can support this aspect of change by inviting them into nature based experiences that they can then carry with them as a navigate the changes in the web of their life.
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“Travel Coach” feels really juicy! I’ve really been feeling the call to travel lately and when I read the article of about travel coaches I felt a huge Yes! What a beautiful way that could be for you to offer your experience and all your skills and modalites into something uniquely you. I’m excited to see how it all flows together for you!
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Sara – Your post is really inspiring! I so appreciate your willingness to show us your process. I find myself resonating with the many different things you’re exploring and the spiraling nature of the process. I’m also finding some of the organizations you mention really resonate for me too, especially The Nature in You. I love her offering of virtual nature walks via zoom. So creative! Thank you for the offering of your words!
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I’m really resonating with your experience of the threshold as being empowering for the client. I hadn’t really considered that but I think you’re absolutely right. When you describe being “…allowed [] to choose where and what I needed to do for myself…” it makes me think of the many, many conversations I had with people that feel like they’re never allowed to choose themselves, what they want. Creating a space in which clients get to make a choice that is purely for them holds the potential to be a truly profound experience.
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“I surrendered to the present moment…” when I read that I felt myself open up to this deep place. It was like end of a deep breath, where everything is calm and open. I didn’t think about this as I was responding to these questions for my post, and that feels like a pretty big oversight now. I think the surrendering is one of the keys to the threshold experience. Being open to what wants to show up in that moment. The things we most need to know don’t often show up in the way we expect. Surrendering to the moment provides the space for anything to show up. Thank you.
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I agree. Mumma Earth would be just fine without us. I think the hero mindset is the other side of the coin that created the damage in the first place. The power to destroy and the power to save both come from a place of ego and superiority. Connection, relationship, and respect for ourselves and Mumma Earth would go much further and be much more effective at creating sustainability. The hero versus villain mentality keeps us stuck, keeps both sides fighting with each other.
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I’ve really been struggling with this kickoff question. It took me a long time to write anything. At one point, I had a long post written with a similar perspective but couldn’t seem to make it fit the question in my mind. John, you’ve done a beautiful job connecting the question to the perspective for me. I’m going to ponder this awhile. Thank you.
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Your writing is beautiful. It left me a little speechless. I felt a deep sense of calm as I read your description of nature as a “timeless place”. Calm and also a sense of weightlessness, like you released me from the burden of time and I could just be. Amazing.
I’m struck by the beauty of nature being a “neutral container of endless possibilities” and a “trustworthy sidekick”. It all speaks Truth.
Thank you for your beautiful words.
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Your statement “…being able to find that connection at any time and in any place…” really resonates for me. Embodying nature as a way to move through life. Embodying the energy of a tree, trusting our roots to keep us grounded as we weather a storm tearing at our branches. Inviting in hummingbird to take in the sweetness of life. Or gliding through the skies like an eagle, getting a higher perspective. The connection is always present.