This time I would like to draw attention to a source of healing power that is so close that you almost forget it exists: the unconscious. By the unconscious I mean everything that you are not aware of, but which, in principle, could be. When you concentrate on a certain feeling or memory and let it surface, something from the unconscious can enter your consciousness. We have all experienced this at some point in our lives.

However, you can also consciously surrender to your unconscious and watch, feel, observe what happens … . I tried this during the time between Christmas (2021) and ‘Epiphany’ on 6 January (2022), a period that lends itself particularly well to this. I immersed myself in that large reservoir of memories, unexpected inspirations, impulses, and potentials for the future. It feels like a door is opening, like you are visiting another dimension that also belongs to you.

Everyone has their own unconscious domain – which is a part of the collective unconscious. When and how can one access it? I found an answer in the science that has been studying the functioning of our brains for the last few decades. There I stumbled upon the ‘discovery of the Default Mode Network’.

In the early days of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) studies, scientists mapped out which parts of the brain were involved in certain tasks. They discovered that, even when the person under study had no tasks to perform, their brains were still operating according to a certain pattern of connections. This observation came as a surprise to the researchers. Why didn’t the brain just shut down, as expected?

Over time, the Default Mode Network or Stand-by Network as such has become a subject of research. A certain brain structure lights up when there is unconcentrated attention or no attention at all. That structure turns ‘on’ when you switch to another way of being aware: less rational, more empathetic. This can involve anything: daydreaming, meditating, being in nature, experiencing brainwaves, or daydreaming while carrying out routine tasks.

These are experiences that come from within. As soon as there is an outside stimulus, this Stand-by Network comes to a halt, according to the information I have read on the subject.

While in stand-by mode, it may happen that you suddenly think of a solution to a certain problem that you have apparently been working on unconsciously. Perhaps you recognize this as something that happens to you when you are waking up, a moment at which your brain wakes up again and you consciously start the day.

The brain is therefore not only a tool for thinking and feeling, but also an intermediary for other ways of living and experiencing. It is important to familiarize yourself with it and learn to develop a quality that allows you to distinguish between what you have been taught and what you really think and feel. It is important to become more aware of your ‘self’, instead of just letting yourself drift along according to what you encounter during the course of your day.

I encourage you to consciously spend time musing, listening to music, meditating, just walking or cycling, not just for relaxation, but to bring more light and harmony into yourself. It also helps to develop resilience to negative emotions about what is happening in the world.

The Earth is in transition and so is humanity. So let us look ahead and focus on what will come next: a period without Corona, fewer crises and more partnerships. Each person can do their bit, inspired from the inner realm.

Find your own way of light through the unconscious, a way that will take you on new and unknown paths!

Hypothesis

The Standby network is characterized by an extremely low frequency: 0.1 Hertz. Could this mean that – potentially – our consciousness can make the jump to universal consciousness through this network? In any case, people with near-death experiences have experienced some of this universal consciousness while their brains were no longer showing any activity (they were clinically dead). The Dutch cardiologist Pim van Lommel has investigated this type of experiences.