Die Kunst des Zauberns,

Viele Menschen glauben sie könnten nicht zaubern. Dabei zaubern wir täglich, erkennen es bloß nicht. Hören Sie mal gut zu wie verzaubert wir leben. Wir sagen im Alltag: „was hast zu für ein wunderbares Essen gezaubert“ „du siehst heute bezaubernd aus“ „was ist das für eine zauberhafte Musik“ „du hast mich verzaubert“…

Zaubern ist nichts anderes, als einen Zustand zu verändern. Wir stellen etwas her, wandeln etwas um, erfinden etwas Neues, schreiben neue Texte, entwerfen neue Ideen.

Max Weber schrieb 1920 in seinem berühmten Werk „Die protestantische Ethik und der Geist des Kapitalismus“, dass durch die Entwicklung nach der Aufklärung, die Welt entzaubert wurde. Alles wurde Menschen möglich, alles war denkbar und machbar, rational begründbar. Alles Wunderbare und alle Magie mussten dem rationalen und beweisbaren Denken weichen. Was für eine herzlose Wellt haben sich die Menschen damit gezaubert, ohne es zu wissen?

Vielleicht können wir die Welt ja wieder in eine wunderbare Welt verzaubern, durch all das Wunderbare, das wir entdecken und erleben dürfen, durch wunderbare Töne, die wir hören, die schönen Bilder, die wir sehen, Düfte, die wir riechen und Genüsse, die wir schmecken, durch Neues, das wir erfinden…

Trauen wir uns wieder das eigene Leben zu verzaubern. Der Zauber ist der Stoff aus dem die Märchen sind.

Eine zauberhafte neue Woche

Gertrud Müller

The art of magic

Many people believe they cannot do magic. However, we do magic every day, we just don’t notice it. Listen carefully to our magical lives. We say ‘you’ve magicked up a nice meal’, ‘you’ve put a spell on me’, ‘you look charming’, ‘what enchanting music’. Performing magic is no different to changing a situation. We produce something, transform something, invent something new, write new texts, develop new ideas. In 1920, Max Weber wrote in his famous work ‘The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism’ that the world was disenchanted following the Enlightenment. Everything became possible, everything was imaginable and doable, could be explained rationally. Everything wonder-ful and magical had to give way to rational and provable thinking. What a heartless world people have conjured up without knowing.

Maybe we can do magic and transform the world into a wonderful world again through our wonderful experiences that we may discover and encounter,  through wonderful sounds that we hear, through beautiful images that we see and treats that we taste, through new things we invent, …

Let’s dare to enchant our own lives again. Magic is what fairytales are made of. Maybe one day we’ll say there was a time when people couldn’t see miracles and magic any more, a time when people fought about who was right, when people waged wars and treated each other badly. Fairytale heroes manage to overcome situations that aren’t satisfactory.

Have a magical new week.

Gertrud Müller

The art of magic

Many people believe they cannot do magic. However, we do magic every day, we just don’t notice it. Listen carefully to our magical lives. We say ‘you’ve magicked up a nice meal’, ‘you’ve put a spell on me’, ‘you look charming’, ‘what enchanting music’. Performing magic is no different to changing a situation. We produce something, transform something, invent something new, write new texts, develop new ideas. In 1920, Max Weber wrote in his famous work ‘The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism’ that the world was disenchanted following the Enlightenment. Everything became possible, everything was imaginable and doable, could be explained rationally. Everything wonder-ful and magical had to give way to rational and provable thinking. What a heartless world people have conjured up without knowing.

Maybe we can do magic and transform the world into a wonderful world again through our wonderful experiences that we may discover and encounter,  through wonderful sounds that we hear, through beautiful images that we see and treats that we taste, through new things we invent, …

Let’s dare to enchant our own lives again. Magic is what fairytales are made of. Maybe one day we’ll say there was a time when people couldn’t see miracles and magic any more, a time when people fought about who was right, when people waged wars and treated each other badly. Fairytale heroes manage to overcome situations that aren’t satisfactory.

Have a magical new week.

Gertrud Müller

Wunder sehen lernen

Es gibt viele Menschen, die nicht an Wunder glauben.  Und eigentlich sind diese Menschen zu bedauern, denn sie werden kaum Wunder erleben, weil sie Wunder nicht sehen können.

Nehmen wir das Wunder des Schmetterlings, der aus der Raupe schlüpft. Ein Mensch, der nicht an Wunder glaubt, wird naturwissenschaftlich belegen, warum eine Raupe zu einem Schmetterling wird. Warum wird dann ein Regenwurm kein Schmetterling? Es ist ein Wunder, dass jedes Lebewesen aus einer einzelnen Zelle entsteht und doch wird aus jedem ein anderes Wesen. Es ist ein Wunder, dass wir immer ähnlich bleiben als Mensch, obwohl wir zuerst kleine Babys sind, später Erwachsene und dann alte Menschen, es ist ein Wunder, dass sich das überall gleicht, obwohl die Menschen in den unterschiedlichen Regionen ganz anderen Bedingungen ausgesetzt sind. Es ist ein Wunder, wenn ein Kind geboren wird, eine Pflanze aus dem Samenkorn kommt, ein Küken auf dem Ei schlüpft oder wenn ein sehr kranker Mensch wieder gesund wird, ein gewalttätiger Mensch sich zu einer friedlichen Person entwickelt.

Menschen, die an Wunder glauben, werden wesentlich mehr Wunder erleben. Sie können ein wundervolles Leben führen. Menschen, die nicht an Wunder glauben, werden die Welt und ihr Leben viel häufiger als unvollkommen und verbesserungswürdig empfinden.

Es lohnt sich an Wunder zu glauben, es gibt eine sichere und nachweisbare Wirkung, wenn Menschen an Wunder glauben, verbessert sich das eigene Lebensgefühl!

In diesem pfingstlichen Sinn, lernen wir wieder Wunder zu sehen, dann werden sie geschehen.

Eine wundervolle neue Woche

Gertrud Müller

Learning to see miracles

There are many people who don’t believe in miracles and since they cannot believe in miracles themselves, they also need to convince others that miracles don’t exist. These people are rather poor since they will hardly experience miracles because they can’t see them. Take the miracle of a butterfly developing from a caterpillar. A person who does not believe in miracles will scientifically prove why a caterpillar develops into a butterfly. Why then does an earth worm not turn into a butterfly? It’s a miracle that every living thing develops from one single cell and yet they all turn into different creatures. It’s a miracle that we remain similar as a person even though we are babies at first, later adults, then old people. It’s a miracle that this process is the same everywhere even though people in different regions are exposed to completely different conditions. It’s a miracle when a child is born, a plant grows from a seed, a chick hatches or when a very ill person recovers, a violent person develops into a peaceful person.

People who believe in miracles will experience more miracles, they can live a wonder-ful life. People who don’t believe in miracles will see the world more often as imperfect and in need of improvement. It pays to believe in miracles, there is a definitive and proven effect when people believe in miracles: it improves their attitude towards life!

In this Pentacost-spirit, let us learn to see miracles and they will happen.

Have a wonder-ful new week

 

Learning to see miracles

There are many people who don’t believe in miracles and since they cannot believe in miracles themselves, they also need to convince others that miracles don’t exist. These people are rather poor since they will hardly experience miracles because they can’t see them. Take the miracle of a butterfly developing from a caterpillar. A person who does not believe in miracles will scientifically prove why a caterpillar develops into a butterfly. Why then does an earth worm not turn into a butterfly? It’s a miracle that every living thing develops from one single cell and yet they all turn into different creatures. It’s a miracle that we remain similar as a person even though we are babies at first, later adults, then old people. It’s a miracle that this process is the same everywhere even though people in different regions are exposed to completely different conditions. It’s a miracle when a child is born, a plant grows from a seed, a chick hatches or when a very ill person recovers, a violent person develops into a peaceful person.

People who believe in miracles will experience more miracles, they can live a wonder-ful life. People who don’t believe in miracles will see the world more often as imperfect and in need of improvement. It pays to believe in miracles, there is a definitive and proven effect when people believe in miracles: it improves their attitude towards life!

In this Pentecost-spirit, learn to see miracles and they will happen.

Have a wonder-ful new week

Gertrud Müller

Politik im Kleinen

Es gibt Menschen, die schauen auf das Große, auf die Länder und Regionen, die Regierungschefs und die Meinungsführer. Viele legen die eigene Meinung, das eigene Handeln ab und stimmen dem Großen und den Meinungsführern zu. Die Wahlen in Demokratien funktionieren nach diesem Prinzip. Der Einzelne hat kaum etwas zu sagen, er kann alle vier Jahre eine Wahl für eine der Großen abgeben und wird dann geleitet. Es gibt einige Menschen, die sind dankbar für diese „Führung“ und es gibt andere, die hätten gern mehr eigene Entscheidungsrechte.

Es gibt auch Menschen die tiefer nachdenken und beobachten. Sie sehen, alles Große wächst aus dem Kleinen. Diese wertvollen Menschen werden selten wirklich berühmt und leisten dennoch das meiste, sie sind das Fundament der Staaten und der Politik; sie ehren das Kleine. Das kleine Kind, den kleinen Pflanzensprössling, den kleinen Samen, die kleine Idee, den Funken Liebe. Diese Menschen kennen das Geheimnis des Wachstums, die Magie der Entwicklung und das Potential des Wunders. Vermutlich leben auf unserer Erde mehr Menschen, die das Große sehen und nur wenige, die das kleine Leben und ihre Potentiale erkennen.

Wenn wir wollen, dass auf dieser Welt Wunder geschehen, dann ist es hilfreich nicht auf die Großen zu schauen, sondern auf die vielen guten Worte, auf die kleinen Blumen die im Schatten der großen Bäume wachsen, auf die vielen kleinen guten Taten, die in großen Ländern getan werden. Genau diese vielen kleinen guten Taten und guten Worte sind die Basis jeder guten Politik, nicht die großen Anführer, die glauben zu wissen was die Menschen brauchen und sich dabei sehr irren können. Wenn Sie sich politisch engagieren wollen, dann versuchen Sie es in der kleinen Politik des Alltags, in der Wertschätzung, in den guten Taten, in der versöhnlichen Sprache, jeden Tag, an jedem Ort.

Was meinen Sie, wie wunderbar die Welt von Morgen aussehen wird, wenn sich immer mehr Menschen gegenseitig motivieren, gute Taten und gute Worte zu üben?

Eine schöne neue Woche

Gertrud Müller

Small scale politics

There are people who pay attention to the big things, to countries and regions, to government leaders and opinion leaders. Many discard their own opinions, their own actions and instead agree with the main consensus and the opinion leaders or they reject opinion leaders. Elections in democracies work according to this principle. The individual has hardly any say, can give their vote to one of the big-wigs every four years and is then being led. There are some who are grateful for this ‘leadership’, there are others who would like to have more rights to make their own decisions.

There are also people who think and observe more deeply. They see that all the big things grow from little things. These precious people rarely become famous, yet they achieve the most, they are the foundations of state and politics, they cherish the little things, the young child, the small seedling, the small seed, the little idea, the spark of love. These people know the secret of growth, the magic of development and the potential of a miracle. Presumably, there are more people on our Earth who see the big things and fewer who recognise small scale living and their potential.

If we want miracles to happen in this world, it is helpful not to concentrate on the big things, but to see the many good words, the small flowers growing in the shadow of big trees, the many small good deeds being done in big countries. It is these many small good deeds and good words which are the basis of good politics, not the big leaders who claim to know what people need and who, like every human being, can be very wrong.

If you want to be politically engaged, try the small scale politics of the everyday, try appreciation, good deeds, conciliatory language, every day, everywhere.

Imagine how wonderful the world of tomorrow will be when more and more people motivate each other to practice good deeds and good words.

Have a nice week!

Gertrud Müller

 

Small scale politics

There are people who pay attention to the big things, to countries and regions, to government leaders and opinion leaders. Many discard their own opinions, their own actions and instead agree with the main consensus and the opinion leaders or they reject opinion leaders. Elections in democracies work according to this principle. The individual has hardly any say, can give their vote to one of the big-wigs every four years and is then being led. There are some who are grateful for this ‘leadership’, there are others who would like to have more rights to make their own decisions.

There are also people who think and observe more deeply. They see that all the big things grow from little things. These precious people rarely become famous, yet they achieve the most, they are the foundations of state and politics, they cherish the little things, the young child, the small seedling, the small seed, the little idea, the spark of love. These people know the secret of growth, the magic of development and the potential of a miracle. Presumably, there are more people on our Earth who see the big things and fewer who recognise small scale living and their potential.

If we want miracles to happen in this world, it is helpful not to concentrate on the big things, but to see the many good words, the small flowers growing in the shadow of big trees, the many small good deeds being done in big countries. It is these many small good deeds and good words which are the basis of good politics, not the big leaders who claim to know what people need and who, like every human being, can be very wrong.

If you want to be politically engaged, try the small scale politics of the everyday, try appreciation, good deeds, conciliatory language, every day, everywhere.

Imagine how wonderful the world of tomorrow will be when more and more people motivate each other to practice good deeds and good words.

Have a nice week!

Gertrud Müller

Der Bruch

Es gibt sehr viele Brüche in unserem Leben, Beinbrüche, Ehebruch, Abbruch einer Ausbildung, finanzielle Einbrüche, Ausbruch von Krisen, Aufbruch zu neuen Ufern …..

Ihnen werden bestimmt noch zahlreiche andere Brüche einfallen. Manchmal kommen uns Brüche im Leben gelegen, häufig kommen sie eher ungelegen. Bei Brüchen müssen wir Verluste hinnehmen, Neues lernen und Neues beginnen.

Warum erscheinen uns Brüche in Biographien so außergewöhnlich und schwer zu verkraften? Das Leben besteht aus Energien, Energien wollen fließen, wie der Fluss im Flussbett, wie das Blut in den Adern, wie der Wind am Himmel und die Wellen des Meeres.

Weil wir Menschen Veränderungen als mühsam empfinden, wehren wir uns dagegen. Wir versuchen das Leben und die Energien zu kontrollieren. Aus dem Wunsch nach Sicherheit entstehen Absolutismus und Automatismen mit Gesetzen, Normen, Verbote und Strafen. Dies führt wiederum früher oder später zum Bruch. Erst wenn wir das Wasser aufstauen entsteht der Dammbruch, wenn wir zu schnell oder mit falscher Belastung unterwegs sind, entstehen Knochenbrüche, wenn wir uns als Partner nicht achten, kommt es zum Ehebruch. Wenn das Leben langweilig wird wollen wir aufbrechen. Wenn wir die Energie vor dem Bruch falsch einschätzen, nicht beurteilen können oder nicht achtsam sind, entstehen Brüche. Sehr viele Brüche können wir verhindern, andere entschärfen und wir können uns unterstützen, damit wir das Leben trotz so mancher Brüche wieder meistern können.

Leider lernen wir weder den Umgang mit Energien, noch den Umgang mit Brüchen. In der Schule gibt es dazu kein Schulfach und in der Familie werden Krisen aus Scham und Schuldgefühlen verschwiegen. Vermutlich könnten wir alle viel besser leben, wenn wir die Energien frei fließen lassen und lernen mit Brüchen besser umzugehen.

Eine schöne neue Woche und viel Mut bei allen derzeitigen Ein- und Zusammenbrüchen. Vielleicht lehrt uns das Leben gerade eine wichtige Lektion: den Umgang mit Brüchen.

In diesem Sinne viel Mut für den eigenen Aufbruch und Durchbruch.

Eine schöne neue Woche

Gertrud Müller

Ruptures

There are many ruptures in our lives, leg fractures, marriages breaking up,  drop-outs from education, financial slump, the start of something new, …. I am sure you can think of many other ruptures in life. Sometimes they are welcome, sometimes rather unwelcome. When these ruptures occur, we have to find new information, learn new things, accept losses and dare to do and begin new things. Ruptures appear in every biography, yet why do they seem so extraordinary and difficult to deal with for us?

Life is made up of energy, energy wants to flow, like the river in the river bed, like blood through blood vessels, like the wind in the sky and the waves of the sea.

Since us humans experience ruptures as hard to deal with, we resist them. We try to control life and its energies. The desire to be safe results in absolutisms with laws, norms, prohibition, punishment with systems and automatisms, which sooner or later again lead to a rupture. Only when we dam up water does a dam burst, when we move too quickly or under strain bones fracture, when we don’t respect each other as partners, a marriage breaks up. When we’ve chosen the wrong qualification, we feel the urge to drop out. When life gets boring, we want to get going…. When we don’t correctly assess the energies just before a major change, or are not attentive, ruptures emerge. Many ruptures can be prevented, others defused, and we can support each other when ruptures happen so that we can manage life again despite those changes.

Unfortunately, we are not taught how to deal with life energies or with ruptures in life. There is no such subject area in school, and family crises are concealed due to shame and feelings of guilt.

Presumably, we could all live much better if we let energies flow freely and learned to deal with life’s ruptures better.

Have a good week and lots of courage to deal with all your current ruptures. Maybe live is just teaching us an important lessons: dealing with life’s ruptures. In this spirit, I’m wishing you courage for your own new beginnings and breakthroughs.

Have a nice week

Gertrud Müller

Ruptures

There are many ruptures in our lives, leg fractures, marriages breaking up,  drop-outs from education, financial slump, the start of something new, …. I am sure you can think of many other ruptures in life. Sometimes they are welcome, sometimes rather unwelcome. When these ruptures occur, we have to find new information, learn new things, accept losses and dare to do and begin new things. Ruptures appear in every biography, yet why do they seem so extraordinary and difficult to deal with for us?

Life is made up of energy, energy wants to flow, like the river in the river bed, like blood through blood vessels, like the wind in the sky and the waves of the sea.

Since us humans experience ruptures as hard to deal with, we resist them. We try to control life and its energies. The desire to be safe results in absolutisms with laws, norms, prohibition, punishment with systems and automatisms, which sooner or later again lead to a rupture. Only when we dam up water does a dam burst, when we move too quickly or under strain bones fracture, when we don’t respect each other as partners, a marriage breaks up. When we’ve chosen the wrong qualification, we feel the urge to drop out. When life gets boring, we want to get going…. When we don’t correctly assess the energies just before a major change, or are not attentive, ruptures emerge. Many ruptures can be prevented, others defused, and we can support each other when ruptures happen so that we can manage life again despite those changes.

Unfortunately, we are not taught how to deal with life energies or with ruptures in life. There is no such subject area in school, and family crises are concealed due to shame and feelings of guilt.

Presumably, we could all live much better if we let energies flow freely and learned to deal with life’s ruptures better.

Have a good week and lots of courage to deal with all your current ruptures. Maybe live is just teaching us an important lessons: dealing with life’s ruptures. In this spirit, I’m wishing you courage for your own new beginnings and breakthroughs.

Have a nice week

Gertrud Müller

 

Krieg und Frieden

Derzeit hören wir wieder viel Säbelgerassel, heute müsste es eher heißen, wir hören Drohnenbrummen und so manche Uranspalterei.

In meiner Jugend gab es den Spruch: „Stell dir vor, es gibt Krieg und keiner geht hin.“ Heute kein Thema mehr. Die Kriegswaffen können ihre Ziele ansteuern, ohne dass sie von Menschenhand dazu aufgefordert werden. Die Maschinen lernen, wer der Feind ist und exekutiert werden muss. Wie soll in so einer Welt Frieden möglich sein?

Es scheint nahezu unmöglich. Und dennoch, gerade dann, wenn in der Geschichte etwas unmöglich erschien, kam der Durchbruch. Je mehr Chaos, Krankheit und Not sich verbreiten, desto mehr müssen die Menschen sich gegenseitig helfen, sie müssen neue Wege gehen,neues lernen und sie müssen miteinander teilen.

Uns wird heute gesagt, wie wertvoll es ist, an der Börse zu spekulieren. Bis zum Oktober 1929 glaubten das die Menschen auch, mein Urgroßvater verlor damals das gesamte Vermögen und dennoch konnten sie überleben, weil sie in der Großfamilie miteinander teilten, voneinander lernten und sich in der Not halfen. Diese drei Verhaltenseigenschaften sind die wichtigste Investition, um in Notzeiten und Krieg zu überleben und in Friedenszeiten und guten Zeiten, das Leben zu achten und zu bewahren.

In diesem Sinne, arbeiten wir an der Investition: helfen, teilen, lernen. Das kostet nichts und bringt großen Nutzen zu allen Zeiten.

Schönes Wochenende

Gertrud Müller

We currently hear much sabre rattling again, or more fitting today, we hear the hum of war drones and some fission of uranium. When I was young, we had a slogan: “suppose they gave a war and nobody came”. This isn’t an issue any more today. Weapons of war can find their way without an assisting human hand.  Machines learn who the enemy is and who needs to be executed. How could peace be possible in a world like this? It seems almost impossible. And yet, whenever something seemed impossible in history, a breakthrough followed. The more chaos, illness and deprivation spread, the more people have to help each other, have to learn to find new ways together and share  amongst each other whatever is still there. Today, we are told how worthwhile it is to invest in the stock markets. People believed that up to October 1929 my great grandfather lost all his wealth at the time and they still survived because in a big family, they shared, learnt from each other and could help each other in times of hardship. These three qualities are the most important investment to survive difficult times and war, and to respect and protect life in good times.  On this note, let’s work on investing in helping, sharing and learning. It’s free of cost and beneficial at all times.

Have a good weekend.

War and peace

We currently hear much sabre rattling again, or more fitting today, we hear the hum of war drones and some fission of uranium. When I was young, we had a slogan: “suppose they gave a war and nobody came”. This isn’t an issue any more today. Weapons of war can find their way without an assisting human hand.  Machines learn who the enemy is and who needs to be executed. How could peace be possible in a world like this? It seems almost impossible. And yet, whenever something seemed impossible in history, a breakthrough followed. The more chaos, illness and deprivation spread, the more people have to help each other, have to learn to find new ways together and share  amongst each other whatever is still there. Today, we are told how worthwhile it is to invest in the stock markets. People believed that up to October 1929 my great grandfather lost all his wealth at the time and they still survived because in a big family, they shared, learnt from each other and could help each other in times of hardship. These three qualities are the most important investment to survive difficult times and war, and to respect and protect life in good times.  On this note, let’s work on investing in helping, sharing and learning. It’s free of cost and beneficial at all times.

Have a good weekend.

Gertrud Müller