CHAPTER 6.
TRANSPORTATION

CHAPTER 12.
CHRONIC DISEASE

CHAPTER 14.
THE ENVIRONMENT

CHAPTER 15.
THE NEW HEALTH CARE

Criteria of a healthy body/mind & spirit

Rooted in „Heaven" and earth. To be yourSelf in feeling contact with the body. Emotional self-integration. Balanced energies. Clear insight, love, compassion and strength. Celebration.

What can go wrong

Alienated from one’s true Self and isolated from the body. Thrown back on your small self (self-centeredness) and dominated by thoughts, emotions and desires. Addicted to external factors.

What is true for the body, also proves to be true for our mind. In this chapter, parallels are drawn between the input-processing and output of nutrients, waste products and toxins on the one hand and thoughts, emotions and energy on the other. The latter also appear to be a flow system! However, usually your mind is quite obstructed. The obstruction being you. Let me explain. If thoughts come into your mind, you unconsciously identify with them, which means that a particular thought occupies your mind. For a short time, this thought is running away with you, hence we say „you are in thoughts" (Dutch expression). If the thought goes, another thought will immediately replace the previous one, in such a way, that there is no gap between them. Which means, that „normally" your mind is continuously occupied. By identifying with them, the thoughts are passing the filter - you - of pre-existing beliefs, self-image, ideals, conclusions, memories, desires, fears and dreams. It is the processing part of your mind. Every new thought therefore will, after processing, be „incorporated", become part of this already existing „storehouse". Hence, in your „normal" mind, thoughts accumulate. Depending on your self-awareness they will feed positivity or negativity. Working on your conditionings, pain, fear and anger certainly will reduce the chance of a negative resonance. The degree of accumulation though, depends on what you are going to do with them. The more you are able to actualize your thoughts - though creative expression, work, love, enjoyment, hobby, helping others - the less they will become permanent part of the inner pile.

Now, several factors determine the quality of the mind as described above. As with the metabolism, many things go wrong here. The input - information - often does not meet our real needs. The accumulation of thoughts, emotions and desires has become such a high mountain, that we are completely covered by it. Our real Self is therefore suffocating under the pile. Moreover, in our „information age", there simply appears to be too much information for us to „digest". If we cannot process our information anymore, in a way that it is benefiting, it will accumulate and poison us. Many of us have already passed that limit. Ironically, it can be said, that „the more information, the more numb we become". With regard to the processing, our digestibility appears to be greatly depending on how occupied we are with our „own things". If much of our mind is involved in coping with all kinds of problems: private ones, in the relationship and at the workplace - or because of unemployment - then very little space will be left for processing new things. It is a complaint very often heard nowadays. Everything has become „too much", a good reason to „get away from it all". The output at last, will determine, if we are able to still more or less balance ourselves. If not, things will not go out properly, with „reverse poisoning" as a consequence. Expressing our thoughts, ideas, ideals, love, compassion, strength and creativity in a meaningful context, nowadays appears not to be easy for many of us. To make the right choices is increasingly difficult, in such a way, that we are not choosing at all anymore. All we want is „peace of mind", hence our non-involvement.

However, a totally different way of functioning appears to be possible. It requires some understanding of how our mind is structured. First, there is the spirit within. It is the invisible part of the mind and yet simultaneously beyond it. Most of us don’t know this inner dimension. A long time ago, this our inner Divinity has - in the name of „religion" - been viciously suppressed, in such a way, that it hadn’t a chance to become aware for a long time. It explains, why spirituality never has become the foundation of Western society. Contrary to common belief, the spirit is not an extension of your thinking. It is a different dimension - the essence - which can only be experienced by making an inner leap into yourself. Previously your mind - thoughts, emotions and desires - appeared to be „within". This is because you used to live on your periphery. Once you are moving within though, becoming the Center, the mind appears to be located at the periphery. Thinking appears to be the most superficial layer! In meditation, it therefore is the first thing which disappears. In situations where it really matters - e.g. saving the child from drowning - the paper says the other day: „without giving it a thought he jumped into the water and saved the child". In situations where it really matters, thinking appears even to obstruct our effectiveness in action. In things that really matter, our awareness is doing a much better job. Hence, the spirit - the real Self, our inner divine Spark, awareness - is our most precious gift.

By stepping back you removed the obstruction - you - from the inner flow of thoughts, emotions and desires. You disconnected yourself from the inner flow - the „out of the mind" experience - in such a way, that it is able to flow freely. Through gaining freedom from the self, the self has gained freedom from you. You give them the space they need, hence, they are becoming more and more alive. Input-processing-output now appears to be a spontaneous process. By non-interfering, the flow will always be at its optimum. Instead of accumulation, the flow will pass unobstructed. You are not hindering the thoughts to come in, you watch them without pre-conceived ideas and you let them go unhindered. By doing so, you are enjoying the flow of life as it is, joyful, exciting, interesting, useful. You are constantly learning about yourself and life. In order for you to step back you - temporarily - need the help of the body though. Precisely because the body is a „mass" („matter"), it is able to give your observer stability. Praise therefore the „material side" of life, it enables you to „become spiritual". There appears to be a positive feedback between your body and spirit, in such a way, that awareness is able to expand according to the degree of relaxation. It is only through the body that you can relax! Eventually, our inner space becomes timeless and limitless, a void. In emptiness, incoming thoughts immediately „evaporate", they cannot hold their charge. They are loosing their power, becoming shadows. Hence, people who talk about „the power of thinking" are spiritually ignorant. They have never experienced their inner Space. Compared to the „power" of the Spirit, thoughts are just nothing, tiny particles in eternity. Once experienced, it will become very peaceful inside, a very subtle, gentle and delicate „power" indeed. It is the first major step towards inner Realization. And moreover, once the inner Tranquillity is there, the craving for things diminishes. If „Being" is there, „having" becomes secondary. You now understand the saying: „Having (too much) is the inability to Be" from your own experience. Freedom from „matter" appears to be the criterion of true spirituality. The crucial thing is the discontinuity. Because Being belongs to a different dimension, happiness can never be achieved by (more) having. Accumulating things will never be able to bring you there. The secret is, that happiness is born only, when you jump from your periphery to your Center.

Sit on the floor in an upright position with your spine straight. Your legs in lotus, half lotus or prayer position, the latter supported by a cushion or small sofa. You also may sit on a chair. Your eyes are half-closed, looking at the backside of your eyelids. While keeping the upright position you relax. After some time your legs will become heavy. The sensation of sitting on the floor will become more intense. Become receptive to this feeling of being grounded. Feel the contact. Remember this is not concentration. In concentration your awareness is moving towards the object, it is moving out. While in meditation the object - the sensations - are moving towards you, they move in. You stay where you are, you are the receiver.

Once you have become grounded, you "move" your attention to the bottom of your spine. Become very open to the sensations in this area. Now something curious is going to happen. As you remain attentive to the grounding of your body by letting your weight more and more down, your spine starts erecting itself spontaneously. It starts correcting itself from within. A very subtle feeling is slowly moving upward. You watch and follow it. You allow it to go up and up, until it reaches the uppermost part of your skull. You will find your neck becomes stretched. After this procedure has been completed, you move to your breathing. Watch your breathing going in and out. Do not change anything, just feel the changing tension of your breathing muscles. As you relax more, the centre of your breathing will move downward by itself, until it reaches the pelvic area. Now, whatever is going to happen, you remain relaxed and receptive to your body: grounding, spine and breathing.

In this position you will find it easy to very quietly focusing your eyes on the top of your nose. No effort should be involved. By doing so, your inner observer is born. You are aware of the distance between yourself and your nose. While watching your nose, you will be able to observe your thoughts, images, memories, emotions and desires from an inner distance. You look at your thoughts, as if you were watching TV. You are „here" and your thoughts are „there". This your observing is non-interfering, it is a „choiceless awareness". You do not identify with any of your thoughts. You do not approve or disapprove. It is a training in non-involvement, in non-identification. The thoughts enter your mind, stay there for a while and disappear. This is the paradox: by creating an inner distance to your processes, they will become more intimate. While your inner space is expanding, they appear to be a part of it. You are not your thoughts, you have them. By being the observer, you allow them to flow freely. In your unaware state - lacking inner space - you are sticking to your (small) self, hence the latter is accumulating. Processes are accumulating, creating inner tension and stress. Thus you go crazy sooner or later. Your Original mind though, is a floating mind. With a floating mind, you control by letting go. By letting go, space is continuously created for new thoughts to enter. By and by your hidden thoughts, insights, creativity, intuitions and repressed emotions will be freed. In coming to the surface, you may become aware of them. Great self-insight arises. The more you let go, the more your self-knowledge will grow. The relationship between your awareness and its processes will become clear to you. Usually this meditation takes 25 minutes. You finish it through breathing deeply in and out, rubbing your eyes and hands.

Whilst „making" love, you usually are not „in love" at all. Rather, you think of how to do it, how to please your partner, you think of the next moment, your insecurities may
surface, your fantasies may interfere. STOP watch and feel. Slow down.

Whilst sitting in the sun, all kinds of distractions, thoughts, fantasies and dreams will be occupying your mind. STOP watch and feel. Feel the sun on your face. Indulge
in the warmth only.

Whilst walking in the park you are continuously led by your thoughts. In fact, you are not in the park, but somewhere else. Hence, the beauty of the trees, the flowers and the
shrubs will pass unnoticed. STOP watch and feel.

Whilst sitting on a terrace, you see a beautiful woman passing by. However, instead of really seeing her, the clouds of your reactions and comments are hindering your
clear perception. STOP watch and feel.

Whilst enjoying a bath, you are not enjoying the bath at all. Your mind is floating wildly in all kinds of directions. You don’t really feel the water on your skin, nor the fun it is giving. STOP watch and feel. Be exclusively in the bath only.

Whilst writing on the computer, you are completely absorbed, disconnected with the one who is writing. You don’t feel your feet on the floor or your buttocks on the chair.
You are not there. STOP watch and feel.

Whilst cooking, your routine has taken over. You don’t see the beauty of the vegetables, you don’t smell the fragrance of the spices. You think of all kinds of things. The fun of cooking is completely passing you by. STOP watch and feel.

Whilst talking to somebody all kinds of thoughts, feelings and emotions are interfering. You have to concentrate in order to stay with the other. Stress is accumulating.

STOP, watching and feeling is where it is all about.

In a time in which everything is disintegrating, it is even more crucial to understand and be able to „manage" yourself. First there is awareness, your invisible and intangible Self. It is your inner Space in which everything is happening. This, your (great) Mind is like an aquarium. Its Essence is the water, while your psyche (small mind) - your thoughts, dreams, images, desires, emotions, ideas and judgements - is the content. The latter are the fishes. Being aware means, that you are „simply" clarity, observing yourself from a „point of reference" outside of your psyche, while everything is continuously going „through" you. Because this flow appears to be your surface, your Center will not be touched by it. There is a discontinuity between the two. The paradox is this: the more you step back, the more intimate „the flow of life", the more intense you will be able to enjoy the „dance of the universe" within you. It is like the mother watching her child playing in the sand. Without interfering she is aware of its movements, she controls by not-controlling.

However, this isn’t the entire story. The problem is, that not everything of the self (psyche) is floating freely all the time. There seem to be „obstacles" regularly. Too often you are confronted with „problems", difficulties, stress and anxieties. Not always things go as smooth as you would like to. Why? It is because your self is like a castle with a wall between your accepted and non-accepted parts. In the past you suppressed those parts, which at that moment were too painful to digest. Therefore your identity - the one you think you are, your small self - is the outcome of a „filtering" process. You are „somebody by exclusion", the result of a process of (unconscious) acceptance and rejection. In fact everybody is a split personality. In the interior of the castle there is „you", while outside there is not-you. These non-accepted parts were once also part of the integrated self though, hence they keep „knocking at your door", in a „desperate attempt" to still becoming part of the whole. These are your „negative, disturbing" step-children, waiting for your loving embrace.

It is in your vital interest to still opening yourself up to these rejected parts. For several reasons. First, these are parts of yourself, they ought to be integrated, fully acknowledged aspects. Because they will never give up , you cannot prevent yourself from suffering of nuisance. Despite your efforts to keep yourself under control, „negativity" will once and again be spoiling your fun, disturbing your well-being, if not directly, then indirectly as physical disorder or illness. Moreover, by (unconsciously) suppressing yourself, you have been excluding many areas of life, in such a way, that they are not accessible for happiness, renewal, effectiveness and a fruitful relationship with your environment. The keeping it outside is consuming a major part of your daily energy. A great deal of your stress, fatigue and burn out, has its origins there. Thirdly, without opening yourself up to your suppressed parts, there will be no inner growth. Inner growth is the continuous incorporation of the unknown into the known. What is the fun of repeating the known after all? Very soon you will be bored. Hence, people are looking constantly for „new things" - shopping, distraction, holidays, relationships, computer games, adventures - in the outside world. They want to „become renewed" by outer kicks. However, because these experiences remain at the periphery, these escapes never really satisfy. Hence your need for more - of the same - all the time. It is craving for happiness, while (because) never achieving it. It is the mechanism of the current collective pattern of addiction.

The inner process is different though. The paradox is this: the more you consciously! welcome your „negativity", the more „positive" you become. It is the secret of inner alchemy. It is completely opposite to those who advocate „positive thinking". They simply go on with the old accepting („I") - rejecting („not I") game! Unconsciously they go on strengthening their inner wall against themselves. They show only one side of their face, since they have a problem acknowledging their shadow. „Spirituality" is their escape. While they are parading - „radiating" - with their „positivity" - and even teaching others how to be „spiritual" - their negativity is accumulating inside. How much energy this will take from them all the time! Until a point, that they cannot keep up their „face" anymore. These people are a victim of ignorance, they are trapped by their own tricks. In reality „positivity" and „negativity" are both complementary parts of the self. Suppressing one in favor of the other, is thus a dead end. Instead, by becoming aware, you go beyond both of them. By stepping back, you are allowing both to be part of your inner space. Without being affected by them, you allow them to play their complementary game. Together with the growth of wisdom, compassion and strength, countless valuable experiences, insights and information will be flowing to you. Once the „negativity" becomes part of the Self again - through awareness, acknowledging, accepting and embracing - it looses its „negative" character, while its energy will be benefiting the whole.

Through „managing your thinking", you have found awareness, your real Self. The next step is to start working on the integration of your psyche, your small self. Usually your self is without control, divided. Various parts prove to be stronger than your Self, hence you don’t know this your Real Within. Your are a slave of your impulses. Although you say: „I think", you better say „I am being thought". It is closer to reality. Hence the Dutch say: „I am in thoughts". Thoughts are dominating you all the time. Therefore, you need conscious integration. However, if you want to balance yourself, you will need a balancing matrix first. For two (or more) things to balance you need a centre from which you achieve the balancing. Think of a balance. To re-arrange all these different parts, awareness and your conscious self - reflection - are at your disposal. Once you have found the key, bringing about harmony in yourself appears to be surprisingly simple.

In fact by becoming aware, to be in your Heart, your new Center, you are already balanced, you have found your Center from which it is easy to become aware of the periphery, your thoughts, emotions and desires. Previously you were at your periphery hence your thinking, emotions and desires seemed to be your "within". However, while making your shift from the periphery to the Center, your processes have moved to the without, they now appear to take place at your periphery. Living comfortably in your Center, the handling of the cyclone therefore becomes a play rather than an effort.

The first principle is: don’t try to change yourself. By trying to change yourself, one part is always set against the other. A dominant part is not satisfied with the other, usually the opposite. For instance, the „pusher" inside of you thoroughly hates the „good-for-nothing", hence will try to re-educate this „disturbing element". However, one part fighting the other, isn’t exactly where you were waiting for. Because wasn’t this your suffering from the very beginning after all? Immediately after birth - or even before - your parents had an expectation about how you „should become". In fact, very few children are accepted exactly the way they are. You always have to become "somebody else". Not the one you are, but how they hope you are going to be, has been engraved in you from the very start. It is (was) one of the causes of your (later) suffering.

The reason why I am "against change" is, that it is not the way to bring about wholeness. The ambition to change yourself, only makes the problem bigger. People, who want to change themselves, lack self-acceptance, the only thing which could really heal them. So e.g. no "spiritual" fights against the "ego" anymore, one of todays most popular self-tortures. Free yourself from this „spiritual" idealism, which in fact is the latest variation of the old guilt and sin complex - old wine in new bags - a new self-hatred indeed. No, in order to be whole, you have to become open to all those parts, which for some reason or another were once rejected: your fear, pain, anger and „ugliness", together with - as a consequence of - all kinds of early conclusions, which from then on have been dominating your life. Once consciously and lovingly accepting yourself, lots of things will be spontaneously and miraculously changing!

Step number two in your self-healing is to consider all "disturbances", problems, emotions, conflicts, obsessions and suffering not as you, but as parts of yourself, which once - mostly at the start of your life - were denied, excluded, rejected or suppressed. It will be a great relief to you to realize, that you are not your „negativity"- with all its effects: feeling guilty, inferiority complex, selfishness, „spiritual" ambition - but that it is only part of you. You have it, rather than being it. Realizing this, you can handle them better, because they don’t push you down anymore. As a child you couldn’t cope with them, usually because you felt too much risk by expressing, showing or even feeling them. At childhood you are completely helpless, you depend entirely on your parents (environment). Hence, any risk is a survival matter. However, now this survival situation is no more there, you can open yourself up to it, without any risk.

Step number three is to confirm, that the disturbing emotion is there. "Okay, this part of me does feel irritated". To acknowledge the fact, is where it is all about. Usually your reflexes automatically fight any unwelcome emotion immediately after it has come up, or even before. You are not aware of it and yet this is happening hundreds of times a day. This „keeping down" takes enormous amounts of energy. It causes lots of stress. Therefore a simple confirmation is a big relief. When a sigh comes up, it means that the emotion was (is) very deep indeed.

Step number four is giving the emotion - the part - every space it needs. You do it, by consciously identifying with the part. Is there an irritation, then - after you have recognized it as a part of yourself - you subsequently become it. E.g. „yes, this morning, when I woke up, I was so fed up with Jack. I feel so neglected by him. And this goes on already for such a long time" etc. For a while - 5 to 15 minutes - you let the part talk, while totally identifying yourself with it. You will be surprised: the part has so many things to tell (to you). To give the emotion every space it needs, may not be always easy. To feel the pain, the anger, the fear or the suppressed lust for life can be difficult indeed. However, if you feel the urge to cry, shout, move or fight, you cry, shout, move and fight.

The fifth principle. What is crucial at this stage is, that you let your emotion make a shift from the present to the past. If you’re angry with your wife, drop focusing on your wife, but imagine to be that small child you once were. Replace the image by that of your mother, your aunt or your teacher from that long time ago. If you feel pain because of something, you imagine to be that very small child you once were, feeling that pain. And don’t make a mistake, those emotions are usually not „childlike". On the contrary, they are mostly unobstructed and enraged. Express the emotions of that particular child, while simultaneously remaining the observer. You let go, while staying in control.

A patient told me the following dream. He and he wife went to a party. In the beginning everything was enjoyable. However, at a certain moment a guy whispered something in his wife’s ear. He saw his wife was very pleased by it. So after some time he asked her what the guy has been saying to her. She answered „nothing important" and smiled „mysteriously". Then he found out, that the guy wanted to spend some time with her, which she apparently did not refuse. In the course of events my patient got more and more mad, since his wife kept smiling without saying what was really going on. He even noticed, that a small (secret) gesture on the guy’s part raised much excitement in his wife. At a certain moment he and the guy met in a separate corner. In a reflex-movement my patient pulled his pistol and threatened him with it. Grief more and more turned into jealousy and hatred. To tolerate her physical presence while - as he thought, her heart was elsewhere - became unbearable. He questioned her again and again, but she wouldn’t give him an answer about her real feelings. According to him, she clearly was „somewhere else" with her thoughts all the time. She wasn’t there for him anymore. At last this was simply too much for him. So he rejected her, asked her to go.

My patient was so well trained in Emotional self-integration, that already in his dream he started to replace the image of his wife by that of his mother. He acknowledged that this dream was a repetition of a very early conflict, in which he felt abandoned by the mother, assuming that she had turned her entire love to the newborn brother. There are usually the following options for a child. Either he adjusts superficially, while still hating the mother (and the brother), or feeling terribly guilty with subsequent idealizing of the mother, or showing the self-pity deficiency pattern, in which the child tries to rewin motherlove though all kinds of „tricks". Later a „Don Juan" pattern may be developed, in which the person unconsciously tries to regain motherlove though capturing the hearts of as many women as possible. Adjustment, but not a „solution" can be achieved. At older age, however, the real threat is no more there and the conscious integration work - at the cost of much pain and effort - can begin.

Step number seven is to step back from your identification with the part, by identifying with the conscious self - the reflection - again. Note: only if in the previous stage you have given all space to the emotion. Reflection always comes after the (full) experience. You now have changed your inner position from the part to the whole again. From here you look at the part, reflecting about what just happened. Now, there appears to be an inner distance between you and your part. Hence, you are in a position of overview and insight. You try to look at it from the perspective of interpretation. Before, you were identified with the emotion, now you are here and the emotion is „there". You are now able to understand the meaning of what has happened, you interpret and comment on it. For instance, you recognize the pain, the anxiety or the fear from the past. You understand, that at that time, these parts were too painful to become integrated. Sometimes great insight is born, a real breakthrough indeed. Suddenly you see the „connection", the origin of your pain. Often early childhood conclusions appear to be the root of it all: „they didn’t love me", „I have to survive" or „feeling is dangerous", „I am loosing control", „they trapped me" or „nobody can be trusted", may have been a conditioning context for many of your later experiences in life. Recognizing them will free you from your inner prison.

The eighth’s step is the embracing. Once you have given space to the emotion, with the subsequent reflection, you are welcoming it as a part of yourself, as the child which has come home, „the son that was lost". This special child, this alienated part which suffered so much because it wasn’t allowed to be part of the whole for a lifetime! It is important to embrace your emotion "physically", e.g. visualizing yourself as a mother embracing her child that was lost. Feel it at your chest, at your alive, open and loving Heart. Celebrate it as a real home-coming. And this again and again. The miracle is this: once you lovingly accept your inner child it will - step by step - loose its „negative" character. It is like a child stopping crying, once the mother has taken it on her lap. Last but not least, by loving yourself, you will become aware of the Source of Love: your Self. Be silently in this Source for a while.

OUR TWOFOLD ORIGIN

The core of your suffering is being cut off from the vertical dimension of life: your True Self - "Heaven" - as with the horizontal, your body and its direct environment: earth. Hence you are disoriented, uprooted, alienated and isolated. You are an island separated from the Ocean of Life. Without roots you are in the grip of the small self: your self-centeredness, your thoughts, emotions and desires. They appear to be stronger than you, to such an extent, that you don’t even know who you really are. Additionally, your small self is amplified by „society" in such a way, that you have become totally addicted to „modern" lifestyle. However, you have paid a high price already. Stress, burned out syndrome, anxiety, depression, fatigue and exhaustion are already „surrounding" you, poisoning the atmosphere. Life has become so complicated, that you now painfully feel the consequence of missing a Centre, your inner stability. Maybe you tried things already. However, without solving your existential problem no any other problem will ever be really solved. How can you cure the branches of a tree if the roots are cut?

NOW A NEW ERA HAS BEGUN IN WHICH ALL PEOPLE WILL ACKNOWLEDGE
AND SHARE THE SAME COMMON FACT OF LIFE

MAN ROOTED IN HEAVEN AND EARTH

Isn’t it a fact beyond any belief, that your spirit has its home in the
Great Spirit (Consciousness, the Divine, "Heaven"), while your body is part of nature?
Yes indeed, it is existential. Everybody without any exception is part of the Whole.
Therefore, by restoring the Unity with "Heaven" and earth, you will solve your existential
problem of alienation and isolation. Subsequently, your confusion and suffering will be
turning into clear insight, joy, inner balance, creativity, compassion, strength,
energy, optimal health and longevity.

The starting point for entering the state of Wholeness is painful self-awareness, longing and faith. Painful self-awareness is the outcome of the realization of your real situation: your alienation from your True Self and therefore from „Heaven". This question has to be regularly repeated; „what is my actual condition in this moment, my actual state of awareness?" Am I in the HereNow or „somewhere else?" Am I really in the Moment, or lost in the labyrinth of the mind, in thinking, dreaming or desiring?" Am I really honest or am I deluding myself with false (pseudo-spiritual) self-images? Once you realize your alienation, longing for restoring the Wholeness is born. It is the foundation of faith. The stronger the longing, the easier faith „in the Divinity within and without" will be. Faith is needed, because you haven’t actually experienced "Heaven" yet. So you have to accept, what somebody who has been „at the Other Shore", will tell you.

Heaven is commonly understood as the sky. It is the space, the matrix we all live in. We move in it and breath its air. Through space all-that-lives is interconnected, we all share the same space. Now space has different dimensions, the „visible" part and what is beyond. Both have a great deal of transparency. For example, you see the sky, but in fact he is intangible. The intangible, however, even reflects something which is totally beyond, something that cannot be grasped with the five senses ever. It is the Homeland of the sky, it is the Great Consciousness: „Heaven". When you go beyond the sky, for example by looking at the sky in such a way, that it becomes Seeing, then the true essence of the sky may be revealed to you. Once you go beyond your own five senses, you go beyond the sky as well. Your inner Being becomes suddenly united with the outer Being. Inner and outer appear to be One. You have become „Heaven" which You Are Yourself. Faith has turned into Realization.

Being rooted in „Heaven", in the Ultimate, is one part of become Whole again, apart from being rooted in the earth. It is the recognition of the fact, that we already live in „Heaven" without knowing it. Aren’t we already living in space after all? Space as well as us share the same Homeland. One first (small) step of experiencing it, is becoming so clearly aware of the space around you, that you start seeing the light aspect of it. Another way, however, is to let an inner whispering become the vehicle of your longing and faith. Something you can put into practice twenty four hours a day. The usage of a mantra is as old as mankind’s memory. It is the bridge „to the Other Shore", the „Other Shore", which you Are yourSelf. Therefore the quest for the Ultimate is the opening up to yourSelf, to What You Really Are, the „Heaven" within. The facilitating mantra I have chosen sounds „Back to the Depth of my Origin".

The „Twofold Origin" is the key practice. As your spirit has its home in Heaven, so your body-mind is part of the earth, while the earth is part of the universe. The universe is the manifestation of the Divine, it is „the mystical body of God". Therefore, both your body and the earth are parts of the „body of God". However, through identification with your mind, your thinking, dreaming and desiring, you have lost contact with both your own body and nature. You - the mind - became isolated, deprived of your natural matrix. The natural state though, is to be integrated both with „Heaven" (vertical) on the one hand and the earth (horizontal) on the other. Once you become (painfully) aware of your separation from the vertical (alienation), as well as from the horizontal (isolation), you will start your search for healing, for becoming whole again. For example, you see this tree in front of your home. You have seen him your whole life. But did you really ever felt him? Did you really establish any deeper contact with him ever? To feel the pain of being an outsider in this world, will certainly help your longing for wholeness. To restore the unity with your body and your extended body, nature and the earth, I emphasize the daily practice of feeling, body and contact awareness.

It is rather simple. The key function is called „feeling awareness". It means, that in every situation you will become aware of the feeling contact of your body with its immediate surroundings. When you walk, you feel your feet touching the ground, when you sit, you feel the contact of your bottom with the chair and while laying down, you feel the sensations of your back in contact with the bed. Notice, this is a feeling exercise. It is not about thinking! You will feel your feet while walking, you are aware of the sensations, caused by the contact of your feet with the ground. There appears to be a direct relationship between awareness and feeling, without thoughts interfering. Also, this exercise has nothing to do with concentration. Through concentration you narrow your mind in order to stick to something, e.g. an inner or outer object. It requires will-power and is therefore limited. You will become tired, distracted or get headache sooner or later. Feeling awareness, on the other hand, is opening yourself up like a flower. Instead of „going out", you relax and remain centered, while the feelings and sensations are coming to you. It is the „female" way. While things come to you, you open up more, enjoying both your feelings and your expanding awareness. Feelings and awareness thus having a positive feed-back towards each other. The more inner clarity, the more intense the felt energies and vice versa. Hence, the slogan is „watch and feel, feel and watch". By doing so, your awareness will slowly establish an integration between your body and its surroundings. By doing so, more and more of your (direct) environment will become part of your inner space. Everything appears to be an extension of your body, becomes interconnected.

Crucial in the practice of your twofold Origin is the simultaneity. It is about whispering the mantra, while simultaneously practising feeling awareness. Only then sooner or later (sooner) the Vertical - "Heaven" - will be overflowing in the horizontal - your body, the earth - in the crossing of the two, the Heart. In the Heart you are transcending the duality, in such a way, that it appears to be Oneness, the all-embracing Dimension. The earth has - once again - become part of the abundance of „Heaven". Once established, joy, true insight, strength and compassion will be overflowing and never leave you anymore. A new man is born, one who is renewing the world together with him. You appear to be the Space in which everything is interconnected. Your freedom is limitless, while committed to all „sentient and non-sentient beings". You have become One with the dance of the universe - wu-wei - doing through non-doing, silence in action. And what about your small self, your I, your self-image, your „identity", that what you thought you were? In the New Identity your small self has become a part only - a sub-personality - it doesn’t have an identity of its own anymore. It appears to be merely instrumental to the Heart, the real Self. It is serving the Whole. Rather than being the center, it has become functional, the servant of „Unlimited". Once united with your Origin, many will seek refuge in you. You will share you Wholeness with the despaired, your Love with those who suffer, your Light with those who are ignorant and your Strength with the deprived. Or you will be simply a good neighbor or friend. Some bodycontact awareness exercises you will find below.

Stand up with unlocked knees, your feet about one foot distance from each other. As you let go, you will feel the weight of your body in your feet. Feel your feet in contact with the ground. Sooner or later the ground will „absorb your feet" in such a way that the latter disappear as „separate entities". The heavier your body becomes, the easier it will be to also feel your knees and hips „disappearing". Now you are firmly rooted in the earth. It is the starting point for the exercise. In the mean time, your mind has calmed down in such a way that „feeling awareness" is born. It means you watch and feel simultaneously. Watching and feeling, feeling and watching is where this exercise is about. Their ongoing feedback will bring you to the limits of the self and beyond.

The exercise has four principles. First, you always remain aware of being rooted in the earth. That means, all (later) movements of the arms are „sprouting out" from the roots. There will be always a direct feeling connection between arms, feet and ground. Any disconnected feeling immediately has to be „repaired", before going on with your movements. Secondly, all arm movements will always be very slow, at a constant „speed" and always symmetrical, in order to optimize your watching and feeling. They move spontaneously, from within. From there you let your arms go the way they want to go. Thirdly, there will be regular stops of several seconds, in which the „feeling awareness" deepens itself. Last but not least, there are the „wings". These are the only movements - of the hands - which follow a certain pre-conceived pattern.

Your arms are alongside your body. Bend your wrists in such a way, that your hands go ninety degrees up. Through watching and feeling your roots, these both your hands may then start moving. You will feel the energy coming out of the earth, flowing though your body into your arms and hands. Let the clarity of mind and the energy together determine the direction, the kind of movement. Your are standing there like a tree, with its branches moving very slowly in unknown direction. The only thing you do, is keeping contact, the watching and feeling. You watch and feel how the movement spontaneously develops from within. You just follow!, looking what is happening with amazement. Your attitude will be that of a child, every moment is unique and exciting. You never know, what is coming next. And you will not ask yourself. Your mind has completely dissolved in the watching and feeling, with the result, that the HereNow, timelessness, has taken possession of you. Undisturbed - also with regard to the people passing by - undistracted and spontaneous, your movements will be in total harmony with existence. The moments of deliberate rest, will only deepen this your inner bliss.

The „wings" are a little difficult to explain. Whenever your have your hands stretched out before - or at the side - of you, a special movement of the hands is made. First, the hands move from a horizontal position into the vertical, in which the wrists bend ninety degrees. You are facing the backside of your hands. Pause. Then the hands will go a little up - two centimeters - the fingers spread to their maximum, bend forward, after which their fingertips come together in one point. The hands then bend further backwards in their wrists, in such a way, that the fingers again adopt the vertical position, after which your arms push the hands forward, as if you want to push the air away from you. Once having seen it, is much more easy than I can explain here on paper. Usually, the entire exercise lasts 25 minutes. You finish by slowly „bringing" back your arms alongside the body, taking a deep breath and rubbing your hands. Note: this exercise can be further developed. For instance, co-ordinated movements of both arms and legs and movements with bells. To harmonize with nature the heaven & earth exercises are occasionally done naked. A good idea for many other body-oriented exercises?!

Didn’t you notice? The more firm you are rooted, the easier it is for you to keep you arms up to the sky. It is because your watching and feeling is in your roots only! Sometimes you even will experience your arms going up so strongly, that you are hardly able to stay rooted. Limitless power takes possession of you. Pulled both toward „heaven and earth" your Center, the Heart will be opened. Great joy, a sweet bliss or the feeling of „triumph" will arise in you. Energy, love and compassion is overflowing from your inner Space to your direct surroundings. It is the completion, the fulfillment and the acme of existence. A deeper layer - something in which everything is new - has revealed Itself to you. Here you find limitless and timeless clarity, an very alive silence, the absence of all thinking, a loving connectedness with everything around you and an ongoing joy. Seen from the Center, your mind - thinking, feeling, desiring, dreaming - appears to be your periphery. The exercises takes around 15 minutes. After that a deep laughter may come up. How self-centered and serious you were before. How anxious, compared to the liberating joy, which is now overflowing. You are like a carefree child, enjoying the garden of the Divine.

Lay down on your back, your feet drawn to your buttocks. Close your eyes and ground by feeling your back in contact with the bed. Start making baby noises like bbbbrrrrrr, rrrrrrrrr, blblblblbl or thrthrthlthl. Start slowly and gently and then increase the intensity. Or let your tongue vibrate between your teeth while your lips are bubbling. Watch and feel. Put more energy in all the time. Sounds come from every corner of your mouth, chest and finally from your entire body. Go into it as totally as possible. Let there be no gaps. Allow anything to happen. If saliva is coming out of your mouth, let it go. Feel yourself that baby again you once were. Image to be in the cradle, smell the smells of the babyroom. Keep feeling and watching all the time. Allow your body to move with the sounds. Try shaking your pelvis. Sexual feelings may come up. Enjoy them while continuing. After some time your „babylalia" may change into any other sound like shouting, screaming, mumbling, humming or singing. Finally, make your noises as loud as possible. Let your body shake more if it wants to. Cry if crying comes up. Your body may move, kick, jump or become chaotic. Allow anything to happen. Keep grounding and watching all the time. Go consciously crazy.

Take an upright position, unlock your knees and relax. Your eyes are half closed, while your awareness is open to bodily contact with the ground. Do not do anything but relax. By relaxing you will let your weight sink into your feet. Watch this feeling of increasing heaviness. Be very receptive. After some minutes, a very subtle energy will be felt in your soles, a very gentle vibration indeed. Be very open to this vibration. The secret is this: the more you let yourself sink in the ground, the easier the energy will be generated and eventually move up. These movements are intimately connected to each other. Allow this energy to move up by subsequently helping it a little. While firmly rooted in the earth, you start vibrating your feet in a very subtle way. Let this vibration slowly come up. Watch and feel. Your awareness expands, while the vibration gradually finds its way up to the ankles, lower legs and your pelvis. Remember: you are not creating this energy. You just let your weight sink and the energy originates „from the ground". The more you relax, the more spontaneous the energy will find its way upwards. Let it become more and more intense. After your feet, ankles etc. have become part of the vibration, it then blissfully finds its way along your back - kundalini - breaking through the roof of your skull, removing all accumulated obstacles there. Keep watching! Do not force the energy in any way. Let it happen! The crucial thing is, that while your body goes more and more chaotic, your within - the observer - will become more and more tranquil, in such a way, that it turns into ecstatic calm. You may do it in silence or with some very rhythmical music.

Cycling

Most people love music, because in music you may become totally absorbed, you may forget yourself and your problems completely. It is good. After listening to music you may feel recovered, revitalized. However, most people don’t realize, that another way is also possible. It is the „meditative" way. It is about changing the quality of your perception. With expanding your awareness you will be able to experience a total upside down. It goes like this. First you relax and feel your body in contact with its immediate surroundings: the ground and the chair. If you relax more your inner observer is born. Once this happens you start listening to the music. You now notice that a feedback between your observer and the music takes place, in such a way, that by becoming more and more receptive the inner observer starts expanding into inner Space. In the mean time you keep contact with your body and its environment all the time. The result of this will be, that you become more clear, aware and open, while the music comes to you. Rather than loosing yourself into the music, the music is increasingly „loosing itself" into you! Now the music is helping you by becoming more and more aware by expanding your awareness which in its turn intensifies your enjoyment of listening. Suddenly you are transcending body, mind and music altogether. Music has become part of your inner Being, it has become the sound of silence. Finally expanded silence and the music are One. You don’t need the Himalaya’s for experiencing silence anymore. The music of silence and the silence of music is everywhere. Besides feeling tremendously relaxed and regenerated, the „additional" benefits of this way of listening are obvious: music transforming your inner Being.

Making love

The following may happen. First, you become very much in tune with your own body in contact with the bed. As your feeling intensifies everything, including your beloved, becomes the extension of your feeling body. To such an extent, that the mind increasingly disappears. Eventually, with total feeling and watching, there will not be any thought, imagining, desire, fantasy or dream left. On the other hand, you have merged with reality. Your five senses have opened themselves up to the light, the colors, the smell, the body of your beloved, the temperature and the atmosphere of the room. You have become very relaxed, open, gentle and clear. This „preparatory stage" is shared by both of you. Hence, your partner should be in a similar state. A joint experiencing of inner quietude, a great deal of loving attention - looking, touching, caressing, embracing - for one another and a great intensity will arise. Both of you feel yourselves part of the same space. And with the excitement increasing, the state of relaxation only deepens. There appears to be a „logarithmic" feedback between energy and awareness, to such an extent, that the former increasingly disappears into the latter. The energy appears to be a river running into the ocean of inner peace, the latter continuously expanding. In each other and with the slightest of movements you are both resonating with the pulse of life, in such a way that you totally merge. Everything goes spontaneously in the opposite direction of peak-experience, orgasm and ejaculation. While your periphery „goes crazy in a most subtle way", your within implodes. Totally unexpected and unforeseen, you blend into a state of Ecstatic Silence, a Valley of Eternal Calm, an „orgasm" such as you never had experienced before. It is a state of being One Space, you are completely dissolved in IT. This limitless and timeless State of Stability - Tantra - may last for hours! You have opened up to a paradise, which had been there all along. You are beside yourself with joy. Existence has lifted a tip of her veil and made you a part of her ecstasy.

Dying

Joy

Joy appears to be the „transcendental emotion". Whenever you are in touch with the heart of life...joy will be there. Whether you look into the eyes of your beloved, seeing a seagull in the deep-blue sky, a tiny flower growing in between the concrete, embracing an old woman in the street or going within, finding great clarity, compassion or strength, you always will find joy breaking through. Joy is the all-pervading emotion of Enlightenment, hence the saying that „joy is Divine". Therefore the advice to start the other way around. Always when - in no matter what - you feel joyful, you forget about the cause, switching immediately to the joy itself. So, if while reading joy comes up, forget about the book and be just joyful, while „making love" to your beloved, forget about him/her and identify with the joy only, while running, forget about the body and become one with the joy. Any situation appears to be only „an excuse" for experiencing joy. Every time you really open up to life joy comes in! Hence, celebration is the real issue here.

Seeing the abundance in and around you, you may not stop feeling joy all the time. Hence, a deep feeling of gratitude arises. Life is overflowing to you, it never ceases. The resources - the input - appear to be everywhere, from your own inspiration, the love, the vision and the creativity to the sunshine, the blue sky, the trees and the flowers around you. Looking in the eyes of just anybody, you see the shining, the light and the radiation of life. Everybody is confirming you in being alive. Hence, opening-up and gratitude appear to be two sides of the same coin. Rather than pursuing „your own goals", a life of your own making, hence always missing the point, you become more and more in touch with the richness which is everywhere. Once you „start radiating" this new feeling, the dormant energy of people around you may rise too. The secret is called resonance. You are emitting a certain wave-length and immediately other people are awakened by it. You cannot believe it: there appears to be so much love, compassion, wisdom, skills and enthusiasm around you!

Joy and gratitude together, may then lead to serving others. Input and processing spontaneously lead to output. You simply return to life all that is given to you all the time. The need for serving will be deeply engraved in you, since you may never compensate for what you are continuously receiving. Hence, you become passionately involved. The secret is this: giving unburdens you from your accumulations. Your vital interest: your receptivity towards life, makes you to take care of its flow. Opening-up, your inner Space, appears the most precious thing in the world. Hence, giving is in your own interest in the first place. You yourself appear to be the Space in which life - the flow-system: input-processing-output - takes place. It will not be difficult to serve life this way. Where are you waiting for? Rather than projecting your ideas, ideals, plans, projects and dreams into some „future", you start immediately, Here and Now. Everything around you represents life after all, everything is part of „your" Space: the cashier in the supermarket around the corner, your own troubled wife, that particular stranger you always meet in the underground, your elderly father or mother, the withered plant on your window-sill, the sick bird in the garden or your neighbors, they all are part of the web of life, like you are. Your Kingdom appears to be Here, Now, everywhere. Once interconnected, you become very sensitive for the needs of others, because they are your own needs. Since you have fallen behind with regard to life, you may start serving right now....

To be the observer and seeing that the dance of life spontaneously emerges, whauw.

To become a part of the Whole and realizing the Whole Itself, the bliss which cannot be expressed.

To unify and then experiencing, that this is the only way to „make a difference", what a wonder.

To create an inner distance and feeling how one’s commitment is increasing logarithmically, unbelievable.

By becoming empty and seeing that this is the only way to manage the complexities of life, excellent!

To connect and experiencing everything around you to be a part of you, what a joy.

To be open and receptive - „female" - and then to discover that every action - „male" - comes from there.

To think globally and act locally, indeed Schumacher was right, fantastic.

To start cleansing your body and subsequently extend this to your household and „society", a real challenge indeed.

To see that yourself are the input, the processing and output, certainly a new quality of life.

To remain simple and seeing how all the riches are yours, what an amazement.

Only by being a nobody you are somebody, can you really believe it?!

13.1 „Prayer"

Through accumulation, you are spoiling the most precious thing within you: your inner Space. However, few people have ever experienced it. Hence, most people are not aware of spoiling anything. That many people may therefore realize their innermost Being, so may help us „Heaven" and earth.

13.2 „Terminology"

Clear distinction has to be made, when we talk about „spirituality". We have to know from each other, where we are talking about, if we talk about „the mind", „the body", „the observer", „the spirit", „Consciousness", „the Divine", „awareness" or „the psyche". All I can do here, is to give you my understanding and interpretations, in such a way, that at least you know what I mean. Maybe it is good to know, that everything I am talking about, comes from my own experience only. Nothing has been borrowed from elsewhere.  Here now my short „sermon". Consciousness - Being - consists of the Essence - the Unmanifested - and the world of manifestation. Everything is Consciousness, because everything is both the Invisible and the visible simultaneously. However, very few have ever experienced the inner side of It, the Essence, their „real Self" to the fullest. To most people „consciousness" is equal to the „mind", the sumtotal of thoughts, „energy", ideas, emotions, memories and desires. Since this is only the „surface" of Consciousness and not „Consciousness Itself", it is better to use different words. Because thoughts etc. are not Consciousness, but only Its content, they are the processes in the Space Which Is The Essence Of Consciousness. Hence, I prefer to talk about „the mind" or „the psyche", when I mean „thoughts, images and emotions". Since Consciousness is infinitely larger than our mind, It cannot be studied, grasped, It can only be Realized. Only by giving up your small self, you may become One with your Essence. The paradox is, that the content - the mind - will never bring you to its Essence. They are two different worlds, two different dimensions. They are not an extension of each other. It is a trap: while you think about „higher things", you are just caught by your thinking. You are a slave of your thinking, without being aware of it! In order to become one with Consciousness, you have to jump from one dimension into the other, leaving the old behind. In practice, the body appears to be the „vehicle of the spirit". It is completely different from the old dualistic way, in which body („matter") and spirit are opposing each other. On the contrary, in practice the body helps you to free yourself from the dominance of the mind: the „out of the mind" experience. The secret is this: you have to first become the body, in order to transcend it. No „resurrection without incarnation". By consciously identifying yourself with the body, your awareness - the spirit - is able to exist on „its own". The body is providing it stability. You have become „the observer", while the mind is now able to flow freely. Through the body both - awareness and mind - have become liberated! You - the observer - are „here" - in the Center - while the mind - thoughts, images, emotions and desires - appears to be in front of you („there"), at the periphery. It is a situation, in which the observer - awareness, spirit - is pure essence without content. There is an inner distance between the two. Hence our spirit not being touched by thoughts, emotions and desires.

13.3 Relaxation

Some people think they have „to fight" stress. However, by „fighting stress" you will become even more stressed. Stress as such is great. It gives you the opportunity to achieve. So there is nothing wrong with it. Stress as a problem is related to the inability to relax. Chronic stress may lead to fatigue, irritability, exhaustion and finally burn out and depression. Through permanent sympaticotonus of the autonomous nervous system many physical disorders may come out of it. One is accumulation of acids, since detoxification is blocked. These people literally become sour! Stress and relaxation should therefore go hand in hand. Balancing yourself is the real challenge. If during the day you manage to find a creative balance between stress and relaxation, you will feel great. Effective relaxation is possible in any situation, on a bench in the park, during a meeting, while travelling on an airplane. It is known as autogenic training. To this effect, there are some very simple techniques. To begin with, the one of tensing up and subsequently releasing. Firmly pull in your toes and then relax them. Experience the sensation this gives you. Subsequently, tense up your (right) foot, relax it and see what this feels like. Continue with the calves, knees, thighs, anus, genital parts, lower abdomen, all the way up to your hands, arms, shoulders and neck. Tense up, release and experience the sensation.

As a continuation of the above, or as a separate exercise, you can „let your body become heavy". You start by e.g. concentrating on your right hand, which comfortably rests on the arm of a chair or on a table. Experience the contact with the foundation. You then repeat to yourself: „my right hand is very heavy'', while at the same time opening yourself up to any sensations, which this self-suggestion calls forth. You then open up to the sensations of your right arm, while simultaneously whispering: „my right arm is very heavy". Following this, compare your right arm to your left. Is there a difference ? If so, what ? End by repeating to yourself: „both my arms are very heavy". You can do the same with your feet and legs. Conclude this exercise, by tensing up and releasing - see above - for a few times, while breathing deeply.

13.4 Mental clean-up

After retiring, you can over-experience the events of the day. Do this in reverse and start by what you just recently experienced and so on to the events earlier in the day, everything in a strict sequence. Try to re-experience the events. Experiences of the day, which have not yet been fully processed, thus have a chance to do so. In this way, you daily wipe the slate clean. Doing this in reverse is important, since it is the way, in which we integrate things. Note: During fasting, meditation and dying, we may experience the same process. For instance, in fasting, first the migraine we suffered from 5 years ago emerges, then the eczema of 10 years ago and finally the suppressed throat-infection we suffered from as a child. When we die, the images of our life-story flash by in reverse.

13.5 Feeling awareness

An exercise aimed at learning to feel again. To be done throughout the day. The aim is to - no matter the circumstances - continuously feel the contact of your body with its surroundings. The exercise is progressive in nature. At first, you feel the contact only in basic situations, such as in lying down, sitting, standing and walking. When lying down, feel the contact of your back with its foundation, when sitting, feel the contact of your behind with the chair and when standing or walking, continuously feel the soles of your feet in contact with the ground. It is important that you remain very relaxed. Concentration is not the issue - it requires energy and makes you tired - what matters is, that you welcome the feelings and „let them come to you", while you remain where you are. It is therefore an open receptive attitude, the „female way", a real joy indeed. You practice this for weeks, months and perhaps even years, until it has become part of your everyday life and thus your „first nature". Only then do you switch to more complicated exercises such as cycling, driving a car, brushing your teeth, cleaning the dishes, vacuuming the house or watering the plants. Once this, too, comes naturally, your consciousness has become so strong, clear and stable, that you may start doing the exercise in contact with other people. While talking to someone, you then keep feeling the soles of your feet and your behind in contact with the chair. You „keep to yourself", while simultaneously totally being there for the other person.

13.6 Self-acceptance

Be constantly alert to thoughts, feelings and emotions, that are either not very pleasant or else brilliant, lustful and „strange". Pay attention to everything, which you experience as disturbing, nasty, unpleasant, but also surprising or shocking. The main thing is, that you are able to give these things space, the moment they surface. If necessary, retire for a while. By relaxing, you are totally open to the feeling, while at the same time remaining an observer. When you are able to single out the feeling, by for instance observing the pain, which you are at that moment experiencing, you try to intensify this feeling. You give full reign to the pain, annoyance or uncertainty. By becoming one with it, you let the feeling „tell its own story", you very consciously give them space. While fully letting go, you remain the observer. Once the emotions - pain, anger, frustration or fear - have been dealt with, your conscious I may momentarily react to it , such as „yes, I am familiar with that feeling" or „well, that came as a complete surprise". Maintain your feeling of body-contact, while you are doing the above. When you have finished, continue with what you were doing.

After a while you will notice that your psyche consists of quite a few „sub-personalities", such as the tyrant, the perfectionist, the meddler, the vulnerable child, the pusher, the coward, the idealist, the bon vivant, the anxious mother, even an inner demon..., which all want their voice to be heard. Besides these, there is your comment on these personalities and finally the quiet observation. When these three elements are in balance, your psychic functioning is optimal. Self-insight, flexibility and creativity are ingrained parts of it.

Note: Say, your suppressed pain, anger or fear or your non-accepted creativity equals 100%. The effort involved in suppressing this pain, fear or anger equals 120%, which adds up to an immense daily loss of energy. Should you, however, integrate aspects of your suppressed „shadow", the initial energy will benefit the whole. Once integrated, the hatred loses its sharp edges and may then serve your life-purpose, e.g. as a „drive".

13.7 Primal anger („Urwut")

The incapability to handle aggression may be one of the most acute problems, not only of individuals, but of society as a whole as well. The „paradox" is, that the better you learn to express your aggression, the more peaceful you, your relationships and society will be. The inability to express on the other hand turns into depression and eventually self-destruction. For instance it is striking, that cancer patients usually are very kind, considerate, „peaceful" and even self-sacrifying people, however inside a vulcano is raging. These people either even don’t know about their inner fire, or are scared to death to show even tiny little bits of it to the outside world. Hence they turn their anger to the inside, into a self-destructive force. It is a proven fact, that suppression of anger and cancer show an intimate relationship. It runs parallel to the earlier remark about cancer and fever. Fever is also conspicuously absent in cancer patients. On the other hand hatred, aggression and crime are definitely on the rise. If it is accumulated too much, it becomes literally explosive. Other factors are involved too. Disintegrated families, poor education, chemical sensitivity, electro-magnetic pollution, powerlessness and the collective addiction called „society" to mention only a few are certainly involved. So how are we going to handle it? To release it in a controlled way, that is where it is all about. Note: intensive physical exercise very often is the way to cope with stress from aggressive thoughts and emotions.

Assuming that the participants have a pure intention and some previous experience with feeling awareness, you may form a „primal anger group". Everyone should be familiar with the inner observer, in order to be able to keep watching, while simultaneously letting the things go. Thus relaxation and grounding are the first steps. In the second round you one by one are telling the group your latest personal „horror-story", a recent example of daily life, in which you have experienced irritation, anger, aggression or hatred. Subsequently the warming-up sets in. It consists of three stages. First you start to groan, moan, snarl and growl while forcefully and rhythmically breathing out. Then you „add" stamping with your feet to it, like a child does. Thirdly every participant identifies internally with an animal: a lion, a dragon, a pig, a dog, a monkey or a snake for instance, it doesn’t matter. Just choose an animal that feels good at that moment. The art of primal anger is to become completely possessed by the animal, while becoming totally tranquil within. Remaining the observer, while totally letting go is where it is all about. See how you are becoming the center of the cyclone is a great experience. From the warming up and the unfolding, your frenzy reaches its climax after about 20 minutes. Everyone is doing his or her „own thing", never involve anybody else in your process. All the time it was accompanied by „live" music, like handclapping, drum or tambourine. There is always one member of the group who is the facilitator of the particular session. There is agreement about his or her authority to interfere in case „irregularities" may take place. You may use pillows against the mouth to lower the noise, in case neighbors could become involved. However weird in the beginning it may be, very soon you may start feeling the benefits of the primal anger. Being able to express these emotions safely in a group that you trust, certainly helps you in doing a gradual clean-up. After some time you may feel changing your personal horror story into some of the outrageous things happening around you, in society. All those things which make us feel powerless, like injustice, misuse of power, health and environmental threats, the educational disaster, crime, erosion of democracy and the consumers society may become the focus. The group may then turn from a solely therapeutic group into a „empowerment group". Aggression then may become „transformed" into the building up of strength, emancipation and self-determination. Every session ends with a silent meditation, after which you may feel the need of sharing your experiences with the other participants.

13.8 Inner renewal

Once our fundamental problem: being imprisoned in our world of thoughts, separated from ourSelves and our environment and the suppression of our shadow is solved, clarity of mind, continuous self-acceptance and the feeling of connectedness with our environment, then become more and more apparent. We have then converted a „negative" spiral into a „positive" one. From that moment on, we are ready to and capable of dealing with the greater problems, which surround us. The experiences, gained in working with our own flow system, can thus be extended to our household. Just as with the body, what matters is the economizing on the intake - less, more durable and environment-friendly products - waste-control - less waste, separating waste, pre-(re)cycling. In doing this, one thing stands out: health is an impossibility in a toxic household. And so, too, can an environment-friendly household never function in a polluted environment. Once we grasp this, we will put more and more effort into creating a sustainable earth.

13.9 Taoist breathing

Taoist breathing is an excellent method to built up energy. While inhaling - your chest expanding - you will feel your breath coming out of your lower back, going up along your spine and finally reaching your skull. At the top of your crown, the inhaling turns into exhaling, letting the feeling of the breath go down along the frontside of the body. As your abdomen is shrinking (contracting), the breath reaches the lower pelvis. The more relaxed you are, the more the inhalation appears to come from your perineum - the „Chi" point, the point between genitals and anus - and returns to it via the exhalation. In Taoism this circulation of breath is called the „round of Heaven".

13.10 Pulsing

With every inhalation, you feel the feeling of your foot expanding, while in every exhalation this feeling shrinks in such a way, that it disappears into the center of the pulsing circle. In a similar way, the breathing goes to other places in the body - any - intensifying local sensations via expanding and shrinking. If done in a rhythmical way, you reflect fundamental processes in nature. Hence, this technique called „pulsing". It is most effective in balancing yourself, besides it gives lots of pleasure and joy. Recommended!

13.11

R/ Ol. Hyperici

S. Two to three teaspoons pure! oil with some water on an empty stomach a day. Our best remedy in case of depression. No sunbathing, since hypericin may cause sun-allergy.

13.12 Sleeping well

All above mentioned techniques also work for falling asleep. In case of a sedentary life or „intellectual" activities and stress, an evening walk may be added to this. Always take a shower - hot ending with cold - before going to bed. Take care of warm feet always.

13.13

R/ l -Ornithine 500 mg/Melatonin 1 mg/ Tinct. Valeriana

S. Taken separately or in combination one hour before going to bed. In case of nervous tension, stress, inner restlessness and problems with falling asleep. Note: melatonin may suppress the bodies’ own production. Hence not to exceed above mentioned dosage. Take it for a limited period of time only, e.g. two months, two months stop etc.