Welcome to my Soul Garden in Amsterdam! My garden cottage is open for private sessions, a silent oasis in the vibrance of a lovely city. Do you feel alienated or empty? Are you looking for meaning in your life? Do you have other, deep soulful questions? Let’s sit down and have an open ended inquiry to find out what is moving in you.
The effects of World War II and the Christian Reformed Church defined my upbringing in the Sixties and Seventies. I was looking for a way out and wondered about the meaning of Life. A journey through Natural Medicine, Shamanism, Family Constellations, Tantra, Art and Dance, while working as a Shock & Trauma therapist, brought me on the path of the Diamond Approach. From day one, I was intrigued and touched by the way the teachers were present, full of patience, love, understanding and knowledge. My soul finally arrived at home. The Diamond Approach is an eclectic spiritual school, where there is always room for curiosity, deepening questions, new perspectives and finding out more in an open ended way.
The Diamond Approach is oriented to the Truth of who and what we are, opening up to our multifold potential as Human Beings. I learned to love the Truth for its own sake, that was a rollercoaster ride. As the truth about myself, about others, about our planet was very different from the images I had made about myself and others. To love the Truth for its own sake, I needed to learn to be present. To really learn and understand what being in this moment actually means. Being present helps me to trust, to feel held by Life itself, to love being a Human Being and to be in touch with what Life means. And can be very different from day to day: it can be very simple, it can be very ecstatic. There is an enormous freedom in becoming who I truly am and a deep fulfillment in doing what my Soul truly loves.
Almaas’ book The Void attracted me to this work. The many ways he wrote about emptiness was so profound and intelligent, I really wanted to know more and to know him. Also my fear that I have to become a nun in order to do spiritual work evaporated, as this school really wants you to be in the World and not off it. To live a personal life while being deeply engaged in a spiritual path, is a great freedom and joy.
Book: “Conceptie verbinden – Zwangerschap vormen – Geboorte loslaten”, Carine Verveld, SVR 1999.
A therapeutic book on how Conception, Pregnancy and Birth imprint the Soul.
Columns Ridhwan & Daily Life in Magazine Diamond Dust:
-Teenagers, stress and presence, 2008
-How to be with Hameed, 2009
-Losing control, 2009
-The F-word, 2010
-Letter to a Forgotten Grandfather, 2010
-Tante Tineke and Theresienstadt, 2012
-Empty Nest, 2013
-Tears of the Thyroid, illness as a daily inquiry, 2014
-Ode to our Amsterdam Local Group, 2014
-The Rejected Body, 2014
-Marjolein, 2015
-Paris & Oxazepam, 2016
-Shedding Skin, 2017
-Freud's Waiting Room, dreaming about a dead Dad, 2018
-The Mystery of Merging, 2019.
Articles in Magazine Diamond Dust:
-Going to Asilomar with a European superego, 2009
-The Four Turnings, Hameed’s Summer Retreat in Europe, 2015
-Grace of Practice, a new European retreat, 2016.
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