The Mission

My mission here at Zen-ish Coaching is well-represented in the logo.

The blue oval represents a pond, which itself represents one's life. The lotus flower is one of the main symbols of Zen, or more generally of the peace of mind Buddhist teachings are collectively aimed at helping us achieve, there in the midst of real life.

People admire the lotus for its ability to thrive in challenging environments. Like you, its seeds can survive for many years even in harsh conditions. The lotus germinates and grows in murky water yet emerges from the mud below to produce clean, beautiful, radiant flowers. Thus for many people the lotus symbolizes purity, hope, perseverance, strength, and resilience.

The expression "no mud, no lotus" paraphrases the Buddhist teaching that there is no life that is free of suffering. If you are going to be alive, there is going to be some suffering. People want the lotus but not the mud, but the lotus does not exist in a mud-free world, and neither do we. Like the lotus, for us to bloom we must escape being mired within the mud, yet we also must not sever our connection to it.

A lotus cut free from its mud soon dies. Our flowering beauty also turns lifeless and ugly if we lose connection with our mud (understanding our own history, development, and dependencies), or if we lose compassion for the mud in other people's lives, or the ability to see their beauty. Rising above our personal mud doesn't mean denying it or pretending it is merely something in the past. Like the lotus again, it literally requires making the most of whatever value we can extract from the mud that can nurture us, and anchor us. No mud, no lotus. Also, when there is mud, there can be a lotus.

The red swoosh suggests a heart, bigger than one's personal life (the pond). Heart, love, compassion – among life's most important forms of beauty, and a great treasure for us to nurture and protect, especially because of all the mud it will help us slog through.

The figure of a person is in the yoga pose known as "Warrior II". It is also nearly identical to an often-depicted posture from Kung Fu, a martial art created by pre-Zen Buddhist monks in the Henan province of China, around the beginning of the 6th century. We must sometimes be strong and courageous to vigorously develop, defend, and share life's treasures, and not fall back into the mud by being passive or defeated.

You are going to have struggles. We all do. Life ensures this. Why not get really good at handling them? You are going to have joys and accomplishments too, but these do not spontaneously arise as frequently as struggles do. We must get better at generating positive experiences, and learn to both share them and internalize them more fully.

Let's talk

Let's talk – no commitment, no pitch. Since I am retired, there will be no sales pressure on my side. You can contact me here.