by | May 8, 2024 · 9:02 am

Is religion stifling spiritual growth?

During my childhood in South Africa, I started having my first doubts about religion when clergy defended from the pulpit the abhorrent policy of apartheid and prevented a devout black priest from attending a church ceremony.

The message of salvation failed to resonate in the obligatory Sunday services which I found to be extraordinarily melancholy and joyless occasions, steeped in empty ritual. It did however serve the purpose of sending me onto a path of intensive ongoing spiritual exploration.

If you are one of those people who left the church in frustration after being shamed for thinking differently or questioning doctrine, then welcome to the club.

For centuries religious institutions have stifled spiritual growth and prevented people from living their divine purpose by telling them how to behave, what to believe, and even what politicians to vote for. This, for me at least, is the ultimate sin for which the church needs to take responsibility.

Spiritual but not religious

Especially younger people in Western countries are seeing through the hypocrisy and leaving the church in droves. But does that mean that more people are becoming agnostic, atheist, or have lost their belief in the divine?

Seven out of ten Americans describe themselves as spiritual in some way including 22 percent who say they are spiritual but not religious.

Even the first Christian communities were often divided between legalistic interpretations of the Gospel and experiential spirituality. There is a lovely passage in Galatians 5 of the New Testament of the Bible where St. Paul criticizes an early church in today’s Turkey.

Paul underscores the centrality of the Gospel, calling on the faithful to practice love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control as opposed to the legalism of what foods to eat and what could and could not be done on a Sabbath.

Jesus, the ultimate revolutionary

Some 2,000 years ago Jesus broke all religious conventions by healing the sick on the Sabbath. He was eventually crucified when openly exposing the hypocrisy of the clergy, by dining with sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes, and other outcasts – who were excluded from the Temple.

Jesus never had plans to establish an institution or a church and would probably be horrified by what people are saying and practicing in his name today. When someone starts confronting me with the words: “Have you found the real Jesus?” it is for me a signal to run.

Temples, churches, and places of worship could be turned into sanctuaries of peace by opening their doors to people of all faiths. Many Christian churches however are stuck in tribalistic doctrine, especially when it comes to who is entitled to holy communion, abortion, or whether women can be ordained as priests.

Thriving churches, however, are vibrant meeting places for people joyfully dancing, singing, praying, and sharing meals together. In a positive sense, they can cement the community spirit, especially in urban environments where we have an epidemic of isolation and loneliness. These church members practice a living faith by visiting the aged, providing comfort to prison inmates, and refugees, and establishing food banks for the hungry.

Spiritual growth comes from a place of brokenness

There is a saying that religion is for those who fear hell while spirituality is for those who have been there. The seeds of spiritual growth come from a place of brokenness.

On my more than a dozen walks on the Camino in Spain I have met countless people who have gone through the hell of losing loved ones, confronted life-threatening illnesses, the dark holes of depression, financial ruin, and relationship breakdown. What I can say about all these people I’ve met on the Camino is that such life-changing events made them come out stronger, forcing them into deep introspection on the purpose and meaning of life.

A cosmic religion of the future

Experiential spirituality is a process whereby the shutters of the soul window are opened. It is a feeling of connection with the divine, and the mystery of creation. The great scientist Albert Einstein once said that the religion of the future will be cosmic in nature. 

“The most beautiful and deepest experience a man can have is the sense of the mysterious. It is the underlying principle of religion as well as all serious endeavors in art and science. He who never had this experience seems to me, if not dead, then at least blind,” Einstein is quoted as saying.

The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, encourages individuals to go beyond the superficial differences among religions and recognize the deeper essence of spirituality and morality that can be found in all faith traditions. 

The fundamental principles of compassion, love, and ethics are not limited to any particular religious tradition or belief system. These principles, the Dalai Lama believes, are universal.

Already early into this year, a record number of pilgrims are walking the Camino. All share the common quest that has resonated through the ages:

“From whence do I hail? Whither do I journey? What purpose guides my days ahead?”

In echoing the ancient Sages and Mystics, emphasizing the innate spirit of man: Where there is a lighthearted spirit of joy, peace, positivity, and kindness, negativity and darkness recede.

Reino Gevers – Author – Mentor – Speaker

P.S. I’m excited to announce the release of my latest book, “The Turning of the Circle: Embracing Nature’s Wisdom for Purposeful Living.” If you enjoy it, you might also be interested in my previous works, “Deep Walking for Body, Mind and Soul” and “Walking on Edge: A Pilgrimage to Santiago.” You can find all of these titles at reputable bookstores near you.

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by | April 29, 2024 · 8:33 am

Evil is created, not born

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has inflicted devastation upon millions of lives and dramatically altered geopolitical realities. Analysts speculate that Putin’s actions may be rooted in a traumatic childhood, a common denominator of some of the world’s most brutal dictators.

Adverse childhood experiences and trauma are sometimes passed on for generations, and if not transmuted can create particularly destructive adults who are incapable of showing compassion, empathy, or love.

Putin himself is probably unaware that his behavior is driven by unresolved “inner childhood” trauma but his convoluted argument on national television that the invasion of Ukraine was justified to fight “Nazis” offer some clues to his actions.

Ukraine is led by a Jewish leader and Putin’s argument that the country’s government is led by Nazis is absurd. Lately, the argument of fighting “Nazis” in Ukraine has been changed into a fight against the West as a whole “intent on destroying Russia.”

Putin, judging from his many unhinged statements in state-controlled media, obviously feels threatened and considers himself the victim seemingly oblivious to the suffering he has unleashed.

A former profiler from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Dr. Jerrold Post, who later became a professor of psychiatry has suggested that Putin’s anxieties possibly stemmed from his early experiences in life.

Putin grew up as a street kid in a rough neighborhood of Leningrad, a city devastated by the Nazis during World War II. Most of the population died in the war and Putin’s father was badly injured, inheriting from his parents their wartime trauma. Growing up without any loving adults around him, Putin was forced to fend for himself on the streets and was badly bullied by other children.

It produced a macho personality, deep distrust of others, unpredictability, and a man willing to advance his own power agenda walking over killing fields in the process. Putin has had his most vocal opponents assassinated or imprisoned, started wars in several neighboring countries, and is sowing division and hate with an information war of fake news on a global level. We are seeing evil at play on multiple levels.

Photo by Keira Burton on Pexels.com

Dr. Post explained in an essay that Putin’s steely surface is directly linked to being bullied as a child which led him to take up martial arts.

“He (Putin) took up martial arts so as not to be pushed around by other kids. We are seeing the same behavior in his leadership,” Post wrote.

The psychologist Alice Miller writes that there “is no confirmation of the widespread assertion that there are people who are born evil. On the contrary. The deciding factor is the reception they were given when they came into the world and the way they were treated later.”

Her summary of how evil is created and what she learned from the common denominator of childhoods from dictators is particularly poignant:

“These children will tend to glorify the violence inflicted upon them and later take advantage of every possible opportunity to exercise such violence, possibly on a gigantic scale. Hitler, Stalin, and Mao all had particularly traumatic childhoods during which they were repeatedly beaten and shamed by adults.

“Children learn by imitation. Their bodies do not learn what we try to instill in them through words but what they have experienced physically. Battered, injured children will learn to batter and injure others; sheltered, respected children will learn to respect and protect those weaker than themselves. Children have nothing else to go on but their own experiences.”

Our responsibility as a society therefore is to instill in children from an early childhood love, respect, understanding, kindness, and warmth.

The healthier a child’s relationships are at a later stage in life, the higher the possibility of recovery and resilience from trauma.

When a childhood trauma can be resolved at an early stage, there is a greater chance of healing and less risk that a destructive behavior pattern is repeated in adult life.

Related articles:

Reino Gevers – Author – Mentor – Speaker

P.S. I’m excited to announce the release of my latest book, “The Turning of the Circle: Embracing Nature’s Wisdom for Purposeful Living.” If you enjoy it, you might also be interested in my previous works, “Deep Walking for Body, Mind and Soul” and “Walking on Edge: A Pilgrimage to Santiago.” You can find all of these titles at reputable bookstores near you.

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by | April 22, 2024 · 9:46 am

The power of community

Happiness is a state of mind, often based on those small joys of life that wield immense power to our sense of bliss.

Recently, I engaged in an exercise with course participants, probing into what fueled their energy reserves versus what drained them. Surprisingly, the resounding echoes leaned towards moments spent with loved ones, the companionship of pets, or the peace of mind found in nature as profound sources of rejuvenation.

Notably absent from their reflections was any mention of shopping or the accumulation of material possessions. Yet, society incessantly indoctrinates us that such acquisitions are the keys to happiness. The allure of novelty quickly dims, leaving behind a feeling of regret and shame from overspending.

Humans are tribal by nature

We humans are tribal by nature. Positive interaction with our fellow human beings where we feel seen, supported, and heard is key to perceiving a sense of safety and well-being. A supportive community has for eons been part of the survival mechanism of the human species.

In his research on the Five Blue Zones, Dan Buettner explored the lifestyles and diets in regions of the world where people lived the longest and were healthiest.

It is a fact that aging and death are part of life but living a healthy lifestyle can add decades to your life and happiness. Some key pillars of the research of the Five Blue Zones:

  • Physical Activity. People who live long lives do regular moderate exercise such as walking
  • All the Five Blue Zones came from strong communities with a healthy mixture of young and old people
  • They had a sense of purpose and joy
  • Their intake of calories and alcohol was minimal and most had Mediterranean or whole food plant-based diet.

Genetics play a relatively insignificant part of between 20-25 per cent when it comes to longevity.

With stress related physical and mental disorders becoming a growing threat to the very fabric of society, a supportive network of family, friends, or broader social circles, helps fortify your ability to weather life’s storms.

Belonging to a community fosters a sense of connection and belonging, which is fundamental to human well-being.

Healthy communities can serve as platforms for shared knowledge, emotional support and coping strategies. By exchanging insights and learning from one another’s experiences, individuals within a community can develop adaptive skills for managing stress more effectively.

The bonds of community are often strengthened by shared religious rituals, festivals, music and dancing.

In essence, community acts as both a shield and a sanctuary, offering protection from the onslaught of negativity from the external world while nurturing the resilience needed to bounce back after going through the loss of a loved one or any other challenge that life throws at you.

Reino Gevers – Author – Mentor – Speaker

P.S. I’m excited to announce the release of my latest book, “The Turning of the Circle: Embracing Nature’s Wisdom for Purposeful Living.” If you enjoy it, you might also be interested in my previous works, “Deep Walking for Body, Mind and Soul” and “Walking on Edge: A Pilgrimage to Santiago.” You can find all of these titles at reputable bookstores near you.

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by | April 8, 2024 · 8:25 am

What is living your authenticity?

In a recent conversation, someone asked about the essence of “living your authenticity,” the central theme of my podcast and YouTube channel. While it typically entails remaining faithful to one’s core values and identity, its scope is more intricate.

How can you discern when you’re not living authentically?

Embarking on the journey of fulfilling your destiny and purpose tends to engender a sense of natural alignment, accompanied by feelings of flow, joy, and passion. You will be operating on a higher vibrational frequency, naturally radiating an allure in your relationships and interactions.

Choosing happiness and masterminding your thoughts is a conscious choice.

In a conversation with the Pharisees, the Jewish clergymen of the time, Jesus admonishes them for seeking the kingdom of heaven in the external world, telling them: “Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:21)

Living your authenticity is not a destination or procrastinating in some utopia.

The whole purpose of life is to keep on growing and elevating your consciousness. The activities that you pursue with a passion and where you stay in the flow will ultimately shape you into the person you are destined to be.

Living authentically does not mean you won’t have setbacks but how fast you can bounce back into the flow after the experience of loss, pain, or shame. It is the courage to stand up for what you believe in and to pursue your goals, even in the face of adversity especially if it gets difficult or you are unpopular.

Photo by Maria Orlova on Pexels.com

You might lose friends, family members, and what you believed was your support network. But very often those people closest to you are those that pull you back to their low vibrational field because they can’t bear one of their “tribal members” pursuing their dream. It would, in their mind, expose them as weak and a failure.

Most unhappiness and much of the depression epidemic we are seeing is when there is addiction to a false identity that feeds on external validation.

Especially the passive consumption of mass media is designed to make you unhappy. Their whole purpose is to generate profit for someone else, and they can literally suck out your lifeblood if you allow their messaging to shape an identity that is far removed from authentic soul purpose. You become a mere consumer instead of a creative shaper of your destiny.

If you are addicted to a mindset that is fixated on external gratification and where you are dependent on flaunting your status and possessions you will fall into a spiral of unhappiness. For there will always be someone more successful, younger, more beautiful, more famous, and happier than you are.

It is the reason why lottery winners end up bankrupt or commit suicide. Or film or sports stars at the height of their success fall prey to substance abuse, as they desperately try to avoid an underlying emptiness.

Cultivating a sense of self-love, gratitude, and awareness is key.

Your body will at an early stage send warning signals if you need to change something, like feeling stress, anxiety, and sleeplessness. Your gut feeling will tell you that something needs to change. The high-value man or woman you meet might show all the right credentials for a good partnership but something inside tells you that he/she is just not the right fit or that something is wrong.

You might be doing something where you consistently have to compromise your core values, beliefs, and feelings. When external voices have led you astray on the wrong path you will consistently face obstacles, setbacks, and disappointment. When you are on the right path you feel instinctively that wind in the sails where the universe has your back, and everything falls into place like meeting the right people at the right time.

You might just be going through the motions without feeling any sense of passion or purpose. You feel like you’re wearing a mask and pretending to be someone you are not. You might want to drown that underlying growing feeling of unhappiness by accumulating more and more things with the novelty wearing off after only a few minutes.

Experiencing a profound “flat-on-the-ground” moment can often serve as the catalyst for seeking a deeper reconnection with the essence of existence. Authenticity and true meaning come into focus when you realize that your purpose is intertwined with the universal fabric of life and its inherent wholeness.

Following the estrangement from nature, humanity faces the formidable task of recognizing this avenue of reconnection through an experiential spirituality that transcends the confines of religious dogma, belief systems, and political or ideological barriers.

Reino Gevers – Author – Mentor – Speaker

P.S. I’m excited to announce the release of my latest book, “The Turning of the Circle: Embracing Nature’s Wisdom for Purposeful Living.” If you enjoy it, you might also be interested in my previous works, “Deep Walking for Body, Mind and Soul” and “Walking on Edge: A Pilgrimage to Santiago.” You can find all of these titles at reputable bookstores near you.

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by | March 25, 2024 · 7:31 am

Sleepwalking into authoritarianism

“Democracy is not a spectator sport, it’s a participatory event. If we don’t participate in it, it ceases to be a democracy.” – Michael Moore

Envision yourself living in a country where even the mildest critique of the ruler could land you behind bars or strip you of your livelihood. The airwaves echo incessant hymns of praise for the leader, while simultaneously stoking hate towards both real and imagined adversaries. Meanwhile, your son lives in constant fear, knowing he could be conscripted at any moment into a futile war.

This is a grim reality in Russia and a growing number of countries, casting a shadow over the lives of its citizens. Alarmingly, this pattern could potentially spread to numerous democratic nations where generations have relished unparalleled freedoms, blissfully unaware of the true implications of authoritarian rule and its pervasive influence on society.

Across the globe, we witness a gradual erosion of fundamental liberties and democratic principles. Even within Western democracies long considered bastions of stability, nefarious political factions are becoming mainstream, posing a major threat to the established order

Democratic backsliding across the globe

The Democracy Index for 2019 found that democratic backsliding across the world has led to the worst score since the index was first produced in 2006, with only 5.7 percent of the global population living in what could be considered a “full democracy.”

Far-right parties bent on eroding democratic checks and balances

A Berlin-based leading Civil liberties network has warned that the rule of law is declining across the European Union as far-right parties continue to weaken legal and democratic checks and balances. Liberties in entrenched democracies such as Sweden and Italy are in a gradual process of retreat and risk becoming systematic, according to the 2024 Liberties Rule of Law Report.

The U.S. presidential elections this year are bearing up to become a real test in democracy with a significant portion of election denialism having taken hold among a large section of voters. Donald Trump’s claim that the last election was stolen has led to a wholesale attack on the entire democratic election process.

In the past, the United States has relied on state and local election officials, regardless of party, to count votes fairly and to accurately report results—but that can no longer be taken for granted, according to a detailed report in The Atlantic.

The rightwing Heritage Foundation has drawn up detailed plans to purge government agencies and to replace non-partisan civil servants with Trump loyalists if they win the 2024 election. Agencies and offices responsible for enforcing civil rights laws are to be replaced with right-wing ideologues throughout the federal government, making their agenda on women’s and LGBQT rights permanent.

Democracy and civil liberties take many decades to be entrenched in society while it takes only one government to dismantle everything. Freedom of the press can be stifled overnight, opposition parties banned or intimidated, and judges and civil service members replaced with regime-friendly acolytes.  

The frightening scenario is that the process takes place gradually and incrementally with an electorate sleepwalking into authoritarianism.

Recent examples where this has happened are Turkey, Russia, Hungary, and Poland with ominous signs that things might be going the same way in the United States. In Poland, the tide was turned with the election of a new coalition government.

However, it might take a generation to rebuild the Polish judiciary and civil service into neutral bodies after the previous right-wing government had reshaped them into partisan instruments over eight years. The first priority was “to turn off the factory of hate,” said the new head of Poland’s highly influential public television network TVP, Tomasz Sygut, replacing party political propagandists with real journalists. Two of the main TVP channels were abruptly taken off the air by new managers. The channels had openly campaigned for the previous right-wing government and churned out hate toward migrants, the European Union, Germany, political opponents, LGBTQ people, and minorities.

We need only to look at history to understand how quickly basic freedoms can be usurped when a society fails to heed the warning signs. Adolf Hitler’s ultimate plan to extinguish the Jewish population with a German Reich controlling all of Europe was clearly outlined in his 1925 autobiographical manifesto “Mein Kampf”, compounding existing beliefs, fears, and xenophobia.

When opinion becomes an entrenched belief when the mind refuses to accept an alternative idea or reality, and people with other viewpoints are dehumanized it is but a short road to authoritarianism.

Hitler’s explicit racial theories were openly portrayed in “Mein Kampf” and in his speeches before coming to power: Jews, Slavs, and other non-Aryan groups were described as subhuman and deserving of extermination or subjugation. His vision for a racially pure society involved the systematic elimination of “undesirable” populations that eventually culminated in the Holocaust. People in the mid-1920s failed to fully comprehend Hitler’s intentions for territorial expansion (Lebensraum) and the establishment of a racially pure Aryan state.

The suppression of dissent, the elimination of political opposition, and the manipulation of propaganda to indoctrinate the German population with Nazi ideology was introduced gradually. The policy of appeasement with influential groups of Nazi sympathizers in the United States, Britain, and other countries, eventually paved the way for one of the darkest periods in human history.

Currently, the global battle between authoritarian dictatorship and democracy is symbolized by Ukraine defending itself against Russia determined to destroy the country as a nation-state and to integrate it into a new authoritarian Russian empire with “Tsar” Vladimir Putin having complete control.

The Russian narrative is revealing itself as very effective in falsifying history by arguing that Ukraine was always part of Russia. Ukraine has a long cultural history and was forcibly integrated into the Soviet Union by Stalin. Russia’s distortion of history is finding track, especially among right-wing parties who see the dictator Putin as a defender against the “immorality” of Western liberalism.

Authoritarianism goes against all human dignity and essentially gives power to a single ruler or small clique that inevitably ends up enriching itself at a terrible cost to the majority of the population. It is a one-way street where everyone loses.

Democracy and basic freedom are by far the best instruments for human creativity and innovation. It is not something you believe or accept unconditionally. It demands constant action, participation, innovation, and adaptation to changing circumstances.

“The only sure bulwark of continuing liberty is a government strong enough to protect the interests of the people, and a people strong enough and well enough informed to maintain its sovereign control over the government.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

Reino Gevers – Author – Mentor – Speaker

P.S. I’m excited to announce the release of my latest book, “The Turning of the Circle: Embracing Nature’s Wisdom for Purposeful Living.” If you enjoy it, you might also be interested in my previous works, “Deep Walking for Body, Mind and Soul” and “Walking on Edge: A Pilgrimage to Santiago.” You can find all of these titles at reputable bookstores near you.

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by | March 18, 2024 · 7:38 am

Wisdom is drowning in the flood of information

“Listen to the wind, it talks. Listen to the silence, it speaks. Listen to your heart, it knows.”
– Ojibwe Prayer

Acquired knowledge and intelligence are often confused with wisdom in our digital age where we have a world of information at our fingertips while the deeper understanding and insight into life’s mysteries appears to be on the wane.

The ancient Mystics, notably the 13th-century Dominican monk Meister Eckart, understood true wisdom as the intimate connection and surrender to the divine will.

Eckart’s idea was that of a “divine birth” within the soul, where a transformative experience leads to a profound shift in consciousness.

“In this divine birth, I find that God and I are the same: I am what I am and what I shall remain, now and forever. I am carried above was the highest angels. I neither increase nor decrease, for in this birth I have become the motionless cause of all that moves. I have won back what has always been mine. Here, in my own soul, the greatest of all miracles has taken place-God has returned to God!

(quote 3086  |   Meister Eckhart).

Knowledge is worthless without wisdom

The sages and Mystics were well aware of the limitations of intellectual thought and knowledge. The accumulation of information, facts, theories, and concepts on the cognitive level were deemed worthless if they were not connected to wise decision-making.

Intelligence, especially on the part of egocentric politicians, scientists, and business leaders, has in the past caused havoc to humanity and become even more topical in an age where spreading falsehoods and toxic emotions to millions on a global level has become the norm.

Millions of people are being spoonfed with external beliefs, concepts, and ideas that ultimately are far removed from authentic soul purpose, finding themselves digging deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole of falsehoods and illusion.

Wisdom meanwhile encompasses a broader understanding of human nature, ethics, and the interconnectedness of the world by letting go of “ego” desires and attachments, especially of fixed beliefs and concepts that are closely intertwined with personality and ego.

The misunderstanding of Karma

Wisdom is an alignment with the cosmic laws and a greater whole that governs all existence. In this context the concept of karma or the law of attraction is often misunderstood as a predestined inevitability, yet with the growth of wisdom comes the growth of awareness.

It is inseparable from such values as compassion, empathy, and unconditional love. Mystic teachers emphasize the importance of cultivating these qualities as essential aspects of spiritual growth, enlightenment, and ultimately fulfilling life’s purpose.

Karma is the result of habits, actions, and choices made. We have been given the power of choice by the divine. If you extract yourself from the addiction of blaming external circumstances you become the creator and master of your destiny.

“Life is a meteor
Let your eyes roam
Heaven is beautiful
It’s almost like home
Children! get ready
It’s time to come home”

(Paul Simon Track Seven on Seven Psalms)

Reino Gevers – Author – Mentor – Speaker

P.S. I’m excited to announce the release of my latest book, “The Turning of the Circle: Embracing Nature’s Wisdom for Purposeful Living.” If you enjoy it, you might also be interested in my previous works, “Deep Walking for Body, Mind and Soul” and “Walking on Edge: A Pilgrimage to Santiago.” You can find all of these titles at reputable bookstores near you.

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by | March 11, 2024 · 7:57 am

Staying clear-headed amid emotional turmoil

The average person spends a large portion of their life daydreaming, problem-solving, planning, worrying, and mulling over the past and the future, caught in the maelstrom of between 50,000 and 70,000 thoughts per day.

A large part of these thoughts would be influenced by a spectrum of emotions that have a major impact on your physical and mental well-being.

Numerous studies reveal that positive emotions such as happiness, gratitude, and love have been associated with a stronger immune system, while negative emotions like sadness or loneliness may weaken it, making you more susceptible to infections and illnesses.

Emotions impact your physical and mental well-being

Toxic emotions such as anger, anxiety, and fear are known to trigger stress hormones responsible for the fight, flight, and freeze response in the body. Prolonged stress can cause problems such as cardiovascular issues, a weakened immune system, digestive problems, muscle tension, and metabolic diseases.

Your business success, your relationships, your partnership, and basically your happiness are linked by how well you have your emotions under control, and how well you understand your own emotional response mechanism.

Doing the self-work and understanding your own emotions is key

Developing emotional awareness, and understanding your emotions is therefore key to leading a beautiful life.

This week I interviewed on my podcast Living to BE , a Sensory Perception Analyst and Expert in her field, Kim Korte. I would highly recommend you listen to the valuable advice she gives on finding a good emotional balance. You can also watch it on my youtube channel. Some of the highlights of our conversation:

  • Finding the right balance in your emotional response
  • Training your mind for greater emotional resilience
  • Self-awareness on the different emotional nuances

Reino Gevers – Author – Mentor – Speaker

P.S. I’m excited to announce the release of my latest book, “The Turning of the Circle: Embracing Nature’s Wisdom for Purposeful Living.” If you enjoy it, you might also be interested in my previous works, “Deep Walking for Body, Mind and Soul” and “Walking on Edge: A Pilgrimage to Santiago.” You can find all of these titles at reputable bookstores near you.

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by | March 3, 2024 · 9:56 pm

Pity the nation whose people are sheep

“Pity the nation whose people are sheep,
and whose shepherds mislead them.
Pity the nation whose leaders are liars, whose sages are silenced,
and whose bigots haunt the airwaves…” – Lawrence Ferlinghetti –

Voters in more than 60 countries are going to the polls this year, as the ominous tide of extremism gains momentum globally, fostering a toxic atmosphere of xenophobia, fear, and division, and undermining basic democratic principles.

The central African country of Rwanda serves as an extreme example of what is possible when extremism captures the minds of an entire nation. About one million people of the Tutsi minority and Hutu moderates were slaughtered in the genocide in April 1994.

In an unprecedented wild frenzy of killings, people grabbed machetes, clubs, firearms, and other crude weapons turning on neighbors, colleagues, and even family members. Many of the key perpetrators were well-educated, having studied at elite Western universities.

The role of mass media in a genocide

Weeks before the genocide radio stations and media outlets stepped up their hate speech and then turned to incitement of direct violence against the Tutsi population, encouraging ordinary citizens to take up arms and participate in the killings.

If you think this is not possible in modern Western societies, think again. Germany was a democratic country in the 1920s with a well-educated middle class until the Nazis seized control. Yugoslavia descended into a genocidal civil war in the 1990s.

When the dark shadows of the collective subconscious are captured, anything is possible. The Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung warned that nothing is more dangerous than a psychic epidemic fanned by toxic emotions.

A simple but effective message of hate and fear

We are seeing much of the same narrative toward immigrants and refugees in the United States, Europe, and other countries. The message is simple but highly effective: Illegal immigrants are swamping our society, coming to take your job, and ramping up crime. Dysfunctional behavior by an individual or a crime committed by an individual is boxed into a behavior pattern of a certain group or minority.

Extremist fringe groups riding the wave of xenophobia, fear, and anxiety have become mainstream in formerly tolerant countries such as the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Britain, and Germany. The conservative Republican party in the United States has basically been hijacked by MAGA Trump extremists.

The real facts on immigration

Few media outlets take the trouble to look at the real facts in the hysterical debate on immigration, refugees, and undocumented immigrants and to expose the lies of the demagogues.

Despite the media and political narrative in the United States crime among undocumented immigrants is much lower than in the native population, according to several studies, notably in the U.S. state of Texas.

What is true in the United States also applies to many European countries. Crime among foreign immigrants or refugees is much lower than in the native population. This is because the consequences such as deportation are much harsher and immigrant communities normally have a healthy community network.

Photo by Ahmed akacha on Pexels.com

A study published in the Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice in 2018 even found that undocumented immigration was associated with decreased violent crime rates.

The mortal fear that societies will be swamped by foreigners also needs to be put into perspective. As of 2021, the 10.5 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States represented only about three percent of the total U.S. population and 22 percent of the foreign-born population. These percentages were among the lowest since the 1990s, according to the Pew Research Center.

In Europe, the estimates indicate that there were around 3.9 to 4.8 million irregular migrants living in the European Union as of 2017 with a total population of around 512 million. This equals only about 0.76 to 0.94 percent of the total population.

If we compare Jordan’s population of around ten million people the proportion of Syrian refugees alone is about 6.5 per cent. Lebanon’s population of around six million people hosts over 1.5 million Syrian refugees.

Despite language and cultural differences more than half of the Syrian refugees who came to Germany six years ago have a job, two-thirds of them work full-time and 70 percent of them have a qualified job.

Nearly half of the people currently receiving social welfare are foreigners in Germany but this has to be put into perspective when you consider that most of them are people who fled Ukraine. It is much the same in the UK and other Western European countries bearing the brunt of providing food and shelter for people who fled Ukraine after the Russian invasion in 2022.

Why are people migrating from their home countries?

The debate on immigration is missing the key aspects of why people are leaving their home countries. If you or your family are threatened with persecution by an authoritarian regime, or your children have no food to eat, you will do everything to save them from starvation or death.

Millions of people will continue to leave their home countries if the socio-economic conditions in these countries are not addressed, especially if a growing number of autocrats and dictators in these countries live in luxury while their populations starve. With the impact of climate change, especially affecting poorer countries severe droughts, floods, and other extreme weather events are exacerbating the situation.

On the positive side migrants often bring valuable skills, talents, and expertise that benefit the economy, leading to higher productivity and competitiveness. Cultural exchange also fosters creativity, cross-cultural understanding, tolerance, and appreciation of diversity as a principle of creation.

Racism, hate and xenophobia goes against the very principle of creation based on diversity, adaptation to change, creativity and evolution of conciousness. It is the very opposite of our ultimate purpose on earth – spreading kindness, love and compassion.

Immigrants are often highly motivated and entrepreneurial, leading to the creation of new businesses, industries, and jobs. Several studies currently point to the generally growth-promoting effects of migration on international trade and investment.

As Lawrence Ferlinghetti so succinctly puts it: “Pity the nation that knows no other language but its own and no other culture but its own. Pity the nation whose breath is money and sleeps the sleep of the too-well-fed. Pity the nation – oh, pity the people who allow their rights to erode.”

Reino Gevers – Author – Mentor – Speaker

P.S. I’m excited to announce the release of my latest book, “The Turning of the Circle: Embracing Nature’s Wisdom for Purposeful Living.” If you enjoy it, you might also be interested in my previous works, “Deep Walking for Body, Mind and Soul” and “Walking on Edge: A Pilgrimage to Santiago.” You can find all of these titles at reputable bookstores near you.

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by | February 27, 2024 · 8:42 am

Your social network matters

Humans thrive on social connections, as evidenced by research from the American Medical Association (AMA), which underscores the profound impact that a healthy community has on both physical and mental well-being.

Loneliness and isolation have reached epidemic levels in most Western countries, emerging as significant public health issues. Highlighting the severity of this problem, a U.S. Surgeon General advisory equates social connection with fundamental necessities like food and water in terms of its importance for long-term survival.

“We all need our time away for rejuvenation and reflection,” says Dr. Frank Clark, an associate clinical professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine-Greenville, “but social isolation is a form of solitude that is unhealthy and can occur due to multitude of reasons.”

Causes of social isolation could be the loss of friends or a partner due to death, divorce, or separation. An illness could make social connections difficult to maintain, but other factors such as a caregiver’s responsibility, a traumatic event, or life changes such as the loss of a job or retirement could all play a role.

Researchers who examined longevity in the Five Blue zones that included  Sardinia, Italy; the Greek island of Ikaria; Loma Linda, California; Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica and Okinawa, Japan, found that social interconnectedness played a key role in a healthy lifestyle. It can literally add decades to your life.

Social connections slow cognitive decline

Keeping up social connections as people get older helps to maintain thinking skills and slow cognitive decline. “It’s not uncommon for our social networks to shrink as we get older,” says Marilyn Albert, chairwoman of the Global Council on Brain Health.

Maintaining social bonds and having a sense of purpose have been identified by researchers in the Blue Zones Project as a critical element for longevity.

Photo by Matthias Zomer on Pexels.com

Here are some common practices observed in Blue Zones that help strengthen social ties:

  1. Strong family bonds: Families tend to stay close-knit across generations. Elders are respected and often live with or near their extended family members. Regular family gatherings and celebrations are common, fostering a sense of belonging and support.
  2. Active social lives: People in Blue Zones often engage in regular social activities with friends and neighbors. This can include communal meals, gatherings, festivals, and religious or cultural events.
  3. Collaborative work and projects: Communities in Blue Zones often come together to work on shared projects or goals. Whether it’s farming cooperatives, community gardens, or other collaborative efforts.
  4. Cultural traditions: Many Blue Zones have strong cultural traditions that emphasize social connections. This can include practices like storytelling, music, dance, and rituals that bring people together and reinforce community ties.
  5. Support networks: Blue Zones tend to have strong support networks built on reciprocity and mutual assistance. People help each other in times of need, whether it’s through informal networks of friends and neighbors or more formal community organizations.

While rural settings often have characteristics conducive to strong community ties, the lifestyle factors observed in Blue Zone were not exclusively rural. The key lies in the cultural and social practices that promote longevity and well-being, regardless of whether they’re found in rural or urban environments.

Reconnecting with others after a period of social isolation can be challenging but is certainly possible. Start by reaching out to a close friend or family member for example with a simple text or phone call to catch up.

  • Consider joining groups, a religious community, or clubs that align with your interests or hobbies. This could be a book club, hiking group, cooking class, or volunteer organization.
  • Keep an eye out for local community events such as festivals, workshops, or meetups. These events offer opportunities to meet new people and engage with your community.
  • If you’re struggling with specific challenges such as mental health issues, addiction, or grief, consider attending support groups where you can connect with others who are going through similar experiences.
  • When interacting with others, practice active listening by showing genuine interest in what they have to say. Ask questions, offer support, and show empathy to deepen connections.

Cultivating a sincere interest in others not only enriches your relationships but also enhances your own appeal and magnetism. Developing and honing your social skills is essential for experiencing a fulfilling and rewarding life.

Reino Gevers – Author – Mentor – Speaker

P.S. I recently had a great chat on the fitforjoy podcast with Valeria Koopman on Living a Beautiful Life. If you found this Blog an interesting read you might also enjoy my latest book, “The Turning of the Circle: Embracing Nature’s Wisdom for Purposeful Living.” My previous titles, “Deep Walking for Body, Mind and Soul” and “Walking on Edge: A Pilgrimage to Santiago,” can also be ordered from all reputable bookstores near you.

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by | February 18, 2024 · 5:28 pm

The Killer in the Kremlin

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” – Dietrich Boenhoeffer (German theologian killed by the Nazis)

A couple of days back, a startling headline lit up my screen: Russian dissident Alexei Navalny had been assassinated. The news shook me to my core, leaving me appalled at the apparent depths to which Russian leader Vladimir Putin would stoop, fully aware of the shockwaves it would send worldwide.

Navalny’s murder snuffed out a beacon of hope in the oppressive landscape of Putin’s Russia. When a leader turns to such brutal tactics, it reveals not strength but profound weakness. Navalny epitomized everything the autocrat in the Kremlin was not.

It is the nature of dictatorial regimes that they bring forth the best and the worst extremes in mankind. South Africa’s apartheid regime had shining examples of courage and humanity in Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Steve Biko, and many others. Nazi Germany had Dietrich Boenhoeffer and dissidents such as Sophie Scholl. Czechoslovakia had Vaclav Havel and Poland Lech Walesa.

Navalny’s assassination, probably directly ordered by Putin, is one of many in today’s Russia including opposition politicians, journalists, businessmen, and academics who dared speak out about the corruption, cruelty, and nepotism.

We discover who we are in confronting evil and at the same time the darkness and the light within. The external is a reflection of that which is within. Evil manifests itself where there is a complete absence of what is good and pure.

Failure to engage in self-reflection, transmuting one’s own shadows, and speaking out against evil renders one vulnerable to the influence of evil. This truth was starkly realized by figures such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Winston Churchill during World War II. Attempting to placate, appease, or negotiate with evil proves futile, as it perceives such actions as weaknesses, stemming from a consciousness devoid of moral values.

In Greek mythology, the evil Goddess Eris has the only purpose of sowing discord. She causes a conflict among the Goddesses Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite by throwing a golden apple among them with the words: “to the fairest”.

No other God wanted to be put on the receiving end of the wrath of the three Goddesses by choosing one of them as the fairest. The Goddesses then ask the mortal prince of Troy Paris to do it for them. Each tries to bribe him by pledging great gifts, and Paris then gives the apple to Aphrodite who had promised to make the most beautiful woman on earth fall in love with him.

The woman chosen was Helen, the queen of Sparta and wife to Menelaus. When Paris eloped off with her, Menelaus declared war on Troy, rallying all the Greek kings, and triggering the Trojan War.

Another Greek Goddess, Enyo, delighted in war and destruction, bloodshed, and the ransacking of cities.

The fallen angel and the lure of power

Christianity describes the devil, Satan, as a fallen angel and the very personification of evil. He was expelled from Heaven at the beginning of time after attempting to become equal to God.

The archetypal motif of the fallen angel or Lucifer is found in Summerian folklore, Roman mythology, Germanic tribes, and the Vedas.

In popular culture, we find Darth Vader, a fictional character in the Star Wars series. He is the dark father and the personification of evil in popular culture, serving the empire as its chief enforcer.

The windows to the soul

Eyes are said to be the windows to the soul with the bible quoting several passages in this vein. “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,” (Matthew 6:22). “But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” (Matthew 6:23).

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I remember very well when my elderly German neighbor, who had experienced the horrors of World War II, remarked on Vladimir Putin’s ascension to power in 1999. “You can’t trust him. His eyes are cold like those of a wolf.”

U.S. President Joe Biden told Putin during a closed-door meeting in 2011: “I looked in your eyes and I don’t think you have a soul,’ and [he] looked back at me, he said, ‘We understand each other.'”

For all those millions of people in the West who blindly follow the Russian narrative of lies, deception and fake news, I highly recommend the book: “The Killer in the Kremlin”, an explosive account and exposure of Putin’s tyranny and sinister ambitions by award-winning journalist John Sweeney.

Often evil disguises its real intentions behind a smokescreen of lies, disinformation, and false flag operations. It is the playbook of such Lords of Evil as Adolf Hitler, Slobodan Milosevic, Joseph Stalin, and Mao Zedong. In our lifetime we have to face the truth. We have another Lord of Evil in Vladimir Putin. Over decades he has not only duped western politicians but much of the rest of the world. Let’s connect the dots just to illustrate how much this Lord of Evil has sown destruction and discord.

  • Under Putin, Soviet-era repression has given way to a marriage between kleptocracy and organized crime, turning Russia into a “Mafia state”.. Organized crime has become an outgrowth of the political machine. Mafia cells have undertaken assassinations, facilitated coercion, and extortion. Outspoken Putin critics such as Garry Kasparov have all the while warned and revealed the true nature of the monster.
  • During a closed-door meeting in the year 2000, Putin is said to have offered the wealthiest Russian oligarchs a deal: Surrender to my authority, and you can keep your mansions, and multibillion-dollar corporations. Those oligarchs who reneged on this deal and undermined Putin were thrown into prison or died under mysterious circumstances. Putin’s wealth is a secret but it can be safely assumed that he has used the oligarchs as a major source of his hidden assets.
  • Turning Russia into a Mafia-type state has given Putin huge resources to weaken Western democracies. Putin has repeatedly voiced his disgust for the multi-culturalism, sexual diversity, and free speech which he sees as a direct threat to his authoritarian and 19th-century imperialist dreams. Over the years he has funneled huge resources to rightwing and extremist groups in western countries, spreading lies and disinformation on social media through Russian state-funded bots.
  • And then the Lord of Evil decides to invade Ukraine, the world’s breadbasket, triggering the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II and possibly the deaths of millions of people in Third World countries due to famine. Meanwhile, we have become almost emotionally immune to the daily bombardment of playgrounds, hospitals, and residential buildings in Ukraine as Putin wages a war against innocent civilians.

What does humanity have to learn from all this?

We need the enemy, and the opposite perspective to gain clarity on our own core values and choices. Often the question is asked: “If there is a God, why does he allow evil?”

But we have been given the power of choice. We cannot blame dysfunctional human actions on the Creator. God has often been seen as a strict father figure punishing his flock for sinful or bad behavior. The Mystics in contrast view God, the universal creator or the divine as “a state of Being” – the connection to pure love, kindness, and compassion. The manifestation of evil would therefore be the opposite condition – the state of complete absence of God.

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.

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

The tragedy is that the character once held by the stranglehold of the shadow demons finds himself incapable of self-reflection.

Most suffering that we experience in our personal lives or that we witness in the external world is a result of bad human choices and actions carried out from a low level of spiritual disconnect.

The word “evil” is often used in a confusing context to blame, vilify or distract.

The wisdom of the ancient Mystics can be a good guideline. Basic human nature has not changed much over the centuries. There will always be a segment of people who don’t give any regard to the outcome of their actions. Meister Eckhart, the great Dominican friar of the early fourteenth century, warned against those whose “sole concern is how to gain honors, wealth, and pleasure.”

These people, according to Eckart, are those who lack all sense of humility by “running in front of God.” Inevitably their lives will be haunted by what they call bad luck or a bad hand. They will be blaming God, fate, people different from themselves, and basically everyone for what has gone wrong in their lives. They are filled with hate, resentment, and anger. They are the malignant narcissists of our age who seek only personal validation and glory.

As the Lord of Evil and his followers spin the narrative of hate, division, and destruction some comfort can be taken from the fact that evil ultimately destroys itself because it is out of sync with the laws of the universe. The thoughts, actions, and energy you send out inevitably come back to you.

In the same way, the path of light which is that of kindness, unconditional love, compassion, unity, tolerance, gratitude, and acceptance will bless you in a multitude of ways. You will be living a happy and blissful life if you make yourself an instrument of divine purpose.

Reino Gevers – Author – Mentor – Speaker

P.S. I’m excited to announce the release of my latest book, “The Turning of the Circle: Embracing Nature’s Wisdom for Purposeful Living.” If you enjoy it, you might also be interested in my previous works, “Deep Walking for Body, Mind and Soul” and “Walking on Edge: A Pilgrimage to Santiago.” You can find all of these titles at reputable bookstores near you.

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