Coaching to the Human Soul Ontological Coaching and Deep Change, Vol. 1 [Paperback]

Alan Sieler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2005

Coaching to the Human Soul breaks new ground in the literature on coaching, for it provides a comprehensive coverage of what is probably the world's most advanced approach to Executive Coaching and Life Coaching. Ontological Coaching is based on a new understanding of human beings and human interaction. Grounded in a substantive and robust theoretical framework, the method and practice of Ontological Coaching enables people being coached to connect with their souls and experience deep positive change. In this first of three volumes on Ontological Coaching, a new practical understanding of language and communication, and its coaching applications, is presented. This is a timely and invaluable contribution to progressing coaching from a fragmented industry towards becoming a profession.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An invaluable resource." -- Steve March, coach and consultant

"Ontological Coaching comes alive in this book. Great reading." -- Julio Olalla, President, Newfield Network

"This book sets the benchmark for all coaching books, and it is a high bar." -- Christine MacDougall, Inaugural President, International Coach Federation (Australasian region)

About the Author

Alan Seiler is a world leader in advanced coaching. He has been an executive coach, consultant and coach-trainer for more than ten years. Alan is the Director of Newfield Australia.

Alan has worked with personnel in global corporations and national organizations from Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore, England and South Africa. He has written extensively on the relevance of Ontology to living, working, learning and coaching.

Product Details

• Paperback: 376 pages
• Publisher: Newfield Australia (April 2005)
• ISBN-10: 1876677414
• ISBN-13: 978-1876677411
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #714,932 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding articulation of great teachings, November 30, 2005

By 

Mark A. Taylor (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Coaching to the Human Soul Ontological Coaching and Deep Change, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

As I reflect on my life (I am 50), I see that I have been blessed with some of the most talented teachers of the century. Almost every day I find myself thinking about what I learned twenty years ago from Dr. Fernando Flores. This book is based on the thinking that was introduced by Dr. Flores and is a new way of understanding the nature of being human. This learning has helped me to more effectively communicate, generate action in others, suffer less and open new possibilities. I never had an interest in philosophy and had no idea what ontology meant when I took my first course. I certainly did not have a clue as to the extent it would help me in my life. Alan's book is an excellent introduction and explanation of what we learned from Dr. Flores. While I am not a professional coach, I use what I have learned in my conversations with employees, co-workers, friends, and family on a daily basis.

To give you an idea of what the book and ontology is about, I quote Alan:

"As a discipline it is rigorously grounded in recent developments in existential philosophy, the philosophy of language, and biology of cognition.

While in Chile, Flores had many conversations with the biologist Humberto Maturana, whose novel, yet biologically grounded ideas on perception, cognition, language and communication greatly influenced him. These conversations were a key inspiration for his research, in which he particularly focused on the existential philosophy of Martin Heidegger and John Searle's Theory of Speech Acts. Flores was able to integrate the ideas of language and communication, and the formation of a new discipline.

It was Flores who invented the term Ontological Coaching. He wanted to produce more than a theoretical discipline. He was keen to ensure that the knowledge of a new discipline would be relevant and applicable to everyday living. In short, Flores developed a powerful and practical new approach to living, learning and working.

Creating his own company, Flores pursued the commercial applications of this new understanding of language and communication in organizational settings. As his company expanded he took on course developers, writers and facilitators, including two other Chileans, Julio Olalla and Rafael Echeverrria. While Flores' ideas were central to their program, they also added their own interpretations and extended the discipline, predominantly in the ontological domains of emotions and body."

Over the years, I have found many other excellent teachers that have used and benefited from the work of Dr. Flores. In addition to Julio, some of those teachers include Werner Erhard, Dr. Fred Kofman, James Flagherty, Dr. Matthew Budd, Tom Hanson & Birgit Zacher Hanson, Chalmers Brothers, and more. If you have read any of their books or taken one of their courses, you can see the imprint that Dr. Flores has had on their work.

Alan Seiler introduces us to this work in an easy to understand way that provides a foundation for learning from this master teacher. I applaud Alan on his outstanding job of putting into words these great teachings.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Coaching Bible, September 12, 2007

By 

J. A. Bonham "Spiritual Coach" (Bay Area, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Coaching to the Human Soul Ontological Coaching and Deep Change, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

This book is my coaching bible. It is by far the best coaching book I've ever read. Interesting enough, it is about `being' not about `doing'. So many coaches these days believe coaching is about doing something to their clients; getting them to be more productive, motivated, etc. The focus on behavior or `first order change' as Seiler calls it, is the temporary fix of continuous process improvement. This approach to coaching is from an old paradigm, alive and well in many companies today. What often happens is that organizations and/or clients revert back to old familiar ways of being once the newness has worn off. Laying the groundwork for lasting change has to go deeper than behavior and into the way of being. A shift in the way of being creates a new foundation; there is no going back, except by conscious choice.

Coaching on way of being is not therapy. For those not skilled in psychology or therapy, it can appear that ontological coaching is therapy. Therapy however is focused on healing old wounds. Ontological coaching is focused in the present and how a shift in language (beliefs), emotions or somatic responses can create a new way of being and potentially a brighter and more fulfilling future.

This book is for coaches who want to be better coaches. It doesn't give you a fish, it teaches you how to fish. It is theoretical in its approach yet provides good practical examples.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful, Insightful, Motivating, August 19, 2006

By 

Zengirl (Shoreline, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Coaching to the Human Soul Ontological Coaching and Deep Change, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

This is an excellent book for learning how to take your listening and your coaching to deep and profound levels. I find that the insights I've gained through reading this book have greatly enhanced my own level of presence with clients, enabling me to assist clients to make lasting and transformational changes that I feel honored to witness.