Baptism By Fire
Coaching is a Baptism By Fire.
According to the International Coaching Federation, coaching is “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.”
According to the Strozzi Institute for Somatics, somatic coaching is “a transformational, life affirming, emergent process that organizes emotional, social, and spiritual commitments towards embodiment and fulfillment.”
In my journey towards becoming a certified somatic coach, I have found that coaching at its best is an uncompromising, unflinching presence of the deep freedom of both the coach and leader. Coaching is the emancipatory co-practice of liberating us from what holds us back from deep freedom. Coaching is the upbuilding and generative craft that allows us to turn, to face, to enter into and to move through and beyond present dilemmas in our leadership and wider life.
In my own Jesus tradition, coaching’s parallel is baptism; a kind of rebirth of one’s soul and self given the dominating impacts of society. Coaching is too often reduced to narrow and shrewd progress for a client or leader. Coaching is too often confused with guidance, consultation or the directing of someone. In reality – coaching is the co-constituent practice of being shared witnesses to God. Coaching is the daring courage and the unrelenting humility to transform what is necessary into what must be possible.
In many ways, I view the work of coaching as similar to the work of the Prophet Aaron in the Exodus, or of John the Baptist in the water or Jesus harrowing Hell; coaching is the practice of co-intercession.
Coaching demands that something be set ablaze, torched, and cast into the fire. Coaching questions are the kindling, cultivated silence is the oxygen, and one’s response to those questions and that silence is the spark.
Every one of us, given the dominating impacts of society and the horrors of history, have internalized some degree of the white supremacy of Hernán Cortés and Christopher Columbus. Coaching excises those racist and colonial vestiges from our person.
The power and promise of coaching is to liberate us from fixed habits of action and perception towards a more righteous and rightful relationship to deep freedom.
Photo courtesy of The Black Art Depot. Artwork by Johnny Myers, In the Name of the Father
Karl Marx had it correct when he stated "religion is the opium of the workers class". The Book of xodus is fantasy and not reality. Sports began before such concerns as providing food and shelter to ones needs. Sports differed in purpose and behavior by various civilizations to usually assist in cultures but sometimes in military conflicts.
Myself as a Gay msn , I have interest in Women's sports as challenging male supremacy and of the long tradition of Gay interest in sports. IAmong my sports collections include those political relsted as the Workers Olympiads against fascism and the long struggle to havewomen control their lives through sports as ability and success to do without male control. Today the left wing soccerteams to open Lesbian doinated sports teams, to including "special olympics" that reflects a better caring inclusive sports experience for all. But sports have led to military conflicts, been used for religious faith beliefs (as in in the Americas indigenous sports) and how Trump uses sports to promote his fascist racist views. I assume no one here wants to attend the UFC "sports event" for Trump's upcoming birthday being held at the White Hiuse grounds? ports can be used for militarism or anti-militarism epressions but also to dominate and not offer cooperative peaceful competition. Sports have a different history from Ancient Times to present, as often today with capitalists using to promote profits from or advance nationalism for advancing empires. This besides ignoring false religious hate beliefs.