How I Work

Posted on August 04, 2012 by Martin Ahrens, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

My approach to coaching is very simple and extremely demanding — for both me and the client. I help people get deeply in touch with their own experiences. Experiences happen in relationship with the world — people, things, spirit, the world within. Often neglected is the embodied awareness of our own role in those experiences — that which we contribute; our feelings, thoughts, images. I help strengthen the connection to the inner side of our experiences. That connection aligns our consciousness with the deeper needs of our psyche, the source of a more meaningful life. That alignment is essential to defining and pursuing the right goals for our life right now. These will change over time — so this is a lifelong process.

We use a combination of awareness and imagination. Often clients need help in learning to trust their imagination. Notice that the word “image” is embedded in the word “imagination.” The needs of the soul are communicated in images. Such images can arise in many ways — nighttime dreams, daytime fantasies, the stories we tell about our past and present life (what we say and how we say it), doodles or art, or even lurking in the many “coincidences” that pop up once we begin to pay attention.

Another source of images is the very dis-ease that brought people to the work in the first place, whether physical or mental. Suffering and discomfort are a genuine part of one’s experience. The images that arise from suffering are valid pointers to the unfulfilled needs of the soul that demand to be heeded.

But images do not tell a straightforward story. So more imagination is needed to discover the stories that offer meaningful personal guidance to each client. This is not the systematic, structured thought process that many folks would associate with decision making. But it is true to the way psyche really works — the only way to a truly meaningful life.