Reflective Dialogue ...

I am once again parked in one of my favorite temples “ISKCON”. Will I be a better and holier person, if I would be either praying or thinking about my many sins or showing my gratitude towards my many gifts of grace given by the Divine?

But my eye and mind are captivated, in these moments before dawn, by the fire before me, that is offered to the Divine, in the form of an oil lamp flame.

Fire is sacred. It is often a symbol of inspiration, wisdom, and knowledge. I learned in my growing years that the Fire is the only one of the four elements that humans can produce themselves, so it bridges the connection between mortals and gods. When I look at an actual fire, I see it as an enormous force of purification as it consumes, warms, and illuminates.

Sitting around the fire creates a connection for me.

I find that in the shadows of the fire exists the aspects of myself that I don’t own or that I am unaware of. As I sit by the fire, I observe the shadows and observe myself. I often, invite these hidden aspects to come out of the shadow to dance with me in the flames.

Over the years it has become easier to openly share my stories and my fears and feel as if I have nothing to hide. It is said that when we shed our fears, judgments, beliefs, and assumptions, we can sit in peace with a clear mind to watch the individual flames of the fire dance for us. We will not be distracted by things that don’t serve us anymore as they will have already been thrown into the fire.

Always believed that I need to take care of and nurture the fire as it will give me the warmth to feed my soul.

I have learned, over a period of time in my professional journey as a Coach, that Coaching is as sacred as Fire. As a student of coaching, I am really passionate about creating a safe space where authentic sharing and reflection can take place. When the person I am speaking to, opens their heart and lets down their shield, a different fire begins to burn and I can feel presence, truth, and safety as the fear is burned away. This fire represents the intense courage required to be authentic, transparent, honest, and present in our interactions and is the perfect metaphor for what can happen when we step through our fears into our purpose.

For me, to be authentic is to burn away all those masks, fears and ways of being that do not feed my soul. For me, it is all about taking the risk that I might get burned in this fire but doing it anyway.

The above reflection is a response to a very old and beautiful inquiry that came my way a few months back in the form of a question — “What is my coaching metaphor?’ and finally, after a long pause, this metaphor spoke with me, or silently, whispered in my ears the essence and sacred relatedness of fire and coaching …

#preeinspires