Choose Again

13/08/2025

Another wise person advocating for stillness. Because in stillness, we can hear - and be - our Loving Self. Have a beautiful day! photo is sunrise at the Choose Again Retreat, Costa Rica

The woods is shining this morning.
Red, gold and green, the leaves
lie on the ground, or fall,
or hang full of light in the air still.
Perfect in its rise and in its fall, it takes
the place it has been coming to forever.
It has not hastened here, or lagged.
See how surely it has sought itself,
its roots passing lordly through the earth.
See how without confusion it is
all that it is, and how flawless
its grace is. Running or walking, the way
is the same. Be still. Be still.
“He moves your bones, and the way is clear.”

—Grace by Wendell Berry

12/08/2025

What a beautiful email we received from a previous participant in our very special South of France workshops, offered only once a year!

Join us this year in September for one week that will change your life. A few spots left! Learn more here: https://retreats.choose-again.com/France

12/08/2025

This is a beautiful teaching on anger by Thich Naht Hanh. So much of what he teaches is similar to Choose Again's Six Steps to Freedom. We use slightly different terms (instead of 'a seed of anger', we would say we have a 'negative core belief in guilt, inadequacy, etc.'), but the essential practice of learning how to meet upsetting emotions with loving mindfulness (forgiveness) is the same. It's a life-changing daily practice.

To learn more about the Six Steps to Freedom, visit our website: https://www.choose-again.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OvLOna5_1A

In this short teaching video from the Plum Village app https://plumvillage.app/ , Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh talks about the mindfulness of anger.Excerpt fro...

11/08/2025

Hello from the beautiful dining room at El Cielo, the Choose Again Retreat Centre in Costa Rica! This is between meals, but normally that granite counter is covered in incredible spread of healthy delicious home-made food. While we focus on empowering mental wellness, we know that treating the body with love and care is integral to our healing.
Don't forget to book ahead for this winter's 10-day retreats. Space is limited to maximum 10 people as we provide a profound and transformative workshop!

Learn more here: https://retreats.choose-again.com

11/08/2025

It's okay to stop. Just for a moment. Stop.

"Your duty is to be and not to be this or that. 'I am that I am' sums up the whole truth. The method is summed up in the words 'Be still'. What does stillness mean? It means destroy yourself. Because any form or shape is the cause for trouble. Give up the notion that 'I am so and so'. All that is required to realize the Self is to be still. What can be easier than that?" ~ Ramana Maharshi

No more struggle to ‘prove’ my worth or lack thereof. No more effort to achieve and receive validation or condemnation. Just to be...

Love,
Diederik

31/07/2025

Join us this September for an intimate Choose Again workshop in the South of France. These workshops include circles, breathwork, yoga, and walks in the surrounding countryside. Led by Fred Wilberts, with Diederik over Zoom. Spaces are limited to 10 participants. Learn more here: https://www.choose-again.com/workshops-south-of-france.html

We teach a proven way to heal - really heal – the crippling effects of early childhood trauma, including anxiety, depression, dysfunctional relationships, stress, and other forms of persistent psychological suffering. The Six Steps to Freedom helps individuals to heal beliefs that drive negative l...

25/07/2025

Seeing?
"The question is not what you look at, but what you see."
-Henry David Thoreau

What I see depends purely on which seer I have called on to see. Within me there are a multitude of lenses to see through, a wide range of choices of what to see and how to see. I choose to ask my Loving Self to see for me today. I am curious what It will show me.

Love,
Diederik

22/06/2025

Today's meditation: What part of yourself have you been rejecting? In what ways do you feel shameful, ill-at-ease? Take a moment to connect to that part of yourself, and see that it is not your enemy. From a place of wholeness, choose again.

20/06/2025

Today's meditation: One of Thich Naht Hanh's mantra's. He writes: [This mantra] is not autosuggestion or wishful thinking; it's waking up to the conditions of happiness that are there. Maybe you're not mindful enough, so you don't recognize them. This mantra is to remind us that we're very lucky; we have so many conditions of happiness, and if we don't enjoy them, we're not wise at all. So when you're sitting together [with a loved one or friend], walking together, eating, or doing something together, breathe in mindfully and realize how lucky you are. Mindfulness makes the present moment into a wonderful moment.

Have a happy day, friends!

19/06/2025

Today's meditation. These question can help us to bypass the busy reasoning of our minds and get in touch with a deeper knowing. We are all inherently intelligent. We are all inherently loving. Learning to listen to our true minds is a great skill to develop. Enjoy!

18/06/2025

Today's meditation. Good morning!