How many of your new year’s resolutions make it through the first 10 days of your new year? Would it be an idea to anchor  your intentions?

One way to do that would be to  join the 10-day resolution challenge,  creating your personal resolutions ’26 journal, by answering a question every day during the next 10 days. using the Nan Yar – Who Am personal development method as a guide through the meaning of numerology and other codes of  the original ancient Tarot.

Question 1 today on this first of January 2025 is all about the numerology and meaning behind the number 1

What is the one thing you want to (or will) change about your life in 2026?

In the Nan Yar – Who Am I interpretation the numerology of the number 1 stands for Potential and by that I particularly mean the potential to change.
Each and every one of us is born with a unique potential. The question is : what do we do with it? Do you keep it hidden deep down inside, longing for it, fantasising what life would be like if;  in the mean time doing totally different things to meet other(s) expectations?
Or…do you live up to your dreams, pick up the glove and maybe much like The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, as his title officially goes, – (those of you who make it through the full 10-day challenges will notice I love to use so-called fictional figures bigger than life for metaphors to describe the numerology and meaning of the Nan Yar Who Am I cards) while doing something totally different.

Ready for more inspiration on the number of Potential in relation to the 4 suits of the Nan Yar – Who Am I Tarot?

The Suit of Challenges is all about the spiritual growth that shapes the Higher Self, the divine part of who we are gifted as a blueprint at birth and gradually get to know as we face the often unasked for Challenges in life that seem to occur beyond our control yet shape and at times force us to transform ourselves into the human beings we have the potential to be

Card number 1 in connection  to the suit of Challenges speaks of how the uniqueness of your personal  potential, turns each and every one of us into a unique human being, even when there are more that 8 billi0n of us in the world right now. Just think of how miraculous that is within creation.

The Suit of Insights is all about the personal development in day-to-day life; the learning curves we do have control over in the way we respond to challenging situations and the way we choose to act as a result.

Card number 1 in connection  to the suit of Insights  reminds you to stay close to yourself  and trust your own values rather than to be diverted by what others want you to believe. You are here to materialise your very own path, making use of your very own capacity to evaluate and make decisions with which to create your very own starting points and narrative.

The Suit of Gifts is all about the soul mission each and every one of us has come to earth for; a personal mission with which to add our own unique footprint to the development of humanity throughout time. It’s amazing how much just one person has the ability to add  and can be remembered for.

Card number 1 in connection  to the suit of Gifts reminds us how all people , none excepted,  have at least one Gift to contribute and bring into the world we all life in, and how important it is to remember we all have something to contribute in our own unique way

The Suit of Tools  is all about the Tools we have at our disposal during our lifetimes on earth; universal traits available to everyone, yet to be used in our unique ways.

Card number 1 in connection  to the suit of Tools  is without a doubt the body itself, the space suit that enables us to live our lives on earth and the voice, mirror, temple, interpreter, energysystem and portal  of who we are.

.

Click on the cards to read more about their meaning

The post Question 1: Potential and Transformation. appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.

Will you be in The Hague during the NATO top and want to have some nice quiet introspective moments?

On the evenings of June 23, 24, 26, 27  I’ll be hosting  small circles to do some light energy exercises, a short peaceful metta meditation  and a playful moment to gain insight in whatever is going on in your life using ordinary playing cards.

Location: Central The Hague at the edge of Grote Markt  (exact location will be shared after registration)
€15 per evening
Language: English with Dutch subtitles when needed
Max. 12  participants

No experience needed — only an open heart.

➡️ Send me message using the contact form or info@energycounseling.nl and let me know which date(s) you would like to  join in and I’ll be in touch.

The post Peace Circles in The Hague appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.

You are cordially invited to  a presentation on the Lifestyle Vision Quest, Tuesday May 20th at the Natural Health Center in Scheveningen.

R.S.V.P through the NHC events page, section: Life Style Vision Quest

 What are you looking for in life? What is your inner voice telling you? Are you living the logistics or embracing the journey in full?

Each and every one of us has the birthright to a unique life mission, a potential with boundless possibilities.
This promise starts in how you  connect with yourself and the world around you. When you  tend to look away, give away or follow suggestions made by commerce, politics or what you think others think of you,
it might be time take a look inside and do a reality check, using the love and wisdom of the inner sanctuary we all have within.

10 ways in which a  Lifestyle Vision Quest will help you to:

1. Enhance your Potential

 The reasons for doing a lifestyle vision quest are as personal as one’s fingerprint. It will however at least do one thing: it will lead  you to your Potential as it is ready and waiting for you right now.

2. Become aware of your Freedom of Choice

 Do you find your life  journey is often  conditioned by what happens in the world? Or do you resonate with your personal mission and embrace your  inner voice?  A vision quest helps disclose the great many options  to choose from between those two.

3. Co-create your Life- Journey 

Is life something that happens to you or are you the co-creator? In a vision quest imagination, intuition and inspiration, the three layers of  your being in body, mind and spirit,  are  especially vivid and as always ready to  give you a peek in what is possible.

4. Keep Balance

A vision quest in its true form is a reality check and mindful way to maintain  balance; to reflect on the question  if your patterns are in sync with your mission.  

5. Find your true self

A Vision Quest opens portals to the core being of who you truly are.

6. Communicate better with yourself and the world around you.

A lifestyle vision quest helps you  distinguish fact from fiction,  reality from illusion, make-believe from genuinity and agenda’s  from unintentional misunderstandings.  
It was William James, (1842-1910)  founding father of psychotherapy in the U.S who said: 

 “Whenever two people meet, there are really six people present. There is each man as he sees himself, each man as the other person sees him, and each man as he really is.”

7. Be content with what is.

Rather than estimating you need something else first before you can do what you think you need to do, a  vision quest shows you how all you need is already there and how  life is already  complete as it is under the given circumstances.

8. Find Fulfillment. While it is often seen as a way of correcting a wrong, Karma in its essence is a destination.  It’s up to up to the challenges, insights, gifts and tools of every unique individual how to  position themselves in what happens in life. The secret is to have the inner voice have  its say, while using the brain as a compass

9. Be Connected to yourself and the world around you in a wholesome way.  The way you connect to the world begins with the way you connect with yourself. A life style vision quest helps you explore what resonates for you.

10. Explore  your own truth. What comes to your mind when thinking of a Life Vision Quest…?

.

The post Ready for a Lifestyle Vision Quest? appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.

The 7 years cycles of consciousness

While we are all born in Body,Soul and Spirit, we loose touch with Spirit the moment we ‘set foot on earth’. The ‘setting foot’ may be taken quite literally. As long as we are babies, unable to walk or talk and seemingly  unaware of existence, we are still very much in touch with  Spirit World where everything on earth originates from.
It’s when a baby arrives at what is sometimes referred to as  ‘the terribles two’s, the stage of development when a child starts to walk and talk (back) and begins to refer to itself with a version of its given name or starts to use the personal pronoun ‘I’ to identify itself with, that life starts to change. From the budding human being  starts to  develop a will of its own and begins its encounters with  the lessons of life.

According to some esoteric traditions this development from child to young adult, to adult, to middle age and older and old age, takes place in stages of 7 years at a time. As  William Shakespeare phrases it in his play:  ‘As You Like It’ :

All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players
They have their exits and their entrances
And one man in his time plays many parts
His acts being seven ages.

All too often we wonder why we have to go through certain experiences, how come we ‘deserve’ this and that.
One of the rather unnerving answers to this is that without realising it, our own stand in life, the way we behave and view the world around us, is in many ways  the cause of the way it unfolds, even when circumstances seem too unjust, harsh and inhumane to expect to comply with, like so many world citizens are experiencing right now.

Questioning ones own part in the circumstances one finds oneself in while contemplating on the year that passed during winter solstice contemplation can be confrontational, especially when one is inclined to look for who to blame on what went wrong, rather than to look for one’s own accomplishments and what  to be grateful for.
Reviewing imperfections and vulnerabilities however and looking what can be done differently in the year to come is also an act of healing; which is basically what life evolves on.

VII: The Chariot is the  7th card and therewith last card of the row of seven card that characterise the life journey in the material world.

When this card comes your way you may want to review your outlook on life.  What laws do you live by? Do they correspond with what you intuitively know to be true? And before going to sleep focus on wanting to remember your dreams. They tend to reveal aspects of yourself that stay away from daily life experiences.

 to read more on how to practice the winter solstice contemplation ritual click here. 

Click on ‘the Chariot to read more about its meaning
On the right side of this blog you can also draw your own card and see what it summons up from within.

The post VII: The Chariot. appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.

Do you keep a diary on the note worthy moments of insight you gather during your life journey? The intuitions that tell you something is afoot or could be just what you’ve been waiting for? 
The Nan Yar – Who Am I Tarot supports a surprisingly simple method to mirror  the imaginative, intuitive and inspirational inner wisdom that comes natural to you.

What often stays hidden behind the logistics of daily life is known to your personal Storyteller

Let’s look at the 6 of Challenges as an example:

Known in Tarot as the 6 of Swords, the Nan Yar interpretation is titled:  6 of Challenges Vulnerability,

• 6 being the Number of Communication
• Challenges being the suit that asks you to invest in sharpening your mindful senses

In their Nan Yar – Who Am I interpretation – feel free to add whatever the number 6 or theme of mindful development mirrors for you –  the 6 of Challenges refers to the opportunities life brings when you put aside the different masks one tends to wear and reveal your true identity. That might be a daunting prospect at times, but hey …this is the era of transformation and you are the one and only rightful owner of your life journey who can do this for you.

How does vulnerability influence the way I communicate might be a question triggered by this card.

• Do I keep my mouth shut more often than I should to avoid confrontation?
• Do I assert myself peacefully without judgement?
• Where does my way of communicating take me?

As an introduction to the Nan Yar- Who Am I Tarot, I regularly give presentations on how to apply cards as a life journey exploration tool . Click here for more information.

The post The Nan Yar Travel Kit: Vulnerability appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.

Every Tarot card that comes your way, will mirror exactly that which applies to your unique life-journey , as you of all people holds the inner understanding on what your life’s mission is all about.

Do you sometimes wonder how a Tarot card seems to reflect exactly that which applies to what  evolves in your life story?  The answer to this secret is perhaps less mysterious as you might think.  A little courage and honesty towards yourself opens gateways to self reflection that give you total freedom of choice.

 Sample the exploration of your life journey here:  

Did you know that 56 out of the total of 78 cards of the Game of Tarot, are based on the ordinary card game, and that this ‘Minor Arcana’ or  ‘Lesser Arcana’ as it is called, adapted Spades, Clubs, Hearts and Diamonds; using their Number- and Court-cards to give a deeper meaning to daily life experiences?

Starting with a simple playing card has the potential to give you insight in the meaning  behind common or more challenging daily life experiences.

The number one rule when interpreting a card! 
When using ordinary cards – or any oracle for that matter- it is of the utmost importance to refrain from (self) judgment or pre-conceived convictions on who you think you are and allow your True Self be The Storyteller. You are the conductor, musician and instrument of your life-journey. The interpretation you give to what takes place, determines the outcome.

Here’s how to mirror your inner knowing through an ordinary playing card.

• Use a separate piece of paper or start a journal assigned to card interpretations, and note down when, where and optionally why you draw a card. When reflecting on a card later on, remembering the spot on earth where you were when you consulted a card, will help refresh your memory of the experience.

• Shuffle a deck of ordinary cards, draw one and record its Colour (Spades, Clubs, Hearts, Diamonds), Number (1-10)and/or Court characteristics

• Observe the triggers the card holds for you. What is reflected by the combination of Colour and Number or Court card. What does your  inner knowing have to say about it?

• Add your findings to your paper or journal.

For guidance use the Nan Yar – Who Am I Interpretation Overviews below
of the Colours, Number and Court-cards.

Interpretation of the Colours: Spades, Clubs, Hearts, Diamonds

• Spades reflect the Challenges in which you encounter yourself during your Life journey (the invited ánd uninvited ones)

• Clubs reflect the Insights you gain from the Challenges.

• Hearts reflects the Gifts you were freely given along with your birthright.

• Diamonds reflect the earthly Tools that accompany you during your life journey

Interpretation of the Numbers 1-10 (using the Ace as 1) 

1   : Number of Potential  

2   : Number of Diversity, Freedom of Choice

3   : Number of Creativity  

4   : Number of Balance

5   : Number of your Soul Mission, your quest

6   : Number of Communication

7   : Number of What Is, Is Enough; Taking responsibility  over what Is

8   : Number of your Life Journey, Karma, Dao or Tao

9   : Number of Unconditional Love

10:  Number of Unity, Wholeness, Earth as part of the Universe and the Universe as part of Earth.

Interpretation of Jack, Queen and King. 

Jack     : Represents the characteristics of who you are on the physical plane and selects how you juggle your life experiences as Gatekeeper of your journey on earth.

Queen : Represents the Yin Energy, Bodywork, the soft wind of Resilience

King     :Represents the Yang Energy, Breath work, Vigour

***

I regularly give live presentations on how to apply simple playing cards as a life journey exploration tool and introduction to the Nan Yar – Who Am I  

Individual life counseling sessions and Pilgrimcircles,

Next presentation:  Tuesday 20th of February from 16.00 – 18.00 in Scheveningen (The Hague) 

Registration through the contactform open till February 18th.   –   max 16 participants  –  contribution 20 euro.

The post Self reflection with an ordinary card game appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.

Self respect is quite something. To protect boundaries. To dare and say NO. To dare and follow your heart, while logistics and the perspective of others might demand differently

The Yang energy of the King Of Challenges  without a doubt demands respect as well as full awareness on how your own contributions add to the greater good.

Also to respect  other peoples accomplishments or boundaries can be a challenge.

The colour ‘Challenges’ is all about developing the spiritual component, the deep inner knowing of who one is. The King represents the soul of this Yang energy , challenging life happenings.

Questions to ask yourself:

At which moments over the past year did I feel respected? Did I dare to embrace that respect?
At which moments did I pay respect to the accomplishments and opinions of others? Did I do so from my own free will?

 Klik voor verdere uitleg over de Koning van Uitdagingen op de kaart

Hoe je de Nan Yar Wie Ben Ik kaarten gebruikt voor het verwerven van zelfinzicht staat beschreven in:

het 12 heilige nachten ritueel

© afbeelding Juliette Dreyer

The post Wat does ‘embracing the self’ mean to you? appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.

A locksmith came to my house recently. Using his strong grip, my oldest son  had opened the front door from the outside while it was on its safety lock on the inside. Apparently, when you manage to do that, something shifts within the lock, causing the key to stay stuck in the lock unless the lock is turned back to its safety position; all very complicated.

Fortunately the locksmith quickly came to my aid and turned out to be a jovial man with 20 years of experience in his trade.

‘I still love it’ he said answering my question on how he liked his job. ‘Every day is different and I come across the weirdest situations’.

‘Such as…? I dared.

The answer came swiftly. ‘Once a family called me up in total panic.  The door of the room in which a deceased family member had been laid for the wake, kept opening without apparent reason.  That was scary, especially at night, when the door would unexpectedly open, much like in a horror movie.  The solution, the family felt,  was to place a lock on the door, so they could sleep peacefully. So I placed a lock and yes the door stayed put, unless of course they forgot to lock it.’

‘Did you believe it to be a  supernatural occurrence?’

‘Ofcourse not!’ the lockmaker firmly answered. ‘The coffin is placed on a cooling element and it was a small room. It turns cold quickly.. That triggers a difference in air pressure between the hallway and the small room. At a certain point the door will spontaneously succumb to that, especially at night for then the door stays shut the longest and the little room gets cold easiest.

Now some people might find a story like this disrespectful; but when you think about it, it are exactly these mundaine occurences, the weird happenings, that at times make it easier to talk about death or a wake. In western culture people often still keep their distance from death. We don’t really know what to say about it.  In spite of the big steps being made in making dying and mourning more understandable; it is still often viewed with fear and seen as a difficult subject. It was only a short while ago when people in the end of life phase were separated from the living and when relatives processed their grief alone. Religious people were given a sermon, but everyday life gave little opportunity to show feelings or exchange experiences. ‘What was it like for you to witness the end of a life? What experience did it give you?

Stories like the mysterious opening of the door are in fact portals to expressing emotion. The fear, the confusion en in the end the humor, when it turned out to be a natural phenomenon. Then it becomes a family anecdote; ‘Remember when he had just passed away …’? It enables reminiscing; the good memories, the sad but also the funny ones. Death doesn’t always need to be lofty and solemn. It is ….in the end …pardon the pun ….also part of a lifetime in which funny things happen.

The One of Insights

A fitting card with this experience would be the 1 of insights, as an example of becoming aware that what we think we witness, can differ from what is actually happening. We sometimes lead ourselves to believe in ghost stories that turn out to be way different than expected.

Mind you! This goes the other way around as well, when we discard unexplained experiences and give them a ‘perfectly reasonable explanation’ because to witness them is so outside of our comfort zone that we prefer to look the other way.

Whatever way you look at it; nothing has only one explanation. Everyone experiences life differently and is entitled to that.

Click the card for further explanation or draw your own card at the right of this page; and see which mind jab your inner wisdom has in store for you.

The post The Unexpected Explained appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.

Recently I was asked to write about  the effect on the local community of the rising number of people being tested positive

Now the fact in itself that I merely have to mention ‘the number of people being tested positive’ for every one to understand what I am talking about is a testimony in itself.  Regrettably the statement excludes the logical math, that when  more people are being tested, in numbers more people will test positive! It is interesting to note however how statistics fail to show the percentage of people tested positive that actually become ill. Compared to March/April/May 2020 the number of people dying have so far remained low.

Perhaps it is time to remind ourselves of how the way we interpret life, in turn affects the way we feel, which ultimately expresses itself in what happens to us physically. Constantly being bombarded with statements that cause fear, undermines the natural human immune system in itself.

Ever since our hunter and gatherer days and beyond, our human immune system has been equipped with an energy system called triple warmer.  Triple warmer is a defense system .  It activates itself when faced with danger enabling the so called fight, flight or freeze respons. In ancient days this was helpful when for instance meeting a sabertooth tiger or hunting down a mammoth. Triple warmer then made sure the bulk of available energy was directed to arms and legs so one could run or fight or stay as still as possible; all systems alert for defense if necessary.

As soon as the sabertooth had passed however or the mammoth was conquered, triple warmer had a chance to calm down, allowing the body to unwind, relax, release the anxiety, take a break, that way  giving  other energy systems, serving other bodily functions a chance to recharge.

With the modern times we live in now, the occasional sabertooth or food-hunt has transformed itself  into financial struggles,  social division, fear of disease,  polluted environments; global warming as well as additives, sugars and dead calories in our foods . As a result triple warmer remains switched on constantly. As such it keeps on drawing energy constantly from other energy systems serving the heart, bladder, gallbladder, lungs and digestive system; (which explains why people have an increased need to go to the toilet when in fear) Eventually, this constant deprivation of energy opens the door to illness in the other systems. As such triple warmer being on the alert all the time causes reactions undermining rather than supporting the immune system

So… maybe it’s time to rethink how to stay safe and stay healthy; see how triple warmer can be put at ease rather than respond to the broadcasts of the number of people being tested positive.

To ease anxiety….you rock

An amazing yet effective movement to ease fear, most likely used since ancient times and still used to this day at least on babies and toddlers, is rocking. Moving the body back and forth or from side to side has a very comforting effect on the flight, fight or freeze response. Interestingly enough the body in its natural wisdom is in the habit of wrapping its arms around itself while rocking in a gesture of self consolation. By doing so the hands ‘by chance’ end up covering liver and liver acupressure points on the right side of the body, as well as spleen acupressure points on left side of the body, both at the height of the bra line at the flanks of the lower ribcage.
Both organs play an important part in recharging the energy of the body (spleen) and letting go of toxins that accumulate under stress (liver).
Just wrap your arms around your upper body and see where they end up.

Another way is to place the palm of the right hand over the left side of the lower rib cage while cupping the right elbow with the left hand. By doing so the right hand again covers spleen acupressure points , while the left hand covers two very important triple warmer acupressure points that ease anxiety.
After a while, switch hands, placing the left hand over the liver, while cupping the left elbow with the right hand, thus again covering triple warmer acupressure points 10 and 11 at the back of the elbow, this time on the other side.

Nourishing foods .

One of the silent killers these days are our eating patterns, causing diabetes and fatty arteries. Strangely enough a lot of what can be bought in supermarkets (on offer) has little nutritional value. Due to overproduction, the use of artificial stimulants and genetic manipulation many fruits and vegetables contain far less nutrients than they used to in the days when we would farm our own greens and meats or at least derive our foods from local farms.
Make sure the vegetables and herbs you buy are fresh and recently harvested. The longer foods are stored, the less nutrients they contain.  Fortunately the trend to work with organic products is rising, thus diminishing the intake of toxins like pesticides and artificial additives.

Stay in touch with nature.

A walk among the trees or along the shoreline is a natural anxiety cure. Nature is filled with positive vibes and will radiate comforting energy in tune with all seasons. Moving the body in these energies stimulates all energy systems in the body. Ever notice how you take a deep breath when something stressful is finally over? The outside air does that for you automatically when you go for a hike in nature.

Stay in touch with yourself

With all the headlines, breaking news, hourly news and thousands of commercial impulses fired away globally each waking moment of the day, the world’s population is drowning in programmed expectations, mostly serving more of Lord Economy’s needs than human requirements. Meanwhile we tend to forget what really matters. Do I really want to eat what is on offer? Do I really want to wear what is in fashion? Why am I binge watching entertainment? What else could I do with that time?
I sometimes can be homesick for the 18th century, when life started at dawn and eased at sunset; when people ate what was in season and available; when time flew by organically organic rather than ruled by a watch.

When you start to think creatively about these things, the number of people infected will have less of a hold over you.

October 2020,

Ingrid Schippers

Click the card for more information,
or draw your own card at the right side of this blog
and see what it triggers in your subconscious

The post Stay Safe, Stay Healthy appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.

Have you ever noticed how commercials on body creams that supposedly make your skin soft and vibrant, always portray skinny women in their thirties? The ones with straight white teeth and not a zit in sight. It is never a menopausal woman with visibly dry skin, excess facial hair and the infamous 10 kilo overweight build up during mid life transformation.

For men, it is the straight jawline; the kind of hunk  most women swoon for, who advertises the razorblades.
The absolute winner I once saw was a highway billboard advertising “The Car That Will Make Your Boss Notice You In When You Drive It To Work”

Don’t get me wrong. I understand companies need to sell their products and how they would not sell a thing when they add pictures of poverty stricken people to their advertisements.  What I object to however is the enormous gap unaccounted for; the gap between real life and what we are made to believe is real and taught we should strive for.

It makes the world a lonely place for many, when what we are made to believe is real, actually does not exist.
A bigger percentage of the population is not skinny And I don’t know about where you live, but where I live clean shaven hunks with a straight jawline are scarce and I happen to live in one of the most densely populated areas of the world. An area also where many could impossibly afford a “Car Their Boss Would Notice Them In When They Would Drive It To Work.” An area of social housing, with many
women struggling financially, unable to pay tuition fees or clothes for their children because their ex-husbands wont pay alimony. It makes their skin very non-vibrant, even when they are in their thirties and skinny.

Money and its Lord Economy has become sole ruler and global religion of our life styles. What ever happened to the concept of inner values? The ones not advertised on television. What ever happened to the concept of inner knowledge? the commodity not expressed in currency?

The Magician card number in the Nan Yar- Who Am I Personal development game, invites you to pierce through the veil of illusion  and mirror your own inner knowledge on what it has to say.  It invites you to observe how you are tricked into believing you need the same body cream as the woman in her thirties with the straight white teeth and flawless skin; or a certain brand of razorblades will make you look like a hunk with a perfect jawline (no offense meant by the way if that is in fact what you look like).

To read more click the card.

Ingrid Schippers

September 2020

The post Reality versus Make Belief appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.

The very first time ever I participated in a Yoga class, I had the surprising experience of ‘recognizing’ the postures and stretches we were shown to do.

“Maybe you were a yogi in a past life” my inner voice joked.

My rational mind however disagreed. In fact what it recognized – even though perhaps not immediately at the time – was that my body has its own lexicon of wisdom with its own tools and own ways of coaching me into my best performance .  The natural mechanisms of our bodies to support us come so natural, we sometimes fail to validate them.

Before studying Yoga and later Energy Medicine it eluded me for the most part that when I put my hand on my painful stomach I am actually using the energy from the palms of my hands to sooth the fire! Or that when I stretch my body after waking up or having sat bend over my laptop for a long time, this is an automated response of my body to prepare itself to be set in motion again; much like a lioness stretching herself and having a good big yawn before going in for the kill.

Now of course Yoga and Energy Medicine, which are similar in many ways, stem from a time period in human evolution when people
were still in a close relationship with their bodies.  They had to! They needed their bodies every moment of the day. Should anything happen to their main tool on earth; the whole basis of their survival would break down!

That’s why creation installed the software of body knowledge, which operates more or less independently from the rational mind. Creation made sure the body knows how to breath, behave and adjust itself to the needs and activities of its rightful owner.  It makes sure that when the pace of life is increased, it knows how to meet the oxygen supply and energy flow. It also knows how to slow down, decrease its activity, give it a rest,  in moments in relaxation.

The main problem in modern day time is that while the human body has more or less stayed the same; the world around us has changed dramatically. We hardly recognize anymore how supportive our bodies are on our personal journeys. For cures we often reach out for chemical relief, rather than looking within to see what our bodies have to say about our behaviors.   A headache is conquered with an painkiller; clogged arteries with blood thinners; inflammations with anti inflammatories. Meanwhile  our bodies are silenced, disabled even to mobilize their own best performance.

Something to think about perhaps next time your body tells you it’s time to take a break….

Click the card to read more on its explanation or draw your own card on the right of this blog and see what it triggers from your inner knowing.

Meanwhile; have a great day and don’t forget to have an understanding talk with your body,

October 2020, Ingrid Schippers

The post The Body Language of Energy appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.

Spoken version ‘Modern Times'; a 4 minute 35 seconds listen to

Modern Times

Last week I had to drop off something in Benoordenout, an area of The Hague, where I used to live in my married days. Our children, who are now all in their twenties, spent a big portion of their childhood there, going to school, playing their field hockey games, celebrating their birthdays

The particular area I was revisiting holds a small old fashioned shopping mall.  My children spent many a queen’s day there displaying their old puzzles and toys for 50 cents a piece on the free-market.  It was a funny sort of déja vu to be back. I recognized some familiar neighbourhood faces. They’d grown quite a bit older; serving as a mirror for how my own life had gone fast forward.

But there was another group of people too; a younger generation of people mirroring exactly what I used to do 10 – 15 years ago. They were shopping. It was almost as if they were acting out the old days for me. It was weird to see them coming up the escalator of the supermarket, which runs past the street window of the shop, so while standing outside one can see the people being rolled up from the basement to the first floor.I observed them standing behind their shopping carts, neatly separated by 1.5 meters, rolling up the gradient.

The sight reminded me of a conveyer belt. It seemed like the basement area was producing consumers, shipping them towards the till on the first floor. All customers had a  same sort of dis-engaged expression on their faces and they all sort of leaned against their shopping carts, looking around at nothing in particular, waiting to arrive at their destination.

‘Did I do that too?’ I wondered. Was that me 15 years ago? Shopping for family dinners and school lunch-boxes? Did I stand leaning against my shopping cart like that? Was I looking around me at basically nothing waiting to be escalated upstairs? How many times had I stood there in line? How many hours had I spent organizing what I needed to organize in order to get through to the next moment organized? In fact how much of my lifetime have I effectively spent till this very moment, waiting in lines to get to my next point of call, simply killing time as I am waiting;  getting the logistics right, rather than taking in new life experiences.

The image of Charley Chaplin at the conveyer belt in his movie Modern Times comes to my minds eye, going through the same motion every time again, trying to keep up with the pace of production; a job without apparent purpose other than tightening something onto something else, which is part of something bigger that needs to be produced, sold and used.

Do you ever wonder; how much time of your life is taken by treadmills of the system; the wheels of logistics?

The reason I chose the Nan Yar Who Am I interpretation of the Hanged Man to go with this blog, is because he sees the world from a different angle. He in fact goes through the trials and tribulations to gain more experience, rather than stay in line with the logistics of life. We seem to be doing a lot of leaning against our shopping carts, oblivious to what goes on in the rest of the world except when it also concerns us.

Card number XII, The Hanged Man, the card in between the card of The Force (XI) and Transformation (XIII), is part of the second row of 7 cards, depicting the Journey of the Soul while its owner is busy with the logistics of life on earth. The soul does see matters differently; it’s just that we do not always feel it tap on our shoulder…..

Click the card(s) to read more on the meaning….

Ingrid Schippers
22 September 2020

The post Modern Times appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.

Friday December 13th, 2019, will probably go down as one of the worst days of modern history, except perhaps for November 8, 2016.

When you’re oblivious to what I am referring to, consider yourself blessed. It means you still believe in a better world; and I simply have to agree. For survival’s sake, I have to believe that what is happening in the world right now is only the darkest hour before dawn; appropriately staged during the darkest days of the year 2019.

I have to believe the tide will turn after the winter solstice around December 21st and that humanity will witness the beginnings of change in 2020. I have to believe that what is happening now, are merely the last convulsions of an old system dying.

The problem humanity has right now, is the grip of greed, ignorance and material blindness. Apparently that’s what it takes to wake up ‘civilization'; lessons to teach the importance of seeing the good in one and other rather than the bad; the comprehension we need to dare to care for one and other rather than live off each other; the understanding that what happens to others happens to us all.

The mindset of the world today seems strangely estranged from reality. I read somewhere the other day how media headlines are designed to be negative so people are attracted to them. People seem very attracted to other people’s misery. Good news is mostly ignored. It says a lot about the state of the human collective. It also reminds me of what the American New Age teacher Wayne Dyer said about how people should use the last minutes before sleep to think about the good things they witnessed; the happenings they are grateful, rather than what many habitually do, which is mope about what lacks in their life.

I often wonder what my grandmother; who was born in 1906 and passed away in 1985, would think when she could return for one single day to December 2019. She lived through two world wars; one as a child; one as a single mother. I think she’d be absolutely shocked about today’s world; unable to comprehend what she is seeing; like so many of us in this day and age.  We seem to constantly oppose each other on a global, national but also personal level; blinded by manipulative media and politics serving the needs of the already privileged (material-wealth-wise that is).

I refuse however to give in to the doom and gloom.  The year to come might provide plenty of Challenges; yet my plea  is to use the Gift every single human being has been given at birth; which is to see and trust the good in one and other, using the power of a mindful heart as a Tool. It’s high time for the Frodo’s of this world to toss the ring into Mount Doom….or was it the creature Gollum who destroyed itself through its own greed? Interesting food for thought.

The card I’ve chosen to go with today’s text, is ‘The World'; the last card of all Archetypal cards, enveloping the 3 worlds that play a part in our lives

• Cards 1-7: The Physical World; our ways of life on earth, represented by 7 Archetypes and all tools and accessories that come with it
• Cards 8-14: The Journey of The Soul during life on Earth: our subconscious knowing; the inner guide that taps on our shoulder every now and again and whispers in our mind’s ear on which way to go next; again with the 7 Archetypes that represent this path.
• Cards 15-21: The Spiritual World: reflecting “All of Everything” all worlds combined, also represented in  7 Archetypes .

We’re often unaware of the World of the Journey of the Soul and the Spiritual World taking part in our lives. Perhaps they do so even more than the  often illusionary Physical World. Yet the simple gesture of thoughtful attendance already has the potential to bring you closer; becoming aware there is more to world than the one we operate in.

With all that being said I wish you a content and insightful December solstice and equally inspiring Christmas and New Year to come.

Ingrid Schippers, December 17 2019

To read more click the card or draw your own card at the righthand side of this page to see what it has to mirror for you.

The post My Precious appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.

Audio recording of the abridged version of  3 Tools for Self Care, as broadcasted in the radioprogram for internationals ‘Dutchbuzz’  of June 4th 2019 on Den Haag FM, 9.00 pm

3 tools for self care – a 3 minute listen.

How often are you aware of the fact that it is easier to observe others than to have a closer look at yourself?

Knowing that each and every unique individual is here on earth to explore its own path, you would think humans should be more inclined to mind their own business rather than observe others; but fact is we spend more time evaluating what other people do; than that we do taking a good look at ourselves.

3 practical ways to observe oneself more closely, and subsequently improve the success rate of things happening in our own lives, is to simply observe the way you breath, walk and talk. Most of the time we perform these daily mechanisms automatically; with our bodies rhythms adjusting themselves to the urgency of what we think or feel we need to do. It can be a real a thrill however to take these habitual patterns a step further and explore the treasure chest of information they hold.

Rather than pursuing the big things; like the ideal of perfect happiness or following the latest trends, it can be surprisingly accommodating and most of all comforting to take time out every now and then to simply observe your own habits and rhythms.  Becoming aware of them, supplies loads of useful information on how you are doing .

Whenever I catch myself breathing a bit higher up in the chest for instance;  I become aware I must be more tense or hurried than I realized. By consciously relaxing my abdomen, I invite my breath down, at the same time create space for my chi point, my energy source; making my breathing  more effective, generating more energy as a result.

Especially when I have been over-active or under pressure for a while for whatever reason; I forget to step out of go-getters mode once it is all over. The other day I caught myself walking rather quick and uptight. I’d had a busy week with loads of appointments close together; but that particular day my agenda was blissfully blank. All I had done was take my car to the garage in the morning. As it was a nice sunny day I had decided to walk back. While walking I happened to notice my shoulders were much higher up than they needed to be. I purposely brought my awareness to the soles of my feet and experienced I was walking hastily. By consciously relaxing my pace I began to feel more connected to the earth. As a result I relaxed into an easier going rhythm with my shoulders lowering themselves automatically ‘without further ado’ as Shakespeare would say.

Another tool I find helpful in observing my own behavior is to listen to myself talk. When I catch myself talking louder, faster or using more words than necessary; this might indicate I am feeling apologetic, or still need to convince myself of what I am talking about.

All in all what I’m trying to say is that  ‘looking after yourself’ might well be taken literally.  We can be so caught in the rhythm of jumping out of bed in the mornings and get going that we forget to give ourselves the gift of taking our own time; being nice and gentler to ourselves and therewith much more productive.

The card that goes with this is the 4 of challenges.

Challenges because they have everything to do with the development of the I-consciousness

The number 4 because even though 4 is a balanced number; it’s strictness can keep us in certain patterns that in turn keep us from taking better care of ourselves. “There is more to explore after the 4.” The 5,6,7,8,9 and 10 are waiting to be explored.

Patterns and habits  can be changed. All one needs to do is take the first step; becoming aware and have the rest follow its own course. Your body has more brains than you might think and is there to support you; it means well.   Simply take a moment to observe.

The Chemistry of Change can do amazing things to your daily life.

Wishing you lots of self-observant quality time,

Ingrid Schippers

The post 3 Tools for Self Care appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.

Audio recording  ‘Who else could have done it?” as broadcasted in the radioprogram for internationals ‘Dutchbuzz’ of May 28  9 pm on Den Haag FM.

Suddenly I see… a 3 minute listen

There are those moments in life where suddenly, while I’m right in the middle of doing something daily-life-like; in between the hustle and bustle of  all the things I feel I need to do and need to get; that the world directly around me seems to fade out and goes into slow-motion just like in the movies. I’m standing in a bubble looking out and see, with harsh clarity, something I had not noticed or realized before.

It happened to me last week as I stood in line at the cash register of a discount drugstore; where loads of things are for sale for less or 3 for the price of 2 or get-one-get-one-free. Everything was beckoning me to buy. It was screaming in my face I had to do it NOW; for it would be for my own good and in my own interest. The products without exception promised me I would profit if I bought them.

At the same time I also noticed how all the products within my range of vision were packed in plastic bottles, tubes or other form of environment unfriendly pollutants.  Without warning my minds eye started to picture the mountain of tossed-away packaging of only this shop alone. Then my mind expanded on the fact that this shop I was standing in, was only one of hundreds of other shops operating under the same franchise; and that in turn this franchise was only one of the hundreds of other franchises selling the same sort of products; of which all the useless packaging would all end up on our societies’ big piles of waste.

I also realized a roughly estimated 90 % of all the products within my eye’s reach were products I do not necessarily need . Perfumes; body glitter, make up,  plastic purple heart- shaped sunglasses, sugared drinks with colorings in them; candy in all sorts and sizes next to weight loss powders; scented candles in green plastic frogs with an open back; plastic flip-flops with plastic daisy ornaments;  all gathered within reach around  a 3 meter radius of the cash register

I had to think of the short time span these products will have; consumed, tossed out or forgotten within days if not hours. How did we let it come this
far? How did we grow to be people who soil their precious habitat and keep on polluting it with the proficiency of ants working their colony, except that ants don’t pollute or ruin the environment their next generations have to live in. And at least ants only use what they need and give back by being scavengers rather than consumers and serve as a nutritious part of the food chain; while most humans have Monsanto to poison them.

Is it just me? Or is it something to notice next time  you stand in line at the discount drug store; and  then maybe just buy what you need and what is good for you?

The card that goes with this is without a doubt Temperance; the card that closes the line reflecting the journey of the soul. Our Souls are not dependent on the matter we buy and consume to identify ourselves with. The Angel on the Temperance card only uses wat It needs and gives back just as much; in perfect balance with the powers that be. It doesn’t abuse and doesn’t sell Itself for no good reason.

To read more, click the card

Wishing you insight and contentment with what comes your way,

Ingrid

The post Suddenly I see appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.