Guest Post by Sascha Krijger, CTPC (Netherlands)
On 5 May 1945, the Netherlands was liberated from the German forces as the Second World War drew to a close. Each year since, the Netherlands has celebrated Liberation Day as the restoration of the constitutional state, enabling our country to live in freedom. This year, May 5th marked the 75th anniversary of this historic event. Under different circumstances, the day would have been celebrated by huge feasts and open-air liberation festivals throughout the country, as well as numerous liberation debates regarding the state of freedom and democracy in today’s world. Yet due to the coronavirus, these are not ordinary times. The festivities were put on hold. And so on May 5th, 25 members of the Dutch- and Flemish-speaking Transformational Presence community came together for a virtual celebration based on finding freedom within a global pandemic.
There is some irony in celebrating 75 years of liberation—“freedom of movement”—while many people in our global community have been lamenting the loss of freedom due to Covid-19 lockdowns. And yet in a way, Corona invites us to dwell on these values even more intensely.
That awareness inspired Caroline Veerman, Vincent Sark, and me to organize an online program for the Dutch- and Flemish-speaking Transformational Presence community. The idea was to create a half-day virtual program designed and facilitated by members of the community. Our intention was to give our members the opportunity to connect to one another, and to reflect and explore from inner wisdom what resonates within us around the topic Living In and From Freedom.
It was indeed a beautiful celebration. Participants were touched first by the initiative itself, and then by the voyage of discovery that unfolded. We explored what freedom means to us, and what we need liberation from or to leave behind in our own lives. We discovered new creations that are wanting to blossom in complete freedom from all that is happening now.
Numerous times during our few hours together, different members of the community pointed out the richness and support of the connections we shared. There was such a deep feeling about the power of our community to spread the light of Transformational Presence into the world as a way of being with one another—something that is especially needed in current times.
There was a feeling among participants that now is the time to let go of our attempts or need to control, and to ground ourselves and go deep inside. Now is the time for feeling softness in the heart and forging deep and loving connections with others. It’s a time for finding freedom in the inner self to go forward in connection with one’s truth and essence. It’s a time for giving ourselves permission to stand in the light and to take the importance of playfulness seriously—to be able to hold life lightly and trust that, in time, the path forward will reveal itself.
The whole session was held in such a beautiful energy—a deep richness of the space we hold as a community. Our Transformational Presence Liberation Day celebration revealed foremost that living from a place of inner freedom can be an intentional choice—a choice that can serve us well in these challenging times.
Due to the wonderful response to this community-organized celebration, we have set the intention to facilitate another event, hopefully in-person, on Wednesday, January 20th. More information will be available in due time on the Dutch-language Transformational Presence website.
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