Report.
The weather was just about perfect. A warm late summer day, the last of this year to be exact.
I had prepared the route, its length and the individual stops.
The client had his topic in his luggage.
A professional question. A new challenge was offered to him, but it would involve some changes. Several days of home office, which would require momentum and good structuring from him. Plus a toddler at home. The remaining days at the office would require him to drive a long distance.
The question of what he should do best was directed to his body with the help of the Focusing approach. Our bodies store our deep knowledge of our life direction, our real desires, and what is best for us now.
I had chosen a route that would offer many flowing elements. It took us along an idyllic little river, past two smaller lakes to a smaller town. I had parked my car there the day before so we would be able to get back to the starting point comfortably and without overexertion. On that occasion, I had walked the route again and picked out the individual stops.
Right at the beginning we discussed that we would dedicate this walk entirely to the subject and not get distracted. That really worked out very well.
The path of Focusing leads inward. As a coach, I am a kind of mirror and I refrain from explaining, from knowing better, and I don't give advice. I listen attentively and respectfully. I do not judge anything. I give back what I have understood and so the client can follow up--he can correct what he has not understood correctly and get more clarity for himself. This is how the process leads to appropriate depth.
The milestones are there to rest and to take in what has been revealed and, above all, to perceive it. Now and then, like yesterday, I pass a stage goal because the process is different. The client is in a flowing being, which does not want to be interrupted. This is my task: the gentle accompaniment through the process with the addition of the natural environment.
These flowing grasses in the river were allowed to be creative companions. They have shown an almost hypnotic effect for introspection. So we lingered here longer.
Color plays, reflections, shadow plays are the little helpers for the process. By the time we had circled the lake, my client had already gone through several aha experiences; I observe that he becomes more alive.
Clarity and certainty about what he really wants is our goal.
We are about to reach his goal,
A coaching walk is not a flipchart process. Instead of formulating goals on the outside, in a Coaching Walk we look for the inner mission statement. Once this has shown itself, things are implemented according to this guideline. One thinks differently, one feels differently, one acts instead of reacting.
I have used the word fluent several times because it is one of the most characteristic features of the Focusing process. Sometimes you start out with a "big" issue, but along the way smaller aspects of it show up first, and they want to be resolved first. They show up in the form of what are called body shifts, as a kind of sighing relief. It is a process of realization that the client has controlled for himself. He has chosen the direction, he has chosen the depth and he has chosen the timing.
Everything that was allowed to happen is completely in line with his inner speed. As a coach, I help him to consciously perceive this process and to internalize it.
We have achieved a lot today. And we plan a next session in my practice room. To witness another person achieve inner clarity is a great gift for me.
On that note, I send you warm greetings and look forward to your comments.
Best regards
Birgit
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)