Magda Barceló

I began supporting people’s development long before I ever became a coach. The potential that organizations could achieve by developing their people was already apparent to me nearly twenty years ago in my work as an organizational consultant and diversity and inclusion facilitator. Over the last ten years, I have coached a large number of people directly and supported others indirectly through the teachings shared in my books, publications and collaborations. But what have I supported them on?

I’ve helped them grow and wake up. By growth, I mean the capacity for self-awareness and detecting our axis of development as it relates to our character and personality. Growing includes cultivating various dimensions or intelligences, such as cognitive intelligence, emotional intelligence, relational intelligence, etc. Waking up is the practice of separating our identity from our ego—the masks we believe we are—and living from there. In our development, it is common to focus on only one of these dimensions. Many people make an effort to do psychological work or develop their abilities but forget about their “being.” Other people believe that adopting a spiritual or mindfulness practice alone is enough to solve their problems. One approach or the other is incomplete, however, because we need both: we need to evolve our consciousness and our abilities while awakening to our spiritual dimension or, in other words, to our true nature.

My ability to help people grow has been nourished by my own growth and profession. Like every human being, things have happened to me, many of them complex. These life events all became teaching moments when I learned to open myself up to what was happening and when the circumstances for discovering the gift of what had occurred were favorable, especially when I was surrounded by people who could offer me the necessary support and context. At the heart of my practice as a coach are my integral coach certification from the New Ventures West school, integral circling certification from the Boulder Integral Center, training in developmental coaching with Rob McNamara and multiple trainings for continued development.

My ability to help people with their awakening goes back many years. I remember feeling the space and consciousness that permeate everything at a very early age. Remaining silent, resting in the stillness and feeling the fruitful emptiness did not require any effort for me. In my early twenties, I began to meditate formally with teachings from books. Soon after, I began practicing yoga, and later, the Buddhist sangha of Joel and Michelle Levey in Seattle proved very supportive and inspiring. During the time I lived in Boulder, Colorado, I came to know the Buddhist teachings of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and delved deeper into them through Dharma Ocean, which I continue to learn from its founder, Reginald Ray. In all this, my spiritual cradle is the Christian religion, which I embrace and incorporate into my practice.This is not a contradiction but a source of enrichment,forI see all spiritualtiesas different paths to reveal the same essence.