My name is Andrew Sweeny and I’m excited to announce the formation of Parallax coaching, and to offer my service as what I call a ‘meaning coach’. Both Tom Amarque and I have decided to include coaching, counseling, and mentoring as part of the larger Parallax mission.
Here are our respective websites:
Andrew Sweeny
Tom Amarque
And here are our mission statements:
Andrew Sweeny - Meaning coaching
Meaning Coaching: has been inspired by my conversations with philosophers, spiritual masters, psychologists, as well as all my research in media, literature, religion, and art. In all these conversations and deep dives, I’ve noticed something revolutionary but also very traditional: and that is, the educational, psychological, healing, and even spiritual benefits of dialogue.
But here I don’t mean just ordinary dialogue, or argument, or negotiation, but something else. My friend John Vervaeke has come upon with the right term: dia-logos, which means something like a conversation with the logos, a tango with the truth, a conversation that reveals some dynamic quality of being and becoming.
Meaning coaching here is what I call revelatory dialogue. When the ‘soul’ enters a dialogue, something amazing happens. We can be transformed, inspired, set on fire with purpose and playful creativity. Amazing new insights and directions are revealed.
We know when music has soul and when it is soulless; in the same way, if we are honest with ourselves, we know when we are living soulfully or not. Good music expresses a state of longing for liberation and embodiment, and for play. Music is a dia-logos that doesn’t require words - it moves towards ecstatic harmony or reveals delicious dissonance - it calls out to the future.
The soul could be further thought of as an image of what the future is telling us, or what the daimon—as the Greeks call that pesky creative spirit—is inviting us to be and become. James Hillman, a renegade Jungian writer and therapist, has a book called ‘The soul’s code: character and calling’. In it, he looks at extraordinary people, including famous bullfighters, politicians, and jazz singers; he describes the mysterious way that they were ‘called’ at some point by ‘the daimon’. The daimon can lead us to glory or ruin; it is the challenge that the soul presents us, what calls us beyond ourselves.
In meaning coaching the goal here is to be in service of that ‘calling’ whatever it might be; to help the individual listen to—not the superego of society or the small voice of fear and doubt—but to decipher what the soul wants to tell us. We need to learn to be attentive to that soulful and mischievous daimon. It takes character, bravery, and wisdom to listen to the soul rather than ‘good opinion’. We need to take that risk.
This might not sound like ordinary ‘life coaching’ and it isn’t. Neither is it therapy, even if dia-logos definitely has therapeutic benefits. Of course, we work with life goals and obstacles like any ‘self development’ process. However, the main goal here is not ‘self-development’ persay, but self-revelation. The aspiration is spiritual, in the broader sense. We inquire into the questions of: what is your calling? What is your destiny? How do you align yourself with that? What shadows and obstacles are in the way of your highest desires and the full expression of your character.
Today's society presents some unique challenges and opportunities. While social media is destroying people’s souls with noise and drowning out that voice of calling, new forms of technology are allowing new modes of learning to arise which can help us to rediscover and reinvent ourselves. There are great educational opportunities within the chaos of the present moment.
Meaning coaching is conceived of as an educational process in that sense: for both the coach and the client. It is a kind of deep and holistic learning, for the body, the spirit, and the mind. We work with self inquiry, archetypology, meditation, somatic exercises, with shadow work or whatever is useful. There is no overarching method and no guarantees—except that we will try to respond to the call of crisis and opportunity. My name is Andrew Sweeny and I’m excited to announce the formation of Parallax coaching, and to offer my service as what I call a ‘meaning coach’.
First, a mission statement: We aim to respond to the unique calling of individuals, help them align with meaning, wisdom, and greater joy in their lives.
This project has been inspired by my conversations with philosophers, spiritual masters, psychologists, as well as all my research in media, literature, religion, and art. In all these conversations and deep dives, I’ve noticed something revolutionary but also very traditional: and that is, the educational, psychological, healing, and even spiritual benefits of dialogue.
But here I don’t mean just ordinary dialogue, or argument, or negotiation, but something else. My friend John Vervaeke has come upon with the right term: dia-logos, which means something like a conversation with the logos, a tango with the truth, a conversation that reveals some dynamic quality of being and becoming.
Meaning coaching here is what I call revelatory dialogue. When the ‘soul’ enters a dialogue, something amazing happens. We can be transformed, inspired, set on fire with purpose and playful creativity. Amazing new insights and directions are revealed.
We know when music has soul and when it is soulless; in the same way, if we are honest with ourselves, we know when we are living soulfully or not. Good music expresses a state of longing for liberation and embodiment, and for play. Music is a dia-logos that doesn’t require words - it moves towards ecstatic harmony or reveals delicious dissonance - it calls out to the future.
The soul could be further thought of as an image of what the future is telling us, or what the daimon—as the Greeks call that pesky creative spirit—is inviting us to be and become. James Hillman, a renegade Jungian writer and therapist, has a book called ‘The soul’s code: character and calling’. In it, he looks at extraordinary people, including famous bullfighters, politicians, and jazz singers; he describes the mysterious way that they were ‘called’ at some point by ‘the daimon’. The daimon can lead us to glory or ruin; it is the challenge that the soul presents us, what calls us beyond ourselves.
In meaning coaching the goal here is to be in service of that ‘calling’ whatever it might be; to help the individual listen to—not the superego of society or the small voice of fear and doubt—but to decipher what the soul wants to tell us. We need to learn to be attentive to that soulful and mischievous daimon. It takes character, bravery, and wisdom to listen to the soul rather than ‘good opinion’. We need to take that risk.
This might not sound like ordinary ‘life coaching’ and it isn’t. Neither is it therapy, even if dia-logos definitely has therapeutic benefits. Of course, we work with life goals and obstacles like any ‘self development’ process. However, the main goal here is not ‘self-development’ persay, but self-revelation. The aspiration is spiritual, in the broader sense. We inquire into the questions of: what is your calling? What is your destiny? How do you align yourself with that? What shadows and obstacles are in the way of your highest desires and the full expression of your character.
Today's society presents some unique challenges and opportunities. While social media is destroying people’s souls with noise and drowning out that voice of calling, new forms of technology are allowing new modes of learning to arise which can help us to rediscover and reinvent ourselves. There are great educational opportunities within the chaos of the present moment.
Meaning coaching is conceived of as an educational process in that sense: for both the coach and the client. It is a kind of deep and holistic learning, for the body, the spirit, and the mind. We work with self inquiry, archetypology, meditation, somatic exercises, with shadow work or whatever is useful. There is no overarching method and no guarantees—except that we will try to respond to the call of crisis and opportunity. My name is Andrew Sweeny and I’m excited to announce the formation of Parallax coaching, and to offer my service as what I call a ‘meaning coach’.
First, a mission statement: We aim to respond to the unique calling of individuals, help them align with meaning, wisdom, and greater joy in their lives.
This project has been inspired by my conversations with philosophers, spiritual masters, psychologists, as well as all my research in media, literature, religion, and art. In all these conversations and deep dives, I’ve noticed something revolutionary but also very traditional: and that is, the educational, psychological, healing, and even spiritual benefits of dialogue.
But here I don’t mean just ordinary dialogue, or argument, or negotiation, but something else. My friend John Vervaeke has come upon with the right term: dia-logos, which means something like a conversation with the logos, a tango with the truth, a conversation that reveals some dynamic quality of being and becoming.
Meaning coaching here is what I call revelatory dialogue. When the ‘soul’ enters a dialogue, something amazing happens. We can be transformed, inspired, set on fire with purpose and playful creativity. Amazing new insights and directions are revealed.
We know when music has soul and when it is soulless; in the same way, if we are honest with ourselves, we know when we are living soulfully or not. Good music expresses a state of longing for liberation and embodiment, and for play. Music is a dia-logos that doesn’t require words - it moves towards ecstatic harmony or reveals delicious dissonance - it calls out to the future.
The soul could be further thought of as an image of what the future is telling us, or what the daimon—as the Greeks call that pesky creative spirit—is inviting us to be and become. James Hillman, a renegade Jungian writer and therapist, has a book called ‘The soul’s code: character and calling’. In it, he looks at extraordinary people, including famous bullfighters, politicians, and jazz singers; he describes the mysterious way that they were ‘called’ at some point by ‘the daimon’. The daimon can lead us to glory or ruin; it is the challenge that the soul presents us, what calls us beyond ourselves.
In meaning coaching the goal here is to be in service of that ‘calling’ whatever it might be; to help the individual listen to—not the superego of society or the small voice of fear and doubt—but to decipher what the soul wants to tell us. We need to learn to be attentive to that soulful and mischievous daimon. It takes character, bravery, and wisdom to listen to the soul rather than ‘good opinion’. We need to take that risk.
This might not sound like ordinary ‘life coaching’ and it isn’t. Neither is it therapy, even if dia-logos definitely has therapeutic benefits. Of course, we work with life goals and obstacles like any ‘self development’ process. However, the main goal here is not ‘self-development’ persay, but self-revelation. The aspiration is spiritual, in the broader sense. We inquire into the questions of: what is your calling? What is your destiny? How do you align yourself with that? What shadows and obstacles are in the way of your highest desires and the full expression of your character.
Today's society presents some unique challenges and opportunities. While social media is destroying people’s souls with noise and drowning out that voice of calling, new forms of technology are allowing new modes of learning to arise which can help us to rediscover and reinvent ourselves. There are great educational opportunities within the chaos of the present moment.
Meaning coaching is conceived of as an educational process in that sense: for both the coach and the client. It is a kind of deep and holistic learning, for the body, the spirit, and the mind. We work with self inquiry, archetypology, meditation, somatic exercises, with shadow work or whatever is useful. There is no overarching method and no guarantees—except that we will try to respond to the call of crisis and opportunity.
Contact: andrew@parallax.coach
Tom Amarque: Councelling
We all get stuck from time to time, at work, in our personal relationships, in meditation practice, and in our general approach to life. This is what the buddhists call dukkha, or suffering. To get unstuck, to get the wheel turning again, we have to confront chaos. But we also have to sacrifice something to create something new, and to let some old concepts go. This is how we create internal order and
harmony again: sukkha, or bliss.
To confront chaos and to sacrifice: these are the two eternal techniques codified in every religion, true spirituality, and even psychotherapy. I wrote a cool book about that ;-)
For over 15 years I have counselled on meditation, personal & ethical development, passion, flow & being in the world, the daimon, sensemaking & purpose. I have used techniques from philosophy, psychology, linguistics and western hermeticism to help people confront chaos and make the right sacrifice.
If you’re interested in scheduling one or more sessions with me, please read the following carefully before submitting your information.
I’m not offering psychotherapy. Whatever expertise I bring is the fruit of a lifetime of study, personal experience, meditation, and paying attention. That’s it.
I'm only scheduling two sessions per week, so I’ll be very selective about whom I work with. To avoid wasting your time (or your money), I’ll need you to describe your situation in detail and address specific issues, so I can judge whether or not I can actually help. If I don’t think I can offer any value, I will tell you that, and you will not be charged for your time.
Because this isn’t psychotherapy, it won’t go on for weeks or months. What I envision is just a few sessions, at most. I’ll need enough time to get a sense of who you are, what your situation is, and give you my honest assessment of what I see. If you’re not ready for that kind of input, I’m not your guy.
Still interested? Please contact me at tomamarque@yahoo.de
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