However different the manifestation, the foundation of every proven spiritual discipline, from the East as much as from the West, revolves around the same recognition: sure, holiness dwells in our hearts, but between us and that heart is our ego. And unless we hand over the reins of that to outside “sacristies,” rituals or disciplines, that heart will be the dwelling place not only of our sacred, but also of our unholy. And thus a battleground.
Now that was unfortunate: the groups’ viewing dune turned out to create a “viewing” situation for the individual guests of the new retreat studio. What to do if you don’t want to put up a fence or hedge, but want a landscaping solution? The landscape architects at Landscape North Holland knew what to do.
John XVII then and now. In Volzin, a conversation with Thomas about over fifteen years of Jan XVII. Features include Liber and the “Servant Hermit” vacancy.
Our Lady of the Silence, painted by Liesbeth Smulders for the chapel of ZeeVELD, commissioned by the Jan XVII Foundation.
Wash hands, stay home, keep your distance: apply these three rules internally, and you could end up with a great Easter contamination from the Corona virus! Read an Easter essay I wrote for Nieuw Wij here.
