Coaching with Spirit

The Coach Training Alliance speaks to spiritual coaching:

Webster’s dictionary defines spirit as: “the immaterial intelligent or sentient part of a person.” It is the wisdom within each of us, beyond years and experience. Its origins are mysterious, and many believe that our spirit lives on beyond our body in a non-physical plane.

For some, spirit is indelibly linked with the Divine. Saint Teresa called spirit “the life of God within us.” It is thought that our spirit resides in the center of our bodies near our hearts. Sometimes we refer to it as our heart, receiving messages from there that have the power to awaken our aliveness – “in my heart I know . . . “

“Spirit” comes from the Latin word spiritus, meaning breath. HW Longfellow called it “A vital breath of more ethereal air.” It may be that our spirit is the life force that generates vitality in our bodies: esprit de corps – the spirit of the body, the breath of life.

In the ancient roots of the English language, there is an understanding of spirit that in our culture often gets overlooked. At a stressful pace, we live each day running down tasks. Most of our focus and energy has literally gone to our heads. We tend to give more value to information that comes from our brains, finding their great powers of analysis and judgment. But this is also where fear and anxiety are born, emotions that keep us dispirited – small and weak.

With even a cursory look, spirit can be found in all living beings. It is a great power center just waiting to give direction and meaning to our lives. Whether we believe it to be a connection with God, the source of all life, or each person’s innate wisdom, spirit is a resource that we can draw upon.