COURSE WSL

Ways of Sacred Listening

Drawing on the best of Spiritual Direction practices and Life Coaching competencies, this course is for coaches who wish to add a strong spiritual foundation to the work they are currently doing.

Trained in the art of sacred listening, for example, spiritual directors may want to shift into a more active relationship with clients; this may include helping the client with articulating needs, setting goals, and identifying those skills and capacities they either already have or need to develop to accomplish their goals.

Life coaches, on the other hand, accustomed to helping clients meet both internal and external goals, may feel drawn to include an explicitly spiritual framework to some or all of their coaching sessions.

This course, based on spiritual principles, a belief in the sacred, and prayerful discernment, provides the knowledge to enhance both approaches, incorporating mindfulness, meditation/prayer, exploration of one's purpose or mission, and other tools which can enhance the coaching relationship and spiritual growth of your client. Other topics include:

• Approaching Mystery
• Guiding the Human Spirit
• Creating Sacred Time, Sacred Space
• Listening as Spiritual Director, Therapist, Mentor and Life Coach
• Mirroring, evaluating, discovering, affirming, encouraging, challenging, focusing …
• Observing body language, speech patterns, choice of words… (Reading the client)
• Sharing ("Do's" and "Don'ts")
• Identifying choices, assessing commitment, setting goals, evaluating actions, ensuring accountability

Taught as a Video Conference, learning in this course will be through lecture, group discussions, readings, in class coaching practice, and through a project producing a brief transcript of a Life Coaching session excerpt with a classmate or client.

Required Texts:

• The Miracle of Mindfulness
  Hanh, Thich Nhat; Boston: Beacon Press, 1975
• A New Psychology of Human Well-Being
  Barrett, Richard; London: Fulfilling Books, 2016
• Selections from the Bible

Frequency:  This course is offered once a year.

Course Prerequisites

None

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