Coaching to the Human Soul. Volume III.

Coaching to the Human Soul

Ontological Coaching and Deep Change

Volume III: The Biological and Somatic Basis of

Ontological Coaching

By Alan Sieler

Introduction
As the third volume in the Coaching to the Human Soul series, this book
provides a detailed articulation of how Ontological Coaching incorporates
biology and the body into a practically powerful methodology for the con-
structive transformation of being, or deep change. How we think and be-
have exists within our being (or Way of Being) and different thinking and
actions inevitably involve a shift in our being.
The book is based on two major premises:

1. All learning and change occur in the nervous system, which is through-
out the body and involves more than the brain.
2. Of the three ontological domains of language, emotions and body
that constitute Way of Being, the body is the slowest to change. But
change in the body can be the most profound, as it is “locked in”, thus
ensuring it will be sustainable.

Applying biological fundamentals and the role of the body to facili-

tate the transformation of being are integral components in developing
competence as an ontological coach. Ignoring the crucial importance of
biology and body in the change process and coaching runs the risk of sig-
nificantly limiting how people can be assisted to expand their ontological
security and enhance their adaptive resilience.

Our existential challenge

Although people in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries were constant-
ly dealing with significant social, economic and political change, life at our

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 Coaching to the Human Soul. Volume III.

time in history has arguably become even more existentially and psycho-
logically complex. Despite significant advances in the last two hundred
years in health, education, technology, income distribution and material
wellbeing that have greatly enhanced the quality of existence for many,
the following factors, among others, play a role in the increasing uncer-
tainty and complexity of contemporary life:

• continual rapid technological change;

• the speed of information dissemination;
• constant workplace change;
• a more tightly interconnected and interdependent global economy,
with breakdowns in the functioning of national economies significant-
ly impacting on many other national economies and consequently the
livelihoods and wellbeing of individuals, families and communities;
• greater exposure through media and personal interactions to other
cultures, and their fundamentally different world views and unfamiliar
ways of living;
• breakdowns in the effective functioning of traditional systems of au-
thority, such as the family, the school, the law, the Church and reli-
gion, the political system and the financial system, which have pro-
vided background stability and shared meaning;
• the possibility that global warming is a significant threat to the future
of humanity and other species;
• the feeling that the fast and complicated pace of life leaves too little
time;
• the emergence of highly complex problems that are referred to as
“wicked problems”,1 some current examples in Australia being indig-
enous development, climate change, obesity, unhealthy use of non-
prescribed and prescribed drugs, environmental degradation; and
• impatience and frustration with, and growing mistrust of, political
leaders, who wrestle to find ways to make progress within a complex
political, economic and social landscape.

The dynamic interplay of all of the above aspects of our existence

constitutes a backdrop against which we go about everyday life. All too
frequently, for many of us the relatively smooth flow of living that we de-
sire, spiced with appropriate challenges and opportunities, is interrupted,
even significantly disrupted, by occurrences in the technological, eco-
nomic, social, cultural, political and environmental dimensions of our ex-

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 Coaching to the Human Soul. Volume III.

istence. The frequency and nature of such disruptions can mean that we
are constantly challenged to effectively deal with them; perhaps we are
successful and perhaps we sometimes have to live with a background
dissatisfaction that we can never “quite get on top of things”. What can
be at stake is our individual and collective wellbeing (mental, emotional,
physical and spiritual) and effectiveness in daily living.
Persistent difficulties and frustrations in our individual and family lives,
workplaces, communities and societies can point to a breakdown in the
usefulness of traditional and habitual ways of thinking and taking action.
Freeing ourselves from ineffective and outdated modes of thinking and
behaving can be a major learning challenge. This learning endeavour is
not just individual, it is collective, requiring the development of conversa-
tions that co-inspire us and generate ideas (which would not be available
from solitary thinking) that translate into effective individual action and
collaboration.
Developing new and more effective ways of thinking and taking ac-
tion is much more than learning new techniques and skills, or different
systems of thinking. What is required is a fundamentally different “place”
from which to think. From an ontological perspective, our thinking is inter-
twined with our manner of being, or Way of Being, which is the dynamic
intersection of the linguistic, emotional and somatic spaces we live from.
The challenge of escaping from habitual ineffective thinking and de-
veloping more productive thinking is an issue of our manner of being. If
very different ways of thinking are called for, not just variations on existing
ways of thinking, then perhaps what is called for is a transformation of
our being – or Way of Being. A different and potentially more fruitful place
to think from occurs when we experience a transformation of our being,
known as an ontological shift.
As biology and the body are inescapable aspects of our manner of
being they are inevitably involved in the transformation of our Way of Be-
ing. While different language (listening, speaking and writing) and moods
and emotions are integral parts of the transformation, so are shifts in our
biology and the body.
The essence of the transformation of our being is the expansion of
ontological security and the enhancement of adaptive resilience. Onto-
logical security is feeling solid, assured and secure about our being, our
place in the world and what we want to create in life. This is not about be-
ing arrogant, but of having a robust sense of self, in touch with our dignity

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 Coaching to the Human Soul. Volume III.

and legitimacy, as well as open to being vulnerable and embracing new

learning that challenges habitual perceptual and thought patterns.
Adaptive resilience is the ability to deal with both the unexpected and
adversity, to recover a sense of balance in life, learn from experience, and
constructively move on. Adaptive resilience is the ability to utilise the plas-
ticity of the nervous system to be a learner, being prepared to question
conventional wisdom, and develop new forms of wisdom by transforming
our very being and for a new quality of thinking to arise.
Habitual modes of thinking are not simply individual, but can be cul-
tural. These are ways of thinking that are systemically entrenched as a
core aspect of culture.
At some time or other we all face existential difficulties and challeng-
es. Unfortunately there are some who experience intense existential dif-
ficulties that require the skilful and caring support of a range of health
practitioners, including doctors, nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists and
counsellors. However, it is possible that cultural ways of thinking can per-
petuate and compound existential difficulties, seriously compromising the
opportunity to develop ontological security and adaptive resilience, as
suggested in the following commentary.
The eccentric loner, the incomprehensible maverick or the shy
stranger lacking in social skills have become candidates for the psy-
chiatrist’s couch.
Those of us who are lonely are not just faced with an existential
problem, we can now be diagnosed as suffering from chronic depres-
sive disorder.
Virtually every bad habit now has a psychological label. … The
proliferation of mental health diagnosis has important consequences.
It has helped create a worldview where increasingly the problems of
everyday life are interpreted as expressions of mental health deficits.
The manner in which emotional problems have become diag-
nosed as a form of disorder raises questions about the ability of the
individual to deal with disappointment, misfortune, adversity or even
the challenge of everyday life. And when people are continually in-
vited to make sense of their troubles through the medium of thera-
peutics it severely undermines their resilience.
Once the diagnosis of illness is systematically offered as an inter-
pretive guide for making sense of distress, people are far more likely
to perceive themselves as ill. … The explanation for this trend lies not

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in the fields of epidemiology, but in the realm of culture that invites

people to classify themselves as infirm.2 (Italics added.)

In the face of what seems like an increasingly uncertain world, the

constructive transformation of our being and the development of ontologi-
cal security and adaptive resilience are not trivial matters. What is at stake
is the soul – our mental, emotional, physical and spiritual wellbeing – and
the quality of our individual and collective existence. The transformation
of our being is central to how we can be open to co-inspire each other,
collaborate and collectively develop satisfactory resolutions to our indi-
vidual challenges and complex social problems.
How we perceive, think and act is much more than an intellectual en-
deavour. Our perceptions, thinking and behaviour reside within our biol-
ogy and body. Perhaps the transformation of our thinking and the expan-
sion of adaptive resilience require going beyond the existing paradigms
of change, which appear to be dominated by the role of the intellect, to
embrace scientific, philosophical and pragmatic frameworks that incorpo-
rate biology and body in the transformation process. The purpose of this
volume is to articulate such frameworks and illustrate their relevance to
the skilful application of the methodology of Ontological Coaching to fa-
cilitate deep change.

Biology of Cognition
Living, learning, working and coaching are inevitably biological and so-
matic. Our biology and our body go everywhere with us and comprise the
inescapable foundation from which we perceive the world and engage in
life. Coaching seeks to support people to improve how they (i) function in
their everyday personal and professional life and (ii) can build a construc-
tive future. Coaching that does not incorporate biology and the body in its
conceptual framework and methodology runs the risk of ignoring a crucial
component of perception and behaviour, inadvertently denying clients the
opportunity for profound learning and deep change.
Part I of this volume presents a unique perspective of human biology.
Based on sound scientific research, it is highly relevant to understanding
the nature of being human, the process of change and, therefore, coach-
ing. This unique perspective is known as Biology of Cognition.
Developed by Humberto Maturana, arguably one of the most impor-
tant thinkers of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, Biology

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of Cognition provides a scientifically grounded and logical explanation of

how humans come to understand themselves and their world, and how
this understanding shapes the relationships they have with each other
and the world they live in.
Maturana developed a number of fundamental principles about the
nature of living systems that had not been previously identified by biolo-
gists. These biological principles are articulated in chapters 3 and 4 and
relate directly to:

• perception;
• consciousness;
• behaviour;
• communication;
• culture;
• change; and
• coaching.

Biology of Cognition provides the coach with a substantive body of

knowledge to practically appreciate the biological nature of change, which
is embedded in effective coaching. As coaching is about supporting peo-
ple to develop (i) more constructive perceptions of themselves and their
circumstances and (ii) more effective behaviours, understanding and ap-
plying the principles of Biology of Cognition is an essential feature of the
ontological coach’s competence.
An initial glimpse of some of the central ideas on Biology of Cognition
can be gained by considering the following three statements.

• Everything that is said is said by an observer to another observer,

who could be him or herself.
• Everything changes around what is to be conserved.
• Our manner of living is shaped by our preferences and desires, not
solely by rational thinking.

As we shall see in chapters 2–7, there is a substantial depth of think-

ing behind these seemingly straightforward statements.
Practically understanding Maturana’s ideas, which means intellectu-
ally grasping and having an emotional and somatic feel for them, can be a
challenge. Developing a sufficient understanding of Biology of Cognition

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to enable its application in coaching may require careful and thoughtful

reading. Constant reflection, discussions and rereading may be required
to deepen your learning. This is because Maturana has intentionally de-
veloped a “new language” of biology that our everyday language does not
readily accommodate. He explains the purpose of the language of Biol-
ogy of Cognition by recalling what his Professor of Neurobiology said to
him when he was a student at University College in London: “If you want
to say something new, you must change your language. If you do not
change your language, your listener hears himself [or herself], not what
you say.”3 (Italics added.) (A Glossary of important distinctions, or terms,
in Biology of Cognition is included in this volume.)
If the changing nature of our global, international and national circum-
stances requires the development of different forms of thinking, new lan-
guage will be required that enables the development of new perspectives
to open pathways for effective action. As a new paradigm for understand-
ing the nature of human existence, communication and change, Biology
of Cognition is a significant contribution to the development of a new lan-
guage for co-inspiration, collaboration and transformation.

The domain of the body

The role of the body in perception, thinking, learning, emotions, the overall
mental functioning of humans and change has long been neglected. Even
in the field of neuroscience, where important new discoveries about the
functioning of the brain are continually being made, there is omission of
the significance of the body. One prominent neuroscientist, concerned at
the almost exclusive focus on the brain in neuroscience, has been moved
to write that humans are not embrained beings but are embodied beings.4
As biology occurs in the body, the inescapable role of biology in per-
ception, cognition and behaviour means that the body is always involved
in how we perceive, think and behave. The body is inextricably intertwined
with the nature of our thoughts and our emotional experiences.
Because our habitual ways of thinking and doing things (practices)
are learned and learning occurs in our biology, the body is inevitably in-
volved in our manner of coping. Coping does not only mean “to get by”, it
includes how we flourish in circumstances through highly effective ways
of adjusting our selves and organising our actions to be appropriate for the
requirements of a situation. The effectiveness of our coping practices is
intimately bound up with our ontological security and adaptive resilience.

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With increasing uncertainty and unpredictable change there are oc-

casions when our habitual coping practices do not work and we are faced
with the challenge of learning new ways of coping. The body is inescap-
ably involved in such learning.
Just as the existential domains of language and emotions are do-
mains of learning, so the existential domain of the body is also a domain
of learning. While the body may be the slowest to change of the three ex-
istential domains of language, emotions and body, it is probably the most
profound, as change becomes consolidated through being embodied.
Part II of this volume establishes a solid philosophical, conceptual
and pragmatic basis for the inclusion of the body in Ontological Coach-
ing. While the body has not featured much in the writings of philosophers,
careful reading of a number of major philosophers (including some whose
ideas underpin the language and emotional domains in Ontological Coach-
ing) reveals a clear recognition of the place of the body in the nature of
our being and quality of existence. The well-considered thoughts of these
philosophers are articulated in chapters 8 and 9 as a philosophical foun-
dation for the place of the body in coaching.
In chapters 10–12 the ideas of a number of highly regarded somatic
practitioners are drawn on to present a conceptual somatic framework
for Ontological Coaching. These practitioners created specific disciplines
to utilise the power of the body to enhance physical and emotional well-
being and facilitate perceptual and behavioural change. The purpose of
the framework is to ensure that the coach has a minimal background
awareness of important physiological considerations that are relevant for
coaching to the body. This framework is based on the concept of a “physi-
ology of doing”.
Humans are always beings in action, which can include mental action
(thinking and listening), speaking and writing, as well as postural positions
and physical actions with the body. The conceptual somatic framework in
chapters 10–12 considers:

• important components of a physiology of doing;

• how we can have formed a compromised and less than expedient
physiology of doing; and
• the development of a more expedient, or poised, physiology of doing,
which enhances mental, emotional, somatic and spiritual wellbeing
and greater effectiveness in different areas of life.

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 Coaching to the Human Soul. Volume III.

Chapter 13 provides a specific set of cues or distinctions, in the form

of A Basic Somatic Framework,5 to support the coach in respectfully ob-
serving the specifics of unhelpful postural configurations of coaching cli-
ents and in working with with them to develop more helpful ways of hold-
ing themselves and using their body.
Throughout chapters 8–13 you are strongly encouraged to be a so-
matic learner. Somatic Learning is inevitably experiential and conceptual.
Being introduced to new ideas and perspectives on the body can be in-
valuable for gaining a meaningful appreciation of the essential place of
the body in our everyday functioning and the development of more helpful
perceptual and behavioural patterns. However, Somatic Learning inevita-
bly involves “doing the body”. This means:

• engaging yourself to acquire a first-hand physiological feel through

the direct experience of how you hold and use your posture; and
• exploring and experimenting with somatic shifts to continually move
towards a more poised physiology of doing in your everyday personal
and professional life.

It is through the personal engagement of his or her body in Somatic

Learning that the coach begins to literally embody a deep appreciation of
the significance of the body for facilitating deep change for clients.
As with volumes I and II of Coaching to the Human Soul many ex-
amples of Ontological Coaching in action are provided in this volume, as
well as an extensive range of Reflective Activities that you are encour-
aged to engage with. Unlike the two previous volumes, this book includes
Somatic Activities that you are urged to participate in as part of being a
somatic learner and ensuring that your relationship with the domain of the
body is not only conceptual but includes first-hand experiential involve-
ment. The purpose of the Somatic Activities is to provide a minimal set of
experiences for:

• exploring your own dynamic posture and physiology of doing; and

• experimenting with somatic shifts that may open up new and con-
structive ways of perceiving your self, others, the world, and new pos-
sibilities for engaging in life.

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Finally, Chapter 14 provides a comprehensive model of Ontological

Coaching, expressed as The Existential Context of Ontological Coach-
ing. Way of Being and the existential domains of language, emotions and
body, the specifics of which have been covered in all three volumes, are
central to the model. The overall existential context of the functioning of
any individual, which includes their encounters with others, is the inter-
section of the following dimensions of existence:

• the Ways of Being and behaviour of others;

• the social and cultural contexts of daily life; and
• the biosphere.

Because human living in families, communities, organisations and

societies occurs as the dynamic interaction between the above three di-
mensions, it can be crucial that the coach is alert to the relevance of each
dimension to support constructive change for the coaching client.

Reading Volume III

While it is not necessary to have read volumes I and II of Coaching to the
Human Soul, it is a distinct advantage to have done so as constant refer-
ence is made to aspects of the coaching methodology covered in detail in
each volume. Nevertheless, in the absence of having read the previous
two volumes you will still benefit from ideas and activities presented in this
volume.
As noted earlier in the Biology of Cognition section, you may find
parts of this book challenging, whether it is the way language is used or
the nature of the ideas presented, which could be unfamiliar and possibly
uncomfortable. You are encouraged to notice any tendency to dismiss
ideas and frameworks without lengthy reflection and due consideration,
not because the ideas and frameworks are “right” or “better” than any-
thing else but to check your openness as a learner. It is suggested that
you continually reflect on yourself as a learner in making conceptual and
practical sense of what is presented and in this process:

• be open to noticing and constructively questioning your own respons-

es to what shows up as being unfamiliar or disagreeable;
• identify important questions that may be within your responses; and

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• be open to “remain in the question”, that is, to hold things in “suspen-

sion” and not rush to judgements that may condemn ideas not reso-
nating favourably with your habitual understanding.

Welcome to Volume III of Coaching to the Human Soul and best wishes
for gaining practical value from your engagement with the material!

Notes
1 Australian Public Service Commission, Tackling Wicked Problems: A Public Policy
Perspective. 2007. http//www.apsc.gov.au/publications07/wickedproblems2.htm
The notion of a wicked problem is that it is a problem regarded as being so com-
plex in nature, with many interdependencies, multiple causes and multiple stake-
holders with different views held with high emotional intensity, that solutions to
satisfy all concerned parties are not clear, making resolution extremely difficult and
seemingly impossible.
2 Frank Furedi, “Individual difference suffers in the never-ending explosion of mental
illness”, The Weekend Australian, 18 February 2012, p. 8.
3 “Unitary Epistemology: The Origin of Everything in Humanness”. 2011. Matriztica
Institute brochure, www.matriztica.cl/eng/
4 Antonio Damasio, Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain, p. 118.
5 Just as the language domain has Basic Linguistic Acts and a Basic Typology of
Conversations, and the emotional domain has Some Basic Moods of Life, it is ap-
propriate that the domain of the body has A Basic Somatic Framework.

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