Story

As far as I can remember, I have always been looking for a deeper meaning in life and authentic connections with others. I guess something that I currently call "the essence of life". As a highly energetic person, a deep dreamer, people pleaser, and an abstract thinker, my life has always felt like an obverse balancing act. Needless to say, with a lack of proper personal developmental tools and an overflow of reciprocal distrust from Western culture, this was a perfect recipe for strong inner conflicts, which resulted in lots of rage and frustration during my teenage years.

The more I thought, the less I understood. The more I tried to connect, the lonelier I felt. Not all was bad, I had many blessings, like fantastic brothers and a handful of extremely reliable friends with whom I share memories of the most wonderful adventures. Nevertheless, the world was a confusing place, not to mention school, which I couldn't describe in any other words than an arduous waste of time. Obviously, this resulted in a downward spiral of trouble and bad grades. But eventually, with some delay, I managed to reach the finish line.

Later in life, in my twenties, the soul of house and techno music got me madly in love (a spark that ignited in my teens). The people, the sounds, the culture, the smell of revolution. It felt like coming home. Eager to have a prominent role in this boundless tribe, I spent loads of time producing music and trying to score DJ gigs in local pubs with my partner in crime, Wim. This was accompanied by drinking astronomic quantities of alcohol, taking E's till the sun rises, and working dull and frustrating jobs for the sake of the weekend.

Some years later, naively entering my 30s, some people and powerful plant medicines lighted up new potential paths in my life (the seeds of my spiritual practices were planted decades before, but that story is for another occasion). Slowly but surely, I embarked on a more holistic journey. Anxiously shedding off my technomusic cocoon, radically upcycling my bitterness towards Western culture, and repurposing my indoctrinated shame for psychedelics and alternative lifestyles. The start of an intense transformative journey.

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By exploring & expanding consciousness, we might have a shot at overcoming the destructive consequences of materialism.