It may seem rather paradoxical that a coach’s mantra can be ‘ Don’t Move’ , when we frequently relate Mobility to the Coaching Context; yet I have adopted ‘Don’t Move’ as my Mantra.

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What do I mean by it?

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 I come sit in a session, my client sits and for the next hour or so we don’t move. Physically so, but how about movement in our minds?

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Thoughts are movement, so as a Coach I practise “don’t move”; no thoughts when I enter a session; 

What I mean by this is, I don’t carry any thoughts emerging out of knowledge of the client or knowledge of any tools; what was discussed in the last session, what may come up in this session, judgements of his/her personality, what will I ask, will the client find their outcome, etc etc,

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I cut out all noise and focus on the signal.

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As my mind becomes still, my presence and awareness takes over. The only job for my presence is then to listen to the client’s words and silence. I mirror the clients words and movement.  Through this active listening, what my presence nudges me to ask, I ask. This tango continues, until a point when my client starts mirroring me and doesn’t move. A moment comes when the Client’s mind becomes still and Client’s presence and awareness takes over. The Awareness of the client is released from the shackles of thought trap and from this quiet escape, sprouts the answer the client is looking for. We listen to this present (truly a gift) and hear the future, the rest of the dance is about gliding into the future from the gift of the present.

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This silence is not ‘awkward’, awkward is in the realm of thoughts, when you hold a thought and don’t express it.

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When the hungry caterpillar outgrows its current skin, the coach’s presence starts a moulting process whereby the person ensconces in the silky cocoon of care and love and breaks from personality moult to recognize his presence.

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When the person has digested his personality, like caspases the Coach’s presence tears through the person releasing prime butterfly-making material, with utmost care, at the right time, making them recognize their true nature. 

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Once a person has disintegrated all of his scaffoldings, except for the pure awareness, akin to the Imaginal discs in the larva, that awareness uses the nurturing soup all around them to fuel the rapid cell division required to form an adult butterfly, truly recognizing the potential of future from now.

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The unleashed new adult’s wings are moist and the coaching space gives the grounding, the world reality and rest before it takes flight.

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The ready adult stretches its wings to take flight.

This Butterfly, unlike the juvenile, feeds only on nectar.

 

A Caterpillar moves, so does a Butterfly, but a Pupa stands still.