A friend and I were traveling by car on a cold winter’s night through a snowy Germany. We were underway to the Italian Alps. It was the time before smartphones and we had our tom-tom route-planner telling us where to go. I loved that it could tell us by the minute when we would arrive. It made me feel reassured; the journey was under control.

The conversation in the car came to the subject of trust. We agreed about the importance of trust in life on a deeper, spiritual level. And we even may have made a bold proclamation about how we would want to learn deeper trust. Seconds after this conversation, it happened, the car broke down.

The car came to a stop at the side of the freezing highway half way through our journey. It must have been around 1.00 in the morning. We managed to call a tow-truck who brought us to a motel with all our bags. The operator told us that the car would never drive again. Total loss.

Sitting in the motel with our bags, we were unaware of our exact location, or how to continue our journey. This was a seemingly hopeless situation. One thing was obvious, we would have to find our way back to the Netherlands somehow. A quiet voice in my heart said: tomorrow afternoon you will see the Alps. I couldn’t understand how, I dismissed the thought and tried to sleep a bit. 

In the morning we stood at the entrance of the motel with our bags, about to call a taxi that would bring us to the garage. The owner of the motel saw our bags, walked up and heard our story. He then said: I will help you.

Within minutes he had placed our bags in his car, drove us to the garage, and helped with the dealings around the car in fluent German. He then bargained a good deal for a rental. One, we found out later, was better equipped for the snowy mountains ahead. It took about half an hour from, not knowing where we were going, to being underway with new transportation. That afternoon, the Alps came into view…

Trust. 

Are you one of those who feel it stir within?  We live in a world that draws us away from ourselves. So quickly we live in a way that pleases others. Until we start to feel the unease, the protest, from within. 

It can be easily missed, or silenced, if we refuse to pay attention. Sometimes it is not more than a whisper: the call to come back to the essence. To who you truly are. Because at our essence lives an image, a message that speaks about our identity, purpose, and authentic inspiration for our lives.

That essence can not fully be explained, it must be experienced. Felt. And we need such core experiences on regular basis. They help us to make sense of life, it keeps us sane. These experiences may be found through art, creativity, meaningful conversations, prayer, a practice of inner awareness. But it always comes back to this: you heart.

This reconnection brings us back on track. And it matters that we take it very serious, because with each inward discovery new and meaningful parts of our lives unfold, professionally and private. This makes art & inner exploration not just a hobby, but an essential part of life.

I love words, and their meanings. Art&Prophecy is an evocative term capturing the field of existence, creation, vision, purpose. Unfolding we grow understanding for these principles and why they are essential for being human.

‘Art’ –  from the Indo-Aryan noun/adjective ‘rt’; the continuous process of creation and organization of the cosmos. Art is the process that creates our reality. Attention for (a)rt increases conscious-awareness, integrates, and reveals a meaningful path forward. 

‘Prophecy’ – nāḇā’ (nava) is ancient Hebrew for ‘prophecy’. Nāḇā’ literally means: to bubble up (like water from a well), to spring forth (like the eruption of new life). It relates to poetry, arts, inspired speech, wisdom & revelation. Prophecy is the field of understanding emergence, formation of complex systems, creativity, intuition and innovation. 

As a business student, I dreaded presentations. I clanged on nervously to my notes, citing the sentences I had written down the day before. With sweaty palms, I stumbled through my presentation, leaving my fellow students uninspired and putting them to sleep. It was at that time that I learned about the practice of listening within. Wisdom is present to all who lends an ear.

Preparing for the next presentation, I became still and attentive and asked, ‘How can I improve my presentation?’ Immediately a thought came: Speak from your heart.  I knew that if I would act on the inner voice, it would be beneficial.

It was the day of the presentation and I had prepared myself as usual. With sentences on paper. But this time when I walked up, I set aside the notes, brought attention to my heart, and stepped in the moment. I started to flow. Words came naturally. I could feel the group and made contact. You should have seen the change on the faces of my classmates. They realized something was different.

Finished the professor complimented me and said: this is how it is done. I took my seat with a glow. A girl remarked surprised: What happened to you? I was listening and became so relaxed! Something happens when we step in the moment from the inside out, with the heart. It injects life. It brings out our true voice, our art. When we are present to the moment, every word serves value.

There are typically two types of voices that speak to us daily. There are critical voices shouting things like: “That’s impossible! Who do you think you are? You are not good enough.”

And then there is a soft, gentle voice in the heart speaking: “It is possible; let Me show you the way.”

Every time my mind is caught up in negativity, and I stare into the void of impossibility, I categorize this as one part of the creative controversy. Understanding the presence of controversy between the two voices enables me to look into the other side of the controversy, that of light, that of the One who says: “All things are possible.” Awareness, focus, faith, rest.

The norm is that critical voices are easier to hear. We listen to them naturally, and it diminishes our lives.

To hear that other voice, we must make an effort, sit down, tune in, and listen. That listening will result in bloom. It is our ultimate purpose.

Around Christmas time, I like to check the neighborhood to see how people light up the dark with festive lights. Even the grumpiest of neighbors places a light in the window. Intuitively, he casually prophesies: “Don’t give up, there is light.”

According to ancient tradition, the first words God speaks are: “Let there be light.” These primordial words are anchored deep within. Every day, we are aware of this duality. All that we do pivots around “light in darkness”; we seek understanding, awareness, knowledge, logic, order – to overcome chaos and the unknown. We are aware of the tension between what we see and can’t see. In the matter of chaos, the substance of the potential future, we seek to hear and understand reason, meaning, clear direction to navigate into the future. We conquer the future with the words: “Let there be light.”

Where is my passport?

The bus taking me to the airport would soon pass by. I ran about and looked in every place. My passport seemed to have vanished. Close to accepting that I would miss the flight, I did what I often teach but easily forget for myself: I stood still and quieted my mind. Intentionally, I entered the listening space and asked:

“Can You show me where my passport is?”

It is never quiet when we sincerely ask a question in the heart; a thought came to me in a soft-spoken voice:

“In the pocket of your coat.”

Did I hear it well? I got upset: no way it could be there! I had no memory of even touching my coat that day. Angrily, now that I would miss my flight over something trivial, I stormed up to my coat to prove that it wasn’t there.

I reached into the coat’s pocket and immediately felt the hard cover of that familiar document. I took out my passport and smiled, relieved.

I walked around in a thrift store, looking for something to buy. These places hold unexpected treasures. Suddenly, my heart leaped as I stood in front of boxes filled with diving gear: flippers, snorkels, masks, in all sizes and states. Most still had beach sand from faraway locations sticking to the inside. An aura of adventure and exploration emanated from them. I forced myself to walk on; I already had my gear.

But I was drawn back. I stood and stared at the box. Why did I come back? My chest warmed up. Then I understood: I was there for my heart. There was something within that felt excited and needed to be experienced, acknowledged and felt. 

Not all things we buy are treasures.

I left with empty hands, but on the inside, I was content.