Dear friends,

This is only my second newsletter this year!

Not because there hasn’t been anything to share, but because my life has been rearranging itself.

For a long time, I’ve been occupied with discovering where I belong and who I am.

In the beginning, the surprising and equally liberating discoveries were transcendental. WOW, I am not my body, I am not my past, I am not traumatized, broken, or limited. I AM. Transpersonal, eternal, whole, awareness… everywhere and nowhere.

And at the same time, I have a heart, dreams, a soul, genius. And I already have everything within me to bring all of this into reality in my life. Just like you and everyone else.

With great determination, I turned my life upside down and brought it into alignment with what truly matters to me.

The focus was on change: moving to the countryside, family and more animals, work that challenges and fulfills me, creative expression... My podcast, The Art of Creating, and this newsletter are all results of that.

It was an incredibly liberating time. No longer being determined by my past, but being able to consciously and creatively shape my life.

With the birth of our son almost two years ago, something fundamentally shifted.

It became clear that this focus on change was no longer necessary. That I, and we as a family, had arrived. And that by now, we had created a life that was fundamentally perfectly fine just as it was.

That there was no longer any need for “better.”

Right here, right now. With all the (crazy! :) challenges that come with being a dad.

This might sound completely banal. And in a way, it is.

But for me, it was anything but obvious.

I’d spent decades living by mantras like “Work before pleasure,” “Passion to perform,” and “No pain, no gain,” and in doing so, I’d never been able to see the forest for the trees:

Life itself, enlightenment, is not only transcendental: somewhere “out there,” tied to special achievements, places, vibrations, or experiences. But immanent, = always present in and as every experience.

I already knew this intellectually. Embodying it is a whole different story… :)

Suddenly, it was no longer about changing, improving, or achieving something. But simply about being here. With what is.

Silence, stillness, and family took on an entirely new significance.

“Just” being here, learning to simply enjoy what is, exactly as it is, was incredibly challenging. It was completely unfamiliar (and seemed impossible) to lovingly welcome even my weakness, inadequacy, helplessness, or shame.

At first, my nervous system fought tooth and nail against giving up control by no longer trying to improve my experience… :)

And at the same time, something became obvious: The more fully I welcome what is, the more a deeply fulfilling, essential aliveness becomes tangible, an aliveness inherent in every experience. From sadness, joy, and anger to stiffness, shame, or silence.

Our being excludes nothing and is in complete acceptance of what is: love in its essence.

And here, for me, everything comes full circle:

In the beginning, there was the liberating realization: I am not my past, my traumas, my conditioning, my weaknesses.

And now: I am also my past, my traumas, my conditioning, my weaknesses.

Nothing fundamentally needs to be avoided, changed, or transcended.

I am whole. We are all fundamentally whole.

And in this openness, astonishing change happens: Aliveness, warmth, intimacy, kindness, acceptance, heart, feeling, togetherness emerge. Entirely on its own.

What a paradox: Precisely when nothing needs to be changed anymore, change happens, without having to control it.

Integrating this is an ongoing process… :)

And here, too, something has shifted.

As incredibly liberating as it was to discover my own path without anyone else’s training wheels, it is equally beautiful to share this path with others and explore it together.

I’ve found support for this. Alongside a two-year nondual meditation teacher training I’ve been participating in since January, and a men’s circle I co-founded, this is especially true of our collaboration with our friend Manari.

Because in our Western world, many people talk about love, authenticity, and freedom. And that’s good and important!

But embodying these qualities in a way that harmonizes with all of life, family, work, society, plants and animals, the Earth, is, in my view, still quite rare.

And it goes far beyond meditation cushions and safe-space sanghas.

I’ve only encountered this in such a profound way among the Indigenous Sapara people of the Amazon, who still have deeply intact roots in their own culture and in nature.

And this encounter made something completely tangible and deeply felt: Our home, this Earth, is not only the nurturing home we so desperately long for in the West (and will never find through our obsession with consumption, control, and technology), but a fascinating, living mystery beyond our wildest dreams.

Beautifully disillusioning:

• Humanity is not the creator. We are part of creation.
• We humans cannot improve (our) nature. It is already perfect. But we can harmonize with it and creatively participate in shaping life (= wake up from our hypnosis!).

This is both ultimately relaxing, everything is exactly right as it is, and wonderfully fulfilling, reality is: freedom of expression!

Nukaki. We Are One.

Out of this experience, and several journeys and retreats with Manari over the past few years, our project Nukaki (“We Are One” in the Sapara language) was born in January.

With the intention of making this lived experience accessible, not as a concept, but as a transmission that can be felt.

To harmonize with our true nature. And instead of being consumed by stress, the belief that there is no alternative, warmongering, or AI madness, to become a vibrant and powerful tuning fork in the world: For collective awakening.

This Saturday, we’re hosting a ceremony with Manari for everyone who resonates with these themes:

More infos here

I'd love for you to join us!

And I'm optimistic: You'll be hearing from me more often again.

And I'd love just as much to hear from you! I've shared so much about myself now. How are you doing these days? What's moving you in your life?

With love ❤️
Simon