Others have been promising to train macrobiotic counselors within a year or even as soon as four months. From my experience, I do not see how this is possible. In this blog entry I talk about the steps I followed to feel qualified to guide people with a full range of health problems. Later, I will talk about the differences and similarities between coaching and counseling. Then, I will describe the programs we’ve developed at SHI to train macrobiotic coaches and eventually counselors.
Macrobiotic practice is a continuous, ongoing process of learning, absorbing, applying, and revisiting. Like any other organic process, there is time that is required to integrate and become grounded in your own practice and ability to guide others. It is truly a life journey. Counseling is an expression of one’s own life and experience. The academic aspect of counseling is important within your overall understanding and application of the macrobiotic principles. Yet, it is only the beginning because the goal of counseling is to help another create a healthier, happier direction in life.
In my own counseling, I have three goals when meeting with a client. In the first stage, I meet with someone as a client, and use my understanding and experience to help them attain their goals for a healthier and happier life. In the second stage, I hope that a client will become my student and learn how to guide their own life and macrobiotic practice. Thirdly, I hope that over time, a person will become my friend that shares the dream of a healthier, happier, more peaceful society.
The following is the timeline of my journey to becoming a counselor. I hope you enjoy this and derive some insights for yourself if you are also aligned with becoming a coach or a counselor one day.
I never intended to become a macrobiotic counselor; it is something that just happened. Originally, I was guided by intuition and the desire to create a strong macrobiotic community. During my practice, I learned from others I had a talent for diagnosis and counseling from the beginning. Following the encouragement of others, one thing lead to another quite organically and here I am today.
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I was friends with Michio Kushi’s main student who encouraged me to start formally counseling. At this time, I had been practicing for three years. Upon implementing this advice, I realized I had so much to learn to be able to guide people in a safe, helpful way. I attended Michio’s leadership seminar, which was a three month course everyday over the summer. It covered all aspects of macrobiotic practice and lifestyle, and included healthcare and counseling. This seminar was especially focused on ki development and spiritual practice.
After 1972, I began spending as much time with Michio and Aveline as possible. For many years after, I spent two weeks in the spring and fall at study houses in Boston. I attended any seminar that Michio offered in Boston and the mid-Atlantic region. I also traveled and assisted Michio whenever possible.
In order to understand the healing process, Michio encouraged us to work closely with someone for an entire year. My first true counseling client was Mona Schwartz, who I had met in ’74/75. She had been diagnosed with idiopathic edema (swelling of the extremities from an unknown origin). I committed myself to Mona’s healing journey, giving her access to me 24/7 from beginning to end, for an entire year. She recovered her health and I in turn received the most valuable education on the healing process.
During this entire period, I did not spend such extended amounts of time in Boston, but constantly traveled back and forth. At first, I thought this was a limitation, but it turns out it was an important key to a successful, well-grounded macrobiotic education. I discovered that it is much like a natural pattern: you eat, and then you live your life. Having education mimic the natural cycles of the seasons, of expanding and contracting, or breathing in and out helps us to understand that macrobiotic practice is biologically based. Our understanding changes as we develop our health. There is no substitute for time. When I started the Strengthening Health Institute, I applied the principle of what I went through about learning and applying, of going back and forth to develop many of the courses.
The timeline provides a broader glimpse of how my counseling practice started and evolved. I would say the most valuable aspects of becoming a counselor have been constantly trying to create a healthy and balanced personal macrobiotic practice. Throughout the course of my counseling, I have found it invaluable to see and counsel many others. There is a continuous, on-going study of and reflection on all aspects of macrobiotic practice and philosophy. The close guidance of Michio and Aveline helped my ability to develop my practice personally and professionally. I also tried to develop my cooking as Michio taught that a good counselor is a good cook.
Please stay tuned for the next entries that get into more detail about coaching, counseling, and education.
I would like to thank for this great message. I truly enjoyed it.
It reminded me of the process when I went through to receive my TESOL certificate. Some people asked in the past how long it would take to learn a language, etc. etc. I always had great trouble answering the question because there was no such thing. Language learning is also a life-long learning process. You think that you’re fluent in one, and you still keep encountering and finding something new, especially in this fast-moving, modern, global society where things are changing constantly. I have tutored some people when they asked me to teach them my native language in the past, and they also asked how long it would take for someone to learn Japanese. Everyone is different, with different backgrounds, different learning styles (especially adult learners)….. There was no such thing as to how long. Everyone starts off in different ways, with different goals in their minds, and learn with open minds. And, you think you ‘know’ the language, including your native language, then you meet a new word or expression unexpectedly.
I see so many similarities here and agree that macrobiotics is also a life-long learning adventure. I think Denny is an excellent example of this life-long learning process. He has not stopped learning to adapt to this modern way of society with the strong basics and an open accepting mind. Whether learning a language or macrobiotics, how could you be successful without an accepting attitude, rejecting new and possible?
Another similarity I feel is both language learning and macrobiotics help you and everyone in the world. One more language will make you communicate with more people in the world. I am thinking that there is no need to go into talking about the benefits of macrobiotics if you’re reading this, and it is of course beneficial to everyone in the world. Nobody says, “I know a language (Spanish, Italian, whatever), but I want to forget and get rid of it.” Instead, most people say, “l wish I knew Spanish.” I think macrobiotics is what people do not want to forget once they start learning it and say, “how come didn’t I start earlier?”
As the turkey day approaches in the United States, I would like to think back my very first meeting with Denny and thank for that day. And, I know my turkey that I’m not going to eat will be happy jumping and dancing with joy on this Thanksgiving Day, too.
A very real and details macrobiotic journey. I took up macrobiotic course with a teacher in Malaysia . Cooking wise I can say I am good but coaching others I am still very far behind. All of us student in Malaysia are frustrated, going no way . At present I am home cooking for those interested in macrobiotic meal .