Week 8 | Foodparty | Emigration | ‘Lightworks dreams’

My week in Holland started out magically and ended on a sad note. But I was very grateful as well. I had a production of 3 days for our new cookbook (yes there is cookbook coming), worked hard to get everything done in Lightworks, had beautiful conversations and big results with coaches and ended the week with saying goodbye to my dad who is leaving the Netherlands forever. This made me realize that I want something else. What this is? Keep reading and I’ll share it with you.

Friday – Creating and making it last

This was day one of the three-day production for out cookbook. The morning started out stressful. But luckily the house of Sabine, my ‘LICHTpuntjes’ Festival partner, made everything right. It’s a free parking space and she has an amazing garden to work and relax in. We started with a ‘potluck’ lunch with the chefs (Roy Silos and Monique Caimbridge) were still cooking their part of the lunch. At the same time the rest of us started a brainstorming session about the book.

I don’t know how the idea was born exactly, but the whole creation proces happened smoothly. For me this kind of work is peanuts. Since 1999 I’ve been working as an organisation advisor, trainer and coach for big consultancy agencies in the world and in my own company Lightworks. Most of the time when I’m working on a non-profit project this is not with professionals, but this time it was. This really helped the process run smoothly, because I don’t have to instruct them. They instruct me and come with ideas that I’d never think about. I love this way of working!

The most beautiful moment for me was when Roy and Monique spoke to the people at home in a Facebook Live like a colored ‘Carlo & Irene’. This gave me a boost to spend time on my YouTube- channel to make it professional. I have a channel, but at the moment don’t use it in a professional way. But I still enjoy every moment that I make a video like this. If I got the choice, I would do it in the same way again. But I want to feed people with soul food, I see that this is what this fast passed society needs. To do this it’s important to have a business model for everything to make it lasting.

Saturday – Enjoying and eating!
This day started out with the core team, six out of fourteen project memebers were there, of the Happy & Healthy @ Home cookbook. I was getting worried because not everybody was there from the start. But because of amazing contributions, great ideas and a mind blowing collaboration between everybody we managed to cook for forty people and document the whole process in video AND pictures in one (!!!) afternoon.
The first participant of the Food Party was exactly on time and was received in a warm AND tasty way. I would want to describe how this night went, what we did and how everybody experienced it, but it’s difficult to put it in words. It was an amazing experience and you should have been there. Are you interested in being there? In two months the cookbook is finished and to officially launch the book we will have another Food Party in the Netherlands (June) and in Suriname (November). If you’re curious or want to order the book in the pre-sale send an email to info@light-works.nu. If I believe the people who were there it was magical and finger licking experience.

Sunday – Go when it feels right
The last day of our three-day production for the cookbook. Most of the team were at home working on the project. The two chefs (my dad and Monique) worked on and kept the spirits high at Monique’s place. We spend this day looking back and remembering what happened, eat the delicious left overs and enjoy the sun. I love working outside with inspirational people on a beautiful and amazing project.
The way this project came to be is a story on its own which I will definitely write a blog about. Because my dad was excited about the idea of a cookbook I posted a message on LinkedIn asking for people who wanted to join in on this crazy idea. Within a day I had twenty reactions! To me this was the point where I decided that I had to do this. I contacted almost everybody who responded and in this way created a great project team. There is more to write about how it went, but you will have to read and see this in the book!

Monday – Gathering my strength and building from this
Wow! I’m not even back one week and we (LightWorks) have organised a event which sold out and two Dutch customers agreed for the personalised ‘Enlightened Working transformation coaching’. The best thing about this is that these people are the ideal customer for me: they are ready to live their life with ‘purpose and service’. Wooeehieeeeeeeee! Love this!
Today was supposed to be a day off to recover, but Monday is a sort of a internal meeting day. A day on which I Skype with the most important people from LightWorks who work on making LightWorks more visible and better organised to live and use our potential. And although these talks gave me lots of energy, I also noticed a desire to peace and order.
Today I realise again that I don’t get energy from people who are led by fear and don’t see or live their potential because of this. To keep my emotional and spiritual foundations strong it’s important for me to surround myself with people who live a life that suits them and work with ‘purpose & service’. For me this is the way to feel in power and know why I’m here: to re-connect people(with themselves, each other, their mission in life, their source or inner fire). I’m living this life myself and am now coming to a phase where I want to have more impact on the world. I feel that this year I’m going to do amazing things, expand and that the year after I will let LightWorks grow exponential. I feel it in everything that this is happening. It’s time. So watch me and the other LightWorkers with who I do this! It’s exciting times. I look forward to create this from stillness, slowing down, deepening and joy.

 
Tuesday – A little Shanti-day after all
Finally my first Shanti-day is here! A day for me, myself and I. Without internet, phone or television. The day before I agreed to do some work to the production leader of the cookbook, Lisette, because the flow must go on. But I was so tired that I fell asleep on the couch and woke up at five in the morning. There was so MUCH work to that from that moment until one in the afternoon I was working and didn’t really have a Shanti-day. At the end I was fed up with working on my day of and went to my favorite ice-cream shop in Delft and enjoyed the best ice-cream in the Netherlands. Just before closing I got to buy stuff at this coffeehouse with lovely stuff. The girls who worked there were so enthusiastic and nice that I asked if I could interview them for my book and documentary Expedition Self Love. The interview was great!

Wednesday – This also needs to be done!
One of the coachees I coached today was the first one to finished the personalized three to six months program from ‘Verlicht Werken’. The results were really amazing! I’m so happy that our integral way of working works so good and that the customer sees and experiences this as well! What a great way this is to start my work in the Netherlands again. Are you in a transition or do you feel you’re ready for transformation? Do you know there is more and that you want to make a difference? Check out the website for more information about ‘Verlicht Werken’, take the free test and participate in the challenge or request a free intake with one of the Enlightened Working coaches.
After a morning full of coaching I spend my afternoon on a less sexy part of being an entrepreneur: administration and processing the assignments. In my opinion these are tasks that are pointless and totally drain me. Before I have a meeting with the production leader of the cookbook I eat something and take a break for a hour. The meeting about the book kept going deep into the night and after this I had a interesting chat with one of my new coachees and future project (and maybe) businesspartner. The things that he shared with me and the force it hit me with were so intense that I need some time to process it before I share more about this.

Thursday – I’m emigrating
Today is a sad day for me. My dad is leaving the Netherlands for ever to go back to his roots and birth country: Suriname. I thought I was going to be just happy because he is following his heart, but I’m also sad. I allow myself to be sad (although I have to shut up my inner critic first) and I’m grateful that he wants to do an interview with me just before he leaves. For days I was planning on asking him, but I didn’t dare to do it. He was so busy and I saw this. When I discovered that he packed his bag hours before he was flying off I asked him for the interview and he said yes! You can listen to the interview here.
Today I also decided to emigrate. I don’t feel at home anymore in the Netherlands. When I was abroad I was taking with life: everything flowed and I didn’t have to work hard at my dreams, goals and life mission. Back in the Netherlands I experience the opposite. It feels like my soul is starving and sometimes is poisoned. What do I mean with this and how do I notice this? Since I came back I started complaining, a lot. It’s the attitude of a lot of people in the Netherlands that influence me. How come a lot of people think that they can achieve inner happiness by realizing and achieving external stuff or hopping from one healer to another coach? True happiness is not outside us, but inside us. True happiness is in the connection with ourselves, each other and our mission in life AND that we make a difference in this life.
I’m sick of moving slowly. I want to move on the waves of the oceans and be moving with life like a dolphin who uses the power of the ocean to move forward. Humans can do this as well. We don’t have to realize on willpower. Just by ‘being’ we can achieve and realize what really matters.

If you recognise yourself in this and you are in the middle of a transformation, I would love you to write a blog for us about this. Or if you feel we can guide you on your path to make the journey as fun, effective and inspiring as it can be. Please contact us.