Tag Archives: nature

by | November 28, 2023 · 9:49 am

Autumn and the time to let go

Here in the northern hemisphere, autumn unfolds its colorful spectacle. Trees shed their leaves as a brisk breeze weaves through bare branches. A nimble squirrel gracefully navigates from one tree to another, scouting for the optimal spot to hibernate through the coming winter.

Autumn marks a period of natural slowdown, where the vibrancy of summer yields to the quieter preparation for the colder months ahead. Yet, within this apparent tranquility, there exists a wild and unpredictable quality. A gentle, warm wing might whisper promises of impending spring, only to be followed by tempestuous storms.

In observing autumn’s dichotomy, we find a reflection of our own complexities. It teaches you the art of conserving energy for the inevitable challenges, mirroring nature’s rhythmic dance between repose and upheaval.

In studying nature you inevitably embark on a journey of self-discovery, unraveling the intricacies of your own existence in the ever-changing seasons of life.

We often forget that we are part of the bigger matrix. Your entire body is a composition of the elements around you. In the ancient Chinese philosophy of the Five Elements, autumn is associated with the element of metal. By getting into alignment with nature, you will recognize your innate and authentic nature.

Thus autumn is a time for introspection. These are questions you could ask:

What was really good this year?

What was a mistake and should be avoided in the future?

Life can be hard in teaching you the lessons you need to learn, especially when you fail to heed the whispers from the universe that tell you where to walk. It could be the advice from a total stranger, a sentence you coincidentally pick up in a conversation. A sudden inclination or feeling, a strong symbol from a dream, or a work of art you are observing.

Like the falling leaves of autumn, this is a time to let go of relationships, beliefs, and concepts that no longer serve you.

Harmonizing the inner and outer worlds is a major challenge in a world where attention is constantly being pulled at by external distractions.

Your breathing pattern is a reflection of your inner state of mind

Being aware of your breathing pattern plays a key role in relaxing your mind. Shamans and yogis have for centuries used breathing techniques to explore new realms of consciousness. In studying your breathing and improving on it, you become aware of hidden emotions and feelings. Fear, for instance, expresses itself with a flat breathing pattern and clogged feeling in the throat. A symptom of stress is strained breathlessness coming from shallow breathing from the upper chest.

A tense and stressed body finds no solace. Worries, fears, and other emotions create an imbalance that makes it susceptible to illness.

Recognizing the shadow aspect, such as your fears, your anger, your hurt, your shame, envy, or greed, is the first step in transmuting those negative emotions.

In a reflection of the metal aspect of the personality, we would look at the following questions:

Is there an old melancholy sadness that binds my spirit from making a move forward? Can I really admit to that sadness that is still there? Could it be that I should set a boundary toward certain people and make a healthy separation? Are my immediate surroundings, like my home and job, still fulfilling?

Are there too many superficial distractions in my life that prevent me from going on the path of my true destiny? Am I in the position of letting go of old concepts, ideas, or other so-called truths that have outlived their value for me?

Is my basic outlook on life of a positive or negative nature? Do I perceive tension and looming conflict situations in my immediate surroundings before they actually erupt? Do I have enough room to breathe? What is preventing me from exploring new avenues? Where are the boundaries set by myself or others? Could it be that I am also crossing the boundaries of others without realizing this?

The unique, authentic self only manifests itself when you liberate yourself from the magnetic pull of countless distractions, selling images, wants, and needs.

We need a truly strong metal element to preserve that space of true authenticity. When we are authentic with the true self, we are immune to mental and physical exhaustion that mostly comes from playing with the images of the false self.

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 | October 2, 2023 · 4:16 pm

Walking the earth with reverence

On one of my walks on the Camino de Santiago in northwestern Spain, I met a woman who was on the pilgrimage to deal with the grief of just having lost her husband to whom she had been happily married for many years.

Like her many people walking the Camino are at an inflection point in their life, walking off their grief from the loss of a loved one, the trauma of a divorce, or the fears of dealing with a life-threatening illness.

The shared community experience of doing an 800-kilometer walk over many weeks is one reason why some pilgrims come back every year to walk the entire route or some sections. There are few places in the world where complete strangers would exchange some of their most intimate experiences only minutes after meeting each other.

The sacred path

One morning, as we continued our journey, the woman I had been walking alongside for several days seemed unusually introspective. Eventually, she shared a vivid dream she had experienced the previous night.

In her dream, she found herself before the iconic burning bush, a scene drawn straight from the pages of the Bible’s Book of Exodus. In this powerful vision, God revealed Himself to her through the flames, just as he had to Moses centuries ago. But in her unique version of the story, a gentle voice emanated from the fiery foliage, urging her to tread the path ahead with reverence. The encounter left her awestruck, marking our journey with an undeniable sense of divine purpose.

The universe, or God, has many ways of whispering to your innermost soul, particularly in dreams. Treading the Camino path with reverence has led to a profound transformational shift in people who have walked this ancient path. It is a crash course in the lessons of life.

When traversing the earth with reverence, the senses awaken to the profound beauty of God’s creation. In the presence of mindfulness, enchantment permeates every moment. Conversely, when the mind is agitated and in haste, there is disconnection. Life’s wonders appear fleeting and superficial. A stressed mind remains trapped in the tunnel vision of flight, missing the intricate magic that weaves through existence.

The magic of the moment

Magic reveals itself in the tiniest of moments. Just a few days ago, I ventured into a rocky cove for some snorkeling. In the midst of the tranquil turquoise water, a pair of fish glided past, their scales aglow with a rainbow of colors, a mesmerizing effect created by the angle of sunlight filtering through the water’s surface.

It was a fleeting encounter, but within those brief seconds lay an astounding beauty. I would have entirely missed the moment had I not chosen to pause in stillness at one particular spot for a few precious minutes. In that space of quiet connection, the universe unfolded its secrets, reminding me that the most extraordinary experiences often come from the simplest acts of presence.

Serenity unfurls its wings in unhurried slow, deliberate breaths. It whispers through the silence of the mountains and echoes in the steady, gentle cadence of the waves.

Nature, in its eternal wisdom, guides you inward with each inhalation and exhalation, inviting you to rediscover the tranquility within. Amidst the clamor of the external world and the cacophony of maddening crowds, respite can be in the simplicity of aligning your breath with the rhythm of the natural world. Chaos fades, and solace is found in the gentle embrace of the universe.

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 | September 26, 2023 · 6:17 am

Liberating the mind from attachment

Go into your own ground and learn to know yourself there. The outward man is the swinging door; the inner man is the still hinge – Meister Eckhart

Life is a rollercoaster of natural and spontaneous changes constantly forcing us to tread unknown paths. While some people may excitedly embrace a new beginning others retreat into fixed belief and ideology, providing the illusion of a safety cacoon in a world of “turmoil.”

But resistance to the natural flow of life and attachment to fixed thoughts, beliefs, and things is one of the greatest causes of human suffering and misery. Staying in the moment and finding peace in the acceptance of reality is thus at the core of the Taoist and Mystic teachings.

Throughout history, wise prophets have faced vilification and persecution for their courage in exposing the hypocrisy of religions based on firm behavior rules, fearlessly shedding light on the discrepancies and contradictions inherent in entrenched beliefs. They especially questioned the existence of an authoritarian Father God figure “out there in heaven” who, like a strict parent, would punish his children for bad behavior. All natural or personal calamities were attributed to punishment by God “for sinful behavior.”

Meister Eckhart, a 14th-century Dominican monk whose writings are more topical today than ever, had to answer charges of heresy before an Inquisition in 1326. He barely escaped a death sentence. His writings were banned. Other Mystics of the time like Giordano Bruno and Marguerite Poret were not so lucky. They were executed or burned at the stake.

Straying from religious doctrine and liberating the mind from externally imposed belief was a dangerous undertaking in the Middle Ages. In modern times political beliefs, sometimes using religion as a cover, tend to vilify opposing beliefs as a threat to justify all means in destroying the “enemy.”

Fanaticists of the political and religious nature see the world only in black and white. The belief becomes closely intertwined with the Ego mind and identity. A different or multi-layered interpretation is perceived as a direct threat to the self.

Words in ancient languages such as Aramaic, the lingua franca during the time of Jesus, allowed much room for individual interpretation. The word for God “Abwun” could mean “Our Father” but also the absolute, pure oneness, creation, source of all power and flow of blessing.

One of the most powerful messages in the Bible is found in the Gospel of John 1:1. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. When replacing the “word” with “consciousness” the text is filled with a much broader meaning.

“In the beginning was Consciousness, and Consciousness was with God, and Consciousness was God”.

Eckart describes a process of spiritual transformation when the divine spark within transcends its individuality or Ego and enters into a state of divine consciousness.

It’s a moment of pure presence when the soul feels at One with something much greater than the self.

Aligning with divine consciousness is opening the heart to the universe and detaching from worldly attachments. It is beyond conceptualized thinking and complete immersion in a state of oneness.

“You should know that true detachment is nothing else but a mind that stands unmoved by all accidents of joy or sorrow, honor, shame or disgrace, as a mountain of lead stands unmoved by a breath of wind. This immovable detachment brings a man into the greatest likeness to God,” according to Eckart.

In a world feeding on the messaging of negativity, it becomes a challenge to train the mind to stay the course of positivity. We can easily be pulled into the abyss of grievance culture when emotions such as anger, anxiety, and fear can be triggered in millions of people by one message on social media.

Modern man has largely been disconnected from what can be described as the divine expression through nature of which he is an essential part. Places worshipped as sacred by ancient peoples have been conceptualized as things that could be harvested, exploited, and destroyed. The void is trying to be filled with the addiction to short-term gratifications: Accumulating more things, more food, more kinky sex, and more substance abuse.

Where is your passion?

Is it a surprise that depression has reached epidemic levels on a global level? But in the pain of suffering more and more people are searching for new meaning and purpose. Where do I come from and where am I going? What excites me and drives my passion? What elevates my consciousness and boosts my vibrational energy.

The author Michael Gladwell describes in his book “The Tipping Point” that it takes only a small number of people to initiate social change. We are currently experiencing both a global environmental and mental health crisis. History has proven that such crisis situations can galvanize people into action.

We are at the tipping point of realizing on a spiritual level that the crisis we are finding ourselves in has not been created by a punishing external father God figure for bad behavior. It is a direct result of our own actions and behaviors and we have the power to change those actions and behaviors.

We as a collective humanity have dug our own rabbit hole. We need to liberate the mind from fixated false belief structures and start doing the inner work. More and more people are awakening to awareness through meditation and other disciplines of the mind. There is a growing realization that every thought comes from a state of consciousness, turns into a thought, a word, and then into an action.

When you are no longer at war with yourself you will emanate compassion, love, empathy, and trust, aligning with divine consciousness.

The “word” in John 1:1 refers to the union with the Inner Christ or what the Buddhists call “Buddha Nature” – the inherent, untainted “seed” that resides in all things. Seeking the Inner Christ or Buddha Nature is the path of the spiritual seeker.

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 | August 22, 2023 · 7:55 am

A time to reap your rewards

If you want to enjoy the rainbow you must be prepared to take the journey through pain

In our culture, there is a festering poison of feeling entitled to special benefits or privileges without having made any effort to attain them. If you haven’t invested in the pain and walked the burn that brought you success you will never fully appreciate what you have and risk losing all.

In the ancient Taoist philosophy of the Five Element late summer is associated with the Element Earth. Using the analogy from farming: If you have invested wisely in seeds and fertilizer to plant your crop in spring, and diligently irrigated and weeded your fields in the summer, you will most likely be in the fortunate position of reaping a good crop in late summer.

Every sports star knows that you have to be disciplined and train for several hours every day for several years to reach the top league. Learning a new language requires learning on a regular basis. If you start a new business you have to invest money first, risk failure and maybe start all over again before finally making it.

Investing more than the average

The most successful people constantly push their boundaries and do much more than the average. It not only demands thinking creatively, breaking free from self-imposed limitations, and pursuing ambitious dreams, but putting in the work and the effort.

An entitled person will only see the rewards and compare. “Why can’t I have the same? I’m after all more beautiful, more intelligent …” It is the mindset that spends more than it earns. It is reaping the crop before it has ripened. There is an old English proverb: “Cheat the earth and it will cheat you.”

Falling into the trap of the blame game

Unconscious people are in the blame game and weak because they are victims of everything. Instead of taking complete responsibility as the captain, they think everyone else is responsible for their unhappy condition.

It’s so easy then to accuse the government, other nations, other races, business competitors, parents, siblings, and other people of the situation we find ourselves in. Few people are capable of taking full responsibility for whatever happens in their lives.

The crop will never bear fruit and grow to its full potential if the field is overgrown with weeds. Bugs only thrive in an unbalanced environment.

We subconsciously accumulate customs, habits, and opinions from the people we surround ourselves with and the information with which we feed our brains.

In the book of Wisdom, the I Ging, the earth is described as the receptive, receiving, and softer energy of the female or yin. It is the counterpart, but not the opposing force of the creative Yang. The enormous and receptive force of Yin needs the Yang force to exert and channel the force.

In much the same way, the heroic leader studies the situation at hand, responding accordingly. Action is never taken without a clear grounding and the realization of what path needs to be taken.

Mother Earth provides life. She provides nutrition and room for all beings, be they of a good or bad predisposition. To illustrate this particular importance in comparison to the other elements, many of the ancient writings and drawings have the earth element positioned centrally with the other elements around it. It also emphasizes the importance that at the end of each change cycle, we go full circle back to earth—to the source.

We need thought processes and thinking to accomplish tasks and to give room to our ideas and creativity. The challenge is to get a feeling about when we cross our own boundaries and those of others.

Do I have enough resources to go ahead with plans? Do I make provision for more or for less? Do I have enough in reserve? Or do I live from too much-borrowed energy, becoming indebted to other people and borrowing money?

These are the questions that need to be asked in almost any life situation where the need for change or turnaround is called for, especially if we are feeling constant fatigue after surrounding ourselves with certain people or are met with constant obstacles.

The balanced earth person is trustworthy, generous, and of a stable temperament. They sometimes are slow to respond, but will be thinking things over carefully before giving you a reply. This could be very irritating for an imbalanced pumped-up person expecting a machine-gun reply.

Symbolically, he would be the plump, pot-bellied, sitting Buddha at peace with himself, centered with the universe, and observing calmly while everything around him is falling into loud chaos. They are the steadfast rock in the ocean storm.

In the philosophy of the Five Elements, the Earth is described as being gracious and filled with abundance for all that life has to offer. On the other hand, it demands respect and the absolute maintenance of ethical standards that encompass all living beings. If these are violated, the consequences can be merciless. What is my true motivation? What effect does it have on others? Am I orientated to fulfilling my own greedy needs, or do I have a broader picture in mind?

Reino Gevers – Author – Mentor – Speaker

P.S. This is an extract from “The Turning of the Circle: Embracing Nature’s Wisdom for Purposeful Living” which has just been published. You might also find my other books “Deep Walking for Body, Mind and Soul” and “Walking on Edge: A Pilgrimage to Santiago” of interest – available where all good books are sold.

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by | August 1, 2023 · 5:04 am

The dragnet of regret

How often have you caught yourself going back into the past with the feeling of regret on the opportunities missed, the words you wished you had never said, and the things you would do differently if you could turn back the clock?

At times the feeling of regret can be so overwhelming that it’s like a dragnet pulling you down into a dark abyss of unhappiness. But according to author Daniel H. Pink regret is a fundamental part of our lives and can help us make smarter and better decisions in the future.

Based on the World Regret Survey, Pink has identified four core regrets.

Foundation regrets. These are regrets on the human need for some form of stability. Pink quotes Jason who says: “I regret not saving money diligently ever since I started working. It’s nearly crushing every day to think about how hard I’ve worked for the last twenty-five years or so, but financially I have nothing to show for it.”

Boldness regrets. Over time we are much more likely to regret the chances we didn’t take than the chances we did, whether its work choices, education or the choice of a partner. Foregone opportunities can be especially haunting during times of stress and pain.

Moral regrets. Most people wish to be seen as good people. But over time morally dubious decisions can be gnawing such as swindling in a business or cheating on a spouse.

Connection regrets. According to Pink fractured or unrealized relationships with spouses, partners, parents, friends, and all other close relationships constitute the largest deep structure category of regret.

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We can set very high standards to the self and are at times our own worst critic. The melancholy sadness and regret over that which was and is no more is not only debilitating but prevents you from moving forward. Many of our regrets can in fact be undone by making amends, reversing bad choices, and taking a different perspective by posing the questions: What did I need to learn and how can I make a better choice in moving forward? If I’ve harmed others, can I make amends through an apology or some form of emotional or material restitution?

Was the regret merely an unpleasant incident in your life or does it define your life? Practicing self-care and self-compassion can neutralize some of those feelings if you treat yourself like you would be treating your best friend.

You forge your identity with the story that you tell yourself. The first step is acceptance of that feeling or emotion of regret and replacing it with a positive thought moving forward. “I made a bad decision. I feel terrible about it. But I lovingly accept myself the way I am. I am harvesting from the rich experience and moving positively forward.”

In loving yourself you build the ability to nurture and better serve your relationships. The lesson of a door slammed shut is to do better next time.

Reino Gevers – Author – Mentor – Speaker

P.S. If you’ve found this article of interest you might want to read more in my books. “The Turning of the Circle: Embracing Nature’s Wisdom for Purposeful Living” has just been published. You might also find my other books “Deep Walking for Body, Mind and Soul” and “Walking on Edge: A Pilgrimage to Santiago” of interest – available where all good books are sold.

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by | July 25, 2023 · 5:33 am

Fire out of control: A lesson from nature

A warrior finds a sharp stone, which he uses to sharpen the tip of an arrow. The stone slips hits another stone, and causes a spark that ignites the dry grass around. The warrior stares in fascination at the stone in his hand, then at the fire.

Like many inventions that heralded a new dawn in the evolution of mankind, the art of making fire probably resulted by accident.

Those people who could use stones to make fire made enormous headway. They could migrate to colder and darker areas of the world. Some developed a communication system with smoke signals, enabling them to control large tracts of land.

The art of making fire, at any place and time, and the smelting of iron, triggered numerous other inventions. Woodland was burned to make way for agricultural land.

Other people let the fire burn uncontrolled, destroying everything in their wake. Numerous myths, legends, and stories originated around fire. If left to its own devices, fire could indeed become a dangerous demon indeed.

In the Chinese teaching of the Five Elements, the fire element is where the heart, perikard, and small intestine are at play on both the physical and mental levels. People with balanced fire energy are good communicators and express themselves with vitality.

Inspirational leaders with heart energy

Some of the world’s great personalities stand out with a balanced heart energy, serving the greater whole and ideal rather than selfish needs: Jeanne d’Arc, Mahatma Gandhi, Florence Nightingale, Nelson Mandela, and the Dalai Lama, just to mention a few.

Much more mundane is constant irritability, disappointment with life, and apportioning blame to everyone else but the self for the miserable condition one feels. People who are unaware of their heart wish, because they are bombarded with the noise of the external world, often have an imbalanced heart element.

The fire element is much in imbalance when we see the rocketing numbers of people falling into mental and physical exhaustion with burnout. Stress starts with a thought and is a flight-or-fight survival mechanism ingrained in our DNA. It is indicative also of the epidemic numbers in cardiac diseases.

Humans are responsible for heating the atmosphere

On the macro level, we are depleting our natural resources as if there is no tomorrow. At the same time, we are putting the body and mind under constant stress, and robbing it of vital nutrients.

Looking at the broader macroscopic level, the fire element has, in the recent past, brought huge changes to our planet. Extracting fossil fuels that have been in the ground for millions of years and “burning” them in an unprecedented scale over the past two centuries has led to a massive increase of carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere. The science is sobering and will make the planet uninhabitable for humans within a generation if nothing is done.

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Today’s global warming is happening at a much faster rate today than it did in the warm periods between ice ages over the last million years. The massive forest fires in northern America and in southern Europe with summer temperatures averaging over 40 degrees Celcius this year is telling. The Fire Element is out of balance. In terms of the Five Element Philosophy nature always seeks a balance between the elements of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Interestingly we are experiencing flash flooding in other parts of the world at the same as the heat waves. Water is the balancing and controlling element of fire.

In Chinese mythology, the god of fire is called Hu Shun. Shu and Hu are the lightning. When it strikes, creating light amid chaos, new life is created. Images of the god of fire paint him with flowing long red hair and a beard, sweeping through the streets at night and seeking out the next house to be burned.

Because this God of fire is rather forgetful, he carries a list in his left hand of all the houses that are to be burned. In his right hand, he bears a fiery ball that unleashes the flaming terror. Picturing such an awesome figure, there was only one thing left to do. This god had to be pacified, come what may.

The scientist James Lovelock described our planet as a complex interacting and living organism in his Gaia hypothesis. In his book, A New Look at Life on Earth, Lovelock explores the theory that the Earth’s living matter—air, ocean, and land surfaces—forms a complex system that has the capacity to keep Earth a place fit for life.

“The self-regulation of climate and chemical composition is a process that emerges from the rightly coupled evolution of rocks, air, and the ocean—in addition to that of organisms. Such interlocking self-regulation, while rarely optimal—consider the cold and hot places of the earth, the wet and the dry—nevertheless keeps the Earth a place fit for life,” he writes. Lovelock argues that “if we see the world as a super organism of which we are a part—not the owner, nor the tenant, not even a passenger—we could have a long time ahead of us and our species might survive for its ‘allotted span’

Reino Gevers – Author – Mentor – Speaker

P.S. This is an extract from “The Turning of the Circle: Embracing Nature’s Wisdom for Purposeful Living” which has just been published. You might also find my other books “Deep Walking for Body, Mind and Soul” and “Walking on Edge: A Pilgrimage to Santiago” of interest – available where all good books are sold.

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by | July 5, 2023 · 8:20 am

Celebrating community on a pilgrimage

One of the reasons I‘m hooked on making an annual pilgrimage walk on the Camino de Santiago is the wonderful people you meet on the way and the celebration of community with people from very different cultures, and religious backgrounds.

It is one of the few places left on earth where you meet individuals who open their hearts, discussing intimate details of their life with you, at times only minutes after meeting for the first time.

The hospitality of the locals on the Camino plays a role. Much of rural Spain still has healthy supportive communities where people meet in cafes and bars on a daily basis to have a chat.

The owner of a bar-hotel and restaurant business confided to me that the cafe part of his business was not really profitable but „closing this place for the winter months would be like closing the local church.“

A sense of belonging

While talking to fellow pilgrims in Santiago we agreed that many spiritual seekers on the Camino were finding a community and sense of belonging on this ancient path they were no longer finding in traditional religions.

As humans, we are hard-wired as social beings. Our relationships and social connections determine who we are. Strong connections and relationships are created when we share our feelings, inner wounds, and vulnerabilities.

Many people walking the Camino have seen their lives come apart on some level. Relationships that have broken down, the death of a loved one, financial loss, or having to deal with the diagnosis of a life-threatening disease. In sharing their stories pilgrims no longer feel “alone.”

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There is experiential spirituality felt in a healthy community that emanates empathy, love, and kindness. Community is not only felt in a relationship with others, a higher deity but also in a commune with nature and the world around you.

It is walking in nature and bonding with people at the same time that makes the Camino such a magnet for spiritual seekers. This year will again register a record number of pilgrims on the path.

The celebration of the communal ritual

For this reason since ancient times humanity has embedded the celebration of community in religious rituals. Communal meals or rituals involving the sharing of food and drink can be found in ancient Greek and Roman religions, where a communal meal with the gods was seen as a means of establishing a bond or connection.

The Jewish Passover festival and the holy communion ceremony in Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox religions are celebrated as rituals of sacrifice.

The word “commune” has its roots in Latin, derived from the word “communis,” meaning “common” or “shared.”

In our modern era, we are seeing an explosion of “sharing” and “connection” on social media across continents – the result of a human yearning. Urban lifestyle without connection to natural surroundings and friendly neighbors increasingly leads to individuation, self-isolation, loneliness, and mental health issues.

Online “tribes or families” can never be a replacement for the physical community where there is unconditional physical contact – the holding of hands, a hug, and a kiss on the cheek. This became acutely obvious during the recent pandemic.

Ultimately we all yearn to be seen, to be heard, and to be validated in a positive sense. We want to belong and in that belonging, we find purpose and meaning.

Reino Gevers – Author – Mentor – Speaker

One more thing...My new book “The Turning of the Circle: Embracing Nature’s Wisdom for Purposeful Living” can now be ordered on Amazon and where all good books are sold. You might also find my other books “Deep Walking for Body, Mind and Soul” and “Walking on Edge: A pilgrimage to Santiago” of interest.

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by | June 20, 2023 · 7:35 am

Finding purpose by realigning with nature

Taking a walk each day and realigning with the green and blue spaces of nature is very likely to bring about multiple positive shifts in your body, mind, and spirit. We are gradually becoming aware that we have lost something essential en route to modernity.

We have reshaped the external environment with roads, cities, and buildings in a way that is in disharmony with nature and harming our own health and well-being. It is time for a major rethink.

A study of 300 cities released by North Carolina State University in 2019 revealed that there was fewer crime and aggression in city areas close to parks and green areas.

According to Lincoln Larson, assistant professor at the university, “We learned that more green space was associated with lower risk of crime across neighborhoods in all 300 cities we studied. Burglaries, larceny, auto theft, and other property crimes occur less often in greener neighborhoods in every city in our sample. Violent crimes like murder and armed robbery were also less common in greener neighborhoods in nearly all the cities we studied.”

Being closer to nature reduces stress, bringing neighbors together and creating a sense of community.

The energy of subduing and conquering nature is a hallmark of the ruling patriarch. The male energy is rational, while the female energy is receptive and more intuitive. An imbalance between the male and the female aspect, the Yin and the Yang, has been responsible for an exploitation and declaration of war on Mother Earth.

It reached its pinnacle in the Inquisition of the Middle Ages when hundreds of thousands of women were burned at the stake. Women were much more closely aligned with nature, especially if they were healers and midwives. But their secret knowledge, passed on over generations in the female lineage, obviously was a threat to the male patriarch.

At a time of great poverty, war and diseases like the plague, these women often were at the forefront of healing, comforting and helping the distressed. Fennel seeds were great at releasing cramps, digestive problems, and increasing the milk supply of breastfeeding mothers. Mint leaves were used as antidepressants and for the treatment of asthma and nausea.

By the 15th century, the church started intervening, forcing the midwives to report every birth to the local parish, especially illegitimate and retarded children.

With their knowledge of contraception, and how to terminate pregnancies, the church saw the midwives as a huge threat to their authority, and sexual morale.

The herbal healers or “witches” and midwives lived dangerous lives in the 15th century as the church started dominating every aspect of the human life from childbirth to death. The Christian cross became the symbol for the suppression and oppression of the female aspect. Women were excluded from the priesthood and holding any higher rank in the church until this day in many denominations.

Interestingly, in the Spanish province of Galicia, we find a version of the cross that finds its roots in Celtic, pre-Christian times. On the one side we find the crucified Christ, while on the other side stands the female goddess, the Madonna. We have the male and female aspects equally depicted on both sides of the cross.

The discovery of ancient Christian scripts, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Gospel of St. Thomas, tells us that there was a time when women were at the forefront of spreading the early Christian gospels. Mary Magdalene, one of the apostles closest to Jesus, played a major leadership role in early Christianity.

There is no historical record that Mary Magdalene was ever a former prostitute possessed by demons as claimed in some of the scriptures.

Around the period 500 AD, the male patriarch systems started throwing the Yin and Yang, the natural complementation of energy between the male and the female, seriously out of balance. It has had a profound effect on the world that we have today.

The dominating male aspect has undoubtedly led to huge technological and material advances, unimaginable to the generations before us. But it has come at a huge price where we are exploiting Mother Earth to such an extent that most species, including our own, will not survive without a major shift in human consciousness.

It’s a common belief that during times of crisis, the thin veneer of civilization collapses with most people falling into egotistical and anti-social behavior.

But Dutch philosopher Rutger Bregman, author of the bestseller Utopia for Realists: And How We Can Get There, claims that humans are fundamentally good and want to do good.

“For every panic buyer, there are a thousand nurses working as hard as they can. For every hoarder, there are a thousand civilians setting up WhatsApp groups and Facebook groups and people in the neighborhood trying to help each other. I’ve been really astonished to see this explosion of cooperation and altruism in a very short period of time,” Bregman said in an interview with Deutsche Welle.

A global crisis such as the pandemic also leads to the realization that other global issues, such as the climate crisis that affects us all, can only be solved in cooperation at a global level.

Reino Gevers – Author – Mentor – Speaker

One more thing...This is an extract from my new book “The Turning of the Circle: Embracing Nature’s Wisdom for Purposeful Living”. It can now be preordered as a Kindle edition on Amazon. Paperback and Hardback versions will be available in July 2023.

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by | June 6, 2023 · 6:13 am

Nature and purposeful living

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man. Time is a game played beautifully by children.”—Heraclitus.

The seasons of life are in a constant state of expansion and contraction. Like the systolic and diastolic beating of a heart, we cannot escape the impermanence of life. During spring there is birth, growth in the summer, harvest in fall, and withdrawal in winter.

The notion that we are an integral part of nature and its natural laws was never questioned by the hunter and gatherer societies, and even so-called “primitive” societies today.

The ancient Chinese teaching of the Five Elements is very much about yielding to and synchronizing with the natural cycle of the seasons. The tenets of this philosophy is rooted in Taoist philosophy, dating back thousands of years when humanity did not see the world around us as a separate entity.

Timing with nature’s seasonal cycles

Great respect was given to the timing and expressed in elaborate ritual. There was a time to plant, a time to harvest, and a time to rest. This is still applicable today even though the necessity is clouded by the demands of modern life and its luring distractions.

Modern man has severed his ties to the natural order of things in his mad striving for material wealth and prosperity. Cut off from his spiritual roots and the natural order of things, he is filled with a deep sense of loneliness and fear, which seeks compensation for that void in boundless greed and substance abuse.

We know from numerous neurological studies that the sounds of nature, green meadows, and trees, or the gentle sound of waves breaking on the shore calm the mind.

The permanent hum of traffic noise in cities and crowded living conditions in the concrete jungles of an urban environment is alien to the human condition.

So what has led us to today’s disconnect? Paradoxically, religion, which is meant to align us with God or the universal intelligence has been abused in large parts by the institutions.

The Role of concept-based religion

A misunderstood Christianity has played a huge role in the estrangement of man from the natural world. The mystical part of Christianity was exorcised in the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. Roman Emperor Constantine I presided over the Council which defined the Christian belief and doctrine. While the mystical part of early Christianity left much room for individual spiritual experience, the doctrine clearly defined what had to be believed and what religious rules had to be followed. One of the consequences is that for centuries Christianity has had a false understanding of man’s role in nature based on the misinterpretation of the Old Testament in Genesis 1:28, in which man is given the cultural mandate to subdue and rule over the earth.

As in ancient Chinese philosophy, the old Greek, Egyptian, and Roman worlds, applied nature’s golden rule in the arts, architecture, and many other endeavors, striving to create synchronicity with nature.

On a collective level, we have to face the question of whether we have enough time to transform a system based on greed and exploitation, where only a small minority reap the rewards, into a value-based restorative nature-based system that serves the betterment of all living beings.

Reino Gevers – Author – Mentor – Speaker

One more thing...This article is an extract from my new book “The Turning of the Circle: Embracing Nature’s Wisdom for Purposeful Living”. You can preorder a Kindle edition on Amazon. Both Kindle and Paperback versions will be available in July 2023.

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by | May 23, 2023 · 4:31 am

Doing or Being?

Some years ago I was not in a very good place stuck in a dysfunctional relationship and a stressed-out job. My thoughts revolved around starting to live at some point in the distant future. A friend who took pity on me advised me to walk the famous pilgrimage route, the Camino de Santiago in northwestern Spain.

Like many first-time walkers on the Camino, I was obsessed about reaching my destination at a certain time in order to secure my place in a bunk bed in a pilgrims’ hostel. The Camino is in so many ways an analogy of life which is why it has become such a popular destination for modern-day spiritual seekers.

Walking too fast and missing the waymarker

With a backpack much too heavy, poor-quality hiking boots, and a hurting foot I was battling both physically and emotionally. There is a saying that if you walk the Camino like a hiker with physical intent it will force you into humility. While walking too fast, I missed the waymarkers and got horribly lost. At one point I had to seek refuge in a grotto during a heavy thunderstorm in the Pyrenees mountains, far off my route.

How many times in life does the universe send warning whispers that we have missed a waymarker and are on the wrong path? How obsessed are we with things we think we need but insist on keeping them in our backpack?

Forced to go much slower, I gradually felt my senses reawakening to the magic of the moment. I started inhaling the aroma of wild thyme, rosemary and oregano. I added mint to my water bottle. A singing blackbird followed me for part of the way. I befriended stray dogs and cats and met wonderful people who are still friends today. For the first time in many years, I felt an aliveness and vibrancy in my body.

Trapped in doing rather than BEING

Over the years, I’ve observed other pilgrims going through the same process. Hikers would pride themselves on the number of kilometers they had done that day. People doing the route on a bicycle would go into tunnel vision, oblivious to the sights and sounds around them. If you are trapped in the rat race of doing rather than BEING it is difficult to push the reset button overnight. At the end of the day, slow and mindful walkers would converse on the magical experiences they had that day while those in a race would look at them in disbelief.

So much of our lives are wasted carrying the weight of the past, and living in some distant future working for time-off at the weekend, the annual vacation, and the years when we can start living when retiring from a job we always hated. When the day finally comes, we live the final years of our life in regretful grumpiness of what was and is no more.

It helps to train your awareness that life is finite and that you will die one day. With your last breath, you will leave this earth into formlessness. You won’t be taking any of your precious earthly possessions with you. All that remains will be consciousness.

So you might as well stick around a little longer and enjoy the moment. Practicing mindfulness is ideally done in the stillness of nature.

  • Focus your attention on your breath. Observe your thoughts and sensations without judgment. By consistently practicing mindfulness, you can cultivate a heightened sense of awareness and presence in your everyday life.
  • Engage Your Senses: Pause and notice the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and physical sensations around you. Fully immerse yourself in the present moment by bringing awareness to the details of your sensory experiences.
  • Slow Down and pay attention: Challenge yourself to slow down and be fully present in each moment. Whether you’re eating, walking, or engaging in any other daily activity, do it with intention and attentiveness.

Reino Gevers – Author – Mentor – Speaker

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