A NOTE about Nonduality and coaching
Nonduality goes by many names including nondual awareness, selflessness, and no-self.
Nonduality literally means 'not two'.
It points to the underlying unity of reality as opposed to the more common prevailing view that we exist as separate and distinct entities within the world.
Nondual teachings date back thousands of years and are central to a variety of philosophical and spiritual traditions including Taoism, Zen Buddhism, and Advaita Vedanta.
Perhaps one of the most striking aspects of nonduality, when it comes to coaching, is that it assumes you are inherently whole, with access to everything you need. Any growth or change comes from discovering this wholeness as opposed to adding or acquiring something new.
Below are 10 Principles of Nondual Coaching, which hopefully gives a sense of what it is and how it differs from more common approaches.
Equality - the coach and client are equals in the process of exploration
Wholeness - the client is inherently whole, coaching is about rediscovering what already is, rather than adding something new
Insight - Progress (if you want to call it that) comes from insight rather than new information.
Subtraction - Transformation occurs through letting go of beliefs and ideas
Resistance - Resistance is a resource to be explored that can spark deeper insights
Self-less - coaching happens naturally and spontaneously. there is no one doing it, the process naturally unfolds
Acceptance - no judgements are held as they further create separation
Awareness - The coach embodies nondual awareness that naturally guides the process
Pathless - a spontaneous fluid dance arises with no goals or intentions
Paradox - playfully embrace paradox helping lead coachees to direct experiential understanding
If anything in this resonates or piques your interest, I'd love to connect and hear from you.
Nonduality has become more widely studied and accepted by modern neuroscience and has been embraced by those not aligned with a particular spiritual tradition of school of philosophy. Research is accumulating that affirms the fundamental claims of nonduality and stripped of it's religious or cultural baggage and focus on self inquiry and direct experience is gaining traction to those inclined to look beyond the more common approaches to human wellbeing and flourishing.
A central theme of nonduality is often referred to as 'no-self' and posits that the sense of self we take for granted is an illusion. As we take that further and begin to realize the illusory nature of the self our need to work on or improve this 'self' no longer makes sense and a sense of ease and spontaneity arises.
A sense of being in flow or harmony with nature is common, or what the Taoist tradition might call 'wu-wei' which translates to effortless action