How many times have you heard clients say, “I’ve been trying to figure this out but I’m going ’round and ’round and getting nowhere?” When this happens, clients are often seeing only a part of the picture and focusing solely on the mental or thinking parts of themselves. A multidimensional approach helps clients access imagery, body responses, sense of purpose and feelings, allowing them to make choices and take actions that integrate all parts of themselves. This additional information promotes fast and lasting change, as well as movement that aligns with all aspects of their being.
Coaching from multiple perspectives can be done using a holistic and integral coaching model. The Wisdom of the Whole® model is based on Jean Gebser’s integral theory. Gebser traced the development of human consciousness from its beginning until the present by looking at philosophy, poetry, music, visual arts, architecture, religion, physics and other natural sciences. He identified five specific structures of consciousness (ways of thinking, being, doing and knowing) throughout history. He named them and described their key elements as follows:
Archaic—undifferentiated oneness or connection to source
Intuitive—knowledge based on subtle information
Mythical—myths, archetypes, storytelling
Mental—logical, sequential, thinking
Integral—ability to function in all structures
Although these structures may sound foreign or unfamiliar, we experience them sequentially in our human development from conception to adulthood:
Archaic—fetus in the womb
Intuitive—toddler who believes in magic
Mythical—child who loves to listen to stories and play imaginary roles
Mental—teen who can conceptualize abstract thoughts
Integral—adult who can access all structures
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