A Coaching Model Created by Ng Lu Yen
(Transformational Coach, MALAYSIA)
The Unfolding of your Passion
Narrative: The Swordsman. Circa 13th century, Goryeo
The Swordsman walks into the circle of trees, his stride purposeful, at one with the Earth beneath, at one with the scent and feel of the crisp air, and the vibration of peace all around. All is in Harmony. He pauses, tuning into the environment takes a deep breath. His body, attuned completely to his senses, suddenly shifts into watchful awareness and knowing. The atmosphere has shifted, the air around him reveals a subtle change in vibration: ‘there is the feel of another’s presence, filled with urgency’. He senses it strongly and instinctively his hand moves to his sword, lifts it a fraction from its scabbard, the sound of moving steel produces a soft crystalline sound. His body moves into inner stillness, focused towards that inner sense, all in readiness for the next moment to reveal itself.
A man soon appears within his line of sight, walking urgently towards him. The swordsman moves quietly, at the ready. The man approaches him with an air of humility mixed with anxiety, a nobleman with an air of grace.
“Its You! It must be You!!’ he cries. ‘You are the only one who can help us! I have been searching for you for a long time’. He pulls open a folded letter, the richness of the calligraphy revealed within, flowing with grace, harmony and power, the embodiment of flow, skill and inner strength.
‘When I received this letter sent by you, I immediately knew that you were the person who could help us. The way that you write, your brush strokes with its eloquence, revealed to us immediately the essence of you, it was clear that you are a swordsman with immense talent.
Later that evening, after sharing a meal at the tavern, the man asked the Swordsman: ‘Sir, you are heaven-sent to us, thank you. May I ask for you to share how you came to be as you are today, so that I can inspire my son, who has keen interest to take up the art of swordmanship and come under your tutelage’. Stepping into his memories, the Swordsman quietly spoke: ‘ When I was a young boy, we lived happily, until the day intruders came and took away the person that I cherished the most. I was too weak to fight, and so lost this person. After that day, I went to the brink of the unimaginable, such a dark place for a young child to be, until this inner voice spoke out, and pulled me out of this abyss. My Teacher arrived soon after, and through him, I channelled all of my energy, positive and negative, into becoming the person that I am today. My Sword is the extension of who I am, as is my brush: my sword-play and brush strokes comes from the depth of my Being. The deep desire to be of service to those who have are vulnerable remains until today, and the energy I that draw upon comes from the deepest yearning: to be of service to those who are pure of heart’.
Introduction – Seeking the ‘Why’ of You
Passion is the Intensity of the inner value expressed
‘What is your Passion?’ This Coaching Model is about the exploration of our deepest desire and yearning in our journey to finding our Purpose in Life. How do we begin to search for our own Authentic voice within and how do we, like the Swordsman, with or without the anguish and perhaps from the deepest joy, begin to personify this yearning or desire into the way that we show up in this world? In other words, is the action that we do today in support and in alignment of what we desire? If you look into the mirror, what do you see? Do you acknowledge your potential? In what ways are we showing up at the level of the Swordsman who is at One with himself?
The Journey begins from the Inside-out.
FOCUS:
Finding the Uniqueness of You
‘You are Amazing!’ Can you own that and celebrate your own Value and Worth? Exploring the You in the Now. Recognizing your worth and value, and checking in to see how you acknowledge this. Where do you rate yourself on the scale of ‘Amazingness’?
Owning the Values dear to your Heart
If Passion represents the Intensity of Values expressed, which of theses Values are being experienced? What is their Intensity Scale?
What are Values that you recognize as dear to you, the ones that you cannot live without. Which of these Values would you like to experience more of in life? Which of these have remained unexpressed or hidden? Stepping back to see the blend of Values that forms the identikit that is you.
For example, if you cherish ‘kindness’, how much is kindness showing up in all that you do for yourself and for others. What is the embodiment of kindness in action? How much of your time (or in a day) do you feel you personify this value or have invested in this value? What would you like to do more of, or less of?
If you resonate with the statement that ‘we teach what we most wish to learn’, what would this look like? What would you like to teach yourself in terms of Values building?
Caring for your Shadow
What is your Shadow? If you see the Shadow as dis-comfort, then to what extent is this blocking or denying the expression of your Values? What is the interplay between your Shadow and Values? Once you recognize your Shadow, are you able to see its potential Light equivalent? Fear vs Courage, Anger vs Calmness, Intolerance vs Acceptance, Dishonesty vs Integrity. What do yours look like? What is the Message that is being conveyed by your Shadow? What happens if you step in to Making Peace and move into full acceptance of ‘how it is’. Stepping into the Adventure of discovering what you are afraid to look at could be an exhilarating journey of experiments.
If Passion is Intensity, then might the Shadow elements that are experienced intensely equate with passion? If you are feeling mis-aligned in a way that creates discomfort, which of these Shadow elements are you currently expressing? For example, if you are always stressed, then at some level, ‘stress’ must be a form of passion that you are expressing (although you might deny this), otherwise, why do you make the choice to be engulfed in the physical expression and sensation? Here we are assuming that ‘ownership’ is acknowledged. How then did you convert the Value of ‘relaxed attitude’ into one of stress? What are the components within your experience that has been instrumental in this conversion? If this is something that no longer feels comfortable in owning, then what might you do?
Understanding Your Vision
What makes your heart flutter with excitement? What energizes you? (1). What do you believe in that makes you jump with excitement and joy? What drives you? What intrigues you? What Value is driving you and wishes to be realized as a physical embodiment? What is the opposite of the Shadow that is waiting for you to discover if you dare to look at it?
If your Future Self time travels to visit you from an ‘Amazing’ future, what does he/she tell you about your life in that timeline?
