Coaching & Spirituality

The more-than-human world awaits...

‘What does spirituality mean to you?’

My coaching supervisor, Philip Crocker gently poses the question as I internally frantically scrabble for words. It’s 2015, when I’d purposively sought his supervision based on his Christian faith that felt contrary and counter to my belief system.

Memories from my past surface uncomfortably where mandatory church attendance every Sunday as a child with my mother and brother was endured; then underpinned the disciplined training, and my career as a British Army officer. My personal experiences of religion involve a rigid hierarchical and patriarchal system with power, dominance and war. I cognitively struggle to discern a difference between religion and spirituality. And yet, something lay beneath…

‘Erm. It’s got something to do with nature’.

I outwardly cringe and inwardly curse myself for my inability to articulate or string a competent sentence together. My words don’t have the capacity to convey something that felt far bigger; more complex yet threads kept emerging across my life and within client coaching sessions around deeper purpose, meaning and connection.

Over the last ten years I’ve held this question gently and curiously as life has unfolded and my own personal spiritual journey evolved. Spirituality has organically weaved its way further into conversations around transition, death, grief, awe, gratitude, meaning, purpose and consciousness with coaching clients, colleagues, friends and family.

On reflection the roots of coaching and spirituality intertwine and run deep over thousands of years; whether it’s traces of stoicism from the privileged classes of the Roman Empire recorded in the words of Epictetus, Seneca or their counterparts or Aristotle or Socrates from ancient Greece. Further back into the dawn of time, our ancestors sat around the fire story-telling, listening, asking questions, sense making and dreaming as the seasons changed.

Fast forward to the twentieth century with the rise of modern society and as world-war two ravaged havoc across the world Abraham Maslow, an American psychologist devised his hierarchy of needs in the ‘A theory of human motivation’. This popular model widely adopted by the psychological world outlines five basic needs; physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem, then the pinnacle of self-actualisation. It was later modified to include self-transcendence; also known as ‘spiritual needs’ that lie within and beyond the religious domain.

Beyond the woo-woo; abstract conceptual thought and religious dogma I’ve given myself permission to step curiously towards the spiritual realm. Seeking wisdom from more than human, my intuition and other humans such as Sam MacLaren from Pretani Wisdom Traditions; Satish Kumar, an Indian Jain monk and ecologist, Tara Swart, a world leading neuroscientist and author of The Signs; Joshua Michael Shrei who hosts The Emerald podcast amongst others. I find these encounters with different beings broadens my understanding beyond the human lens; offers a more connected and nuanced perspective; brings the sacred into ourselves; each other and the natural world.

In a postmodern world spirituality lies hidden in plain sight illustrated by findings from the ‘Spirituality in Americans’ research in 2023 by the American Pew Research Center. The results from 11,201 respondents indicate 83% of all U.S adults believe people have a soul or spirit in addition to their physical body; 81% believe there is something spiritual beyond the natural world, even if we cannot see it, 57% believe animals can have spirits or spiritual energies, 30% have encountered a spirit or unseen spiritual force; and roughly two-thirds believe in the existence of spirits or unseen spiritual forces (Alper et, al., 2023). In the United Kingdom the YouGov online tracker that captures data on beliefs about God(s) shows 30% believe there is a God / there are Gods and 23% do not believe in a God / Gods, but I do believe there is some sort of spiritual greater power (YouGov, 2026). Combined over 50% of the British population believe in God or a spiritual greater power.

In daily life roughly one-in-five American adults (18%) say they spend time in nature a few times a month or more mainly to feel connected with something bigger than themselves (Alper et, al., 2023). Other spiritual practices such as looking inward or centring to connect with something bigger than themselves (13%); or exercise on a monthly basis (7%) are carried out to feel some sort of connection.

The notion of ‘spiritual health’ described by the McKinsey Health Institute (MHI) focuses on having meaning in one’s life, a sense of connection to something larger than oneself, and a sense of purpose. It’s described “not as a “nice to have” but a core dimension along with physical, mental and social health” (Coe et al, 2024). The vast majority of over 41,000 respondents across different generations across twenty-six countries said spiritual health was ‘somewhat’ to ‘extremely important’ to them.

From within the academic world spirituality is supported by prominant individuals such as Iain McGilchrist, the British psychiatrist, philosopher, neuroscientist and author of ‘The Divided Brain’ who brings spirituality into consciousness and challenges purely rational or mechanistic ways of knowing; Lisa Miller, an American clinical psychologist and professor at Columbia University founded the ‘Spirituality Mind Body Institute’ and created the first Ivy League programme that integrates spirituality and psychology and Robin-Wall Kimmerer, the Potawatomi botanist and author of ‘Braiding Sweetgrass’ who integrates Indigenous spirituality with Western science.

Many popular public figures from the entertainment world are also strong advocates for spirituality from Oprah Winfrey, the American talk show host of ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ which ran for twenty-five years and in the 1990s introduced the segment ‘Remembering your spirit’ in her show despite ridicule by the press and push back from some viewers; Russell Brand, the English comedian, actor and podcast who’s built a significant media platform based on reflections from his spiritual journey and spiritual explorations and Jessica Alba, the American actor and businesswoman who former business the ‘Honest Company’ started in eco-friendly baby products though expanded into crystals before she sold the business in 2025. Once you start to look others start to emerge.

As society continues to evolve into the twenty-first century, the relationships between society, coaching and spirituality are likely to deepen. In an age of disconnection and human ego-centrism many people are seeking holistic approaches that integrate emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual well-being. The future of coaching may involve greater emphasis on compassion, mindfulness, authenticity, and human connection.

Concurrently, technology and artificial intelligence are transforming how people work, live and play, with an increasing need for reflection, purpose, and emotional grounding. In a world driven by constant information and external pressure, spirituality offers sacredness, stillness and perspective, while coaching brings awareness, action and change.

I’ll finish as I started with the question…

‘What does spirituality mean to you?’

Ancient olive tree being

References

Alper, B.A., Rotolo, M., Tevington, P., Nortey, J. & Kallo, K. (2023). Spirituality among Americans. https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/12/PR_2023.12.7_spirituality_REPORT.pdf (Accessed 26 May 2026).

Coe, E., Enomoto, K., Brassey, J. and Bennett, V. (2024) In search of self and something bigger: A spiritual health exploration. McKinsey Health Institute, 13 May. https://www.mckinsey.com/mhi/our-insights/in-search-of-self-and-something-bigger-a-spiritual-health-exploration (Accessed: 1 June 2026).

YouGov. (2026). Brits beliefs about God(s). https://yougov.com/en-gb/trackers/brits-beliefs-about-gods (Accessed 26 May 2026).