Ik word gek van die stemmen in mijn hoofd.



Ik ga op ziekenbezoek bij een vrouw, laten we haar Gabriella noemen, die ik lang geleden voor het laatst in de praktijk zag. Ze ging het afgelopen jaar zo nu en dan door me heen: hoe zal het met haar gaan? Op enig moment schreef ik haar een mail om deze vraag aan haar voor te leggen. Ze mailde me dat het niet goed met haar ging. Ze bevond zich in een crisis, waar ze nu langzaamaan aan het uitkrabbelen was; ze gaf aan dat ze graag gebruik maakte van mijn voorstel om elkaar eens te ontmoeten en ze liet weten dat ze de kracht niet had om naar mij toe te komen.

En zo gebeurde het dat ik bij haar langs ging. Na wat over en weer uitgewisseld te hebben, vroeg ik haar wat er gaande was in haar leven. Ze geeft aan dat ze op enig moment een gezondheidscheck had laten doen bij een natuurgeneeskundig centrum, waarvan de uitslag aangaf dat er sprake was van behoorlijke ontstekingen, die op energetisch niveau zichtbaar waren, maar nog niet fysiek.  Ze had op dat moment geen bijzondere klachten, maar nam de uitslag van het onderzoek heel serieus.

De vraag die ik op dit punt aan de lezer wil voorleggen is: wie of wat neemt die uitslag heel serieus?
Is dit de innerlijke stem, die diep van binnenuit aangeeft, zonder spanning en stress, dat deze uitslag aandacht verdient?
Of is het de stem van angst, die spanning en stress teweeg brengt, die maakt dat Gabriella aan de haal gaat met de uitkomst van het onderzoek en in zelftwijfel belandt?

Gabriella gaf aan dat ze vast besloten was om deze ontstekingen aan te pakken, want ja..., ze was zeker niet meer de jongste..., en als ze er niet op tijd werk van zou maken, dan zou ze op enig moment de rekening gepresenteerd krijgen in de vorm van ziekte en dat wilde ze ten alle tijden voorkomen; als er ontstekingen gaande zijn, ook al zijn die nog niet fysiek zichtbaar, dan is dit het moment om het aan te pakken, voordat ik echt ziek ga worden.

Het klinkt reeël, zou je als lezer kunnen denken, ware het niet dat ik de kleur voel van waaruit ze deelt en vertelt: angst.

Ze vertelt verder: ze bezoekt enkele natuurgeneeskundige praktijken die een andere invalshoek hebben, onder andere een kritische blik op de voeding, die zij tot zich neemt. Echter, de andere natuurgeneeskundige praktijk geeft op enig moment ook voedingsadviezen, die weer geheel anders zijn dan de eerdere adviezen.
Ze zegt: ik wist niet meer waar ik goed aan deed, ik raakte verward, de tegenstrijdige stemmen in mijn hoofd werden sterker en sterker, het hield maar niet op, ik voelde angst en omdat ik niet wist wat te eten, hield ik langzaamaan op met eten met als gevolg dat ik erg veel afviel, heel angstig werd en dat waar ik het meest bang voor werd, openbaarde zich: ik kreeg last van ontstekingen en had totaal geen energie meer.

Een familielid van Gabriella informeert de huisarts, het gaat niet goed met haar en ze had nog geen contact opgenomen met de huisarts. De huisarts stuurt haar door naar een diëtist en een psycholoog waar ze binnenkort een kortdurend traject mee afrondt. Ze zegt dat ze nu langzaamaan weer in de opbouw zit; ze kan nog steeds niet veel of lang bewegen, maar ze gaat nu langzaamaan vooruit. Ik had eigenlijk wel naar jou toe willen komen, maar op een bepaald moment ging het niet meer. Ze geeft aan dat het een hele, zware tijd was door de conflicterende stemmen in haar hoofd, die zeiden: je moet dit niet eten, dat is niet goed, zegt Y; ja, maar X zegt dat ik dat wel moet eten, omdat dat de ontstekingen remt, moet ik dat nou wel of niet eten, waar doe ik nu goed aan etc. Ik werd op een gegeven moment helemaal gek van die stemmen.

Op enig moment vraag ik aan haar: wat was de aanpak van de psycholoog?
Ja, zegt Gabriella, dat vraag ik me ook af, wat heeft de psycholoog nou eigenlijk voor mij betekent? Ik zou het niet weten, zegt ze, ik zal mijn schriftje erbij pakken en dan kan ik wat delen over de sessies, waar het over ging. Ik luister en ik merk op dat er totaal niet gesproken is over de loop der dingen, de situatie waarin Gabriella zich bevindt en wat er ten grondslag ligt aan de conflicterende stemmen: angst voor ziekte en daaronder weer angst voor de vergankelijkheid en de eindigheid van het bestaan (ze is op leeftijd) oftewel angst voor de dood. Er is geen basis van vertrouwen in haar van waaruit ze niet over de mogelijkheid beschikt om naar binnen te keren waar de innerlijke stem leidend is: de innerlijke stem die, zonder stress en spanning, aangeeft wat er al dan niet nodig is betreffende de uitslag van het natuurgeneeskundige onderzoek. Integendeel, wanneer angst de motor is, worden we een speelbal van emoties en tegenstrijdige krachten (de stemmen) wat zo kenmerkend is voor de huidige mens, die niet thuis is in het hart en in het lichaam: we weten niet dat we liefde en licht zijn, we laten ons leiden door zorgen, angst, wantrouwen, tekort etc.

Ik vraag op enig moment aan haar wat zij kan zien, in retrospectief, wat de loop der dingen haar toont. Ze heeft geen idee, ik raakte gewoon gevangen in de angst.
Ik deel het nodige en zeg op enig moment: ja, dat klopt, je raakte gevangen in de angst, en als ik zo naar je luister, dan hoor ik angst voor de vergankelijkheid en de eindigheid van het bestaan, en er is geen vertrouwen; ik hoor het aan de wijze waarop je vertelt, de kleur van je stem en geef enkele voorbeelden uit wat ze heeft gedeeld.
Ze ziet het..., ja, daar gaat het over, zegt ze. Alles wat je deelt en nu zegt..., het wordt weer wakker in mij..., ik was het vergeten..., ik werd gewoon gegijzeld door de mind, door de stemmen; geen gewaarzijn...helemaal op gegaan in de verhalen en de angst en niet weten wat te doen, als de dood dat ik was om de verkeerde beslissing te nemen.

Ik deel een ervaring met haar en zeg: ik herken deze angst voor de dood uit het verleden waarbij een chirurg aangaf dat 80% van mijn schildklier verwijderd moest worden; er was 30% kans dat het verwijderde weefsel kwaadaardig zou zijn en dus 70 % kans dat het goedaardig was; in het laatste geval zou de operatie dus onnodig zijn geweest. Ik vond het destijds een hele moeilijke beslissing. In weerwil van familie, die graag zag dat ik mij liet opereren, en na een wankele periode van tegenstrijdige krachten (de stemmen) en angst en een daarop volgende fase van inkeer, bewoog het van binnenuit toch naar 'niet opereren'; ondanks de mogelijkheid dat het kwaadaardig zou zijn. Toen ik dit aan de chirurg mede deelde 'ik ga voor de 70% kans dat het goedaardig is' zei hij: we zien u over een half jaar wel terug mevrouw, niemand houdt die onzekerheid uit... en later ontving ik een telefoontje waarbij mij werd mede gedeeld dat zij hun handen van mij aftrokken en mij niet verder meer wilden begeleiden.
Tja, ik werd toen volledig op mezelf terug geworpen, vergelijkbaar met wat jij afgelopen jaar hebt door gemaakt; de enorme onzekerheid en angst die ik destijds ervaarde... en toch was er een kracht, die op enig moment tot een besluit kwam: ik laat me niet opereren; en er was geen twijfel meer, geen tegenstrijdige stemmen toen de beslissing eenmaal in mij was gevallen. Ondertussen zijn we 16 jaar verder in de tijd en is er nog steeds sprake van een goedaardige tumor, waar ik mee leef.

Tja, zo krijgen we allemaal de nodige uitdagingen en testen op ons bord, die ons tonen waar we staan: gaan we mee met wat de mind ons voorschotelt, de verhalen, de stemmen, de angst...?
Of kunnen we vanuit een ruimer perspectief de mogelijkheid tot groei van de ziel zien en van daaruit bewegen? 

Ik deel met haar dat zij zich in een overgangsfase bevindt waar deze (gezondheids)crisis ook aan gerelateerd is: het bestaan daagt je uit en vraagt je om te vertrouwen en los te laten, op alle mogelijke wijzen..., ik weet dat je gaat verhuizen naar een andere woonplaats, ik weet dat je al zoveel jaren hier woont: in deze woonplaats, in dit huis, met al die spullen waar herinneringen aan verbonden zijn; ik weet dat er veel twijfel is geweest m.b.t. de beslissing om elders te gaan wonen, maar dat op enig moment toch het besluit is gevallen in jou om te gaan. En nu bevindt je je in de ontwortelingsfase, alsof je met wortels en al wordt los getrokken van dat wat bekend, veilig en vertrouwd is. En dan komt er ook nog een natuurgeneeskundig onderzoek met een negatieve uitslag om de hoek kijken, waardoor het loslaten wederom wordt getriggerd: geen controle over lijf en leden; infecties die zich energetisch tonen, maar nog niet zichtbaar op fysiek vlak, angst voor de dood, die je vertwijfeld doet uitreiken naar verschillende therapeuten, in de hoop op verlossing/genezing.

Wat een geweldige kans doet zich nu in je leven voor om je voor te bereiden op het grote loslaten: het afscheid van het leven, het afscheid van alles wat ons dierbaar is, van alles waar we aan gehecht zijn en ons aan vast klampen. Een voorproef van de ontmoeting met de dood. Zie wat er gaande is, laat je niet leiden door de stemmen van de mind, wees gewaar, wees aanwezig, hier en nu, leid jezelf af als de stem indringend is, beweeg mee met de flow van de dag die door je heen gaat in plaats van zoveel te moeten...

Door nu te oefenen in los laten, door mee te bewegen met de flow van het bestaan, in vertrouwen dat het bestaan voor je zorgt, kom je weer thuis, zak je in het bestaan, in het hart, waar het goed toeven is. 

We hebben nog een aantal aspecten besproken, die eigenlijk goed weer gegeven worden in de mail die ik haar naderhand stuur met de zenkaart van Osho die de naamt draagt 'letting go'. Ze mailde me terug dat ze heel dankbaar was voor ons gesprek en ook voor de mail waarin alles nog eens helder werd benoemd.

De mail:
Mooie ontwikkeling waar je je bevindt, niet gemakkelijk, maar een uitgelezen kans voor een doorbraak...van de mind naar vertrouwen, naar het hart, naar overgave aan het bestaan... waar je door gedragen wordt, omdat jij deel bent van het geheel.

Zie de stemmetjes, maar ga er niet in mee, voedt ze niet, kies voor ontspanning..., loslaten, overgave..., laat  je leiden door de flow in jou...de flow van het bestaan wat door deze verschijning heen werkt...nu een wandeling, nu pak ik een kast aan, nu ga ik even liggen, nu vraag ik hulp etc.

Wees mild voor jezelf...dat je contacten heb opgepakt waar je eigenlijk niet mee verder wilde..., omdat je je zo alleen voelde..., heel menselijk...en vertrouw op de innerlijke stroom van wijsheid in jou, een heel natuurlijke stroom, die bepaalt hoe deze contacten zich verder ontvouwen...of je alsnog of wederom weer afscheid neemt of iets anders. Alles lost zich vanzelf op, op het juiste moment, wat niet het moment van het ego hoeft te zijn, geef het aan het bestaan, leg het in je hart, laat los...en het wordt vanzelf helder waar het heen beweegt.

En verder: opruimen van je huis...geef weg of verkoop wat je niet gebruikt...
Een mooie oefening in het verleden los laten, wat uiteindelijk allemaal voorbereiding is op het grote loslaten: de dood: het grote onbekende.

Dus lieve schat...geef je over, elke kans of situatie waarin je de mogelijkheid hebt te oefenen met loslaten en vertrouwen, maak er gebruik van...en zie de ondersteuning van het bestaan..., vraag hulp aan het universum...en adem...ontspan...

Heel veel sterkte! En mocht je nog eens willen uitwisselen, je weet me te vinden.

www.bewustzijnscoaching
LinkedIn: Caroline Ootes
Facebook: Caroline Ootes, Ontwaken, Bewustzijnscoaching

 

Love your mind, don't make it your enemy.



You have to go through your suffering, through your own hell. No one else can do it for you. 
(Osho)

A client comes for a coaching consult. She indicates that she wants peace in her head, that she is very much in her head. "I want an answer on everything, a explanation where it comes from," she says.
And then..., I ask, what does it yield you? Does the question then disappear or does a new question come in its place?
She laughs, from recognition: "Yes, those questions go on and on... that never stops, but I can’t stop it, it is a compulsive tendency." And what does it bring you? I ask. "Well, if I have a explanation, I can steer it or let it go.... I just have an issue with control and I can't stand it if I have no grip on anything. And this all started when I became unemployed a few years ago. And then I feel pressure that I have to go after work, that I have to apply, but there is no movement in me to do so, and I just don't understand what is happening in me..., I've never been like that..., I feel so frustrated ..., I don't recognize myself anymore. Before I became unemployed I was a completely different woman: independent, powerful, self-reliant, I was an entrepreneurial woman. But now I make a drama of everything. I just don't know myself anymore... And then I wonder if I should start to feel more or if I think too much... or too little. And my head goes on and on. Eventually I go outside to ride or walk very mindfull, just to get out of my head. I say to myself: now it must be over with that compulsive tendency to think..., but as soon as I get home, the head takes it over again. I didn't had that before I became unemployed. I don't get it, I don't understand myself anymore."

Recognizable to the reader? The tendency to float around in the head? The tendency to formulate an explanation or answer on every question in your life? The tendency to psychologize and analyze from an underlying need for control: if I understand what is happening in me, then I can steer it or let it go (if there would be a button to let go, you would already have done it, or not?). Recognizable that it keeps going on and you can't stop the inclination?

I feel her fear..., she loses grip on her life..., a grip that no one ever has, even though we think so... Nothing is clear and predictable for her anymore, she no longer has her life in her hand (what she never had). Since she has been unemployed, her personal will-power is extinguishing, she doesn't recognizes herself no more... and the mechanism (willpower) with which she could sweep tensions under the rug, which worked so well before she became unemployed, no longer functions. The ego is in a degradation process and the mind pulls out all the stops to survive: analyze, psychologize, fear, doubt, confusion.  Well, how do you find peace in your head then? 

I feel compassion for her and share with her what I perceive: there is a dying process going on, the personal will power goes out. Not easy..., but it eventually brings you home, it takes you to surrender to existence.  Everything is at the right place and time (a statement she used before she became unemployed) and serves you to wake up from the grip of the ego, from the grip of the mind, who wants to control, grasp, hold on, be secure and clear (this is me, my identity). That is not Life itself, because Life itself ..., what you essentially are..., flows... and lives in surrender with what is. I see the perfection of existence working through her: the suffering that serves to come home to the Self. I have gone through it myself and recognize what she describes: the personal will doesn't work anymore..., the image you had about yourself..., all the qualities with which you identified yourself..., it all collapses..., you don't recognize yourself anymore.  And to surrender to that..., to that demolition process..., to the fact that you have nothing in hand anymore (which was always the case), is not easy, the mind rebels, everything has to stay the way it was... Well, and then you come to a point in your life that everything that was solidified (job/image about yourself/your identity) is being turned upside down...

A follow-up appointment is made a month later. The evening before the consultation I come across a satsang of Osho on you tube with the title: How to stop thinking? After writing the latest blogs about self-inquiry, I wonder how Osho would answer this question. I listen to the satsang and enjoy his wisdom: Love your mind, don't make it an enemy. What a wonderful statement..., so true. Everything is at the right place and time: a coincidence - listening to the satsang - fits seamlessly with the client's request. I share the essence of the satsang with her, it comes in. And I share the metaphor described in my blog 'transforming beliefs, the direct way'. I see that something energetically happens during the transfer. 

Another month later she comes back. She says: something has really shifted in me and I blame you, she looks at me and gives a wink. A huge burden has fallen away from me. From one day to the next a load of stress fell away from me. I just don't understand what I've been so worried about all these years ..., all that stress was not necessary at all ..., I can see that now.

Well, it is so true what she is saying: all that stress was not necessary at all. But if you are in the middle of it, if you are being held hostage by the mind, if you believe all your thoughts/emotions, if you come from the mind (now I must be mindful) and battle with the mind, then life is a hell...,  until you discover the door that has always been open: witness consciousness.

Amazing how life can run... Yes, witness consciousness, that's what it's all about: getting out of the mind. Not by battleling the mind, but through love of the mind: see without judgment what takes place in the mind.  Louise indicates that my explanation about the metaphor of the hall of a theather (consciousness) and the stage (the mind) was very helpful to her (see blog: transforming beliefs, the direct way).

Love your mind, don't make it your enemy.
For those who like, hereby the link to Osho 'How to stop thinking?': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCShgsLzpjA


www.thehealingcircle.one
LinkedIn: Caroline Ootes

Nothing is certain, learn to love that.

 

If nothing is certain, everything is possible. 

We (my partner and our daughter) are on holiday in another country, a country where we haven't been before. At some point our daughter shows that she misses her sister, who died last year (summer 2016) around this time. She indicates that during other holidays with the family she was used to go out with her in the evening, that is no longer possible. She is sad. 

Later she let us know that she is in the mood of meeting peers to chill together. She is placing a message on tinder friends and not much later she's receiving a message from a young man of her age, who is 17 km away from our address in a holiday home, together with two other men. She's showing us a picture of the young man, who's indicating that they have rented a spacious holiday home, which is located in a remote spot. 

We are on the beach when this conversation is happening. My partner is a few meters away, he is lying in the shadow and is listening from a distance to the conversation that unfolds between my daughter and me. She wants  an adventure, she says. She wonders how she gets there and how she returns home at night. During the conversation my partner stands up and walks towards us. He makes it clear that he doesn't want her to go: an unknown country, 17 km away from our address, isolated house, 3 men she doesn't know..., what does that all mean..., it is our last evening, he says, I don't want you to go over there. 

In everything I feel that his reaction comes from fear. So afraid to lose another daughter..., he feels that he has no control over the situation... Well, how do you deal with such a situation if your daughter is an adult woman of 26 years and your partner clearly indicates that he doesn't like this trip from his daughter? 

Her father goes into the sea. She resumes the conversation with me. What do you think? What shall I do? No idea, I say, what is going through you now? Well, I don't want to disappoint Dad, and of course it is also nice to end up with a dinner and I also understand that he is afraid, but yes, I am 26 years old... and I feel a pressure when Daddy is talking like that..., it feels like I can't do what I want..., I just love some adventure... 

Okay, and further..., what else is going on in you? Well, I like it to meet people and chill out with each other, but yes, transport is still a problem: how do I get there and how do I get back home? What shall I do? Do what is right for you, I say, even if it is not right for your father. You are not responsible for his feelings, whether that is fear... or disappointment from an expectation that he has about our last night. And of course, your father has every right to express himself, to express his need and to show his fear, but that doesn't mean you have to stick to it. The pressure you experience is not caused by your father, the pressure lives in you, it is the pressure of adaptation, which lives in each of us. It is not easy to be your-Self, to be faithful to the inner voice, especially when the other person has an expectation that doesn't match with what you want. It is up to you to discover what the inner voice is whispering to you, to discover what is right for you. And there are several possibilities: you can first go out for dinner with us and then visit these young men, you can go out for dinner with us and then see what the possibilities are in the immediate environment to meet some peers (café in de neighborhood/ happening on the beach), you can eat out with us and then we walk together to the old city to stroll and have a drink somewhere, you can also decide not to obey the urge to adventure, to experience what that brings about in you, what you meet in yourself if you don't 'go'. 

She lets it all sink in for a moment. At some point she says: I am not going,  I don't know how to get there and also the return journey is a problem. Can't you pick me up? No, I say, I don't feel like that. I want to bring you as long as it is light, nice to explore the area by car, but you have to arrange the return journey differently. Okay, she says, I'm not going, too complicated. 

Some time later the young man appt, he is ready to pick her up, but since he wants to drink some alcoholic drinks himself, he can't bring her back to the address where we are staying. His reaction changes her thoughts: she indicates that she wants to go to the invitation and asks if he can arrange a taxi for the return journey. Not much later, a name and telephone number of a taxi driver who is willing to bring her home, even if it is in the middle of the night, follows. She says: I am going..., first I am going to eat with you and Dad and then I will let him pick me up from our address. Okay, I say, then it seems nice to meet him at the moment he comes to pick you up and I want the address where he stays, his name and phone number. Can you show me the picture of this young man again? I look once more and feel the energy of the young man on the photo: good energy, confidence-inspiring. The situation as it unfolds feels right for me.
 
My daughter says: Do I have to tell it to daddy? 
We'll see how it unfolds..., I don't know that yet either. In any case, you can borrow the money for the taxi and it's nice that we're going out for dinner together, your father will like that. 

After eating, she is picked up from our residence address. We walk outside and say hello to the young man. He gets out of the car, introduces himself. I share with him our thought: we are in an unfamiliar environment, we don't know you and our daughter is dear to us. He reacts with understanding: I can imagine, he says, very well to keep an eye on her. After the short acquaintance my partner is reassured. She steps in and promises to send an app. I lived on the assumption that she would send the address of the young men's stay. The next day it turned out that she had already mentioned the location prior to her appointment, which I hadn't registered properly. 

Three quarters of an hour later I go to bed, there hasn't yet been an app with the address. She's probably forgotten that..., well, it's okay..., I'm going to sleep. After a few hours I go to the toilet and then look at the phone. No message. It's a pity, I don't know how things are going with her and the address where she is staying is not known (I thought). I am in the zone of 'uncertainty'. And yet there is no movement to send her an app. 

I get back in bed. It is warm, I can't sleep. I see one scenario after the other scenario for my mind's eye appearing, unmoved I look at the possibilities: she can be raped, she can be murdered, she can experience a great evening and get back home somewhere in the night, she can have a great time and decide to stay asleep, she can have so much fun that she decides to stay with them for another week. I see the possibilities and I am calm under it. 

But behind the scenarios there is a different deep tone, a tone that is related to fear: the tone of the uncertain, the tone of not knowing, of the unknown, of total openness, what Life itself is: unknown, fresh, new, an adventure. It feels frightening... that total openness. 
Around three o'clock I visit the toilet again and look again on the phone: no message. I'll call her. She picks up, she has fun and is now waiting for the taxi to come home. I am glad that she likes it, that she enjoys, without her sister, who can't be there anymore. And for us..., for me... another test of Life itself: surrender to existence itself, that's what it's about..., without any reserve..., surrender to total openness..., not knowing what the next moment brings, not knowing what the outcome is, not knowing how this situation will unfold..., which is always the case..., even though we live under the assumption that we can control existence and/or situations... 
The reality is that we have no control at all, that is the actual situation what we prefer to avoid as long as we view ourselves as separate from existence: "I" and the world. 

And what does the world mean to us? Is there confidence in us? Or do we experience the world as threatening and hostile? What is our perspective? The "I" (ego) knows no trust, the "I" is a creation of the mind through which we experience ourselves separately from Life itself. The 'I' wants certainty and clarity, wants to know what and when, but the reality is that nothing is certain, there is no hold, there is nothing to cling to, even if we think so, even though we try to create all kinds of certainties (home, partner, work, health, etc.). 

And then I hear my teacher say: nothing is certain, learn to love that. Yes, that is what we experienced to the fullest in the summer of 2016: the death of our daughter. I feel that a deep process of release is going on in me..., a slow dismantling of the 'I', of the identity, of the self-image (this is me). 

Nothing is certain anymore..., that realization is going on, a process of demolition is taking place... And if nothing is certain, all answers are possible, all scenarios..., because that is Life. Trust in existence, that's what it's all about..., which, incidentally, doesn't mean naive stepping into a situation. 
In this situation it meant for me the following aspects: viewing of the photo, getting acquainted, name and phone number of the young man and the address of their stay. 

And so the universe regularly carries out unforeseen tests like the above situation with our daughter. And the consciousness in me is watching: What does this situation bring about in me? How do I react? From fear and being worried or trust? No address of the young man's stay (I thought) + no movement to send an app to ask for the address... In the past I would have contacted directly from fear in such situations... Well, that's Life. 

Which tests of the universe do you encounter? Do you see them? And what do these tests bring about in you? Is there resistance? Are you stuck? Or are you moving? Are you investigating for yourself what this test is showing you? 

Every test has the potential for growth, for consciousness. And then I am very grateful to our daughter for her adventurous spirit, her trust in humanity, a mirror for us, even though she sometimes makes a mistake. 

The next day I read the blog to her and I ask her if it's okay if I publish it? Yes, she says, it's okay. What is the hitch that I hear, I say. I am afraid that people will fall over me again, that I haven't taken you and Dad into account, while Simone died about this time a year ago. Well, I say, I'll put that in the blog..., maybe they'll also understand the other side of the coin..., that you serve us in our growth..., it's not always easy..., I have to admit, but I am grateful to you..., very grateful for who you are... 


www.thehealingcircle.one
LinkedIn: Caroline Ootes

Courage means to feel fear and yet follow your heart.



Courage means to feel fear and yet follow your heart.

We are on holiday. Acquaintances from the environment come by, on visit. The husband and wife share the facts of the past year. We listen to the news and ask here and there. Nice to hear what concrete changes have taken place in their lives (refurbishment/other job).

The pace of the conversation is 'high'. One story after another is shared. After a while I notice that there is no reciprocal exchange. They share, we (my partner and I) listen. What makes this exchange so?

What I notice is that there is little space in the conversation, space in the sense of openness, space in the sense of time-lag, space in the sense of pauses during sharing, space in the sense of: silence. The silence, the openness, the time-lag from which you can experience depth..., a real meeting and humor.

At a certain moment a question is asked by them: what news do you have?
I don't feel any impuls to share anything. Nothing comes up. I have no news to share.
We have gone through a process after the death of our daughter (summer 2016) of which they are aware.

The energy in the company is 'high' or is 'rushed', 'fast'. I notice that I need some time to sag, to descend, to feel what needs to be shared from within, but that time is lacking. And I don't speak out about that. My partner makes an attempt to share some news. The news is picked up in a certain way and translated by the others. There is no exchange going on and soon the roles are reversed again. Here and there I make another comment, but there is no real meeting going on.

I view our interaction. Yes, that's how it goes..., this is the main menu, not the starter, but the main menu: the facts. No silence, break, time-lag from which depth and humor can arise, but sending at a fast pace.

He lacks contact, he lacks the exchange of emotions, the visitor indicates. I understand that when I see the conversation. He feels alone, lonely, knows few people. I understand that, if I listen to the conversation like that.

After an hour and a half the time comes to say goodbye. The man indicates that we can always come by if we need something..., that they would like to walk with us... and finally he invites us for a barbecue in 6 days.

And then it comes down to it: What do I say? What is my truth? What do I feel? Do I want further contact? Do I want to barbecue with them? And dare I express myself even if the other person experiences this as a rejection or disappointment?

One thing is clear to me on forehand: I don't want to barbecue. I don't feel like spending a few hours of my time with people moving at the level of news. Not that something is wrong with them (they are sympathetic people) or with the exchange of news, but that can also be done by making a chat, now and then.

Okay, the invitation. What is my answer?
I say: I don't know yet. To which the other person reacts: how is it possible that you don't know it now? I say: I want to consult with my partner first, I'll let you know. Why is consultation needed for this? he ask. You know now if you want to barbeque in 6 days, or not? (And that's right, I know my answer, but I am not alone, there is also a partner, and I don't find it easy to say 'no').

And then he looks questioningly at my partner: what do you think? And I say again that I want to consult with my partner: I'll let you know in a few days. My partner nods in agreement to me and the company. I see and feel that the visitor is irritated and feels rejected.

I pick up the thread again and say: I don't know the answer now, maybe it just feels too fast, it feels more right when we agree to barbecue in a month..., and I also just want to tune in with my partner. To which the visitor responds irritably: About a month? he says, well, then I don't know if I'm there, maybe I'll be on vacation. To which I say: Okay, so be it. He doesn't like my answer. And I add: If the answer is 'no', if we reject your invitation, don't see it as a disapproval of you. It is not about you, I like you, but the question is whether I want to meet with you in this way. Well, he reacts really annoyed: I want to know a few days in advance if you are coming, so I have time to do the shopping. I will let you know in time, I say.

Do you feel the conversation? Do you feel how difficult it is to remain true to yourself if you feel a strong appeal from the other side to contact? If you know that the other person feels lonely, even though I am not responsible for the loneliness of the other person? Do you feel what a huge challenge there is to speak out, to live your truth?

Every now and then a chat or a cup of coffee/tea, that is the answer from within or my truth. It is not easy to stand up to give this message in all openness and honesty. I don't reject them, but that is how they interpret it. The answer it is not about them, but about me: what is right for me? Even if that is not right for the other...

Yes, but you can't always follow your inner truth? That is selfish.
Is that right? Is it selfish to be faithful to yourself? Or is it selfish of the other person to assume in advance that you meet the expectation (the invitation) of the other person? It is an invitation, right? In other words: a question, right? And several answers are possible for a question: yes, no, maybe. Can I say 'no'? Or should I actually say 'yes', because the other person feels otherwise rejected or disappointed, as if I am responsible for the other's reaction?

Am I responsible for the pain that the other person carries, the pain that is touched at the moment when I say 'no', the pain that has ever arisen in his or her history? Do I then have to live the life that others expect from me because they may feel rejected or disappointed?

Do I have reached the point where I can receive a rejection from the other person, knowing that this rejection says nothing about me, but everything about the other person? He or she gets triggered by a 'no', he or she has an expectation which I can't meet.The answer that I have to give must be a 'yes', there is no space for a different answer.
Is this love?

How big is the other person's heart when implicit demands are made?
Is it selfish to listen to yourself? To find out what's right for you? Even if that isn't right for the other person... Do I have to live to all the expectations and desires of others? So that I ignore the answer that knocks from the inside?

From which do we want to meet the expectations of others? Is it guilt or fear? Then I am not a good...: father, mother, daughter, son, neighbor/husband, partner, employee, employer?

Are we moving along with the expectations to prevent possible judgments of others? Judgments that still exist in ourselves, because otherwise the judgments of others would not touch us at all. Judgments that come from convictions, which we have received from childhood: if you think of yourself, you are an egoist, then you don't take the other person into account. Is that right? Are you an egoist when you take yourself into account? Are you an egoist if you following what is true for you?

To what extent are you really present, in connection, in contact, when you say 'yes', while it is a 'no' inside? To what extent is that affectionately towards the other? But above all to yourself? Why do so many people feel tired and exhausted? Could this have to do with the fact that we don't listen to what the inner voice indicates, because we are lived by all sorts of convictions that have been given to us by educators and society?

Okay, back to the situation. The invitation for the barbecue. I consult with my partner and ask him what he wants. He indicates that he doesn't like barbecuing. Every now and then a cup of coffee or tea, fine. And maybe now and then a walk with the male visitor, but no barbecue.

This is the answer I sent the visitors:

Ha dear people,
Barbecue: no. We like to visit you on Sunday, see the renovation and have a chat, if it is okay for you too.

I got the following answer: Hi, Okay on Sunday.

Well, that's the way it goes..., and maybe he'll ask on Sunday why we don't want to barbecue. Again a challenge: what do I say? And my answer is differs from my partner's response. Do I dare to show openly and honestly what the inner voice tells me? Every now and then a chat, that's it, it has nothing to do with you personally, this is just the answer I feel from the inside.

I wonder what will unfold on Sunday.

PS does this mean that my partner has to choose the same? No. If he wants to go for a walk, eat, chat or otherwise..., go ahead... you're a free person... just like me.

The liberty that is rising in me, I grant everyone else.


www.thehealingcircle.one
LinkedIn: Caroline Ootes

When the heart is closed, the mind reigns.



When the heart is closed, the mind reigns.

We don't see reality as it is, it is the mind that determines what we see. And as long as the mind is at the helm, we look at reality from a colored pair of glasses. These glasses consist labels that we stick on ourselves, the other and the world.
Example: the world is unsafe, all those foreigners and refugees take over our country and commit violence against homosexuals and women.

In other words, we see reality through a veil of opinions, judgments, preferences and disapproval, religious beliefs and so on..., so we don't see reality as it is, but as we conceive it.
We are a prisoner of the mind, without realizing that.
And this is not an individual issue (some people have prejudices and others don't), no, it is a collective matter: humanity is not at home in the Heart.
We live from fear and distrust.
Fear of shortage: foreigners take our jobs and houses (conviction).
Fear of fellow man: Turkish people and Moroccans can't be trusted (profiteers and rioters).
Fear of condemnation and violence: as a homosexual we no longer walk hand in hand on the street, because we don't want to provoke others (conviction).
As long as we are not at home in the Heart, we are hurting ourselves and others. We are hurting ourselves with judgments about ourselves: the feeling of not being good enough, shame and guilt etc. 
And we hurt others, whom we label as 'profiteers', 'unwanted' and 'not welcome'.

Painful, because we are all people..., and no one is more or less than the other. Painful to be excluded as a Moroccan, Turk, refugee, gay, female, Jew... and so on. Cause: identification with the mind.

Identification with the mind means that we don't approach the other 'openly'. There is a veil of opinions between you and the other(s).
And this makes it so difficult to really understand each other, to meet each other from heart to heart. 
Consequence: discussion, wanting to be right (my point of view is true, yours not), misunderstandings (because we can't empathize with the other), quarrel, hatred, exclusion, war. 

We don't see the light in ourselves and therefore not in the other: the heart is closed. And we don't realize that we fill our ecosystem day in and day out with all our thoughts, opinions and judgments… 
We don't know better... From an early age we are brought up in the collective field of the mind. It is not surprising that the world looks like it is.

Do you recognize what I indicate? Do you recognize the tendency in yourself to continually value everything and everyone? 
Opinions all over the place...

Do you ever think about the impact of this tendency? The impact of all those judgments that we hold about ourselves and others? What does that do to us and to the other persons? Is it loving to criticize ourselves and others time and time again? 

How do we approach others when we assume that others are our enemy, not welcome? How do we approach others when we are afraid of others? What kind of energy do we transfer to others where they react on?

What does it do to Moroccans, Turks (etc.) and refugees, who are not allowed to participate in society? Is it loving to deal with fellow human beings in this way?

Do you ever reflect on the impact of all those convictions, opinions on society as a whole? And the world?

Well, the Mind versus the Heart.

Example: The polling station.
There is a man of immigrant origin with partner in a voting booth. 
The man wears a djellaba (long robe). There are some people waiting at the table where the ballots are handed out. The man of immigrant origin stands behind his partner, bent over her in the voting booth. 
A man, standing in the queue, speaks to the immigrant man with a loud, aggressive voice: 'Hey, what are you doing over there..., that isn't allowed at all..., you can't stand in the voting booth with someone else. A man who sits behind the table with the ballots, takes it over and says with firm charge: 'You are here in the Netherlands, you must comply with the rules of the Netherlands, it isn't allowed to be in the voting booth with two people. 
The waiting man takes over the baton again and says in a loud, aggressive tone: 'I don't know what you're doing there with that phone on the ballot, but that's forbidden.' 
To which the man of immigrant origin says: 'I help my wife, she can't read and write, and she also has the right to vote. 
The mood is charged and hostile.

Do you see the effect of the mind? The elaboration of judgments and opinions about the other? Any idea what images exist in the man, who is waiting in the queue, about the couple in the voting booth?

Possible images: 'Another foreigner who doesn't behave, who ignores the rules and then decides for his wife what she has to vote, she must certainly vote exactly what he deems good, all women of immigrants are being suppressed, just look, this is what happens here and now, we don't tolerate that.'

And what was the reality? The Muslim man helped his wife fill in the ballot. And the rule is that it isn't allowed that two people are in a voting booth. That's all. 

How would the situation have gone when the collective field is the Heart? 

And that's what I want to end this blog with: the Heart. 
There are people who receive refugees in their homes, there are people who guide refugees in the Netherlands, there are people who give Moroccans (etc.) a chance to participate in society, there are people who take an initiative to bridge the gap between population groups, a gap that is caused by the mind.

Not so long ago I watched a documentary: Nice People.
A documentary about a group of Somali immigrants in Borlänge, Sweden, who were be steamed in 2014 to participate in the world bandy band (a variant of ice hockey) in Russia as the national team of Somalia.
Look at the documentary from the Heart..., in my case the tears rolled down my cheeks. Wonderful to see and feel the effect of such an initiative on the immigrants and residents of the Borlänge. 
Google 'Nice People' or try this link: http://www.moviesthatmatter.nl/festival/programma/film/1881 

Finally, take a look at the way the mind works throughout the day. Observe all those opinions and judgments that go through you on a daily basis. Experience what it is like to live a day without judgments and opinions, to be present one day without preference or disapproval, to experience one day of your life from the Heart, out of compassion and openness. And if that doesn't work, then you may realize for the first time that you are a prisoner of the mind. 
Don't condemn yourself for that..., we are all ignorant of our true nature. 


www.thehealingcircle.one
LinkedIn: Caroline Ootes