L'avant-garde

16/09/2026

Dear friends and colleagues,

After working for many years with people between 30 and 50 years old, I often observed regret that they hadn't gained these insights or learned these techniques at a younger age. It made me wonder what could happen if I offered the same trainings to young adults (18–30).

During several gatherings with young adults at House of the beloved, I gained a few insights:

* Many essential life skills are absent from the regular educational curriculum (setting boundaries, asking for consent, feeling your own body, calming your mind…)
* Young people are very eager to learn them and can integrate them quickly
* Attachment issues haven't yet pervaded their life choices too much, so timely remediation can be life-changing
* Many have a genuine desire for honesty and real vulnerability, but few spaces allow for it

These insights became the basis for our Inner Frontier program. It aims to increase self-understanding, sharpen thinking and relational skills, and deepen the connection with our bodies, with others, and with nature.
All info: https://www.houseofthebeloved.eu/innerfrontier

Tonight we have another free info session.�Come, bring your friends, or send your kids with their friends, and invite your friends' kids.
To register: https://shorturl.at/qjIhv

May you be well.

11/06/2026

Dear colleagues,

Together with Joshua and Max, we have developed a new program for young adults (18-30): The Inner Frontier.

The Inner Frontier is a program for young adults (18–30) who are seeking themselves, their place in the world, and/or real, deep connections with fellow seekers. Through six weekends spread between September and May it aims to increase our self-understanding, sharpen our thinking and relational skills, and deepen the connection with our bodies, with others, and with nature.

Alongside the core practices of House of the beloved (meditation, authentic presence, shadow work, and existential inquiry) you are invited to propose activities and to shape the structure of the program so that it fits (y)our existential needs as closely as possible.

This is not a workshop. It is a gateway to a deeper and more authentic way of living.

https://www.houseofthebeloved.eu/innerfrontier

If you resonate with this and want to get to know us, you are warmly invited to join on the 25th of June 7pm or 1st of July 7pm for an info-session that cuts right through the chase through practice, radical honesty, intimate connection and free exploration of what it means to be human. (Registration at the bottom of the website)

May you be well.

Transformative gatherings for young adults (18–30) who want to grow in self-understanding and deepen their connection with their bodies, with others, and with nature.

24/11/2024

Learn to discipline your mind, so it stops controlling you.

Next training: 13-15 December
All information and registration: https://zurl.co/IJGw

A testimony from a past participant:

“Wow, this was such a transformative experience. The meditation techniques taught in this training come from a unique lineage and are completely different and far more intense than the other 'meditations' I’ve experienced, which mostly boil down to 'Do nothing.' I experienced what it’s like to observe sensations, thoughts, and emotions without being distracted or caught up in them. And I saw myself and the world from a different, more realistic perspective. In my daily life, I’m constantly applying these meditation techniques, and I’ve noticed that I feel sharper, calmer, and freer—with a newfound appreciation and contentment for life as it is, without the urge to change things. Only now do I realize how much I was actually governed by all kinds of unconscious impulses. This was just the very first step, and I can’t wait to dive deeper into these techniques.”

22/11/2024

The answer from a cognitively gifted client when asked about a “date” last weekend:

“I felt like…

a dictionary in the hooligan section of a soccer game
a "bavarois" at a weight watchers gathering
a scientific article at a Trump rally
a ballet dancer during “Connemara” at a wedding party
a Châteauneuf-du-Pape after smoked wh***ey
a circus-attraction taking a bar exam
a rave party in my grandmother’s “belle chambre”
a stand-up comedian at a post-funeral coffee table.
an albatros at a tap dancing contest
a complex inverse Wishart distribution pretending to be normal
a ghost trying to reach a 95% fake medium
returning from a world trip and seeing your grandfather with advanced Alzheimer
ET trying to phone home but never making it through the options menu
a barren woman when a kindergarten swarm passes
a quadriplegic child watching the other children play
an arctic gardener
a wave receding from the beach
a fresh breeze in the stillness of a Himalayan mountain top”

-Anonymous
______________________________

Overall, cognitive giftedness is an advantage in life. There is no consistent scientific evidence for a negative relationship between intelligence and social adjustment (including finding a romantic partner) or emotional stability. If there are differences, they mostly favour the cognitively gifted.

Nevertheless, after a few dates like the one above, you may become afraid of revealing yourself, an essential component for finding connection, love, and belonging.

Navigating life with high cognitive abilities, particularly for those who are exceptionally or profoundly gifted, requires a distinct set of skills that differ from those of the general population.

Our programs are specifically designed to support cognitively gifted individuals in developing these skills, enabling them to find themselves, make deep connections, and embody their own way of being human.

All info: https://zurl.co/Uc7h (insta: link in bio)

(image: Waltz of the Hands (2010), retrieved from: https://zurl.co/dQMi)

19/11/2024

Lieve collega's,

Ik schreef een artikel voor tijdschrift talent over de risico's van misinformatie in het domein van cognitieve begaafdheid, en hoe we er beter mee kunnen omgaan. Je vindt de url hieronder.
Ik hoor graag jullie gedachten.

Veel leesplezier!

https://zurl.co/bD8Q

Negatieve en onjuiste stereotypen over hoogbegaafdheid kunnen de manier waarop leerkrachten handelen en naar hoogbegaafde leerlingen kijken beïnvloeden. Dit kan een directe impact hebben op de ...

18/11/2024

“The revolutionary and liberating power of true friendship lies in its radical willingness to become undone. It’s not about the comfort of mutual dependence or emotional security but about daring to be exposed and deconstructed in the presence of another.”
(https://zurl.co/IBjb)

This week at House of the beloved:

Tue, 19/11, 7-9:30pm: authentic presence
https://zurl.co/38KF

Wed, 20/11, 7-9:30pm: singing circle
https://zurl.co/MstD

Thu, 21/11, 8-9:30pm: radical engaged pedagogy think tank
https://zurl.co/Kq10

Mo-Thu, 21:30-22:30: tea and evening ceremony
https://zurl.co/g9XJ

Tue-Fri, 6:00-6:45am: silent sit
https://zurl.co/OFb1

We look forward to seeing you here.
May you be well.

14/11/2024

*Consumed by thoughts: not giftedness but an undisciplined mind*

Testimony from an anonymous gifted adult:

"My thoughts are my downfall, but also my love and refuge. I'm at their service, they are my mistresses. They consume me, and I feed myself to this rage to learn and understand. I’m hungry for information, in need for learning. My mind is like a castle, with an infinite number of rooms, and I’m like a young child, sliding over the marble floors, outrunning my siblings, to touch and open every door, to colonise every room.

The pleasure of the new is too delicious, I exhaust myself to obey my brain. Obsessed by learning, I forget everything else. When I’m writing or grasped by an idea, I stop eating and barely breathe. Don’t feel hunger, almost forget I have a body. I give it all up -willingly- for one purpose: the perfect logic and erudition. It’s a trance, lifting me above the clouds, for a moment I stop being a person, I exist only as pure thought."

To read the entire blog post:https://zurl.co/szDa
_______________

To be cognitively gifted is an advantage in life. It predicts educational and professional achievement, health, longevity, and more. However, if you don’t learn to discipline your mind, it can take over and lead to unnecessary mind wandering, fear, worries, mental exhaustion, self-handicapping and debilitation.

We have developed a training to help rein in restless and wild minds. Come learn to take control over your mind, so it stops controlling you.

Learn more: https://zurl.co/IMy8
Join our training: https://zurl.co/7wy5

(image by Jen Duran)

09/09/2024

Lieve collega's,

Op 21 september geef ik in Gent een prikkelende lezing over de spirituele en existentiële ontwikkeling van cognitief begaafde kinderen, jongeren en volwassenen.

"Alleen nadenken over religie en spiritualiteit laat je vaak onbevredigd achter. Het is alsof je naar een restaurant gaat en enkel de menukaart opeet."

Tijdens deze lezing ga ik dieper in op hoe we de pluralistische inzichten van House of the Beloved kunnen toepassen binnen opvoeding, onderwijs en begeleiding voor deze bijzondere groep.

Ben je nieuwsgierig hoe we deze ideeën praktisch kunnen maken? Kom dan zeker langs!

Misschien tot dan.

https://zurl.co/fORN

Begeleid hoogbegaafden in spirituele groei en leer omgaan met levensvragen tijdens onze inspirerende studiedag. Ontdek en verdiep je eigen pad. Schrijf je in!

17/06/2024

**Cognitieve begaafdheid en spirituele/existentiële ontwikkeling**

Studiedag op 21 September 2024 in Gent vanaf 13u in samenwerking met

🔸 Krijg jij als begeleider soms diepe, existentiële vragen voorgeschoteld waar je geen antwoord op weet?
🔸 Zoek je zelf naar een verdieping van je eigen pad?
🔸 Wil je je kind of leerlingen beter kunnen begeleiden in hun spirituele/existentiële ontwikkeling?

💡 Dan is deze studiedag iets voor jou! We gaan dieper in op spirituele/existentiële ontwikkeling, hoe je er voor jezelf mee aan de slag kunt, en hoe je er rekening mee kunt houden in je klas, je begeleidingspraktijk of bij je opvoeding.

Wat kun je verwachten?

👉 Je maakt kennis met een pluralistisch perspectief op religie en spiritualiteit.

👉 Je wordt geïnspireerd om stil te staan bij je eigen manier van mens-zijn.
👉 Je proeft van oefeningen in aandacht en zelf-reflectie.
👉 Je oefent jezelf in oprechte, kwetsbare aanwezigheid, waardoor je ook anderen de ruimte geeft om zichzelf vrij uit te drukken.

Doe mee en verrijk je begeleidingspraktijk of opvoeding met nieuwe inzichten en vaardigheden!

Alle info: 👉 https://zurl.co/STkh

Al zin in een sneak preview?

23 june, 9u30-17u, stille, belichaamde, en relationele meditatie, Werkhoven , NL
👉 https://zurl.co/4MVo

24 juni, 14u-17u, meditatie en pedagogische begeleiding: Pedagogische Sensitiviteit, Werkhoven , NL
👉 https://zurl.co/pQz0