Coaching is the art of supporting people in discovering for themselves their own inner resources and answers to their own questions. This is done mainly through deep, respectful listening and powerful questions.
Zen is presence, awareness, mindfulness, relaxed alertness, true nature; living deeply connected with life´s essence as it unfolds and manifests in surprising and creative ways from moment to moment.
The main purposeof Zen Coaching is to support us in recognizing our own nature as awareness, and all the essential qualities of awareness, such as freedom, love, strenght, creativity and spaciousness. Through this recognition we become less identified with mental positions and negative judgments of ourselves and others, and more free to live in strength, peace and positive contribution to ourselves and others.
Practical benefits include living life more according to our heart´s calling; living more of our true potential, with greater confidence, creativity, effectiveness and ease; clearer and more inspiring communication and leadership abilities, and much more.
Zen Coachingis also a process and a set of principles for how to support others in coming home to themselves and to grow as human beings.
The 'goal' of Zen Coaching is achievable right here, right now - simply by noticing, allowing and fully experience our experience in this moment. There is no need to wait, no need to seek fulfillment in the future. Fulfillment, ease and wisdom is the essence of whatever experience we are having right here, right now.
Main Principles and Practices of Zen Coaching
Zen Coaching is a listening process and an approach to living based on the following main principles:
Listening from inner spaciousness: Zen Coaching is listening in the form of an open, spacious, accepting and allowing presence, based mainly on silence, open questions and verbal reflections. In this way the life process of the client has space to unfold according to its own movement and wisdom.
Helping through non-helping: As coaches we do not primarily seek to fix, guide or even to help the other, but rather to provide support through simple presence, Being-Here, resting as awareness, and simple and innocent curiosity.
Empathic connection: The main focus of the coach is to offer empathic listening: to stay present to what is alive right now in the client (and also in the coach herself or himself).
Support in connecting deeply with ourselves: It is a premise of Zen Coaching that THE basic need or longing of all human beings is to be connected with ourselves, and to rest as the awareness that we are - to be our true nature as Peace, Freedom, Love, Strength, Value and so on. All perceived problems manifest out of a disconnection with who we truly are. Problems dissolve as we connect deeply with ourselves.
Flexibility: When the coach is grounded in the above principles, he or she can use many different techniques that are helpful to find our inner resources and see our possibilities.
Kåre Landfald from Norway is the founder of Zen Coaching and the Zen Coaching Network.
Zen Coaching Training
The Zen Coaching Training is offered in several countries by Kåre Landfald and Tine Vindeløv from Denmark, with a coach team and co-teachers.
