Life can be harsh and feel unfair at times. Sometimes, losing something important at work or in life can throw you off balance so completely that you don't know how to move forward. Effective loss counseling can provide valuable support, helping you to feel and see new energy, positivity, and perspectives.
Want to know how loss coaching can help you, take a look here: https://martinthoolen.com/en/service/verliescoaching/
During my travels around the world, I find inspiration in unexpected encounters that I'd like to share with you. Sometimes you have to go (far) away to get closer. This time: "How energy places make you happier, more creative, and more effective."
Years ago, I was in Glastonbury, England, at the Glastonbury Tor and the Chalice Well Garden. By wandering around there and simply being there for a while, I left with ten times more energy in my body than before. And with a wealth of new inspiration and ideas that simply flowed to me.
We all know it, of course: some places drain energy, others give it. What makes us sometimes stay in places that drain energy and places that give it? How can things be different, so that you work and live more comfortably?
Throughout my life, I chose to visit or spontaneously encounter many places of power, including Mount Shasta in California; Sedona; and Joshua Tree Park in Arizona. The Redwoods and Sequoia forests in California, the Jungles of Mexico or Thailand, Uluru (Ayer's Rock) in Australia, the Forests of Sweden and Canada, the Milford Sound Fjords in New Zealand. And many more.
I always came back feeling much younger, so powerful it was. But you don't have to go far to find places of power and return feeling more vital. They're often just around the corner.
But the same also applies to energy-drainingareas, or even toxic or destructive places. Like the infamous Bermuda Triangle and, closer to home, sometimes the office where you work. Some workspaces are or become contaminated by ego systems or colleagues' extreme egos. Highly sensitive people notice this immediately, for example, as a tight throat, a lump in their stomach, or in some other way. But even non-sensitive people notice it eventually. The work atmosphere is unpleasant or socially unsafe, or there are too many nasty political ego games at play, or the workload is simply far too high.
Such places can literally make you sick, especially if you can't protect yourself properly. I see this in my own practice with clients who come to me with burnout. They often have to deal with negative gossip, excessive demands, or working within (compliance) protocols where the human being itself is lost sight of.
Zo had ik recentelijk een Arbo-consulente op bezoek die beloofd was met mensen te werken, maar feitelijk vooral bezig moest gaan met administratieve overheidseisen waardoor er nauwelijks echt aandacht en tijd voor de cliënt of patiënt was. De robotisering maakte dat ze zich helemaal niet gelukkig voelde in haar werk Ze liep met haar ziel onder de arm. De werkplek was toxisch voor haar geworden en ze kwam bij mij voor een nieuwe loopbaanstap. Want: “soms is het laf voor een ziel om te gaan, maar soms laf om te blijven” (citaat: Peter Delahay).
“Soms is het laf voor een ziel om te gaan, maar soms laf om te blijven” (Peter Delahay).
Here are a few reasons::
1. Avoiding discomfort or dwelling on convenience, comfort, luxury, and habits
We are creatures of habit and often don't want to give up convenience and luxury for less.
2. Attachment to your inner beliefs and identifications
Wie ben ik als ik mijn collega’s of huidige beroep of woonplek loslaat? Durf ik dat aan te gaan? Dat vraagt om veel moed en weloverwogenheid om nieuwe stappen te zetten.
3. That it seems too expensive to let go of a negative (work)place
"At least I have a good income and good employment or housing conditions that I don't want to give up just like that", is a common reason. And that's perfectly within your rights, but how far are you willing to go if it costs you your own health? The foundation from which you live and work.
It's like you're getting fresh air. Have you ever walked into a house, office, workplace, or natural setting that instantly felt good, without even thinking about it? After all, the soul is lightning-fast and knows immediately, beyond reason, whether something feels good or not. So what would it be like if you surrounded yourself with such a place more often?
“The soul is lightning-fast and knows immediately, beyond reason, whether something feels good or not”
Above all, don't use your mind! To see if the place feels good.
Use your mind to see where you can recharge more often and how you can make that happen.
1. Take more vacations to places of power: places where you instantly feel good or where you recharge after a while
2. Seek out more opportunities closer to home. Take more walks in a park or a green space. Or sit against a tree. Or spend more time in your garden or allotment. Give yourself a healthy kick in the butt.
3. Distance yourself more often from negative work environments by going outside more often during breaks or by working in a hybrid way.
4. Seek out a positive work or living environment, even if that means looking for a new job or place to live, no matter how difficult. Because any system or relationship that doesn't allow space for the soul's right to exist or express itself imprisons it and can make your body seriously ill.
"Any system or relationship that doesn't allow space for the soul's right to exist or express itself imprisons the soul and can make your body seriously ill."
Try these tips, and I predict you'll become happier, more creative, and more effective.
I wish you many vital energy spaces, Martin
© 2026: Martin Thoolen
Wanna see more valuable insights and practical tips from travel, look here.
Want to see a few places and people in this video that inspired me in just 2 minutes? Watch here.
#wereldinspiraties #worldinspirations #reisverhalenmartinthoolen #travelstoriesmartinthoolen #spirit #synchroniciteit #synchronicity #firstnations #persoonlijkinspirerendleiderschap #persoonlijkleiderschap #leadership #leadershipdevelopment #personalleadership #leiderschap #spiritueelleiderschap #spiritedleadership #executivecoaching #leiderschap #leiderschapsontwikkeling #teamcoaching #collectiefleiderschap #professionalcoaching #coaching #businesscoaching #psychologyofselves #voicedialogue #egozielspirit #egosoulspirit #healer #healing #shaman #awarenessatwork #martinthoolen
Anyone can fall into this trap: Thinking you are better than the other. You and I both. Especially if you’re in a leadership position in government, politics, religion, business, or if you’re a VIP, but also if you’re a manager, spiritual teacher, coach, trainer or Guru. I see it everywhere, including in myself.
Where does this come from? How do you recognize it? What are the effects, and how do you get past it? What if you have to deal with someone else who has succumbed to it? How do you deal with that? And how do you make a truly equal heart-connection that causes the world around you to become a better place, at work and in your private life?
It’s time to lift this veil of haughtiness: To allow real love and peace to flourish more. In small and large circles alike.
It is said that the civilization of Atlantis fell because of the haughtiness of a few who wanted to create ‘a world based in advanced knowledge and power.’ Haughtiness came before a fall, and today we find our world standing at the exact same threshold. From antiquity until today, people have been falling for it. As it was with the Pharaos of Egypt and Roman Emperors, it is with the government and political leaders of today. But equally so on a smaller scale with VIP’s, directors, managers, spiritual teachers, coaches and trainers of today. Inside your own circle.
Publicly, or more commonly in secret, you may see yourself as exceptional and divinely chosen. You have ‘fallen upwards,’ and your haughtiness is a hidden force that leads you, today’s Fall of Atlantis. You are unknowingly living or working from a spiritual ego, without being conscious of it.
If spiritual ego is leading you without you being aware of it, you will use your knowledge, abilities or language to demonstrate that you are ‘above the other’, or ‘more advanced’ in your spiritual development than others. Or, that you’re more significant than the other. This has nothing to do with spirit, instead it is just your ego, elevating itself above the other. Because spirit, or universal consciousness and unconditional love, knows no hierarchy.
“Spirit knows no hierarchy”
Why is it that people have been falling into this ego-trap for centuries to begin with? The desire for recognition, appreciation, inclusion, approval, being special, attention and love is universal. Sometimes, the lack of some of these things in the past has been so great that overcompensation enters the picture. Before you know it, the spiritual ego is in charge of your activities, often without your knowledge. It doesn’t make a lick of difference whether you are highly or less educated, have lots of experience or none. It can happen to anyone. It creates dictators and know-it-alls.
How do you recognize today’s Fall of Atlantis? A few concrete indicators will demonstrate.
Some people think they are the chosen few, and use this argument to place themselves above others. Roman Emperors thought themselves to be demigods. Some government leaders today are of the opinion that they have an exceptional divine gift and mission, even if that means a war must be fought over it, all the way up to so-called ‘holy wars.’
But you can also see this phenomenon occurring on a smaller scale sometimes with (spiritual) teachers, coaches and trainers. For example, I was recently baffled by what I was reading about the spiritual arrogance of some who claim: ‘my book isn’t a book, because it transcends all traditional literature.’ Another said: ‘my book is the Bible of coaching.’ And if you package it just right and use the word ‘God’ in the title of all your correspondence, you’re guaranteed commercial success. Because those in need of help are always around, especially in these times, when religions often can’t provide fulfillment in life.
For government and political leaders it is often no longer about content, justice and equality but instead it’s about the ego seeking elevation in a quest for recognition and specialness. In the Dutch cabinet, for example, the egos are boiling over and we don’t even know where to go from here. Many government leaders keep increasing their own sphere of influence and even have their powers written into laws or even the constitution. From their greater position of power they force their will onto others, and punish them if they don’t comply. Such as banning a religion that doesn’t stroke with ‘their own’ faith. Like a coaching client of mine who was beaten to a pulp by his fundamentalist evangelical father for many years. Or getting the death penalty in Iran for not properly wearing your burka. None of these things speak to real love, and they lead to a regression in society.
It certainly seems like some spiritual teachers and gurus are freed from their spiritual egos, because they preach about peace, love and truth, while they are also truly inspiring, for example at seminars, conferences, retreats, in their books and through other venues. They use phrases like ‘heart to heart,’ ‘dear angel, are you ready to experience real love; not everyone is ready to experience real love, but you are.’ Before you know it, you feel loved, special or chosen because of what they tell you. It’s spiritual honey that people flock to.
Until suddenly their shadow side, which they repressed because it doesn’t fit with their self-made image of spiritual specialness, becomes visible.
Like my personal experience at a ten-day silent retreat abroad about non-dualism. There was conversation about a field of unconditional love, loving and freedom of judgment. While this was happening, there was a loud concert nearby that was detracting from the silence. The aggravation and judgment poured from the depths of the teachers’ psyches, and the disapproving looks were easy to see all around. No-one is immune to judgments and it’s better to embrace them and deal with them effectively.
I’m ashamed a little to say it happened a moment to me, too. During one of my annual weeklong ‘Inner Nature’ retreats in the Belgian Ardennes, a participant asked to take a picture of me. In a fraction of a second, I felt flattered by her admiration and fed my ego, my spiritual ego. But fortunately a few moments later I became aware of what I just did to myself, letting myself be made ‘special.’ As if I was ‘more’ than the participant. Yuck! Luckily, I could let it go quickly. But what happens if you need this constant admiration to exist? Before you know it, this stealthy self-satisfaction takes over.
By consistently indicating that another person has less knowledge or fewer abilities than yourself, you elevate yourself above the other. I call it the seesaw-effect. Pushing the other down to end up in a higher place yourself. In that case power and not love has you in a death grip.
You can also emphasize your own successes, power, knowledge, and abilities without acknowledging your own failings and pitfalls. Better to keep those vulnerabilities locked up. Similar to a colleague who indicated that she had lived many lives, was very wise and could be more meaningful than others as an old soul.
If you’ve fallen into the Atlantis-trap, your aim is for a societally elevated leadership position. You don’t use this position or your acquired titles as a temporary vehicle to inspire others with truth, justice, equality, or sincere love. No, above all you want to use it to show your own importance to society. Sometimes you choose to sit on a literal throne above others, instead of among people, as I experienced with the authorities at a silent retreat.
The benefits of these (spiritual) ego-authorities are that they can truly inspire you. They speak truths that we are sensitive to, and that we are often looking for. They say something that you agree with but that others are afraid to mention. You feel seen by them. Or, you gain valuable insights that you can really apply in your work or private life. They make you feel like you belong or are special. That’s what makes it so confusing.
But the cons and dangers are lurking below the surface and will come to light sooner or later. If you rely too much on an external authority, you give it power as you abandon your own sovereignty. Before you know it, you no longer know which of your thoughts are your own, versus those of the authority you believe in. A leader in any context can build their own cult just like that, with some of their followers prepared to murder others or themselves for it.
See, acknowledge, and turn it around.
To see, you have to dare to put your ego aside, otherwise you’ll remain in the trap. Look at yourself with 100% honesty and see that you:
“Dare to be a VUP (Very unimportant person)”
Acknowledge that this is happening to you, and that it is entirely your own doing. Your ego will resist the whole time, in order not to lose any ground. The brave authorities and truth-finders among us will dare to take this step.
Turn around your authority from self-gratification to simply being a temporary vehicle for equality, truth of the heart, justice, and love. Without any expectation that another will appreciate and admire you.
Protect yourself against spiritual egos. Remain yourself and never give up your own thoughts and sovereignty. Don’t always accept the teacher to be what they say they are. Follow your own compass and be a follower of yourself. The development of its own independence is one of the tasks facing the soul from the cradle to the grave.
Dare to leave, even if it is socially undesirable, if you are instructed to believe something that you can’t agree with. This is something I did myself during a break at a seminar put on by an organization that saw itself as the kingpin to change the entire world and patted itself on the chest about it. While at the same time they were themselves contributing to continuing the use of fossil fuels.
As the Gnostics said long ago, “Live the God within yourself.” Because from spirit and unconditional love everyone is chosen.
"Everyone is Chosen"
In large as well as small personal circles. By living and working more from universal consciousness, love, or what I call ‘spirit’, instead of from ego. You can find out more about this in my book “Spirited Personal Leadership.” You can view and download a free promo here: https://martinthoolen.com/en/publicaties/
I wish each of us unwavering, sincere and unconditional truth and love, Martin
© 2026: Martin Thoolen
#Beterewereld #Atlantisval #persoonlijkinspirerendleiderschap #persoonlijkleiderschap #inspirerendleiderschap #mastercoursepersoonlijkinspirerendleiderschap #coaching #training #egomanagement #ego #awarenessatwork #spirtedleadership #spiritedpersonalleadership #martinthoolen
Want to know where this comes from? See: https://martinthoolen.com/en/wat-de-regenboog-laatzien-en-het-vergeten-licht/
One that will instantly make your work more enjoyable and effective.
How? By working with spirit. Airy-fairy? No, very down-to-earth.
With insights you can immediately apply to yourself, your team, or your organization.
Just by short listening.
Discover it here: About Professional Spirituality: https://martinthoolen.com/en/podcasts/
© 2026: Martin Thoolen
#spirit #synchroniciteit #synchronicity #persoonlijkinspirerendleiderschap #persoonlijkleiderschap #leadership #leadershipdevelopment #personalleadership #spiritedpersonalleadership #leiderschap #spiritueelleiderschap #spiritedleadership #executivecoaching #leiderschap #leiderschapsontwikkeling #teamcoaching #collectiefleiderschap #professionalcoaching #coaching #businesscoaching #psychologyofselves #voicedialogue #egozielspirit #egosoulspirit #awarenessatwork #martinthoolen
We all know it. Music can touch and heal the soul. As I experienced during this Peter Gabriel concert, where I was an audience member. What would it be like if you surrounded yourself more often with the kind of music that gives you just that? Without losing touch with reality and your fellow human beings. And what actually happens when you do it?
Everything is energy. We humans too, temporarily encased in a body largely made of water. I once witnessed a lecture by Masaru Emoto, who demonstrated that water molecules become distorted when words like fear, hate, control, power, and war are communicated. And that with words like love, trust, compassion, and peace, the water molecules displayed a magically beautiful geometric pattern.
Certain sound and light frequencies can uplift, cleanse, or comfort our soul. The light of profound lyrics combined with appropriate sounds appears to be the antidote to depression for some, as I myself experienced as a teenager. In short, music can offer support in times when you're feeling down. And it can give you joy which makes life more beautiful.
As a teenager, I was put in front of the speakers in my father’s living room to listen to LPs on the record player, including operas like Arrigoton Boito's Faust: Mefistofele. My father's father, Teng Thoolen, was a renowned tenor in Limburg. My uncle, Gerard Thoolen, was main actor in the film "De Ijssalon" (The Ice Cream Parlor), where Mahler's 4thth Symphony deeply touched me.
Positively affected by my family's soul music and simultaneously a lover of rock music, these two worlds converged for me in what was then called Symphonic Rock in the 1970s. About 40 years later, I was on stage myself, performing the music of bands like YES and the early Genesis with Peter Gabriel. My other passion, besides my work: making music. I’ve had the privilege of experiencing the muse of music a few times, when the music plays you and brings you to supreme ecstasy.
I almost always came back home from rehearsals and performances happy and energized. It's absolutely clear: Music nourishes the soul.
But sometimes you can also permanently lose yourself in it, especially if it becomes an escape from the current reality. There's nothing wrong with that as compensation, but I sometimes see people slip further into their victimhood because of this, constantly feeding that. I experienced this myself as a teenager, when I was depressed for a while, looking back on it now.
Deeply, I could barely connect with my peers at the time, while I was immersed in philosophy, astrology, parapsychology, and tarot in high school. I wanted to understand humanity and felt there was more between heaven and earth. Listening to music and learning to play bass guitar by repeatedly rewinding cassette tapes were among my greatest allies back then. This allowed me to get through the "dark night of the soul." It brought deep support and true healing.
Music can offer you an escape from the current reality, but you can also get so lost in it that losing touch with your fellow human beings, for example, by frequently wearing headphones in social settings. In that case, music actually disconnects you from your fellow human beings. As a contrast look at how André Rieu, moves the hearts and souls of people worldwide with his country-transcendent music, bringing people closer together. It speakes a universal language. It instantly makes the world more beautiful in those moments and often resonates long after those who experienced it. Therefore, let music connect your soul and spirit without losing the connection with the people around you.
“Let music connect your soul and spirit without disconnecting from your fellow human beings”.
Let music be a positive and constructive ally on your soul's journey through life. Here are a few tips to remind you if you're not already using them:
And your world will instantly become a little more beautiful. Enjoy listening! Martin
© 2026: Martin Thoolen
#spirit #synchroniciteit #synchronicity #persoonlijkinspirerendleiderschap #persoonlijkleiderschap #leadership #leadershipdevelopment #personalleadership #spiritedpersonalleadership #leiderschap #spiritueelleiderschap #spiritedleadership #executivecoaching #leiderschap #leiderschapsontwikkeling #teamcoaching #collectiefleiderschap #professionalcoaching #coaching #businesscoaching #psychologyofselves #voicedialogue #egozielspirit #egosoulspirit #awarenessatwork #martinthoolen
How can 2026 become hopeful? With the darkness around us that seems to be drawing ever closer, you'd almost think it's an utopia. And yet it is possible, if you start working and living more from an infinite energysource. Take a look.
Without an end, there is no beginning. Without a beginning, there is no end. There is no birth without death and no death without birth. Truly all forms come and go. It's only a matter of time.
Just think of external forms, such as buildings, houses, cars, watches. Or your parents, partner, friends, and colleagues that come and go. Your body that comes and goes. Your job, social position, or status that comes and goes. A failed project that comes and goes. A success that comes and goes.
Similar elements apply to internal forms, such as convictions you started to believe in but suddenly no longer fit or feel right for you. Such as 'I'm not good enough' or 'I am further in my development than the other person'.
But for heaven’s sake where do these forms originate? And what makes them disappear again? And what is there, or what remains, or has always been there in the background when these temporary forms disappear?
An invisible and infinite source of energy that is the Creator and Destructor of all forms.
If this is true (which I have yet to see any evidence of being false), then there is always something that remains from which the forms come and go: a permanent energysource, also called "spirit" by some. It is infinite energy and life itself, which has only nestled in temporary forms.
Just as trees lose their leaves in the fall, in the winter there are no leaves left, but life continues underground and reveals itself again in new leaves during springtime. If you follow the natural movements of this source, work and life also become much easier and brighter, despite the darkness around you.
The problem arises when you want to continue clinging onto forms that no longer serve you or no longer align with your essential growth as a soul. A job, a belief, a partner, or whatever. That's our own ego, which can make life hopeless because it doesn't go the way you wish or what's naturally expected from you.
Sometimes it's time to stop something because its natural expiration date has passed: a product or service, an organization, a business or personal relationship.
Sometimes you have to accept the loss of something you were deeply attached to, with the emotional processing required of you because you had committed your heart and soul to it.
Because, if everything comes and goes, why hold on to it? The moment you let go of old forms that no longer serve you or hinder your essential growth, embrace the pain of letting go with a deep sense of purpose (and don't choose comfort and rigid security), space is created for the new and a better form can emerge. Then life becomes hopeful, more enjoyable, and meaningful again. New energy is released that you previously held captive. Then, naturally, new forms will appear within you that fit you better as a new coat.
"If everything comes and goes, why hold on to it?"
Consider this:
Give it a try and see what it ultimately brings you.
Want to know how working from that universal energy source, or "spirit," can give you even more hope and joy? Then see here how professional spirituality can further enrich you:
I wish you a wonderful and hopeful 2026! Martin
© 2026: Martin Thoolen
#spirit #synchroniciteit #synchronicity #persoonlijkinspirerendleiderschap #persoonlijkleiderschap #leadership #leadershipdevelopment #personalleadership #spiritedpersonalleadership #leiderschap #spiritueelleiderschap #spiritedleadership #executivecoaching #leiderschap #leiderschapsontwikkeling #teamcoaching #collectiefleiderschap #professionalcoaching #coaching #businesscoaching #psychologyofselves #voicedialogue #egozielspirit #egosoulspirit #awarenessatwork #martinthoolen
Dear all,
Thank you for our contact this past year.
And dear customers/clients: Thank you for your trust in serving you last year. It was truly a pleasure.
However, I love to keep innovating my work. Because in addition to existing services such as team coaching and various types of coaching for career development, re-integration, grief processing, and mediation, something entirely new will emerge in 2026. Specifically for directors, leaders, and managers who want to contribute to a better world for which new developments are currently being forged under ground.
In addition, I will continue to share my experiences and inspirations with you through new podcasts, blogs, articles, and interviews.
I sincerely wish you a very healthy, prosperous, peaceful, and innovative 2026!
Yours kindly, Martin
Here we go again. The Christmas dinner is on the horizon, but how do we keep it really fun?
Odd, isn’t it? Christmas, a time of peace, but we can still argue at the dinner table – before, during and after. But things can be different, and you can help to make this difference!
You already start walking on eggshells during the preparation. After all, you start thinking:
These mindsets, which you cling to and can last for years, come from somewhere. They are ego roles and family roles that you have known in yourself and each other for a very long time. And sometimes they have been reinforced over the years.
However, it is precisely these familiar old mind-sets that ensure that we are more likely to start a war than cultivate peace at the Christmas dinner table. Sometimes simply in in our thoughts about each otherbut sometimes also in words and gestures.. A self-fulfilling prophecy to which you contribute by continuing to think in that way. Pity, because things can be done differently. And you play the leading role in this. Contributing to peace on earth, right where you are. Take a look.
Look at your own mindsets and simply ask yourself the question: ‘Is that so?’
Like: ‘I have known him/her my entire life.’ Is that so? No, of course not, because you don’t see them every single second. You simply don’t know what someone else says, does or shares in another way, without your involvement. You have always only seen a part of your father, mother, brother, sister or child.
However, experiences in families quickly lead us to stick ego labels on each other, such as them always being difficult, egoistic, antisocial, cynical, insolent, rude, etc. And there were undoubtedly reasons for this. But do you want to stay in the same place? A place of conflict? And can you see and approach the other part of your family?
Let go of that place for a while at Christmas. Try approaching your brother, sister, father, mother or child from a new place with a fresh, new mindset and try the following 10 tips below. And don’t make any prejudgements.
Try these tips and I predict that you will feel much happier during the Christmas season.
Would you like to learn other ways, big or small, to contribute to a better world?
At home or at work? Take a look at this Christmas present – the book ‘Personally Inspiring Leadership.’ For more effective work, a meaningful life and a better world. View or order a copy here:
I wish you a truly Merry Christmas! Martin
©2025: Martin Thoolen
#spirit #synchroniciteit #synchronicity #persoonlijkinspirerendleiderschap #persoonlijkleiderschap #leadership #leadershipdevelopment #personalleadership #leiderschap #spiritueelleiderschap #spiritedleadership #executivecoaching #leiderschap #leiderschapsontwikkeling #teamcoaching #collectiefleiderschap #professionalcoaching #coaching #businesscoaching#psychologyofselves #voicedialogue #egozielspirit #egosoulspirit #vrede #peace #awarenessatwork #martinthoolen
