What is Spiritual Coaching?
Spiritual coaching is about exploring authenticity and meaning in one’s life. Often, our true selves and life’s meaning are obscured by societal teachings and survival mechanisms. For instance, many of us are taught to equate survival with having a good job, a loving family, and general happiness. While being loved, feeling secure, and having control over our lives can provide comfort, these measures don’t always suffice, especially when feeling lost, confused, or down. No amount of external love, financial stability, or control can fully alleviate these feelings. In such times, a spiritual coach can be a valuable guide.
How Does Spiritual Coaching Function?
Spiritual coaching goes beyond traditional life coaching by delving into questions that uncover what is most important to you. A spiritual coach acts as a guide, helping you explore your deepest beliefs and what brings meaning to your life. Unfortunately, the aspects that define us and bring us joy often remain concealed under layers of daily survival.
A compassionate spiritual coach assists in uncovering your authentic self and purpose by posing thought-provoking questions. These questions aim to reveal subtle aspects of your life that might be hidden from your conscious awareness. With your consent, the coach can offer reflections on your words and actions, bringing to light the subtle layers that reveal your true identity and desires. These layers may also unveil new, meaningful beliefs and life purposes.
A spiritual coach refrains from giving unsolicited advice, diagnosing, analyzing problems, or offering solutions. Such roles are more suited to a trained therapist. Instead, a spiritual coach asks insightful questions that lead you to discover your own answers, serving as a guide and companion on your spiritual journey.
This journey may initially be uncomfortable as it involves taking full ownership of your life. The reward for enduring this discomfort is the opportunity to shape your life based on your dreams, rather than just reacting based on learned behaviors. The aim is to design your life in your own way. Owning your life is one of the most significant gifts you can give yourself, as it allows you to create your own meaning and purpose, rather than adhering to those imposed by others.
What are the Advantages of Spirituality Coaching?
Engaging in spirituality coaching is a journey of self-discovery. The coach acts as a mirror, reflecting your true self back to you. You’ll start to recognize the hidden layers that comprise your thoughts, beliefs, and emotions accumulated over a lifetime. These layers form the basis of our automatic responses and behaviors. But what if these automatic thoughts bring suffering and hinder our dreams? Bringing these subconscious layers and their underlying thoughts to conscious awareness opens up new possibilities. We learn to see beyond our automatic responses to our ultimate goals, allowing us to consciously respond rather than subconsciously react. In this process, you will:
- Unearth layers of beliefs and emotions that prevent you from becoming who you aspire to be.
- Identify automatic reactions that divert you from your dreams and goals.
- Discover techniques to cultivate happiness.
- Reduce daily suffering.
- Learn how to consciously create your own identity.
Duration of the Spirituality Coaching Process
Coaching is not a one-size-fits-all process; it varies for each individual. You have control over the duration and frequency of your coaching journey.
From our practice, we typically suggest starting with weekly sessions. These initial meetings provide an understanding of the coaching process and begin simple awareness exercises to uncover the subtle mental layers. After a few weeks, clients often space out the sessions as they become adept at identifying and moving beyond these hidden layers. The focus of subsequent sessions is on exploring and unpacking thoughts and emotions that may be hindering progress towards desired goals.
- When engaging in coaching, it’s crucial that you feel at ease with your coach and their approach. Coaches vary in their interaction styles with clients. If you don’t feel sufficiently comfortable to discuss the frequency and nature of your sessions with your coach, it may be time to consider finding someone else. It’s important to remember that, as challenging as it might seem, the coach is there to serve you.
- Finding the Right Spirituality Coach
- The process of coaching is deeply personal, revealing aspects of your mind that you may not have been aware of or understood their impact on your life. A strong sense of comfort with your coach is essential, especially with a spirituality coach. You’ll be sharing your deepest beliefs about the universe, the world, and your place in it, which requires a high level of trust and integrity from the coach. Here are some steps to help you find the right coach:
- Interview Multiple Coaches: The more coaches you interview, the better you’ll understand what you’re looking for. United Global Coaches can recommend up to five coaches, and it’s wise to have a free consultation with each over the phone. This process helps you learn which questions are vital to you and start uncovering some of those subtle layers.
- Exchange Emails: Interact with each coach over a few days to gauge their patience, genuine interest in you, and whether they offer helpful tools even before you hire them.
- Review Policies and Pricing: Understand their coaching policy and pricing. Are they willing to adjust their rates if needed?
- Research Their Background: Read the coach’s UGC profile and website to get a sense of their approach and ethos. Do you trust them? Do you believe they are invested in your success?
- Assess Belief Systems: Determine if the coach shares your belief system. Even if they don’t, consider if you’re comfortable with their belief vocabulary. Having a different belief system isn’t a deal-breaker; it can actually provide a wider perspective of possibilities, as long as you feel secure with the differences.
- Remember, the key to successful coaching lies in the comfort and trust you build with your coach, alongside their ability to professionally guide you through your spiritual journey.
