SIMPLY MPOWERING®

How have you been over the past weeks?

I had a moment of synchronicity this week. As I opened the quarterly magazine from my health insurance I read the headline "The power of music". It then continued to say: " Music is medicine for the soul - but also for the body. Music therapy takes advantage of that and uses it to help people with physical as well as psychological illnesses." 

Last week I wrote my blog and newsletter about "The magic of music". Even health insurances are starting to realise that there are many different ways to heal... 

Have you maybe taken any small steps or used the "the magic or power of music" by now? 

Speaking of small... Do you remember how small you were when you started this life cycle? 

If we ever question how much we can grow on any level and in all areas in our lives then we just have to remember how much we have grown from one tiny cell to a fully grown human.

I am still a curious child and a life long...

Some of us are experiencing the winter and others are going into the spring. 

Isn't that in itself magical? 

Yesterday I put up some Christmas decoration while watching the landscape outside turning into a winter wonderland. 

I have always loved the winter season. Many people struggle with the lack of daylight and more rainy, cold and grey days. 

It simply shows how much we enjoy the warmth of the sun and the light. 

For me however, there is something magical about those dark days when candles are lit, blankets finally get used and cups of tea or hot chocolate are being enjoyed.

Of course we can grab a good book that will add some cozy flair to such moments. 

Or we can simply listen to relaxing music, put our feet up and breathe. 

Music can change how we feel. It can make us feel more relaxed, present or happy. 

Certain music however can also cause more dissonance in us.

This seems to be connected to different frequencies. Increasingly we will...

I would like to share with you a bit more about the magic of healthy boundaries. 

You might wonder how healthy boundaries can have anything to do with magic? 

Let me elaborate here a little. Many things in my life changed for the better once I had clear boundaries in place. 

When you are able to say "no" to a situation or a person, it will open up a space where you can create more magic for yourself and ultimately others.

I have to admit though that it was at times a turbulent journey to learn how to set healthy boundaries. 

Let me briefly share an example.

The short version: After my dog and I had been attacked for the third time by the same dog and I had ended up with a torn jacket and bite marks on my arm I really had enough. 

I was so angry that I filed a police report, which for me was a very big step to take. My anger was not irrational or abusive. My anger was a very clear emotion that was saying: "Enough of allowing others to harm me...

I would like to share with you a bit more about the magic of one small step.  

Life never ceases to surprise me. Sometimes those surprises bring a lot of challenges and other times they are magical. 

Some challenges can lead to magic further down the road. 

What do I do when I come across challenging situations in my life?

I like to keep it simple. One of my favourite resources is a very simple but powerful question that is rooted in Gestalt Therapy: "What is the smallest possible step that I can take now?" 

As crazy as it might sound but more or less immediately, almost magically, the energy changes and possibilities open up or ideas appear.

It is a matter of first of all accepting that I am somehow stuck and maybe even feel overwhelmed with a situation. This is a very crucial step especially on any healing journey or when you are going through challenges.

If you can name it you can tame it.

Through that acceptance you start opening another door, which is...

Can we find the courage to change career paths and trust that "re-birth" is always possible?

We do not need to physically die and be re-born again to experience a new life, a new family, a new career path etc. We can choose to start something new or follow our neglected passion in any moment in time. 

This week I had the opportunity to talk to 10th graders at a career forum. My career path has not been a linear one and continues to change. I am humbled by teachers and facilitators that I have trained with and they were still sharing their wisdom at age 98, late 80ies and late 70ies. 

When we are young we try to figure out what we want to do in life, which courses to choose, what university to go to. My generation would have done the "sensible thing" and studied something that is "solid", you know what I mean. Very few would have gone into the arts or drama or similar. 

Today's youth is different. While many don't know what courses or studies to choose and are still...

My heartfelt intention is to co-create a new world, no matter how small that might be within the vastness of the universe. We start our own journey with one cell and yet a fully grown human exists of 30 - 40 trillion cells. Amazing isn't it? 

Throughout that co-creative process I would like to give impulses and food for thought. The more we ask questions and the more we become aware of how our current and "old world" works the more will we be able to do things differently in our "new world". Maybe you don't want a new world. Maybe you are absolutely happy with what your current world looks like and that's fine too. 

If you are more like me, somebody who wants to co-create and share a more compassionate and balanced world with the current and next generations, then you might enjoy different impulses, questions and a new level of awareness and consciousness. It might lead you to co-create your own new world. Who knows? 

Maybe this article might give you...

Over the past weeks I had the opportunities to realise how far I have come on my own healing and "feeling whole" journey. By no means was it an easy ride, on the contrary, but it was well worth it! I am sure more is to (over)come and we never know what lies ahead of us. However, there comes a moment in life when clarity (head) and courage (heart) guide us in co-creative collaboration. 

Where would our world be without determined as well as creative visionaries? Richard Branson left school at age 17 with dyslexia. Steve Jobs quit university and spent a lot of his time in his garage. Maybe you or your children have visions or ideas that others feel are too far fetched? Don't give up on them! The world needs new fresh visions and ideas. 

Here I would like to also remind you of a nice exercise especially with your child: replace the word "stubborn" with "determined", replace "bossy" with "leadership skills", replace "daydreamer" with "creative mind" etc. Google pays...

Today I would like to share with you some of the resources that I use to gain clarity when the mind seems "clouded", the body restless and the path unclear. You can also apply those resources if you have bad sleep patterns, feel anxious and worry a lot, are grieving or just feel the need to gain some clarity in life, business, relationships etc and most of all want to relax. 

Before I list all the resources, you can also scroll down to them, that I use and share with my clients I would like to note some observations.

There is something fascinating about our behaviours. The majority of us are avoiding stillness. Have you ever noticed that? Why do we keep ourselves busy and distracted instead of sitting in stillness or merely observing our thoughts? How many of us allow ourselves to also physically move our emotions and let ourselves be moved by what comes from deep inside? 

Sometimes when I observe people I notice that they are permanently "running" - usually away from...

and sunsets are proof that endings can be beautiful ... 

I have uploaded a video with a reading of Herman Hesse's poem "stages". You can find it on youtube or by  clicking the above button. 

I love these quotes. They are simple yet magical and deep. Imagine to apply them to life every single day. You might say "I don't want endings every day" but as you go to bed the day ends... and as you wake up in the morning another day begins... So you are practicing it every day but maybe you never thought about it consciously. 

Maybe you could consider to end your days with a thought of a few lines of gratitude - acknowledged with awareness or written into your journal. Maybe you could start your mornings being present and giving yourself the time that you need to begin it more aware and mindful. Every morning, in fact every moment, you have the opportunity to create a new and different reality and life for yourself and your loved ones. 

I tend to wake up between...

Recently I had a conversation with a friend about "feeling at peace". It made me contemplate  when do we really "feel at peace". Many of us are exploring ways towards a more zen state in life and yet it appears that many are also living with a "false sense of peace". I am curious what it evokes with the reader, listener or viewer when they hear that phrase? 

Let us look at the difference between truly feeling at peace and keeping ourselves in a state of false sense of peace. The brain does not know the difference whether we are imagining or truly feeling it. You might then ask, so why not approach it with "fake it till you make it" and if the brain does not know the difference then "wonderful", peace is peace! Sounds good, doesn't it? Indeed this can be a helpful way. Yet that only works as long as we artificially try and keep ourselves let's say "out of trouble". We can do that for quite some time but eventually it will catch up with us. 

A few...