11 Jun Physical emotional pain
'Does this hurt?' asks my physiotherapist Rogier. He presses with his fingers on a spot in my groin. I don't have a chance to answer. I scream out in pain...
11 Jun Wondrous pain
Pain is a remarkable phenomenon; at least, it is remarkable how our body can handle it. I read with passion the book Explain Pain, based on the latest scientific insights...
11 Jun Like a long-held breath
When I turn on my laptop and activate Zoom, I'm immediately in a different Zen dojo, with other practitioners, all in kinhin, as the walking meditation is called. It's as if I'm stepping into silence...
11 Jun Death has silent wings
Death has icy wings. It sails silently, floating over the snowy landscape and frozen lakes. Death has no words and shows no understanding. It has no tomorrow and no way out...
11 Jun Like a tightrope walker
My eyes scan the sky. I search for cables in the air and for someone walking on them, but there's nothing to be seen. Could the rain have brought the spectacle to a premature end?...
11 Jun The smell of home
As I cycle home, it seems as though Amsterdam has the smell of a strong broth. I smell it each time in a different place: by Paradiso and at the bridge over the Amstel...
11 Jun Meditation in school
‘Often I start my lessons with a moment of silence,’ says Mirjam, ‘sometimes a few minutes but occasionally even longer.’ Mirjam is a mathematics teacher. She is an enthusiastic educator...
11 Jun The open door
One of my first individual clients from 'De StressOntknoping' was Freek, he worked in an institution for young people with special support needs. He visited me at the Zen Center...
11 Jun Torn
I see that it overwhelms him. He's such a tough guy and now there are tears in his eyes. He looks at me and says: 'I find it so incredibly stupid of me. I even told myself: you can't participate...
11 Jun The wooden hammer
I take the wooden hammer from its support and strike it against the middle of the block that hangs in thick ropes before me...