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Life Coaching investigates three fundamental life questions: who am I, what am I capable of and what do I want? The goal of this investigation is to increase our overall happiness.
A life coach helps people to shape their own lives based on their
deepest desires and talents. Life Coaching is a form of coaching in
which the whole life of a person is scrutinized and in which the client
is stimulated to take charge of designing his or her life. Both the
professional and personal life are dealt with. Special attention is
given to the balance between work and leisure, increasing
self-confidence, stress management, communication skills, developing
talents, coordinating career planning with life planning, improving
relationships and developing a positive vision of the future. The
primary goal of Life Coaching is deepening life’s happiness.
More and more coaches gain all-round expertise by attending all kinds
of separate training seminars. At the Atma Institute we offer a
complete Life Coach training course in which all relevant aspects of
coaching are addressed. In The Netherlands , the United Kingdom and the
United States it is one the fastest growing forms of coaching, because
people realize the need for a comprehensive look at life if we want to
accomplish personal changes.
The profession of life coach can be practiced from a training agency,
in a private practice, in a free lance capacity with companies,
schools, universities and government agencies, as employee in a
coaching or training institute, or as employee of a health and safety
executive, hospital, universities and companies.
A life coach supports his or her clients first and foremost in the
creation of their life design, the shaping of their own lives. This
means that he or she helps improving the balance of life, developing
talents, discovering life goals and passions, improving relationships,
and stimulating a natural flow of the various phases in life and
finding a suitable career. The Life Coach accomplishes this in various
ways:
The life coach helps people to improve their personal growth and
efficiency and to outline a career best suited to their course of life
and specific qualities. A life coach motivates and inspires people so
that both at work and in the personal sphere a better balance is
established between the four fundamental life spheres.
The life coach helps to solve individual problems as well as problems
that arise within organizations. Problems on all levels can be
addressed effectively and can be solved with short term intervention.
The coach can manage groups and organizations and provide training
courses to lower sickness absence, reduce stress and conflicts in the
workplace, He can also teach employers how to provide their employees
with a healthy work environment and lowering stress in doing so.
The life coach searches for deeper and more sub conscious causes of
problem situations for individuals and groups. The coach possesses
various powerful psychodynamic coaching methods that he or she can
utilize to address open and hidden conflict situations, to find the
underlying motives and to focus on questions related to the meaning of
life.
A consult with a life coach is much like a service job on a car. All
parts are thoroughly checked. Together with a life coach clients will
focus on the most important aspects of his or her life.
Most
life coaches work from their own practice because that provides a more
neutral environment for the client. Coaching is often covered by
insurance or paid for by the employer. Yet many clients choose to pay
for the sessions themselves because that makes them completely
independent.
Unlike most forms of coaching, which mainly focus on employment, Life Coaching focuses on both career and private life.
Our courses are open to students and clients of all ages.
Application areas of Life Coaching
Improving communication skills
Increasing self-confidence
Improving assertiveness
Developing a Life Design
Finding the true meaning of life, passion and insight
Finding a personal balance
Stress management
Burnout prevention
Talent development
Career and educational decisions
Improving relationships
Conflict control
Energy management
Midlife crisis and menopause
Team building
Outdoor coaching
The Tree of Life
In recent years a new approach of psychology has gained a foothold. It is based on age-old wisdom and is called positive psychology, the science of happiness. Various websites are devoted to this subject.
Someone who is happy, constantly experiences life as a challenge: life is exciting, adventurous and inspiring. Yet being happy is not so simple. In the first place it requires a lot of self-knowledge and inner freedom. Furthermore, our happiness can be disrupted by us doing a “wrong” job, leading an unhealthy life, associating with “wrong” people, not standing up for ourselves, or carrying around unresolved issues from the past.
Life Coaching focuses on recognizing these constricting factors and setting up and restyling life in such a way that complete happiness ensues. In order to be happy we first have to find a proper balance in life. Both our lifestyle and personality have to be balanced anew.
Life Coaching focuses on both – creating a balance in life and in our personality.
Who am I?
The basis of happiness is self-knowledge. That is why in Life Coaching we start by asking the question: who am I? In Life Coaching, someone’s personality is compared to the shape of a tree - the Tree of Life. When a tree has sufficient space, nutrition and sunlight, it will develop in a healthy manner and achieve full maturity. In human beings we also note this urge to achieve a full flourishing. All important aspects of human nature are symbolized by the various parts and spheres of the Tree of Life.
The four spheres of the Tree of Life
There are four main areas in which every human being wants to develop and achieve full happiness. We call them the four spheres of the Tree of Life: top, bottom, left and right.
At the bottom of the tree we find the transpersonal sphere, the area of our individual consciousness and subconscious. At the top of the tree we find the transpersonal sphere, the area of spirituality, our outlook on life and our intuition. On the left and right we find the intrapersonal spheres, the area of relationships, divided in our personal and social relationships. Everything that happens in our lives can be assigned to one of these spheres.
Bottom: The intrapersonal sphere
The intrapersonal sphere consists of the lower part of the Tree of Life. Underground lies our subconscious, above the ground our consciousness. The roots of the tree symbolize how grounded we are in the culture in which we grew up. They are full of latent talents and impressions from our past.
The tree trunk represents our physical strength and psychological backbone that shows how strong, flexible and self-assured we are. The rings of the tree contain all the memories and experiences we have had in life. The branches contain all our skills and abilities related to our daily functioning such as eating, sleeping, relaxing, moving, thinking, dreaming protecting, controlling, etc. The leaves in this sphere represent our inner senses. We use those to observe the thoughts, feelings and desires arising in our consciousness and subconscious. Through the blossoms we express new insights into ourselves. Finally, the fruits symbolize the ripened insights into ourselves that we like to show to the world.
Left: the intrapersonal private sphere
The intrapersonal private sphere, the left side of the tree, consists of the relationships with our partner, children, friends, family members, acquaintances and pets. We all need good personal relationships to feel connected, to share good and bad times, to relax, to have fun and to learn how to communicate properly with others.
The branches contain the skills and insights we have built up in our personal spheres. The branches also symbolize the personal roles we play as partner, father, mother, friend or girlfriend.
Through the leaves we communicate with people in a private sphere and enjoy each other’s company. Through the blossoms we give and receive inspiration and love and enjoy intimacy and sexuality with our partner. The ripe fruits in this area symbolize the care and wisdom we have to offer in our private sphere.
Right: the intrapersonal and social sphere
The intrapersonal sphere on the right hand side of the tree is the area of career, education, politics, society, sciences, arts and culture. We need this sphere for our income, but also for boosting our self-confidence, expanding our talents, achieving our goals and – just like in the private sphere - learning how to communicate properly.
The branches symbolize the skills and insights we have acquired in the social sphere and the roles we play in there.
Through the leaves we communicate with people in the social sphere through the blossoms we give and receive inspiration. The ripe fruits in this sphere represent the products, services and advice we can offer to society.
Top: The transpersonal sphere
In the transpersonal sphere we distance ourselves from our daily activities and step out of the roles we play. From this higher sphere we survey the overall goal of our lives, the meaning of our existence, death and the afterlife. The branches contain all the insights we have acquired on philosophical and spiritual levels.
Through the leaves we are in contact with the cosmos and communicate with our intuition. Through the blossoms we exchange inspiration with our fellow men and feel affection for the world we live in. Finally, the ripe fruits symbolize the wisdom and inspiration we have to offer to our fellow men.
The entire tree and its core
The centre of the tree contains the “I”, our deepest self, the Atma. This is the ultimate observer of all our sense impressions and interpreter of our life force. It connects all spheres within the tree. The overall form of the tree represents our character, but also the connection between our body and personality.
What do I want?
Our “Self”, or pure essence, is the source of our consciousness and life energy. From the core of our personality it provides us with the energy to develop our selves. This energy is focused on the development of our talents and the creation of a balanced growth of our personality. Someone with powerful desires has a great store of life energy. We are happiest when we acknowledge these desires. They are as powerful as the water in a mighty river. They are very special desires, which keep reappearing in our lives. That is why in Life Coaching we regularly pose questions such as ‘What is it that I want in my life? ’ ‘What am I passionate about?’ ‘What is really meaningful in my life ?’ ‘In what do I excel?’ ‘With what kind of people do I want to surround myself?’ The desires of the “Self” are in fact the expressions of our deepest goals. They are messages from the heart that tell us which is the best course in life. When we follow these leads, we will create more and more happiness for ourselves and everyone around us and will enjoy a continuing personal growth.
What am I capable of?
The next question is: ‘What am I capable of?’ Each human being is born with various talents. These are latent capabilities emerging from our true nature. In our early childhood – in the roots of the Tree of Life – it is already clear what these talents are.
We know that some children are naturally communicative and will want to develop in that direction. Some children are naturally technical and will master complicated devices at an early age. Some children are naturally artistic, while others are born leaders.
In Life Coaching we spend a lot of time identifying these talents and how best to develop them. We also look at possible inhibitions hindering the development of these talents.
However, there are areas of life for which we do not have clear-cut talents but which deserve special attention nonetheless. A child may have a lot of technical talent, but may be socially underdeveloped. The child will tend to focus exclusively on its technical skills to the detriment of its social skills. It goes without saying this will result in problems on an intrapersonal level. At a given moment someone like that will want to start developing his social skills, despite the apparent lack of talent for it. The stunted growth in this area will make him unhappy and will lead to the realization that the personality needs to become more balanced.
Just like the human personality a healthy tree is an organism which grows, blossoms and comes to fruition. The tree is constantly processing sunlight, carbon monoxide, water and minerals into oxygen, leaves, wood, pollen and fruits. In the same way, a healthy human being is constantly engaged in giving and receiving in all areas of life. When this proceeds well, someone will be physically and emotionally healthy.
The balance of life
There is a constant connection between the four spheres. To become happy, we have to pay attention to all four spheres and balance them. If we neglect one or more of these areas our happiness will be impaired which can even result in health problems.
People who for most of their lives are mainly concerned with their careers, will neglect there relationships in their private lives, their inner self, and in the transpersonal dimension. They are focused exclusively on the social branches of the tree. Then the tree will grow unstable or crooked. Eventually people like this will become overworked and depressed.
However, people who do not lead a social life have are not happy either. Eventually they will start to feel isolated and lacking the creativity, power and insight that are the results of interaction on a social level.
People who are only focused on the spiritual world will lose contact with their inner self, their private life and society. On the other hand, people who do not develop spiritually at all, will lack faith in a higher guiding force and a vision of a meaningful existence.
Finally, there are people that are only concerned about themselves. They do not develop sufficient social skills and will end up feeling lonely. Diametrically opposite are people that do not take enough time for themselves. Eventually they will lose touch with their inner self.
Maintenance of the tree of life
The intrapersonal sphere
It is absolutely essential that we become introspective on a regular basis to observe our intrapersonal sphere and to maintain its balance, just as it is essential clean our home regularly, and if necessary repair the things that need repairing. When we become introspective, we investigate if there are disruptive feelings and thoughts in our subconscious making us feel insecure, tense or depressed. During our Life Coaching training course we use as number of very powerful psychological techniques that will help us to better understand ourselves and getting access to our innermost force. In using these tools we pay attention to the past, present and future equally, because all three are important to our daily functioning.
First we clean up the past by processing bad memories and letting go of inhibiting outlooks on life. This will enable us to move freely and more forcefully in the here and now and to develop a positive vision of the future.
The intrapersonal sphere
In the intrapersonal sphere we regularly investigate who we feel inspired by and who we love. An important part of Life Coaching is learning how to effectively employ communicative skills in order to improve valuable relationships in our lives. We also look at why certain relationships are so difficult and how we can best solve possible conflicts.
The transpersonal sphere
Finally, it is necessary to pay regular attention to our transpersonal sphere by reflecting on our goal and meaning in life, by fine tuning our intuition and gain inspiration for new courses in life. Life Coaching offers ample opportunity for this. During consults and training courses the participants will develop a clear view of their most important goals in life.
Pruning and spraying for growth and blossoms
It is necessary to prune a tree occasionally to remove unwanted branches. We also have to spray regularly by communicating with inspirational people and spending al lot of time outdoors, in nature.
By pruning and spraying the tree of life will get sufficient light, air and nourishment to ensure a healthy and balanced growth. This will result in a finer, taller and stronger tree.. We will be happy with ourselves and other people will like being with us.
Our Life Design
After we have thoroughly investigated the four spheres of life, our talents, and our desires, we will start to create our individual life design. The design of our future life. This design is squarely based on our life’s assignments and talents. During the design of our lives, we constantly look at the four life spheres. First of all we have to discover and accept our needs and wishes in the intrapersonal sphere. Then we will check to see if they are in harmony with the intrapersonal and transpersonal spheres.
Next we look at which steps we will need to take to make our wishes come true. We create our Life Design as a big picture. The details we leave to the natural flow of life.
In this stage of Life Coaching, the process becomes imbued by magic. We come to understand that various wishes will be fulfilled in a wondrous way. First we practice with everyday wishes such as finding a parking spot, enlarging our income and meeting agreeable people. By finding that these small wishes come to be fulfilled ever easier, we will gain confidence that this will apply to bigger wishes as well, such as meeting inspiring personalities and enriching our character. These are the long-term wishes of the inner self.
Life Designing means that we become the designer or director of our own life.
During the designing process we have to constantly consider our inner self (the intrapersonal sphere), other people (the intrapersonal sphere), and the influence of nature and the cosmos (the transpersonal sphere). When we design our lives in harmony with the four spheres, all of our desires will be fulfilled.
Life Coaching is for experts in the art of living. They design their lives in such a way as to obtain happiness for themselves and for everyone around them.
Timetable
Introductory workshops
The
Atma Institute
What
is LifeCoaching?
The
training courses
Practical
information
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