Essentialism: the Art of being and seeing yourself
Introduction
Through this website and the book I’m writing, I want to reach people who see that humanity is drifting away further and further from the awareness which used to connect us to our origin. I think humanity has to take the next step towards a higher consciousness in order to prevent the unravelling of all cohesion in the world between people, between people and nature and between people and their natural origin. Below I will discuss my spiritual philosophy. If you are more interested in a practical and personal approach of essentialism, you may want to read about authenticity-coaching.
What is essentialism?
Essentialism is my spiritual philosophy, by which I try to inspire people to investigate themselves the core of the “now” and the root from which this core derives. My vision has absolutely nothing to do with belief. You’ll only get to the essence of things by seeing your own truth and by deepening this truth. Essentialism is one of the few “isms” which is not looking for followers, but instead wants to inspire people to go and look for their own essence, for their soul, for their original, natural and pure being. From there they can interpret the world around them with a clearer perspective.
In order to apply out this soul searching you need to reach a state of mental clarity. This clarity you can get by cleaning your ego from the external influences you have absorbed but which don’t reflect your own truth. These influences have troubled your vision and so they don’t contribute to your development. In order to purify yourself, you have to investigate who you are, how you behave and why you behave this way. In this it is essential that you accept what you discover about yourself, regardless of what you might learn about yourself. Unconditional self-acceptance is needed to get self-confidence. And with this self-confidence you can become more yourself and purify your perspective. Actually I want to invite you to take off your coloured, or dirtied glasses which distort your perceptions, in order to see the world as it really is, according to who you in essence are.
The definition I’d like to give to the word essentialism is:
- Principle of awareness in which one learns to clearly see, accept and love the essence (the core and the core’s root) inside and outside one’s self.
- Spiritual philosophy which says that everything has to be interpreted from everyone’s own originality or essence, by purifying and deepening our own subjective truth, in order to get a fundamental insight in the universal truth.
There are an endless number of ways and levels in which you can express essentialism, because everything has an essence. Essentialism is not one path you should follow to get to the ultimate essence. There are so many ways, but the challenge is to find your own way to love, to find your own connection to the Source of life. This website is not the right medium to treat this subject more thoroughly.
How did it come to existence?
“Essentialism” is a word I made up to give a proper name to my vision on life, my philosophy and my message to the world. Essentialism comes from me, and is based on my personal experiences, perceptions, conversations with others, contemplations and insights. My source of inspiration is life itself: my personal journey of life. I was never a follower of other people’s truths, because I was self-wise from birth. Yet, in addition to learning from my own experiences, I’ve learned a lot from other people’s visions. But I see those contacts as self-chosen experiences too. I always wondered which elements in other people’s visions, experiences, ideology, religion, or culture, could enrich me. When these elements felt true to me too, I learned from them. That’s the way I always learned, and still do.
Since the beginning of 2006, I feel complete. I came to accept myself completely, even though there is still a lot to be discovered within myself. Now I feel enough trust and balance to share my vision with others on a larger scale than before. In fact, I don’t have a choice. I must share the love I feel for myself with others. The only durable way to do this is to be myself and to share my vision. With essentialism I try to inspire people to become aware of their own essence. People who achieve to get a clear insight in their selves, who can accept themselves unconditionally and who can love their selves, can do the same thing to the rest of the world.
Life on Earth has a strong need for love and higher awareness of humanity, that would allow us to do good for ourselves and for all life. Especially the capitalistic part of the world is drifting off further and further from its essence, from nature. Humanity needs a wake-up call to stop the destruction of the human community and of the nature within and outside of ourselves. We need to stop our egocentric and fear-driven behaviour. Instead we need to base our actions upon greater awareness, love and trust. Essentialism is a wake-up call, as probably and hopefully, there are more of in this world.
Who is my vision meant for?
Apparently a lot of people want to know whom I reach out to. My answer: humans. I’d love to reach everyone. Implicitly or explicitly, I talk about essentialism with all kinds of people: the Dutch, Ecuadorians, Africans, Iranians, aboriginals, elderly, children, students, the sick, judges, plumbers, musicians, addicts, spiritual searchers, Buddhists, Christians, TV personalities, bartenders, and so on. Everyone is served by self-acceptance, by trust, by a growth of consciousness and by insight in the essence of their experiences.
In the Netherlands an increasing number of people are becoming aware that we are seriously doing something wrong, as a culture, as a society and as a civilization. They see the enormous destruction of nature by our mass-consumption, they witness so many people in their thirties experiencing their first burn-out, they notice the rise of selfishness, and increasing loneliness, they observe the hardening of the society, the rising problems with degenerated juvenile criminals, the growing fear amongst the citizens, and so on.
Essentialism tries to inspire people to look for happiness inside of their own hearts and in connection to the Source of existence and to everything that comes from that same Source. I often say: “Make yourself happy and share your happiness with others.” If you want the world to change, you should start by living this change. And if you want to change the life you lead, you’ll have to take responsibility for the choices you make. Everyone can make choices. Some have more options than others, but everyone decides how one deals with the situation. My friend, Bob Marley, sings it all: “Free yourselves from mental slavery. None but yourself can free your mind.”
It is impossible to fully cover essentialism on this website. I can’t address specific and personal issues that play a part in your life. However, in a personal conversation I can tell more about those issues, or limit myself to a relevant part of my vision. So if you (and your friends) want to hear more about essentialism, please contact me to discuss the possibilities. Or you can wait for my first book to be published.
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