Dear friends,
Summer vacation is just around the corner, or for many of you it may already have begun. A period we often look forward to for months. No work for a while, no packed schedule and hopefully time to catch our breath again.
A week in the Italian Alps
Last June I was able to spend a short week in the Italian Alps myself. How good that was for me, once again. Every morning we started with a cold water bath in an ice cold mountain stream. After that I began the day with a silent meditation, while the mountains were slowly lit up by the rising sun. The rest of the day we went on beautiful walks through the mountains. No phone, no hurry, no obligations. A calm daily rhythm, lots of silence and above all lots of nature.
I stayed with a number of like-minded colleagues in a simple Alpine hut. That very simplicity felt incredibly rich. No excess, but peace, good conversations, eating together, walking and above all plenty of space simply to be. We also spent two days in a Tibetan monastery, where we meditated together and followed inspiring teachings. It was special to experience how an environment of stillness invites you, almost by itself, to get out of your head and come home to yourself again.
How fast we really live
During a week like that, I realize again and again how fast we really live. We often expect two or three weeks of summer vacation to be enough to make up for a whole year of working, caring, arranging and performing. But usually our vacation is also full of travel, outings, social engagements and all sorts of activities. Even relaxing sometimes seems to have become something we have to perform at.
As a spiritual coach and Primary Care Doctor, I see every day what a constantly overstimulated nervous system does to people. Fatigue, sleep problems, stress, physical symptoms and feelings of emptiness are often not problems in their own right. They are frequently a signal that we have slowly lost contact with ourselves.
Pausing for a moment
Only when it becomes quieter inside can we hear again what our heart actually wants to tell us.
Treat yourself to a retreat
That is precisely why I believe it is good to treat yourself, alongside the summer vacation, to a retreat once or twice a year. It does not have to be grand or complicated at all. It can be a weekend or a week in which you consciously seek out stillness. Simply at home, without a schedule and without all kinds of obligations. Or in a monastery, an ashram, during an in-depth workshop or in another place where simplicity, rest and reflection are central.
What nature, meditation and silence do for us
More and more scientific research shows how important nature, meditation and silence are for our health. Spending time in nature lowers stress, helps reduce feelings of loneliness and increases our experience of connection and meaning. Meditation calms the nervous system and helps us to be driven less by the constant stream of thoughts.
That search for soulfulness is also the common thread in my book Doctor’s Orders: Partner with Your Soul. In it, I describe how health is much more than just the absence of illness. It is also about living from meaning, connection, inner peace and staying true to who you really are.
Doctor’s Orders: Partner with Your Soul
In my book I take you on a search for health, consciousness, meaning and the connection between body, personality and soul. A book for people who do not only want to function better, but also want to live more deeply. A book about the healing power of awareness, connection and soulfulness.
From my practice, I guide people who long for more balance, soulfulness and personal growth. I do this with in-depth consultations and coaching and with marma treatments, in which body, energy, consciousness and meaning come together. The aim is always the same: to come closer to yourself again, so that you do not only function better, but also live more from your heart and from who you really are.
What lies ahead
From 2027
Because I notice how great the need is for stillness and depth, I plan to also organize in-depth weekends and retreats for small groups from 2027. Weekends centered on nature, meditation, reflection and personal growth. A place where you can step out of the busyness of everyday life for a while, to come home to yourself again.
Starting late 2026
In addition, at the end of 2026 the training Doctor’s Orders: Partner with Your Soul starts. This group training is meant for people who feel that there is more in them. You may be functioning perfectly well, but feel that you are not yet fully living from who you really are. In this in-depth program, based on my book, you work intensively on your own development and learn how to guide others on a deeper level as well. At the end you receive a certificate as Trainer/Coach Doctor’s Orders: Partner with Your Soul.
I wish you all a wonderful summer. Enjoy your vacation, and enjoy truly becoming still within yourself. Because it is precisely in silence that we often discover that everything we are looking for was present within us all along.
Warm wishes from my heart,
Richard Hoofs
Spiritual coach, writer and Primary Care Doctor