Spiritual Coaching: A Journey to Holistic Wellness and Empowered Living

Author: Ram S. Ramanathan MCC

“My 24 coaches are: 1. Earth, 2. Water, 3. Air, 4. Fire, 5. Sky, 6. Moon, 7. Sun, 8. Pigeon, 9. Python, 10. Ocean, 11. Moth, 12. Bee, 13. Honey-gatherer, 14. Elephant, 15. Deer, 16. Fish, 17. Dancing-girl Pingala, 18. Raven, 19. Child, 20. Maiden, 21.Serpent, 22. An arrow-maker, 23. Spider and 24. Beetle.”

- Dattatreya Upanishad?

“My experience is my coach.”

- Paraphrasing Ramana Maharishi

What if I said you don’t need expensive guru and complicated rituals? Ramana Maharshi, a revered spiritual master, beautifully emphasized this when he said, "Look within and inquire till you find your Self." This simple yet profound practice, self-inquiry, forms the core of spiritual coaching, a powerful approach to inner exploration and holistic well-being. What is Spiritual Coaching??

Building self-awareness marks the start of coaching for self-development. This self-awareness starts from within where the starting point is one’s realization of their energy self. It’s about being aware of the spirit within. The inner energy of the self is the spiritual coach. At its core, all coaching must be spiritual coaching.?

Beyond the material world, we each hold a potential for spiritual intelligence and the capability to be self-aware. At Coacharya, we believe anyone can tap into this innate wisdom through self-coaching and spiritual intelligence. This journey is about finding balance, feet grounded yet vision boundless. As spiritual coaches, we are healers and empowered leaders. Even a child can understand this simple truth: spiritual coaching is about innocence, compassion, and non-judgmental empathy. Spiritual coaching isn’t about oneself, it’s about recognizing the interconnectedness of all beings, where another’s needs hold equal weight. The

Process of Spiritual Coaching?

The spiritual self-coaching process toward spiritual wellness starts with four practical coaching principles. These can be used as a systemic and spiritual coaching process for any coaching, whether self-coaching, individual, or collective coaching. The same approach can be used in training, therapy, consulting, counselling, or facilitation, systemically and spiritually.?

1. Coaching Intent: Start by setting a clear intention for your journey. Ask yourself: “Why holds me back? What would help me grow? What truly fulfills me? Why? What is my purpose and meaning in work and life? Why am I here? Where should I be? How will I know I am where I wish to be? What would the Universe want me to be and do? Dig deep, exploring not just your aspirations but also how you affect and are affected by those around you. These questions will help get clarity on the desired coaching intent.
2. Safe Coaching Space: Create a safe, trusted, confident, meditative, emotionally intelligent, and non-judgemental space to help reflect and express. Be present in self-awareness.
3. Systemic Coaching Communion: Listen to yourself intently. Observe your thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations without judgment. Acknowledge them appreciatively. Inquire curiously, connect empathetically, and explore generatively, all with emotional intelligence. This evokes insights into unconscious beliefs that limit our aspirational values. Explore how one impacts others, and how others impact us using a systemic approach. In systemic spiritual coaching, conversation evolves into a silent communion of energy, fostering healing, even when working with another.
4. Spiritual Journey: Allow the awareness evoked to create solutions to your disempowering issues as actions. These new actions lead to renewal and growth. Anchor the new pathways in accountability serving not only yourself but others as well in a spiritual Hero’s Journey.

Be a Spiritual Coach

All coaching begins with self-coaching of one’s spirit. At the heart of systemic spiritual coaching lies the recognition that we impact and are impacted by those around us. The systemic coaching approach transforms transactional coaching into a larger and more integrated spiritual coaching dimension.??

Why is Spiritual Coaching Needed Now?

AI chatbots will soon replace cognitive transactional coaching. Spiritual coaching can never be. Coaches need to train themselves as spiritual coaches, using somatic and ontological techniques in a systemic approach to be relevant. Coaches need to let go of ego and greed through self-coaching of one’s spirit.

Unfortunately today, coaching has become a mercenary profession rather than the spiritual vocation it ought to be. Spiritual coaching is democratic and commonsensical. It’s a way of life. In a world grappling with pandemic-related challenges like isolation and a lack of direction, spiritual coaching offers a path forward. By guiding us inward and fostering a connection with others, it can help us replace empty desires with meaningful needs that spark true joy, both for ourselves and the world around us.

Reflection: Spiritual Awareness, Spiritual Intelligence, and Spiritual Coaching?

To become a successful coach, start self-coaching yourself. Seek authentic feedback on your emotional intelligence from others, who know you and are not dependent on you, or on your blind spots. Coaches need less supervision if they learn to coach themselves. With self-coaching we can shed our conditioned limiting beliefs of ego and greed elevating us to view others equally, considering their needs before ours. This leads to spiritual intelligence and spiritual coaching, in turn fostering holistic wellness.

Remember, the most inspiring paths begin with a single step inward. Take that step today.

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