The earth’s boundaries have become tangible and the journey to a natural world is in fact a transformation which affects everyone and everything. Continuing as we are is not an option. The ball is in our court, in my court. Change starts with self-reflection. Who am I and how do I live? What could I change in my choices and behaviour to live in harmony with my environment? Which changes would suit me well? It is a process, not a one-time thing. Asking ourselves key questions provides insight to find the context and the roles which come naturally to us and let us keep our energy high. Lifemaps help to visualise what’s going on, make connections and find new perspective. To choose direction for collaboration, to create a personal compass based on overview and insight, and gather realistic ideas for action.
Lifemaps are an instrument for intuitive self-discovery. At the basis of a lifemap is a scenario about a personal or societal theme or a global issue. Each of the lifemap scenarios illuminates a different perspective and offers its own unique experience. Following the simple steps of the chosen scenario people fill in their own maps to create an overview of their history, the current reality and the envisioned future. The text and symbol stickers for this contain knowledge on the topic and a table poster facilitates the self-discovery process. In online workshops, guided lightly, participants tell each other their own life story easily, using their maps. Together we elaborate on it in a group dialogue about the now and a brainstorm about the future. A lifemap experience is a learning journey, individually and collectively.
When you express what is in you on the map it will give you a sense of intimacy and contentment. While you immerse yourself in the process, you’ll come closer to yourself. The filled-in map will read as a book and show the full richness of your life: who you are, your relationships, work, places, plans and purpose. It will show how everything is related and how you connect to the world. Feeling into what’s behind it will bring you clarity and inspiration and strengthen your resolve. You will work in a group of four in several online workshops. You are invited to come as you are. You don’t have to prepare or study because knowledge and process are built in, in the lifemap. The filled-in map will help you find words and tell your life story easily. The others listen deeply, with full attention, without discussion. A calm and open atmosphere will lead to an exchange which reaches further than people thought possible.
Lifemaps are meant to facilitate people in developing deep connections between personal themes and key societal and global issues. The lifemap process will show you ways to develop what is natural in you and in your environment. Collaborating in a group of four works well for this purpose. A lifemaps project starts with an online orientation on the scenario and on what the group wants and needs. Participants fill in their map in their own time, at their own homes. Online group work follows, in two workshops for enquiry, discovery and meaning making, to find direction and set the intention or goal to apply the findings. Each project follows this basic programme, but if desired a group can stay together longer, for example to observe over a longer period how their insight and intentions impact their reality. With the aim to learn from each other and encourage each other.
Connect your views on the world to what is crucial to you personally and create coherence
- Scenario: Develop your worldview, come closer to your natural self
- 💚INVITATION FOR A PROJECT IN 2025: it can be hard, sometimes, to be aware of what’s happening at a global scale. In the first part of this lifemap scenario you make a selection of all life themes which are important to you, in any way. The themes you did not select, you can lay to rest, if you want, which lessens the burden. The themes on the stickers you selected point to opinions, beliefs, ideas, issues, essences, practicalities, … The Blue Planet poster lets you differentiate between what you hold in your mind and the reality of your daily life. You reflect about which coping strategies work for you. The clarity this creates, relaxes and frees up mind-space. You explore how everything on your map is clustered. Understanding the ways you have structured your reality sheds light on your reasons why. An optional second part of the scenario is dedicated to deepening the connections between the chosen personal, societal and global themes within yourself, by using different lenses. In this process you will discover new areas and ways to develop your worldview. The project is meant for people with an open mind and a warm heart for the big issues in the world, who are motivated to enrich this lifemap scenario from an experiential point of view. Participation is free. The language will be English or Dutch. Get in touch to find out more.
Enjoy the richness of your life and find out how to create love and peace everywhere
- Scenario: Developing more love and peace in your life
- Project in 2024: four aware and sensitive people chose to participate in a lifemaps project to explore the following questions: Where am I, who am I, what is essential to me and how will I go on from here? The approach was holistic, inspired by the vision of oneness. It was a deeply personal exploration which invited individuals to open up to the new. The outcomes were substantiated with an overview of their own realities. This project ran for three months with three workshops.
- Project in 2022: a group of people set the intention to find ways to develop more peace in our own lives, as a person and as a citizen. During the 99 days journey, from World Unity Week to Peace Week, we worked with lifemaps to create an overview of how what was going on in the world was reflected in our lives. The individual mapping process helped to open up ourselves. Then, seeing ourselves in this overview, we explored the openings and possibilities to consciously develop peace. Exchanging stories and deep listening brought our energies together and created a harmonious and connected group space. Looking back at our journey, we were amazed to find how peace had indeed inspired us and had expressed itself in our actions. This project ran for four months with six workshops.
Learn more about consciously creating daily life, using your unique inner powers
- Scenario: Manifesting a life, grounded in wholeness
- Projects in 2023: one group has been working on personal creation and manifestation for six months. Choosing principles of creation that came to the fore in the past and selecting principles yet unknown as an inspiration for the future invoked enthusiasm. Filling in the map with the key life themes that were part of the past was an enlightening experience. Mapping the current situation on the table poster and filling in the key themes as wished, longed for and aimed for in the future brought surprise and curiosity. Storytelling and sharing feedback brought trust and connection in the group. A dialogue about the meaning of ‘my roots’ was eye-opening and moving. After this, people shared what had already been fulfilling in their lives. A constructive dialogue followed in which each participant looked at the future, through the lens of the newly found insight. In several come back meetings, people digested the process, individually and through group conversations.
- Project in 2023: one group worked for four months on manifesting in wholeness. In the mapping process people created a grand overview of their lives. The exploration of the map brought more insight into how they had been creating their lives using their inner sources: motives, capacities, values, preferences and priorities. The experiences which came to the fore during the enquiry process showed the value of a holistic orientation on the future. Individuals reflected how that which is collective could be included more in every-day life.
Exploring the concept of the human hive will provide new ideas to live and work together
- Scenario: Voices in the city working together like bees in a hive
- Project in 2020: being a part of the Integral City Core Team was of great support, during the development of the first societal lifemap scenarios. It was Marilyn Hamilton, founder of Integral City, who was a source of inspiration for this lifemap scenario. The scenario uses a simple meshworking process to enable multi-stakeholder groups in a city to discover and experience Humanity’s Code of Care and find new ideas and perspective for collaboration. Workshops using this scenario were organised in cooperation with the Caravan of Unity, an initiative of Co-Creating Europe for peace, democracy and solidarity. During the 99 days journey of the Caravan, from World Unity Week to Peace Week, a mixture of online and on location workshops were hosted for London and Findhorn in the United Kingdom, in Klaipeda in Lithuania, Tampere in Finland, and Lisbon in Portugal. Both the experiences and the outcomes created a rich harvest.
Living from the heart, with a sense of soul, enriches and deepens your choices
- Scenario: Recognising the soul in your life
- Project in 2020: a group connected to Integral City chose this scenario to experience working with lifemaps. They were touched by what they found out about themselves, especially by being able to see the richness of their lives, multilayered and multifaceted. They were inspired by the value of deep sharing and dialogue based on the filled-in maps.
- Project in 2018: five groups tested scenarios about personal transformation, using different lifemap materials: Completely yourself (light and shadow), Conscious business (environment friendly, generous with money), Creating your life (guided by natural principles) and Life’s mission (based on what shone through from the filled-in map). The day-long workshops took place in a harmonious location in the countryside. Their experiences laid the foundation for the later lifemap scenarios.
Self-knowledge, developed in generational groups, creates a foundation for solidarity
- Scenario: Sharing what it’s like to be young
- Project 2015: The first version of this scenario is still in use as a part of the (Dutch) BOOST013 programme for young people. In the programme they practice to gain more self-insight and to make better use of their qualities. The programme is meant to prepare them for a better future in education, internship and/or work.