Why my business is my passion and how you can find your passion

This blog discusses why I started my online business, in addition to my work as a psychologist in the mental health field.

Psychology
From an early age, I have felt a strong calling to help people. This contributed to my choice to study psychology.

I graduated in 2010 and have been working as a psychologist ever since. I have worked primarily with people suffering from trauma. Many of them experienced abuse and/or neglect in childhood. Others have experienced trauma later in life.

Over the past 15 years, I have seen the immense impact trauma can have on a person’s life. It changes the way you look at yourself and the world around you; it affects your sense of security and confidence.

Many of the people I worked with suffered from low self-esteem, difficulties in relationships, overeating, drinking, working or exercising, and they were often very stressed. The symptoms were sometimes very persistent and therapy sometimes takes a long time and does not always have the desired effect.

Meditation
Between 2017 and 2019, I went through a difficult period myself that ended in divorce. During this time, I was introduced to psychedelics and Yoga Nidra. This has greatly influenced my view of personal growth and recovery.

I have been practicing meditation since 2012, later I also started teaching mindfulness to my clients. However, psychedelics and Yoga Nidra changed everything! This is because both psychedelics and Yoga Nidra help you enter a deep state of consciousness, a state of deep knowing. From this state, change can occur on a much deeper level.

Yoga Nidra is a form of guided meditation where you lie down and the focus is first on relaxation. In this state of deep relaxation, you are guided to work with emotions and limiting beliefs.

A similar process occurs during a psychedelic trip. Most people can go beyond their ego and work on deep-seated emotions and limiting beliefs, which they have difficulty accessing during daily life.

Missing link
For me, helping people connect with themselves on a deeper level is the core of my work as a psychologist. Traditional talk therapy focuses mainly on the cognitive part of our brain. This does not always create fundamental change, as it is important to include the body and emotions. In addition, spirituality is often lacking in traditional therapy.

Getting in touch with your deeper self is what spirituality means to me. This is something I’ve been doing since I was a teenager.

In 2022, I completed a two-year iRest Yoga Nidra teacher course. During this training we explored the alternative state of consciousness, also called Awareness. Our true nature. This is a deep state of consciousness that is very soothing and peaceful. Actually, there aren’t really words for it, it’s what we are. We are Consciousness. In other words, we are awareness.

Meditation is not always easy for people with mental health issues. iRest Yoga Nidra is a trauma-sensitive form of meditation. I began to incorporate this into my work as a psychologist. The results were amazing! People who had suppressed emotions for years began to feel again without fear. This finally allowed them to process unprocessed trauma. It improved their self-care, self-esteem and their relationships.

If you want to learn more about how to align your meditation practice with trauma, read this blog.

I believe that a combination of traditional therapy combined with psychedelics and meditation can be very powerful for breaking through blockages and so positively support a healing process.

Psychedelics
In recent years, more and more scientific research has been conducted on therapy supported by psychedelics, and the results are promising! However, psychedelics are not currently a recognized tool that can be used in psychological treatment. That’s why I started House of Awareness. To bring together my knowledge and experience in all these different fields.

When dealing with mental health issues, both meditation and a psychedelic journey can be very helpful and extremely challenging at the same time. I enjoy sharing my experiences in working with people with mental health problems. I apply this knowledge in teaching meditation and in helping people who want to take an inner journey. I help them prepare and integrate their psychedelic experience.

A psychedelic trip can have a profound effect on a person’s life. Therefore, it is good to prepare it well and have support afterwards to integrate the meaning into your life.

Through my blogs, I would like to share information about dealing with mental health issues and how meditation and psychedelics can help. In addition, I will offer psychedelic travel starting in 2025. This is particularly aimed at self-development and cannot replace medical or psychological treatment.

Find your passion
When people have mental health issues and do not feel safe they often shut down and often try to suppress emotions.

However, by turning off feelings, we also reduce our sense of pleasure and of life. If you are closed off, you may lose your sense of direction. To feel alive again, it is important to reconnect with your inner joy, your heart’s desire.

There are several ways to rediscover your inner joy. Psychedelics, meditation and psychological treatment can support this.

Since a young age, I have had a passion not only for people, but also for travel. Connecting with my deepest desire brought this together. In 2021, I moved to South Africa where I lived and worked online for two years. My business allows me to help people around the world while enjoying my love of travel AND my knowledge of psychology, meditation and psychedelics comes together. That’s why my work is my passion.

Taking an inner journey can contribute greatly to finding your passion and direction in your life. Are you curious if this is for you? Sign up for the waiting list and be the first to receive more information about it!

Saskia is a GZ psychologist, yoga and mindfulness teacher living mostly in the Netherlands. She works both in her practice in The Hague and online. Her own journey to inner peace began when she was a teenager and has led her to study psychology, Buddhism, yoga and psychedelics. She founded House of Awareness to share her knowledge and guide others on their inner journey.

Photo by: www.lensproducties.nl