a 3 minute and 16 seconds listen to.

Are you truly living life on your own terms?
Or are your choices shaped by habits, trends, and outside influences? Do you follow your own preferences,  buy only what you truly need, eat what genuinely nourishes you? In short: are you truly living the life you choose?

Take a quiet moment and ask yourself who’s really in charge of your life. Grab a pen and write down the first three things you bought, shared, or forwarded lately. Were they your own choices ? Or were they triggered by social media, the news, netflix or a stand up comedian?

Opinions vary of course , but it’s commonly said that we consciously choose only about 5% of our daily actions. The rest? Patterns  and likes we’ve picked up along the way.

In energy medicine, this is called “the habit field”: the things you tend to do; the route you usually take home, the train you always take, the food that is on offer at the supermarket, the clothes that are in season , the (Black Friday) sales you follow; most of it shaped by outside forces—marketeers, trends, influencers (a word I frankly dislike), and societal norms, rather than wat your inner self has to say about it.

Now imagine this: you get a full year away from it all. No ads, no social media, no breaking news, no latest must-haves. Just real, uninterrupted time. What would you do with it?

I don’t mean to sound dramatic, but people who go through a personal crisis often find themselves in exactly that situation, without ever asking for it. And when they look back on this life intervention you’ll ’ll  often hear them say it was a turning point, a wake-up call that made them aware of what truly matters.

So, let’s say you got that clean slate, regardless of your current circumstances. What would you leave behind in your old life? And what would you choose to bring with you in the new?

That question lies at the heart of the Lifestyle Vision Quest I’ll be hosting next Tuesday, the 20th, at the Natural Health Centre in Scheveningen. It’s part of what I call a Pilgrim Circle: a small group of no more than 12 people from all walks of life, coming together to reflect, share, and explore life’s choices in a deeper way.

If that resonates with you as k your search engine to look up thehague-naturalhealthcentre.com , click on the Events page and register for the Lifestyle Vision Quest.

And until then—each time before you go to sleep—ask yourself this:

What choice did my inner me make today that stepped outside the box of habit and expectation?

wishing you a day filled with possibilities,

Ingrid Schippers for Dutchbuzz, the radioprogram for internationals in and around The Hague

The post What to leave behind and what to bring along appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.

Do you still have old diaries ? When you re-read these records of your life story, do you recognise yourself in what you wrote down maybe decades ago?  I find old journals can hold surprising revelations, describing life lessons that had yet to reach their full potential at the time they were recorded, yet already sort of glimmered at the horizon of conscious awareness with thoughts and feelings that years later start to make sense.

Journaling I find, is like talking to a life coach, but then that life coach is you, yourself . It’s a process. While writing, I find my way through, forests, fields, seas and mountain ranges of words and sentences until at some point I find myself ‘out of the woods’ or ”on top of the world’, rescued from my sea of troubles.

Journaling is a very important part of the ritual of mid-winter contemplation. It’s a way of talking to oneself through writing. Giving titles to the dreams one has, helps to  become more aware of their meaning. Words and sentences are like magic in that sense.  They hold the ability to transport thoughts, feelings and intentions to higher levels of understanding

The gift of expressing oneself – either through painting, sculpting, dance,  song, sound or any other form of art  is a precious human trait and certainly there for a reason, going as far back as the times when humanity as we know it today was still in it’s early stages.  Art may well be among the oldest tricks in town to get in touch with the true essence of who one is.

The first written expressions ever found date back to roughly 3400 years B.C.  within Sumerian civilisation, a relatively short amount of time on the scale of human history.

In our present day and age, writing, using language is the main source awareness. Even more so it often supersedes, intuition or inspiration. But just like midwinter contemplation originates from ancient ways of looking at life, the written word also contains deeper meaning. Words have Soul and Spirit. The way we use them tells a lot about who we are.

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

  On the right side of this blog you can also draw your own card and see what it summons up from within.

The post 6 of Tools: Journaling appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.

The Tarot of Marseille  the Nan Yar Who Am I cards are based on, depicts card number V as The Pope.
Seeing the Marseille Tarot came into the world at the end of medieval times, when the pope in Western Culture had been regarded as the representative of God on earth for more than a thousand years, the interpretation of this  Archetype as the spiritual aspect of life on earth makes sense.

As the interpretation of the Tarot changes throughout the ages; depending on the stage a culture is in and many other religious beliefs have found their way into the western world, we can nowadays see card number V: The Pope, as a representative of a more widely ranged set of spiritual components embedded in the way we look at life on the western material plane.

For some this will imply they begin to acknowledge a divine presence within themselves, while others will refer to the belief system they recognise themselves in, whether that’s Buddhism, Hinduism, Paganism, Humanism, Gnosticism or any other belief system that represents the way one thinks and feels about the existial basics of life..

When this card comes your way, you might want to contemplate on questions outside the logistics of life, such as : Why Am I here? What is my purpose in life? What gives my life meaning? Or the biggest biggie of  the Western World since the first recorded ‘Know Thyself ‘ inscription on the temple of Apollo in ancient Delphi, indicated people started to wonder about themselves: Who am I?

And of course…what better place to explore ones spiritual components than in ones dreamworld?

V: The Pope, is the 5th card of the 22 Archetypes of the Major Arcana, also known as the Bigger Secret. These 22 cards are divided in a so called Nil-card – without a number – and 3 rows of 7 cards. In total this makes 22 cards of which 21 are divided in 3 layers:

• The first row of 7 , cards I – VII characterises the life traveller on the Material World.
• The second row of 7 cards VIII- XIV characterises the Soul Journey of the life traveller
• The third row of 7 cards reflect the Spiritual Facets the life traveller is gifted at the birth and remain part of the Eternal Journey – including the present life on earth, regardless whether the life traveller is aware of this.

Looking at these 3 categories, the archetype of the Pope, the 5th card (out of 7) characterises the life traveller in the material world.

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

 Click on The Pope  to read more on 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 V: The Pope appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.

While the numerology of the number 4 is all about balance, as written on the 4 of Insights card, it can also be a bit limiting, like is stated on the 4 of  Challenges when set patterns get the better of us; or even boring to an a certain extent, when we start doing things automatically without thinking, like described on the 4 of Gifts.

When practiced as the art of observation however, as described on the 4 of Tools it can lead to a very balanced outlook on life. Like with all other  numbers, the number 4 is open to many different interpretations.

What do you associate the  number  4 with? What role does it play in your daily life? Does it ever occur in your dreams?

Suppose the 4 of insights was your inspiration card for this 4th night of the midwinter contemplation; what would it mirror for you?

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

 Draw your own card on the right side of this blog and see what it summons up from within you.

 To read more on its meaning, the 4 of Insights.

The post 4 of Insights: Balance appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.

The third card of the 12 day challenge of the winter solstice contemplation, explains a bit more about the 3 of Tools:  a cord of the minor arcana, also known as the lesser secret, that mirror your stand in daily life.

While the 22 cards of the major arcana – also known as the bigger secret- mirror the universal human characteristics each and everyone is born with; the minor arcana depicts how these characteristics are applied by each an everyone of us in a unique way in daily life. There are as many unique applications, as there are over  8 billion people in this world today.

With 3, as the number of creation and Tools as the suit of 14 cards that depict the worldly tools at our disposal to explore the material world, the 3 of Tools, with ‘dreams’ as its key word, plays an important part during the winter solstice contemplations.

Next to asking yourself what this card reflects in relation to your  explorations in daily life. the 3 of Tools also reminds you to explore your dreams to see what messages they might bring from the spiritual world or even your own deeper knowing.

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

Of course you can also draw your own card on the right side of this blog and see what it summons up from within.

 To read more on its meaning, click the 3 of Tools.

The post 3 of Tools: Dreams appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.

The Popess, the card carrying the roman numeral II, is all about the wisdom we all carry within as life-travellers on earth. She comes right after card I: the Illusionist. While the Illusionist can still paint a different picture diverting things from what they really are, the inner wisdom wisdom card characterised by the archetype of the Popess signifies what we know to be true deep down inside. Our intuition – no mattere how doubtful one is  at times about its properties – is hardly ever wrong.

The Popess is card number II  of  the row of 7 cards that are all related to the material plane. Within that physical reality she mirrors the characteristics of inner knowing and is closely connected to the realms of our dreamworlds.

Suppose this were your card to reflect on and take with you in your dreams.; what would it summon up for you?

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

Of course you can also draw your own card on the right side of this blog and see what it summons up from within.

 Click on  the card of the pope’s to read more on its meaning.

The post II: The Popess, Inner Wisdom appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.

What does the word potential summon up for you when you look back at 2024? Which Challenges came your way? Did they come for a reason? What did they have to tell you? How did you respond ? Which position did you take? What change did they encompass?

Yesterday, December 21st, I chose my first Nan Yar card in a series of 12 in the coming days, to contemplate on the experiences that came my way in 2024. By doing so I follow  a midwinter ritual originating from ancient times, when people were still highly connected to the natural world and abided by a  354-day moon calendar rather than a solar year 0f 365 (and a bit) days, leaving 12 days unaccounted for.

The card that I chose,  1 of Challenges , reminds me of my birthright to create my own life story.

Taking this awareness with me into sleep during the first winter solstice night resulted in a vivid dream in which I moved into a new spacious house with lots of windows with different views and lots and lots of bookcases filled with books. Also many people were helping me with this big move which made me feel supported and safe. What if this were your dream? What would it tell you?

The colour ‘Challenges’  (swords in the Tarot) in the Nan Yar interpretation is all about the development of the I-consciousness, the higher Self or spiritual part we all carry within, regardless of beliefs.

The number 1  in the Nan Yar interpretation is seen as the number of Potential.

Suppose this were your card to reflect on and take with you in your dreams.; what would it summon up for you?

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

and the cosmic phenomenon that lies at the root it.

And of course you can also draw your own card on the right side of this blog and see what it reflects for you

 Click on  the card to read more about the 1 of challenges.

To an insightful midwinter contemplation

Ingrid

The post 1 of Challenges: Potential appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.

Attachment to outcome, a true story on self-fullflilling prophesy, a 3 minutes and 3 second listen to

I once heard a story that came from a 200 year old little booklet , holding records of  real life court cases from the 18th century. The particular story I am going to tell you about, always stayed with me as it so pointedly shows how following predictions made by others – rather than your own sound judgement and free will –  can become an awkward self fulfilling prophesy.

Here’s how it goes:

Somewhere in the seventeen hundreds a young man of reasonable wealthy means goes to a fortuneteller. The fortuneteller tells him his life will be full of pleasures and he will never lack money; however ,….he will die at the age of 32.

Now remember this is a true story based on a true court case.

At first the young man is a little taken aback by the prediction he will die in his early thirties, but according to the court case records, he decides to make the best of the years he has left. Bearing the fortunetellers prediction in mind; he decides to thoroughly enjoy and indulge himself the pleasures of life. And so he does indeed. But then he turns 32 in excellent state of health. No one has challenged him to a duel; all around him everything seems peaceful and quiet; except for the fact he is in severe debt.

Thinking he was  only to live to be 32 years of age the young man spent all his resources And since spending all his own money went a bit quicker than he expected; he also borrowed quite substantial amounts from others; knowing….or should I say thinking….death would be his ally in escaping his debts.

Here’s where the court case comes in. The young man was arrested and imprisoned. In the court case records he explains his misadventures.

The morale of this story it seems to me is to never be guided by what others predict will happen to you, as that has potentially disastrous consequences. Follow your own gut feeling instead, rather than be lured into the temptation that promises you miracles. We all get our challenges, in spite of what other people predict will happen.

The 18th century court case story reminds me a little of our 21st century commercials; where we are promised flawless lives as long as we use the products advertised. Just as with the  young man; they are only temptations that will make you spend your money, rather than invest your own sound judgment.

O and by the way, the prediction came through all the way. After using his lifetime to spend all his money; the young man died at the age of 32; in prison. He hung himself.

The card that goes with this is card number XVI The Tower. People often shy away from this card as in our material world it seems to depict doom and failure; having to give up the riches in life and the hopes of Fate. One of these I will…..

Looked upon from a spiritual point of view however this card from the third row of 7 cards mirroring the prerogatives of the spiritual world; is about letting go of old convictions and patterns that hamper your true destiny in life.  “Come out of the ivory tower” so to speak

To learn more about its meaning, click the card.

The abridged version of this blog, as published below, was written and recorded for ‘Dutchbuzz’, the radioprogram for Internationals on The Hague FM, every Tuesday evening in season from 8 till 9 p.m.

The post Attachment to Outcome appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.

Throughout the ages, all the way to this very day and age; certain life-stories have proven themselves capable of capturing people’s imagination. Some, like Alexander the Great, were born centuries ago, Some are mythical or legendary figures like Odysseus or King Arthur. Others appear in literary works; Hamlet,Scrooge or Bilbo Baggins. Even in modern day movies know to enthrall their audiences by portraying the quest of Luke Skywalker in Star Wars; Simba in the Lion King; and an impressive number of captains of the Starship Enterprise who go to worlds no man has gone before.

Apparently these characters fill in a desire that exists within modern day civilization. A desire to find answers to some of the biggest questions in life:

Who Am I ?

and

Why am I here?

Especially in this day and age these questions have become more and more important. Only a century ago people were thinking the way their Kings their Queens or their Church wanted them to think. Their ruler’s quest was their quest These days an increasing number of people are looking for their own purpose in life. They value their own thoughts; their own feelings, their own grail; their own meaning of life. The world as it is today is transcending from being followers to individuals, which is causing a lot of turmoil with the people in power who want to stick to the old ways and keep their peoples in check.

I find many people today have a lot in common with the legendary hero’s of the past. Taking a closer look at some of their life stories, I see

• None of them have an easy lifetime.
• All heros travel from the known into the unknown; none of them know what awaits at the other end of the tunnel.
• They all initially resist their apparent fate; yet they all end up following their heart.
• They all have to fight and overcome controversy barring their path in the outside world
• They all struggle with inners demons of their own.
• They are all at some point helped by forces outside of them and have teachers and helpers stepping in when they are about to toss the towel into the ring.
• They all undergo a form of transformation without attachment to outcome
• And in the end, they all accept their fate; embrace the controversy as their teacher and friend and some ….;
• Even forgive their torturers for the pain they inflicted.
• And finally…all Heros find salvation and return back home.

When you look at the stories of all times through this lens; you’ll find they mirror the basic aspects of your own life; unless you desire to stay put and flick through the television channels; binging on the demons of modern day; the series and computergames; where perhaps you can follow the Hero’s journey of others, but certainly escape your own.

The card that goes with this, is without the shadow of a doubt The Storyteller. The ‘fool’ free from prejudice or preconceived convictions. The Hero traveling past the Archetypes
Numbers and Suits of its lifetime, mirroring its Challenges, Insights, Gifts and Tools in the storylines life provides. It’s up to the unknowing ‘Fool” to set himself in motion and as the Storyteller of its own life, write the narrative without attachment to outcome.

To experience your own groundbreaking transformation and enlightenment, put your knapsack over your shoulder; wake up the Hero within and go do your thing….

Wishing you safe Travels

Ingrid

The abridged version of this blog is broadcasted September 10 2019 on Dutchbuzz ; the radio program for internationals on The Hague FM, every Tuesday in Season, from 8 till 9 pm.

3 minute and 4 seconds abridged Dutchbuzz version of ‘What We All Have in Common and Makes Us Unique’

The post What We All Have in Common appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.

Don’t Offer the Good Biscuits; Abridged version of the spoken end-of-the-program-blog of June 11 2019 for Dutchbuzz; the radio broadcast for Internationals on The Hague FM, every Tuesday from 9-10 when in season.

a 3 minute listen to.

In the world around me I see a lot of angry people. Angry at their governments for taking down perfectly healthy trees to feed the bio mass ovens. Angry about animals in the bio-industry being maltreated. Angry at the present president of the United States, – the one whose name we do not mention.  Angry at multinationals being exempt from paying taxes; while other workers- who earn far less than multinational CEO’s –  are being mauled between the millstones of the Dutch tax system.

And all of this is true! All angry people have every right to be! There is loads of injustice in the world! There are a great many inconsistencies in how things are divided. It is true people who pay mandatory health care premiums die or remain ill because the Dutch healthcare system denies them the care they are entitled to. And again the CEO’s of these insurance companies have million plus yearly salaries. Why? Because they are good at squeezing money out of the system they are part of; rather than good for the people they should be serving. It is all true! And yes the present president of the United States is a blatant liar and totally unfit to rule that office. Future historians and investigators will find he committed more than the just now visible crimes against humanity to serve his own interest and that of the billionaire people in his vicinity; the rich who apparently never have enough.

There’s also local injustice. Politicians lying through their teeth during election-time. Deals behind closed doors. Decisions by civil servants ruining other peoples lives; simply because they can.  All of that happening in your own city; a place where one would expect things to be just; a place that should  be just.

The thing though about targeting the negative is that it tends to take up the place of the positive.  Of course one should object against injustice. Beware however of getting stuck. Remember to also pay attention to the things going right. It is much healthier to put the main focus on the good things of life.   Positivity preserves and multiplies the radiant energies. Put the bad happenings in perspective by approaching them with a good sense of humor like the sign someone held up during the recent state visit in England of you know who;  saying : ‘Dear Queen, don’t offer him the good biscuits’

When we emanate the negative; we attract the negative.  Emanate the positive and attract the positive. This Universal law applies to everything.

So my humble take on this is:

• Humor the negative things
• Understand the Injustice without allowing it to take you Hostage
• Make the Difference
• Be The Change
• Live to Be Grateful
• Evolve into a life changing human being

While there are plenty of Nan Yar-Who Am I cards that fit the bill connected to the subject of replacing the negative with the positive (basically all cards really) I ‘happened’ (do these things really happen by accident?) to bump into a lovely practice presented by Prune Harris; one of the teachers I highly value in Energy Medicine.

This 7 minute meditation helps release emotions that no longer serve you

Wishing you loads of positive vibes and energy

Ingrid

The post Don’t Offer the Good Biscuits appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.

What do we teach our children when we offer them plastic hair-dye toy horses in advance of a ceremony commemorating the people that perished in the second war?

I was thinking that when I was watching television on the evening of May fourth just before 8 pm, waiting for the annual broadcast of the ceremony on the Dam in Amsterdam to start, honoring the people that died as a result of the atrocities of the second world war. Advancing the program was a block of commercials. Normally I avoid advertising like the plague. I find it extremely disturbing to observe how many hours a day people spend watching or listening to commercials and in fact literally and figuratively ‘buy’ what they have to offer, exposing themselves in a Pavlov response; drooling over products they would never have thought of buying or even knew they needed.

So also here, 5 minutes before the WW 2 commemoration ceremony was about to start I found myself watching plastic toy horses that could be groomed into different hair colors, with the girls (of course you would not show a boy doing this, would you now commercial maker) dressed up in hair-do’s using the same sort of dye. What are we telling these children? In a few moments we will show you images to remind you 85 million died because of a war; but meanwhile you can live in fantasyland using environment polluting products?What’s the message here?

And what’s next I sometimes wonder? Kardashian look-a-like dolls that children can do their own plastic surgery on to make them look better?

How can we teach our children not to repeat the mistakes humanity made 79 years ago, when we  start by telling them they can can full heartedly put the emphasis on appearances; on what they look like?

Each returning year, I watch the documentaries on the second world war and search my heart for an explanation how people can do this to each other. This year I saw a picture of a perfectly likable looking group of women on a holiday, relaxing in a forest doing sports and having a picnic. Seconds later I learn these women are guards of a German concentration camp , having a day off.  How can these two things exist next to each other with pictures to prove it? A sunny day out in the forest; and next day back to work killing thousands of fellow human beings.

Some of you might think it stretches too far to compare this two examples; but how can we expect our children to understand the meaning of compassion and gratitude when we precede the examples by a commercial about a plastic toys of which you can change the hair color, an extension, pardon the pun, of the barbie culture we raise our daughters with?

At first I thought of choosing the Illusionist as the card to go with this blog. The first card of the row of 7 cards governing the physical plane telling us that unless we can see through the illusions, the Maya, that is created for us to serve the forces at play in today’s world, we will have trouble envioning the path we walk during our time on earth.

On second thought I decided to go for the Two of Challenges: Dilemma; 

“Two” because of the duality and dilemma of every thesis; in this case should children be presented with
commercials temptations they do not need; while they could be learning skills they could definitely use in their life to come?

“Challenges” because these, together with their element fire; concern the development of our I-consciousness; who am I: what do need and more importantly want to learn?

In the old days our children were taught how to hunt; how to cook; how to sow, how to farm land and yes how to defend themselves in battle. They were hardly  taught unnecessary skills; especially not those that were invented for them by marketeers who could earn money off their idea.

Personally I think it puts children on the wrong foot to give them pre-designed toys to play with that are basically created to generate sales; implementing distractions for the true meaning of life.

Click the card to learn more on the 2 of Challenges,

The abridged spoken version of this spoken blog, features as end note on  ‘Dutchbuzz’, the radio hour for Internationals every Tuesday  from 10 to 11 pm on ‘Den Haag FM’ and can be found in the Programme Archive of  the Dutchbuzz podcasts, dated May 7th, 2019 or click the link below.

The post What Do We Teach Our Children? appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.

‘The Tower” or ‘Detachment’ as I prefer to call it in the Nan War Who Am I cards, is a card people prefer to keep in the pack during a reading. For many it signifies they have to detach (which is true btw) from what they are used to; what they are taught and therefore think they need in order to survive; sticking to the old ways of doing things.

Sometimes however Life provides us with ‘things’ that force us to face a truth we’d rather deny. And even though it might feel safer and more agreeable to stick to the same old same old; the reality of things inevitably opens gateways of new energy, filled with inspiration and new incentives. In that sense card number XVI in the third layer of the spiritual path is an important card to identify with if we want to open new sources of energy.

It seems to me that many people in this day and age are still in denial.  This in spite of many others who are sounding the alarm on why it is high time all people should open their eyes to what is happening.

I’m always curious what history books will say about this day and age in a hundred years from now.
Will they be appalled at the homelessness and emotional or material poverty some people lived in these days?
Will they wonder why so many of us chose to turn their backs on each other rather than turn around and reach out?
Will they have figured out why the rich and mighty got away with saying that people who live in poverty have themselves to blame for that and should use their circumstances as an incentive to become rich like the rich…. As if that is all that matters?
Will they have figured out that we are all connected in an intricate web of give and take, and that what happens to one, happens to all? Just like the butterfly that flaps its wings in Japan, has an effect on what happens at the other end of the world.

I have my hopes up. I see more and more people and groups of people taking action; in spite of ‘the system’ trying to freeze people into fearful robotic entities.
In spite of those watching the news, and perhaps shaking their heads but still live by the rule of those in power who all that time only serve themselves.
In spite of television programs showing how people are evicted from their homes because they can’t keep up with the materialism that is running this world.
In spite of commercials making us believe we need certain things for survival that we can do perfectly well without. In spite of people crying out about the oceans being polluted with plastic while at the same time buying new packs of plastic bottles filled with soda’s, shampoo’s, cleaning liquids and even more dangerous poisons that contaminate our environment.

But I still have my hopes up. I see more and more people stepping out of denial and create change for the better.Some are surprised to see at how initiating change for the sake of the greater good also turned out to improve their personal lives. But that’s how energies work. It only takes one butterfly to flaps it wings of transformation.

Steppin’out of denial might seem challenging, but just think of the potential it has. A potential the world very much needs, if we want to turn our it into a better place.

To read more about ‘The Tower” and its meaning, click the card.

Wishing you the opportunity to detach from the old and explore gateways of new energy,

Ingrid.

The abridged spoken version of this spoken blog, features as end note on  ‘Dutchbuzz’, the radio hour for Internationals every Tuesday  from 10 to 11 pm on ‘Den Haag FM’ and can be found in the Programme Archive of  the Dutchbuzz podcasts, dated February  26 , 2019 or click the link below, 2 minutes 54 seconds.

The post Stepping out of Denial appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.

About 15 to 20 years years ago I had the immense pleasure of doing a yoga teacher training at the Kripalu Institute of Yoga and Health in Massachusetts.  It was in the days back when the school was already famous and well known yet still relatively small.   I treasure the good memories I have. Silence breakfast; very tasty vegetarian food, a stunning lake at the foot of the evenly stunning gardens, with canoes lying on the shoreline to disappear into the wild. And then of course there were the many many skilled teachers and courses passing on profound information.

One of the teachers was Stephen Cope, a psychotherapist who coupled psychotherapy and the quest of finding the true self-  (Nan Yar- Who Am I ) the basic question of Yoga philosophy, Nan Yar- Who Am I) to Yoga and…. Meditation.

I remember one story quite specifically because I felt it was hilarious and at the same time so very very very true. It involves a small group of students being taught by Stephen how to meditate.   All were sitting in a semi circle; eyes closed, legs folded, trunks resting and rising from the pelvic  floor, in connected to the earth; spines and necks nicely straight and stretched, the crowns of their heads pointed towards the Universe; shoulders relaxed hanging off the centre of their sockets, neither leaning too much forward nor stretched too far backward; all in all the puurrrfect position to sink into the oblivion of meditation, to cleanse the ever busy mind and find that place of wonder and revelation within, where we can be at ease with ourselves.

One student however felt terribly restless.  His folded legs were hurting; all sorts of emotions were knocking at his consciousness and troubled  thoughts were disturbing his quest to be mindful. Through his eye-lashes he peeked around in the room and observed the others sitting in precision buddha pose some with smiles on their faces some looking extremely serious and concentrated, some even with a soft satisfied glow   ‘Why, o. why, this one particular student wondered ‘Where is everybody? Where are they that I cannot find. How did they get to where I apparently cannot go?

After the meditation session  all students gathered around to sit and share their experiences , guided by Stephen Cope. The unhappy student was the first to share his feelings of misery and confess he was jealous of all the others who seemed to float seamlessly into their meditations.

Now it was the other student’s turn to get restless. Some confessed they ware just closing their eyes and took on the pose they  thought they were was expected to take. They shared how their thoughts were bouncing around, tumbling all over each other and how inadequate that made them feel. Stephen always shared this anecdote in his teachings; an early advocate of confessing and showing vulnerability.

To this day I think it is a wonderful metaphor for daily life; where we often keep up with the Jones’s by taking the position we think is expected of us while within, our true self is crying out for help.  Something to keep in mind next time when you try and meet set expectations and ask yourself whether this is really you.

The card that goes with this this is the Knight of Challenges.

Challenges as this Suit personifies the development of the I-consciousness which has everything to do with becoming aware of who you really are and what your role in this life is meant to be;
the Knight, as this is your personal protector and explorer of who you are; the guide of your soul purpose.

To read more, click the card.
You can also draw your own card at the right side of this blog

Wishing you an insightful time

Ingrid

The abridged spoken version of this spoken blog, features as end note on  ‘Dutchbuzz’, the radio hour for Internationals every Tuesday  from 10 to 11 pm on ‘Den Haag FM’ and can be found in the Programme Archive of  the Dutchbuzz podcasts, dated February  6 , 2019 or click the link below

The post The Make Belief Meditation appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.

Life has a habit of bringing us these day-to-day challenges. Next to the big stuff, we also get the small irritations between partners or petty power struggles at the office; parents, children, businesspartners… Any relationship really has its own bumps in the road and even small pebbles can cause big impact on our functioning together;  leaving us somewhat bewildered at times; distracted from our own banner and what we want our daily lives to look like.

But as someone once explained to me:

Relationships are there to learn from rather than to be happy in.

I took me  a while; but measuring this piece of wisdom against some of my own daily life little struggles with people around me I have come to believe, it is indeed the eventual learning, the process of figuring out the lesson and drawing your own conclusions that makes us happier in the end.  If the other person in a relationship would solely be there to make our lives work the way we want, there would be no challenge, no ground for exploration left for ourselves. Just imagine how boring that would be. Plus we would be totally dependent on that other person.

So the ultimate challenge in day-to-day life may well be to avoid being drawn into another person’s storyline and the way this person chooses to behave. Instead figure out and learn how you feel about something; what is important for you in life, rather than have someone else  hijacking your thoughts and feelings, your life basically.

How to stay close to who you are,  that is the question. How to stay in your own lane on the path we are all travel together.

Here’s a possible 3-step recipe.

1 : Forget the Blame.

Avoid feeling wronged. Things are as they are. Mulling about the injustice done or running around in blame-circles will keep you needlessly occupied while you could be doing totally different things with your life. So:

Be Careful What You Mull For

 2: Forgive

The most effective way to stop Mulling is to Forgive. The Magic of Forgiveness is that it liberates you all on your own accord, as it is you who changes the energy of the situation and creates a way to let go of the venom. And it goes both ways. Asking for forgiveness has the exact same effect… So:

Surf the Magic of Forgiveness

3: Be Grateful

The third thing is to be grateful you’ve stopped Mulling; have been Forgiven or have found it within you to Forgive. Rather than trying to mend a struggle and convince people to see things your way, alter it into the best antidote you can think of:

Smother it with compassion.

Allow people their own space, their own mistakes, their own wrongs and their own rights. If we would all do that, I think daily life would be a whole lot more agreeable.

The card that goes with this is the 6 of Insights; the 6 being the number of communication and relationships; the Insights the suit all to do with personal development.

Click the card for further explanation and see how it reflects for you. I wish you a compassionate, forgiving and blame-free time to come.

Ingrid Schippers, 30-10-2018

Draw your own card on the right of this blog

More Questions? Mail me at info@energycounseling.nl

The abridged spoken version of this blog, features as end note on  ‘Dutchbuzz’, the radio hour for Internationals every Tuesday  from 10 to 11 pm on ‘Den Haag FM and can be found in the Programme Archive of  the Dutchbuzz podcasts, dated  October 30, 2018.

The post Forget, Forgive and Smother it appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.

Normally I switch off television or radio commercials, but the other day I accidentally fell into the message of a big Dutch supermarket chain urging people to:

Buy more so it will be cheaper.

So what they say is:

Spend more money so it will cost you less.

Which of course is ridiculous. What they really say is :

Buy more than you need so you spend more money on us.

Isn’t it surprising how many people still obey these kind of advertisements and run to the supermarket to actually BUY whatever it is that is so called on offer. Is especially Western Society so brainwashed that we fail to see the seduction?

Supermarkets are like casino’s. They tempt us with what we think we need the most to survive: money.  Meanwhile they take what we are willing to spend.  Their very clever marketing departments promise a chance to find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. It makes us spend our money on profitable products rather than foods that are wholesome and good. Of  course Dutch government helps by coming up with a plan to double the tax on healthy fruits and vegetables and lower it on unhealthy soft drinks.  Apparently this is better for society, economic health being regarded as more important  than individual health and welfare.

What happened to the good old times when we were thrifty and only bought good quality durable products and only what we needed ? How come many obey to the commands of Lord Economy, and spend their money on things they actually already have in another version? Or lack the nutrients food should represent?

Fortunately things are changing. On social media I see people becoming aware, refusing to buy non-durable products; choosing to eat wholesome foods; moving to smaller houses and decluttering their homes. Cudo’s also for a local  The Hague entrepreneur who celebrated the day of durability last week  by organizing a clothing exchange where people bartered goods instead of buying more for less.

In a way it is so simple: The thing to remember is to

Do As You Like and Be Content With What You Have,

rather than being seduced by the illusion laid out as bait by pocket fillers.

I challenge you to find out for yourself how much is possible by using your own imagination and freedom of choice rather than following the Pied Piper of marketing departments. Give it a week’s try and use your own creativity to buy more for less. You may well be surprised about how good it makes you feel about yourself….

The card that goes with this is ‘The Wheel of Fortune’, or as it is dubbed in The Nan Yar – Who Am I version: Freedom of Choice.  As members of a community we tend to follow the culturally conditioned rules; at times forsaking our our own dreams and goals by doing so. We also use the ‘wheel of fortune card’ at times to escape responsibility by blaming the outside world or individuals other than ourselves for the things that go wrong in our lives.

Remember you are unique and own the birthright to create your own life life in your own world, where you take responsibility for your own actions; for the way you turn the wheel, rather than following the Pied Piper.

Card number X is the third card of 7 cards that represent the path of the soul while on earth, meaning it represents a universal truth that cannot be disguised by the veil of illusion.

To read more, click the card.

Ingrid Schippers, 16-10-2018

Visit my website  to draw your own card or for more information about card readings, either by Skype or in person

More Questions? Mail me at info@energycounseling.nl

The abridged spoken version of this blog, features as end note on  ‘Dutchbuzz’, the radio hour for Internationals every Tuesday  from 10 to 11 pm on ‘Den Haag FM and can be found in the Programme Archive of  the Dutchbuzz podcasts, dated  October 16, 2018.

The post The Wholesome Spending Challenge appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.