The Chief Explorer’s Almanac #5

This fifth issue of the Chief Explorer’s Almanac brings news on live projects for 2024, a new Coaching Package and the Pilgrimage bit of the European Tour that we have just completed.

Projects

‘alice reimagined’ appeared back in April, just in time for a book launch and poetry reading. This book is the sister book to ‘The Inner Fire’. Those of you who read my books will know that ‘The Inner Fire’ is all about the use of alchemy in coaching. It takes the reader through an explanation of the method I have developed using alchemy, the four elements and archetypes to help clients through transformation and personal development. One of the archetypal characters in the book is ‘alice’ (yes, a small letter for this name) who is my anima (inner feminine side). Well, ‘alice reimagined’ is a poetry collection all about alice. It was published on 27th March this year. A birthday felt like a good day to publish a book that had taken 7 years to write. I was pushed to complete this collection by being asked to do my first poetry reading in 18 years. That was sufficient motivation to get this book out and ready for the reading event to become a book launch. The book has been in the world now for 6 months and has been incredibly well received. If you would like a copy, you can either buy direct from me here, or through your local Amazon. Here is the UK link and the USA one.

Launching ‘alice reimagined’ led to the next project. I was invited to do another reading, this time at Wirral MakeFest – a festival of makers with a focus on sustainability. I had just a couple of weeks to go, when it struck me that I had hardly anything relevant to read, so… as you do, I wrote something new. It incorporated a few existing poems, but it was mainly new material. ‘Shadow & Light: the sustainability project’ emerged for the reading, which gave me something to read for the thirty-minute slot. These were still raw poems at this stage, and the reading helped me to hear where revisions were needed. More work over the following weeks led to the finished book which came out on 22nd July.

The next book, due out late autumn, is called ‘Precious Jewels: a small book about small experiments’. The subtitle explains what it is – I am still in editing mode with this book, so it may change, but it is currently 24 small experiments I have worked with over recent years that show how this approach can help us to build things in a safe way, some that work and some that don’t. The key thing then is the learning from each experiment. The book itself is a small experiment (as was ‘Shadow & Light’ which also featured as one of the experiments). More to come on this.

The Wayfinder Programme

I’m building a new coaching approach. Using the ideas that I have shared in my books ‘Values Count’, ‘Insight Coaching’, and ‘The Inner Fire’ the framework I am shaping has four levels of coaching support.

The first level, ‘Toe in the Water’ is an opportunity to book a call and spend time with me for free experiencing what coaching is like first-hand. There is no obligation to go any further. It’s a chance to dip your toe in the water and see how it feels.

The second level, ‘Discovery Coaching’, is the session-by-session approach that I have offered for a while now. You could see it as ‘pay-as-you-go’ coaching where you bring a challenge and we work with it together.
The next two levels are new.

Level three is developed and ready to go. It’s called the ‘Wayfinder Programme’. It lasts for four months. In that time you can work with me on one of these three themes:

• Transition in all its forms. For example, you may be feeling stuck in your job, wondering whether you are in the right career, looking to get promoted, or stuck in some other aspect of your life. We can work together to get you unstuck.
• Disorganisation and chaos. You have problems with getting things done, perhaps feeling overwhelmed with the volume of tasks that you are working on. You may want to call yourself a procrastinator, struggle with balancing your life, and perhaps you feel highly distractable. I can help you to reframe this, see the skills that you have and become more effective with a positive outlook on life.
• Creativity and innovation. You know you have creative abilities but you don’t know how to unlock them. I can work with you to open up the creativity within you and find ways to move forward that energise and fulfil you.

The programme comprises:

a. A coaching session for one hour
b. Ongoing support through WhatsApp, reach out with a question and I will come back to you with my response
c. I will send you ad hoc prompts and suggestions through the month for you to muse over
d. My 3 personal development books, plus new books as they become available (and any of my poetry books if interested)
e. The Bridges card deck – a set of cards that act as daily prompts to encourage you to think about ideas in new ways.
f. A 30-minute review at 6 months (i.e. two months after the end of the programme)

The fourth level of coaching support, ‘The Fellow Explorer‘, is accessed once you have completed the Wayfinder Programme. More details to follow on this.

If you are interested in being a Wayfinder with me, please get in touch. You can start the programme whenever is convenient, and if you want a conversation first, you can always book a Toe in the Water call first.

Pilgrimage – the European tour

In September 2022 and 2023, June and I toured through France, visiting remarkable places, learning so much, tasting great food and drinking amazing wine and beers. This year we set off at the end of August for a mammoth 37 night road trip through Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Germany and Switzerland. It was an amazing journey of curiosity. One part of the journey deserves special mention – and will be the subject of my next blog post. We went to Lake Zurich. If you know me at all well, you will know that I have been a keen (fanatic) follower of the work of Carl Jung and many of the writers he trained, inspired or worked with. The Carl Jung Institute began in Zurich. The lake was a great place of pilgrimage for me as we visited Küsnacht, where Jung’s house has become a museum, and the graves of the Jung family, plus those of Barbara Hannah and Marie-Louise von Franz. At the opposite end of the lake from the city of Zurich stands the Tower of Bollingen, built by Jung. Jung said of the tower, “there is nothing in the Tower that has not grown into its own form over the decades, nothing with which I am not linked.” It’s not open to the public, but we went to see if we could at least catch a glimpse.

We also visited the birthplaces of Karl Marx, Victor Hugo and Charles de Gaulle. All of which are certainly worth sharing with you. There was also a visit to the most remarkable art gallery outside Lille. The Piscine de Roubaix is a stunning collection of art installed in a beautiful art nouveau swimming pool. More on this in the future.

As always, I welcome feedback so please feel free to leave a comment or email me your thoughts.