I consider it my job to create the conditions, for you and others, to deeply connect to key personal, societal and global questions. I’ll be hosting and guiding in-depth, free lifemaps projects, using the existing scenarios as a foundation. Each of the projects will receive a special mission, which helps manifest little pieces of my biggest dream for myself, for you and others, for our places and the planet.
Two or three lifemaps projects around the scenario ‘Integrate your worldview, come closer to your natural self‘ will start in 2026. The intention is to connect our views on the world to what is crucial to us, personally, and create inner coherence – which makes our lives flow more easily and bring a sense of wholeness. I would like to know more about your experiences, how it works for you and how you value the outcomes. Your participation and materials are for free. When you’re interested, please connect with me via the contact page.
In my fifties I became aware, that I’m always coming from the whole and I always see the relevant whole in a given situation. As I see it now, developing integrality and wholeness is part of who I am. This quality enabled me to create all that is lifemaps and integrallifemapping.com. The experiential knowledge at the basis of the scenarios and of the lifemaps projects I am offering comes from a career in business and in government, powered by a drive for self-expression and societal innovation. A burnout experience and an awareness raising process drastically changed the situation, leading to an inner journey. Questions arose: how do I view the world now? Where is my place in it? How can I remain positive when the life conditions on earth are deteriorating? What will I do? New scenarios were developed to help me reassess my principles and find direction. While guiding groups of four in lifemaps projects, my own process of enquiry and development continues. I’m sharing bits and pieces in my Blog.
To me work has always been my life’s work. Key areas of expertise: strategy, helicopter view, analysis & synthesis, context awareness, structuring, information technology, systemic advising and change. Biologist. Personal development, see the ebook Life in 3 questions. New business development in the corporate industry, for government, to win and deliver large-scale contracts with long-term partnerships. Core roles: seeding the field, weaving a web of connections, creating conditions for success and giving direction, developing a joint vision, inviting all stakeholders to commit the best of themselves and to choose collaboration over competition. I always set an overarching higher goal, to achieve results with value for the stakeholders and the whole system. Co-author of a book about community and place-based business models by Jan Jonker, Professor em. Sustainable Entrepreneurship. I incorporate everything I’ve done and learned in my life in my Integral Life Mapping work. Linkedin profile.
In this phase of life my mission is to promote awareness raising for change, adaptation, action. How can I still make my contribution to care for the planet? One of the strengths of lifemaps is precisely the physical, the tactual, working with products on the basis of printed paper… I therefore designed extra private measures for myself. In 2015 I took part in a communal living experiment, became a vegetarian, got rid of the car and bought solar panels. More sustainability measures are taken continuously, such as installing insulated glass windows at home (the workplace). I do my best to create and sustain biodiversity in my big garden and develop semi-wild areas. I use organic produce, avoid products with environmental impact, travel less, buy less stuff and try to do more with what I already have. Over the last years my focus has been to develop more knowledge about existing non-food (consumer) products and find replacing sustainable and eco-friendly products or services. Together with others I pick up litter in the neighbourhood. For Lifemaps.NL I aim to purchase materials and services from companies with clear sustainability objectives and with proven experience in this area. I am keeping lifemaps in the paper form, for now, because it works really well. Happily people tend to keep their completed poster instead of throwing it in the recycle bin for used paper.
For one of my former employers, UWV (Social Services) Data Services, I designed and hosted a lifemaps project about corporate values and vision building for teams. Projects in the years after that – always responding to an innovative initiative – were delivered: as a committed participant and workshop host in the Veerhuis, as an ambassador for an inclusive and flexible employment market in Werken in Netwerken, as a co-creator of the BOOST013 lifemap workshop for Tilburg Municipality, as an active member of the IHBV group for highly gifted entrepreneurs, and as a partner of Inspiration at Work. Thanks to the experiences and stimulating collaborations in these past projects, it became clear, that lifemaps could be of real value and that it would be worth the effort to develop more scenarios in accordance with the big vision of Humanity’s Code of Care.
Lifemaps.NL is a one woman social enterprise, registered with the Chamber of Commerce Utrecht, The Netherlands, under 30213990. BTW-ID is NL001246484B58.
Ellen van Dongen
Laag-Nieuwkoop 9
3628GB Kockengen
Nederland
Email to ellen@integrallifemapping.com.