I see the shoulders of the woman in the middle of the circle drop. Resistance visibly leaves her body, and tears roll down her face. It’s so beautiful to watch, that it makes me feel humble to even witness this. If you don’t have an idea what is going on here, you might think that a spiritual transformation, or even a miraculous healing has just taken place (that might have happened though). But I clearly knew what was happening here, because I had created this opportunity for her.
During my most recent visit to Bogotá, Colombia, I hosted several retreats. One of the experiences that I offered, was to take the HeartMath® tools & techniques to a deeper level, so that people are able fully implement what they have learned earlier, into their day-to-day lives.
At the end of the morning of the first day, I asked everyone if they could now fully feel and deeply connect with their own body. Everybody responded positively and raised their hands… except for three people… They shared that they wished they could connect with themselves on a deeper level, but they had a really difficult time going there. And that’s when my ego kicked in, because I wanted to have everybody experience this, and I just knew it was possible.
Before I realized, I had asked the group to break up into three sub-groups and form three circles. The three people who indicated they couldn’t get in touch with their feelings, were each sitting in the middle of a circle. I then asked all the people in the circle, to become heart-coherent and visualize radiating care and compassion towards the person in the centre of the circle. The person in the centre was asked to just sit there and relax, and not do anything in particular.
After a few minutes, I watched spontaneous, and beautiful changes in the three people happen. This exercise surpassed my expectations by far. It looked so simple, yet it was so impactful. True transformation literally happens when you allow yourself to feel the truth.
The science of connection
But what do these experiments really tell us? Is there something like ’empirical science’ behind connection?
I very much realize that for many people in our society (especially for men), feeling is foreign territory. And with feeling I mean, truly paying attention to what’s really going on in your life and in your body. It’s not just the veterans that I work with who find major challenges in accessing their feelings. The situation in my groups (as described above), already demonstrated that.
Feeling and connection are interrelated. But we live in a world where many have been taught that allowing yourself to feel, and express your feelings, is a definite sign of weakness. The sad thing is that those who taught us that it’s weak to get in touch with our feelings, are usually the ones that have been hurting the most. These are typical patterns that are passed on, from generation to generation. All around the world.
But we don’t need to keep living the programs of the past. We live now, and when we choose to be fully present, we can create an opportunity for ourselves to make changes. And now the cool science that supports all this.
The electromagnetic field around the earth that protects us from harmful space radiation, connects us all. What?? Yes!! The electromagnetic field, generated by our own heart, is automatically connected with the ‘large field’. This means that we as ‘individuals’, are all deeply connected through that same field. Even though this is nothing new for me, just by writing about it gives me goosebumps, because it so profound. Why? Because we live in a society which structure is fully based on separation. So we are merely living a lie!
But the three people in the centre of the circles weren’t living a lie. They couldn’t escape the reality anymore, because those around them had created a highly coherent electromagnetic field for them, and the law of physics applied to them of course. When we create coherence (more order) in the signal generated by our hearts, we begin to create more coherence in the ‘large field’. And through this highly orderly field, we can connect and feel the truth of life.
Personally, I consider acknowledging and embracing these laws of physics, the highest form of intelligence. History shows us that an incoherent society leads to hurting others, creating more separation, using violence or forcing shortsighted political influence, and it doesn’t help us to further evolve as a human species.
When we begin to create more coherence in our hearts, we automatically connect, on a deeper level, and the entire world will become more coherent. All fully backed by empirical science! What are you waiting for!
Today’s energy is tomorrow’s potential. Does that make sense to you? That means then, that when the energy changes today, tomorrow’s potential changes. And most people seem to wait for something or somebody to change in their life. But why wait?
You possess an incredible intelligence, creativity and infinite wisdom, but you don’t think it’s true.
I do feel that change is in the air, but I have to admit that I created it myself. Not because I like to brag, or I think I’m so great, but because I followed something inside me that was impossible to resist. It’s like a strange pull – not knowing what it means, but I just know that it feels good. This feeling I had (and still have), reminds me of a quote by Rumi:
“Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.”
Coherence Hotspot
On my way back home from Bogotá (see earlier blog post), I had a vision that I was working with more communities around the world, so that we could effectively contribute to an increase in global coherence, and I named it Coherence Hotspot. As soon as I got home, I started working on this new idea, just because it felt so good.
Like with a WiFi Hotspot, in order to connect and communicate with others, we can use earth’s magnetic field as a carrier wave. Unseen by others, yet extremely powerful. Those who have been trained in the science of HeartMath® know what I am talking about. When we start radiating a different quality ‘signal’ (we are the hotspot), we communicate differently with others and we even contribute to changes in earth’s magnetic field.
After building a web page coherencehotspot.com and posting a short video on Facebook, I am now in touch with over 30 people (who have been trained by HeartMath before) in 10 countries around the world, who will be starting a local Hotspot in their community (see link for more explanation). And it’s still growing. This means that over 30 communities across the globe will actively contribute to global change, by collectively changing their personal heart vibration.
To those who are skeptical, and who have a hard time understanding that this is even possible, I would like to say that the tools and techniques we use, are all based on peer-reviewed science, that has been around for some decades. I personally use the same tools and techniques with veterans with PTSD, and it changes their lives around. Health care systems, corporations, military and police, to just name a few, all successfully apply the practice of heart coherence. And I didn’t mention my own transformation since being a HeartMath trainer.
You are the Change
The reason why I decided to write this blog post, is to show you that we are all capable of doing great things. But our upbringing in a society that mainly focuses on our limitations in life, prevents us from embracing and living our greatest passions. It’s imprinted in our subconscious, and that is why so many people still struggle, because it’s mainly our subconscious that runs the show.
The more we connect and inspire each other to do amazing things, the more the world changes – today’s energy is tomorrow’s potential!
Hopefully, there will be a Coherence Hotspot in your area soon!
Have you ever had the experience that life is supporting you so much, that it feels almost magical? That things happen without effort, so much in flow, and that just the right people seem to show up for you? Have you?
I had this experience recently, and it felt so incredibly good and natural, that I wanted to hold on to that feeling really badly. That’s what we naturally do as humans, right? When something feels good, we try to hold on to it (because what if we would lose it again..?).
But over the years, I have learned to just enjoy these moments in all intensity, and not to mess with the flow of a possible higher purpose. My spiritual mentor Dr. Wayne Dyer, used to say: “Be open to anything and attached to nothing”, and that’s exactly what I have been practising for quite some years now, and it feels very exciting and so liberating.
The universe doesn’t know any limitations, so why would we try to hold on to a good experience then? There’s so much more available to us. We would only limit ourselves from other future experiences.
When we live our life consciously – we might even have a dream or a goal – and it’s something that’s in our awareness most of the time, we feel amazing when we can focus on this. It gives us energy and it becomes so purposeful to us. I think that this is what happened with me here.
Hungry to connect with the heart
I’m just back from a short but intense trip to Bogotá, Colombia, hosted by Sylvia Escobar, whom I met during last year’s retreat in Costa Rica. She was really inspired by how I helped people make a deeper connection with the heart, and the science that explains this concept and experience.
After the retreat, Sylvia had asked me if I was willing to lead a retreat in her hometown, Bogotá. Before we knew, we had developed the perfect plan together. Thank you Sylvia, for fully trusting me to pull this off, and for your endless dedication.
I couldn’t have asked for a more welcoming, genuinely caring and hungry audience. They were very hungry to connect with, and embrace the qualities and intelligence of their hearts. And there’s a very good motivation for that desire. This beautiful country has suffered from significant political and social instability, that has resulted in decennia of unrest and violence. Healing on many levels is therefore much needed.
The power of healing
Despite the difference in language, culture and experiences, the participants made me instantly feel I was one of them, without hesitation. The deep learning and sharing, the warm South American hugs (and kisses), the release of deeply rooted emotions, and the fearless embracing of the, often unusual, experiences that I offered them, were all the foundation for a powerful healing process.
– On a side note, to all my female friends here in Canada that I hugged in the last 2 weeks: That extra kiss you received from me, was because my mind and heart were still in Colombia, and it wasn’t meant to embarrass you. –
Over the years, I have learned that in order to create significant and lasting change, we need to involve the body the most. Our body is an instrument of, and a gateway to our own consciousness, and by using it in particular ways, we are able to break through layers and layers of emotional pain or even trauma. And that’s exactly what we did (as you can see)!!
Honestly, I didn’t want to leave at the end of five intense and beautiful days in Colombia. I was riding a high I had not felt before, and I wanted to stay in their presence. But then I reminded myself: “Dirk, you’re open to anything, but keep practising to be attached to nothing. This is how you stay in the flow that allowed you to create this experience in the first place.”
With a warm and full heart, I travelled back to Canada. The next day, I received an invitation to come back to Colombia this year. I realized that the hungriness wasn’t over yet, and my detachment was apparently approved by the universe (with a wink). It felt like the universe was whispering in my ear: “Keep coming from your heart, don’t get attached to anything, and stay humble in the process.”
“We’re all just walking each other home.” – Ram Dass
I want to sincerely thank all of my friends and new family, who so much believe in the mission that I’m on. Thanks to you, I am able to do what I currently do. It feels amazing to have your support and to have you on my side.
Today, after attending the ‘Coherence of the Heart’ workshop with Dirk Terpstra, I feel very grateful because I was able to consciously create coherence in my heart for the first time. It was very emotional. The fear disappeared completely and an incredible strength emerged.
This feeling has now become a memory, and I know I can access it whenever I choose to. Communication with my family has improved, but also in interpersonal relationships in general. I am communicating from another place, more connected to my heart – It’s a wonderful gift! I know I have to keep practicing the heart coherence so that it becomes my natural way of being and acting. A close hug from the heart to you!
LILIAN GALVIS
Participant
The experience with Dirk in the recent workshop held in Bogotá, was an awakening to another reality. His way of being and approaching each heart, was subtle and loving, while he led us to the possibilities of being happy and in peace, far away from the daily stress.
Far from a physical experience, this was a mystical one. We found a bridge that led us to new sacred and deep dimensions, those that unite with divinity and co-creation.
Starting with conscious and slow breathing, we are able to reach that lost paradise in the labyrinth of ego and fear. Dirk handed us a marvelous and simple tool – the tool that allows us at any time of the day, to consciously choose the space for love, that can let us experience an abundant and balanced life, in which coherence prevails, where you ultimately become ‘One with the Universe’.
Magic usually comes alive in Disney movies or in the hands of a famous magician. We often tend to think that magic only happens in our fantasy and in our dreams, but you might think twice about that.
Speaking about dreams, it’s actually my belief that magic starts exactly there – By having a dream! You can’t see it, feel it or touch it yet, but in your mind’s eye, your vision becomes so real and so clear, that this dream becomes your new reality. I therefore tend to think that magic is purely a shift in perception. And if that is true, it opens many doors to new and exciting possibilities.
It was on April 10th of this year, when I first met with Josep Soler. Josep is an international lecturer, NLP teacher, healer and neuroscience researcher from Barcelona, Spain. I clearly remember that after talking with him for about half an hour, he told me: “Dirk, you are one of the first persons here in North America who truly understands the essence of my work.” It was indeed beautiful to hear that so much of the work that I do, is directly linked to what Josep has been doing for over the last two decades.
Creating Magic
After having participated in two of his workshops in Kelowna, it was clear to me that we could create even more magic when combining our experience and passion. Before we knew, we were dreaming up this beautiful and transformational retreat in Costa Rica. I saw us literally all sitting together in a large gazebo by the Pacific Ocean. I could hear the waves crashing on the beach while we were doing the work with the participants. I could feel people’s emotions change and watch them step into a new reality and transform. It was beautiful!
Within three weeks, the program was ready and we started sharing and promoting it. By early November, the retreat was full. We had both male and female participants from Canada, Central and South America, ranging in ages between 27 and 75 years. Every single person with their very own unique reason to be there. Here are some of the areas that Josep and I covered during this 5-day retreat:
* Develop a deep connection with our intuition * Learn skills to influence the autonomic nervous system * Learn to better understand the science of synchronicities and how to create a new reality * Become a master in recognizing long running patterns and how to change them * Learn the art of visualization and how to sculpt and transform specific symptoms in the body * Learn about the science and intelligence of the heart by measuring heart-rate variability and coherence * Create an overall mind-heart-body connection
Energy Centres
According to ancient teachings and to modern science, we have seven energy centres in and around our body. Just see them as electromagnetic fields, but they are actually more like biological fields which include very many types of spectral energy. In addition to that, there is a specificity about the energetic functions which cannot be defined electro-magnetically or in any other way. In other words, there are energies that cannot be defined according to the known laws of physics today.
“Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.” – Albert Einstein
The three lower energy centres are mainly related to our emotions, and the upper three are being used when creating intentions, when we visualize and start dreaming.
When Josep and I started dreaming and setting intentions for the retreat, we activated the upper three energy centres (we taught people how to do that during the retreat).
The information in these three areas becomes then highly orderly (also called: coherent). We then started experiencing strong emotions related to our intentions. We could literally feel, see and smell everything that was happening during that week. We now activated the three lower energy centres in our body. And the cool thing about this is, that our body cannot distinguish the difference between something that we vividly imagine and deeply feel, and something that is actually happening.
This is also one of the main reasons why so many of us can experience suffering for extended periods of time. It’s the same process but now in the opposite direction.
The moment you begin to master this process, something magical starts happening – The energy centre between the three upper and lower centres, which is the area of the heart, becomes very active and coherent, and a strong feeling is being experienced. The human heart emits the strongest electromagnetic field in our body. The quality of this feeling is so powerful that it will literally attract actual events that exactly match the feeling you just experienced. The answer to this process can be found by applying the laws of quantum physics.
“An integrative experience that I will forever be grateful for. Five days of lessons by Dirk and Josep all presented against the backdrop of blue skies, churning waves and the Eden-like greenery of Costa Rica. The Sugar Beach Hotel staff are genuinely attentive and caring. The meals are fresh and plated plentifully. It was enriching to meet other people from distant South American lands at the retreat and to remember that we are all children of God. Thank you Dirk and Josep.” Norma Wellwood, Vancouver, B.C. Canada
Magic for You
Since I was mentioning magic (purely a shift in perception), how open are you to create magic in your own life? How open are you to let go of old beliefs, and start creating a new reality based on the latest scientific findings?
You know what the hardest part of this new process is? To admit to yourself that things might be different than you have always believed. We have the tendency to defend our own beliefs, even if they are handed to us by our parents or teachers, maybe 40 years ago. Mark Twain used to say it beautifully: “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure, that just ain’t so.”
Josep and I have decided to organize more retreats in 2018. We already started blocking rooms in Costa Rica for December 5 – 10, 2018. But we we also organize shorter versions of this retreat in Canada. Mainly weekend retreats. And you are more than welcome. We would love to have you there. So, stay tuned for further announcements by email and on my events web page: chooseheart.com.
The qualities of our heart are incredible. When we visit a physician and we get an electric cardiogram taken (ECG), the doctor is measuring an electrical signal produced by our beating heart. The heart is the strongest source of electricity in our bodies. It produces so much electrical energy that it creates a 360 degree electromagnetic field, that surrounds each and every person on this planet. This field extends beyond the skin and goes out into space. But there is more to this…
Our electromagnetic field changes all the time. The frequencies in this field are constantly changing and it’s our emotions who are mainly responsible for these changes. When we change our emotional state, we change what’s being broadcasted through the heart’s electromagnetic field. If we experience emotions like anger, frustration or anxiety, it produces an incoherent field – a very chaotic electromagnetic field. But emotions like care, appreciation or love, produce a much more orderly and coherent field.
Insights offered by the heart
Because our own electromagnetic field is not just limited to our body, we also connect with the ‘large’ electromagnetic field around the earth. I like to call that ‘our cosmic heart’. This large field contains all the intelligence that’s needed to create and sustain life on this planet. It’s an infinitely intelligent field.
So when you want to get an answer to a specific question, you can ‘tap’ into your cosmic heart and the information will get to you. It might sound crazy, but it truly works like this. This is not related to a belief, but to a deep knowing. Beliefs can let you down in certain situations, but a deeper knowing is unshakable. Maybe I can best illustrate this with a recent example.
A lady who followed my HeartMath workshop, sent me an email with a beautiful message, that literally touched my heart deeply. She wrote this (and I have permission to share it with you):
Hi Dirk, I really enjoyed your HeartMath evening. I learned a lot and saw that there is so much potential for more joy in my life.
I wanted to tell you that I had an incredible realization during a HeartMath session while looking after my grandchildren. And last night, your talk gave me more insight into it, where I clearly saw that I had a certain belief that I held onto, which was not even true. Sadly, the belief was, that children though cute, were bothersome and tiring to be around for any length of time. I seemed to feel I had better things to do with my time. But during a HeartMath session my coherence was quite high while the kids were playing around me. So I asked my heart how it felt about the kids, and it was happy, not annoyed or bothered at all! So last night when you talked I realized that I just had proof that it was some kind of false “belief” that told me I was bothered by children.
This incident happened after 2 weeks of HeartMath breathing. When I learned that my heart was happy around the kids, I decided I could respond to them with more joy. At first it felt a bit contrived to do so, but I wanted to change my tune and must have been successful because it wasn’t long before I could see they were being more joyful and loving to me.
I hope you don’t mind my long winded story… but this is actually HUGE for me and I am blown away by how the HeartMath breathing and your meditation is changing my life.
BTW….Your meditations are music to my heart. Right now I’m listening to “Self-Love” more often because it is touching something in me. I cannot form words for the treasure you have created!
How beautiful, isn’t it?! I couldn’t come up with a clearer example of how the heart can offer us deep insights. I can therefore only encourage you to take more time for yourself and start listening to the whispers of your heart. You might want to join me during one of my events, or maybe you prefer to get in touch with me.
“A breathing book? What’s that all about?” I know, it might sound a bit out there. But it isn’t and I will soon tell you why.
I wasn’t ready
But first this. While I was working on this ebook, I couldn’t help but smile. I used to work for a large financial corporation in Amsterdam. The last thing that was on my mind was breathing or meditation. Are you kidding me!? At that time, I thought I had more important tasks to focus on. Despite the fact that I was often feeling quite stressed – I worked long hours, against tight deadlines and the pressure on my performance as an executive didn’t make my life much easier.
It would be way easier for me now to look back on my life and think: “I wish I had known more about breathing and meditation during a time that it could have served me so well”. I could have known all about it, because the science of the breath is not new. It has been practiced for thousands of years. I just very well know that I just wasn’t ready for this. I perceived myself, and the world around me, in a very different way than I do today – from feeling separate from most people around me, to feeling deeply connected to myself, to humanity in general, and to the universe.
Sometimes we’re just not ready and that’s fine. But life can take a sharp turn.
We don’t always ask for change
During a difficult time in my life, when I lost three of my close family members in a relatively short period of time, I was looking to find a way of relaxation and stress reduction.
Many things in life, like grief, are beyond our control. But it is possible for us to calm our state of mind so that we can deal with our emotions in a more healthy way. We can then truly process all that we feel, without being terrorized by the mind. In fact, the daily practice of breathing and meditation has supported me through this traumatizing time. It has also offered me deep insights of who I truly am and helped me to express my deeper feelings and emotions.
People from all around the world have embraced these tools & techniques. Often in times of stress, anxiety, ADD/ADHD or those suffering from all kinds of trauma, including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
So when you meet adversity in life, be open because it wants to tell you something.
Simple breathing
So I have created the Little Blue Breathing Book (FREE download) with some very simple, scientifically proven, tools and techniques. They help reduce stress, boost your resilience, sharpen intuitive abilities and increase your performance. That sounds pretty cool huh!?
But I didn’t make this book for the ‘cool’. I made it because I know that so many people can and will benefit from these simple techniques on a day-to-day basis. Therefore, I want to ask you how many people you know who could benefit from this? I’d like you to think about it for a minute and then share this post, with the FREE ebook link, with some of your family members and friends. I’m convinced that they will be thanking you for this.
But we don’t need to keep living the programs of the past. We live now, and when we choose to be fully present, we can create an opportunity for ourselves to make changes. And now the cool science that supports all this.
The reason why I decided to write this blog post, is to show you that we are all capable of doing great things. But our upbringing in a society that mainly focuses on our limitations in life, prevents us from embracing and living our greatest passions. It’s imprinted in our subconscious, and that is why so many people still struggle, because it’s mainly our subconscious that runs the show.
It was on April 10th of this year, when I first met with Josep Soler. Josep is an international lecturer, NLP teacher, healer and neuroscience researcher from Barcelona, Spain. I clearly remember that after talking with him for about half an hour, he told me: “Dirk, you are one of the first persons here in North America who truly understands the essence of my work.” It was indeed beautiful to hear that so much of the work that I do, is directly linked to what Josep has been doing for over the last two decades.
I wanted to tell you that I had an incredible realization during a HeartMath session while looking after my grandchildren. And last night, your talk gave me more insight into it, where I clearly saw that I had a certain belief that I held onto, which was not even true. Sadly, the belief was, that children though cute, were bothersome and tiring to be around for any length of time. I seemed to feel I had better things to do with my time. 
During a difficult time in my life, when I lost three of my close family members in a relatively short period of time, I was looking to find a way of relaxation and stress reduction.