Coaching has been one of the fastest growing professions over the last decade or so. Both businesses and individuals have experienced great benefits from using a coach. Why? It’s often quite difficult to figure out how to solve a problematic situation when you are in the middle of the problem, whether it is a relationship issue, financial concern, business problem, or anything else that keeps you stuck in the same place.
Although a coach can wear many hats during a coaching session, the coach most often wears the hat of observer. When on the sideline of a life game it is much easier to see all the players as well as the plays. This allows a more clearly defined idea of the game direction. When on the field in the middle of the game, the view is confined to the area right in front of you, and it is impossible to see all the players or plays clearly, the reason why the observer coach has more clarity about your life plan.
The primary function of any coach is to listen to the client’s concerns in the areas of his/her life or business that need assistance, and then offer some suggestions and ideas for setting goals to change the situation into a positive, new direction experience. The goals are set with the help of the client and a plan is put in motion. Accountability is part of the equation and the client leaves with goals to reach before the next session.
Some people refer to coaching as therapy. Yet coaching is different from therapy. Therapy, or counseling, focuses on the past issues that are affecting the client’s present life, the emotional hurts and anger as well as old patterns and beliefs that are buried in the client’s cellular memory. This traditional therapy is insight-oriented, looking into the “why’s,” and can be long-term. This alone does not allow forward movement.
Coaching however, focuses mostly on the present and where the client needs to go in the future. This is more action-oriented. Although the beliefs of the past must be released and shifted in order to create a different outcome in the future, it is the present and future where most of the focus needs to be.
I had experienced various kinds of coaching and counseling over the years, yet never felt I received the guidance I needed to help me move forward in an effective way. The sessions did allow me to air my grievances and hurts, but the forward movement of my life remained stagnant. So I searched for a deeper and more effective coaching method that would allow a client, including myself, to actually create the life they really wanted, stepping away from the old and stepping onto a new path.
During my search I began to realize a critically important aspect of coaching which had been left out in the coaching I had received. I realized that the universal principles of spirituality that govern the world were being overlooked even though the world operates through them. I’m referring to principles such as: what you put out there comes back to you; if you focus on the negative you produce more negative experiences, but if you focus on the positive you create more positive experiences; to create real change the internal beliefs must be changed first; that real change comes from the heart, not the head. These realizations opened a whole new realm of possibilities as I became aware of the depth and breadth of them.
Spiritual life coaching, which I often refer to as spiritual wholeness coaching, accesses a completely different realm of information because it is a heart job rather than a head job. Many coaches use evaluations and classifications in which to place the client. Classifying clients in a particular category is supposed to help the coach and eventually the client understand why they react a certain way or why certain negative experiences continue to show up in their life. The problem is, you cannot resolve these negative issues in the head; you must access the heart/spirit to enable a true change. And does it really matter where a person is classified according to the world’s guidelines since it’s the heart that must be accessed for change?
So I developed a coaching program that has a base in spiritual principles and reaches into the client’s heart and soul for answers. The key to being a great spiritual wholeness coach is listening. Questions are asked and the trained coach listens attentively to what the client shares. From the client’s spirit comes all types of beliefs, patterns, fears and buried pain that need to be shifted, and the trained ear of a spiritual wholeness coach is able to hear between the lines. You see, revelations of the client’s spirit come from a place of realness and truth; they reside deep within. The mind, where most coaching takes place, is tainted with rules, strategies, conditioning, and biased programming which are man-made principles considered as truth. Real shifts and change can only take place in the spirit/heart of an individual.
Of course the client must be ready to move forward and do the work to evoke change. If the client is not really ready, it won’t matter how good a coach is. The coach/client relationship is that of a team working together to create a different outcome, so both players of the team have to participate.
Perhaps this is the type coaching you wish to pursue. I invite you to visit my website for more information. I believe that the way to create true change in anyone is through the heart and soul, not the head. These heart changes are actually miracles!
Carolyn Porter, D. Div., is a Spiritual Wholeness & Health Coach, Speaker, Trainer for Speaking, Coaching and Angel Practitioner, Author of 5 books and 2 audios, Co-author of 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life Vol I, and owner of Where Miracles Happen Healing Center in Woodstock, GA. Carolyn has dedicated her life to helping individuals step into their own power and accept their brilliance so they can create the life they truly want and deserve. For more information or to view her books, visit DrCarolynPorter.com or WhereMiraclesHappen.com
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