The archetypes are a map and model of personal growth. They point to your qualities and greatness and the pitfalls you might encounter that hold you small, in limitation and fear. And they offer a way out of that fear and into choice, freedom and expansion.
What is your relationship with Intuition? Do you doubt that you have intuition? Do you second guess intuition and find yourself plagued with doubt, indecision and confusion? If you get that intuitive hit, how does it come to you- through words, pictures, thoughts or feelings? And when that hit comes, do you act on it, or do you ignore it? Perhaps it scares you, or you don’t like what it says, think it’s mundane or pointless?
When a coaching client connects to their intuition, listens and takes action, it can be one of the most empowering transformations they can make. Suddenly, they move from needing advice and support from others, to independence, self-sufficiency and clarity. Advice and support have their place, but when they stop a person from trusting themselves and undermine their sense of autonomy, they become disempowering. The client becomes small in their body through lack of confidence, plays small in their life by acting without courage and feels small in themselves by staying inside their comfort zone and resisting risk and failure.
Building trust in Intuition has become an important part of the work I do with clients. And I have begun to run training to empower people to connect to Intuition, learn how to use it, listen to it and act from that place of inspiration. In collaboration with Thea Allison and Catelijne Coopmans, we devised a series of five sessions focusing on Embodying Archetypes for Personal Growth. These were part of the Embodiment Circles Online in 2020. This blog focuses on Magician.
The Magician archetype is an excellent way to access these inherent skills and build trust in imagination, creativity and vision making. Magician is not an illusionist. It is a transformer and synthesiser that brings things together to create something new. It creates from the ether, sensing that which is beyond the senses (sight, sound, taste, touch and smell) and bringing it to life. Magician captures dreams (like the Big Friendly Giant by Roald Dahl), creates vision, senses what is on the verge of becoming and helping it manifest.
One Magician in our modern day was Steve Jobs. He sensed that people wanted a computer that could be used easily, intuitively, immediately and would not be a struggle to learn. And so he created the Macintosh and computing, animation, publishing and education have never been the same since (see this article Giving People What They Want Before They Know They Want It for more information). Jobs instinctively knew how to listen to Intuition as do many actors, visionaries, authors, musicians, thought leaders, artists, trail-blazers, entrepreneurs and anyone who uses imagination to create a solution. Stephen Hawking, Paul McCartney, Lin Miguel Miranda and Banksie are all 21st century Magicians.
We are all born with the instinct to listen to Intuition. Many of us unlearn that skill. Fortunately, you can relearn it too.
Intuition communicates with you predominantly in one of four ways:
Intuition speaks to us through these means. Most people have a dominant one or two ways, but we have all four. The one thing they have in common, is that the insight is usually out of the blue. It has no reference to what you may have been thinking about beforehand. To the point where it seems weird or freaky.
As an example, I was at a particularly low ebb one New Year’s day. I felt lost at that point in my life and was wondering what I could do to change it. A person’s name, someone I had not thought about in months, sprang to mind. I reached out to him and he helped guide me back on track.
One of the reasons I work with archetypes is because Intuition keeps bringing me back to them as an answer to my questions in life. When opportunities for new and inspiring work come up, archetypes come, unbidden, front and centre in my mind and workshops and seminars come together with ease.
I will plan what I am going to say when I present workshops or give seminars, but often the script goes out the window when I get an intuitive push to approach the work differently. In the moment, I’ll change tack and go with it, because I trust my intuition- at least much more than I used to. Every time, without fail, I ask for feedback and participants say the material was just what was needed. When I suggest I could have done it differently, hinting at what I had meticulously planned for the event, they always shake their heads and say what I did was better. I can’t explain it, but it works every time. I know it works and I have learned to trust it.
There are many ways to cultivate your relationship with Intuition. Over the years I have practised many forms of spontaneous creative output including writing, movement (dance, martial arts), music, play (such as comedy improvisation or playing with children) and public speaking.
Here are a couple of ways in which you can connect to Intuition from the Embodying Archetypes for Personal Growth series about Magician:
One of the reasons you may not hear Intuition is because your conscious, logical and rational mind is so busy, it is a distraction. It’s so loud and consistently active that you rarely if ever hear Intuition. And the world is a busy and loud place too. Lots of distractions there as well- TV, internet, social media and so on. You may not know it, but Intuition is reaching out to you all the time. For most of us in the modern world, our focus is towards the busyness and loudness of life. Intuition often does not get a look in. Sometimes, its messages get through the cracks when there is a pause- like when you’re taking a shower, running, driving, day-dreaming and so on.
If you want to access Intuition more purposefully, take time to remove some of those distractions from time to time and learn to recognise when Intuition is communicating to you. Ask for the answer to something about a relationship, a business challenge, health concerns, problem solving and Intuition will give you the next step. This video is a guided visualisation that will give you a chance to connect to your intuitive voice:
The key is to go with the thing that first comes to mind. Don’t second guess it. If you don’t like what you hear, don’t waste your time listening out for something different. It might be scary, mundane, obvious, not glamorous or glitzy enough for you. But if that is what Intuition says, then that is the message. So often, Intuition has me stepping out of my comfort zone that feels great once I’ve done it and isn’t as hard as I thought it would be. Or doing the mundane things like keeping the house tidy or organising my accounts. It means that I can relax, which feels good and allows me to focus on more important things for my development. Important things that without that organisation, I wouldn’t have the time or space to do.
Intuition isn’t some woo woo hocus pocus. It is eminently practical and useful and very often flies in the face of logic, reason and common sense.
The Magician in you nurtures your natural ability to go into the unknown, using imagination and intuition to seek new understanding and wisdom to be of service in the world.
Magician can hold itself in the practical, real world, and also transcend the physical to allow valuable information and guidance to come through.
As individuals we access intuition differently. This movement practice, devised by Thea Allison*, uses three different, embodied techniques to access intuition to test them for effectiveness and appropriateness to you personally.
Using the over-arching question What am I here to learn and share? we explored these three embodied enquiries:
We used the Embodied Yoga Principles pose of Transcendence to experience that lift into the higher, into the airy realm of intuition and vision. Standing on tip toe, with your arms straight up, your palms facing each other a shoulder width apart and your gaze going upwards. Holding the question, we used movement to reach out, plucking ideas and possibilities from the ether and intuitively putting those ideas into the body, wherever it felt true to ‘land’ them. Like plucking apples from a tree, or the stars from the sky.
Using circles is an ancient intuitive technique. Create or imagine a circle and define that space to suit your needs, for example, my true vision, or clarity on this project. When you connect with, or step into the circle you will have an experience of how you have defined it. We walked around the edge of the circle, holding the question ‘What am I here to learn and share?’ purposefully imagining the circle to be empty and free of other influences. Stepping into the circle we waited to receive whatever information came.
We went through a simple centring process. Starting on the external environment by feeling our feet on the floor, standing tall, becoming aware of the feeling of the air on our skin. Moving internally, we noticed our breathing and relaxed our core – eyes, mouth and jaw, down to the belly. With relaxed breath, in this centred state, we asked the question and listened for what came. (Based on ABC Centring technique as taught at The Embodied Facilitators Course.
Intuition is a natural gift that can be practised and nurtured in all of us. We all have aspects of the Magician to call on. The important thing is to find the best way for you to be in the unknown, free of the normal layers of conditioning and bias that direct your thinking, and then hold onto the first thing you get.
To complete the session, we continued walking while considering three questions:
How is your relationship with Intuition? What practices do you have to connect to it? Were the two offered here useful for you? What is Intuition telling you? How will you use Intuition in the future? If you did use Intuition, how would your life look different in a year from now? Or five years from now?
We will be creating and delivering further sessions and courses on Embodying Archetypes for Personal Growth. If you’d like to know more about future content and dates with the interest of possibly attending, please e-mail David at david@potentialitycoaching.co.uk and I will contact you with additional details as we publish them. Alternatively, you can subscribe to my newsletter on the right hand side of this page.
Did you find this blog valuable and gain something from it? Do you know a friend, colleague or family member who would find it valuable too? I’d really appreciate it, and I’m sure they would too. Thank you.
*Thea Allison specialises in teaching people to use intuition and embodiment to create what is most important to them. She put together this simple exploration of intuition and embodiment.
There is an old samurai saying, “Adversity makes the man”. Challenging times build resilience. It is all too easy to get lost in fear and despair. So, it is good to know what signs to look for if you stray that way. And to have a North Star by which to orient yourself so that you can move towards greater confidence, resilience and leadership. Archetypes provide such a template.
The point of this blog is to highlight some of the aspects of four archetypes so you might navigate your way through lockdown. And be able to look back and say I did well in lockdown and contributed in a positive way towards my own well-being and that of my family, friends, community and beyond.
**I’ll put in bold the aspects of each archetype**
All life events are an opportunity to live within your values and remain focused on your chosen purpose and direction in life. Covid-19 is no exception. A plethora of opportunities are opening to follow and expand your purpose as a values-focused warrior. Warrior will keep you on focus and make sure you stay on purpose. But Warrior will hold you entrenched in particular thinking and action because “it is the right thing to do” when actually it would benefit you, family and business to pivot and do something different.
As long as it does not compromise your values and purpose, your creativity (Magician) will take you to new and fascinating places. And because you remain aligned to your purpose and values, it still feels heart-felt, passionate and inspiring to take this new path. For example, the fruit and veg wholesaler who overnight had no restaurants to buy his stock. So, he delivered free food parcels to local homeowners so that the food would not go to waste. Now he is inundated with orders for fruit and veg boxes during lockdown. He is making more profit as a result than he ever made dealing with restaurants.
As Nietzsche said, “if you know the why, you can live any how”. In other words, stay true to your driving force and principles and you can live with integrity in any life situation. Look at all leaders. They have had to pivot and have done so successfully by staying true to who they are. Steve Jobs for example, co-founded Apple on one of his visions of using computers for creativity. When the Apple Board kicked him out, he founded Pixar soon after, which creates computer-animated films.
Personally, during the 2008 financial crash, I lost two thirds of my clients overnight. I did not adapt fast enough to make ends meet, had a painful time of it financially and floundered in the subsequent years. This time, I am more adaptable, and have used the opportunity to go online more and promote myself and my brand by offering free support and training. The connections I make now may lead to new opportunities post-Covid. We will see. But I am staying aligned to my values and purpose at every pivot I take. Therefore, it matters less whether it leads to business in the future. And more about whether I maintain integrity and true to myself. It’s much more fun that way!
I think people appreciate the loyalty and steadfastness of Warrior. People trust the person who is reliable, true, honest, consistent, principled and unshaking in a cause or purpose. Are you feeling the strength and confidence of Warrior during lockdown?
How are your relationships doing with social distancing and self-isolation? Are you finding it hard to say “yes” to things that are supportive and “no” to things that undermine your well-being, safety and confidence, so that you maintain your boundaries? Are you using this as a time for self-care or are you caring for others?
As your life takes on new rhythms during lockdown, how are you managing your relationships? Are you able to get the time and space alone you want? And how are you using that time? Some time alone is important for your well-being. To take time to connect inward, be that meditation, writing, walking or exercising alone, contemplation or reflection, reaffirms your relationship with yourself. And that always you to keep centre when you are in relationships with others. Lover can be prone to giving to others without thought for oneself…… which ultimately can lead to resentment, burnout and fatigue. Or to be self-centric and give no thought to others. How are you managing that balance?
Which really comes down to boundaries. How is lockdown impacting your capacity to say “yes” to the things that support your well-being and relationships? Are you able to ask for the time alone you feel you want? Can you ask for help when things are overwhelming? Or even better, before they become overwhelming, so that you can avoid unnecessary stress and anxiety. And how are you doing with saying “no” to things that do not serve you? Can you push back on the demands made by others for your own well-being?
Travelling to work on public transport may pose a threat to your health. If this worries you, can you ask to work from home or take furlough? If there are social events, can you attend and maintain social distancing? We recently celebrated Victory in Europe (VE) day in the UK marking the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. There were street parties and celebrations. In our street, we made a point of keep two metres distance from each other and still enjoy the festivities.
And I have noticed that people are using this time to connect to new communities online. I met someone on an online embodiment event who was saying that he has always felt an outsider in the communities he usually connects with. Lockdown has given him the opportunity to find new communities in which he feels a part and included. He will come out of lockdown with a new collection of friends that more deeply appreciate him, his gifts and contribution.
There is always the option of living from fear through the Covid-19 situation. More often than not, the News promotes the negative view. And many people seem to focus on bad news. But there are many positives coming from lockdown at a personal level, for community and the planet.
Our inter-dependence, the fact that we all impact each other, is coming to the fore perhaps more than ever before. Our fates rely on everyone doing their part to be responsible for self-isolating for the benefit of the common good. There is a larger cause here that we are daily being asked to consider when we take any action. And that larger cause means we are being kinder to each other. It means we are driving and flying less which is allowing the environment to recover and heal. We are seeing tremendous acts of bravery, be it frontline healthcare professionals or war veterans walking to raise money for charitable causes.
For the first time in human history, humanity is united against a common enemy. What healing can be done from this place of peace, unification and kindness? The world could become a very different place once lockdown has passed. Things could go back to where they were before. But when Magician responds to this pandemic, there is a look towards doing things differently and finding solutions that will heal many of the challenges we faced before Coronavirus hit.
There is an opportunity to rewrite how we work, care for the sick and elderly, look after those closest to us and our neighbours, support our communities, manage stress and mental health, govern with compassion, take our responsibility as custodians of the planet, invest financially, cultivate relationships and much more.
It’s easy to go back to the old ways. But, many of those old ways are not working right now. Perhaps we are paving the way for a new way of being? There is no precedent for this. We are going to have to work it out as we go. Turn inward towards our intuition and gut instinct and feel which is the best way to go.
In the old traditions, Magicians were wise men of counsel, like Merlin. They saw the bigger picture and advised the sovereign so that he may rule with wisdom and compassion. And perhaps Magician’s greatest counsel was not to be swayed by the fearful minds of lesser men. But rather to be guided by your personal inner strength so that you may live with gratitude, wisdom, respect, compassion and above all, love.
What order are you creating through lockdown? Or perhaps you feel like things are in disorder? Quick and radical changes have thrown many of us into disarray and it is taking time to reestablish order. So that we feel safe and able to flourish. And as things continue to change, so we are being asked to shift our structure, organisation and order to accommodate shifting sands.
Order offers freedom. Structure and organisation give a framework around which freedom, adaptability and versatility can thrive. This could be an opportunity to take action on your own initiative and authority. There is the opportunity to do something new.
By your own direction, you can determine your routines, the order in your house, the care you take of yourself. And your capacity and willingness to support others and empower them to tap into their own sovereignty. Self-sovereignty is about having dominion over your own body, mind, emotions and spirituality. I have spoken before how self-awareness empowers choice which leads to freedom. And freedom is a hallmark of self-sovereignty. Freedom allows self-authorship. In other words, the power to write your life the way you would like it to be.
It takes Sovereign to mark out the routines, order, structure, plan, strategy and tactics to make that happen. And Sovereign recruits the other archetypes to make that possible. Sovereign calls on Lover for boundaries and relationship building with self and others. Warrior to move forward and stay on purpose in a values-driven way. And Magician to balance the heart and the head and live in service of something bigger than personal success.
I’m also hearing a lot of people are taking the time to learn new things. Knowledge increases your capacity to adapt, lead and be more compassionate. Covid-19 has opened the internet to so many free learning opportunities and expand your sphere of influence.
How are you using your sovereignty and self-authority during lockdown? Are you using it to create order so that you and others can flourish? Or are you abusing your position and using your freedom to limit the freedom of others? Are you using it to lead with a sense of vision of how lockdown can be better for us as individuals, a society and the planet? What can you do so for your family and community at large?
How are you doing? What areas of your archetypes do you feel you are doing well in? Which archetypes do you think you’d like to work on? What archetypes do you want more of? And which ones are dominant or over-bearing? Which archetypes do you want less of? And which archetypes would it be beneficial to step up to? What areas of your life would you apply the archetypes? What of the archetypes could you do more of and take into your life beyond lockdown and Covid-19?
Phew!!!! That was a long one!!!! If you found this blog useful, please pass it on.
Many of my clients are successful in their careers and enjoy the benefits of material wealth. In spite of attaining these perceived goals, they still feel like they are missing something. They may feel that the magic of their youth has been replaced by the practical considerations of adult life: paying the mortgage, career progression, the responsibility of child care and aging parents for example. Of course, these things are important. Yet, when they are done to the detriment of our dreams this can often lead to discontentment, disappointment and discord. When the magic of life is lost to us, we can call upon our internal Magician to find it again, bring it alive in us and create a magical life of joy and adventure.
This Magician is one of Karl Jung’s original archetypes and can manifest in us at any age. As an archetype, the Magician is a universal figure, a reluctant teacher who understands the way of the world and knows how to harness this wisdom for the good of all. You might be familiar with the Magician in popular culture as Obi Wan Kenobi (Luke Skywalker’s guide and teacher in Star Wars), Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter’s mentor) and Aslan (C.S. Lewis’ wonderful Lion Magician in the Narnia Series of books). These figures are more than teachers. Learning their ways equips us with skills to create the life we really want for ourselves at a deep level. As ever with these archetypes, they live within us all. They are not only characters in our lives.
When you were young, you may have been full of ideas about what you were going to be when you grew up. Astronauts, Fairy Godmothers, Firemen, Princesses, Journalists, adventurers and so on. This was the Magician talking to you, filling your head with dreams of what could be. How many of us actually do those things? Not many of us it must be said. There is something about that childhood innocence that makes it so straightforward, when as an adult, we understand that life is more complex than that. Social pressure to live a certain way, take a “sensible” job or career path, have a certain standard of material wealth, keeping up with the Joneses often crush the childhood dream. We cannot see how we can make a living doing our dream and still live up to the responsibilities that society and life place upon us.
It is important to realise that we take on these responsibilities, consciously or unconsciously. We also play our part in allowing the voices of society to win out over our hopes and dreams. That voice from the media, teachers, parents, politics, family, peers and society at large is so loud, it drowns out our childhood wishes. That innocent voice becomes quieter and quieter as the years progress and we lose touch with the Magician’s voice. It lies dormant, yet it’s yearning to be fulfilled is still powerful.
The voice manifests in a longing to do something different to what you are doing. It shows up in discontent, a nagging feeling (blog) that there is something more to life, if only you could work out what it is. When it gets really bad, it feels like a hole inside you, a void that cannot be filled. Some people try to fill that void with food, cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, gambling, sex, shopping and friends, yet it does not fill the gap.
You can spend a lifetime filling the gap rather than looking for the answer. Most return to the search for that answer due to some crisis or other: divorce, death of a friend or relative, health issues, redundancy, financial ruin, personal touches with death and so on. Neither do you need to wait that long, nor for things to get that bad. If you feel that void, that is the sign to start searching again and begin listening to that inner voice.
As a child you probably spent lots of time at play. You created whole worlds in your imagination that felt so real, you might have mistaken fantasy for reality.
How do you begin to turn it around? If you cast your mind back to your youthful fantasies, you might recall you spent lots of time at play. You created whole worlds in your imagination that felt so real, you might have mistaken fantasy for reality. Yet, in that play the Magician worked it’s wonder. You were in awe, passionate, inspired, motivated and lost in a world of imagination and creativity. That force of your mind need not disappear as you grow older. If it is alive in you, it acts as a force that continues to inspire you and continually create an exciting life journey. To remain connected to it you must give it time and energy.
Too often we are told to stop wasting our time on childish things and grow up. Magic is not only something for the young. It is for all ages. I do not mean the conjurers tricks, the “little, peddling magician who works by rules and books” (C.S. Lewis, The Magician’s Nephew, Narnia Series). Rather I am talking about the Intuition, Instinct and Insight. The real magic of life in which we have a vision and strive for it, we see life as a mystery and marvel at it and we know life to be an adventure to be lived as fully as possible.
In our hectic lives of responsibility, pressure, stress, tension and endless demands, we need to find some space to connect to that part of ourselves. I know it is hard, yet the benefits are astounding. Time to unplug and give you the time to relax and remove the almost relentless tension you feel in your body, mind and emotions. Writing, drawing, painting, poetry, music, movement, meditation, singing, crafts, reflection and contemplation are all examples of connecting to the Magician. You get a chance to create and be free to explore your thoughts, feelings and emotions.
Over time this connection deepens and you begin to get insights into what other things you might want to explore. The journey is endless. Your potential is unlimited. If you begin this journey, it may start as a hobby. It may grow into something larger and more important to you. It may even grow into a new career path.
You may like to join a group. Art classes, music lessons, choirs, yoga groups, discussion meetings, evening classes, bands, meditation or contemplation groups. There is so much out there to join in with. Find the thing or things that really light you up inside and remove the feeling of that void that feels so painful now. Notice the contentment that begins to grow within you. Surround yourself with like- spirits, for the journey is easier with other people who are traveling a similar road.
So, begin to find that silent sacred space to access the Magician in your life. Only by stepping away from the frantic pace of modern living, if only for 5 minutes, can we hope to hear the voice of the Magician. When we are silent we can listen to our intuition, the voice of the Magician. I am struck that “silent” and “listen” are anagrams. It is interesting that to truly listen we must be silent inside, still and calm, and then the message comes through loud and clear.
As human beings, we are so much more than our conscious mind, the part of the brain that deals with logic, lists and reason. We are also an intuitive and creative being, skills of the subconscious that get drowned out by the loud conscious mind. In its insecurity, the conscious mind or ego, creates a need to be listened to. This is only part of your full potential. To be fulfilled and at peace, we must listen to both parts of the mind. The Magician’s realm is the subconscious, the world of imagination and creativity. When fantasy becomes reality and we live our dreams, the power of peace and harmony, as well as no longer being in internal conflict, is profound.
Do you feel that void inside? If so, do you fill it with food, alcohol, cigarettes and the like, or do you seek out the Magician? How did you start your journey to discovering the Magician? Would you like to start your journey to hearing the Magician’s voice? Did you have dreams as a child and wonder what’s happened to them? Would you be willing to go on a journey to explore what your Magician wants for you?
If so, please get in touch. We can discuss how we can make this happen for you by working together. These first steps can be made more easily with support. A life coach can be an ideal person to keep you accountable to the changes you commit to and the direction of growth you have decided upon. If you think you might want to work with me through this process, you can reach me by e- mail on david@potentialitycoaching.co.uk. Please post your comments at the foot of the page. It would be good to get a conversation going about this fascinating subject.
If you know someone who might be struggling with this challenge, please pass this link on to them. It might make a huge difference to their life and may stop the ache and discontent they are feeling in this period of their life.
Like all life you start your existence as a seed in fertile soil, full of potential that may, or may not, be realised
How do you know what you are capable of? What qualities do you possess that lie within you unnoticed and unfulfilled? How are you going to discover these hidden talents? How will these talents manifest in your life? What difference will they make to your quality of life? How will they affect your confidence? Finally, what does personal growth look like to you?
Like all life you start your existence as a seed in fertile soil, full of potential that may, or may not, be realised. It is only through life situations that you discover your talents and so grow in confidence. Some you are placed in by chance and others by design. That design can be your own or others.
By chance or design these situations shape you, drawing out skills, qualities and talents that drive you forward, see you grow and make a contribution to the world. Both play an important role in ensuring your growth and improving your confidence.
Firstly, it is in design that you take control of your growth. By placing yourself in the path of mentors, teachers and guides you are introduced to new things, made aware of previously unseen skills and encouraged and inspired to step out of your comfort zone and grow as an individual.
Therefore, I am constantly seeking support from people who can teach me to grow my business, show me new skills to cultivate myself and ways in which to help others. Life is a never- ending classroom that can lead to on- going growth and development of that seed into something magnificent.
There is also self- directed growth. Learning does not need only come from outside of you. It can also come from within. Through exploring a subject you can get beyond text books, courses and external teaching and begin the process of innovation, integration and development. Your unique journey gives you a unique view on all of life. As a result, will you bring that unique vision to life and share it with the world, your community or family? Would you walk the path less travelled and forge a way forward that creates something new for you as well as the world around you? Can you purposefully step into the unknown and discover what lies in the void?
Nevertheless, in amongst all of this design there is the chaos of chance. New and unexpected events, opportunities and learning will come your way that contribute to your growth. Some of it will be painful, much of it exciting and inspiring. This is the nature of growth. Only by putting yourself in the charge of guides and stepping out and creating your place in the world will you grow and open yourself up to chance and chaos. The opportunity for growth, on- going development and fulfillment will follow.
How will you know which direction to go? You can take the advice of other people who have experience in the areas you wish to develop. You can also follow your Intuition. This means asking “What are you drawn to?” and ” What do you get the sense you are inspired to do?” For years I have had a sense that I am drawn to help people discover their life- purpose. At one time that looked like running a martial arts business. I helped people with their self- confidence and trust in their own ability and intuition. More recently, that has developed to include life coaching.
I never expected my previous career in science to come in any use once I walked away from biochemistry and neuroscience. Now I am drawn to using that expertise in helping people with finding their life- purpose as well. I am currently exploring meditation and seeing how that can be incorporated into movement. Together they help combat stress, tension and encourage relaxation, self- expression and creativity. These are all key elements in living your life- purpose. The journey unfolds one step at a time and help and support comes in many guises, both internal and external.
Consequently, many of my clients are taking the steps towards living with greater fulfillment. By a combination of trusting their own intuition, creativity and resourcefulness they become empowered to follow their life- purpose and reach out for whatever help and support will get them there. By living in- line with your life- purpose you ensure continual growth and fulfillment. See yourself flourish and thrive in such a positive and empowering environment and grow from a seed into a beautiful, healthy and vibrant plant: strong in its foundations; fruitful in its creativity and furthermore; unique in its shape and expression.
What is your experience of growth? How do you live your life- purpose? How do you continue to grow? I’d love to hear your comments and offer inspiration for people who are travelling a similar road.
If you know someone who would enjoy this blog and find it useful why not send them the link? I’d really appreciate it. May be they will as well? If you’d like to receive a direct link to the Potentiality Coaching monthly blog into your in- box, why not sign up here and receive a free e- course on Confidence as well?
The subconscious mind processes and expresses things very differently to the conscious mind
Metaphor can be a powerful coaching tool.
Have you ever found yourself in a situation in which you can’t see a way out? When you talk about it your reasoning goes round and round in circles and there is no solution? Do you feel in those scenarios you cannot change things? That if only this person or that person would just change or see things differently.
I recently had a client struggling with just that situation. In the true co- active coaching style we co- created a way forward. It started by painting a picture in words, based on feelings, perceptions and perspectives.
As a client in coaching, it is easy to get caught up in telling the story. This can be useful to set context. Very quickly it can turn in to a retelling of old thoughts and past actions. For the coach this story can be intriguing but not in a way that serves the client. Instead together, coach and client can co- create a way through to greater insight and understanding, perhaps to resolution, but this is not necessary. With enough insight, the client can work it out without the coach, empowering them towards greater self- assurance and growth.
This client is an Aikido exponent. I asked her “What would this situation look like in an Aikido context?” She explained being held on the floor, pinned in the back by someone’s knee. It was painful. This person holding her down was scared, trying to stop her getting to a third person. She was frustrated, unheard. This third person was stood a little way off, confused.
This gave her powerful insight into the dynamics of the three- way relationship.
I asked her, ”What would you do in Aikido to get out of this?” She said she would relax. Instantly, the situation shifted to her being released. She was able to sit with the man holding her down on an even level. Able to relate and communicate. Less fear and frustration were around though the third person was still confused.
From here the client knew which ways she could go to work through this situation. Therefore she could resolve it for a three way win. The power of visualising a situation gave her a sub- conscious, instinctive perspective on a situation. Her conscious mind had only seen as full of conflict, frustration and fear.
Sometimes, a more intuitive answer is best. A great way to access that wisdom is through using simile and metaphor. When you next find yourself in a similar scenario, try it your self, alone, with a friend or with a coach. See what insights and revelations you discover.
And if you would to know how it worked out for this client, I will share with you in next month’s blog the power of “being” and how it differs from the power of “doing”.
Until then, please share your thoughts, ideas and experiences about this idea of simile and metaphor. How has it helped you in the past get insight? How has this blog or the comments at the bottom of the page helped in any way? Have you struggled working with metaphor? Do you have another method that works better for you? I’d love to hear from you.
If you found this article useful and interesting please pass it on to other people you think would be interested and spread the word. I would really appreciate it. And if you are new to Potentiality Coaching, why not sign up to the e- mailing list at https://www.potentialitycoaching.co.uk/ and get an e- mail straight to your in box when I post my monthly blog and be first to hear about news, information and insights at Potentiality Coaching. I’d love to have you be part of the community.
You may often hear that intuitive voice. That doesn’t mean you are going to act on it. In my experience, listening to and acting on that intuition can lead to some incredible experiences. Over time, it builds trust between you and your intuitive mind and that leads to a greater connection and relationship with your self.
My wife and I home educated our son for a few years. We took every opportunity to take him to events in Cambridge that would inspire him and stretch his mind. There are countless events throughout the year in this university city and one such opportunity are the open days at the Royal Observatory when they let the public look through the telescopes. After hours of lectures, games and fun activities, night fell and we were given the choice of two telescopes. We went with the majority and queued to see Saturn- that was definitely what our son wanted to see.
For 90 minutes we waited. Every person that walked past us on the way out from looking through the telescope had blank, impassive faces. People were starting to leave the queue. Was there nothing to see? Were we wasting our time? My wife, I and grandparents exchanged concerned glances and wondered whether this was an exercise in futility, but our son was undeterred. He knew it was going to be amazing. Even when we could see people looking through the telescope there was no noticeable reaction, just a brief glance and then the long walk back to the exit.
When our turn came, our son mounted the steps and peered down the lens- he was transported!!!! He had never seen anything so cool. Excited, he stepped aside so that we could see and he was right- it was really cool!!!! This white silhouette on a black background was moving slowly across the eye piece. We were looking at Saturn in real time as we moved in position in relation to this planet millions of miles away. Everyone was ecstatic. None of us could stop talking about it in animated tones all the way to the exit and beyond.
We were rewarded for trusting our son’s intuition in spite of the evidence in front of our eyes. It bonded us as a family and strengthened our son’s trust in himself as well as cemented our love and appreciation for nature and this living universe. I will always be grateful to our son for making us stay and trusting his intuition when it would have been all too easy to listen to nay- sayers and ignore the urge to trust in the unknown.
When have you listened to your intuition? What spectacular events or funny stories came from trusting that inner voice? How did it make you feel? I’d love to hear from you, so please post your experiences on the comments page. Many thanks for reading and connecting.
If you found this article useful and interesting please pass it on to other people you think would be interested and spread the word. I would really appreciate it. And if you are new to Potentiality Coaching, why not sign up to the e- mailing list at https://www.potentialitycoaching.co.uk/ and get an e- mail straight to your in box when I post my monthly blog and be first to hear about news, information and insights at Potentiality Coaching. I’d love to have you be part of the community.
At The Embodiment Conference, listen to David talk about archetypes and an embodied system for inner leadership and self-empowerment.