PERSONAL
Through a life crisis in 1976, I was more or less forced into changes. Probably it was my total unwillingness to be stuck that brought me into the eternal search for a way to live a fulfilling life. Whatever the reason for a major break with my old life was, I started in 1977 with Reichian body-oriented psychotherapy, an intense method that in a very enlightening way put me deeper in touch with feelings and old family patterns that was running my life. From this work I learned about my emotional past and how to be with it, to handle my projections, express emotions, basic group dynamics and to "read" the body.
During my first experience of a quality breathing session in 1979, I got such wonderful
glimpses of emotional freedom that I wanted to learn as much as possible about the conscious use of breath. Leonard Orr (creator of Rebirthing Breathwork) was an important teacher for me the following years but the best teacher was breath in itself. I experienced the quality shift in relation to my own being that takes place when putting focus on release rather than relive. This has been a key approach in my work ever since. Reliving can be very interesting but release is more important than to remember or to relive anything.
In 1978 I went to India for the first time. Altogether, on different occasions, I have spent about five years in that kaleidoscopic culture. Meeting with so-called masters, experiencing the difference between secterism and authentic spirituality, spent much time in nature, getting to know the people and studying parts of India's enormous spiritual and philosophical literature. Besides all adventure, it has also given me a kind of existential overview that the western lifestyle usually inhibits. Everything in life can be used for growing and learning. In 1988 I began taking groups to India, acting as a guide in the outer as well as the inner landscape that enfolds when spending time on this subcontinent. Travels to India has since then continued with a different focus each time.
Every crisis is a possibility. Nowadays I am aiming to use my searching and experiences into an art of living, useful in all areas of life, and to communicate it to others for the purpose of health and life quality.