The healing power of being witnessed

In this episode, Annemiek has a conversation with Certified Coaches Mirjam van Ruth and Judith Peters, about: How we can create communities where people can thrive. How to design those communities. And what difference that makes. We touch on themes of: how belonging doesn't mean having to change yourself to fit in learning to thrive in women-only groups, to the point of now running women's circles what it truly means to be seen how we can stay out of drama while being fully present with everything that we are (including our triggers) the role curiosity plays and some of the design principles that make all this possible, because none of it is accidental! We are using Invoke Your Client's Magic, the Soul-based Coach Certification program as an example, so everything that we share comes from the experience of running this program and community for the last 7 years. Enjoy, and tell us what this episode brought you!

The healing power of being witnessed I got a beautiful question about the healing power of being witnessed: where does that comes from? I think we've probably all noticed the difference it can make when we are going through something, and someone can hold space for us and we are just allowed to share what is going on, without immediately being drawn into a conversation of how to make it better, how to fix it. But why is that? In our dominant culture we rush towards making the uncomfortable go away, and we were taught that taking action is THE thing that’s needed to make things better. That there would be healing power in ‘just’ being witnessed goes against all that. So in this episode, I'm going to dive into why being witnessed is such an incredibly nourishing, life affirming, healing experience. I touch on the social layer, the therapeutic layer and the ancient spiritual wisdom found in the eldest Goddess myth preserved for us: Inanna's Descent about transformation and initiation. If you would like another reminder of why doing less often leads to a whole lot more of deep transformation, this episode is for you.

Welcome to an inspiring, multi-layered conversation with Keri Jarvis, intersectional feminist, developmental coach and community activist, about why it's so hard, in the current coaching industry, to stay rooted in our inner authority. Teachers that Keri honours on this conversation are: Bear Hebert (they/ them) and Kelly Diels (she/her) and Danielle Cohen (she/ her). We highly recommend that you check out their work. To connect with Keri, go to: www.kerijarvis.com Instagram @keri_l_jarvis TikTok @kerijarvis21 And as always, if you want to find out more about Soul-based Coaching, visit us at Academyforsoulbasedcoaching.com

We all agree that listening is one of the most important skills as a coach. So here is an interesting question: how can you tell you listen well? Part of honing and developing your coaching skills is about becoming aware of the subtle parts of the coaching process, and how you know what you do is working for your client at any given moment. Experienced coaches often say ‘well, I feel it’, or ‘it’s intuitive’. But it’s really interesting to start to find out more about that intuition, and where it comes from. Because you will find that there are observable signals and behaviours that you pick up on. And once you become aware of them, you can also start to see where you may miss signals, and where your interpretation can be upgraded. That’s exciting!! Because this is where you can grow their skills considerably, making it less hard work and more co-creation with their clients. In this episode, we focus on the Four Levels of Listening that Otto Scharmer identifies in Theory U, and the relationship with Holding Space like we do in Soul-based Coaching. I’m joined by Judith Peters, Certified Soul-based Coach and long time facilitator of transformation in organisations, for a rich conversation on something that seems so obvious. One of the most exciting parts of this conversation is that it points to conditions for emergence: for things, ideas, changes, to be born that did not exist before. This is the hallmark of Soul-based Change, and what we expect to happen in our sessions: we are leaning into an emergent future. As Judith says: “This is why we are here. This is the job. Opening the door for the future.” Have a listen and let us know your thoughts! Connect with Judith on LinkedIn or check out her website. Find more about Soul-based Coaching on academyforsoulbasedcoaching.com

In this episode I am celebrating the return of the light. I’m sharing the most magical moment of the year with you from my childhood and taking you with me into my favourite Winter Solstice ritual.

Traditionally, what does a coach start with? By determining their client’s goals. That’s important, right, because otherwise, what are you there for? And why would a client pay you money to support them? The way we look at that in Soul-based Coaching? It’s a funny one, because yes, and also, no. Of course, you need direction as a coach, a reference point throughout the work together, to help you determine where to direct attention for the client and how to best be of service. We want to know what it is the client wants, and how they will know they have gotten what they want. We want the client to create a very clear picture of what they want to call in. But when you look at it from a new paradigm perspective, goals are pretty limited as the anchor for your coaching session. In this episode, let’s dive into why that is the case, and what else you can do. In the episode, I share: What the limits of goals are in a coaching setting, and what you miss out on when goals are what you anchor your sessions in The relationship between goals and DESIRE Why desire has such a bad reputation, and how that is a testament to its power to create Why so many of us live with a lid on our desire, and how that is holding us back in living the life we came here for How to start helping your clients tap into the creative life power of desire to supercharge their results, without setting desire itself centre stage (because that would probably just distract!) Curious? Have a listen and share your thoughts with me, I love hearing from you!

Money is a topic that can trigger strong responses. It has strong life force energy. Just like sexuality. That means it also comes with a lot of power - and I don’t mean worldly power it can be turned into, but creative power, power to create things and experiences in the world to serve people, to help co-create our better future. There are many understandable reasons for having a tricky relationship with money. Especially when you are someone who cares, someone who sees the harm that comes from an exploitative economic system, as someone who values the wisdom that spirituality can bring. It’s not your fault :) But it is ours to deal with. In this week’s podcast episode, I help you explore how you can take full responsibility for ALL the creation power that you have. We touch on: Why money is such a tricky subject for a lot of people T he core dynamics that are into play when it comes to how we tend to relate to money What the energetic and physical power of money is Who benefits from us being in conflicted or constricted money relationships And how to step into an even more empowered money relationship, if that is what you would like to do Enjoy, and let us know your thoughts! You can find us on www.academyforsoulbasedcoaching.com or in our free Facebook community: www.facebook.com/groups/TheSoulbasedCoachingCommunity

Welcome to Soul Whispers, the official Soul-based Coaching podcast where we are inspiring conversations about new paradigm coaching. I am your host, Annemiek van Helsdingen, founder of the Academy for Soul-based Coaching where we have impacted the lives of 1000s of coaches and clients. I love sharing insights and experiences that can make us all even better coaches, healers, therapists and leaders in this time of rapid transition. You can expect new perspectives and rigorous new paradigm coaching practises, all rooted in yin fuelled wisdom.

Grief is part of life. We all get to experience our share of it. And it is deeply impactful and not always easy to navigate. Often coaches need to learn to be with grief. Their own and their clients. For new, recent losses. For saying goodbye to identities or fantasies about who we thought we were, of the world we thought we lived in. For old layers of sedimented grief that never had a space to surface and be aired and honoured and witnessed. Holding space for grief opens a sacred portal. In this episode, Annemiek shares how to open that sacred portal, so that coaches can support their client's process, without stepping into therapy.