Research Paper Assessment Name: Yuliya Goloskokova Date: April 29, 2012 Student ID: 265453 Email: yulia.a.g@gmail.

com

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SPIRITUAL COACHING: relevance in a culturally non-spirituality-oriented society. Country of study Kazakhstan (CIS) Introduction Choosing Spiritual Coaching as one of the niches and it being a subject I am deeply interested in studying, I have been faced with a question of relevance of this type of coaching in my country (CIS region). For a larger part of the society the topic of spiritual growth and development has not been important. One of the reasons for this is the prevailing mindset of non-spiritual outlook on life due to the policies upheld by the previous political system for many decades. Society at large has changed the outlook on spiritual component of life in recent years, yet it remains a rather not very defined concept and is mostly referred to as one of the elements of cultural makeup of an ethnic group. Spirituality here is akin to commonly upheld traditional rituals.

Having spent a significant part of my life in a different culture with different perception on spirituality and its role in our life I got interested in the topic of relevance of spiritual coaching in a society that is not used to considering spirituality as an integral part of its daily life. Coaching is a very new profession in the region and there is very little published about it at all specifically in the language of the land. Thus a lot of my findings for this research are based on actual interactions with a wide selection of people from many different walks of life and of varied backgrounds and belonging to different ethnic groups and faiths. What is Spiritual Coaching Spiritual coaching in essence follows the same Life Coaching techniques, with certain added elements that distinguishes it. Spiritual Coaching follows the idea of an external consciousness, and that we as humans are able to tap into that consciousness and achieve a greater expansion of our own consciousness for a better life. One of the ideas is that it is very beneficial to implement the spiritual values and ideals in real world and apply them practically to other aspects of our life. Additionally, Spiritual Coaching supports us to achieve wholeness, which IASC (International Association for Spiritual Coaching) describes as the integration of all parts of our being body, mind, heart, spirit and soul into a highly functioning Self. Achieving that will help us to discover the deeper meaning of life and with that to enable us to better follow our lifes purpose. Life and Spiritual coaching can be seen to be familiar in a number of ways. Downey, writes "the core skills involved in counseling and coaching and even mentoring are very similar, if not actually the same; ... listening... asking questions." (Downey 1999/2002:23) and this would apply also to Spiritual Coaching. Its purpose can be described as to "serve not in the capacity of judge, but simply as reflector, not giving advice, but merely attending, summarizing, clarifying. The helper might also feed back the feelings he or she hears behind the words. ....an active listener and companion in the search ... not the final decider, the advice-giver, or the subtle persuader" (Hart 1980:80). (Journal of Alternative Spiritualities and New Age Studies. Vol 3.) Stumbling upon the definition of Spiritual Direction I have found some similarities in descriptions. Jeff says that a spiritual director (or coach) is one "who asks important questions which may or may not have been considered, and leaves the directee (or client) to find out his or her own answers" (Jeff 1987:10). (Journal of Alternative Spiritualities and New Age Studies. Vol 3.) Access to intuition in Spiritual Coaching is another powerful tool that has been inherited from Spiritual Direction that many of the above mentioned authors described. "Spiritual direction (coaching) is concerned with the creative use of the imagination to enable us to see what is really there" (Jones 1999/1982:102; Leech 1994/1977:130). (Journal of Alternative Spiritualities and New Age Studies. Vol 3.)
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Dr. Anthony Grant (MacQuarrie University, Australia) defines Life Coaching in a way that brings out its claims to develop potential: " ... a systematic process in which a coach facilitates self-directed learning, personal growth and enhancement of the coachee's life experience and performance. It aims to bring about sustained cognitive, emotional and behavioral change which facilitates goal attainment and performance enhancement either in a person's work or personal life." (www.pr.mq.edu.au/macnews/showitem.asp?itemID=146) The purpose of Spiritual Coaching is to create a process in which the potential of the person coached is being helped to emerge. It is done with a mindset that God's purpose for each of us is that we reach the fullness of our personal potential (Hart 1980:71). Spiritual Coaching endeavors to facilitate the process of spiritual maturing of the person coached. As one of the purposes Spiritual Coaching pursues the development of self-awareness and understanding of the deeper nature of our souls, thus enabling us to tune in to the nudges from the higher power which is believed to guide us on our journey of life. Kazakhstans society in Spiritual Coaching perspective Kazakhstan has been a part of USSR since the beginning of 20th century. The socialist approach to structuring of the society was prevalent on the entire territory of the former USSR and the mindsets developed during the 70-plus year history though slowly giving place to new ones, still largely remain. One of the stronger beliefs of the era was that Higher Power is the human him/herself. Thus the spiritual side of a human being was not tended to. In the last two decades the society made a move to come back to the historical traditions related to faith and spirituality. Though these inclinations are yet perceived as cultural identity notions and not at large as a desire to develop one of the integral parts of a human being spiritual. Yet the desire to discover the answers to age old questions of purpose and meaning of life do compel people to pay more attention to their inner selves. Coaching being a relatively new in our society (CIS) is being slowly integrated into various segments of society. The overall culture has been affected by various influencing factors that are characterized by the following Hofstedes cultural dimensions (Lewis, 2006:381): 1. Power Distance. a. This dimension can be seen in the way power is distributed in the society. High PD vast gap between those with power and those without. Thus the society is affected by the I have no say so in the matter, so just tell me what to do mindset. For many years majority of people were just used to following orders and being told what they should do. As a result the expectation of receiving the solution to a personal problem from elsewhere is high. Oftentimes a coach may hear tell me what to do. b. In terms of growing trend of paying attention to development of the inner balance, in light of high dependency on outside advice and direction,
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Spiritual Coaching was described as beneficial by 41 out of 50 interviewed from various walks of life. Their common answer to the question how relevant do you consider Spiritual Coaching in your life? was I would like to discover the real purpose of my life and meaning of my existence and understand my own spiritual self, my needs, my assumptions of the Beyond; to understand how much need I do have in the Spiritual element in my life; to understand how I can use the knowledge of spiritual principals in solving my daily problems. People generally felt interested in learning how to tap into the vast resource of the knowledge and understanding of The Spiritual in order to have some help in dealing with the issues of life. c. Those that followed a different thought on the need of Spiritual Coaching in their life replied that they did not want to have someone out there tell them what to do and preferred to make their own choices and mistakes, rather than avoid them. Conclusion: Spiritual Coaching is a topic of interest even if for a reason of it being something new and unexplored. 2. Individuals vs. Collectivism. a. This dimension is characterized by the closeness of ties between the individual and the world outside the immediate family and friends circle. b. Kazakhstan scores low on this dimension. Social ties are strong, sense of community and belonging is high. People are used to giving and receiving help from the family, friends and colleagues. The common answer received from 34 interviewed to the question how would you use what you discover about yourself through Spiritual Coaching? was: I would share my findings with my family/friends/colleagues. c. Seven people preferred to use this knowledge to further their dreams and aspirations. Nine replied that if they needed it at all, they wouldve used it as an resource not available to others to move ahead in their careers/life. Conclusion: Results received from Spiritual Coaching may be used to better interpersonal relations between people on a larger scale because of prevalence of close ties in the community. 3. Masculinity. a. This dimension is characterized by the prevailing role of either men or women in the society. b. Kazakhstan takes approximately central point on the scale of equal opportunity. From 50 interviewed ratio of men to women was 20/30. Out of them 41 indicated that they knew that their inner growth and spiritual development would better their relationships with their spouses/significant other. c. Six people pointed out that it is unfair to use interference of any higher power in relationships, they should be left up to the parties concerned. Three people didnt want to comment. Conclusion: Both men and women feel the need for their spiritual development in context of bettering relationships.
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4. Uncertainty Avoidance. a. This dimension is characterized by the desire to avoid ambiguous situations with uncertain outcomes. High index indicates strong desire to avoid them. b. Kazakhstan has medium high index. Taking risks is still not a popular trend. People prefer to be sure of the steps they take and not take unnecessary risks. All of the interviewed indicated that they would be kin on working with a Spiritual Coach to develop their intuition, develop the ability to make better thought through decisions, learn how to be guided by the Higher Power in their work/business/relationships, learn how to be better receptacle of Inspired wisdom. Conclusion: Spiritual Coaching is seen as beneficial by people for development of their ability to meditatively think through their actions in work/business/relationships related matters and not impulsively follow the common trends relying on others experiences and being stalled by their fears. 5. Short/Long Term Orientation. a. This dimension is categorized by the strength of compliance to traditional views and ways of thinking and doing things. High index shows the lack of creativity and strong adherence to the established laws of behavior/thinking/doing/living. Low index indicates novel ideas, creative expression and adapting of traditions to the new day. b. Kazakhstan is midway between high and low. Older ways of thinking and doing things are established and less risky. New ways are compelling if the society wants to move to new levels of development. Out of 50 interviewed 46 indicated that their desire was to progress towards the new and most indicated that they are aware that there are mindsets that stall their progress and they would like some support to change them, alleviate some fears and develop new mindsets and set goals. Most indicated that they knew that their progress was contingent on their personal development and way of thinking. c. Four interviewed indicated that they had a good balance distinguishing between what is good and not good for them. They rely on their experience and not emotions. Conclusion: In society that is transitioning from one state to another Spiritual Coaching is seen as beneficial. It is seen to be helpful in changing deep-rooted habits and mindsets, creating awareness of self/others-imposed limitations, creating a plan for personal growth and development in order to progress in reaching of intended goals and dreams. IN CONCLUSION As a result of the research the following can be concluded: - In the country that at large does not yet view spiritual development of an individual as an integral part of development of its society, individuals are open to exploring this area and see it as beneficial to their personal growth.
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In a highly multi-cultural/multi-faith environment spiritual coaching is seen as a catalyst to better relationships between the members of the society.

Bibliography Downey, Myles, 1999/2002, Effective Coaching, London: Texere 2001 Hart, Thomas N. 1980, The Art of Christian Listening, Mahwah, NJ:Paulist Press. Jeff, gordon, 1987, Spiritual Direction for Every Christian, London: SPCK Jones, Alan, 1999/1982, Exploring Spiritual Direction, Boston MA: Cowley Press, 1999 Leech, Kenneth, 1994/1977, Soul Friend: Spiritual Direction in the Modern World, London: DLT Lewis, Richard D. When Cultures Collide, Leading Across Cultures, WS Bookwell, 2006

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