Author Archives: Reino Gevers

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About Reino Gevers

Author, mentor and trainer
by | April 18, 2018 · 7:51 am

As within so without

That which is above is from that which is below, and that which is below is from that which is above…

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Art in the Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma, Majorca

This excerpt from the Emerald Tablet of Hermes, a text shrouded in mystery and believed to be several thousand years old, illustrate to some extent how much the ancient teachers emphasized the discipline of thought.

In simple terms you could also translate the text into: What you think, you will attract.

That is why nearly all the great masters recommend and practise themselves  meditation, reflection and alone-time to realign with what is the core essence, and transmuting the daily impulses that come in reaction to dealing with life’s challenges and distractions.

Subconsciously we pick up emotions from people around us and especially from the exposure to mass media. The word “media” has its origins from the Latin word “medius” – the middle – or the medium communicating with the spirit world and passing the message on to the rest of us folk.

What we are seeing and hearing is only one window of reality and that window is often a message of fear and negativity. I would dare to say that the agenda of most of our daily thoughts is set by the first news report or “bad dream” we are exposed to in the morning.

The message from the Emerald Tablet is that we are co-creators of our universe, built in the image of God (Genesis 1:26). You need to build a wall around the temple of your soul so that you can be a creator of your own reality. Surround yourself with a protective imaginary wall that protects you from impulses that trigger stress, fear and other toxic emotions.

Reino Gevers – Mentor and Author – Your Health Matters

Awakening the Fire Within – key principles of health and success. Enrolling now will give you a 25 per cent discount.

 “Walking on Edge – A Pilgrimage to Santiago” available both in Kindle and paperback.

http://www.reinogevers.com

 

 

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by | April 10, 2018 · 8:08 am

Is facebook really the problem?

Facebook has rightly come in the firing line for its shoddy handling of personal data but I have a problem with the hysteria around the issue which seems to miss the point.

Social media sites are abusing our data because we allow them to do so. The contract is that services like facebook are free and we give them our data in return. Its up to the user to practise personal media responsibility, and very little of that seems to be happening in the fast digital world that demands immediate reaction.

dreamstime_xxl_109902089We unfortunately live in a time where we are constantly being bombarded with toxic emotions such as anger and fear. These are emotions that appeal to our primitive mind. Negativity gets our attention first. We are programmed that way as humans to avoid possible danger.

Social media and the technical means of spreading hate mail or fake media around the globe within seconds is something we have never experienced before in the history of mankind. Whether we jump for the bait is a personal choice, however.

The downside of social media is the complete lack of a fact-checking system, allowing every stupid and dim-witted user to spread his hate-mail. A case in point was this weekend when a deranged German crashed his van into a crowd, killing two people and injuring 20 others. Authorities were quick to point out that there was no evidence of an Islamic background.  But a leader of Germany’s rightwing AfD party, Beatrix von Storch, only minutes after the incident implied in a tweet that a migrant was the perpetrator. The objective was clear: Stir up us much anger and hatred against migrants even if the facts aren’t clear.

Hatred and fear are emotions that easily spiral out of control. They are the biggest hindrance to living a healthy life of happiness and abundance. Emotions of fear and anger are so powerful that they will lock you into a negative mode, pulling you into a continuous negative spiral. You are no longer in control of your thoughts and open yourself to manipulation by demagogues and rogue politicians. Worse they are detrimental to your health.

Using social media responsibly would be to keep on posting positive messages that make us laugh, that lift our energies and open our hearts to love and compassion. Those are the energies that indeed change our world and have the potential to lift humankind to a higher consciousness. The Internet is a wonderful invention of our time – if we use it in a responsible way.

Reino Gevers – Mentor for Leaders and Achievers – Your Health Matters

Awakening the Fire Within – key principles of health and success. Enrolling now will give you a 25 per cent discount.

 “Walking on Edge – A Pilgrimage to Santiago” available both in Kindle and paperback.

http://www.reinogevers.com

 

 

 

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by | March 27, 2018 · 8:16 am

Back pain: Walk it off

Back pain is becoming an increasing disability, increasing by more  than 50 per cent since 1990. A series of papers just released by The Lancet shows that most treatments such as surgery and the use of opioids is doing more harm than good.

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Foto, courtesy Jesper Agergaard

Apart from accidents and genetic conditions, there are multiple reasons why chronic back pain is reaching epidemic proportions. Poor posture, stress and a mainly sedentary lifestyle are some of the obvious.  In Germany statistics from public health insurance companies show that back pain has been one of the main reasons for absenteeism from work for years, costing the national economy a fortune in lost productivity.

Anyone who has suffered lower back pain will know how debilitating it can be and what impact it can have on happiness and general well being. It can force us into a state of paralysis where even the most willing of minds is trapped in an incapable body.

During stress situations our muscles tighten, especially around the neck and shoulder areas. Pressure has to go somewhere and will eventually find an avenue around the weakest part of our back in the spinal discs of the lower back.

The spinal discs play a crucial part in supporting the upper body, and allowing a wide range of movement in all directions. The supporting muscles of the spine inevitably degenerate when we don’t exercise enough. A slipped disc often comes when performing a mundane task. Of course back pain has to be checked by a physician. Sometimes an underlying serious condition such as an infection of a vital organ or cancer can be the cause. Every body is different.

Having practised Tai Chi and yoga for years, I can really recommend these body arts as extremely healthy for body and mind with a good teacher giving special emphasis on body posture.

People with lower back pain initially find any type of exercise painful, making an already serious situation worse by reducing all movement and causing more muscle degeneration. Therefore the most simple way to start is simply by walking which increases the stability of the muscles in the feet, legs, hips and torso.

Gentle, slow walking also improves circulation, pumping urgently needed nutrients into the spine and removing the toxins.  You are in effect “walking off” that back pain. But with our busy lifestyle, most people will argue: “I don’t have the time to do at least 5-8 kilometers a day!”

There are many ways the mind tricks us into staying in a state of procrastination.  But here are some tips of integrating more walking into your daily routine:

  • Use the stairs rather than the elevator
  • Walk to work and back if you can, or use a parking further away from the office
  • Find a nature area you enjoy for your walk. Its that much more fun.
  • And the best tip of all: Get a dog. A dog will tell you in many ways when its time for a walk, be there rain or sunshine. Its a fact that dog owners are healthier, simply because they do more walking.

Reino Gevers – Mentor for Leaders and Achievers – Your Health Matters

Awakening the Fire Within – key principles of health and success. Enrolling now will give you a 25 per cent discount.

 “Walking on Edge – A Pilgrimage to Santiago” available both in Kindle and paperback.

http://www.reinogevers.com

 

 

 

 

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by | March 7, 2018 · 10:13 am

Emotions and politics

Globally humanity currently seems to be shifting towards fanatical extremes aimed at building walls rather than dialogue for the greater good.  Rogue politicians are feasting on toxic emotions and making our world a more dangerous place.

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Extremism feeds on basic fears, greed, hatred, xenophobia and narcissism. Currently we are seeing plenty of that in the calls for protectionist trade barriers, blaming refugees and minorities for economic woes and a ruling party in South Africa opening a poison chalice by demanding the confiscation of land without compensation to redress “economic inequality.” The end result is always that everyone loses.

Learning to guard the doorway to your emotions has been a hallmark of all great spiritual teachers. For once toxic emotions capture the “tribal” mind, rational thought, logic and holistic thinking go down the drain.  Facts, truth and proven science lose out to “emotional belief.”

Extremist politicians from Warsaw to Washington would not be having such a field day if there was not a global underlying trend visible in much of the social media fueling the fires of polarization.  Humanity has been at a worse place. In central Europe at least, we have had the longest period of peace in human history built on a foundation of mutual dependency and cooperation. We tend to forget where we have come from and what we stand to lose during times of conflict and war.

It is part of human nature to focus on the negative before seeing the positive. It is a survival instinct going back to prehistoric times in being watchful of the dangers lurking in the wilds. This is why negative news, negative social media feeds, hate speech and hate mail receive far more attention than positive news.

The challenge of our times is to separate ourselves from such “negative feeds” and to stay in alignment with our higher purpose in serving the well-being of humanity as a whole. It starts with a self-love and a self-caring outlook on life that leads us into dialogue with our fellow man.

In dialogue as opposed to confrontation with an “alien” we become aware of our own true identity. We become aligned and grounded. A courageous heart discerns between truth and delusion.

Reino Gevers – Mentor for Leaders and Achievers – Your Health Matters

Awakening the Fire Within – key principles of health and success. Enrolling now will give you a 25 per cent discount.

 “Walking on Edge – A Pilgrimage to Santiago” available both in Kindle and paperback.

http://www.reinogevers.com

 

 

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by | February 27, 2018 · 4:18 pm

Our greatest fear

When a close family member dies unexpectedly we are inevitably confronted with our own greatest fear: The fear of death. It is the nature of existence that at some point in our life we will cease to exist in the physical form – something we like to banish from our minds in the daily rat race.

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Those souls that leave before us remind us that life, as we know it, does at some point end.  Most people will quietly fade away at a ripe old age. It is when a younger person is suddenly pulled from life that we become thoughtful – something I have just had to deal with when my younger brother died unexpectedly in his sleep from a heart attack.

When Lady Diana Spencer died in a car accident in Paris in August 1997 it had a global ripple effect. Hundreds of thousands of people lined the London streets mourning her death as if a close family member had died.  Lady Di was a mover and a shaker on many levels.

Being intensely involved in personal health consultancy business, someone recently remarked to me: “What’s the deal? Enjoy life while you can.”

What he really meant: Why go through the “pain” of observing a diet of healthy food and regular exercise  if you are going to die anyway? When your time is up, your time is up.

But that is just the point. We don’t know when our time is up. Living a mindful and healthy life will on average extend your life by at best a few years. But that should not be the primary motive. Who wants to be a centenarian if all your best friends have died?

Research on the blue zones – those places in the world with on average the highest number of centenarians – shows that we are missing the point when we aim for a long life. We should aim instead for a higher quality of life in the here and now that might or might not extend your life.

In the final analysis it is what the great spiritual teachers have been teaching throughout the centuries.

Life is about raising your soul consciousness.

Fear of death is a necessary survival instinct, stemming from the reptilian brain. Transmuting that fear into a raised consciousness of your individual true soul purpose is the real challenge during what is basically a short lifespan.

Reino Gevers – Mentor for Leaders and Achievers – Your Health Matters

Awakening the Fire Within – key principles of health and success. Enrolling now will give you a 25 per cent discount.

 “Walking on Edge – A Pilgrimage to Santiago” available both in Kindle and paperback.

http://www.reinogevers.com

 

 

 

 

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by | January 31, 2018 · 8:52 am

Creating a better version of yourself

I had a really inspiring meeting last week in Hamburg and Vienna with the best-selling author and founder of Nerium International, Jeff Olson. He embodies all the philosophies on health and self-development that inspired me to establish my own consultancy business PowerBodyMind some eight years ago.

Jeff’s book “The Slight Edge” , on turning simple daily disciplines into massive success and happiness, is a philosophy on which he built a very successful health product company, that has now just entered the European markets. It is not about only selling products, he says, but at the same time helping people becoming a better version of themselves.

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With Jeff Olson (left) in Hamburg

I’m convinced that in coming years we are going to see a lot more companies like Nerium coming to the fore, led by charismatic and holistic-thinking leaders who want to improve people’s lives and make the world a better place.

Most people want to do good and feel good when they have the feeling that they are doing something right, even if it is just supporting a product they know has high ethical standards.

At the forefront are companies in the health and beauty industry after we have seen generations of companies putting products on the market that were having terrible effects on consumers, the environment and other living beings. (tests on animals).

Most importantly, we need not become victims of circumstance. We do have the power and awareness to choose what products we want to buy and support. How healthy and happy we are and how long we live is determined largely by lifestyle and not by genes. Scientists have pinpointed several so-called “blue zones” located in places like Okinawa, Japan, and Sardinia in Italy where people continue to live active, healthy lives well into their 90s.

One of the key ingredients of a long life the scientists found is a diet rich in fresh vegetable, Omega 3 fatty acids and fruit with a low consumption of meat. At the same time these old people are all highly respected and honored in their communities. Attitude, sense of purpose and mindset seem just as much an important aspect as diet and exercise.

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Interestingly many of these old folk have survived their children and grandchildren who became ill and died from typical modern diseases such as heart problems and diabetes II after adopting a sedentary lifestyle rich in processed foods and sugar.

It is indeed all a matter of choice, as Jeff Olson, writes in his book. Turning your life around and making a better version of yourself is simply a matter of choice, adjusting your current lifestyle with simple steps that make that slight edge of a difference from living a life of the mundane to living a life of abundance and happiness.

Reino Gevers – Mentor for Leaders and Achievers – Your Health Matters

Awakening the Fire Within – key principles of health and success. Enrolling now will give you a 25 per cent discount.

 “Walking on Edge – A Pilgrimage to Santiago” available both in Kindle and paperback.

http://www.reinogevers.com

 

 

 

 

 

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by | January 10, 2018 · 8:45 am

Sprint and recovery

We live in a time where countless forces are demanding our attention. They are in reality pulling us away from our true destiny and our heart wishes. Most TV shows, the tabloids and social media feed our mind with false images and mind junk. And what you feed your mind with you become.

We so easily lose focus and sense of purpose when these external forces distract us. Moreover it depletes your mental and physical energy to the point where you are constantly exhausted. Don’t let it come to that.

Woman jumping

 

In my previous blog I discussed some of the reasons why most New Year Resolutions fail. The major reason is procrastination and procrastination comes from the lack of drive caused by exhaustion and over-exposure of the mind to distracting clutter.

There is a Chinese saying that the empty space between the spokes of a wheel are more important than the spokes themselves. The recovery time after a sprint is more important than the sprint itself.

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If you are currently engaged in a project or trying to sustain your New Year Resolution then you need to set aside time each day for uninterrupted focus on what you are doing. Make sure you have a space where no one will disturb you and you won’t be distracted by  electronic media for a 90-minute sprint session. After that take a break. Do something completely different, like going for a walk, doing an exercise sequence or taking a power nap.

Its a common illusion that sitting at an office desk for eight hours a day or longer is productive. I would guess that at the most a third of the time is actually used for effective work. The same applies to meetings. Most meetings are completely useless and energy sapping.

Remember: We have all the time in the world and yet no time to lose!

Reino Gevers – Mentor for Leaders and Achievers – Your Health Matters

Awakening the Fire Within – key principles of health and success. Enrolling now will give you a 25 per cent discount.

 “Walking on Edge – A Pilgrimage to Santiago” available both in Kindle and paperback.

http://www.reinogevers.com

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by | December 30, 2017 · 11:23 am

2018: Why most New Year resolutions fail

At the start of a new year much thought is given to resolutions. You might be planning to lose weight and sign-up for a yoga class, learn to play the guitar or reduce a spending habit.

zirve tırmanış başarısı & hedef sevinci

The truth is that most such good intentions don’t last the first half of the month of January before we fall back into set-patterns and old habits. Why bother, you may ask?

This time is always a good time to sit down and reflect on accomplishments of the past year and what business remains unfinished and still needs to be addressed.  A New Year can offer you a clean slate on starting something new and putting into action what you might have been mulling about for some time.

Its the small simple steps that eventually make all the difference. But As Jim Rohn once said its the easiest things that are also the easiest not to do.

Most New Year resolutions fail because they remain just dreams and are not accompanied by a plan of action. Procrastination can be your worst enemy. If you are planning to exercise more, don’t hesitate. Start immediately by signing up for a class or going for a half hour walk today. Want to lose weight?  Start today by cutting all refined sugars and soft drinks from your diet. Want to reduce debt? Keep a journal of all your spending habits, starting right away.

Dreams remain just dreams without action. I firmly believe that with action the universe will conspire to assist you with your good intentions.

Here is some advice on how you can best trick your mind out of a procrastination mode:

  • Make your dreams and resolutions attainable and realistic. Getting a body trained for a marathon or a long hike starts with small exercise routines done each day. You won’t lose your ten kilograms of weight in three weeks but how about in three, four or five months?
  • Keep a journal of your plans and achievements. Its the best way of keeping track on how you are progressing.
  • Try the 40-day rule. Most significant changes only reveal themselves after an extended period of time. Try an exercise or diet routine without fail for an uninterrupted period of 40 days. You will feel and notice a difference!

Kick-start your New Year with a clear plan of action! I invite you to participate in my Seven-Part course “Awakening the Fire Within.” It is a compilation of key principles of my mind-body and resilience trainings of the past eight years.

Reino Gevers – Mentor for Leaders and Achievers – Your Health Matters

Awakening the Fire Within – key principles of health and success. Enrolling now will give you a 25 per cent discount.

 “Walking on Edge – A Pilgrimage to Santiago” available both in Kindle and paperback.

http://www.reinogevers.com

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by | December 27, 2017 · 8:51 am

Majorca: Island of contrasts

I’m gradually settling in on Majorca, my new home base. Admittedly I was prejudiced by the reports of mainly hard-drinking low-budget tourists frequenting the Mediterranean island. The reality is that like its geography the region is marked by stark contrasts.

The coastal areas around the capital Palma draw most of the tourists with countless high-rise hotels lining the beaches. The airport is one of Europe’s busiest, especially during the summer months. But travelling away from the madding crowds into the interior you find an entirely different Majorca.

Hidden in the rugged Tramuntuna mountain, described lovingly by the Mallorquina as the heart of their island can also be found the spiritual heart in the Monastery of Lluc, dating back to the 13th century.

And, today I visited the Santuari de Cura, a monastery on the centrally located holy mountain of Randa, where the famous philosopher and Franciscan monk Ramon Llull (1232-1316) lived as a hermit, wrote some 265 books and worked as a pioneer of computation theory.

The mountain offers spectacular view of the plains below and the distant Tramuntuna mountains. As the winter clouds give way to sunlight, the distant mountain tops are spotlighted by sunshine. Double rainbows can be seen on the horizon. On days like these it becomes apparent why so many artists, painters, writers, seekers and wanderers were drawn to the island over the centuries.

Majorca is almost revealing of  the two sides of humanity.  The preoccupation with materialism, physical pleasures and all the distractions of the moment on the one side while the heart searches for the roots, meaning and sense of purpose in the solitude of nature and spiritual mysticism from the times of yore.

Reino Gevers – Mentor for Leaders and Achievers – Your Health Matters

Awakening the Fire Within – key principles of health and success. Enrolling now will give you a 25 per cent discount.

 “Walking on Edge – A Pilgrimage to Santiago” available both in Kindle and paperback.

http://www.reinogevers.com

 

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by | December 18, 2017 · 7:15 pm

Home and the heart of things

In the past few days I have dissolved a home of 21 years in northern Germany and moved to the Spanish island of Majorca. It poses the question of what we define as home and where to let go of meaningless material attachment.

One of the key lessons of walking the Camino is that the less you carry in your back pack the easier your walk.  You have to go lean to go far. Essentially there is not much we need to feel contentment of heart.

There is not much that remains of those things we clutter our homes with when it comes to downsizing. A rule of thumb is what you haven’t worn or used during the past six months is no longer of value to you.

img_0405Within the word Home, is one of the most powerful mantras OM.  In the Sanskrit origin  it translates as the vibrational Source and connection to the Supreme.  Peace of mind and contentment can only be found With-In. You always take yourself with you wherever you are and with all that with which your mind is preoccupied with.

The bottom line: If you are a grumpy old scrooge at the place where you are now, chances are good that you will remain a grumpy old scrooge wherever you choose to go.

Its an illusion to think that everything will change for the better if you change your wife, your house, your job and your country, if you don’t change your mindset as well.

But its not the whole story.  Who you are is determined largely by your associations and the environment you live in. We are social beings who interact and need to interact with each other all the time.

If the people you surround yourself with and your immediate surroundings are no longer conducive to your further development, then its time to move.

Yet, attachments mainly in the form of material things and emotional baggage of the past subconsciously hinder us from taking a big step forward to new things, new perspectives, new relationships and in the end more lessons learned on the path to a raised consciousness.

Reino Gevers – Mentor for Leaders and Achievers – Your Health Matters

Awakening the Fire Within – key principles of health and success. Enrolling now will give you a 25 per cent discount.

NEW RELEASE: “Walking on Edge – A Pilgrimage to Santiago” available both in Kindle and paperback.

http://www.reinogevers.com

 

 

 

 

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