Heart-Based Presence

Career Focus
13 February 2022

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Some coaching sessions open with the client feeling flustered, angry or sad about something that happened earlier in the day. Or they’re anxious about an event that has yet to take place. Bottom line: the client isn’t present in the moment. When that happens, my role is help them become more present so they can enter the coaching space comfortably, ready to focus on our conversation. Heart-based presence opens the client to make the changes that brought the client to coaching.

One simple way to do it is to look within and find your current state of being. Click here to see how it works. Through this beautiful exercise, we see ourselves from different perspectives. These multiple viewpoints – spirit, mind, body, and heart – allow for the complexity of human experience.

Spirit

Our spirits are a wonderful way to access wisdom. To remind ourselves we are naturally creative, resourceful, and whole. As Jesus said to the disciples, “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41). Often we find our spirits have more energy than our bodies. Spirit often has less judgement and isn’t time-bound. It is always present.

Mind

All too often we focus only on our minds. Most of us live in our thoughts. It makes us human but it can also make us crazy. Modernist stream-of-consciousness writing became popular in the twentieth century. It tried to address the myriad of thoughts we humans have each day, to greater or lesser degrees of success. I mean, really. Has anyone actually read Ulysses? 700 pages about one day from the perspective of three characters? Here’s the thing. In the end, our thoughts either take us to our past or our future, basically, anywhere but the present moment.

Body

With our bodies, we typically ignore them unless there’s something wrong. Many exercise to stay fit. Some of us clearly understand the mind-body connection. I exercise = I feel good. Otherwise, our bodies play a backseat to the action happening in the driver’s seat, our minds. And yet, our bodies only know the present moment. I only know what I feel inside right now. I can’t feel what I felt yesterday or tomorrow – I can only imagine it in my head.

Heart

What about hearts? In honour of Valentine’s Day, let’s take a moment to celebrate our hearts. When our hearts are full, we feel:

Love – Joy – Appreciation – Empowered – Free

Abraham-Hicks identified these traits at the top of the Emotional Guidance Scale. Use it to guide your heart in the coming week. The idea is not to jump from the bottom (despair/powerlessness) to the top in one go. You just need to move up the scale, like a ladder, step by step or skipping a few rungs. It’s a sensible and sensitive way for your heart to feel its way forward.

You have to be open minded in order to grow. The coaching that Laura gave me opened my eyes to what and how I was doing things and allowed me to see the bigger picture. I am not done yet but I already see the changes in my everyday life.
MM

I think coaching is a great way to help you clear your mind when you get stuck with overwhelming situations or when stepping into changes in your life.
MO

Coaching is life changing. It pushes you outside your comfort zone and challenges your perspectives. It is highly motivating and the exercises and techniques used are both fun and informative. I think the main benefits of coaching are to see yourself, others and the world more clearly. I think coaching is valuable to anyone regardless of where you are in your life or career.
LE

I honestly never thought I’d need a coach. I thought coaching was for CEOs and industry VIPs. I didn’t think it was for the “little guys” (i.e. me). Now, I’m of the belief that everyone – yes, EVERYONE – needs a coach. Coaching has really benefitted me and I’m so grateful to have had that time with Laura. It’s changed my life!
VB

Laura is very patient. She took the time to understand what was causing me to be stuck where I am today and help me build a better vision so I can continue to grow.
MM

I think Laura’s coaching was what I had been waiting for. Laura was so approachable, kind, and open. Her willingness to help and support made a difference for me. I found in her coaching new strategies, ideas, and perspectives that I could incorporate into my goals and objectives that I didn’t see before.
MO

Laura is an incredibly intuitive, positive and caring coach. Her techniques helped me recognize both my strengths and areas I might want to explore as I embark on the next chapter of my career. The exercises she employed were instrumental in providing self perspective and challenging my frames of reference.
LE

Laura is a natural coach. Her probing and compassionate questions helped me learn about myself: my value system, interests, goals and strengths.
LM

Coaching sessions with Laura gave me new perspectives on how to process specific feelings and situations in life. She showed me how to sit with my emotions, acknowledge them, and then use visualization strategies to move through them. I now feel more confident and in control of how I choose to walk through life.
CP

From the beginning, Laura put me at ease, creating a safe, open space for me to talk and share freely without fear of judgement. I loved the variety of approaches she used depending on the topic we were working on and it was fun being able to try out things I wouldn’t have considered before! With Laura’s coaching, I substantially grew my confidence in the workplace, overcame fears, dealt with issues I’d been carrying around for many years and, most importantly, learned to value myself and define a path forward into the future.
AG

Laura’s coaching was a breath of fresh air and EXACTLY what I needed at that point of my life. I didn’t realize how impactful coaching was going to be, but by the end of the sessions together, I left feeling refreshed, inspired and genuinely curious about what my future held for me. Because of Laura and her coaching, I believe I became a better person – someone who is more open-minded, someone with a clearer focus, and someone who is willing to explore opportunities and possibilities far more than I ever did before.
VB

I engaged Laura for coaching as I took on an expanded role leading an asset management company in Canada. As a female, I knew I would be a role model and had high expectations of myself. I was feeling overwhelmed and anxious.

In our first few coaching sessions we worked through exercises that allowed me to reflect on my purpose, leadership style and what mattered most to me. I continue to be grounded by the clarity I achieve in my coaching sessions – allowing me to be resilient and confident when challenges came my way.
OS