Foreword

The wind is a force of nature that can shape entire landscapes. Think about the patterns in the sand at the beach that constantly change, or dunes in the desert that are carried from one place to the next. An external force moves them passively.

External influences often determine the course of our lives. We react to these influences because they are forces stronger than our consciousness or our groundedness. The question is: are we allowing our being to be determined by these external forces unconsciously or is it this force from outside, the wind, that makes our being itself conscious?

Making use of your identity and developing it further is, after all, the purpose of our existence.

I would call growth an awakening. There is a large difference between training a skill and growth. Growth is about waking up, our becoming aware of ourselves. A skill is a tool needed to survive in the times in which you live. Each time period and each place on Earth demands different tools for survival.

When your consciousness is growing strong and you have developed a skill set that enables you to maintain yourself wherever you live, then you become a pillar of strength instead of a ball being tossed about in the waves, or a balloon that is carried off by the wind.

The feeling you get when you drive a car or sit in a plane for the first time; that is a feeling I would call a growth in your consciousness. The ability to accurately maneuver a car or plane is what I would call a skill. In nature, you begin by becoming more conscious of something before you can make it into a skill.

Consider, for example, the master craftsman of long ago. For years, the apprentice was only allowed to clean the workshop and develop a feeling for the work that was done there. He was allowed to feel what the master did. Whether it was painting or sculpting, it didn’t matter. Sensing what was happening came first. Much like the Tibetans, one had to first feel and experience the knowledge. Only then could he read about it and make it into a skill.

In the current times, a skill such as practicing a profession or working with a computer is often considered to be more important than the growth of an individual. Yet in the hasty pursuit of one new skill after another – a new kind of driving license, yet another diploma – are we not unconsciously running away from our growth? There is a deep-rooted unconscious fear of feeling.

When you are not conscious, the wind can lead you anywhere. Yet the power of the wind can also make you aware of the power of your own being.

Niek Brouw