The Return of the Light

The Return of the Light

Heard though unseen

Her song is carried on the breeze

Calling in the cosmic energy

And giving it away again

Words on the breeze

Arrows in the mist

Healing though unseen

She feels the energy flow getting stronger

As she stretches her hands to all

Who need her gentle touch

A candle in the night

Arrows in the mist

Winter solstice

The longest night is over

As the sun breaks through the mist

You can see her singing

And dancing to our earth mother

The energy flows from her hands

Ready to heal each of us

As we celebrate

The return of the light

From: “The Return of the Shaman”

You can buy the book here…

‘Bridge Builders’

I think it is a good thing to build bridges...

To create a way to get from one place to another. Or to permit two sides to be able to meet...

But what about the ‘bridge builder’?

Where does that person come from — and perhaps even more importantly, where is he or she going?

From a certain perspective one could say that the ‘bridge builder’ is in a pretty static position. In today’s world a lot of bridges are needed — so there are plenty opportunities to keep building bridges without ever crossing one yourself as the ‘bridge builder’; the architect of that walkway from ‘here’ to ‘there’. The ‘bridge builder’, the mediator, the moderator, the peace maker can just move on from one situation to the next; always building bridges.

Until...

In everybody’s life there comes a point of inevitable change. When one cannot do anything else than to change — to move on to something new and different. To walk that bridge and to move from ‘here’ to ‘there’.

And when someone has been the ‘bridge builder’ for as long as anyone can remember — chances are that when they finally make that all important move, everybody around them is in for a surprise! Rather than keeping the focus on building bridges, on mediating, moderating, even keeping the peace, suddenly it becomes apparent that even ‘bridge builders’ are ‘normal’ people with ‘normal’ needs and ‘normal’ emotions. People who want to move on with their lives. People who are — like the rest of us — fed up with being stuck in one place.

Yet while it seems so easy for them to build bridges for situations outside of themselves, it may not be quite as easy to get from ‘here’ to ‘there’ when it concerns themselves...

It is most definitely a step outside of the comfort zone...

It doesn’t mean necessarily that the ‘bridge builder’ will stop building bridges.

It does mean, however, that it needs to be done in a new way. In a manner in which the ‘bridge builder’ can build bridges while move forward on their own path — a mode that doesn’t get them stuck in one place while helping others moving on.

A way that may keep the peace around them, yet enhances inner peace.

It is a good thing to build bridges. To create that way to get from one place to another — a walkway on which two parties can meet. But let’s take our own responsibility and start building a bridge or two ourselves, rather than just relying on the ‘bridge builder’...

First published February 2013

Trust Yourself

One of the most important questions in life is about trust. Who do we trust?

Traditionally those who had a certain level of authority would be trusted, like our parents, our doctor, the major, and yes, the police. And of course the (local) government. They were people who — through their education and life experience had gained a broader level of insight in whatever life could throw our way, and therefore, their opinions, guidance and regulations were trusted as being right. And hence, that guidance was usually followed.

Why would we not follow the advice of a person whom we were confident will know what it is all about? Someone with an education, knowledge, and insight…

In this point in time wee may have a different perspective on that — and yet, there are still people we may trust solely based on their position. Teachers may fall into that category — and doctors. And perhaps even our (local) government.

More often than not are we willing to take their advice — and follow it — without giving it much thought. After all, they are having our best interest at heart, right?

And even when this is true, their idea about what is best and healthy, may not suit us as an individual. This means that if we would follow their advice — given with the best intentions in mind — it may not be beneficial to us…

It is always a good idea to ask ourselves who we trust, and why we trust that person… To give some thought to the advice we are receiving before we decide to either follow it, or to test their “wise words” against our own intuition, wisdom, and what we know to be true about ourselves. To perhaps read up on things online and discover what we didn’t know (yet) about the situation at hand. To find alternative solutions, new possibilities, for a — at least for ourselves — new, and better way of looking at the situation we find ourselves in.

After all, each and every one of us is totally responsible for our own live.

This means that — especially when it is about something important as trust — we no longer place that outside of ourselves, with that well intended teacher, doctor, parents, or government.

It means that we are given the opportunity to learn to trust ourselves.

When we trust ourselves — our own discernment — we will know if a person is trustworthy, or not. We then would listen to the advice and guidance given to us, yet also do our own research, make your own observations, and sense intuitively if something is right for us at this moment…

In other words, while in the past we often trusted others in important situations — guiding our decisions — we may find that at this point in time it becomes more and more important to be entirely confident in our own sense of what is most beneficial to us.

Self confidence.

Divisions

Division — literally the act of separating something into parts or groups, or the way that it is separated.

In the world today, we do not have to look far to see division. It can be a division that is caused by different opinions, where each side is getting louder and louder, creating a gap between the two (or more) parts or groups that is getting ever wider… Or a division of action — where one group is going all the way and taking action in order to balance whatever issue is at play, while another group is just giving any possible solution “lip-service”. Or even that more traditional division between the “Have’s” and the “Have-not’s”…

As a lot of those divisions are playing out around us, it seems hard to see where we — as an individual — can make a difference. What can we do to bring a greater balance, or perhaps even close the gap just a tiny bit?

Well…

What if we would come from the other direction entirely? What if we, rather than focusing on the divisions in the world around us, would look inside ourselves to bring balance to the divisions we may experience within ourselves?

Things like “I should have reacted differently in that conversation”, or “I don’t know if I am worth it”, “I don’t know if I can do it”, and so on.

Pretty much any statement we may make to ourselves that expresses doubt about ourselves or the things we say, do, or think, to a certain extend creates a division inside ourselves. Even when we do not say it out loud…

Why not give ourselves credit for who we are right now — with the understanding that we are walking a path of growth, that there still is a lot to learn and experience — yet the person we are right now is the best version of ourselves we can muster. So there is no reason to doubt who we are, whether we are good enough, know enough, or do enough as we keep taking steps on our personal paths through life.

When we do give ourselves credit for who we are right now, something wonderful happens!

Bit by bit the division within ourselves get healed. We may find that we become more whole, less scattered in our focus. And as we create a greater wholeness within ourselves, our authenticity starts to shine more and more brightly! And that is a good thing!!

The other thing that may well happen, is that the divisions in our immediate environment start to become less fierce. They may still exist — but then again, there will always be as many opinions as there are people — yet it may no longer be an “either / or” choice that is voiced loudly, or angrily.

So, give int a try!

The two sides of fall

In the cycle of the seasons every season has its own energy. The winter time is one for making plans and creating a structure through which you are most likely to make your goals come true over the next series of seasons. Then with spring we tend to set everything in motion… As if we give ourselves and our lives a big push forward. In summer we keep working towards our goals — and as the goals in front of us may become more clear, we may fine tune our activities in order to reach them. Then with fall the time of the harvest is upon us. Often it is the time in which we can give ourselves a pat on the back, celebrating a job well done as we have reached our goals.

And then, about half way through fall, something happens that signifies a decided shift in energy…

From the busy time of the harvest, there is a change into a much calmer, even quieter energy.

This happens at the time of the Celtic beginning of winter, at November 1st.

For them, this was an auspicious time, as they felt it was a moment when the veils were thin, and therefore the division between the physical world and the non-physical world was not as strong, or definite…

For us, in today’s energy, it is a good time to be thankful for all that we have accomplished over the past year. And perhaps just as important, to take stock of what our lives look like…

To see the everything about our lives that is important to us, our priorities, where we spend our time and energy, and so on — and then to decide whether that still feels right to us, or if we wish to change things. Release the things that no longer serve us, and perhaps bring into our lives the things we wish for…

In that sense, the “other” side of fall becomes a preparation for the winter energy, in which we create the space in which new ideas and plans can flourish. A space in which — when the time comes — our resolutions for our next pass through the cycle of the seasons can take hold, and be manifested as we bring them from winter, through spring, summer, and into fall.

And from that perspective one can say that with the Celtic beginning of winter, we are truly standing on the threshold of a new cycle through the seasons…

Use it well !!

Omens Are Everywhere

Omens bring to our attention something that is important in our lives. This can be something that is about to happen — sort of like a “heads up” — or it can be something that may have been in the back of our mind for a while without truly getting our attention enough so we can act upon it, or do something about it.

Often, we can look back after something has happened in our lives and see the omens we were given ahead of time — that we didn’t pay attention to as, at that time, it never occurred to us that it would have any kind of priority.

At that moment, we may even tell ourselves that 20/20 hindsight is so clear, if only we had been paying attention…

In reality there are omens in our lives every day and in pretty much any situation we are finding ourselves in. And yes, they can be of great help to us as we are living our day-to-day lives, as long as we recognize them for what they are… Messages from the unseen that connect in our subconscious in a meaningful manner.

This means that omens are intensely personal, not only from the perspective of what is an omen for an individual, but also in the way it is interpreted.

As a rule of thumb, whenever something happens, no matter how simple it is, whether it is an every day occurrence or something you have never seen before; if it grabs your attention, if it stops you in your tracks, or just gives you food for thought, chances are it is an omen.

When you write down what just happened, and write above it your first association with each word or concept outside of the storyline of what just happened. 

The associations will then give you an indication as to what the omen may be about.

So, why would we pay attention to omens as we are living our busy every day lives? It seems like it is just one more thing to do — and on top of that, the messages they give take time to discover. Why take that time?

Well, first and foremost, whether we do take time to register and decipher the omens we come across on our paths, absolutely is a personal, free will choice. And sometimes we may be more apt to do it than at other times.

However, registering that “heads up” signal may be quite beneficial to us…

We are living in a time in which it is ever more important to live our lives according to our own values. Therefore it is important to know where we stand, what is important to us, what makes us happy — and then make our choices in a way that we can expand those things in our lives.

We can still do the things we have always done — but the moment there is this tiny thought that says, “I truly don’t want to do this…” for whatever the reason, that, in a sense is an omen! And if we pay attention to that omen, we may discover a better way to go about what we are doing, or perhaps we find that there is no reason to keep doing those things, just because we have always done them…

As we pay attention to the omens on our path, it will give us the opportunity to change our lives for the better in a very gentle manner.

Give it a try!

Harvest Time

When I grew up, the month of October was always busy picking apples and pears. In a sense it was the result of our work throughout the year, and those apples and pears would last for a number of months into the future — even though we didn’t really have an orchard of any size…

Looking back, perhaps the most important work we did throughout the year to ensure the harvest, was watering the big trees during the summer months. Each tree would receive three buckets of water on its roots, every day. And somehow, it is that — and the harvest — that stick in my mind most… Not the blossom in spring, or the shade the trees provided. Not the birds and horses who helped themselves to the best fruit, right before the harvest…

And this then, is an example of how our perspective of what it is that is ready to harvest in our lives. We may have an idea as to what we set out to “make happen” this year, yet, come harvest time, our actual harvest may be different than what we thought.

As it turns out, what we decide to do — where and how we decide to focus our energy — during the year, may give an indication of what it is we can expect to harvest, yet in the energy of today there is another way to predict where our most productive harvest will come into our lives during this time.

Often this indication is given when we look back at our life over the past year, and note the events that seem to come to mind most clearly — whether these were big or small events, intentional or surprising events, even those events we never thought we would be part of — if they come to mind with great clarity as we look back it means they were important to us. Perhaps not important from a logical point of view, yet certainly from the perspective of our personal path of growth.

Needless to say that there may be some surprises there.

However, these events that we remember with unexpected clarity will indicate in which direction your “personal harvest” is likely, come harvest time, as they show us where we have focused our energy from a more intuitive, or subconscious perspective…

On one hand it is a good thing to realize that the energy we have put into something from a logical perspective is never wasted. As it turns out, we will have made (great) progress in that area.

On the other hand, what the unexpected events that show up with uncanny clarity do indicate, is that there may be a better way to go about it. A way that has the potential to reap even greater rewards…

Either way, it is definitely a good way of paying attention to what it is you are harvesting right now. And when you think that no “harvest” is coming your way… Look again!

Motivation

We all have our own motivation to do the things we do, to act the way we act, and to say the things we say. The fact that we are allowed to express our opinions in whichever way we see fit and to act upon them is one of those very precious things in life we call freedom…

That freedom has a lot to do with society and culture; with the people around us and the social mores we live by. In other words, at least at the surface this freedom is something that is granted to us by the society we live in; and therefore stems from outside of ourselves.

Our motivation to do, or not do something, to say something or be silent, to act or sit back is usually much more complicated.

Often our motivation is provided from outside of ourselves. For instance the motivation for being on time for the start of your shift at work may well be the paycheck at the end of the month, which you need in order to pay the bills. This may also be true when looking at the decision to speak up or not; very few people find the strength and courage inside themselves to become a whistle blower. And for good reason. Therefore the wiser choice may well be to stay silent…

Yet in this day and age it seems to be more and more important that the things we do ~ like our job ~ are something we are passionate about. Even though we may have to work harder to make a living, when we are doing something we feel passionate about it seems that ultimately the earnings come in more easily than when we are just ‘going through the motions’. 

Doing the things we are passionate about usually are things that we feel motivated about from within. There is an inner drive, an inner guidance to set out and do those things. And when we do, we almost always feel more fulfilled as a result.

In other words, while there will always be an ‘outer motivation’ for any number of the things we do, our ‘inner motivation’ seems to become a more and more important part in making choices as to where to spend our time and energy. As to what we want to be part of, and what we choose to walk away from. As to what we want to say, and when to be quiet; and if we still want to speak up, how we choose our words.

As time goes on, our inner compass will become a more and more important part of our motivation for living our lives the way we choose to…

first published in 2009

Taking it Easy

Most mornings when I wake up, I will start off by examining the ideas, thoughts and half formed plans that are floating around in my mind. Sometimes these are fairly basic and based around the situation of that very moment — like the cat snuggling up and wanting a tummy rub… Other times they can be quite involved and extensive, and it can even take a bit of time to sort out where they may be able to fit in the fabric of my life.

It is on those days that it is easy to make plans that can stretch throughout the week, as one idea often leads tot he next, and the next, and the next…

And then something happens that says — subconsciously at first, yet more insistently when I am not listening — “Wait a minute! Why the rush?”

It always signals a moment to take a deep breath. A time to stand still, even if it just is a minute. Or perhaps it even is a sign that it is time to smell the roses…

Now, often when I look back over the past couple of days, there have already been different signals — or perhaps “Omens” — that I am too busy. That I am trying to do too many things all at once…

Yet, like undoubtedly happens to many “Omens”, I have failed to actually pick up on them…

Anyway… Then there is that morning when there is that message that says “Hold on! Wait a minute!”. And that one, I have learned to listen to…

Yes, in the past I have tried to just keep going, to make my plans to keep moving through the day — after all, one has to be productive, right?

Invariably that has not worked. It has taken me into miles of traffic jams. And sometimes while on the hunt for some product or material I need for my work, it seems to be sold out everywhere I go… Until I give up and make one last phone call, only to find it can be delivered with next day shipping without extra cost…

So, there is really no reason to keep running around when the early morning message was to take it easy… To take a moment to listen to the signs and signals that are coming my way…

As it turns out, there is wisdom in taking it easy more often. In taking the time to listen to what messages are coming our way, and follow up on them. To do the research what the second meaning of the “Omen” might be (I have found over the years, that there often are at least two meanings to those type of messages…).

Chances are we would receive the necessary information in such time that we can use it before things go haywire — even to prevent that from happening. Which would, in all likelihood, bring a smoothness and an ease to life…

And all the time we would need to take it easy…

The Cosmic Baseball Bat

There was a time — a long time ago — when someone told me that when the Universe has a message for us — for instance because we are making choices that, in one way or another, take us away from your chosen path — it will in all likelihood first gently tap us on the shoulder. If we fail to notice this, the Universe may progress to sticking us with a cocktail pick… Annoying perhaps, but by no means painful. And after all, it is just a way to get our attention. To get us to listen to this message that apparently is quite important to us.

If we are still not paying attention, and when the message is important enough, chances are that the “attention getter” is being ramped up from there, until finally we find ourselves being hit by the proverbial “Cosmic Baseball Bat”.

And that, then, usually will get our attention…

The next step is to figure out what the important message entails. In other words, what you have to do to get back on your path — and perhaps even to get an understanding of how you have come to make these decisions that took you away from your path in the first place…

Now, when I set out to ride my bike, enjoying the sunshine, nature, and the prospect of meeting with friends — none of this was on my mind… And while I may have had a somewhat nagging feeling of something being not quite the way it should be, or perhaps a semi-conscious thought of something that wasn’t quite right… My focus was well and truly on enjoying the day as it unfolded.

And then, as I almost got to where I wished to go, it hit me… The Cosmic Baseball Bat…

Listen! You know. And you know you know… Now act accordingly!!

It got my attention. I am listening…

And with that, insights are beginning to surface. And as they do, I can suddenly see how the puzzle pieces all fit together. And before long the picture emerges that has been eluding me for so long… It is not unexpected. It is not hard to bring into being. It is even easy to see how everything is fitting together — now that I actually see the picture — into one image.

Imagine that!

Now, while everything has turned out for the best, I truly intent to — next time the Universe has a message for me — to pick up on the gentle tap on the shoulder… To pay attention right away, and to change direction well before I would get hit by the Cosmic Baseball Bat…

Cycles Upon Cycles

While we may have a tendency to keep our eye on the clock in our day to day lives — doing things at certain times, setting and keeping our appointments, and so on — we may also find that somehow we find ourselves disconnected from… Yeah, from what exactly?

That, sometimes faint sense of feeling disjoint from what is happening, that at other times may be right “in your face” as time seems too have disappeared before you could blink your eyes…

Looking at that, it seems that pretty much everything in our environment does not pay any attention to the clock at all. Our environment functions in cycles. It is us that try and organize our lives according to time…

Granted, setting a time makes it a lot easier to meet with people. At least the chance of all meeting up at the same moment increases enormously…

On the other hand, when we focus on the cycles upon cycles that are there, time suddenly seems a lot less important. Perhaps this is because the number of cycles we encounter — and their interaction with each other and with us — can get complicated in a hurry.

Breathing may well be the easiest cycle we can touch — simply creating in and breathing out — and yet, when we slow our breathing, that other rhythm that is paramount within our bodies, our heart rhythm, may slow also.

In our environment, the obvious rhythm may be day and night — light and dark. It is a rhythm that interacts with the rhythm of the seasons, as days are longer during summer, and shorter during winter — at least in most places. The seasons then, are part of the rhythm of the earth circling the sun.

Another obvious rhythm in our environment is the rhythm of the moon, creating the ebb and flow in the waters of the earth…

So, here we are…

We are having the rhythm of our heartbeat and our breathing that interact with the rhythm of day and night — something we may recognize in being a morning person or an evening person. Roughly 28 cycles of day and night create the cycle of the moon. About 13 cycles of the moon create the cycle of the earth moving around the sun — and this cycle is in a sense divided into the 4 cycles of the seasons, that each with their own focus and energy are guiding us on our path through life…

And from the perspective of our uniquely individual path through life, each and every cycle that we encounter is not a circle, but rather a spiral — the symbol for growth… 

It places us in a situation where every beat of our heart, every breath we take, is an opportunity to express our potential and make it count! And to grow as a result of that expression.

The Unpolished Self

It is said that we — when we are born — are perfectly whole. Yes, each of us has our own package of life lessons that we are taking along into this experience and some of those life lessons are health related. Therefore, our perfect wholeness is seen from our potential to grow as much as we can during this journey that we have embarked upon — rather than from a heath perspective…

Symbolically, one could say that as we enter this life, each of us is a perfect circle — an innate perfection that has everything within itself that is needed for us to achieve our goals, whatever they may turn out to be.

In a sense we are uniquely beautiful in a similar way unpolished crystals are mesmerizingly beautiful…

Then, as we grow up, the sharp edges are polished off, and bit by bit the unique expression of our innate perfection gets hidden. We are taught how to behave, how to act and react — we are told to be ‘nice’ and acceptable. And step by step, we adapt to what is expected of us.

Until one day we may find that this beautiful, unpolished core of ourselves no longer wants to be hidden. It demands to come forward, to show itself — and with that we may start looking for that part of ourselves that is truly authentic. We begin to rediscover the Unpolished Self…

The unpolished self is authentic, yet more often than not it also has a “wildness” to it. An intuitive knowing of where we stand, and where we are headed. And if we don’t like the direction our path has taken, or where it is leading us, there can be a deep seated drive to change. To move forward on our own terms.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that we let go of everything we own, quit our job, and walk off into the sunset. Yet it does mean that we re-evaluate our priorities, that we again decide where we want to spend our time and energy in life. It most definitely means that we look at what things in life are worth pursuing, and what is not. And perhaps most importantly, it can bring us to a point where we bring our authentic, unpolished self closer to what we do in life and how we are doing it.

In other words, as we get to know the authentic, unpolished core of ourselves better, we will find ways to use this understanding in the way we go about reaching our goals — whether those goals are job related, or are more personal in nature.

I would like to invite you to join me on a journey to the deepest core of your Unpolished Self…

Pondering truth… What is truly true?

In 2013 I posted a blog on “Truth”. Browsing through old posts, I just came across it once again and started reading it… ( Read it here. )

How our perspective on “truth” has changed in those eight years!

To start with, we now have the “fake news”. This has absolutely nothing to do with factual truth, but rather with whether we agree with the factual truth or not. If we agree it is true, yet if we don’t agree it is “fake news”.

And this seems to have been taken one step further… If we wish something to be true — yet it may not be factually true — we can still say it is true. And anyone countering this “un-truth” with facts, is accused of spreading “fake news”.

So which side do we believe to be true? 

And do we believe this strongly enough for us to make it our personal truth? In other words, who do we believe?

As far as factual truth goes, it is still fairly easy to do some research online. Or so one might think. Because what we are presented with online, is often driven by the loudest voices — not that different from the loud voices in protests in the sixties and seventies. Except now we don’t have to leave our computer to make ourselves heard. And therefore, we can stay pretty much anonymous, and therefore safe, no matter what (un)truths we spread into the world…

So, especially when doing our online research, it is important to verify the information we find on any one topic through multiple different sources.

Some may say that if it sounds hard to believe, chances are it isn’t (the whole) truth. And in many cases this is, well, true.

However, if anyone would have spread the word forty or fifty years ago that we would now make our phone calls on tiny supercomputers called “smart phones”, chances are they would have been met with the opinion that this couldn’t be true. And yet, here we are…

It is a reason to keep dreaming of what can become true — and for that matter, to dream big dreams!

So looking at truth at this point in time, factual truth is still factually true. However, lots of discernment and verification are needed in order to check the facts we are presented with.

The one perspective on truth that doesn’t seem to be different is that as we grow older — or more specifically, as the years go by — truth changes. It moves with our understanding, our discernment, our age — and it moves according to how we interact with one another…

There doesn’t seem to be an exact truth. As it turns out, pondering the question, it is hard enough to find that which is truly true…

Truth

Watching the news, forums, and social media it seems that truth is becoming more important. As the saying goes in my native tongue: “Truth takes longest” which means something like ‘it may take a while, but given time the truth will come out’. And this seems to be the case pretty much wherever you look, nowadays.

No longer is it possible to hide the truth; at least not for any length of time. And when it comes out, it comes out with a vengeance ~ or, in the vernacular of the social media, it goes viral.

And where ‘truth’ is looked at as being the polarity of ‘deceit’, this is a good thing.

On the other hand it makes me think: what is truth?

Surprisingly enough, there are many truths.

• There is the factual truth.
• There is what is believed to be true.
• There is cultural truth.
• And it appears that as we grow older, what we consider to be ‘truth’ changes. 

The factual truth seems easiest to distinguish. We quite literally look at the facts and see if everything truly adds up. Whether all the information is there, with nothing left out. It is a logical process through which we conclude if what we are presented with is true or false.

What we believe to be true is much more intricate. It comes from the subconscious, as the subconscious holds not only our dreams and intuition, but also our belief-system. And suddenly we can find ourselves in a situation where we believe something to be true (for instance because we were told as we grew up that this was so), whereas when we look at the facts from a logical perspective, this is clearly not the case...

Cultures can have their own set of rules and mores that say something is true or false ~ and so what is truth in one culture doesn’t necessarily have to be true in another. Clear examples can be found in the separate legal systems, for instance when looked at the acceptability of the death penalty.

And then there is the phenomena that truth appears to be changing as we grow older... When we were 5 years old, truth was that we were not allowed to have a cookie right before dinner. At 20, for most of us this is no longer true; it is our choice whether we want to eat a cookie, and when we would want to eat it. And at 30 truth may be that cookies make you gain weight and should be steered clear from at all cost.

So, pondering truth... What exactly is truth?

First published in 2013