Introspection
I consider myself an open and flexible person. Changing perspective and in consequence changing my mind is something I practise consciously… and it’s tough. There is one essential; I do believe in the absolute necessity to deal in depth with our psychological issues by having a third person perspective and get a sense of our subconscious landscape.
I do believe that the world can only be a better place if we practise introspection. Those who can should help those who can’t. I know: it’s a bit hard core…
Spiritual Bypassing
Avoidance in holy drag
A topic I am passionate about and which is best expressed by one of my favourite teachers, Robert Masters: “Any spiritual path, Eastern or Western, that does not deal in real depth with psychological issues, and deal with these in more than just spiritual contexts, is setting itself up for an abundance of spiritual bypassing. Spiritual bypassing distances us not only from our pain and difficult personal issues but also from our own authentic spirituality, stranding us in a metaphysical limbo, a zone of exaggerated gentleness, niceness, and superficiality.” (Extract of the book: Robert Masters: “Spiritual Bypassing”)
Digging In
Working on our therapeutical construction sites
The journey to the depth of myself has been the most heart breaking, irritating, haunting, surprising and above all humbling endeavour I have enrolled in. I can say I loved it as much as I hated it.
Still, I see it as my core responsibility as a mature citizen of this suffering planet to take care of what I call my ”therapeutical construction sites”. How do we get out of this mess, if not through a committed journey of self-enquiry and introspection – in order to become authentic, responsible and fully aware of the effect we have on our surroundings?
Throughout my career I have witnessed amazing talent but also devastating abuse of power, aggression, drug abuse and depression to just mention a few.
Throughout my career, I often wondered about the “leaders” of organisations and pondered how little compassion and understanding was involved in their leadership, how disconnected they were from values like integrity or honesty. I was surprised how much abuse people put up with, how far removed they were from flourishing and how de-humanised the workplace often became.
I believe a new kind of leadership is essential. Those I work along side are all united by this mission and passionate to bring our vision of conscious, mature and loving leadership into the world.
Hanging out with Death
My greatest teacher
In my twenties life was imbued with glamour, parties, travelling the world and feeling fab with all the light, joy and fun, life had to offer. In my thirties a great teacher came along and stayed by my side for 10 years: death. 4 people very close to me died after long sickness. I sat countless hours by their bedside and watched them die.
It has been the most transformative journey of my life, created the deepest wounding, cracked my heart open wide and helped me to become more humble. When I look back upon these years it feels like wisdom was birthed through heartbreak and pain.
Side by Side
Challenges and heartbreaks sometimes seem insurmountable – and then out of nowhere appears a human being, a teacher, a healer, a facilitator who helps us to see, understand and in consequence to heal. In November 2008, I was at this point of my life and met Brigitte. She just started a new project, a therapy group of around 15 people who would stay together for a period a 15 months. In this safe space of trust and profound connection it was possible to dig in, go deeper and go to even painful places like unconscious patterns and trauma in order to heal and become whole again.
Brigitte’s fervent passion for transformation, her unique style of combining psychology, meditation and spirituality in order to raise consciousness has lifted us to a whole new level of possibilities. United by the passion for her work, we walked side by side and in 58 seminars witnessed again and again the amazing beauty of healing and awakening.
Who I am today is in big part because of this journey. I bow my head to her in deep respect, love and utter gratefulness.
The school of co-dependency has helped me to see my unconscious patterns, to communicate without hurting, to set my boundaries and express my needs. I understand now to what extent the relationship to myself defines the relationship to my fellow humans. Among my greatest teachers are Amana & Krish Trobe – their work on “how we relate” is of fundamental importance in my life. As a child of parents who (in total) married 5 times, the topic of relationships has always been of great interest to me…..
Co-Dependency
Let me know how to love you best
Daring Greatly
Courage is contagious
Brené Brown’s science, research and infectious Texan humour has been such a gift in my life: “We cultivate Love when we allow our most vulnerable and powerful selves to be deeply seen and known, and when we honour the spiritual connection that grows from that offering with trust, respect, kindness, and affection.
Shame, blame, disrespect, betrayal, and the withholding of affection damage the roots from which love grows. Love can only survive these injuries if they are acknowledged, healed and rare.” Nothing to add to these wise words…
Meditation
The voice of the divine
Meditation became my life companion. I started in the Buddhist schools, then discovered Osho’s dynamic meditations, loved guided meditations, tried brain sync meditations and finally landed within my own silent and sacred space.
One of the most important moments was when I understood that the voice of the divine is only a whisper and that I can only hear it, when I become really very silent. For me, silence is the new cool.