Coming soon; A dutch site with my program

A friend asked me today why this blog is in English and not in Dutch?

The good news is I'm already working on a new site in Dutch that will mainly cover my program in the Dutch speaking community, the area I work in mostly at the moment.

I opened this blog in English because I have friends and connections around the world and because it is my vision and intention to do my work, especially the singing workshops in many places besides the Dutch speaking community..
So hopefully my Dutch speaking fellow travellers will bear with me a little longer and see this as good English reading practice :-))

So for my program, check the earlier posts starting with 'Personal Good news'

A complaint free world

A while ago I came across a website that touched me personally. I know complaining as something I have done too much of myself and I have heard too much of around me growing up and in my family.
I now know that complaining changes nothing and does not help anybody, besides spoiling everybody's mood.

So it was a breath of fresh air to find out about 'A complaint Free world'

And of course I want to share it with you all.

What would our world be like without complaining?

Ask yourself: what would my life be like if I wasn't complaining?

And would you be able to get trough 21 days without complaining?

The idea is to wear a (purple) bracelet around your wrist and each time you catch yourself complaining you move the bracelet to the other wrist. The challenge is to wear the bracelet on the same wrist without needing to move it for 21 days!!!

By the way, in meditation and in therapy, to break any habit or to relearn a new habit, 21 days is always used as a minimum time to create the change.

A wonderful challenge that can change your life and than can be a life changing 'therapy' or healing. And so simple and inexpensive.

If need be you can even make your own 'complaintfree bracelet'.

But when you can support the project 'A complaint free world', please do !!

So here's to a great idea, go to: www.acomplaintfreeworld.org

Get your own bracelet and do it: become a 'Complaint free champion!!!'

Read about Jill Bolte Taylor: My stroke of insight

Hi dear reader,

this blog is only a few days old and doing great. A friend wrote a first comment and linked my blog to hers. I am going to give you a link here to something I find amazing in many ways. This seminar which you'll be able to see on video is about a woman who had a stroke and who recovered completely. She explains in minute detail what she experienced and how it affected her. It simply became a spiritual experience and in my opinion many or maybe even all severe illness is or can be one..
Those who know me better will understand her experience has a deep impact on me, since I took care 2 years (still do in some ways) of a beloved friend who suffered a life threathening stroke. My friend is well and practically independent again, but did not fully recover.
No need for sadness here, she is pretty happy and in many ways became a more tolerant and better person.
If I knew how I would add or embed the video directly, but there is still so much to learn about how to work these blogs, websites...

Meantime put this link in your browser, not sure whether it will work with a simple click on it:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/13/when-a-brain-scientist-suffers-a-stroke/?em&ex=1205726400&en=25d09fa1ea79adc2&ei=5087%0A


And by the way, TED's site and talks are pretty much very good news !!!

Free Hugs Brussels Oct 2007

Take the 'Free Hugs' phenomena... Do we hear about it in the daily news???
More hugging, less fighting!!

Buddha With Thousand Hands 2008 (High Quality)

I love this video. The fact that the performers are deaf and can't hear the music, but still are able to perform this way is just awesome.

Eckhart Tolle and Oprah

Many people know Oprah as she is the most famous talkshow presentor in the world. Many people, especially meditators know about Eckhart Tolle because of his book 'The Power of Now'

Now he has written a second book called: 'A new Earth'

Eckhart Tolle is giving classes online for everyone who wants to join, about the content of his new book together with Oprah at www.oprah.com

oprah admits in he first class she is also very interested in spirituality and meditation. She mentions it is one of the most important topics in her life.

Why this is such good news???

Because Oprah reaches more people in a day than most of us can in years. Yeah Oprah... I've watched Oprah doing her thing for years and i like what i see and often get touched by what she does.

The live classes are -for people in Europe- at 3 am in the morning. A bit much for me, but if you're really into it and have the time and energy; any time is a good time.

Finally concepts like 'Being aware', Being silent, Conciousness, meditation, mindfullness, will reach millions of people.

Personal good news - Upcoming events May 08

I consider the fact that more and more people are getting interested in meditation very good news. some people think meditation is airy fairy and means you're not with both feet on the ground. Nothing is further from the truth. It actually means you are standing firmly with your feet in the here and now and facing your feelings and learning to be and beaware of who you are.. The more you live your life in the here-now, the more this is true.

In another post I will certainly elaborate about a life of meditation but for now here's some more events for May.

Meditation evening: Vippassana avond 16/5: 19.30u-21u
Happening in my home, Heerle (Roosendaal), Netherlands

Singing Workshop: Zing je gezond -24/5: 10u-17.30u
Merchtem, Belgium. For more information go to: www.juvenesco.be

Meditation Day: Meditatiedag: 31/5: 10u-17.30u
A whole day of meditation, A day to be with yourself
Happening in my home, Heerle (Roosendaal), Netherlands

Personal good news - Upcoming events april 08

As I mentioned in my first post i would also use this blog for the time being to announce some upcoming events, which for me certainly counts as good news, until I also have my own website..

Singing Workshop: Zing je gezond -19/4: 10u-17.30u
Merchtem, Belgium. For more information go to: www.juvenesco.be

Inner Child Workshop: Heel je Innerlijke kind - 26-27/4: 10-18u
Merelbeke, Belgium. For more information go to: www.astro-ohm.be

Some absolutely amazing pictures

These pictures are so beautiful, they make me feel good that I'm alive.
They arrived this morning in my mailbox and I want to share them here. This is so beautiful..
What you see here is a wave frozen in mid air on Antarctica.

This is just a beginning

Finally I have opened my goodnews blog, that is good news in itself.

This is just a beginning, my own website will be next.

It is something that has been clear to me for many years: bad news and gossip gets much more attention in modern society than positive and good news. As if the beauty and the good for some reason or other is just not so interesting. At least it does not seem to hold people's attention for very long. Look at the daily news on TV and you'll come to the same conclusion. Good news is shunned as if it's a disease, giving people the impression that there is no good news.
What is it in people that makes them excited about misery, especially other people's misery? It is as if it gives most of us energy. Or it makes us feel better, because it is not our own misery.
i am convinced that there is as much good on the planet happening as there is bad, except the good does not get as much attention.

I am making it part of my personal mission to give extra attention and to report about the good news on this planet.

I am also going to use this blog to elaborate a bit more on my own good news. This wil come under the caption 'Personal good news' and will also hold some of the activities I offer.

Last year I made a very important decision, to stop working in a job that did not make me happy. i was working as a Creative Therapist/ Occupational Therapist in a Psychiatric hospital with teenagers. I loved working with the teenagers, but i really did not feel good working in a way that I felt could not support the way I see 'real' treatment.
And I still have the dream to do my own thing, to create my work, my own way of doing things.

Eventhough I am very happy about that decision and it has definitely made me feel much better about myself, it is also a challenge. It is my dream to work for myself, to have my own business and to be my own boss. Since i did not grow up in a family where 'having your own business' is the thing to do, it is not something I learned from home. Both my parents worked for the same government company (telephone company) their whole life.

So I find that i still need to learn certain skills and have certain fears and insecurities to overcome. The good news is that there is lots online, that there are lots of places and people offering courses and ebooks, articles, as well as friends who do have their own business and that have offered me theri support.

Here in my blog I will also give links to places on the www where I have found interesting, beautiful, and helpful sites and people..