Have you ever pondered the intricate beauty of a fern? Its fractal patterns, where the small mirrors the large, offer a profound metaphor for the human journey. In this blog series, we‘ll delve into the fascinating world of personal transformation, inspired by the wisdom of nature and the power of the human spirit.
How did your fascination with ferns evolve into a symbolic framework for understanding personal transformation?
Many people have a “spirit animal”, but some of us have a “spirit plant”– and mine is the fern! I have always been fascinated by the fractal nature of the fern– the small part and the large whole are nearly identical– and they are able to exist at the same time. I started recognizing that in life, we all tend to have a theme to our long journey, and the smaller “quests” that make up the long journey are unique, but tend to still match the larger theme.
I named by business “GrowthQuests” because each inner-journey, or Quest, I guide my clients on has a specific theme that you are trying to “Grow” in (e.g. patience, confidence, healing wounds, etc.), but as you experience the small Quest, you are also concurrently, profoundly influencing your larger life journey — just like the fractal fern!
Can you explain the connection between the spiral patterns in nature and the transformative cycles you identified in your PhD research?
Most of organic life follows cyclic patterns, NOT linear ones, and humans are no exception. Like the spiral curled fern that contains lots of mini spirals, we are all in several mini-Quests at the moment which have different stages of Growth and Transformation within them.
For example, you may be quite far in a Quest of healing your inner-child, but only just beginning the Quest for trusting your intuition. The spiral allows us to complete one chapter of a “Quest”, but return to it later on another Quest to go even deeper. At any given time, we are in many mini-spirals of journeys, and I feel lucky to accompany my clients on several of theirs!
What inspired you to create the “Quest-Map,” and how does it help clients navigate their personal growth journeys?
The Quest-Map pays homage to the Hero’s Journey from Joseph Campbell, the Heroines’ Journey of Maureen Murdoch, and the Fool’s Journey of the Tarot deck. Essentially there are specific stages in our Quests that are actually quite predictable. In fact, as we embark on personal Growth journeys, we are mimicking every single mythological character before us– and when we know these universal stages of Growth and Transformation– we can better predict, manage, and communicate our experience.
For example, almost EVERY time we hear a “Calling” to something more than 99% of us will refuse it at first! But if we persist, we are able to “Cross the Threshold” into the unknown and only then will meet our support team: allies, mentors, and guides (which I see myself as!) who can help you see the next version of yourself. This map helps you understand the stage you are in, and look forward to the next stages with optimism that this universal journey is not only built into our human psyche, but it is what we crave and love about the human experience.
How do coaching and hypnotherapy support individuals in embracing their life purposes and unfolding their growth?
As I mentioned, anytime we are embarking on a journey of Growth and Transformation, it is helpful to have a guide for certain stages in order to feel more confident and really “own” that part of your journey. Coaching and Hypnotherapy work different aspects of your consciousness. Coaching works on the conscious state, while Hypnotherapy works on the unconscious state. I find they work well in tandem, but some like one or the other.
Coaching is great for mindset and perspective shifts, goal-setting, and co-creating the version of yourself that you have always been, but have yet to uncover. Hypnotherapy is great for healing unconscious wounds that have kept us small, rediscovering versions of yourself from past or other lives, and tapping into the “transpersonal” self who is only a dimensional shift away. Each allows us to unfold into who we REALLY are: the multifaceted, beautiful, authentic you who has been waiting for you.
In what ways do you see individual transformation impacting broader community consciousness?
It is only through personal change that we can change our communities. In fact, we must constantly adapt and GROW in order to be a more well-rounded, mature, and whole participant to the larger world. When we transform ourselves, so too will our community through both our small actions, but our influential energy that we bring to everyone around us.
When we study Spiral Dynamics, we learn that it only takes 10% of a population to change the consciousness of the entire population, so I see my work as part of bringing communities closer to a more evolved, whole-istic representation of how great humanity can be.
