The sage seeks
freedom from desire. He does not collect precious things.
He learns not to hold on to ideas. He brings men back to what they have lost.
~ Lao Tzu ~
What is Spiritual Coaching?
We are living in a
time of great change on almost every level.
Mankind appears to be going through a “shift in
consciousness” which is accompanied by great turmoil
and uncertainty.
There are great inner changes going on, too.
Many people are questioning the meaning and purpose
of their lives and becoming aware of a need within
themselves that cannot be satisfied by material
possessions alone.
When people
start to ‘awaken’, they often need guidance.The
role of a spiritual coach is to help others find
their “inner light”, their own “higher wisdom”
and the answers to their questions.
A spiritual
coach will help you to think for yourself; to
learn to trust your own feelings and intuitive
conclusions and to adopt that which feels right,
and disregard that which doesn’t.
Spiritual coaches are not a replacement for
Clergy; rather they are coaches who choose a
style that embraces the inner spirit of their
clients in order to help them achieve their
goals based on intuitive recognition of the
spiritual self.
They must be in tune and focused on their own
beliefs in order to
utilise this
talent in a manner the client can relate to.
This is what sets the tone for coaching on a
spiritual level. The faith they have in their
own instincts shared through collaborative
exploration of the spiritual aspects many find
to be a powerful influence in their lives. It is
paramount that coaches who choose this path
know the difference between their own beliefs
and the beliefs of the client, since they are
not there to convert, but rather to guide, using
an approach that is suitable for both the coach
and the client.
Spiritual Growth
The Spiritual Challenge of Modern Times
To grow spiritually in a world defined by power,
money, and influence is a phenomenal task!
Modern conveniences like electronic equipment,
gadgets, and tools and mixed media entertainment
via television, magazines, and the web have
predisposed us to confine our attention mostly
to physical needs and wants. As a
result,
our
concepts of self-worth and self-meaning are
muddled.
How can we
strike a balance between the material and
spiritual aspects of our lives?
To grow spiritually is to look inward.
Introspection goes beyond recalling the things that
happened in a day, week, or month. You need to look
closely and reflect on your thoughts, feelings,
beliefs, and motivations. Periodically examining
your experiences, the decisions you make, the
relationships you have, and the things you engage
in, provides useful insights on your life goals, on
the good traits you must sustain and the bad traits
you should discard. It also gives you clues on how
to act, react, and conduct yourself in the midst of
any situation.
Like any skill, introspection can be learned; all it
takes is the courage and willingness to seek the
truths that lie within you.
Here
are some pointers when you introspect: be objective,
be forgiving of yourself, and focus on your areas
for improvement.
To grow spiritually is to develop
your potential.
Religion and science have differing views on
matters of the human spirit.Religion views
people as spiritual beings temporarily living on
Earth, while science views the spirit as just
one dimension of an individual.
Mastery of the
self is a recurring theme in both Christian
(Western) and Islamic (Eastern) teachings. The
needs of the body are recognized but placed
under the needs of the spirit. Beliefs, values,
morality, rules, experiences, and good works
provide the blueprint to ensure the growth of
the spiritual being.
In Psychology,
realising one's full potential is to
self-actualise. Maslow identified several human
needs: physiological, security, belongingness,
esteem, cognitive, aesthetic,
self-actualisation, and self-transcendence.
James earlier categorised these needs into
three: material, emotional, and spiritual. When
you have satisfied the basic physiological and
emotional needs, spiritual or existential needs
come next. Achieving each need leads to the
total development of the individual. Perhaps the
difference between these two religions and
psychology is the end of self-development:
Christianity and Islam see that self-development
is a means toward serving God, while the
psychological view is that self-development is
an end by itself.
To grow spiritually is to search
for meaning.
Religions that believe in the existence of God
such as Christianity, Judaism, and Islam suppose
that the purpose of the human life is to serve
the Creator of all things. Several theories in
psychology propose that we ultimately give
meaning to our lives.
Whether we believe that life's meaning is
pre-determined or self-directed, to grow in
spirit is to realise that we do not merely
exist.
We do not know the meaning of our lives at
birth; but
we gain knowledge and wisdom from our
interactions with people, and from our actions
and reactions to the situations we are in.
As we
discover this meaning, there are certain beliefs
and values that we reject and affirm. Our lives
have purpose! This purpose puts all our
physical, emotional, and intellectual potentials
into use; sustains us during trying times; and
gives us something to look forward to... a goal
to achieve, a destination to reach.
A person
without purpose or meaning is like a drifting
ship at sea.
To grow spiritually is to
recognise inter-connections.
Religions stress the concept of our
"relatedness"
to all creation, live and inanimate. Thus we
call other people "brothers and sisters" even if
they are not direct blood relatives. Moreover,
deity-centered religions such as Christianity
and Islam speak of the relationship between
humans and a “Supreme Being”. Science, on the
other hand, expounds on our link to other living
things through the “theory of evolution”. This
relatedness is clearly seen in the concept of
ecology, the interaction between living and
non-living things.
In psychology, connectedness
is a characteristic of self-transcendence, the
highest human need,
according to Maslow.
Recognising
your connection to all things makes you more
humble and respectful of people, animals,
plants, and things in nature. It makes you
appreciate everything around you. It moves you
to go beyond your comfort zone and reach out to
other people, and become stewards of all other
things around you.
Growth is a process, thus to “grow in spirit” is
a day-to-day encounter. We win some, we lose
some, but the important thing is that we learn,
and from this knowledge, further spiritual
growth is made possible.
. . . the
integral being is attached to nothing
and can relate
to everyone with an unstructured attitude.
Because
of this, her very existence benefits all things.
~ Lao Tzu ~
