A LITTLE BACKGROUND

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"There are hundreds of paths up the mountain, all leading in the same direction, so it doesn't matter which path you take. The only one wasting time is the one who runs around and around the mountain, telling everyone else that their path is wrong." Hindu Teaching

All my life I have been interested in alternative medicines. I read a lot about Native American medicine, Ayurveda, Kabbalah and everything else that had a relation to emotional and physical health. I ended up studying Western Psychology, and finding it too limited, Chinese Medicine. I liked the holistic approach in Chinese Medicine. After all we are not machines, in which you can replace one faulty part with a new one, but rather we are a bundle of processes that our body very efficiently coordinates, making sure that all the parts in body and mind are working towards the same goal: making you healthy. I worked as an acupuncturist. I also gave Qigong, meditation and yoga classes because many problems are solved more profoundly and an a lot quicker by doing this. My knowledge of herbs also turned out to be useful, so I realized very soon that health cannot be obtained by a quick fix, like a tablet or some needles, but it required the active cooperation of the client and the practitioner. Today I am a lifestyle coach and a food consultant, and I am also still giving classes in Yoga and Qigong and Meditation.

In addition I give weekend and one-day workshops on the method that I describe in this book. I love the interaction with clients and participants. Their questions every time give me much more insight and their enthusiasm provides me with the drive to keep on improving.

Whatever happens, it all contributes to the person you are today

How many times do we put ourselves down? We are quick to judge others but also ourselves. But, as Panache Desai says: "you are perfect, no matter what". And that is true. Blaming yourself is not helpful. You are what you are and this is the result of your actions or lack of action and how you handled situations, so if the outcome can be improved upon, learn from it and keep trying, but do not blame yourself. So far you have made it to here, still alive, so...........

Some experiences in the past, led to me to become thoroughly unhappy and actually quite fearful. However looking back now I'm very grateful for those experiences. Not only because they taught me a lot about myself but also because they led me to a deep search into what happiness really is, what it does and how it works. Without these experiences I would never have gone searching for what makes me truly happy.

Now I have learned that, no matter what, everyone is perfect exactly as they are and that above all else we should love and accept ourselves just the way we are, no judgements. After having been diagnosed with cancer I received treatment from a team of (western) physicians all of whom were very supportive, though at the same time not unrealistic, but very confident, and extremely compassionate and caring. In a way, this care and compassion made me happy. I was convinced of the need for happiness even more. They involved me in all the decisions, taking my opinion just as seriously as theirs. My spirit felt lifted. I felt lucky and privileged to feel the support of this team, the support of friends and family, and the support of very special friends who prayed for me and meditated on good results. This was important in getting me through this, as it changed my emotional response to all that was happening to a positive one. I became convinced that I was going to beat this (and I did). I learned that thoughts and feelings have a profound influence on health and healing.

I started reading about Quantum-healing, epigenetics, and neuroplasticity. I started to notice that in fact Chinese Medicine was quantum-healing, ethical healing, not a simple technique but using the fact that we all are connected in one way or another, that the environment both within and outside the body plays a major role. Most importantly, that non-judgement and happiness are important in this.

Reading about this I realized that our internal environment is very much influenced by our emotions. Positive emotions like happiness, love, compassion, make it possible for the body to start healing, to do what it is meant to do, to live a long healthy life. When you encounter these positive emotions in others you are influenced by them in the same manner, you can't help but feel happier when you meet happy people, when you are met with love and compassion; it feels good; you long for more. This "more" can be found within, when you express love, give and express compassion your heart feels open and you feel better. Science is finding more and more proof that we are all connected, that what each person's actions, what they think, what they feel, has an influence over all. So to become happy, to become compassionate, not only is good for you directly, but also indirectly, for by doing this you will have made the world and your world a little better.

I did become happy again and started to do the things I feel passionate about, and now I feel that my experience has brought me to a point that I want to share all of this. I feel great again, I do what I want to do, I love the people who are connected to me, who share their feelings and thoughts and wisdom. Every day I learn more and more, making me more complete, thanks to the contributions of everyone in my life. There are many ways to happiness and many methods, each with their own qualities, but it is up to you to decide and choose which one you feel most aligned with.

Through the years many clients have come my way and I was grateful I could help them, but I started noticing that some people got well and some didn't, although they may have had the exact same problem, the exact same diagnosis and I was doing everything in my power and knowledge to help them. How come, I wondered? Why was it that one person fully recovered and the other didn't or developed another complaint that kept them from enjoying full health.

If some people couldn't be helped of course it could mean that I was overlooking something. But it could also mean that something in their environment was not right or their mind was blocking this wonderful mechanism the body has to heal itself. I decided that the latter must be the case, because these people did have something in common. They were told from childhood onwards, as most of us are, that when they grow older their bodies would start to deteriorate. They were worrying, sometimes to the extreme if they had done everything right, eaten the right foods, exercised enough, dealt with their emotional issues and so on. In fact it was quite stressful for them, to try and live healthy lives.

But still, they believed that they were bound to get ill at some point and so they became ill and if one problem was solved another one...