ABSTRACT
Modern, western modalities of coaching and mentoring tend to focus on an intellectual 'thinking' baseline of applying frameworks, models and tools to specific issues or agendas. This chapter explores the use of traditional wisdom and ontological experience in the Australian Aboriginal context. Ancient wisdom and teaching-based cultures are more focused on ontological and experiential development and learning. The focus is on 'being'. In essence, combining the wisdom and process of ancient cultures with modern coaching methodologies, coaching and mentoring can provide the bridge to reconnect the ancient to the modern, the commercial and the cultural. The time in the desert, and the participant's personal experiences there, provide an anchor point which can be used to bridge the ancient learnings with the modern expectation of 'action'. Drop the various agendas running in their head, and drop the suppositions that they have to 'do' anything.
