I am here. I am holding space.

Dear Courageous Soul,

I come with my commitment to practice:

I am here. I trust you. I see your greatness. I see your creativity at work to inhabit more and more of your potential and greatness.

I hear your concerns. I hear your laughter, I taste your tears. Your darkness will not shy me away. I stay here, rooted in my commitment to be here. In owning my own darkness I am able to keep my eyes, my mind, my heart wide open when facing your darkness.

I celebrate you and your creativity to find answers to the twists and turns of life. I connect to the infinite being that you are – behind the facades of physical life. I trust that source of yours so deeply. I trust that you walk your path. I feel your commitment to be as useful and effective as possible.

I don’t deny the challenging factors in life. You don’t have to persuade me how heavy life weighs on your shoulders. I sense it. I believe what you say.

And I believe in you. You have all you need to handle this situation in you. I respect your decisions. I trust your innate wisdom. I trust that in every given moment you respond to life in the best way you can. I trust you.

I don’t need to advise you, because I trust your own wisdom. You are an expert of your life.

I listen to what you say – but not to advise you! I listen to you because I know that speaking about one’s situation clarifies it and gives access to new ideas and forgotten resources. I trust you. If you ask me for advice, I will tell you what worked for me in the past in my particular situation while bearing in mind that your situation is different from what I experienced.

When holding space I will invite you to not only speak from your mind, but move deeper into your heart and into your body – to ground your experience in order not to get lost in the mental bubble. I will listen to your words and your body with the intention that you sense yourself again, that you reconnect with yourself, that you see yourself with fresh eyes.

My heart opens up while I tell you this – because I celebrate you and your gifts and your creativity. I celebrate that you walk this planet with us all right now. I celebrate what you want to give to life, to the world, to humanity. I don’t take that for granted.

I celebrate what you are becoming in this very process that you are experiencing right now.

This is my commitment to practice.

With love and admiration,
Uli, your Soul Sister

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Honoring the process

On the feminine evolutionary path we follow the longing in our hearts. But: How to deal with disappointment when we don’t see any results?

Dear Courageous Soul,

Results are the focus of masculine practice. The process is the focus of feminine practice.

Honor the path. Bear witness to the process, cherish the unfolding. H.O.N.O.R. all the stages of the process: the openings & closings, the choreography, the ups & downs, the symphony.

Listen to music! There we don’t focus on the end, on the final chord – no, it’s the unfolding, the relations between the chords, the interplay between sound & silence, the dance between loud & quiet. Listening to music is a feminine practice.

In the same way let us cherish our life and our Dharma path. There are bending & curves, bridges & tunnels, open land & foggy forests. There are moments of action & celebration and there are moments of withdrawal & resting.

Let us see through the veils and perceive the Divine Choreography. Let us honor the ways how the Mystery unfolds itself through us. Our longing is
the seed that the Mystery has planted into our hearts so that we humans make use of our hearts & brains, hands & feet and manifest the formless mystery.

Sister, let go of the fruits. ❤ ❤ ❤

In deep honoring,
Uli, your Soul Sister

What is Dharma?

Dear Courageous Soul,

You write:

I am exploring the meaning of Dharma. Until now I have associated it with my work in the world, with how I wish to serve humanity, with how I am called to express myself “professionally”. […] In the past two years, my interest and desire and passion for my professional work has nearly disappeared; I often feel wearied by it. […] I would welcome hearing from those who may relate to this experience. I would also like to hear more about how one embraces one’s Dharma when it may not be related to directly being of service in some outer expression.

When I introduce the notion of Dharma, I usually start with the idea of a soul’s plan. Maybe you want to follow me on this Gedankenexperiment: What if the soul makes something like a plan, an intention, a sankalpa for the incarnation to come? This intention, this sankalpa is something like the title of the book of your life. It’s the heading of your life story. This intention, this sankalpa is not only manifested in your professional life – but in every single second of your life.

As far as I experience it, the soul’s plan manifests differently in different life situations or phases. As children we express our soul’s intention differently than as a teenager, as an adult, as an elderly person… but always we have this red thread of our soul’s sankalpa running through our life. And there are phases of our lives when we are students of our Dharma, before we can re-enter the stage of giving our gifts to the world…

So when trying to get hold of this soul’s sankalpa I often ask for flow experiences, as I believe that flow states are experiences when our being is fully aligned with our soul’s intention.

Until my teacher Chameli introduced the notion of Dharma to me, I usually spoke of vocation or one’s soul’s plan. Dharma for me captures this amazing interwovenness of everything, whereas the soul’s sankalpa still feels quite “individualized” to me. Dharma for me points to the fact that no-one and no-thing is separated from anything else. So our soul’s sankalpa is so much connected to all the circumstances of our incarnation. It is no pure coincidence that we live where we live and at that certain time – for me Dharma is an expression of the Divine Choreography of Life. Chameli uses this beautiful metaphor of the tapestry of life where all beautiful Dharma threads are intervowen to the magnificent universe that we live in.

And I am convinced that we can never ever “loose” our Dharma, we can never ever be “off” our Dharma. What we can choose (in my view) is how consciously, how committed, how aligned we want to live our Dharma. But we cannot ever loose it. How should we manage to “fall out” of the Divine Choreography of Life?

So when we are in inbetween-states (this is what I feel when I read your lines) it might be that the expression of our Dharma is changing, is deepening, is becoming even more focussed. I love to bring the metaphor of an onion: All layers belong to the same onion. But whenever we peel off one layer, we come closer to the core of the onion. So maybe you are currently peeling off one layer of your Dharma’s onion…

May your roots grow even deeper into your Dharma. _/|\_
May you blossom even more beautifully into your Dharma! _/|\_

So much love to you, dear Courageous Soul. ❤
Uli, your Soul Sister

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There is so much magnificence

Dear Courageous Soul,

Today my heart was sore. Everything felt so wrong. And then I met those two in my garden:

They made me stop in awe. Isn’t that magnificent? Art of nature. Pure beauty!

My body relaxed, my jaw relaxed, my shoulders relaxed. Pause. Breathe. Admire the miracle. Admire beauty. Admire the mystery.

And then I let my awareness drop into my body. Come back home. Become aware of the mystery that I am.

The split vanished for some moments. Separation truly became an illusion. Resting in Divine Presence.

And then life went on. With its ups and downs. With its contractions and expansions. With its darkness and light. That’s how life is.

What makes you slip into the masterpiece? What reminds you of the Mystery of Existence? What brings you back home?

With love,
Uli – your Soul Sister

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Your Contribution to Tomorrow’s World

Dear Courageous Soul,

You burst in tears – you want to contribute to a better world so badly. At the same time you feel so overwhelmed by all the bad news about the world we live in. “How can I be of any service?” This question tears your heart.

Whenever you perceive a deficit, whenever you grieve on certain circumstances, whenever you get angry or furious about certain human behavior – it is a calling for your gift that you are here to offer to the world. It is a calling for your unique medicine that you carry in your heart that is desperately needed in the world. It is a calling for you to step into your inner and outer leadership.

If you can perceive the deficit, you have a vision of how it could be organized in a better way.

If you grieve on certain circumstances, you have an idea of what would be so beneficial and healing for these situations.

If you get angry or furious about certain human behavior, you hold a vision of the great potential that is not being used yet.

If you get triggered, you are being called forth to make a difference. Your playing small doesn’t help yourself nor anybody else. Your withdrawing and backing out doesn’t serve your soul nor humanity nor the world.

“Be the difference you want to see in the world”
~ Mahatma Ghandi

So I call you forth to become consciously aware of what you perceive, grieve, get angry or furious about. Ask yourself: What is it that I carry in me that could serve these situations? And then bring this medicine to the world around you. Take a stand for what is so very dear to your heart. Be true to yourself.

I call you forth to stand up and consciously offer us all your contribution for tomorrow’s world. Start where you are. Start with who you are. Start with what you have right now. The next steps will become visible once you are on the way. Be a conscious co-creator of our common future, of tomorrow’s world, of evolution.

I call you forth to grow into the next bigger version of yourself.

I bow to you in gratefulness,
Uli, your Soul Sister

PS: We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.

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Follow Your Fascination

Dear Courageous Soul,

You carry a question with you that preys on your mind: “What should I do next in my life? What am I to do?”

Many nice little pictures on Facebook will give you this answer: “Follow your heart.”

But then the question arises: “How to know what my heart wants?” And again you return to the realms of the mind trying to figure it all out with your thinking.

What if the answer was easy? What if the answer was: Follow your enthusiasm. Follow your passion. Follow the subject that might pull you out of snoozing in front of the TV. Which word would it be that managed to wake you up from your doze? What makes your heart beat faster? What would you like to do “forever” if you had the time? What fascinates you?

And I promise: Each path that brings more of the above into your life – more joy, more passion, more facination, more enthusiasm – is your dharma path. For joy, passion, fascination, enthusiasm are divine sign post! 🙂 ❤ 🙂

May your heart sing its song. May you dance along your dharma path! Maybe sometimes clumsily, sometimes gracefully – no matter what. May your heart radiate its inner sun!

I see you dancing in beauty.
Uli – your Soul Sister

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Your Way

Dear Courageous Soul,

You tell me in so much detail how much you admire this other person for specific qualities. And at the same time you seem to shrink as you are not as admirable (you believe) as this other person. In your eyes this person is more than OK while you need to change and need to be fixed.

So I invite you to open your heart, open your horizon, open your vision in order to let go of pre-defined pictures. Will you allow Life to surprise you?

Life (or however you call that which is bigger than you and me) has provided you with your unique You, your unique fragrance, your unique vibration, your unique flavor, your unique gift. Once you deposit the how-it-should-look-like, you are open to receive and perceive your unique way of being and doing.

Who are we to judge whether this way or that way is better? Isn’t it a denial of the sacredness of all-that-is? You are perfect as you are. You don’t need to copy anyone, you are the most beautiful version of You that exists! ❤ ❤ ❤ You are perfect as you are! As perfect as the future version of you that you are going to be! 😉

I invite you to dive curiously into the depths of your own being and discover the unique way of being you. There in the depth of your own being you’ll reconnect with your innocence – such a sacred place, such a pure joy, such a bright light.

You are a Courageous Soul, I can feel it, so you won’t die as a copy of someone else, you are about to live your life as the unique You that you are.

I admire your uniqueness, I celebrate your uniqueness, I cherish your uniqueness.

In reverence and love,

Uli – your Soul Sister

Proud of You

Dear Courageous Soul,

Last night your darkest shadow showed up. In tears you tell me how dark you feel, how bad, how completly wrong.

I smile at you and tell you that I am so proud of you.

What a break through! You were able to contain and embody your deepest fear, your darkest shadow, your most feared aspect. And you are conscious of it!

Yes, I know this immense shame that shows up “the day after”. I love you for your shadow and your shame. Your shame tells me that you want to bring to the world the complete opposite of what you did yesterday. It shows me your huge intention to be of service for a better world.

The fact that your deepest shadow showed up tells me that you are able to contain strong strong energies. It tells me that you are willing to go for the real deal and to grow into the biggest version of you. It tells me that you have freed up the energy that had been bound by this shadow. It tells me that you are ready to take the next powerful step in your life.

May you see that you are perfect as you are. May you feel “right” with your darkest as well as your most shining parts. This is how Life wants to express itself through you. Yesterday you didn’t hesitate to be of service to the collective to embody this shadow that no-one wants to see or feel or express. You volunteered to express it, to be a channel for this energy that is so often denied and closed into the underworld.

I am proud of you. I am grateful that you did this job. I bow to you that you brought awareness and consciousness to the human shadow.

You are truly a courageous soul. The world needs more of your kind.

I am so proud of you.
Uli – your soul sister

No coincidence

Dear Courageous Soul,

You tell me that you doubt whether you are doing the right things in your life, whether you are in the right place at the right time. Oh, I know those thoughts and feelings, nagging doubt…

I’ve come to a place where I am fully convinced that we can never ever be “off” our dharma, our vocation, our calling. It’s no coincidence that you are where you are, that you do what you do. The fact that you are in a certain place is the proof for me that your unique gift, your unique medicine, your unique vibration is needed right there. Maybe it’s not so obvious, maybe you don’t have to say anything or do anything – maybe all that is needed is your vibration.

I can reassure you that I don’t necessarily feel this in any given moment of my life, but there is this firm background conviction that I am exactly in the right place – and so are you! This firm conviction is a strong medicine when doubt arises.

When I tell you that you are exactly as you are meant to be and that you are exactly where you are meant to be, it does not necessarily exclude the possibility of further potential. But: There’s nothing wrong with you. There’s nothing to fix. It’s no coincidence that you bring into the world what you say, do, think, initiate, sing, dance, argue, …

May today there be peace within.
May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.
Let this knowledge settle into your bones.
Allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
(Teresa of Ávila)

May this knowledge settle into your bones!
Uli, your Soul Sister

Innocence

Dear Courageous Soul,

The Innocence in me sees the Innocence in you.

No matter how hard we all try to protect our innocent and vulnerable core behind thick clothes or walls, this beautiful loving essence continues to shine brightly. These True Colors are who we really are at the core of our being.

We have so many good reasons that make us think or feel that we have to protect ourselves and our innocence. We have all made our experiences that made us believe that it is not safe to live from this place of innocence deep down in us.

Our Innocence is nothing we need to overcome, deny, or hide away. Our Innocence is a pure source of joyfulness and trust. In this place we feel interconnected, we feel being met by the benevolent presence of Life. In this place failure and separation don’t exist – not even the notion of it. In this place we are completely immersed in our dharma, in our true being – we feel one with the Mystery of Life.

Feel into your own inner depth – right now. Can you feel this innocent loving part in you? Smiling at the Mystery of Life in awe and wonder – and at the same time with such an intrinsic sense of being “right”. All is well, this is a friendly mystery.

About a year ago I promised myself that I would cherish my Innocence and live my life from this place of Innocence. I admit that I don’t manage every day, but I have my reminders and stay rooted in this intention. I return to my Innocence consciously. I invite you to join me in this practice. If living from the place of Innocence within became a movement, a human attitude, a human pattern, oh, how much easier and simpler life would be! Trusting, loving, connected, playful, … aligned with the Mystery of Life.

The Innocence in me sees the Innocence in you.

Uli, your soul sister