Ontological Change goes to the heart of how each of us sees ourselves and what it is possible for us to achieve. It involves shifting our "way of being" to bring about constructive and lasting change at work and in life. In the words of W. Edwards Deming "nothing changes without personal transformation." Transformation requires a shift in our ontology which an Ontological Coach has the knowledge and skill to facilitate. How we carry ourselves in the world, focusing on commitments rather than feelings, how we use our language and our moods, can directly affect how life turns up for us and what we attract into our lives. Ontological Change offers you the chance to see things differently in a way that empowers you to act authentically. In short, the theory and methodology of Ontological Change is not only a basis for deep change and effective action, it provides building blocks to a more meaningful and satisfying life.

Ontological Change is informed by a rigorous and substantive theory - a discipline known as Ontology. It emerged from 20th century developments in the theory of cognition, existential philosophy and the philosophy of language. As the Chinese proverb goes " . . theory without practice is foolish; practice without theory is dangerous." The Ontology of the HUman Observer provides a rigorous theoretical basis for change coaching as a credible profession in its own right. It is opening up new pathways for effective action by making powerful distinctions and product conversations that get results by focusing on a person's way of seeing things.

Heraclitus 540 BC Father of Ontological Change

It was Heraclitus who observed that the changeability that so pervades the world is captured in his famous metaphor that "we cannot step twice into the same river". He held that there is no permanence and that change exists in everything - without exception. Reality then should not be seen as a collection of objects but as a system of ever changing processes. As Heraclitus observed "the sun is not a thing, but flaming fire." Consequently, we may not 'know' what something is, but we can certainly observe what it does and how we feel about it.

This way of seeing enables an Ontological Coach to observe and work constructively with clients, integrating the three domains of human existence - language, mood and body state. It enables the coach to identify which aspects of a person's 'way of being' are not working for them at a point in time, and helping them create more effective ways of seeing and behaving in a given context. Things always happen against a background of rules or conditions.

It was Robert Kegan who observed that if we are to successfully deal with the demands of life in a world of accelerating change, complexity and uncertainty it is necessary to develop higher orders of human consciousness. In the absence of this development we are likely to find ourselves "in over our heads", unable to deal with the mental capacities that ever increasing complexity brings. As humans we are meaning-making organisms who need to find value, happiness and significance in their our everyday lives.

SUMMARY . . . . .
What this means in essence is that we cannot lead or manage change as such, but we can influence the processes of change, of which a powerful one is language. Words cannot be separated from the messages their posture and facial expressions reveal, or the mood and emotions that they dispaly. When leaders say "but that's not what I said" they have to remember that only 7% of communication is actually in the words they use. The emotional content, such as the enthusiasm or passion in the tonality of their voice and their animated body language predisposes others to take notice and choose to act towards or away from what is being said. Although we live in language, we shape and create reality through our emotions - both positive and negative. If Aristolte was right, that "happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence", then how we use language to create and get commitments is very important, simply because it shapes our 'way of being' in the world. Ontological coaching therefore has the power to dramatically influence, in many positive ways, the quality of our life journey - wherever it takes us.

Humberto Maturana

Humberto Maturana's research into the neurophysiology of vision led him to his "Theory of the Observer". He noticed that we create our reality from the 'inside-out', filtering data coming through our senses from the 'outside-in'. Our minds create a map of the external world that frames our interpretation of whet we see. When we are able to make finer distinctions through language, the world becomes more meaningful. Indeed, by changes in our nervous system, made conscious through our thoughts (language) we can create ever changing versions of reality. It seems that problems, possibilities and solutions are "in the eye of the beholder." It becomes the role of the Ontological Coach to help clients learn new distinctions so they can expand their ability to see things differently and take more effective action. Complex Adaptive Systems view the observer in relation to the "system in focus" that exists within a wider system that is its environment.

SUMMARY . . . . .
By looking at coaching from the perspective of the Ontology of the Human Observer (the way in which language, mood and body states interact to create our way of being) represents a new paradigm (a way of understanding, believing and taking action from where we operate from). It allows us to produce perspectives on life that become our 'truth'. Rather than get bogged-down in arguments about the rightness or wrongness of different world views, we connect with our desired outcomes and justify the means in our own minds. We ask ourselves: What possibilities for action and a given result would be served best by looking at it this way or that way? What does that perspective enable someone to be and to do? What would be the collective impact on how people could live and work together? How does it actually work? Ontological Coaching allows clients to make distinctions that serve their best interests through healthier relationships and a better balance between a peaceful/creative mind and a productive/healthy body. It also suggests that if we move from reflections on the past to present action little will change. This explains why analysing problems in the past gets in the way creating a preferred future. Sustainable change is more likely to emerge when moving from possibility (conversations about a desired future) to actually (conversations about action). This approach is adopted by a solution-focused approach to ontological change.

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As Maturana reminds us, "Every human act yakes place in language. Every act in language brings forth a world created with others in the act of coexistence which gives rise to what is human." it is a biological processes that give rise to thought and language. Heidegger came to the same conclusion from a completely different tradition - seeing language as a living thing. We do not simply use language to codify things, it leads us to think, feel and take action. This arises from an interesting connection between the biology of cognition (Maturana - above) and the philosophy of language (Heidegger - below). The idea that human beings "live in language" suggests that words are used for more than describing, they contain encoded instructions, making language an active process that our nervous system uses to create our reality. Consequently, to 'know' something it has to be actively experienced. This shift of thinking about the role of language in conversation is known as "The Linguisitic Turn." We can use language to make things happen differently for ourselves (personal transformation) and to influence the actions of others (leadership by example). This is why Ontological Coaching works so well in the realm of transformational leadership where we are changing patterns of human activity.

Jurgen Habermas believed that reality was socially constructed. What he called 'communicative action' can best be understood as a circular process in which the actor is two things in one: an initiator of change and the product of change. This is connected with medium or context that retains its structure through local interlocking behaviours.

Jurgen Habermas

This perspective is based on what Jurgen Habermas calls 'validity claims'. It is an idea that connects Speech Acts to the idea of rationality. As a result we seek to reach an understanding about an action that's needed in a given context and the plan to coordinate or sequence those actions by way of agreements or promises. Ludwig Wittgenstein's insight was that we can only understand 'communicative acts' because they are embedded in contexts which are orientated towards an understanding based on a "taken-for-granted background of personal assumptions and naively mastered skills".

Ludwig Wittgenstein

Soren Kierkegaard, the "father of existentialism", argues that it is difficult for the individual to be subjective, even to know who they really are, because the socialisation and institutionalisation of the individual turns them into objects. He believed, like Socrates that irony, parody, satire and humour would force individuals to think for themselves and take personal responsibility for their choices and actions. What he called the "knight of faith" is an individual who is able to gracefully embrace life. He placed the responsibility on the human observer to interpret and question the reality that they perceived they were experiencing.

John Langshaw Austin characterises by two features on how we do things with words. Firstly, to utter one of these sentences is not just to "say" something, but rather to perform a certain kind of action. Secondly, these sentences are not true or false; rather, when something goes wrong in connection with the utterance then the utterance is, as he puts it, "infelicitous", or "unhappy". He calls these 'performative sentences' later referred to as 'speech acts'. He believed that "by saying something, we do something", such as when a minister joins two people in marriage saying "I now pronounce you husband and wife" which entails duties, obligations, and rights.

John Austin

John Rogers Searle

From Phenomenology and Hermeneutics came the idea that thinking, understanding and acting are all "acts of interpretation." This is how meaning is generated. But whilst this occurs in language it is also in our emotions (moods) and physiology (bodies). Martin Heidegger argued that existence was "lived practical experience". Language is embodied through social and conversational practices. Other major contributors were Ludwig Wittgenstein and John Searle. They saw language as an instrument for getting things done and impacting on the reality experienced by others. As an Ontological Coach I look for the way clients can use John Searle's "Speech Acts" as a way of moving them to more effective behaviour and communication.

SUMMARY . . . .
It would appear that without language we would rely on instinct to tell us how to react. Without language we cannot construct a map of reality because we cannot make the distinctions and interpretations that demand thought. We are what we think we are. If the mind and the nervous system together are capable of making distinctions then the process must be based on the way the senses collect and interpret the data - what is known as our "representational system". The words used to interpret these respresentations of reality reflect the way we perceive them - as being either there or not there (digital) or are there but to a varying dgree (analogue). These interpretations are heavily influenced by the way language gives meaning to things, making much of what we call external reality socially, culturally and contextually constructed using our own unique sensemaking systems. It is therefore possible to reframe our beliefs by changing the way we interpret our experience - by the words we choose to make or the actions we choose to take. For example emotions can be triggered by events that we can learn to avoid or learn to respond to it differently. We must also be mindful of the impact our language has on others and realise that words have the power to both harm and heal. Well chosen words also have the ability to get things done. Understanding how to use language to make declarations, assessments or promises that secure an active response from others can be powerful change tools.

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Emotions are fundamental to the way we give meaning to our lives. Martin Heidegger emphasised the importance of mood state in interpreting what is seen and heard. Moods also predispose us to take different actions because of our attitude to life. It was Fernando Flores who observed that ". . . when trust improves, the mood improves." Attitude can also result from the accumulated effects of our mood state. How we feel about the past determines what moods we hold on to. We may know we are under stress, but its how we feel about it that determines what effect it has on our mood. The work of Jean-Paul Sartre and Martin Buber made important contributions to our understanding of emotions in determining our 'way of being'. For example, that emotions are predispositions to action.

Friedrich Nietzsche

Both Martin Heidegger and Friedrich Nietzsche observed that moods are essential for shifting habitual ways of observing, behaving and achieving sustainable positive change. Much of our mood state is linked to our static and moving postures (see body consciousness below). The Ontological Coach looks for key distinctions that will help the client make choices that can shift the barriers to emotional freedom. Daniel Goleman popularised the impact that emotions can have on perceptions and behaviour.

Martin Heidegger

Rafael Echeverria believes emotions lie at the heart of human interactions. Every conversation has both a language and an emotional component, yet more attention often goes into what is said rather than how it is said. This happens despite the fact that words represent a small part of what makes effective communication. Body language and context is also important, as they too create a background mood or attitude that influences the outcome. Taking the "Speech Acts " of John Searle and the making and managing of commitments explored by Fernando Flores, Rafael applies the principles of trust and positive morale to produce his 'Promise Cycle'. He argues that managing the emotional content of conversations can give them clarity of purpose and make them more productive. This is because our assessment of what is going on can have a bigger impact on the outcome than what may actually happening. Our feelings and thoughts are creating our reality. How we manage our own emotional reactions, our "emotional intelligence" is of vital importance to coaching and leadership effectiveness.

Steven de Shazer

There is an ethical dimension to the way people feel about things, especially the impact it has on what concerns them and how they interpret their experience. Those who favour a solution-focused approach such as Steven de Shazer are challenging the idea that coaching is about analysing problems. He takes the view that human improvement and change should be about maximising health - doing whatever is in the client's best interests. Focusing on solutions means exploring options and finding what counts towards a solution that works. It can be a useful and respectful way of coaching busy clients, helping them to eliminate problems by identifying and then practicing the the behaviours and feelings associated with a desired solution.

The research of Candace Pert showed that emotions were molecules moving through the body relaying emotional information. These molecules are called peptides and bring emotional messages to cells all round the body. That's why we feel tension in the gut, fear on the back of the neck, nerves in the bladder, etc. Candace observed that emotional memories are stored throughout the body. These peptides create a network that integrates our mental (neural), emotional (chemical) and physical (motor) activities. . A discipline known as Psycho-neuroimmunology studies the relationship between the nervous system, the immune system and emotions, is showing how negative emotions can have a significant impact on our health.

SUMMARY . . . .
Accepting that language is concerned with more than describing things we can use emotions linked to language to influence future actions. Emotions can be seen as predispositions to action and are therefore a valuable source of observation with which to influence action. A healthy dose of anger or feelings of unfairness affect the hormones we produce that prepare us for action. By generating rapport, trust and respect, the seeds for cooperative action are sown. Moods on the other hand don't have immediate triggering events, they are experienced as an ambience or background feeling that seems to lack an obvious reason or cause that makes sense. The best way out of a mood is to take action to do something different. Changing body positions and movements can help us see and feel things differently. Feldenkrais practitioners improve feelings of wellbeing by heightening our awareness of movement, breathing and posture. Emotions have the power to make us happy or sad, healthy or ill, relaxed or stressed. What's important here is to see emotions as ever changing and by managing them be able to make better choices by responding consciously and appropriately.

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Consciousness is not only about thinking, it is a linguistic, emotional and somatic process. It's our ability to create and experience reality - to be aware of our inner and outer worlds. We have the impression that consciousness changes, and that we lose and regain consciousness. But it's just our experiences that changes, not consciousness. At times we can be sleepy, while at other times we are lucid and alert. But it is never the consciousness that changes, rather, it is the condition of the mind that changes. In other words, sometimes we can have an experience of weariness, but can muster the spirit to pump adrenaline for us to feel wide awake. Change is seems is fundamentally about movement because it helps us to see the world through 'fresh eyes'. The way we move also has a profound influence on how we experience our thoughts and observations. To quote Huberto Maturana "All doing is knowing and all knowing is doing." To transform the our conscious awareness we must change our whole "way of being", not just what we attend to. Robert Kegan has developed a Model of Human Consciousness that explains how the order of consciousness that we experience changes with age. It involves both emotional and somatic learning, where our 'felt experiences' cannot be easily articulated in words

Stuart Heller argues that is through our body movement that we can reach ever higher levels of consciousness that enable us to respond to and create the world we live in. Our 'way of being' forms a structure of thought, feeling, muscle and energy that either supports us in being our best or serves as an obstacle to our positive desires and feelings. Over time this becomes our personal infrastructure, our way of moving through life with its corresponding psychological and behavioural aspects. Success relies on our ability to adapt our behaviour to what is confronting us and knowing how and when to be decisive, cooperative, thoughtful or inspirational.

Stuart Heller

Hubert Dreyfus

Hubert Dreyfus uses the example of intuition - knowing something, almost immediately, that's the most appropriate thing to do, without being able to give any rational justification or reason. Because the thinking steps have been grooved into our unconscious mind we go through them automatically. This tendency to do what we have always done is fine if it works for us, but sometimes in our mind we want to say 'no' but our embodied reaction is to say 'yes'. To do things differently we have to see them differently, which means being able to observe different patterns of thought and action. Dreyfus hit on the power of metaphor to explain how we make sense of "how" and "why"we do things. The underpinning rules that guide our choices can be observed but only take us so far in replicating what we see, hear or feel. Much of what influences our choices is embodied in our unconscious mind.

Richard Strozzi-Heckler follows the discipline of Somatics - the living body being aware of its wholeness. The body, in a somatic sense, expresses our history, commitments, dignity, authenticity, identity, roles, moral strength, moods and aspirations as a unique quality of aliveness or spiritual awareness. To make sustainable shifts in our behaviour and way of thinking, we have to "embody" new practices in our conscious mind first. The embodiment of what it means to behave in a certain way is linked to our ability to build new interpretations of meaning and explore future possibilities. It was Heinz von Foester who observed that "If you desire to see, learn how to act [move]." Doing something different often changes the way we feel about doing it. Motivation often arrives as we become involved in the activity.

Richard Strozzi-Heckler

SUMMARY . . . .
Our capacity to be be self-generating, self-educating and self-healing is so often not being matched by our competence. Most of us fail to realise our full potential as human beings. Eastern traditions understand the complexities of the 'mind - body' connection. To live a life of meaning and satisfaction we must know our "soul purpose" - what we feel called to contribute and learn. As the body is indistinguishable from 'self' any nervousness will impact on our breathing and posture to the point where we would have to regain a balanced state of mind, consciousness and thought to take action. Milton Erickson would say "Whatever you do, get the client to do something." The link between emotion and action is a strong one and holds the key to our emotional and physical health. For example, joy is one of life's most precious emotions, but when it is felt in every part of our body it has the power to heal and and enliven every relationship.

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The paradox in 'holistic' approaches to coaching and change is that we need to look at the parts that influence the capacity of the whole, and then to look at the whole to appreciate its contribution of the parts. The whole exists as part of other wholes (systems within systems) with seemingly no boundaries or end point. Social interaction, like language itself, is self-organising, enabling people to make choices and take turns in ways that could not have been predicted in advance. New possibilities emerge and paradoxes are engaged enabling us transform our whole lives for the better.

Sydney Banks observes that we must allow the wisdom that is embodied in all humanity to lead the way. By empowering people with the skills of observation, choice, commitment, common sense, compassion and purposeful living we will be happier and more fulfilled human beings. Sydney sees this balance in the integration of what he calls the three principles of mind, consciousness and thought.

"When any thought is created within the mind, it is manifested as real through your senses at the moment it enters. Whatever enters the mind is our world at that moment in time. If a person's mind is seething with thoughts of vengeance, they will experience a hostile, dangerous reality. If a person entertains ideas of self-doubt and inadequacy, they will feel self-conscious and inadequate. The feeling comes from the body's senses that are informed by the thoughts that are created and made conscious in the mind, moment-by-moment." Sydney Banks

Let's look at these three principles in a bit more detail.

xMIND
The energy of all creation and intelligence in all things - both formless and in form.

The brain has a diverse, distributed range of functions yet somehow the mind creates a unified sense of identity. Sometimes multiple personalities emerge and they have to be integrated. Our sense of time passing in a linear way. The mind it would appear just emerges from the non-linear interconnections in a brain's structure. As a result, the mind has the unique ability to transform unstructured thoughts into new patterns of relationships through imagination and the creation of new realities.

x THOUGHT
The capacity to create form from formless energy. Learning to choose thoughts wisely holds the key to a happy life.

What we call reality is only a complex web of language codes and emotional responses to which we add meaning. Thoughts which come into our heads from our deep unconsciousness mind. They got there through our five senses without us being aware of the process. What makes us choose one thought over another is dependent on our intentions or what's important to our wellbeing. The danger is that we just go where our thoughts take us after thinking about how we feel about what we know. The accumulated effect of following the same thought patterns is to create a dream state in which we hold on to the things that make us feel good.

x CONSCIOUSNESS
The awareness of self is knowing what it means to be alive, and the consequences of acting on selected thoughts.

When we become aware of self and alternative ways of looking at ourselves and other things, or make new distinctions about being and doing in the present moment, we are making conscious choices about what we do. To know what we know and what we don't know gives direction and competence to our learning. An Astonomer looks at the sky and sees more than stars. When a manager is able to distinguish elements of the workplace as their own creation they have the power to change that reality - say from a negative to a positive one. This opens up more opportunities for creating an even more desirable reality. Being able to observe our own 'way of being' makes us more conscious of the impact we have on others and our own effectiveness.

Sydney Banks

How can distinct minds perceive the same universal thought ? Is it, as Sydney Banks argues, that we personalise a universal mind, a mind that we all share, which we then make our own? He believes that people are not just language, moods and bodies, they are also vessels of a universal mind, consciousness and thought process that we access and make our own. The human complaint is that "one experiences feeling this and doing that, but one never experiences one's self". We see wholes but have to make 'distinctions' to make sense of them. For example, we do not see someone building a wall, but we do see them mixing cement and laying bricks. To understand what success means for us we have to identify what it looks, sounds and feels like first. This is a process known as 'nominalisation' where nouns like "success" can be turned into verbs to clarify their meaning.

The philosopher Ken Wilber has worked to integrate eastern (contemplative) and western (analytical) thinking in order to transcend current modes of thought and practice. He believes there needs to be a fusion of the "I" that lives in the mind and the "IT's" that make up our physical world. They connect with the "WE" dimension that lives in our collective consciousness and is fused with the "IT" that is our biological essence or our brains and bodies. Ken sees human development, not as a linear process, but "a fluid and flowing affair, with spirals, swirls, streams and waves." He uses the term kosmos to refer to all of manifest existence, including various realms of consciousness. The term kosmos is used to distinguish this nondual universe (which, in his view, includes both noetic and physical aspects) from the strictly physical universe that is the concern of the traditional ("narrow") sciences and which is widely associated with the term cosmos.

Ken Wilber

Julio Olalla

Julio Olalla is the founder and president of the Newfield Network a champion of Ontological Coaching worldwide. His passion is integral learning. He wants to secure a new understanding of leadership, organisational learning and coaching for global community. In his own words he says "In my work, I find that organisations are in desperate need of a new kind of leader . . one that can rebuild trust . . generate meaning . . inspire others to creative action . . .bring wellbeing to those who serve . . . and find a way to value not only results, but the people within the community at large."

SUMMARY . . . .
By looking or observing in a way that makes more distinctions we have a chance of developing a 'new way of seeing' one that enables us to go beyond our perceived limitations and explore more options for helping ourselves by helping others. We are also relating beings - parts of bigger viable systems. Much of what connects us is often unseen as consciousness can be subjectively intentional, structurally determined and influenced by familiarity, mood state and where we draw the boundaries in our situation. The complex nature of all living things means that we need models and other thinking tools to help us create and make sense of hidden connections. By embracing diversity and the infinite possibilities that mind, thought and consciousness offers us we gain a ecological sense of connectedness with all things both material and mind created. Indeed, we often see problems and opportunities belonging to "them" and not "us". We blame "them" for how "we" think and act. These disconnections lie at the heart of our suffering and our failure to take responsibility to change our own thoughts and actions. An appreciation of the many ways we are like each other in our humanness can foster peaceful, healthy and mutually beneficial relationships both locally and globally.

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