In 2009 I attended an I Ching symposium in an amazing place near Amsterdam, called Ruigoord. It is a beacon of freedom in the middle of the industry around the city. In the late sixties a hippie community occupied the town against the industrialization of the region. They won, and it still exists.
The symposium was about I Ching, the ancient Chinese book and oracle system and several I Ching writers gave lectures and workshops. Most of them were older men with a deeply rooted feeling for the eastern philosophy.
At that time, I was familiar with I Ching for 3 years, I had had a personal I Ching training by Bart Bulteel, an author and consultant with 20 years of I Ching experience and very quickly he became a good friend (and still is).
The workshops and lectures tapped in to a deeper level of awareness and it felt like a magical day. I met Han Boering for the first time that day and I bought his book. He wrote a short personal note in it. I would meet him again at his home a year later for an extended interview for the film I was about to make. It was a rare interview because inspite of his deep knowledge and wisdom it’s his only interview available on Youtube. He died in 2014.
The day ended with a panel conversation, led by a journalist. Five I Ching masters at one table. They talked about their vision on the future and elaborated on the Chinese philosophy as described in the I Ching and the Tao Te Ching.
This was a truly special experience because of the humbleness all these masters exposed. That feeling stroke me deeply and it was the major stream of thought on my way back home. How far they stayed away from their ego. The modesty towards the higher levels of reality and the deep connection with principles like non violence and non interference.
I understood the power of leadership. Just like the Dalai Lama or Gandhi, a true leader is a servant of higher realms. Not struggling with the idea that they have to change things, but serving the higher laws by being an example.
Last summer I went back to Ruigoord. Recovering from my burn-out, I got on my packed bike and started riding without a goal. I was away for 13 days and on day 8, around 6PM I decided it was time to look for a place to sleep that night. I couldn’t find anything. The days before it had been quite easy to find a bed for the night.
I looked on the map and I saw that I was only 10km away from Ruigoord, so I went there. I had no idea that I was set for a magical night full of coincidences. I met beautiful people and slept in a pyramid. I left my Han Boering signed book of the I Ching there with Marcel, the builder of the pyramid until we meet again.
Being humble is the only right attitude towards life.
It’s the gateway to magic.