"Nothing New in the West". This is the title of the famous anti-war novel of Erich Maria Remarque. It is about the deceptive tranquillity at the front in WWl. However, any moment the enemy can start its offensive. Most encounters are deadly, without achieving any substantial "gain". It is a metaphor for the situation we are in today. Especially in my country - Holland - it is business as usual. No any sign of serious reflection, whatsever. Nobody talks about the necessity of (fundamental) change. On the contrary. Our "clever" compatriotes are capitalizing on the crisis. It ranges from building flexible home boats to teaching "business spirituality".

* In Holland a chair "business spirituality" has been established, occupied......by a priest. With the help of various rationalizations he tries to conceal, that spirituality serves as a means of boosting the effectiveness e.g. profits of big business. The latter in its turn further accelerating its exploitation, thus worsening the global crisis. It is the ultimate shame.  

"Optimism" based on delusion is a trap. It serves the purpose of keeping people "quiet". The reality is different, though. The longer you postpone change, the more violent the future crisis. So, it is time to become realists*. Realists you don't have to confront with the fact that the world is in decay. The signs are visible everywhere and it only becomes worse by the day. The impact on our personal lives will be serious. Ranging from disintegration of social welfare to increased violence; from environmental disaster to severe illness, from forced migration to poverty and hunger. When the "state" is not supporting society anymore, you have only one thing left to fall back on: a strong community.

* O, irony. Spirituality means "to live in Reality". However, very often it is so-called spiritual people who put their heads in the sand, escaping to their self-created illusionary world. Have you forgotten that "within is without?" So, when will you really wake up?

It is not an exaggeration to say, that our current situation can be compared to that of the Dark Ages. It was the period after the collapse of the Roman Empire, including the Church. For many centuries, Europe was at the mercy of confusion, disintegration, violence and chaos. It were Irish monks (Columba and others) who went to the mainland in order to found monastic communities. They focussed on maintaining and preserving the tradition. Later to be followed by other orders. It is not an exaggeration to say, that these orders have "saved the culture" by bridging the gap between the classical world and the societies of the Middle-Ages.*

* Obviously, this doesn't mean, that I am in favor of reviving Christian communities, at all. It is just a good historic example from which we can learn.

In order to survive the coming crisis, all people face the challenge of strengthening their communities. It starts with restructuring your own life*. You have to get rid of everything superfluous. The purpose is to regain overview, mastership and sovereignty over your own life. Generally, this has to be achieved in steps. It is not so easy to make a shift from individualism to communal life! To help you in this regard I wrote "The First Steps" (overview) and "Sovereign Living" (in particular). Without restoring order to your own life, joining a community will be futile e.g. harmful to others. The position of women is crucial in this regard. They are the "substance of life", hence, they should play a major role in establishing New Communities.

* As expressed by the Mother's Vision of the Grail, granted to me in 1974: "Awaken!, restructure your life and serve others". See also "Mother Blog".

Someone has to take the lead. The situation doesn't allow us to wait for society as a whole to turn on. Therefore the Irish example of 400 CE (and later) is so important. Like them, we have to create pockets of strong communities, focussing on survival, spirituality, healing and the environment. Tradition has taught me, that there should be at least Three Pillars in order to be viable. A common denominator should prevent that the community falls apart. In our communities it is the Great Mother, who is the main unifying factor. Isn't She All-Embracing? She is the guarantee for a community based on "feminine" (holistic) values, like love, respect, courage, connectedness, cooperation, justice and durability.

* With the Great Mother as a foundation, in the course of time a Tradition of he Goddess/Queen with Her Son/Lover developed itself. The latter carried out the guidelines of the former. This consisted of the protection e.g. the promotion of the annual harvest. For that, the "Vegetation God" had to die in autumn in order to be reborn in spring.

The second important factor is a shared daily "monastic" rule e.g. schedule. A community will fail without "discipline from within". Again, your motivation has to be very strong, how otherwise can you make the shift from a fun society to real life? The centuries-old tradition of Zen has taught us that only by limiting yourself on the ego-level a jump into your Real Self can be made. Self-limitation and self-transcendence are two sides of the same coin. True freedom is freedom from the (small) self, not an extension of it! Once your True Self starts sprouting, Truth, Beauty, Joy, Love, Adventure and the Art of True Life will be bestowed upon you. For this purpose I designed "The Universal Way".*

* Consisting of awakening, personal integration, being rooted in Heaven and Earth, breakthrough of the Light, purification/catharsis, taking refuge in the Great Mother and compassion/service.

The Third Pillar consists of service. Without it (compassion) no real inner growth is possible. Inner quality should be constantly tested in everyday life. Contact with others is crucial for feedback about your level of spiritual progress. A tree is known by its fruit. I am in the very lucky position to be able to offer a training in Spiritual Service, Health Service and Community Service to all members of our Healing Communities*. The purpose is to be available to people from outside. Spiritual Service is giving you the ability to teach MotherCircles e.g. The Universal Way to others; Health Service to do the same with Mother Healing, while Community Service is supporting people with re-organizing their communities. Eventually, our common commitment is the "Healing the Planet" Initiative, like elaborated upon before on many occasions. Something that poses a great challenge to everyone involved.

* One way of "getting the taste" of a Healing Community is to participate in our "Mother Healing" sessions. See: "Mother Healing". 

Suffice to say, that service to others will arouse goodwill, suppport and friendship, as well. It is a necessary factor in becoming accepted by your social environment. We don't want to become an exclusive club wrapped by secrecy. Members of the Healing Communities should be people with an open mind, always sensitive to the needs of others. In order to achieve that the inner life of the community should be well organized. Apart from the Three Pillars, members should accept spiritual guidance in some form or another. Additional activities may be developed, e.g. from organic agriculture, food or herb processing or nature conservation to handicrafts, a printing or an IT company!

* We hope, that the Healing Communities are going to constitute a worldwide network, always (partly) adapted to local circumstances. See also: "Mother Blog".

A community is all the stronger, as she can dispose of a surplus value. In our case this is the oldest tradition on earth: that of the "green man" and the "wise woman". In that, the woman represents the substance of life (in its broadest sense), while the man finds his mission in serving the Whole. It is a breakthrough, a fresh beginning, beyond the bankrupted institutions of the old religions, without compulsion, dogma or denial of life, without the intention of starting a new religion, something that has never been so relevant compared to our times! A true spiritual impulse embodies freedom in connectedness!

"Green Men" and "Wise Women": the hopefuls
of A New World

See: "Wise Woman" and "Herstory"; "Green Man" and "HisStory"  

The direction in which our society is moving is symbolized by the new "elites". It is mostly young people from wealthy families who have put their cards on a top career. They study at so-called Elite Universities, for which the parents have to pay a lot of money. To them that is worth a lot, for the purpose of this training is to maintain e.g. extend their privileges in the future. Without reluctance they talk about the greed for power, money and influence. These future "leaders" divide society in "winners" and "loosers". Contrary to the latter these youth consider themselves "key players", the "elite" of society, really. All others are simply lazy or just unlucky, reason why they don't have a right to be wealthy. This way we are steering unnoticed (?) toward a darwinistic, very tough, dictatorial and loveless society.   

Do we want that? Doesn't our youth have any choice? Will they be either "winners" - a small group of elected few - or "loosers" - the mass? Isn't there any alternative, at all? The left is not going to give it to them*. Will there still be the possibility of a neglected niche? An area that can offer our youth perspective? There is. For that one should think of the traditional buddhist world. Young people, who are sent to a monastery by their parents. Thus to be trained as a spiritual elite. I admit: for most of our youth a spiritual career is still a bridge too far. But what happens if the economy collapses? When making quick money is suddenly over? This is a very real possibility, after all.....Against the context of spiritual bankruptcy - which we already experience today - we need a totally different kind of leaders.

* For German readers: Julia Friedrichs "Gestatten: Elite", 2008 Hoffmann und Campe

Obviously, there is nothing against being the best. On the contrary. What is decisive is, what one is going to do with one's qualification. Are you going to "dedicate" yourself to making money, self-addiction and materialism or are you going to serve the Whole, that is the question here. Well, some "elite schools" decorate themselves with "social responsibility". If you dig deeper though, then it appears, that this has to only hide the rude underlying reality. The crisis in society will not be solved by even more materialism, though. We need a totally different elite. One that isn't based on money and performance, but on insight, wisdom, compassion, commitment to the Whole, and courage. Including a career! To enhance your spiritual potential isn't inferior to making money. On the contrary. To be a wise, balanced, inclusive, joyful human being - one who has found the meaning of life - has been the ideal of all cultures and will certainly have a comeback in our society. 

Thus I will compete with the current "elite". We will see, who is going to serve mankind e.g. the whole world better. To our youth - and not only them - I hold out the prospect of a spiritual career. In this case - contrary to my competitors - all are welcome, regardless background, money, power or influence. It is the best of you, namely those who, out of their deepest inner Self, want to serve the wellbeing of the entire earth. Who acknowledge, that a elite career, based on an empty life, ruled by superficiality doesn't satisfy and never will.

The last will be the first. By voluntarily retiring from the old world we will become the foundation of a New Era. Hence, it will be the best, who decide to join. Healing Communities are open to people of all races, beliefs, cultures, traditions and nations. They are embracing women, men, old people and youth*, equally. Everybody who subscribes to e.g. actively participates in the Three Pillars is welcome. In order to make a smooth transition, going through a noviciate is a conditio sine qua non. As mentioned above career perspective is included. It varies from novice, worker, green man and wise woman, teacher to community "leader" and "mother", master and ultimately.......servant. Specialization in spirituality, health (healer) and community development will be encouraged. Additional skills, necessary to keep the community going are welcome. For more information, contact us.

* A great chance for young people to drop meaninglessness, loneliness and despair, while gaining new perspective in life.....Parents as well are cordially invited to inquire about the chances for a spiritual career for their children.

Your servant ("Sermes"),

Han Marie Stiekema

Contact us

PS. You might come across a site called "Transformatorium". It is an
earlier version of our Healing Community initiative.