Author Archives: Reino Gevers

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About Reino Gevers

Author, mentor and trainer
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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by | November 22, 2017 · 12:01 pm

Gratitude

I’ve just been watching those amazing images of the crowds in Zimbabwe celebrating the fall of the tyrant Robert Mugabe who has steered a country once revered as the bread basket of Africa into a destitute nation dependent on food aid.

Most of us folk who grew up in southern Africa know of friends or relatives who lost everything when the tyrant decided to confiscate flourishing farms and businesses which he shared among his party faithful and extended family members. Needless to say most of those farms are now deserted ruins.

Most of you reading this Blog would be living in a country with democratic institutions and the rule of law intact. It is not a Given and we see from other countries how transient life can be. Lives of millions of people can be turned upside down, either by natural catastrophe or calculated political expediency and corruption.

faith falls on your handThus during this time of Thanksgiving it is a time to be truly grateful for what we have and not what we want. There are always things we can be grateful for, even if we don’t see it immediately in our daily rush through life.

Unhappy people are those folk who incessantly see the shadow side of life with a predominantly negative attitude. Happiness is a mindset. It is something we can control and train. It is that slight edge most of the world’s most successful people have. They emanate an aura of enthusiasm and gratitude. You want to be around those folk because you simply enjoy their company. It is an easy ritual that you can incorporate in your daily routine every morning before you get out of bed:

  • What are those five things that you are truly grateful for ?
  • What positive experiences can I recall from the previous day?
  • What can I give back?

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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by | October 30, 2017 · 6:04 am

Are you being brainwashed?

I’m sure you’ve  had the experience recently. You are talking to someone when you  notice they have switched off with their “cemented opinion”.  But you continue talking, still hoping to convince that person with your “rational argument.”

Donna parla con lettere su sfondo biancoI fall into the trap every time, knowing full well that no matter what information I provide, it will not convince the other person to adapt or change his or her mind.

A medical doctor friend of mine recently vented frustration at the growing number of patients questioning his diagnosis with information they had found on the Internet. It is mind boggling that the expertise of scientists, who have spent a good part of their lives becoming experts in their fields, is ridiculed by persons with only scant knowledge at best of the topic they are talking about.

We surround ourselves with friends and associates who share our opinions and mannerisms. We subscribe to media that feed us with information we want to hear. Its human nature. A questioning of our belief system is perceived as so “dangerous” that it might alienate us from our tribe and leave us cold and alone. The unfortunate part of this human trait is that it makes us prone to manipulation, especially if the perceived threat to group identity is threatened.

What happens to the individual manifests itself into what I call the mass brainwashing and fogging of minds. Political strategists and the master manipulators understand this part of the working of the human mind very well.

Take for example my home country South Africa. The media is churning out almost daily evidence of the looting of the country’s state-owned enterprises and national treasury by the ruling president and his cronies. In any normal situation President Jacob Zuma would have been booted out of office and sentenced to a long prison term for crimes ranging from massive tax evasion to personal enrichment and treason.  He is only getting away with it because he has convinced his electorate that they are poor because the wealth of the country is controlled by “white monopoly capitalism.” Worse still, the media controlled by this “monopoly” is spreading lies in a bid to re-install apartheid.  That is all you need to communicate in a country still deeply divided along racial lines.

Feed into already existing prejudices or fears by spreading half-truths, lies and misleading information and you control the masses who believe what they want to believe. Adolf Hitler understood this mechanism perfectly by feeding into existing anti-Semitic prejudices of a highly educated society until he had them all screaming “Sieg Heil” as the rail carriages rolled into the death camps of Auschwitz.  The economy of the oil-rich country of Venezuela was ruined by a despot riding the mantra that all the troubles could be attributed to American imperialism.

This is why I find the rising nationalism in so many countries so dangerous. It appeals to the most basic of human instincts, whispering into the ears of the masses: “Someone is out there taking or denying from you something that you regard as very precious and dear.”

The wise teachers from all the major religious traditions teach us that you need to “neutralize” your mind in order to open yourself to true spiritual experience. It sounds so easy but is probably one of the hardest things to do. Don’t we all have toxic emotions, prejudices and fears that we desperately hold on to?

A first step toward neutralizing the mind is the admission of those existing pre-conceived ideas, or emotions and in analyzing their origins.

  • What made you think the way you are thinking?
  • Do you really have an open mind to a new angle or perspective?
  • Are you versed in the art of listening?

Inside each human lie embedded the seeds of doing either good or evil. What you feed your mind with on a daily basis is what you become. You make your decisions based on your belief system.

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.

http://www.reinogevers.com

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by | October 18, 2017 · 2:00 pm

Your friend the obstacle

IMG_0117 (1)When walking the Camino you will be confronted by obstacles.  The first biggest challenge is mental. You are thirsty, exhausted and your feet are hurting. You push yourself to the summit of that mountain only to find that you have an even steeper hill to climb further ahead. Your mood sinks to rock bottom.

We have those moments of walking through the valley of death every day. An unexpected tax bill in the post. An unpleasant meeting or other disappointment.  Life is cyclical, like the seasons with periods of winter darkness followed by the joys of spring and warm summer days.

Take a  look at some of the great personalities of our time. Nelson Mandela, Oprah Winfrey and Albert Einstein transmuted the suffering in  those pits of darkness in their youth, honing their qualities of character and emerging stronger than ever before.

What you perceive as an obstacle is a “teacher” telling you where you have to learn and refine your personality in overcoming your greatest fears which can be anything from the fear of death, ill-health, loss of material wealth and the shame that can go with it.

We need only to observe nature to see how all plant and animal life is in a continuous process of evolutionary refinement in the adaption to challenges that come with changing circumstances.

Without an obstacle, without a challenge, you can’t grow. You will remain stagnant and there is the danger of falling into procrastination and lethargy. So next time you have to deal with a major disappointment or challenge it might just be the universe telling you to take a different turn.

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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by | October 9, 2017 · 9:42 am

Guarding the temple of your soul

A few days ago I saw a front page headline in our local newspaper: “Trump opposes gun control.” It got me thinking: If I was living in the United States, it would maybe have been of interest to me. In this case it was just another example of the media setting the agenda for the day’s mood.

Motivational Quote That Will Inspire You to Be Successful. Words that inspire your heart, motivate your mind in life, creating success, achieving your goals, and overcoming your fears.Don’t get me wrong. The mass shooting in Las Vegas was a terrible tragedy. But the event has absolutely no impact on the daily lives of people living some 9,000 kilometers away and doesn’t belong on the front page of  my local newspaper. The media is feeding us constantly with blood and gore and the shadow side of humanity, knowing that its human nature to look first at the negative before seeing the positive.

Its part of our reptilian brain, our instinctive behavior and survival instinct to stay alert in case a tiger comes crashing through the woods. But in today’s globalized world of mass media, the constant feeding of the subconscious mind with negativity has an extremely detrimental effect on our health.

Stress, triggered by negative news, negative emotions and toxic thoughts, affects your immune system. When you read negative news and your mind is occupied with negativity, you release a stress hormone called cortisol. Prolonged exposure to cortisol leads to damage to the hippocampus part of the brain, causing in extreme cases anxiety attacks, depression or other mental illness.

This is why its so important to stand guard at the gateway to your subconscious mind. What do you feed your mind with before you go to bed? The worst thing you can do is to watch a horror movie or the evening news. It will program the way you dream and in what mood you wake up the next morning. Reading a spiritual text or listening to soothing music will have the opposite effect.

It takes constant training to shield the mind from negativity. But the more aware you become through mindfulness training the more effective you will become in empowering that guard at your doorway. I’m practising all the time.  Its not easy. Being a former newsman myself, I have to be more circumspect than most others not to fall prey to the tentacles of the mass media.

You create your reality with your thoughts!

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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by | September 28, 2017 · 4:43 pm

And, see no evil …

The great Napoleon Hill once said that every evil carries within it the flames of self-destruction. It was a warning by the famous mentor to his students, political and business leaders to reflect carefully on their actions and goals. When they are not in sync with the universe and designed for the benefit of all , those flames will come back to burn you.

Business person afraid of a big monster claw shadow concept

Sometimes those flames can come in the form of such deep disgust and regret with the “Self” that it manifests itself in self-destructive behavior such as addiction or serious illness.

I am watching with sadness how the drama in my home country South Africa unfolds. The political elite, that once had the moral high ground in fighting apartheid, has mutated into a criminal clique, that is on the brink of destroying itself and taking an entire country with it. Currently the knives are out as a leadership battle ensues – evil starting to self-implode. But you can take any totalitarian regime or corrupt government in the world. The end result will be the same. Karma, the sum of a personal or group action,  is ruthless in its final consequence.

So, how do we define evil, you may ask?  This is my take on it:

  • The actions are always designed for the benefit of an individual or those few around him/her to the detriment of others.
  • It is most often a conscious deliberate act of cruelty or destruction
  • Some form of manipulative power is always involved

The other side of the equation is the disciple of good, the servant of the universe,  selfless and holistic in mind and action, reflective, and aware of all participants involved, very much capable of empathy and feeling. They are first and foremost forgiving to self and others. Not many of those people around, I’m afraid. The few exceptional leaders are those who have transmuted the shadow sides of their personality on the  hard training of the school of life.

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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by | September 15, 2017 · 1:37 pm

Our greatest challenge: The environment

There is something happening to our world, telling us with stark reality that the greatest challenge of our time is  the environment.  The natural catastrophes of the past months with the elements of fire and water wreaking havoc to the lives of millions of people, should be a wake-up call.

hurricaneBut we cannot be hoping for action from governments or politicians with “empty-speak” words. Every individual needs to question lifestyle habits.

Volcanic eruptions, floods and earthquakes have always been part of human existence, yet scientists have warned for decades that the frequency and intensity of such natural catastrophes would be increasing with the rise of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Since the beginning of the industrial revolution carbon dioxide emissions have increased by 40 per cent. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was measured at over 400 ppm (parts per million) in 2015!

This level is higher than at any time for the past 400,000 years where the average was about 280 ppm. The reason: The burning of fossil fuels coupled with unprecedented deforestation. The world’s rain forests form an important equilibrium in the balance between emitting oxygen and the absorption of carbon dioxide.hurricane.2

Rain forests and the oceans harbor much of the diversity of life. Large parts of the ocean however are ecologically dead because of plastic garbage pollution and coral reefs dying as a result of pesticide pollution and the warming of the oceans. Scientists estimate that 150-200 species of plant, insect, bird and mammal become extinct every day. This is greater than anything the world has experienced since the dinosaurs disappeared nearly 65 million years ago!

In the ancient Chinese Philosophy of the Five Elements,  the events in the external world cannot be separated from what is happening internally with human consciousness. I go into this in more detail in my book: Yield and Overcome

On the micro-level all of life is interconnected.  And, in terms of the law of nature, the elements seek to balance what is out of kilter. This can at times be very disruptive both for a physical human body as well as for the environment. In this analogy the burning of fossil fuels, or the overheating of the earth with the fire element, requires the counterbalance of the water element. On the emotional level overheated, reactionary and fanatic emotions, preoccupation with consumption  (fire element) and the emotions of fear and withdrawal (water element) are predominant. In a balanced state the elements of wood, fire, earth, metal and water would be nurturing each other.

I am convinced that how we are treating our immediate environment is closely connected with our own self worth and how we treat our own physical body. Its the sum of small things that make a huge difference. By simply avoiding the purchase of cosmetic products containing palm oil, you will be helping to curtail the clearing of rain forests in Asia for palm oil plantations. And, how about avoiding the use of plastic bags to prevent them from landing in the oceans?

What we eat, how we exercise and how we program our mindset resonates into our immediate environment.  One of Mahatma Gandhi’s most famous quotes is:

“You must be the change you want to see in the world.”

The challenge in the raising of human consciousness is to change the way we think. A positive mindset will change how you think and feel. Controlling your emotions will open the gateway to new thought and awareness into what needs to be done. As we become more aware we should be realizing how much we need to adapt to the natural laws of nature in order to survive as a species. Those species that have survived for eons are  those plants and animals that have learned to adapt within the continually changing matrix of existence. Seeing himself as a separate entity to the environment has been the biggest fallacy of modern man.

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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by | September 8, 2017 · 1:32 pm

Who takes the blame?

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During our recent walk on the Camino in Spain we met a young guy with a big hat on a remote mountain. Miguel was selling cold drinks and water to pilgrims and at the same time giving them an arm band with wise words written on them. I got the quote: “analyze, understand and resolve.”

Words so true and important both in a personal context and how we should deal with problems and conflicts at the organizational level.

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It comes to mind that organizations in the corporate world and leaders who learn from mistakes are extremely rare. My experience: The bigger the organization the more slow and complex the decision-making process. Most managers are afraid to take the blame if something goes wrong.

It is deeply ingrained in our culture from early childhood. Admitting failure means taking the blame and living with the resulting shame and consequences. That is why so few organizations have systems in place where the potential of  learning from failure can be fully realized. The recent diesel scandal at Volkswagen is a classic example. Many of the executives and managers at top level were obviously aware that something was seriously wrong in manipulating emission requirements. But the rigid hierarchy culture at that level obviously made it very unsafe to admit and report the failure of engineers.

Failures and mistakes, especially where human interaction is involved, is inevitable. It is a by-product of a creative and experimental culture that leads to innovation. To consider them bad or avoidable is counterproductive. In fact such a culture will produce major calamities as we have seen with VW.

On a personal level we often dwell endlessly over a problem or fall into a freeze mode out of shame if we have really messed it up. We also tend to blame the situation on external factors but do the opposite when assessing the mistakes of others.

Here are some problem solving tips:

  • Analyze the reasons that led to the problem
  • Identify several possible problem solving options and write them down. This is getting clarity in understanding why something went wrong.
  • Occupy your mind with other things like taking a walk or sleeping over it for a night
  • Prioritize your options and then take a decision that leads to resolution

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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by | August 30, 2017 · 5:19 am

Paths less travelled

Starting the last stage of my Camino from Lires to Finisterre, I met an old granny on the road who advised me to take the Path along the beach rather than the marked route I had intended taking. 

Sometimes the universe comes through the voice of a granny, telling you to make a change to your plan. 

Finisterre is my last stop on this Camino. A key lesson this time: Stay on the Path less travelled, even if it appears more difficult. Keep your own rhythm, your inner peace and pace by avoiding the crowds.

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by | August 27, 2017 · 5:01 pm

The Last Way

The bigger the crowd the bigger seems the disconnect. Walking the last 100 kilometres of the Camino de Santiago this year was startling, to say the least. Most of the way markers have been defaced with graffiti. Piles of empty  plastic bottles and other rubbish is carelessly left on the path. Pilgrims complain that a growing number of tourists – I wont call them pilgrims – are abusing the albergues for wild all-night parties. Groups of cyclists have the habit of aggressively pushing the slow-walking pilgrims off the road. 

One of the reasons why so many people are walking the last 100 km is to obtain the Compostela certificate as ,,proof,, that one has walked the Camino. I observed hundreds of people standing in line for hours at the Pilgrims Office in Santiago waiting to get their Compostela – many of them still wearing their cycle gear. There are also a fair number of tourists who book the short walk with tour operators. I have my doubts that you will have much of a Camino experience if you race through on a bicycle or on foot just to get your Compostela. The Path is so much more. 

So for those readers who now seem disheartened, I recommend walking the Camino early May or September outside the main European holiday season. The Camino Primitivo or ancient route from Oviedo to Melide is breathtaking, farthest from the madding crowds and the Path to walk within. Also recommendable is the Aragonese route from Col du Somport that joins the Camino Frances a Puenta la Reina. 

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