Presence

               What I have to offer clients is my full and authentic presence. We can loosely define presence as a combination of embodied conscious awareness, inner stillness, and the present moment, but, it is more.  For me, it is the conscious connection to my spiritually attuned inner voice commonly referred to as ‘Higher Consciousness’.   As Tolle said “from a shift in consciousness from mind to Being, from time to presence…the personality that has a past and future recedes and is replaced by an intense conscious presence, very still but very alert…whatever response is needed arises out of that (new/altered) state of consciousness” (Tolle, 2004, p.50). Through presence I witness my clients and listen to their stories with all of my senses.  I listen to hear all aspects of their being speak.  It is through presence that I am able to understand the languages of body, mind, spirit, and emotions.

               As I continue to challenge thoughts and beliefs along my personal journey, the purity of presence seems to grow through increased self-awareness and inner stillness.  Presence seems to lead to an ease of engaging in the behaviors that support transformation as well as a more integrated and more sustained connection to what I call my spiritually attuned inner voice, the Highest Self, the voice that seems to offer inspired thought and action.  I have often heard contemporary thought leaders refer to increased awareness and awareness of a spiritually attuned inner voice as ‘Higher Consciousness,’ and wonder if it is the same thing that Joseph Campbell was referring to when he spoke of “expansion of consciousness” with regard to the hero’s journey (Campbell, 1949, p.211).  Eckhart Tolle states with regard to consciousness:

               Most ancient religions and spiritual traditions share the common insight – that our

               “normal” state of mind is marred by a fundamental defect. However, out of this

               insight into the nature of the human condition…arises a second insight: the good

               news of the possibility of a radical transformation of human consciousness. In

               Hindu teachings (and sometimes in Buddhism also), this transformation is called
               Enlightenment. In the teachings of Jesus, it is salvation, and in Buddhism, it is the

               end of suffering. Liberation and awakening are other terms used to describe this
               transformation. (Tolle, 2006, p.12)

               Regardless of what we call it and how individuals go about achieving it, there seems to be agreement that in order to have ongoing communication with a higher aspect of self, some form of transformation may be important. This transformation can happen spontaneously through creativity and the arts—activities that require intense focus and concentration—and through sustainable inner work.  An altered state of consciousness, which I call presence, arises “from a shift in consciousness from mind to Being, from time to presence…the personality that has a past and future recedes and is replaced by an intense conscious presence, very still but very alert…whatever response is needed arises out of that (new/altered) state of consciousness” (Tolle, 1997, p.42). It is this presence that forms the foundation of the coaching work I do.

               Based on the foundation of presence, clients share their lives with me.  Through their storytelling, goal setting, and creative vision, clients reveal the structure of their lives that takes on the form of three pillars.  Pillar One builds a healthy body and ego.  Pillar Two builds their soul’s development, identifies their essence, and strengthens spiritual qualities.  Pillar Three is built as the client transforms from living in ordinary consciousness, the state associated with “thought processes and emotions…reactions, desires, and aversions” (Tolle, 1997, pg. 60), to communicating with Higher Self.  The roof contains their etheric structure and represents the way their inner development gets expressed through their Elixir and their service work, Spirit’s external contribution to their communities and the world.

               Because each journey is unique, not only from the perspective of life’s experiences, challenges, talents, interests, nature/constitution, intellect, creativity, and culture, but also from the perspective of what the client is willing to address along a particular stage, the pillars get built, or more accurately said, the pillars are revealed in the client’s own time and desired way.  Clients arrive for coaching with a house already under construction.  In other words conscious or not, they are already taking their journey, building and revealing their metaphorical houses.  The construction and re-construction continues throughout a lifetime, building and rebuilding Pillars, putting on roofs, and on occasion an Elixir is developed that is strong enough that the roof of ones’ mansion is stable enough to become the foundation for someone else to build a mansion.