1. November 2020 • Katja Laurien
The corona virus has quickly turned out to be so much more than “just” a health challenge. As if this wasn’t already enough, the measures and the consequences have led to so many different opinions and viewpoints, highlighting the complexity of modern life, the interdependence between people and even nations. We’ve been bombarded with numbers and “facts” which interestingly enough seemed to contradict each other, making it so difficult to know whom to trust and what to believe.
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4. October 2020 • Katja Laurien
The guest house
This human being is a guest house
Every morning a new arrival
A joy, a depression, a meanness -
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows
who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out for some new delight.
The dark thoughts, the shame, the malice,
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6. September 2020 • Katja Laurien
This is the final post of a series of posts about understanding and dealing with our defense mechanisms which can help us see through the illusions we create in life. Therefore I’d recommend you first read the first two posts before continuing with this one. The approach I’ve been describing in these series is based on the work of the Dutch psychologist Ingeborg Bosch and her book “Illusions - How to escape the labyrinth of destructive emotions”.
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2. August 2020 • Katja Laurien
This is the second part of a series of posts which intend to help you seeing through life’s illusions. These posts are based on the work of the Dutch psychologist Ingeborg Bosch, who has developed the Past Reality Integration (PRI) Therapy which I personally find highly effective. In order to see through the illusion, you first have to start by understanding and recognizing your defense mechanisms which I described in the last post.
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5. July 2020 • Katja Laurien
The past months I’ve gone through an emotionally very turbulent period. This was not the first roller coaster I’d been through, but the fact that I couldn’t really pinpoint the problem, made it very confusing to me. I didn’t really understand what was going one with me, but I wisely decided to switch off my brain and just watch my thoughts, feelings and behaviour. Thanks to my dedicated meditation practice, it was not that difficult to stay in the observing mode.
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7. June 2020 • Katja Laurien
We’re more than just physical beings. Most of all we’re vibrational beings. We attract and repel things, people and situations into our lives according to the frequency we’re vibrating on, therefore our “vibrational hygiene” is of utmost importance. Maybe you don’t really believe in this wishy-washy idea of vibrations and frequencies, but I’m pretty sure you know at least one person who seems to magically attract negativity and who (surprise, surprise!
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5. April 2020 • Katja Laurien
This month it’s my blog’s third anniversary! Whoop whoop! This anniversary invited me to think back on why I ever started writing this blog in the first place, three years ago. While I was contemplating my motivation and reasons for starting this project, I realized that this decision has influenced my life in so many more surprising ways. Today I want to share with you this story which might help you in making smaller and bigger life decisions.
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1. December 2019 • Katja Laurien
We live in a time where everything is possible. Power, fame and abundance aren’t limited anymore to the “chosen ones” but can be achieved virtually by everyone. In a way this is great. We have more or less equal opportunities and for most people in the Western world the sky’s the limit. Unfortunately, this limitless opportunities don’t seem to make people any happier, but rather anxious and stressed out. So, where does it go wrong?
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6. October 2019 • Katja Laurien
We all sometimes struggle to set our boundaries. On the one hand we want to serve others, but we also want to take care of ourselves and serve our own needs and wishes. We could also turn this around and put it differently: We either fear rejection or we fear losing control. How can we find out whether we really want to help someone or whether we are simply afraid to lose their sympathy?
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7. April 2019 • Katja Laurien
When we feel stuck we basically want to make a move, but we just don’t know in which direction. We want to bring about change in our lives, but we have no clue what we should do. We feel restless and lost, full of doubts and fears. Maybe we felt some kind of positive energy at some point, a vibe that led us to bring about change in our lives. But instead of positivity we feel shame and self-judgement due to our inability to take action and make progress.
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6. January 2019 • Katja Laurien
If you hear voices in your head, no worries. You’re not crazy, we all hear them. Hearing them better and clearer is even a sign of increased sanity. There are so many voices in our head (the ego, the higher Self, the inner child, the inner critic etc.) it seems like there’s an entire village in our heads. Distinguishing between these voices helps us to control them and to stay sane.
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7. October 2018 • Katja Laurien
Obviously, you should never settle for less. In any situation. This post is about relationships because this is where I personally struggled most. And I assume I’m not the only one. This is why I want to share my story with you. My past relationships have been rather “suboptimal”. I don’t want to call them shitty or anything like that, because without them I wouldn’t have been where I am now.
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2. September 2018 • Katja Laurien
As I had promised in my last post, this one will be about the actual art of manifesting. Now we know the advantages of desires, we also want to know how to make our dreams come true. Obviously, also this is a topic which is difficult to put in just one single post. But I will share with you my basics thoughts and some of my experiences.
Ok, let’s get started!
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5. August 2018 • Katja Laurien
I guess almost everyone on the spiritual path gets confused at a certain point whether or not to pursue their desires. Spirituality is often linked to total renunciation of worldly goods. Not only possessions are frowned upon, but also the attainment of status or even the finding of a lover. Spiritual enlightenment entails finding peace in oneself and not in factors from outside oneself. Still, I think having desires are very compatible with leading a spiritual life.
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3. June 2018 • Katja Laurien
“Think positive” is probably one of the best known slogans people associate with spirituality. This is what attracts people to spirituality (doesn’t it mean you’re happy all the time?) and at the same time makes people reject it. These people instinctively feel that “being happy all the time” simply is not feasible. So, how to interpret this slogan correctly?
Positivity as end result Negative feelings appear as we all know. If you read my last post, you would also know that I even consider it to be necessary.
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1. April 2018 • Katja Laurien
Recently, a friend of mine asked me how I decide between two good options. First of all, I didn’t really know what to answer. But soon I realised I am constantly making these kind of decisions. I have loads of freedom: no work contract, no partner, no kids. So, what have I actually done the past years while deciding what do with my life?
Fear or passion? First of all, I make myself clear whether the options I have are both based on a passion or whether one of them might be based in fear.
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7. January 2018 • Katja Laurien
Do you sometimes wish you could have more control over your feelings and actions? Does your knowledge not match with your emotions and actions? Do you feel you are ruled by your subconscious? And you have no clue how to take control of this part? Chances are big your inner child is shouting out loud, trying to catch your attention.
I have found myself often in this situation, wondering what spiritual book to read or which meditation to do next to alleviate my suffering.
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3. September 2017 • Katja Laurien
You might wonder what a post about organization is doing in a spiritual blog. Just continue reading and you will soon understand…
But before I start, I would like to give you a small introduction to my relationship with being (un)organized: As a child, teenager and young adult I was horribly messy and unorganized. My room would always look like a war zone, I was always late for school and I constantly forgot everything.
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6. August 2017 • Katja Laurien
Healing comes from taking responsibility: to realize that it is you - and no one else - that creates your thoughts, your feelings, your actions.
— Peter Shepherd
Are you trying to say that I am responsible for my own pain?
Yes, that is exactly what I am trying to say. You are the only one that can hurt yourself. This is the bittersweet truth… Some people won’t be happy with this message and will feel attacked.
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4. June 2017 • Katja Laurien
Let’s start with a short description of myself: I am loud, talk incessantly, I am hyperactive, impulsive, spacey, impatient, bossy and if complaining were an Olympic discipline, I’d be winning. These are all character traits most people (including myself) are not very proud of. In the past few months, I started to notice how these traits are getting more and more in my way. I have tried to find ways how to deal with them, without judging myself for it.
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