What if everything you’ve learned about self-development is actually making things harder for you? What if there was a way to shift from the self-improvement paradigm, which leaves many of us feeling caught in a constant flux of trying to “fix” ourselves, towards one that nourishes our sense of innate wholeness and resourcefulness?
For Steve March, a coach of nearly 25 years and founder of Aletheia, this question lies at the heart of his practice. He calls for a shift of attunement from a mindset of self-criticism and a drive to always become a “better” version of ourselves, (which often leaves us feeling as though we’ll never be enough) to a more poetic one of beauty and deep acceptance — a process he calls “unfoldment.”
In this thoughtful conversation, Steve describes how through this lens of unfoldment, we can release our hyper-focus on our own deficiencies and embrace a more integrated approach to human development; one that allows us to become participants in the natural unfolding of our being.
A note from Andy:
Although this episode with the brilliant Steve March comes hot on the heels of the 2024 U.S. Presidential election, it was recorded months ago.
Steve has been a wonderful teacher to me. In the last 20 minutes or so of the conversation, he offers his perspective on the collective movements and ruptures we're experiencing. He also shares where we might be headed if we manage to integrate the competing forces and needs that shape our culture and politics.
The election is a big moment. You may be experiencing any number of feelings. I sure am. At the Wonder Dome, our team aspires to take the long view, trading hot takes on current events for more expansive conversations. Conversations that navigate the deeper cultural, political, spiritual, economic, and social terrain, providing ways of making sense of these dynamics in our everyday lives.
However this message finds you today, know that the Wonder Dome will always stand for a world where individuals, communities, societies, and the global web of life can thrive.
Take care of yourself out there and thank you for listening.
"Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on. Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers. Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting– over and over announcing your place in the family of things.
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#151 Ever Unfolding (with Steve March)