Here's an example of ontological coaching in action:
Sara*, a client at one of Laisha's seminars, stood and said, “I am struggling with a job promotion I’ve been offered that requires that I give lectures and I can't give lectures because I am too introverted."
Laisha asked, "Is that a fact, or an assumption?"
She invited Sara to evaluate whether her statement, "I'm introverted" was innately true, or overlaid from outside sources. She encouraged Sara to notice that she was standing and sharing with the group about her introverted, shy nature. Laisha asked her to observe that was not an action of an introvert. Sara was invited to describe her feelings for the group. Sara obliged.
Next Laisha called on her client to notice what had taken place: "You stood up and spoke about your difficulty in speaking before an audience. You took a new action."
This awareness immediately shifted Sara's sense of herself (ontology), as Laisha compassionately helped her realize, "That's not a shy person!" Sara had interpreted herself as an introvert and limited her potential. With this new observation about herself she can release that limiting concept and move into more of her potential.
New interpretations expand our capacity for new actions.
* a pseudonym