Osnabruck

The work at The Hague is done. 

Alot of people didn't show up for the Yes+ course so we had to cancel it because you need a certain amount of people. There's alot of group processes to be done and you'll just miss out on the experience if there's a very limited amount of participants.

There were like 8 people present and you need at least 15. Anyway, we gave an intro-workshop, revealing a little bit what the course is all about, giving a glimpse of the experience.

We hope to see them again at the 16th! Although we won't really see them personally because all of us are leaving to somewhere else. 

Rico left yesterday to Sweden, and Natalia left to Croatia. With her it was more about her visa expiring however, and she doesn't need one for Croatia because it's not part of the European Union.

That's also why all the Croatian people in Yes We Can went back to their country lately to arrange for new visa's, including my first lady.

So I'm still in Holland, but not in The Hague anymore. I went to Haarlem to stay with my friend Tom a couple of days to chill out and work on the tracks that I've been recording at his place recently. I'll be leaving for Osnabruck in Western Germany somewhere next week, so I still have some time to finish my stuff here. 

It also depends a bit on Juliette, she's going to Dortmund but she's gonna travel with me because Osnabruck is on the way. However she also has some stuff to take care of so I don't know exactly when we'll be ready to go. Although I'm sure I'll be in Osnabruck this week.

So Osnabruck, what is it like? I've never been there, I also don't know which people from CLP are there already. But I'm sure it'll be nice, and if not I'll make it nice!

I'll be making sure that I'll meet with Iva sometime when I'm there, I told her we're just gonna take a day or two off and meet eachother in between. She'll be in Freiburg.

You can't really say where you want to go, but there's always room to take responsibility for the things you wanna do, take matters into your own hands. I'm a man with a plan, and as much as I love to do the things I'm here to do, I also wanna do personal stuff. And really, why not?

Don't ask for permission, just make a statement that you're gonna do whatever it is that you wanna do. Deliver it in a friendly way, make sure that you did your other stuff properly so that you actually deserve a little time off. Life is simple. If you think you do the right thing, then you're doing the right thing, and other people will also be inclined to believe you're doing the right thing. And those who project their stuff onto you and therefore think you're doing something wrong: don't argue, just ignore or show that you're not taking them serious by making a joke; it makes no sense to talk to someone who's not willing to listen. 

Actions speak louder than words, when talking doesn't help, just do. Eventually people will understand where you're coming from, and then you can talk.

So, a few days left for me here, time to do my stuff, and then some more stuff in Osnabruck, and then some personal stuff, followed by some more CLP stuff. Life is full of stuff. Just don't stuff stuff up! ;)

Sick =(

Oh noes, I got sick!
Yesterday it really wasn't funny though. I ate some bad nuts at the place of the president of Art of Living Netherlands. How did we get there? Well...

We got called on monday that we were going to London! It was on for one day, to help with the re-election of Nirj Deva, a British member of the European Parliament. He was actually a guest speaker in the CLP program, he visited us in the first or second week if I recall correctly, a very smart man who really knows what's going on globally.
Anyway, so we went to London, we flyered and spoke to the locals in the sub-urbs and later on we went to the city centre. I did a little bit of shopping there and looked at the pricy Italian stuff. I thought: when I'm rich, I'll be back! Didn't see too much of the cultural part however, but we simply didn't have time to do that, because the next day we had an introtalk scheduled at The Hague University.
So we went back to sleep at Ewald's place, the president of AOL Holland, and in the morning I grabbed a few nuts to eat before we left. They didn't hit my stomach very well, and it only got worse. In the evening I had quite a bad cramp in my stomach, I couldn't sleep and the sweat was on my forehead.
This morning it was slightly less, but fortunately it's almost gone now. Tomorrow it should be comepletely gone, then I'll record a new track at Tom's place. It's the latest track I've written, very genuine. But that's all I'm gonna say about that! Just that it's gonna melt someone's heart...

Also I just received a mail today that I'll be relocated to Osnabruck, it's in West Germany, just east of the border with Holland. I don't know when I'll be going there or why, and if this means that the course friday is not gonna happen. They're pulling everyone out of the Netherlands, we're all getting reassigned. Not too happy to know that I'll be far away from my girl again, but we'll make sure to both be in Aachen on the 7th of June. Because there'll be a musical festival organized by Yes We Can, and I'll be performing there too.

I must say that at times I get tired of not being able to say where I want to go, but I guess that's part of the game. And to be honest, if it weren't for Iva I wouldn't even care; they could send me anywhere and I'd be fine with it. I'll be okay though, I can handle these things. I just hope she can...

So the program for the next couple of days will be introtalks, introtalks and some more introtalks. Get those 40 people signed up for the Yes+ course. And tomorrow evening record the new track. I also found out about a Wing Chun school in The Hague, I'm planning on going there thursday evening, I'm quite interested to see what they have to offer.

Tomorrow sickness begone!

Still Staying

Did I mention plans can change suddenly?
They just did again, this morning. I'm staying in Holland, in The Hague to be precise.
Ajay wanted to use my awesomeness to help with organizing and conducting a big Yes+ seminar here. The course will happen from the 29th of may until the 1st of june. So we have little time to organize and get 40+ people enrolled in this workshop.
But that's why it's fun, because it's a challenge!

Anyway, I'll be staying here for about 2 weeks and then we'll see what happens. Maybe I'll go to Sweden after all, or maybe they'll send me back to Germany. Or neither of those, it's like predicting the future: impossible. You see we like making impossible possible, but there's a difference between impossible and seemingly impossible.
Besides, making impossible possible says something about breaking the barriers of our mind, trying to predict the future is creating those barriers because you cling to an idea of something that can be anything. What are the chances that something that can be anything is gonna be exactly like you expect it to be? And then when it doesn't happen like you expected it to happen, you'll start wondering why it happened like that. It's a vicious circle going from the future back to the past, all created by an idea that you couldn't let go of.

So what am I saying? Be free, don't cling to expectations, allow yourself to be suprised and perceive the past with wonder instead of questioning it. In the end, we aren't in control of anything but our state of mind, so just observe what happens and enjoy the show.

Anyway, I'll stay in Holland for a while, but I don't have much time and responsibilities come first. So if you wanna be sure you'll be seeing me, why don't you sign up for the Yes+ seminar in The Hague? It'll be a long weekend of being inspired, it's one of the best ways to spend your time because it'll be returned to you tenfold. Think about how you want to live your life, maybe it starts here. Inspiration leads to empowerment, empowerment leads to success. And success is what we're all looking for isn't it? I rest my case, figure it out and don't be afraid to take a risk.

To Sweden!

Did I mention that in the AOL you never know what to expect? Because the plans can change in the blink of an eye. Today this was reaffirmed once again, because Ajay told us we are going to Sweden ASAP. Tickets haven't been bought yet, but I know for sure I'll be in Sweden within a few days, definately by the end of the week.
It's crazy; I thought I was gonna be here in the Netherlands for over a month, organizing yes+ courses and teaching them. Basically I'm still going to do that, just not here but instead in Sweden.
I'll take the CD's with me because I want to sell every last one of them.

When I heard about going to Holland I was thinking of seeing my friends and family again, and I did. And now I'm moving out again, it's funny how these things go. I guess some people will be disappointed because I didn't get to see them. But that's inevitable, you can't see everyone and I got nothing to say really about this decision. Just go with the flow and you'll get what you're looking for. Don't cling to some idea on how to get there, as long as you keep your eyes open, opportunities will arise. And going with the flow takes no effort, and that's important if you want to keep your energy and not get tired and stressed like so many people are.

Effortless, it's one of my favorite words. It's got nothing to do with laziness, it's something different. Actually, someone who does things effortlessly will probably do more than someone who's putting alot of effort. The way I see it, the difference between these 2 is that effortless means being in the activity at a 100% and it starts taking effort when you're giving anything less than that. That's because at that point, your mind will come into play and think about what you're doing and work against you.
In that sense of the word, everything per definition is effortless, all that takes effort is you fighting yourself. And when you fight yourself you fight everything around you, because it's all connected. It's like this post I'm writing, if you think I'm thinking about what I'm going to write; you're wrong. I'm typing all of this stuff spontaniously, it doesn't cost me any effort and I can do this stuff in 15 minutes.
Not trying to brag, I'm just emphasizing my point. Besides I don't need to brag, I'm cool already.

Haha, anyway, so I got like 1.5 more days to wrap everything up here in Holland. This especially means I'll be working on my song that I'm producing with Tom. It's gonna be a really nice track with a mission impossible theme. It's gonna have a fat and uplifting sound. I can't wait to finish it and bring it back to Germany and show it to everyone. They'll love it!

So, to everyone I didn't see: sorry dudes, but there will be some other time for sure.
Off to Sweden it is, I know they got nice waffles there with jam and sour cream, it's really good!
It's a nice time to be there, nice weather and all. And they all speak english, so next to no language barrier. I'll keep you guys posted!
Socratez out.

Crazy Lady

I hope you enjoyed the weather as much as I did yesterday, it was hot and sunny over here.
We walked through Maastricht for quite a while, looking for a hall to conduct our 200 man seminar in. No luck so far, but we got alot of contact information to enquire about getting a hall and we found that alot of people were actually happy to help us.
When you just go out there and start doing stuff, then things just seem to start happening; you bump into the right people at the right time and you encounter very little resistance.

Me and Kavita were together in one team, Rico and Natalia formed the other one. We split up so we could find as much as possible. Me and Kavita found this place where people can go when they have cancer or have relatives or friends who suffer from cancer. It's a place where people can relax, do stuff that makes them forget about the negative for a while, like painting and singing, but also yoga and meditation.
I was quite suprised to find so many similarities between our 2 organizations. They offered to show us around the building first and then we had a talk with the secretary of the director about what we have to offer and how we would like to work together in the future.

Today I wrote an e-mail to the mayor, explaining what we do, who we are and what we want from him. We pretty much stayed at home and did some mailing and made some phone calls.
Also I finally managed to upload some pictures from my camera onto facebook, so check it out if you want to see my pretty face! Plus you get to see Isaac's charming looks and Iva's hotness.
My camera battery died right afterwards and since I lost my recharger I was right on time with doing this. I'll buy a new one ASAP so don't worry about no more picz oh no Steve we dig that shit so much! You'll get some, I promise.

Another thing, our lady of the house isn't too pleased with us I think. She always comes home real late as if she wants to spend the least time possible with us together. She always gives this excuse that she has to attend to some meeting, but then she gets home drunk. It's quite funny actually, we're making jokes about it all the time. In fact she just did the same thing but she hasn't returned yet.
But on a more serious note, she actually wants money from us for staying here. I was thinking what's that about, isn't all this stuff voluntarily? Apparently some people didn't get the message. Besides if you're gonna charge, at least say so in advance. This chick is giving Kavita the creeps, I can understand why, because she acts nice but you can just sense that it's not genuine.
Whatever, we'll be gone tomorrow morning so who the fuck cares. Bye!

Busted!

The night before yesterday we arrived at Bemelen, a small village right next to Maastricht.
It wasn't a bad ride, it took us about 5 hours. Our french friend Arnaud was driving us, he bought a penthouse magazine on the way so we had lots of fun!

Then yesterday me and Rico went to check out Maastricht on our bikes that we borrowed from Christel, the lady who we're staying with. It's a really nice city, we chilled out and walked around a bit. Apparently there was a fair or whatever it's called. We did some prize shooting and we won 2 toy BB guns with some extra ammo. They didn't work that well but my Kalashnikov looked awesome! I already saw myself back at the ashram running around, popping anything that moves.
But this vision was shattered to pieces when at night, the police came to our door. It was pretty much the entire Bemelen police force haha, you have to imagine that there's like 500 people living here.
So the police came and confiscated our newly aquired weapons of mass destruction because we were seen, walking around with our red bandanas and guns, by some of the locals.
I must say I thought it was pretty funny, I mean who makes that up? Real guns? And why would the police ring the door if I had a real kalashnikov?
Oh well, whatever. I asked the police officer to take a picture of me and rico with our guns and bandanas because we wanted something to memorize this event. Rico also has some cool pictures on his phone.

However, we don't give up that easily, one of these days we'll buy new guns, like water pistols, so we can run around the ashram and spray people :)
You'll know when we're back, trust me!

Going with the Flow

Today I heard that I'll be leaving for Holland tomorrow morning, around 10 am.
Plans are changing all the time; first I was supposed to go to Amsterdam, then it was The Hague and now they want me to go to Roermond in the southeast.
I said to my dutch buddies that we'll just figure it out when we get there because it makes no sense to set our minds to stuff that is changing all the time.
Iva won't be going to The Hague, so tonight is our last night together for some time. It is okay, just for the fact that there's nothing we can do about it so there's no use in getting annoyed.
I have a strong feeling that us being together is not commonly accepted here, even though Kamlesh said it was fine and that it is not of their concern.
I sense that alot of people have difficulties seeing us together, sometimes they even approach me and tell me not to do these kind of things.
I myself see it like this: we are not responsible for how you feel. It is really not our fault that some people are offended or feel uncomfortable. It is what they see when they look at us, it probably brings up something from their past that they aren't contempt with. And then they project that onto us.
I tell you, all the 'normal people' around here have no issues with a bit of love going around, it is our nature and it should be supported instead of suppressed. I believe that some people actually joined the Art of Living because their love life is a failure and they think that spirituality can make up for that. I can say that this is an illusion. In fact, it only makes matters worse because spirituality is nothing more than coming back to your nature, and sex is part of our nature.

I see so many older people in here doing TTC and they're still far from where we're at. What have they been doing? What are they really looking for? What issues are they still stuck with?
Anyway, I realized that we have next to no control over our lives. We're just fish in a river that's flowing, and we can swim a little bit to get us in the right direction, but eventually we'll just have to go with the flow. You can't swim against the current, besides it'll only tire you out and make you frustrated and unhappy.
Always accept the flow of the universe. But at the same time, be aware of where you want to go; if you're just gonna go wherever life takes you then there will be no conscience in the path you're walking. It's like an unguided rocket that can land anywhere.

So even though we're small insignificant fish in this river, we can use this river (or the divine, however you want to call it) to get us to places beyond our wildest dreams and imaginations. Be grateful for this, be grateful that we're so small and that we can basically get a free ride anywhere we want to go. All it takes is a bit of awareness and some effort from our side.

That's all for today, see you guys soon. Hopefully this week, I'm still in the process of getting things to go my way, but I'll give all of you guys a call as soon as I enter the country.

Cheerio,

Socratez

Lessons Learned

Yesterday Rajshri left. It was quite an emotional event for most people. She's been such a big help in our development, she was the perfect teacher for our group.
As she was leaving the room, she looked me into the eyes and then hugged me. It touched me so deeply, it was incredible. It was then that I felt the tears in my eyes. I thanked her, she's taught me something really valuable over the days. She said "you're so welcome" and I really felt the love like a mother, or something more even.
There was nothing left to be said, everything was alright. And I'm sure, that someday I'll meet her again.

So the rest of the day passed by quietly, I went to take a walk with Iva in the forest, we explored quite a lot. Then in the evening we had satsang as usual, and after that we always have a few people read a passage of one of Guruji's books. This time it was my turn, I read about how liars are innocent. It made me think of my friend Payway, because he always manages to fool me, I fall for it every time!
Then I shared about how I'm a bad liar, so I make sure I don't have to lie. And I talked about how lying is hiding a part of yourself to others, and in that process you deny that part of yourself; it doesn't give you peace, it'll get stuck somewhere and causes stress.
It's better to admit to others and yourself, than to lie.
This doesn't mean you can't fool other people, that's a different kind of lying, it's for the sake of fun. What you do is not that important, it's about the intention behind it. If your intentions are not coming from your center, then you're moving away from yourself, you'll feel weak and you become a stranger to yourself.
Don't be afraid to risk showing yourself, you can't gain anything if you don't risk anything. Don't be afraid to lose, there is nothing to lose. It doesn't matter how you feel or how you are, cause if you go deep enough you'll find that you already have everything that you want to have, you are everything that you want to be. There is nothing to add, there's only stuff to take away, like all those lies that are about self denial.

After that the teacher Regina asked me about my life and said that things probably work out for me very easily. Just smile and it's alright, as she said. It was then that I realized that especially I need a teacher. I rarely get blows, so for me it's very hard to learn from experiences when they're almost always positive. Because there's always something to learn out of everything, but it is in the negative experiences that your attention is drawn upon that which didn't work out, and it is then that it will raise your awareness and allows you to grow. It's very similar to martial arts, if you train with someone who is worse than you, you won't get punished for the mistakes you make. Whereas if you train with a master, he'll hit you for every mistake you make, because he recognizes them.
I used to think that I didn't need anyone, I can be my own teacher. And to some degree this is definately true, I can go through life on my own, but I can grow so much faster with someone who can see more than I do when I look into the mirror.
It is exactly those who are generously gifted, like me, who are in need of a teacher. I mean you can be succesful on your own, but you can be legendary with a little bit of help. I thanked Regina and said I really appreciate her being there for me, it was only then that I truly realized how important a teacher is for me.
This was especially true with Rajshri. I move fast now, but I can move so much faster!

I also learned that if someone hits you, it's better to just take it and not hit back, than to hit back. Because that will give the other the opportunity to allow the stupidity to go on. Don't allow this to happen, be the bigger man and end it when the ball is in your field. Even if you're the one to deliver the last punch, you'll still end up with a feeling of guilt and the responsibility to make up. All these things get stuck in your head, it's not worth it.
Be the bigger man, not only for yourself, but also for others. When you serve yourself genuinely, then you also serve those around you.

I'll be staying here in Bad Antogast for a few more days; the music group needs me for the performance on Guruji's birthday. So I'll be leaving for Holland a little bit later than planned. I think I'll be there around the 14th of May.
See ya guys soon!

-Socratez

The Verdict

Hey wazzup?!
So TTC2 ended, after 6 intensive days. Normally this course takes 3 weeks. Ofcourse it's impossible to be familiar with the content like a graduate who's had the complete program, but then again that wasn't really the point of this course.
Rajshri wanted us to be teachers not just while giving courses, but mostly in our daily lives.
Besides, content is just a matter of practice, that's why we'll be assisting on yes+ courses throughout Germany, Holland and France.
Later on we'll be going to Portugal and Scandinavia aswell.

Today we had our last day and the teacher announced who was going to receive the kriya tape and manual and who was going to need more time. Quite alot of people got the tape, most of us actually. However I didn't, but that's fine. To be honest, I wasn't sure about being a teacher anyway, I mean I would like to teach, but I just can't say that with the same conviction as the others.
And that's what was most important to her; your mentality about becoming a teacher. Everyone knows that I can speak well in public, and that I have qualities that would be nice for a teaching role, but I first need to be certain of what I want.

She told me that in the way I want to make music, I should have a similar motivation for this, and I completely agree. She said herself that everyone could be a teacher, it's just that some people need some more time to make up their mind or time to grow more and open themselves up. I was told to assist Yes+ in Holland so I can get this experience, and then I'll be ready to make a choice.
Yes you read it right, I'm going to Holland within a few days. I don't know how long I'll be staying but it'll be for a while for sure. I'll be helping Ajay setting up and teaching courses.

You know, when you get this kriya tape it's something really special, and it should feel like that. When you get something valuable without being aware of the value, you lose merit. I need to become aware of this value before I can receive it, else it would not be good for my personal growth. You have to understand that she's here to serve us, the students. She will decide what's best for us personally. I'm convinced that this will be best for me, besides, what does it matter in the end whether I get it now or in a few weeks/months?
To me it doesn't, I was going over the possibility of not getting the teaching privilege while she was calling people forward and I just didn't feel disappointment when I thought of it. Not because I don't care, because I really do. It's more that I know that I'm walking the path of my dreams, so I'm contempt by default.
Ofcourse I will get disappointed sometime, but I don't mind getting disappointed. Ofcourse I will get smacked sometime, but I don't mind getting smacked. In the end, the drawbacks I'll get are those that I need, and the successes will be those that I want. Life is already good to me, and it'll only get better.

And it only started half a year ago, I can't imagine what will be in 5 years. I couldn't have dreamt about the leaps that I took over the last weeks, I really feel like driving on the fastlane.
Anyway, so much for TTC2, it was fun, a great experience and a unique opportunity that I've been truly graced with. I've also started on a new song that I'll perform with a teacher here, she's so cool!
So see you guys soon in Holland, I'll be there for my dad's birthday aswell and I can't wait to see your faces again. :)

Welcome to TTC2

Yes you're reading it right; welcome to TTC2!

Today Rajshri announced that she would be giving us TTC2, the follow-up on the Teacher Training Course part 1. It's gonna be different than usual, like everything we do seems to be different than usual. The course will be crammed in 6 days, normally it takes 2 weeks. 

This is because we don't have much time, this counts for everything we do actually. We learn alot in a short time, but this means everything has to be compressed and we need to be focused in order to digest all the knowledge we get.

Ofcourse, that's nothing we can't handle, because if we weren't ready for this it wouldn't have been offered to us. I'm very grateful that we get this unique opportunity, we are a pioneer group and our results will determine the future course of the Art of Living. 

Anyway, downside is that I don't get to go to Holland, so I won't see you guys for another while. It's okay though, I'm sure there'll be another opportunity. I've said it before and I'll say it again: in this organization you need to be flexible. Because the plan is flexible, I only heard about it today; the same day we were supposed to leave for Holland.

A disappointment in the moment, and then letting it go again when you realize it's not all that bad; it's simply how it is, and it won't change whether you like it or not. 

In any case, I wish everyone a happy weekend whoever is going there, and ofcourse also the people who are not going there. In fact, the Health & Happiness Congress as it's called has already started today. I saw Sri Sri leave the ashram today together with Christoph and Lars, major teachers within the AOL. 

So I'm sure whoever is attending will have alot of fun, because you got top quality teachers supporting you!

So TTC2 is starting from tomorrow on, it's gonna be a real tight schedule because the content is heavily compressed; we'll only have 30 minutes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. After that immediately return to class and keep on going. It's gonna be a madhouse with no free time, but this is a blessing. We're very fortunate and graced, the moment we commit to this is the moment that we're on the path of strength. Oh I'm starting to ramble spiritual mumbo jumbo, I guess it shows what time it is. I won't be posting for some days because I simply won't have time for it. Anyway, bed time for me, bye bye!