The Zahir:
an archetypal approach to coaching
by Olga Ferreras-Anderson
 
  
In 1949 one of the most remarkable writers and philosophers of the twentieth century, Jorge Luis Borges, published The Zahir, a fictional story about an object, a coin, which has the terrifying power of being unforgettable. People who touch the Zahir become obsessed by it, to the point that it becomes impossible to think of anything other than this mysterious object.  Their thoughts from that moment onward will forever be entranced with the image of a common coin (p. 242).
 
In general, people seek the help of a coach because they cannot forget who they think they are.  They find themselves limited by a set of beliefs.  Personality, habits and inhibitions seem all to be hardened by time. Curiously, this unique coin shares that permanence quality: “Time, which softens recollections, only makes the memory of the Zahir all the sharper.” (Borges, 1949: 248)
 
It is easy to take The Zahir as a metaphor for my approach to coaching, and connect it with James Hillman’s Archetypal Psychology. My work makes use of the value of bringing fiction to the world of transpersonal coaching.  Clients are encouraged to actively search for metaphors that will allow them to unleash creative powers and broaden their options. They will be supported as they leave their perceived limitations behind and rewrite their role in their own life. My aim is to facilitate that shift in perspective that starts someone on the path to transformation. (Dangeli, 2018: 17)
 
Dangeli (2017a) highlights the importance of mirroring the client during coaching.  My objective is to help each client see herself/himself as a character inside a story, presenting the client with a tale that reflects her/his quest.   
 
In my work I have observed how clients who have been limited by certain attitudes and habits, find a character, a Greek god or hero, in which their problematic behavior is reflected. My work focuses on work that causes the collapse of the archetype as a result.  In The Zahir, the author points out how a universal order prevents the existence of two identical things: “The All-Merciful does not allow two things to be a Zahir at the same time” (p. 247). Clients contemplating their own image reflected in an old archetype might gently shift into a different role, simply because duplicates are an impossibility.
 
Transpersonal coaching borrows much from Carl G. Jung’s research on archetypes and dreams as it is being revisited by contemporary Jungian analyst James Hillman. The aim is to link the clients’ perspective and situation to archetypes. Ideally, they will find this link themselves, as we both open the aperture of their awareness; alternatively, I offer the stories of different mythical figures until they find one where they see themselves reflected, in order to facilitate a shift in their current perception.  Mirroring is important in this process, as it helps us ‘see ourselves’ more easily. We want to move towards the reduction of old patterns and a renewed hope that they can start taking steps towards a transformative change.  Our purpose is a move towards harmony and hope, for “He who has seen the Zahir soon shall see the Rose […] The Zahir is the shadow of the Rose and the rending of the Veil.” (Borges, 1949:249)
 
 
REFERENCES
Borges, J.L. (1949) Jorge Luis Borges: Collected Fictions. The Zahir, p. 424. NY:Penguin Classics
Dangeli, J (2018) Transpersonal Coaching Handbook, p. 17. Retrieved from http://authentic-self-empowerment.com/transpersonal-coaching-handbook/
Dangeli J. (2017a) ASE Training videos: Rapport. Retrieved from: https://jevondangeli.com/video-7-rapport/
Dangeli, J. (2017b) The Open Awareness Handbook, p. 21.   Retrieved from: https://jevondangeli.com/wpcontent/uploads/2017/11/Open_Awareness_Handbook_Jevon_Dangeli.pdf
Hillman, J. (1960) The Myth of Analysis. Evanston, Illinois:Northwestern University Press
Whitmont E., Perera S (1991) Jung and Dreams, p. 80. New York, NY:Routledge