In this final episode of season two, I take a moment to reflect.
This season of Living the Unseen was all about the quiet relationship between humans and nature—the ways we belong to the world, even when we forget. From conversations about sacred sites, taoism and nurturing our bodies, to stories of reconnection and slowness, a clear thread emerged: we don’t need to go far to find meaning. Often, it’s right beneath our feet.
In this solo episode, I share what nature and spirituality mean to me personally, not as abstract concepts, but as daily companions. I also introduce something new I’ve been working on: a book project called The Art of Attunement. It’s not a how-to or a self-help guide, but a personal exploration of what it means to live in tune with our bodies, each other, and the earth.
If you’ve been listening this season, thank you. I hope this closing episode leaves you with a sense of quiet connection and trust in your own inner rhythm.
What does it mean to live a spiritual life without the rituals, robes, or rules?
In this special episode of Living the Unseen, the roles reverse: Cristina Pop, host of the Stop Running Your Business like a Man podcast, interviews me, Arjanna. We explore the quiet moments and personal shifts that have shaped how I understand spirituality today: becoming a mother, reconnecting with nature, navigating bore-out, and learning to trust life more deeply.
This conversation is about the messy, real-life version of spirituality that lives in the body, in our relationships, and in the choices we make every day. It’s about letting go of the need to be impressive and instead learning to be present.
Whether you’re in a moment of transition or simply curious what a grounded spiritual path can look like, I hope this episode offers something that resonates.
More about Cristina:
https://www.instagram.com/cristina.thrive
How can you allow yourself to deeply care about the planet without burning out?
In this episode of Living the Unseen, I speak with Harriët van der Weele, mindfulness trainer and strategic advisor for the energy transition. Harriët shares her journey from climate activism and frustration to inner transformation, and how mindfulness helped her find a more sustainable path for herself and for the work she cares about.
We explore how honoring difficult emotions can reveal what matters most, why feminine energy and inner reflection are vital in today's leadership, and how we can shift from feeling overwhelmed to being of real value.
Harriët also speaks candidly about the discomfort of talking about spirituality and softness in professional spaces, and how embracing those elements can actually create deeper impact.
Whether you’re working in sustainability, feeling stuck between urgency and exhaustion, or simply searching for a more grounded way to show up in the world: this conversation is an invitation to pause, reflect, and reconnect.
About Harriët
Harriët van der Weele is deeply committed to protecting the natural world. After years of working with an international environmental organization, she realized that fighting from anger and frustration wasn’t sustainable, neither for the planet nor for herself. This insight sparked a personal transformation. Harriët began to explore mindfulness, eventually training as a certified mindfulness teacher and added elements of body work, reconnecting with nature, positive psychology, the law of attraction and non-agressive communication, so she could guide others on a similar path.
Today, she combines inner and outer work: supporting individuals through mindfulness-based work, while also working as a strategic communications advisor for the energy transition and speaking at conferences on climate and sustainability. Harriët’s journey is a powerful reminder that meaningful change starts from within.
More about Harriët
In this episode of Living the Unseen, I sit down with Crispijn Jansen, a Dutch Tao Trainer whose path to Taoism began in the unlikely world of physics and corporate management. Crispijn shares how his journey of exploring Tai Chi, Qigong, and Taoist teachings helped him navigate personal challenges - from anger as a parent, to struggles with intimacy. He breaks down the essence of Taoist philosophy, which views humans as an integral part of nature, and how this perspective can help us find balance and emotional regulation.
Crispijn explains how Taoist practices can help us experience our 'inner landscape' and transform difficult emotions like anger into creative energy. He also shares practical techniques for creating a deeper sense of safety and grounding, which he believes is essential for a more compassionate and connected world.
Whether you're curious about Taoism, seeking ways to manage emotions, or exploring a deeper connection with nature, this conversation is a gentle yet powerful invitation to see yourself as part of the intricate web of life.
About Crispijn
Crispijn Jansen is a Tao Trainer dedicated to helping people connect more deeply with themselves through Taoist Internal Alchemy. As an official transmission partner at the Dutch mystery school Tao Training, he combines his experience as a corporate trainer with his passion for ancient wisdom. He lives in Almere Oosterwold with his partner Natida (doula) and their three kids Luis, Nuria and Narumi.
Crispijn experienced the storm of life in ways he could not handle constructively, until he experienced the effect of Taoist meditation and Tao Chi / Chi Kung. These techniques and the thoughts around them gave him a profound feeling of having found a mystery school he can call home. Slowly but surely he is able to put himself on a more constructive track and at the same time his calling to enter a gnostic, dogma-free ‘priesthood’ became reality.
He offers workshops and year-long training programs that blend online modules with interactive live sessions, guiding participants to reduce stress, enhance vitality, and develop 'feeling awareness.' His approach encourages a more natural, grounded way of living, inspiring others to explore their inner landscapes.
According to his experience and teachings, developing awareness of this Inner Landscape and learning to influence our “energetic bodies” lays the foundation for becoming safe, Wise and more powerful human beings. The world needs many more of those and Crispijn strives to become one and to develop this Inner gentle strength and Wisdom in as many men and woman as he can.
More about Crispijn
https://www.taojaartraining.nl
Instagram:
@crispijnjansen
@taojaartraining
What if your body held the wisdom you’ve been searching for?
In this episode of Living the Unseen, I sit down with Jasmin to explore her journey of reconnecting with her body and intuition after being diagnosed with Hashimoto, an autoimmune condition affecting the thyroid. Rather than simply following a prescribed path, Jasmin chose to listen deeply to her body, treating it as a source of wisdom rather than a problem to fix.
She shares how her relationship with her body transformed from something to control to something to nurture, and how that shift rippled out into the way she connects with the natural world. As she learned to care for herself more gently, she also began caring for the earth with the same love and respect.
In this episode discuss the link between self-expression and health, the balance between medical guidance and inner knowing, and the power of embracing our own nature. Jasmin’s experience is a powerful reminder that true healing involves more than just physical recovery: for Jasmin, it was about reclaiming her own voice, honoring her body’s messages, and deepening her relationship with the world around her.
This episode invites you to consider: What might happen if you stopped resisting your body and started listening to it instead?
About Jasmin Redweik
Jasmin was born and raised in Munich, Germany, and lives now in the beautiful countryside of the Swiss Rheintal together with her family. She’s an entrepreneur and coach with the heart mission to support people when they’ve reached a point in life when continuing as before is no longer an option, when they know that things need to change. Mostly they don’t know how or where to start - and that’s exactly when Jasmin is there, with an open heart, her strong intuition, and her sense of clarity and focus. She helps people to connect again to their heart and truth, to gain perspective and to define the necessary next steps to create a fulfilling life from within.
Jasmin founded her first company BALIS, a pioneering beverage brand, back in 2016 together with her brother and ex-partner. She also gained various experiences in the agency, fashion and management consulting field. She’s a creator by heart and loves to bring ideas to life. Jasmin loves to be out in nature with her dog Elli, to hike, ride horses, travel, write her own books and explore the unknown.
Find Jasmin online
www.instagram.com/jasminredweik
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasmin-redweik/
Resources that have helped Jasmin on her journey
Jasmin: "I would usually go on the URL field in my browser and type “symptom spirituelle.info” and click enter. This site is in German only."
Louise Hay - Heal your body (Book, English and German)
Lise Bourbeau - Dein Körper sagt: Liebe Dich (Book, German)
Jasmin: "I have these books and regularly look up what my body and its symptoms is trying to tell me."
"What if you just kept going?" That question changed everything for Bas Jongerius.
A decade ago, we worked together at Circle Economy, where Bas welcomed every newcomer with a powerful question: “When did you feel most alive?” But as he threw himself into work, striving to make the world more circular, he realized he was neglecting himself.
One day, exhausted and burned out, he imagined cycling past the office and just continuing east. Eventually, he did. Over the course of 13 months, Bas biked from Amsterdam to Singapore, covering 15,000 kilometers through 24 countries. Along the way, he faced freezing nights in the Kyrgyz mountains, battled relentless headwinds, and discovered a deep connection to nature—and himself.
In this episode, we talk about breaking free from routines, the lessons the elements teach us, and what happens when you have no choice but to keep moving forward. We also dive into his journey with ecstatic dance and tantra, and how he shifted from an individual quest for freedom to deeper connection with others.
Join us for a conversation about adventure, resilience, and the ever-changing winds of life.
About Bas Jongerius
Bas is a gardener and landscaper based in Amsterdam. In 2017, a yearlong journey by bicycle from his hometown in the Netherlands to Singapore shifted his life-focus from career building to self-development. Through meditation, ecstatic dancing and tantric practices Bas now incorporates spirituality in his day to day life. His work as a gardener further deepens his understanding of the relationship between spirituality and nature.
Find Bas online
Website: basjongeri.us
IG: @bcjongerius
Youtube (in Dutch): https://www.youtube.com/@DTOURdiscovery
Resources that Bas mentioned in the episode
Circle Economy: circle-economy.com
Vipassana meditation: dhamma.org
Ecstatic dance in Amsterdam: ecstaticdanceamsterdam.com & odessa.amsterdam
Els van Stein on family dynamics (in Dutch): elsvansteijn.nl & her book in english (elsvansteijn.nl/boeken/the-fountain-find-your-place)
Tantric centre in Amsterdam (in Dutch): centrumvoortantra.nl
At Little Dutch Farm, Kim Taylor helps people slow down and rediscover their connection to nature—not by venturing into the wild, but by paying attention to what’s already around them. In this episode, among other things, we explore the power of awe: those small, magical moments, like watching mist rise over a field or noticing the intricate patterns on a leaf. Research shows that awe isn’t just beautiful; it’s deeply healing.
We also talk about how strengthening our bond with nature makes sustainable choices feel natural rather than difficult. When we truly feel part of the world around us, protecting it becomes second nature.
Join us for this inspiring conversation about mindful presence, the joy of small wonders, and how nature can guide us toward a more connected and sustainable way of living.
About Kim Taylor
With 19 years of experience in sustainability at start-ups and scale-ups, Kim combines her leadership and sustainability expertise with nature coaching and love for farm life (living off the land, cooking & eating seasonal food, community) to create Little Dutch Farm.
At Little Dutch Farm Kim hosts nature-based programs (farm days, retreats, team days and 1:1 coaching) that foster authentic connections and transformative experiences for individuals, groups, leaders and teams. Through garden therapy and nature coaching, Kim is dedicated to helping others rediscover the wisdom of nature, embrace its healing power, and enhance their mental and physical well-being.
Kim’s passion for reconnecting people with nature stems from her own journey. After experiencing burnout, she discovered the profound healing power of nature and the fulfillment that comes from a simpler, more intentional life. She believes that our disconnection from nature not only impacts our mental health but also hinders our collective ability to address climate change.
Find Kim online
https://www.instagram.com/littledutchfarm_kimtaylor/
Some of the books that inspire Kim
Wintering by Katherine May
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
The Well-Gardened Mind by Sue Stuart Smith
In this episode of Living the Unseen, Julia reveals how landscapes, sacred sites, and even everyday natural elements like feathers and flowers connect us to deeper wisdom and ancestral codes.
Julia's journey from corporate life to spiritual guide highlights her belief that the Earth is a living organism offering teachings that guide humanity. Tune in to hear her powerful insights on living in harmony with nature and embracing its transformative energy as a source of connection, inspiration, and purpose.
About Julia
Julia is a code carrier of the Sophia Consciousness, Magdalene Rose Priestess and Steward of Gaia.
It is her mission to support women on the path of fully embodying their multidimensionality as living bridge of the divine and earthly realm.
As a women’s ceremonialist and mentor, she guides women to live in tune with the rhythms of nature, reclaim their sovereign power and reconnect with their soul essence & wisdom.
As Reiki Master Teacher and energy healer she holds and facilitates space for potent transformational processes allowing others to access their innate soul wisdom.
Her true passion lies in being an endless pilgrim, guiding others on sacred sojourns designed to catalyze a profound exploration of self. In the embrace of ancient lands enchanted by magick, Julia facilitates experiences of expansions of consciousness and awakening to one's own purpose in the greater tapestry of the cosmos.
Find Julia online
Website: www.soulwisdom.ch
FB: @Soul Wisdom
Podcast: The Sacred Travel Podcast on Youtube, Spotify, Apple
Free Program: 22 Days of Mastering Your Creatrix Powers
Sacred Travel Experiences 2025: https://www.soulwisdom.ch/sacred-travel
In this episode of Living the Unseen, nutritionist Nirvana Abou-Gabal talks about the profound connection between caring for our bodies and the natural world from a Muslim perspective.
Drawing on ancestral traditions, she shares her wisdom on shifting from a mindset of domination to one of stewardship, viewing our bodies and the earth as sacred gifts to nurture.
About Nirvana
Nirvana Abou-Gabal, LDN, CNS, MS is a licensed dietitian nutritionist dedicated to helping women heal their relationship with food and their bodies.
As the founder of Nourished Living and Intuitive Muslimah, she empowers women to break free from restrictive eating and embrace nourishment rooted in balance, joy, and self-compassion.
Through her work, Nirvana combines evidence-based nutrition with cultural and spiritual sensitivity, inspiring clients to nurture their health without restriction, deprivation, or shame.
Resources
The Living the Unseen podcast came into existence to explore spirituality from different angles, and learn how others integrate their spiritual practices into their day-to-day lives.
In season 1 of the podcast, my friend Tanja Lau and I explored spirituality in the broadest sense of the word. In season 2, I am zooming in on nature & spirituality.
I want to hear stories about the most awe-inspiring moments at sacred sites, and the simplest nature-based rituals one can do at home. I imagine we’ll talk about gardening, forest bathing, hiking, rituals, animal spirit guides, art, mindfulness and herbalism - and I am open to see what else shows up.
In this first episode of the season, I share why I believe now is the time to zoom in on nature.
Matt Champoux is a nature lover and yoga teacher from the Bay Area, California.
This episode is an intimate conversation between Abi Afolabi and Arjanna. Whereas Abi grew up in a Christian household, Arjanna grew up without any form of religion. We explore how you deal with fear with or without God in your life and how Abi’s relationship with God changed drastically as she moved from Nigeria to Switzerland.
Abi talks about gratitude and tells us how she managed to carve out up to two hours per day for her morning ritual – yes, even mothers can do that 🙂
About Abi
Abi is a Christian, a wife, a mother and the owner of Abi's Cupcakery.
Growing up in a Christian household in Lagos, Nigeria, Christianity was always in the backdrop of her life, but moving to Switzerland away from the family religious safety blanket led her to lose the faith she grew up with, so that she could discover her own faith in Jesus.
In investing time daily in her relationship with God (through prayer, worship and reading her Bible), she’s come to discover the love of God in a deeply personal way, that informs the way she sees and moves through the world and counts it as the most important part of her life.
She has realized through this ongoing journey that though she grew up with Christianity, it was only an introduction, and that no one can lean on inherited faith or the faith of others, rather they need to claim their own faith and live it out.
And this is what she tries to do: to live out her faith and grow daily in her love for her God and for people.
Shownotes:
Join us for a rich conversation with Remi where we cover a wide range of topics – from philosophy to breath work, from making peace with your body to birthday celebrations as a spiritual act.
Find out what a bearded guy in India had to do with Remi’s spiritual journey and how Hank, Professor McGonagall and someone named Joshua ended up in this very special episode…
About Remi
Remi grew up in France, trained as a lawyer across Europe and then built a career as a business executive in the tech industry over 3 continents.
While building his career, pressure and responsibilities turned him into a jerk at times. He came to question his approach to anything and everything which made him passionate about self-transformation through emotional and nervous system regulation.
Vipassana meditator and trained on various practices, he founded Tiwara to bring personal growth tools and practices to the business world. He now lives in Portugal with my wife, Nina, and their dog, Uxua.
Tanja first heard about plant medicine years ago, but it wasn’t until last year in December that she felt the calling to go on an Ayahuasca retreat. Our guest, Irina Lahtadire, was one of the people who helped her prepare for this event. In this episode Irina and Tanja talk about their experiences with psychedelics in public for the very first time.
Irina will share which aspects she considered before choosing her destination, how she set her intention and most importantly: why integration work is so vital to unpack your experience sitting with plant medicine. We will even briefly touch upon internal family constellations as one powerful tool when using psychedelics on a healing journey.
Please note: We do in no way promote the use of drugs or psychedelic substances. There are many ways to support your individual spiritual journey and whether or not plant medicine could be one of them depends on a wide range of factors such as your health, your emotional state, your family situation, medication you are taking or any other relevant precondition. Please consult your physician and experienced guides before making any decisions and listen to your body.
About Irina Lahtadire
Hailing from Latvia, Irina launched her product management career in Berlin before bringing her talents to the Zurich startup scene. Currently, she is a co-founder and CEO of Bai AI, a platform that empowers content creators to amplify their unique voices and expertise through AI versions of themselves.
A deep curiosity about consciousness and human psyche sparked a self-exploration journey for Irina early on. Meditation, coaching, therapy, and somatic practices all played a big role in that journey, and eventually she came to work with IFS and plant medicines for healing and spiritual growth.
Irina is a psychedelic harm reduction, preparation, and integration coach, a Co-Active coach, and is IFS-informed, which proves to be an incredibly powerful combination of modalities for nurturing self-leadership and accelerating personal transformation. While she primarily focuses on building her company these days, she remains open to coaching those referred by her trusted network who seek greater clarity, authenticity, and fulfillment in life.
A firm believer in the notion of ‘Healthy body, healthy mind’, Irina is also a competitive pole dancer and a big CrossFit fan.
Shownotes
10 days in complete silence – if you’re living with kids or in a noisy environment, that might sounds like heaven. But let’s be honest: It also sounds like a tremendous challenge, especially if you are not supposed to move, read or write during that time… In this episode, we talked to Akshay Mahajan who has spent over 1000 hours practicing different kinds of meditation, including a Vipassana silence retreat. If you’re curious how that affected his life or his work – don’t miss out on this conversation – even and especially if you feel you don’t have time to meditate at all 😊
About Akshay
Akshay comes from Punjab in North India and has been living in Amsterdam for over five years now. He comes from an Entrepreneurial background in India where he helped scale a unicorn startup and has launched several business initiatives in the Netherlands as well, including for Booking.com. While achieving professional success, he realised he needed a bigger cause to have more fulfillment in life and that’s where meditation came in.
Driven by a very strict childhood, Akshay values the freedom to follow your heart above anything else. He has spent more than 7 years working/researching on inner purpose and what drives people from within. He draws from his experience of 1000+ hours of meditation (Breathing, Vipassana) and more than 3000 hours of research on purpose and happiness from podcasts, books, retreats, happiness courses etc.
CEO and spiritual medium – not really two job titles you generally see together on someone’s Linkedin profile.
Our guest Larissa Hämisegger is the CEO of UNUmondo, an unconventional language school – and a medium. For the longest time, she felt like a stranger on earth, until she learned how to connect to her heart and discovered a deep sense of inner peace.
And her spiritual journey doesn’t stop there. She is now able to be in a meditative state pretty much all of the time, and can very clearly hear the voices of her spirit guides, who guide her in her everyday private and work decisions, and help her support others.
ABOUT LARISSA
Larissa, since her childhood and well into her late twenties, felt like a stranger on Earth, finding the prevailing values and behaviors divergent from her inner beliefs.
Driven by a desire for societal impact and a quest for a more inclusive company culture, Larissa embarked on an entrepreneurial journey, founding her own venture. With UNUmondo, her language school, she endeavors to foster a sense of belonging among internationals in Switzerland by offering language learning experiences that transcend conventional methods.
Additionally, Larissa’s platform serves as a hub for enhancing interpersonal understanding through workshops, events, and coaching sessions. Topics range from self-awareness to mindful listening, aimed at bridging communication gaps and connecting disparate communities.
Her philosophy centers on using personal transformation to catalyze societal change, embracing a holistic approach that encompasses mind, body, and soul. Besides her role as CEO of UNUmondo, Larissa also channels her expertise in collective energy fields and serves as a medium, particularly for individuals in influential positions, leveraging insights to drive impactful outcomes.
Shownotes
Complete strangers acting as your family members, sudden insights into generational trauma, intuitive immersions in your family tree? Sounds intense – and a bit magical.
In this episode, we talk to business mentor and family constellations leader Merel van Vugt, to explore how the family constellations approach can help us understand our family’s dynamics and patterns, and heal unresolved issues.
But that’s not all – a lot of other important questions popped up in this conversion, like:
About Merel
With 15 years of work experience in various roles in marketing & sales across a wide range of companies, Merel van Vugt has gained extensive practical knowledge. However, on her personal journey to happiness, she has accumulated 20 years of experience in personal development (with various training courses from EFT to Systemic work). Everything comes together in her coaching practice that is focusing on empowering her clients and filling them up with joy.
Shownotes
How can spirituality shape a doctor’s medical practice? And what is it like to work with a spiritual mentor? If you are like us, you might feel a certain resistance when it comes to following gurus and other spiritual guides. But Kriti’s inner clarity and peace really made us curious about her journey and the support she found along the way.
Dr. Kriti Nanda, Medical Doctor, Mental Health Coach, Researcher in Contemplative Sciences and Developer of Digital Tools for Mindfulness.
From a very young age, Kriti’s passion has been to help spread the awareness and importance of holistic Mental Health and Well-being. She supports individuals in overcoming their personal obstacles and energy drainers – with a focus on guiding them beyond their symptoms to helping address their root cause. Kriti believes that all we need today is hidden within us – we often simply just don’t know how to access it. The transformation tools she has experienced herself and is practising and sharing today, she learned from her guide Maitreya Dadashreeji. They have been developed specifically for the current time and have been scientifically validated. The goal, very simple, is to help individuals connect to themselves and really understand themselves, so they can be empowered to lead a happy, peaceful and fulfilling life and experience their true nature – unconditional Love.
…more about her journey can be found on her homepage https://kritinanda.com
Show notes for this episode:
How is consciousness actually created in the brain? Can you apply scientific methods when it comes to spiritual practices? Questions like these led our guest Cristina Moraru onto a fascinating path where she started digging deeper into the intersection of science and spirituality. In our conversation she talks about people and resources that helped her on her journey, what a cup sleeve taught her about listening to her inner voice and why yoga is not her thing.
Cristina A. Moraru is a science communicator and independent researcher bridging the worlds of science and spirituality. Her mission is to normalize exploring one’s spirituality as a rational and relevant activity for understanding ourselves, our world, and our place in it. Through her podcast Worthful Woman, Cristina interviews thought leaders at the intersections of science and spirituality, and shares her journey as a woman exploring both scientific and spiritual realms. Cristina is particularly interested in women’s and children’s experiences, and actively contributes to academic research in child development; her previous work was published in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. Tune in to the Worthful Woman podcast and find out more about Cristina’s work at www.worthfulwoman.com
Shownotes for this episode:
From silence retreats to tarot readings for companies, from Ayahuasca to Wicca traditions – Where and how does a spiritual journey begin? Which forms can it take? How do we break the taboo and start talking about it to others?
Arjanna van der Plas and Tanja Lau are on a quest to explore spirituality from different angles and learn how others started to integrate it into their day-to-day lives – on their own, in their families or even at work. In each episode, we bring you insightful conversations, new ideas and thought-provoking discussions that bridge the gap between the urban hustle and the quest for inner peace.
Whether you’re already on your personal spiritual journey or just curious about the topic, “Living The Unseen” offers a fresh perspective on incorporating ancient wisdom into the contemporary city grind.
In this first episode, Arjanna and Tanja reveal why they started the podcast and what they are hoping to find in the conversations with their guests.