I AM NOT MY STORY

But I like to share a story with you.

I grew up in a very loving family in the Netherlands and experienced the strong and unconditional love of our tight-knit family, which I am very grateful for. As from the young age of 6, my parents started taking me to the Swiss Alps to help me recover from severe chronic bronchitis.

At the age of 35, I thought that I had realized everything that I could realize – I was married to a loving wife with two young boys, fifteen years of developing corporate strategies, building new divisions, introducing international product lines brought me to a position as General Manager for a large Multinational. But deep inside I knew that this wasn’t my purpose. Would I listen to this whispering little voice within?

This little voice had always told me that helping others, learning from nature’s wisdom, being kind and joyful were my true essence and that it is more natural to cooperate than to compete at the expense of others. After only ‘listening’ to my inner voice for a long time I felt it was now time to act! In 2001, I took a huge leap of faith – I told my boss that ‘I had other things to do’ and emigrated, together with my family, to the mountains in West Canada. Skiing, mountain biking, running, hiking, kayaking and just enjoying the views from our deck were our daily activities. Life couldn’t get any better.

Then, a series of events deeply impacted my life. In a short time span my dad died, then my five year older brother lost his life after having suffered from a drug addiction for two decades, a friend died in a ski accident and finally my dearest mom whom I loved so much passed away. My life was literally falling apart – the people I loved so much were suddenly not there anymore and this left me with some gaping wounds.

One night, about two years later, I was standing outside in the darkness. I felt very down. I looked up at the sky and couldn’t ignore that it was a gorgeous sky and I was gazing at the billions of stars over my head. Despite all of my misery, I noticed that the universe looked so amazing and so mysterious. Whoever created this unfathomable wonder, my appreciation was limitless.

“I am Love! These dark events in my life are my gift and they are here to lift me higher than ever before. This is my healing!”

Suddenly, my heart started speaking and I thought: “Do I have a choice?” I spoke those words out loud without even realizing it. But I wasn’t prepared for an answer, and certainly not for an answer like this: “Of course do you have a choice – accept and try to embrace the pain that you’re feeling right now”. I didn’t see myself as a spiritual person really, and this answer that seemed to come out of nowhere took me completely off guard. The reason that this was such an extraordinary experience; I took this advice very serious.

In the next couple of days, this remarkable answer kept repeating itself in my mind and I was pondering how to ‘accept and embrace’ but no solution was being offered this time. Then I decided to let it go because ‘this trying’ made me feel even more desperate. But the moment, I let it all go, was also the moment that I felt a growing connection with my heart, and suddenly I had no trouble accepting the pain I was feeling. The feeling was so intense. Slowly I understood that it was there for a reason! I began to have clarity: “There must be a higher purpose for this to happen to me,” I thought. That’s when I was able to embrace the pain and all the emotions.

But then something beautiful happened… I saw a gorgeous bright light and I felt an infinite love deep down inside of me and I realized: “I am Love! These dark events in my life are my gift and they are here to lift me higher than ever before. This is my healing!” I could barely believe that this was happening to me. It felt like a miracle had just happened.

Not long after this enlightening experience, an angel threw a book in my lap: “Dying to be Me” was the title, and the author was Anita Moorjani. I started reading the most remarkable story about Anita’s cancer and how her near-death-experience shifted every belief that she ever had about herself and about life. I now realized that the pain I had been feeling and all the beliefs that I’d held on to were my cancer and that my exceptional experience under the stars and reading Dying to be Me was my very own near-death-experience that gave me the clearest insights. Wow!

In the fall of 2012, I decided to follow my inner calling and spread the light, kindness and love that lives inside each one of us. I founded a non-profit organization called Soul Love and started interviewing inspiring people like Anita Moorjani, Neale Donald Walsch, don Miguel Ruiz, Mooji, India.Arie, Gregg Braden, Joe Dispenza and Sonia Choquette, to name just a few. My interviews, which are often very personal, soon gained in popularity and by interviews are also being featured in OMTimes Magazine. The conversations with all of these inspiring authors, teachers, scientists, and musicians have taught me invaluable lessons and they further propelled my personal awareness and consciousness. I am grateful that you are here and I invite you to check out my articles, services and other cool stuff. I also invite you to sign up for my newsletter, because I have a lot to share with you.

Love,
Dirk