Embracing Stillness
Stillness is one of the most powerful vehicles for becoming conscious. Stillness has an outer meaning and an inner meaning. Outwardly it means taking time for reflection and meditation, and refraining from useless words or distractions. Inwardly, stillness is the atmosphere of our essential consciousness. It is the energy of real love and presence. The inner voice can be heard in stillness. The voice of our real self communicates through the deep feeling, intuition and symbolism.
If you are ready to transform your life, then it's time to slow down and be still. Stillness is the atmosphere of our essential consciousness.In stillness, we experience our deepest self as the inner observer. As we learn to observe and relax in stillness, we find the stillness of our being is also love. It is truthfulness. It is understanding. And it is beauty.To know truth and to open again and again to deep love, we must be still.In stillness the heart is restored to self-honesty and innocence.Stillness bridges the ordinary and the sacred, the human and divine dimensions in us. When we are attuned to this conscious stillness, we continue to live an ordinary life. And yet, as we are transformed, our outer lives may also change in wonderful ways. We will find the clarity and courage to let go of what no longer works for us. And we will find the passion and enthusiasm to fulfill our highest purpose. What I want to share with you is a path of slow spirituality. If you want to get enlightened quick, you are more likely to end up deluded and fragmented away from your human heart and natural being.This path of gentle self-reflection is sure to steadily enlighten you, without alienating you from your authentic humanity and heart, because it is walked on the ground of your own life. This path of conscious self-development is refreshingly simple, soulful and easy to practice. There is no special method or set of teachings to accept. There is simply your process of coming to know and feel yourself in the light of your real self. Most of all this a path of love, patience and natural wholeness. Here we begin humble, keeping our feet on the ground of practical action and our hearts open to the human experience in all its tragedy and triumph. Here we find the God of small things and slow change. We do not look for something big. We listen and wait. We take action and rest. This is the way of slow spirituality.
The Authentic Self and Self-Actualization
In my approach, a self-actualized and spiritually awakened person has the following qualities:
Is aware of themselves as a conscious, spiritual being who is living a human life.
The personality is balanced, authentic and open to Life.
Receives intuition, creativity and guidance from the inner voice or self.
Balances objective thinking and action with the feeling values of empathy, relatedness, beauty, and receptivity.
Our essential self and soul is no illusion - the only illusion is that we are merely material, mental or unworthy beings who are separate. I do not believe we are here to eradicate our individuality - but rather to discover the loving light of our divine nature that animates it.
What I call the authentic self is a conscious, integrated and empowered state of being. It's a condition of awakened consciousness that transforms the personality into an expression of divine love and wisdom.The authentic self is the gateway between the eternal spirit and the outer, human world that we inhabit in this lifetime. The authentic self brings forth the gifts of the spirit, our deepest nature, as an act of service and celebration of our spiritual source.
Throughout my life I've been drawn toward self-knowledge and spirituality. Driven by a passionate urge to develop myself and understand the human condition, I have engaged deeply in travel, literature, music and psychospiritual studies.
During my university years I studied in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. This experience reconnected me with my Dutch ancestors and extended family. Today I visit the Netherlands at least once per year to give spiritual seminars, practice the language and meet with friends.
While at college I also interned at a foreign policy thinktank in Washington DC. After graduating, I lived and worked for London. While working as an editor at National Geographic, I discovered the work of Carl Jung and found my calling as a depth psychologist.
My doctoral training included spiritual studies, and I found myself increasingly drawn toward classical mysticism. In 2006, after many years of practicing conscious presence, I experienced a life-changing shift of consciousness. This brought unprecedented peace of mind, inner silence, energetic opening, and intuitive insight. I describe this shift in detail in my book, The Art of Freedom: A Guide to Awakening.
My spiritual paradigm departs from the more common, eastern approaches, although I have learned much from them. I do not believe our spiritual development is mainly about losing the individual self, or that the ultimate nature of reality is merely an impersonal background of awareness. Based upon my own inner experience and also my extensive study of Near-Death Experiences, I believe we belong to an eternal world of spirit and a divine Source or God.
I believe that our real spiritual goal is to actualize our soul's love, wisdom, creativity and joy through the often challenging material play of Life, with our fellow imperfect beings. Once we have actualized our conscious nature, our psyche becomes more integrated and our personality expresses higher qualities.
My life is devoted to helping people navigate this sacred inner process.
The first movement of the conscious life is to patiently observe our mind and become present in every moment. Then, Life will show us everything we need to see in order to grow.
This is why having an experienced guide and mentor is so valuable. Life has a way of surprising and overwhelming even those who are well rooted in love and awareness. We all need help at times to hear the voice of truth within, and to see situations from a higher view.
Self-actualization refers to the process of fulfilling one's unique psychological and spiritual nature, such that one becomes a deeply conscious, authentic and empowered being.
At first, our innate urge toward self-actualization usually arises as a desire for emotional healing and better functioning in life. Yet, the search for psychological wellness is always intimately connected with our spiritual need for higher consciousness and meaning.
In fact, a large part of healing comes from uplifting one's paradigm of self and life to a more conscious, open and essential vision. I often find that people are neglecting some very fundamental keys to their transformation. Often, they have settled for rather pessimistic and soulless views about love and life -- and so their attempts to find peace are thwarted. They study and try to understand highly abstract teachings that do not even begin to address the very significant immaturities or existential blindspots they carry.
My approach is energetic and goes to the heart of the matter. Our consciousness is inextricably linked with our life energy, emotions and thoughts.
Before there can be any profound illumination of consciousness or opening to divine love, we must awaken a courageous and inspired attitude toward life. We must have skin in the game and seek to make our lives a reflection of divine beauty, love and intelligence. I work energetically and intuitively with people to both confront them with what they are avoiding in themselves, and to inspire them toward a higher vision.
You say that you went through a spiritual awakening. Most people who talk about awakening are coming from an eastern form of spirituality.
Although my spiritual journey was strongly influenced by the East, my psychological practice and spiritual views are closer to western spiritualism. First, I do not regard our mind, thoughts or sense of self as "illusion." I do not believe that absolute truth or reality is impersonal consciousness. I believe rather that we wrongly identify with a false, disempowered self that seeks love and happiness through self-defeating and illusory activities. Meanwhile our deepest and most real self is made of divine love and the eternal, conscious intelligence of the soul.
The starting point of my work is that we each have a psyche (and personality) through which we experience life and through which we grow spiritually. I do not affirm any eastern or new-age doctrine which says that we have no self; that we do not creatively shape our own thoughts; or that "the mind" or "ego" is the problem.
When our personality is
Self-actualization refers to the process of fulfilling one's unique psychological and spiritual nature, such that one becomes a deeply conscious, authentic and empowered being. At first, our innate urge toward self-actualization usually arises as a desire for emotional healing and better functioning in life. Yet, the search for psychological wellness is always intimately connected with our spiritual need for higher consciousness and meaning.
In fact, a large part of healing comes from uplifting one's paradigm of self and life to a more conscious, open and essential vision. I often find that people are neglecting some very fundamental keys to their transformation. Often, they have settled for rather pessimistic and soulless views about love and life -- and so their attempts to find peace are thwarted. They study and try to understand highly abstract teachings that do not even begin to address the very significant immaturities or existential blindspots they carry.
My approach is energetic and goes to the heart of the matter. Our consciousness is inextricably linked with our life energy, emotions and thoughts.
Before there can be any profound illumination of consciousness or opening to divine love, we must awaken a courageous and inspired attitude toward life. We must have skin in the game and seek to make our lives a reflection of divine beauty, love and intelligence. I work energetically and intuitively with people to both confront them with what they are avoiding in themselves, and to inspire them toward a higher vision.
You say that you went through a spiritual awakening. Most people who talk about awakening are coming from an eastern form of spirituality.
Although my spiritual journey was strongly influenced by the East, my psychological practice and spiritual views are closer to western spiritualism. First, I do not regard our mind, thoughts or sense of self as "illusion." I do not believe that absolute truth or reality is impersonal consciousness. I believe rather that we wrongly identify with a false, disempowered self that seeks love and happiness through self-defeating and illusory activities. Meanwhile our deepest and most real self is made of divine love and the eternal, conscious intelligence of the soul.