There is space for playing, exploring and experimenting. You get to know interesting people in a special way: they do not introduce themselves as usual or engage in talking, but they share their desires, feelings, wants and behaviours. You experience a much more authentic and natural connection between people.

What is Heart Intelligence for me and what makes me come again and again to our meetings? It is a chance for me to connect with parts of myself I have lost connection with or which I normally do not show to others, but which long to be expressed. It is scary and enjoyable to get to know myself better, to recognize my defense mechanisms and to experiment with reactions different to my normal ones. I notice that Heart Intelligence influences different areas of my life in a positive way. It has improved my connection to my brother. Also, in dating I notice I have become more aware of my patterns, so I know better what is going on and I am no longer blindly taken over by it. I also enormously enjoy the energy of the other group members in the circle and the genuine attention that is given to each other.

The circle is a mysterious thing, with immense power. To link in to that power was to give a gift to myself. I really felt that I became one with the others in the circle, saw their beauty, their struggle, their vulnerability, their gifts and talents. The sum of these things invited me to open myself and to show my vulnerability, my talents, my beauty to those others. It had a feeling of something intensely and essentially human to share in this way. The greatest lesson that I feel I have learned from my contact with HI, but especially this past weekend, is to share more with others and to create for myself the conditions in which this becomes possible. I have too often thought and felt that I have to walk alone, have to be alone in life. I realise that becoming all I can be involves learning to share more and more with others, walking with them and sharing with them.

The Heart Intelligence days were very special for me. Often I am worrying about what other people think about me and what the world expects of me – without noticing that I do so. So I lose the connection with myself and instead anticipate what others want from me. In Heart Intelligence you learn to really feel what you want yourself and what gives you joy. The days require a lot of energy, but I go home with even more energy.

A week after I attended a Heart Intelligence Experience Day for the first time, I went on a trip with my mother’s family. A futile incident triggered a dramatic incident with an aunt of mine. The whole situation made me very sad, also because I could understand my aunt’s position. In the conversation we had together she was mainly blaming and I defending. It brought us nowhere. Until I asked her to let aside all others and just tell me what was moving in her. That was a turning point in our conversation. She shared how she felt and as she was talking about her own experiences, all of a sudden I could easily listen to her and I got to understand her reaction. It was wonderful to notice what a difference it makes in communication when both speak from their own experience. I am very grateful for having experienced this immediate change thanks to what I learned in a day with Thomas and Alet.