604 thoughts on “Nursing and my new religion”

1. Annelies, I loved reading this, it kind of reminds me of the time I was so disillusioned by the health care system, that I would have done anything to take another career path, if the opportunity ever arose. I was part of the statistics of burnout and exhaustion that prevails in our system.

   Like you I had to turn it around, and I made it about me and not the system. Once I worked on the issues I was carrying from well before my career ever commenced and during the career the issues that developed, which sometimes were absolutely ridiculous, I had continued to carry for many years.

   I LOVE going to work, yes it is part time, but what I bring during the days I am present are worth a full time position. And sometimes I attend to some of my work during my days off too with no expectations either.

   So anyone can turn their work around, from being discontented to loving it, it is all about you and not the job.

2. ‘I am connected to God, not as a trust but a knowing in my body, a quality that is inside me.’ When we know this wisdom inside us, anything is possible. We can be in service whatever we do, wherever we go.

   1. Gill, when we are so caught up in the nonsense, the wisdom is still with us, but masked by things that do not belong to us. When we are connected to our bodies, then the wisdom speaks and the service can truly begin and that service comes from within and not from the sake of doing it.

3. “I am connected to God, not as a trust but a knowing in my body, a quality that is inside me” – this is a spine-shiver statement. This knowing puts us firmly in life, making every moment purpose-full and joy-full.

4. ‘The way I care for and nurture myself is the way I care and nurture for patients.’ This is such a basic concept but a truly fundamental one because we can’t really care for others unless we care for ourselves first.

5. The joy that comes from living in self care, self nurturing, and self love is very inspiring for others to feel.

6. I can feel the care coming through in this blog….a very real feeling of being connected to something deep within – it makes me connect to that in myself and appreciate the stillness that lies inside me also. Very beautiful, thank you Annelies van Haastrecht.

7. I would say I found the same that as I connected to a source of love within myself my love for other people and my work has grown immensely.

8. “A religion that lives within you and in the relationship with yourself first before anything or anyone else.” This is so important and is the foundation from which we can build a life of true service.

9. When one knows God from within and is committed to nurturing and deepening that connection, no belief is necessary – one just knows.

10. As a 17 year old, you were connecting to the nurturing qualities that lay within you, Annelies and this is beautiful. The only thing is that in our world we are not encouraged to express this in a true sense and so we end up expressing it in a warped sense (one that puts others first and in a way that does not treat ourselves as equal in importance to all those around us). Hence why the depletion happened. But the blessing is that you have turned this around. Awesome work.

    1. It is wondrous and very rewarding when we get the opportunity to return to our former line of work and can do it completely different, from the inside out, with a solid foundation and without drive, push, self-disregard or depletion.

       1. I feel the same Gabriele and also with regards to relationships, to be able to change my approach there and let go of ideals, pictures, beliefs, etc, to loving me first and relating from that self love to others. Relationships of all kinds can feel like ‘hard work’ too because of the drive, push, and disregard of self. The self loving and self caring approach applies beautifully to every part of life.

11. Gorgeous sharing Annelies, and what a beautiful space to be in in your life where you can appreciate yourself, your approach to work and love all that you do and hence be able to show others that this is indeed possible. The Church of your own inner heart…one we all have access to – what a blessing!

12. Hear hear Annelies to all you have said. ‘To nurse’ in its true meaning is to help nourish and nurture another by providing a level of care that sets a benchmark for how they look after themselves. I have lived a life of extreme disregard and self-abuse and it was only by the love and care I received from others, namely the students and practitioners of Universal Medicine, that I truly learnt how to look after myself. Coming back to this tenderness has not only been an incredible healing, it has been my deepest joy. We are all deserved of this warmth and beauty and so we must all work together to be able to provide this level of care for each other and for ourselves until every last drop of abuse is eradicated from this plane of life and we stand once more in the glory of who we are.

13. Thank you Annelies for bringing back the awareness of our body being a temple, a temple that we take along every where we go.. I love that. This means that I should treasure my body as best as I can, in order to actually being able to deepen every day into more care and more nurturing. That is a purpose on its own.

    1. The other day I read something like this; when we don’t care for our body we basically are rejecting God, or say no to God. Still a way to go I must say in to let myself feel in full what it is to truly care for myself and my body in any given situation.

    2. What a great conversation! Seeing the body as a temple for the universe, for God, for all that we are equally a part of, completely changes the relationship we have to ourselves and our self care. The body is not just flesh and bone but a part of something much grander, and we become caretakers for that grandness.

14. What a beautiful example of not giving up but changing the quality that you live and work in.

15. Religion is a living quality that is clearly evident in our eyes, the quality of our voice, our movements and the warmth in our hearts. It is a still and easy manner that makes people feel instantly at home, welcomed, cared for and appreciated. What an immense gift to receive in your most vulnerable moments of illness and disease.

16. Offering love, patience and understanding without an ounce of judgement or expectation is true religion.

17. Seeing a true purpose in what we do through our job, surrendering to the fact that there’s so much more taking place than meets the eyes, is so fulfilling,

18. It is very rare to hear nurses speak of God in nursing but dealing with life and death situations all the time, I suspect there is a depth and philosophical approach to life for many nurses. Most would say they love and care for people. Perhaps when we are damaged by childhood impressions of religion, we do not equate love of people with God, but I now see they are one and the same when we see the divine in ourselves and others.

    1. Most of the times their love and care for people is more than love and care for themselves, just like I started with nursing and I am learning every day to live in the care and the love of God and reflect this to the best to my abilities.

19. Developing and building on the relationship with self means everything… I cannot deepen the love I have for people without first deepening and living the love that I am.

20. A beautiful reflection of nursing yourself and others back to true health.

    1. Of course, great pick up and well said – it works both ways.

21. What is really super gorgeous is how this love that you now feel for yourself is what each person at your work will experience – your love.

22. Indeed Doug. If this were to happen it would change the face of education across the board.

23. ‘I am connected to God, not as a trust but a knowing in my body, a quality that is inside me.’ Beautiful and through that quality we get stillness and when we take that quality to work we don’t get exhausted we just love what we do.

    1. True and we don’t react as much or take things personal, it is responding to what is needed at any time. And when I do react it is just coming back to my body and connect to the love inside me, the support that is always there.

24. So many people try to cope with their job by working less hours or withdrawing, whereas the key is the quality we live and thus work in. Beautiful how you brought God and your religion back into your life and now your work and how this changes everything.

25. It is beautiful to feel the effortlessness of what it is to live religiously. For whenever we live in connection to the love we are within, we live in connection to God as our Soulful light is the light of God no less. As such from this point of connection every move we make is a religious one, confirming the fact that being religious is our innate way of being.

    1. People aspire to be close to God in many ways, some through chanting, meditation, celibacy, strict and austere ways of living, prayer, study, etc, but if we ask ourselves ‘What is the nature of God?’, and we feel the answer as ‘Love” then simply living this love is our connection to God everyday, and it is our re-connection to all that we innately are also as part of God.

26. Through deeply connecting with ourselves we find that we are connected to a far greater universal order and exquisite divinity that allows us to deeply reach others in the very simple gestures of everyday life.

27. Nursing with love is nourishing. Nursing with tension and not love is very draining.

28. Knowing that I have “A religion that lives within you and in the relationship with yourself first before anything or anyone else” has totally turned my life around. It has given me a purpose for living in the most loving and appreciative way I possibly can and the magic that comes from making this choice is immeasurable

    1. When we feel religion this way we understand that everyone has this equal connection to God and to their innate divinity, there is no need for buildings, books, superiors or go-betweens, just the simplicity of the equal power we each hold and the free will to choose it or not.

29. When we live our lives according to external pressures and attempting to fit into those, instead of feeling what our own natural rhythm is, our body soon lets us know that how we are living is not working for us. The body responds amazingly well to a few simple choices to really listen to it and honour what it’s telling us. Just as we create our own imbalances and dis-eases, so it must be in our hands to rebalance and bring our bodies back into harmony and alignment with their innate rhythms.

30. “I am connected to God, not as a trust but a knowing in my body, a quality that is inside me.” I love the simplicity of this religion Anneliese. There is nothing for you to do other than simply be all of who you are.

31. I love your religion ‘And so I can say I am religious; no church, no temple other than my own body, my own heart. I take all of me to my job, to my colleagues and the patients I love and care for.’ simple and true.

    1. Yes, it takes getting used to saying that you are religious as there are so many negative associations around the word.

32. “And so I can say I am religious; no church, no temple other than my own body, my own heart.” A beautiful claiming here. This is all we need, and every single person on the planet has access to this.

33. What you share here really challenges the way we define our job. It is very beautiful to feel how for you it is a building of relationship with yourself first, then you would have a foundation from which you offer yourself through a form of service/profession – so the ‘all of you’ could be communicated and shared with everyone whatever the job you might do. Amazing.

34. ‘I am connected to God, not as a trust but a knowing in my body, a quality that is inside me.’ Six weeks ago I fractured my wrist and what I felt was that this time with my wrist in plaster and the recoverytime afterwards is asking me to surrender even more to my body and the connection with God, to deepen and to make the knowing in my body a quality I live without reservation where ever I go.

35. True religion indeed – a beautiful relationship with the body that honours it and responds to what religion is – from within, confirmed without.

36. how wonderful that there is a living breathing religion on the planet now and that there are are over 7 billion temples just waiting to be celebrated

    1. I love this – what a beautiful description of this true religion that is available to every single person on the planet, that has no indoctrination or imposition in it what so ever. All that is needed is a willingness and openness to reconnect to who we are.

       1. Yes and that is the thing isn’t it… to come to that point of willingness, and that is the start of the healing of the disconnection

37. I love what you say, that you are religious with no church, and only your body as your temple. It is a breath of fresh air to know that religion is within.

38. If we stay in the blaming game we get stuck in a trap that neither fulfills nor allows us to move forward in life.

39. Beautiful to hear such a turnaround – which goes to show me that its not about blaming the systems and managers that we work in and for, but that how we bring ourselves to a situation is where the true gold is.

40. When I gave birth to my daughter I felt the intensity and pressure on nurses and the medical staff, it is a job with very high demands and I felt the lack of joy, the exhaustion and irritability of the staff. It would feel very different to give birth to a baby in a ward with staff who were first and foremost encouraged to care for themselves and then from this place care for their patients, it would change the feeling on wards completely and what a different start for new born babies.

41. I have seen many nurses start their career because they have a love of caring for people, yet they don’t care for themselves, and they often get injured or exhausted without realising that self-care is a fundamental part of caring for others, we have to be able to care for ourselves first before we can care for others.

42. We need nurses like you Annelies because when we are ill we need people who can see the bigger picture as well as attend to the smaller details.

    1. Yes and being nursed by a nurse who nurtures herself offers a completely different quality that no doubt contributes big time to the healing process of the patients.

43. I can feel the exquisite foundation that you take with you to all that you do Annelies and I am sure that all who you connect with at work, either patients or staff, can feel this too as you build relationships based on love with them all. This to me is true religion in action.

    1. And you know what Ingrid, I enjoy myself so much more these days by valuing the joy and light that I naturally bring to the patients and to my colleagues.

44. Religion is really our relationship to all, starting with to ourself and to God, to people, animals and the world itself. Religion is so honouring of the equal-ness between us, of the Love of Divinity which is without need or self-interested greediness, of the universal intelligence that we all partake in. And so it goes that all of our jobs and careers is based on religion first, people first, relationship first.

45. When we deepen the love and care we have for ourselves, our care and intimacy with others also naturally deepens.

46. True religion reconnects us back to the inner spark that lives deep within us and reignites the warmth of our love to be shared with all. When we truly nurture this flame, we are able to support another to truly nurture the one and same flame of love that lives within them, to also burn bright and true.

47. There is so very much that is said here and for all of us to ponder on and that is how do we care for ourselves and if we do not truly care and look after ourselves then inevitably burnout or illness and diseases show. This is the second blog I have read regarding a nurse who gave up her job because she was so ill and then returned to it later with more love for the job than every before because she had more love for herself than ever before and how this impacted her health. Nurses do such an amazing job it is so lovely to hear how you re-imprinted this for yourself. A true inspiration for many others. Maybe this could be posted in a nursing journal somewhere or on a website specifically for nurses I am sure what you have shared here is something that would be welcomed and could start a much needed discussion.

48. I so love this Annelies, Being in the profession myself I have watched so many people burn out and lose themselves. What you have found is priceless in that you have reconnected to your inner heart and wow are patients blessed to have a nurse who knows herself and in the same breath knows God.

    1. Beautiful expressed SCE ‘a nurse who knows herself and in the same breath knows God’.

49. Thank you for sharing Annelies; I would say that there is a lot of people like yourself that started out caring for others but without a high degree of self-care could not withstand the pressure of working in a system with no love. Giving up exhausted is very very common; we see it in almost all work places. What religion offers true and loving support that realigns one to god within, to a way of life that maintains that connection so that love can be lived in a loveless world? To feel and see the hurt and abuse that is all around and not be affected by it. To know we have a purpose in life and that is to bring such connection and love to our fellow humans they can feel the love in amongst the hurts and that love can be lived. We all know this religion deep in our hearts as we know it belongs to us all.

50. It is almost unheard of Annelies, that in your mid fifties, not only are you are choosing to work longer hours but you are loving it! This is definitely something that needs to be shared and celebrated with our younger generations.

51. In a profession in which many are undervalued and under appreciated yet are in many ways the back bone of society, you are truly a leading light and inspiration Annelies.

52. Burnout for health care workers is high in the health care system simply because carers put the care of others before themselves and often at the expense of themselves.

53. I see this particularly in politics, people start out with such great intentions but get worn down by the system and lose it. Building a strong foundation in your body and in the way you live supports you in staying true to yourself and it is inspiring to see how you have done that and brought a greater quality to your profession.

54. For too long have we been running around trying to control and manage life without taking care of our foundations. We would never attempt a car race without making sure the engine is running on all cylinders, everything is finely tuned, that we are prepared in every way. A true religion inspires us to constantly live with an awareness and connection that naturally has us be and express all that we are.

55. It is our being-ness and not our doing-ness that inspires another to heal. That is, it is the reflection of our lived way that reaches another in the same way the stars light up the night sky when we live in deep connection with the our true self and the stupendous All we are a part of. This is true religion – a return to our former/future glory.

56. I love that you have chosen to live in a way that is caring and nurturing so you then can show by the way you are with yourself how life can be lived.

57. Nursing is all about connection and God is all about connection therefore nursing from our connection with God/divinity is what true nursing is all about.

58. I noticed how many young people start their career with a deep feeling of love and purpose for people but that this often gets more to the background as the years go by and the reality of the world and the system we have to work in does not reflect back our original feeling to serve with love. It is beautiful how you shared you came back to this and how this is very possible to live in the busy healthcare sector you are working in and how this knowing of what our purpose is can be the medicine to not go into overwhelm or burn out as so many are now but actually love to work and truly feel vital.

    1. Beautiful Lieke, the medicine to not go in overwhelm or burn out is the knowing of what our purpose is. This is what brings in quality otherwise we lose ourselves in the high demands that are in the workplace today. Not only in the health system but in a lot of work areas in our society.

    2. Yes and this reminds me of how we as a society tend to deal with things: coming up with solutions (hiring new people) but not really questioning the system that created the situation of many people getting burned out. What would it be like if we would stop and question the system even when one person gets burt out by it? That would be super loving and caring to do.

59. I love this line ‘The way I care for and nurture myself is the way I care and nurture for patients’ as this then ensures the quality of the care offered and ensures that you don’t become exhausted or burnt out.

60. So beautiful to read such a commitment to life and service from a knowing of who you truly are.

61. “The love I feel inside is what is coming out and this is true religion, me living me.”

    These are such beautiful and inspiring words, as in the whole blog, for it reminds us that when we live from the inside-out we are not at the whim of all that enters when we live from the outside-in.

62. The nursing industry is in desperate need of people who do not fall victim to the stresses of the job and find themselves unable to offer the necessary care that is required… let alone the true care that is possible when one truly cares for themselves before anyone else and can then offer that fullness and depth of care to another. You are indeed a much needed reflection of what is possible in an industry where true care is a truly a rarity.

63. Annelies, reading this I feel that you could have a future in nursing nurses back to vitality by sharing your amazing story. This is just not normal, nurses are burning out all the time but how many can say they have come back to the profession and now love what they do.

64. Wow Annelies, this is so amazing to be in a profession like nursing deeply caring for you and your patients without compromising yourself; this is huge and shows that when we deeply embrace ourselves, and live us we can be in environments which are stressful without taking that on, and this is so important, because we need people in there living this and showing others that they too can do so.

65. What can I say besides, you’re awesome! This is not the norm, can you imagine if all nurses at your age had this passion and zest for their job and life? Wow, we need more of what The Way of The Livingness has to offer considering the results all around the world, in many different fields seem to be outside of the “norm” in the best way possible.

66. I love the way that you have connected nursing and religion in this way Annelies – not a nurse who goes around converting her patients to antibiotics and church-going, but one who carries the love of God in her heart and brings that healing light and love so needed in a hospital. All benefit, not only the patients but the staff at every level – cleaners, chefs, admin staff, maintenance workers. Deeply beautiful.

    1. Thank you Lyndy, it is all about building relationships with God, myself, patients and staff and I love it every day.

67. ‘I have built a relationship with myself, a loving relationship that is forever deepening. Without relying only on the outside world any more, but on my body and inner-heart.’ and wonderful to take your joy and vitality to your work everyday for all to benefit from.

68. Nursing is such an amazing choice of profession. What a service these men and women do. Appreciation is needed from all who use their services.

69. Loved your blog Annelies, our ability to care for and nurture ourself first builds a foundation for us to look after others.

70. Reading through some of the comments I became aware that yes, I appreciate how I work but that there is so much more to appreciate about the quality I bring, I am not yet taking this to the depth I know there to be, so thank you all for your comments, it supports me to value more what the quality I bring to nursing.

71. Dear Annelies, this blog reminds me of my true religion too, equally expressing myself in nursing at the moment. Understanding more about myself and life since I came to the one-unified truth in my heart after re-connecting to myself with the support of the teachings of Universal Medicine. Found my way in my heart, which I express from every day, and more and more, which naturally changed and changes and is enchanting my life. Simply the love of God in my heart – no pictures, no beliefs – simply from there I nurse with my heart.

    1. Beautiful Danna, fully claiming what you know is true, the love of God in your heart and that is there always at home or at work it doesn’t matter, we are a reflection of the love we live.

72. “Well, it is no secret at all. It is true religion that’s back in my life.” Annelies, I love and am deeply inspired by your fabulous, matter-of-fact, unapologetic claiming of Religion. Awesome 😍

73. If you look around in most healthcare situations, you will see nurses who have toughened up to cope with the demands of the job and putting everyone else’s needs first. It’s no wonder nurses burnout. It’s great that there are nurses who have found a way to not work like this, and have been re-inspired in their passion for nursing.

74. I love here Annelies how you bring medicine and religion together as one and in this you really define the true meaning of religion – to reconnect to a quality of truth and love inside us all and live that to the best of our ability with others.

75. This settlement is the quality that is brought to everyone in this line of work. This sharing is so inspiring for many others in other professions.

76. When we live the cardio-centric way of life, our body is in fact the only church we will ever have. No stone edifice for special occasions needed, it is one continuum in all its wondrous imperfections.

77. I would like to say that in the time I have known you Annelies I have felt your heart continually opening and at the same time your steadiness and gentle authority and presence growing. I say it this way because I feel sure that this is an ongoing process and that the beauty that you are will be more and more felt as time goes by. I so appreciate all that you are and feel honoured to be in contact with you, loving sharing all that we do.

    1. Thank you Elaine and yes I feel how much I have changed and have been growing but also how much more there is to come when we keep saying yes. What we can bring as elderly women to our workplace friends and family is of such a great value and we should not hold back on this ever growing love we live each day.

78. I reckon that my understanding of how the quality of my relationship with myself and taking care,underpins my relationship with life and others, is going to go on developing forever.

79. It is beautiful to feel the deep settlement within you and how enriching your life is through your connection to you, your stillness, your essence. A quality that is available for us all to connect to which delivers a sense of true fulfillment, knowing and feeling in our bodies that who we are is already everything, and so there is nowhere else to be. Our connection to our body and being is a relationship whereby our Soulfulnes can be lived bringing to life the much needed quality of love.

80. When we live religiously as in the true meaning of the word it doesn’t matter what work we do for we bring all of ourselves to it. To have returned to a profession that you originally found stressful and exhausting, which you now love and enjoy, is a great example of living and working in a truly religious way.

81. It’s so clear to us when things do not work. We often do them till we have completely proved to ourselves it’s too hard to do. This often involves much head-bashing against metaphorical brick walls, with a big cost to our body. But what you show Annelies is that it’s not the job or thing we do but the way and purpose we have that is important to change. When we work from Love instead of need it’s a totally different ball game.

82. “The love I feel inside is what is coming out and this is true religion, me living me.” a world changing way of living and being with oneself. Deeply inspiring and a great reflection of what is possible no matter our industry.

83. The statement ‘my body is a temple’ is so gorgeous and profound, asking us to appreciate that divinity is within and that what we live, breathe and move is made of something far greater than just physical cells.

84. In many professions it is important to differentiate the actual working environment that often is characterized by a certain level of giving-up, frustration, stress, etc and the potential or vocation of the occupation. Only when we live the potential and thus true purpose we will enjoy it and bring the blessings of who we are in what we do to everyone involved.

85. Your experience Annelies indicates how religion has actually give you a greater sense of purpose in life that is beyond what you do but instead comes from your connection with yourself and the equalness we all have inside us. It goes to show that true religion is indeed part of living a healthy, joyfull and loving life with all.

86. It’s funny really how we can convince ourselves that we have moved on never to return. What I love is how things come back round in cycles so we get to re-imprint and guaranteed something from the past that was not completed in true harmony will definitely come back.

    1. True Natalie, we always get an opportunity to make it whole and then move on to the next. A great support in living our truth.

87. “I appreciate the quality of stillness I bring to my life and thus to the patients I care for”
    What a blessing Annelies for you and for the people you deeply care for.

88. When connected to my heart and allowing what is within to guide me rather than what or how I think/assume the world is asking of me, I can’t not love people! Today being with people is one of the greatest parts of my job. I can’t say I’ve groaned or hated going to work for many years now since learning and applying true religion to my life.

89. The world has made religion into something it is not when in fact it is as simple as feeling our divine connection to God.

90. ‘A religion that unites people as we are all the same and asks us to take care of our bodies, to truly nurture ourselves. A way of life.’ Stunning Annelies. The wisdom and power with which you share here is inspiring and wow, what a blessing to the patients you care for, the hospital staff and everyone you come across.

91. If we were to consider religion to mean our relationship with all things in life, we can certainly change our relationship and perspective with our work by dealing with the quality in which we approach work.

92. Being patient is the core ingredient of love and no matter what our work place is and the service we provide- when we make our movements about this and nothing else the quality and healing we offer ourselves and others is felt.

93. A beautiful sharing of true Religion and the love we are lived in our every moment .”Religion that lives within you and in the relationship with yourself first before anything or anyone else. A religion that unites people as we are all the same and asks us to take care of our bodies, to truly nurture ourselves. A way of life.”

94. What you share is something that we can all apply to our own lives no matter what we do. Because it is not just about what we do but the connection and quality that we go about life. To re-imprint this is an opportunity worth going for, as it has been the game changer for those that have.

95. Religion is a relationship with God from the body first, I know this I am settled and content much of the time no reaching for ways to check out, like I once did. I walk with this knowing / religion everyday.

96. The quality of our relationship with ourselves founds and informs everything in our lives – I love the appreciation and honouring of this.

97. “I have built a relationship with myself, a loving relationship that is forever deepening.: To me this is the key to all that you have shared, building a loving and appreciative relationship with yourself, this then radiates out into all that you do.

98. How often do people not appreciate themselves and burnout. It seems to be a modern day plague and something that not many are speaking about.

    1. True Rosie and nurses are not used to appreciating themselves and are very likely to get frustrated when they don’t get the appreciation from management and or patients. There is a lot of longterm sickness absence and a lot of shame when this is caused by a burnout. I know for myself when I was burned out in my twenties, I did not want any phone calls or visits from colleagues as I did not want them to see me like this, as a failure. I no longer feel this way about a burnout and can see how when we don’t care for ourselves and appreciate the qualities we bring, we cannot keep up with the huge demands of the work, we override what we feel and at a certain point our body says stop in one way or the other.

99. My secret (although it is not a secret) of joyfully working 7 days a week (at 60) is also true religion and purpose. My religion is The Way of The Livingness and it has completely transformed my life, health, relationships and well-being in the most wonderful way.

100. I am beautifully reminded of my father as I read your article. He wouldn’t go to church but had an innate connection with God, and was the most gentle of men amongst all the roughness of outback Australia, treating everyone equally … and he had the most amazing voice…☺

101. Yay! The marriage of nursing with true religion – what a great step forward towards the eventual union of Western Medicine with Esoteric Medicine that is the cornerstone proposition of this site. Thank you, Annelies, for bringing all of you back to health care.

102. What is so beautiful here Annelies is that you know your purpose with nursing now, you know why you are there and what you are doing whereas in the past you could not quite pinpoint that: ‘And if you asked me at that time why I had chosen nursing as a profession I would not have been sure what to answer.’ It would be an interesting question for all of us to ask ourselves – why have we chosen our job and what is it that we are bringing.

     1. Definitely something to ask ourselves and to appreciate what we have chosen and what we bring and I guess it is even bigger than we can imagine.

103. I love the way that living in true religion can change every aspect of life.

104. ‘Well, it is no secret at all. It is true religion that’s back in my life. Not a religion in the way of the traditional religions, but religion in the true meaning of the word. A religion that lives within you and in the relationship with yourself first before anything or anyone else. A religion that unites people as we are all the same and asks us to take care of our bodies, to truly nurture ourselves. A way of life.’ No secret at all Annelies, as you live this openly every day!

105. When we are connected to God all we do is done with the expansion of this connection, and all who come into contact with one who is connected can’t help but be healed by it, whether they are aware of it or not. It’s the missing key to enjoying any job.

106. Annelies I am sure many in the health care system can relate to your experience. The change you made is enormous and shows the way forward for all those in the caring professions. If we do not relate with and care for ourselves there simply is no way we can sustain ourselves in such demanding jobs. There is so much more to life and it would serve all well if we can connect back to the essence of who we are and live from there.

107. What a simple approach to religion, it’s like nursing ourselves and each other back to the glory we are from.

108. This beautiful article just goes to show how everything lies in the quality of energy that we do jobs in. This is all that matters. And when we pass over all we take with us is that quality – all else is left behind to decay.

     1. That’s good to keep in mind Lyndy, our quality stays with us, all else does not truly belong to us and we leave this behind without exception.

109. “A religion that lives within you and in the relationship with yourself first before anything or anyone else.” This is what has changed so much in my life also Annelies, as before I was also approaching life and work by placing others first and saw that as support and pleasing others, when in fact I was deeply harming myself because of self neglect. By working on building self love and by taking care of myself first what I can offer is not coming from self sacrifice but from the quality of love. By taking responsibility for myself first I can also respect others choices more and let them take care of their own lives.

110. I love how you demonstrate that the same profession can feel so different depending on how you approach it and how you live. A great example for all.

     1. Thank you Rebecca, it is about quality first in our work and living, not really something we grew up with but very needed in the world where we don’t seem to care for ourselves or for other people.

111. Burnout and disillusionment with the nursing profession are unfortunately very common. Although nurses know that care is central to what they offer, very few know that self-care has to come first before they can offer the type of care that comes with a roadmap for patients to rediscover true health. Having a knowing of what we bring when we nurse, and that all patients equally have this is so important. Otherwise it is a case of the blind leading the blind, rather than equal care, equal responsibility.

112. Life completely turns around when we connect to who were are, where we come from and the purpose of what we bring. Then every second matters and each one has the potential of much joy and love.

113. A colleague of mine is leaving the teaching profession after 5 year. She is a fabulous teacher that the students love and respect. It is devastating to the profession that great teachers are leaving their jobs because in her words she is ‘tired of being tired all the time.’ I am sure this occurs not only in teaching and nursing. My feeling is there would be less people leaving for these reasons if we all lived the true religion you describe Annelies.

114. “The love I feel inside is what is coming out and this is true religion, me living me.” – Love how you show us how simple true religion can be in essence and how it is something that lives first within us and then from that comes with all that we do.

115. Annelies this is a beautiful sharing and knowing of true religion from within and is lived written and offered for us all.The magic of living religiously with every detail in the love and connection of who we truly are is deeply touching and know to us all if we truly stop and connect to ourselves.

116. What is shared here is no different in any work place when the core ingredients is loving people, nurturing and showing them how to self -care. A perfect start to every business models vision.

117. This religion with the love that we are is where we are designed for and belong to. So actually choosing to connect once again with this innate divine being we are is in fact a return to who and what we already are and always have been. Therefore living life from this religion is completely opposite to what living from the mind does bring us and therefore, as Annelies is describing in this blog, we can return to a job or profession we once left because the way we conducted ourselves was not supportive and most importantly without any other purpose than to meet the needs of oneself while in connection with the love we are from, the purpose is for us all, for humanity which is very inspiring and confirming to our being and therefore will never drain us but instead take us to levels we would not have expected to go.

118. Vey beautiful and so true and it is how I know religion to feel within my body “The love I feel inside is what is coming out and this is true religion, me living me.” I feel a divine, lightness within me that is so warm and fiery it is like nothing else I know…it is where connection with Soul, God, religion resides, no one needs to give me anything, tell me anything, I know and I know it is there when allow it and accept to be there.

     1. Very true Samantha it is about allowing and accepting the grandness of it all including ourselves, we are an equal part of and in the divine.

119. How lovely for a nurse to reconnect to why they love nursing and to take that with them to work each day. What a blessing for the patients and the healthcare system.

     1. Indeed Nikki, a blessing this is. True nursing brought back to the nursing industry is very much needed as to me it will be the start of a turnaround that has to be made to make this industry healthy and in true service for the people in need once again.

     2. This applies to all jobs not matter what they may be when we are willing to bring love and an honest connect to others – we are blessing any system of service we work in.

120. My life was about wanting to please others and never understanding what true service and responsibility were all about, and this irresponsibility never served me or any one else. This has been like an avalanche in my life that never irresponsibility would not have stopped because once you are entrapped in that turbulent force there seemed to be no way out until the truth about service was presented to me by Serge Benhayon. Over many years I am still learning to not look for recognition and be humble with a gratitude that what I am doing is truly serving humanity.

     1. When being nice and pleasing others has been a long standing pattern for us, changing this pattern can feel like the earth is turned upside down, as much is unfamiliar and there is no picture to follow, but the support that is unyielding is always within us, it comes from our body, and what an amazing opportunity to return to a deeper trust with ourselves.

        1. Yes our Soul never gives us more than we can handle so the deeper we connect to our Soul-full presence the greater the support.

121. I feel so much appreciation in this blog for the quality of what you do and bring. Reminds me of how crucially important appreciation is in knowing and understanding who God truly is.

122. To be able to appreciate the religiousness in the smallest detail of every day totally changes the way I feel about life.

123. Annelies, it is beautiful to read how your relationship with God is not based on trust but rather a deep knowing. This speaks to me innately and I am sure it does so for many others too, because the relationship that we each have with God does not have to be dictated to us – it can be felt as true from the inner-heart that is within us all.

124. ‘Love is patient and will never give up’… I find love waiting for me whenever I open my eyes to it. And accepting this infinite support is changing my life.

125. When we care for ourselves in the same way we care for others we do not have to blame our jobs for making us feel exhausted.

126. ‘ I appreciate the quality of stillness I bring to my life and thus to the patients I care for. ‘ Wonderful Annelies, what incredible healing energy your patients are offered.

127. “The love I feel inside is what is coming out and this is true religion, me living me.”
     What’s so beautiful about growing this love on the inside, is that there is no manual for what this looks like on the outside, like growing our potential from the inside out removed from any external influence, permission to celebrate and express more and more of who we truly are.

128. Annelies what’s really great is that you show how in life it’s not what you do but your intention and purpose behind what you do that changes everything.

129. When we live a truly religious life that is based on love like you’ve shared Annelies, we have more energy to connect with people, even at work because love doesn’t drain us.

130. From your writing it is possible to feel that literally any job can be a religion. We can bring our full selves to anything that we do and anyone we meet. This is true service. If we are truly committed to connecting with ourselves and others we can bring so much and we can light up the world.

131. Annelies you describe what it means to truly care for yourself and your story shows that without this care it is impossible to care for others without at some point burning out or becoming overwhelmed. From the love you now hold within yourself others will be able to experience what true care really is about.

132. “I am connected to God, not as a trust but a knowing in my body, a quality that is inside me.” With this deep knowing and living of this in your life Annelies,so many are blessed.

133. That’s amazing Annelies. What a blessing for everyone to have you working through the hospital in that way!

134. Changing our exterior does not always provide the solutions to our dissatisfaction with life, however developing and loving relationships within ourselves can.

     1. When we develop a loving relationship from within, solutions don’t feature, for in just being more of who we are there is nothing to fix, only more to appreciate and express.

135. Several of my physiotherapy colleagues say they are counting the days to when they can retire. They have a wealth of experience to bring yet are feeling burnt out. Your blog shares so beautifully how simply we can turn things around and bring our experience to the world, whatever we have to share, by simply building a loving relationship with ourselves.

136. ‘I am connected to God, not as a trust but a knowing in my body, a quality that is inside me.’ This is beautiful Annelies and it is this quality, love, that your patients feel when you are caring for them

137. “..A religion that lives within you and in the relationship with yourself first before anything or anyone else…” This changes the way we do everything…

138. True nursing: “Love is patient and will never give up”!

139. Your blog shares a story shows how the healthcare system burns out many people, your story is one of many, and this does not make sense thinking it is a system that is designed to care for sick people not to create them.

140. Systems need to support people to do their jobs not crush the life out of them. Nursing is dealing with people is such high needs it requires the depth of skills of mature workers to support and develop new people as they come through it could be an amazing system if we allowed it.

141. I think you knew all along Annelies the true reason you chose nursing but you got a bit lost along the way needing to conform to the way nursing was done at that time and your body didn’t like the systems then. How gorgeous you have returned holding all of you in full, delivering true love and care to your patients.

142. What a beautiful knowing of true religion lived in our everyday lives and work and very inspiring to read. The quality and care in how we live is everything and makes all the difference

143. And this is so what we need in our health care systems… carers that are taking care of themselves because we learn so much from, and are inspired by, observing others.

144. Living in a way that has allowed in more religion or re-connection to the love that is within that is shaping so many people’s lives and this is not just in nursing but covering every profession. So this approach, which is true in every-way needs to be studied and shared globally.

145. “Love is patient and will never give up.” – interesting that we sometimes need to be a ‘patient’ to experience the love we may have ignored for a while.

     1. Totally Alex! Last year, for the first time in my life something really challenging hit my body – I was knocked over and trodden on and this broke my foot. I was bowled over by the love and support of the community around me which brought me to a deeper level that tending to people comes first and it also made me feel very humble!

146. “Love is patient and will never give up.” With true love everything is possible, as you demonstrate Annelies.

147. This is religion as a I know it, a relationship which develops inward and is expressed outward….”A religion that lives within you and in the relationship with yourself first before anything or anyone else.” simple, beautiful and responsible.

148. This is a very real and practical example of God in our work beyond the religious connotations that we otherwise have been taught through many main stream religions. Shows how God is a Livingness and having a relationship with Him is more than just going to a church or reading the Gospel

149. Having a new outlook and approach to ourselves that is deeply caring and loving naturally pours into our lives with those around us and our attitude to work completely changes, I know for me it did and I had some pretty set ideas of what it had to look like. Breaking those beliefs and allowing the Love to be my impulsing way through out life including work is one that is only become more and more refined and it is a completely new way of being, in this world that is largely Loveless.

150. ‘The love I feel inside is what is coming out and this is true religion, me living me’. Gorgeous Annelies, this sentence for me summed up the entire blog. Very inspiring and a powerful reminder for us all just how much we can bring to others in our chosen work of service, when we are taking care of ourselves first.

151. What is so important here Annelies, is how you have turned around a career through an appreciation of what you bring to life, very inspirational.

152. “The love I feel inside is what is coming out and this is true religion, me living me.” There is nothing more powerful and more divine than being able to live who we truly are. Thank you Annelies!

     1. Indeed Francisco, nothing can be more inspirational that this celebration from the inside out!

153. Beautiful Annelies what an amazing understanding of true religion with simply living you in the fullness of love and expression of who you are and your commitment to this . A real reflection and inspiration for us all and in whatever work role we have in life and at any age.

154. Love the fact that you came full circle and embraced it with all of you!

155. Your commitment to work as you understand it is true a great reflection and support for other nurses to feel.

156. The blessing of a nurse who cares for and loves herself belies the current age of health care. Your patients are the recipients of something golden… unadulterated, unhindered, openly present love.

157. It is rare to hear of someone who has left their profession due to their dissatisfaction with their job, to make a complete u-turn and go back to it with the depth of love, understanding and new commitment that you have Anneliese. Your patients are blessed to have you take care of them.

158. Gorgeous blog Annelies! I too have gone back to my old profession, teaching English Literature – now that I am retired I am tutoring Eng. Lit. to high school students (and also available for University level students). Like you I thought I had ‘closed this door and was convinced I would never go back’. I was pretty disgusted at many of the set texts and had know many of the writers personally, known about their lives as heavy drug-takers, alcoholics, and wondered why we were passing on writing issuing from those choices to our beautiful teenagers. But I just had to surrender to the fact that all I had to do is bring my Livingness to the tutorials, as you have done with your nursing, and the great joy and blessing of what has followed has been beyond imagination.

159. Such a simple yet powerful description of what religion is for you, a deepening relationship of living you.

160. A religion of connection…”A religion that lives within you and in the relationship with yourself first before anything or anyone else…” that allows the body to feel harmony, love stillness and joy… certainly these qualities are medicinal tonics for the body.

161. How awesome to see you back in your amazing profession Annelies! You are so needed.

162. “I make mistakes, take a step back, but choose to come back again and again.” So real and humble with no guilt or self flagellation. True religion indeed.

     1. Likewise Leonne it’s the opposite of the type of religion I grew up with and shows that religion can actually be and is deeply loving and supportive.

     2. How exhausting is working and living just in a functional way. There are not many places in the world where people are deeply caring of themselves before doing any activity. I find that blogs like this are very needed to be shared everywhere as many people have lost the trust to consider that another way of living is possible. Even the harming way of living is in many cases not questioned and accepted. By reading your experience I got very inspired Annelies. The change that you have done is huge, an act of responsability that benefits all humanity.

     3. Yes a great line to appreciate. Humility is one of the most beautiful qualities I have experienced – a strength that openness us to the exquisite delicateness and strength of love.

163. How blessed your patients are to have you as their nurse. You bring so much.

164. Annelies thank you, your incredible turn around with your work shows how it is not what we do but how we are in the job and by taking loving care of ourselves first makes it something we can truly enjoy with vitality and love we can bring to others.. in any profession.

     1. Absolutely Ruth it is always about the quality first, every step walked in presence gives a foundation for others to follow in the love that they are.

165. The way you live now, Annalies, can be felt by everyone you come into contact with. People may not always notice it consciously but it is known there is something different from how others live, and that difference is the care and love you bring to yourself before you bring it to others.

166. Wow Annelies, this is unheard of what you decided to do after leaving your profession and now returning to it with more energy, more love and able to work longer hours. Most people consider retiring around their 60’s, yet you’ve decided to go back to work and not only that, you are enjoying your work more than previously. Thank you for sharing your story, very inspiring indeed.

167. “I am connected to God, not as a trust but a knowing in my body, a quality that is inside me.” This is so beautiful, definitely a religion that I can relate to and feel it does not come with all the normal doctrines of traditional religions.

168. It is a shame how many wonderful and highly trained nurses leave burnt out. Same with many other professions. We should take great care of those who care for others – in fact we should all support and take care of ourselves and each other. Apart from everything else it makes a lot of economic sense!

169. ‘Love is patient and will never give up’ This is very precious and true Annelies. The quality of Love is forever beholding. No matter where we are, what we decide, it remains always steady in our way whenever we choose it again.

     1. I love this: Love is always ready and waiting… it is up to us to open our eyes to it and allow ourselves to be supported, inspired and beheld. Then we are absolutely held in all that we do.

     2. Beautiful Amparo ‘ The quality of Love is forever beholding.’ I love the vibration of the word beholding.

170. This is such a beautiful description of religion Annelies, and one that many would not be familiar with – a whole new , but very old, way of looking at what religion truly is: ‘Well, it is no secret at all. It is true religion that’s back in my life. Not a religion in the way of the traditional religions, but religion in the true meaning of the word. A religion that lives within you and in the relationship with yourself first before anything or anyone else. A religion that unites people as we are all the same and asks us to take care of our bodies, to truly nurture ourselves. A way of life’.

171. What a beautiful connection you honour so deeply within yourself Annelies. A quality of grace and delicateness, emanating through you in a very powerful, healing and inspiring way.

     1. Thank you Stephanie and it needs a constant deepening of honouring my body and every message is a blessing to become more of the love that I am.

172. Trying to fit into systems can be a path to burn out, because we reduce who we are we and drain our natural life-force.

     1. Absolutely jennym, for a long time I thought I was tired or even exhausted because of the physical work I do and that my body did not cope. Although physical strength is important it was and is sometimes much more the pressure of the system to fit in, trying to compromise my body to satisfy the created monster of the health care.

173. That is so true – the roots are love, the tree may not be but the roots are.

174. Is the secret to nursing very simple? Take care and nurture ourselves and then it becomes simple and natural for us to do the same for others?

     1. Absolutely Christoph it is all about our own quality first and from there the doing comes, giving the service which we are here for unfolds.

175. It is very inspiring Anneliese to read how having thought you would never go back to this job, you made the decision to return only with a completely new approach. It is quite incredible what can happen when we bring all of ourselves to whatever it is we do, and the difference that can make not only to our work but to all the people around us.

176. When we ‘nurse’ ourselves, like in the way you described how you ‘self care’ the whole nursing profession is instantly transformed. What a tribute it is you are giving here by ‘giving back’ to the profession in the way you work, giving back to fellow colleagues, to patients, to medicine and, to yourself – no longer the exhausted neglected carer putting every one else before themselves in the traditional / historical sense it is of being a nurse. Equality all round. Everyone gains.
     If this is just one nurse transforming the profession, can you imagine many nurses applying the self care way? The Nursing and the Medical profession truly becomes the powerful healing environment it can potentially be…

177. It’s fantastic that you have given your self a second chance, I feel that is what I have also given myself a second chance, since knowing Serge Benhayon. By listening to my body and living in a way that is more supportive to me, this has naturally allowed for more understanding and genuine care of others there is no trying or drive involved. Now when I feel I have gone into drive or nervous tension I know I have lost connection to me.

178. The resourcefulness we can access when we embrace love and life is very inspiring… in this case for you, in your return to nursing with a whole new approach and quality.

179. Wow imagine a world if we all had this turn around and attitude towards work and ourselves. That coming to an understanding that we are extremely important and that the way we look after ourselves either supports and nurtures us or not. When we have a rhythm and consistent dedication caring for ourselves it becomes very clear and enjoyable what ever it is that we are doing. How it is about the quality in how you are living and not what it is that you are doing.

180. When the true energetic understanding of the word religion is known, it can then become a part of our Livingness, so the word religion comes without any attachments and the understanding it is there for us all equally.

181. I can appreciate the feeling of you returning twice here – once to the religion which is not really new but known deeply within us all, and returning to your chosen profession.

182. Wow a nurse who brings the reflection of care and supports patients to know what true care and nurturing is and how to bring that to themselves in a system that is set up to be uncaring of its staff is super, super inspiring and amazing. Awesome!!!

183. It must be so satisfying to go back to a career that you left, to be able to give it another go in a way that you do not get stressed, but give all the care that you knew you were capable of but did not have the connection and care of self to be able to bring back then. It is great when we get a second chance to bring a new way of doing something that we love.

184. This is a truly remarkable blog and story for it completely reverses the normal trends in staff burnout and exhaustion and presenteeism that have become so normal in health care.

185. Beautiful Annnelies what great place to get to when we value the love we are and that of all others “The love I feel inside is what is coming out and this is true religion, me living me. The way I care for and nurture myself is the way I care and nurture for patients” and how different this love brings to our lives with deep appreciation, care and integrity as our every way of being.

186. This is gorgeous Annelies, beautifully expressed that we take our temple with us everywhere, and with deep appreciation and honoring of this fact we share the great love that emanates from within it.

187. I’m inspired in reading this to bring religion to my work also. Sometimes it feels as if I do not live it in the same way at work as in other areas of my life.

     1. This is a great point. In what areas do we compromise our commitment to life… our religion?

188. ‘I am connected to God, not as a trust but a knowing in my body’ – with this feeling as our foundation we can begin to build a true connection to ourselves and to the Universe. The more we expand our experience of life the more beauty and joy we have within to share with everyone.

189. How lovely you have turned full circle and returned to your profession with the love and care you hold for yourself Annalies and how wonderful for your patients to have that quality there for them.

190. Annelies it’s really inspiring to read and see how different one can approach a job they’ve been doing or have done in the past for a long time with a whole new perspective, it shows me that its not work that is an issue in our life but how we approach life including work that is what makes the difference.

191. When we change ourselves to fit into the systems of the world we can often harden to protect ourselves but still end up drained and disappointed and withdraw. It is lovely to read how you turned that around and brought yourself fully to role again and the world.

192. Like many jobs we go in with our best intentions and then find that in order to cope we have to harden ourselves just to get through our day, and looking from the outside in with regards to the medical profession, it is easy to see how stressed they are, and how demanding the job is. It seems ironic that the people who are looking after the sick are in fact not that well themselves.

193. It is gorgeous to feel the depth of love and care you bring to your everyday life – not compartmentalised, simply a quality to bring to both home and work equally so.

194. Being religion is medicine. Imagine if every medical professional is living, breathing, walking medicine? Imagine if this then inspires every patient to be the same?

195. How blessed are your patients Annelies to have such loving care from you – bringing care to nursing.

196. Amazing Annelies! “Love is patient and will never give up. And so I can say I am religious; no church, no temple other than my own body, my own heart.” — How do you go past that?

197. ‘Today I say I have chosen to become a nurse because I love people and I love to care for and nurture them, to give them an insight into how it is to truly be caring and loving for oneself.’ When we deeply care and nurture ourselves it is natural to share this with others. What a beautiful reflection you offer others Annelies.

198. It is super inspiring, Annelies, to read about how you are now following the inner impulses of your body rather than looking to the outside world to define you. When we connect to our inner wisdom we can feel how we are a part of everything, and therefore know what is needed as our next step.

199. What is so different and inspiring about this Anneliese is that you have felt consistently confirmed and deeply supported through a true understanding and acceptance that “Love is patient and will never give up.” When we are consistantly appreciated in this way, without judgement or critiscism, we can feel encouraged to be more of who we are and therefore more willing to constantly look at our daily choices. and make the changes needed to live a more vital and productive life that supports all and not just the individual.

200. This is an amazing turn around and testament to the changes possible when we change our way of living. Even in one day, making different choices can reveal an entirely different perspective on life and work.

201. How lucky are your patients Annelies, and how great that you now love your job and are able to commit so totally to bringing all of you to it. We do indeed come alive when we align with a true purpose and commit totally to expressing that through whatever we do in our daily living.

202. I bet your patients can feel how incredible it is to have a nurse who is fully there and deeply caring, coming from a point of view that it is coming from a person who has deeply cared for themselves first. Walking the talk and living what you present is such a inspiring reflection.

203. Incredible what you’ve shared about sometimes being in physically straining situations but maintaining your vitality at work, based on the unwavering relationship you have to your body and commitment to taking care of yourself to the utmost detail, and learning from the reflections you receive back.

     1. Yes, it is in the consistency of choosing to honour the body that supports us to know what is needed as we take our next step with confidence and a solid foundation.

204. I remember being in hospital years ago after an accident where I broke my pelvis and I had the most amazing nurses looking after me and I remember thinking I really could not do that as a job with all that it entailed, so it surprises me not that many nurses burn out, especially when they do lots of shift work. So having the tools that are gained from self-care and love are essential when doing a job of this type, or when it boils down to it any job for that matter.

205. I had a similar experience with nursing. I think nursing was suggested as a profession when I realised I didn’t have the marks to be a vet. I enjoyed nursing at the time and didn’t burnout but would have if I had stayed in the profession for longer. I was also a nurse who had no self-care and gave everything to others. I never felt quick enough or like I was doing it as well as others. This I now find in my role working with nursing students is one the most insidious problems in the profession. We do not value what we bring or who we are and know that is what does the healing. The practical skills and knowledge are just the way we get to share it. I also went back casually to nursing last year and loved it. I could feel through connecting with my body the greater purpose there is to nursing.

206. Embracing a more deeply connected way of living – The Way of The Livingness – has also brought about profound changes to the way in which I live and work Annelies. Where a few years back, I stepped back from much of my work as a music teacher for a time, as I re-addressed my purpose in this and brought about changes in my whole approach and connection with music, founded upon the place that music deserves of being a healing (and not harming) agent in all of our lives… in more recent years my practice continues to grow and actually thrive. The love, the joy, the connection and the purpose reignited and ‘me within it’ working in a way that not only is sustainable, but that invigorates, enlivens, inspires and ‘sustains me back’.
     There is simply, so much work to be done – and our view of ‘work’, when Love is truly brought to the table, can indeed revolutionise when we embrace a way of living in alignment with the Love that we innately are, the Love of our soul.

207. How often do we hear of someone not only returning to a profession that had once overwhelmed them, but doing so with such dedication and commitment – to oneself and also those within their sphere of care and interaction? This is extraordinary, and to be appreciated, if not expanded upon (please write more on this…), as how one’s ‘way of life’ and religiosity within this has been the determining factor in such change.

     1. Great observation Victoria – this is truly rare and yet such reversals are common place in the community and students of Universal Medicine and those who have met Serge Benhayon.

        1. Absolutely Michael. I know myself to be such a case in point. What greater inspiration can there be in life, that one can actually commit in full and bring our all to all that we ‘do’ and all that we encounter?
           Only via someone who gives their all in absoluteness, could we be so inspired – enter Serge Benhayon…

     2. Yes Victoria Warburton this is a rare read, as so many are leaving this professions in number. To return to the rapids yet bring your own swim suit so that it does not even touch the surface is a testament to how we can make changes that are loving and as a result we have more to offer through nursing and any other areas of care.

        1. Well said Natalliya. There is the distinct sense that as a humanity, we are barely touching the surface of our true capacity – to work, serve, and remain open to all.

208. It is super powerful what you are sharing that when we make it about caring for ourselves first, and not over doing it and pushing on in disregard, then things in our life can turn around. The way we approach life has vitality and joy because we have been nurturing that within ourselves first. No matter what our job or what we are doing, making sure this is our bottom line and we don’t drop to the disregard that we have once chosen, then we have a foundation for everything to nourish and grow.

209. What you offer brings a whole new meaning to the phrase “your body is a temple”, for now it is not just a saying, but a way of living, a way of honouring yourself through the body and how you care for it, how you move, how you speak, and even how you think. This is a great blog for anyone looking for a way to bring true change to their life.

210. ‘The love I feel inside is what is coming out and this is true religion, me living me.’ This is so beautiful Annelies – what a blessing for your patients.

211. Such an inspiring blog that says we can do anything when we come from love and don’t take on outside pressures else we would be crushed. Always listening to what’s within that knows what is true for our inner and outer lives.

     ‘Without relying only on the outside world any more, but on my body and inner-heart. I appreciate the quality of stillness I bring to my life and thus to the patients I care for.’ So inspiring for me to really appreciate my quality of stillness too.

212. “A religion that unites people as we are all the same…” This is my kind of religion and one that is rarely spoken about in today’s society so it was refreshing to read this on the internet today. Looking around at the devastation that is caused by the separation of the current beliefs around religion, this is a religion that is worthy of front-page news – one that unites not separates.

213. Reading your blog I could feel the beauty of you taking God to work with you every day and how deeply healing that would be for everyone that you come in contact with. Oh and super playful.

     1. Thank you Elizabeth for adding ‘Oh and super playful’ this is what I feel more and more although the consciousness of nursing in the old aged care demands to be serious and to carry the weight of what has happened with the health of the elderly and the work pressure on your shoulders.

214. Because the realisation is.. we are not functional human beings. We are Godly – deeply precious, tender and delicate. But it is only when we connect to this within us, that we can then see it in others – and how could you not be deeply honouring and caring with someone before you who you know is a Son of God, someone so precious that they are out of this world in the quality that they bring. It is this reverence that is missing in our healthcare systems and in all aspects of life today.

215. The love and depth of true care you bring to your work and to your patients Annelies is hugely felt in what you have shared here. The sad thing is that this should not be the exception – this is how it ought to be for us all – whether we are receiving care or giving it. But if we do not have that connection to our inner most, then all we can provide is a fraction of the care we long for.

216. This is super cool how it is a relationship where we are connected to God and that this is the quality that we can feel in the body. Not something that we have had a belief that God is something outside of us, or higher than us. Accepting that God is a quality that comes in and through us and is an expression we either choose to connect to or not. One that can be shared with who ever we come in contact with.

217. When I first had the idea to become a nurse, I was so thrilled and could feel the pure joy in this decision, and I was sure it would last for a long time – but when I started Studying Nursing I realised things aren’t what I thought they were and the caring profession is infiltrated with lack of self-love, and sometimes a really cold and critical way of being with each other. So it has been interesting to go through this training and feeling sometimes the amazing confirmation and joy in learning how to care for peoples health, but sometimes feel grossly alone, un-confident and like I don’t know enough or will have to prove what I know to justify I am a ‘good nurse’ and this has been one of the downfalls of the profession – a reliance too much on knowledge and using it as protection without bringing the true essence of caring to the work, which is what I am sure all nurses are naturally drawn to.

     1. Harry it’s great to hear your insight into the nursing profession. To me it’s crazy that a caring profession isn’t caring of itself and doesn’t see that this can only affect those being cared for. I can understand many who go into the profession with the natural impulse to truly care are turned off by what it has become. So it’s awesome there are those like you who are there to reflect what true care is to bring it back.

     2. Absolutely Harryjwhite. Most are called to the business of caring because this reflects their true essence. Sometimes…often perhaps…we have to negotiate some pretty harsh systems and ‘realities’ in order to carry this through – but it is still very possible when we live from this essence.

     3. Absolutely Harry and I can relate to all that you are sharing, The people who are working in the health care have a genuine love for people and want to help others but most of the time to the expense of their own bodies. They cannot abandon the patients is what they say but are not willing to see what they are doing and are actually abandoning themselves.

218. Our bodies play a huge part in how we are with ourselves and others. The more I take care of my body the more I feel naturally to care for others.

219. True religion is a way of life, a relationship with your own inner being and the world, it is something deeply profound and private, between you and your Soul. It therefore is something you cannot avoid but to bring into everyday life, no matter what our job or roles are.

220. This is a wonderful reflection for those working in Health and Social Care – where in my experience it is all too easy to dedicate ourselves to the care of others and to negate our own wellbeing. I see it every day in my work. Yet the reflection of one person, living in a self-loving and self-nurturing way, reminds others that they can make the same choice too – to care for themselves. The quality of care and connection in one who lives this self-loving way is transformational.

221. A religion that asks us to live in a way that sees everyone as equal and where true love is the guiding light is not found anywhere else other than The Way of The Livingness. To live this every moment is the key and when we do, life really does change; how we see work, our relationships, everything takes on a new level of understanding and appreciation.

222. “Love is patient and will never give up” to reflect and be love in your job as a nurse (as well as all elsewhere) is a dose of true medicine for all.

223. “I appreciate the quality of stillness I bring to my life and thus to the patients I care for. ” What I love in what you share here is how it’s the quality of stillness that you value more than how many tasks you complete or what someone says about the work you do, it sets the standards for everyone in the nursing industry and work in general.

224. When we focus on truly caring for our bodies and our inner and outer wellbeing then our work, whatever it may be, becomes an absolute joy.

225. Annelies, you are a prime example of the meat grinder the medical profession has become from the pressures it is being put under, do more with less is a common theme that is just burning out staff. You should be a guest speaker for new training health professionals, expressing that how can you care for others without caring for yourself first!

226. It’s common sense that if we look after and care for ourselves, this will then translate in the work place; putting this common sense into practice when you have not lived this consistently takes huge commitment and dedication. Building a rhythm of self care into our everyday is the foundation that allows us to take our all to work, to serve in full and inspire others to do the same.

227. I love the agelessness of this whole story. At no point is it to late to re-learn, at no point is it too late to re-imprint, doesn’t matter if it is one day later or fifteen years later…what matters is that we choose to do it and have the strength, courage, conviction and appreciation to follow through. Moves like this will change the world.

228. ‘It is true religion that’s back in my life.’ I love how you have claimed this Annelies and how your whole blog resonates with appreciation.

229. What a beautiful final paragraph Annelies, of a lovely blog, a celebration of a true nurse. I would love to be nursed by you.

230. Through these blogs we reclaim and re-imprint the word religion, giving it back its true meaning. True religion is the loving relationship we have with ourselves, it is embodied, we walk with and share it with others. It lives and breathes through us. It is our inner sacred temple.

231. A true inspiration for patients and staff alike.

232. ‘The love I feel inside is what is coming out and this is true religion, me living me.’ This is a very different feeling to one that is working from stress and drive, it comes with gentleness, understanding and grace. How lovely to be met with this when you are unwell; rather that what can sadly happen is to be met by someone who is exhausted, drained and only just coping.

233. “I have built a relationship with myself, a loving relationship that is forever deepening” – which is the very best thing or founding aspect of true religion; to deepen within oneself is to surrender to one’s eternal divinity.

     1. “surrender to one’s eternal divinity” is a beautiful reminder and confirmation that we are going nowhere other than deeper in, to what is always and forever there within us.

234. It is beautiful timing to have gone through the process you have and then take your lived religion to all those you support in your work.

235. I am a shop assistant and today I felt that my job was my religion. In staying connected to myself and open to others I enjoyed meeting people in a way that truly met them and let them in. Taking care to take extra time with people makes all the difference and transformed the day. In my connections I could feel God. Every moment spent like that felt amazing.

     1. I have been in the shop you work in Rebecca and the way you work must be infectious as I am always met with such warmth from the staff in your shop; it feels like I’m being welcomed into somebody’s home, not a part of London’s busy retail.

     2. Rebecca. I can read your comment and just say ‘cool – that sounds great’. Or I can really stop and consider what it is that you are saying. If I read it with an awareness of what 99% of the world lives, it is is utterly gigantic and needs to be deeply, deeply appreciated. Truly. Quite simply this is not how the world lives and whatever you have done, whatever choices you have made, whatever you have lived to get you to this place is incredible, amazing and demands great celebration! This is not normal and yet you have made it utterly normal.

236. ‘Love is patient and will never give up.’ I feel this very clearly as a quality of love and one that when I apply to my relationship with myself develops a tender understanding for the fact that I am always learning and growing and can treat myself with patience and respect.

237. Vitality speaks millions and it’s impossible to ignore or resist the glow that some people carry with them… I can imagine this completely transforms your patients’ days and the hospital environment Annelies!

     1. So, so true Susie. An inspiration for others to choose to get themselves well again.

238. Oh yeah Annelies, I knew you before you started nursing again, and also now, it has been a huge shift I can declare and say. You have definitely claimed your true religion back and with the result that your life and including your job very much so now flows way more than ever before, seeing you is a great Joy. Thank you for expressing.

239. The simple choices we make each day have an enormous influence on how we feel about work.

240. It’s amazing how your previous experience as a nurse set you up to be able to come back around and serve in full capacity and purpose to all who walk through those hospital doors and beyond.

241. I was in Hungary recently and talking to people. Nurses, firemen, teachers and police are paid less than what you can get on the welfare system. Thus they are struggling to find workers and the police force is rampant with corruption (people trying to supplement their income). It is crazy that we place so little value on the jobs that care for humanity.

     1. The health care system does not support nurses to care for themselves. They work in a culture that asks them to ignore their bodies and do what ever is needed to get the job done. Therefore many nurses get disillusioned and burn out early in their career. Such a pity, as they come into the system with the best intent to care for others but, because most of them have not learnt to care for themselves, they cannot sustain the work load.

        1. It’s an interesting and possibly contentious point that you raise Marly Louise – but an important one to talk about – and one that is relevant to us all and not just nurses. Are we better at looking after others than we are ourselves? Is this “charitable/selfless” behaviour actually what supports humanity? Is it a true expression and is it true care? I might get shot down for saying but, but I’d say no and the state of the NHS and its workforce would seem to agree. We are under the illusion that helping others before we help ourselves is a good thing to do, the right thing to do, the Christian thing to do…etc….but how can it be if it results in burn out and exhaustion…and how can someone care for another if they haven’t yet learnt how to care for themselves?

        2. Totally agree Otto (and Annelies), the belief that one must look after others first and be ‘self-less’ is a complete misinterpretation of the ageless truth that to be wise one must observe the whole picture and act without ‘self’ getting in the way. This truth has been confused and distorted into a program that runs most women and many men – running them ragged. If we don’t truly look after our bodies and ourselves then any service we ‘give’ is loveless. The great Master Jeshua taught many moons ago that we must love one another as we love ourselves.

        3. So in fact Lyndy, we could say that loving self is the foundation of selflessness.

     2. Wow, that is so wrong, given the responsibility they are willing to take for the care of others.

242. Every single day, every single moment is a new opportunity to live our future. Which is exactly what you are doing – totally irrespective of the past. Glorious.

243. I really get a sense of the strength of the loving foundation that you have built within and with yourself and how much this supports you in your work and ability to care for others without getting burnt out. This seems like such an essential part of healthcare in my view and something very needed for all our healthcare professionals and indeed all of us to be educated in as we grow up so that at least we have a clearer understanding of how it is possible to look after ourselves and how enriching this can be for our work and entire life.

244. Beautiful, Annelies – “The love I feel inside is what is coming out and this is true religion, me living me.” There is a real claiming and valuing here, of the divine qualities you naturally bring.

245. There are so many brilliant nurses who leave the profession, nurses that genuinely care about people, nurses that want to make a difference, nurses that are willing to work in what I imagine are very intense situations leaving the profession. They are asked to do more, be paid less and still bring their all to the job. It really is no wonder that there is such a shortage of nursing staff as they are not supported to look after and care for themselves first before they start to bring that care to others. Your story is so inspiring and brings light to the possibilities of change.

     1. Absolutely Fiona, at 56 Annalies is working longer hours and feeling great – her story is testament to the power of self love & self care; if these fundamental tenants of wellbeing are not in place, then there is no wonder that people become burnt out in their professions.

246. No matter how stressful, complex and challenging our jobs can be, they can never remove our fundamental choice to be the love that we are in whatever we do. This goes for other systems in life too. Our right to choose to be love is primary and our point of true power.

247. It is beautiful to hear you have gone back into nursing and found your true purpose to bring love and care for yourself and others. Nursing is one of those professions like you say people burn out or give up due to the stresses and demands, you have now shown their is another way to live and still work in the same profession, how inspiring it is for others.

248. What a joy it would be to be nursed by you, Annelies. This blog palpates with love.

249. “I am connected to God, not as a trust but a knowing in my body, a quality that is inside me.” The more we are encouraged to connect to this quality of stillness inside our bodies, the more steady the connection to God becomes and so our commitment and vitality to life keeps on deepening. Hence working harder and enjoying our jobs to the hilt becomes so natural as we align to our God given directive to work and serve one another.

250. When we commit to making changes in the way we live and care for ourselves, everything changes: making what seemed impossible possible.

251. ‘Love is patient and will never give up’ A blessing to know we call on the love within ourselves at anytime to support and strengthen us.

     1. There is such respect and tenderness in accepting this fact into our lives and the way we treat ourselves… unconditional constancy and understanding.

252. Annelies I feel this how most people live
     “I did my utmost to fit in, to please others, unaware of who I truly was and this resulted in me becoming the tough nurse, hardened, in whom everything and everyone else came first.”
     I know I did my utmost to fit in, I became very hard, I turned myself inside out trying to please other people but it was never enough and it was also an exhausting way to live; relying on nervous energy to get me through the day. Letting go of the nervous energy which was the fuel I ran my body with was hard because it was my way of identifying myself within life. What would I be, how would life be if I let that go? I have chipped away at all the ideals and beliefs I had around being the perfect friend/mum/employee and this has enabled me to step by step reduce the nervous tension in my body and in doing this discovered underneath the tension a different kind of me. I discovered a deep stillness which sustains me so that I don’t feel tired and when I do feel tired I know it’s because I have stepped away from my stillness and gone into nervous energy again to get something done. I’m a work in progress but to live life from the stillness within my body is the most rewarding and gorgeous experience ever.

253. I have often heard said, that when you find a job you love, you will never work another day. But, when you build a loving relationship with yourself first, we become a star that shines in everything we do and affects everyone around us.

     1. This is so beautiful Steve and a far cray from what my father used to say “if you enjoyed it, they wouldn’t bother paying you”!! Two polar opposite views of what work is…I know which I’m aligning to and thanks to Universal Medicine I now bring a focus, purpose and love of people to my work…so, yes, it doesn’t feel like work at all.

     2. Steve, this is a beautiful way to be with our work – love it and it is a joy in life, rather than a daily grind of repetition to simply pay the bills.
        “When you find a job you love, you will never work another day”.

254. “Nursing and my new religion” – what an eyebrow raiser for some to consider that what we do for a job, our profession – is one’s religion also. When we are connected to anything, we are in religion with it. No temple, church, mosque, prayer book required. Just connection.

255. When we really connect to the fact and understanding that we know God from the absolute knowing, from our connections with our bodies then anything they do from then on is an expression of this.

256. ‘I am connected to God, not as a trust but a knowing in my body, a quality that is inside me.’ This is a beautiful reminder that God is within us all and we can feel that.

257. ‘I make mistakes, take a step back, but choose to come back again and again.’ I love this, it reminds me that is ok to be perfectly imperfect, to stumble and fall, it’s whether I get up again that matters.

     1. I agree Fiona, it is one thing to fall down but it is far more healthier to get up again, than to give up on life.

     2. And I feel this is something we can appreciate more, it is never about an outcome, or having an investment, it is just making our life about quality first.

258. The last paragraph here is beautiful; something for humanity to ponder on as it starts each new day.

259. “The way I care for and nurture myself is the way I care and nurture for patients.” And hence what you bring to your work is a true, living experience a knowing of how to care that comes from your body first, so that all you offer your patients arises from a genuine foundation of love. True nursing at its best.

     1. We are returning to a way of being where ‘ a genuine foundation of love’ is everyone’s foundation in all that they do, say and think.

260. The body is the greatest temple there is, when we make it a vehicle of expression for the divine.

     1. Beautiful Judith – we are walking temples when we are choosing to be the expression of the love that we are.

261. I love that you went back. I feel like when you have an experience such as yours you have so much to bring to others working in the industry.

     1. It’s so true, she will be such a breath of fresh air to a stale and outdated system.

262. It is a joy to re-visit this blog Annelies. Simply living true religion in your every movement and verbal expression from the core and divine essence of your being.

263. Religion is the key to working with a world of love for what you do..

264. Building and deepening the relationship with ourselves develops such beautiful quality and self love, and this is what is met first in all relationships thereafter. What a blessing to be nursed by you!

265. Annelies, how wonderful it must be for patients to be in your loving care, for as we love ourselves more, so too can we bring true love to whatever we do and whoever we are with and this love has no attachment, is laced with no sympathy or demand – it just is a holding of the other in equalness.

266. A true religion is a way of life, not a Sunday religion where we go through the motions and then carry on with our ‘normal’ behaviours throughout the week. A true religion has no beliefs, there is just a knowing of the truth when we connect to the wisdom that is accessed from within.

     1. I agree. True religion is a consistent way of life, rather than a compartmentalised activity in a designated place at a designated time.

     2. Beautifully put Sandra, true religion is a thread of self awareness and responsibility that is stitched throughout our day – no moment more important than the next.

267. “I did my utmost to fit in, to please others, unaware of who I truly was and this resulted in me becoming the tough nurse, hardened, in whom everything and everyone else came first.” I know this feeling and it is not until we start to ask the question ‘but what are we trying to fit into?’ and ‘Is this something I want to fit into, is it true?’ that life can change and we can make it about the quality we feel is true and needed.

268. It’s beautiful to hear the changing face of nursing. One day we will come to realise that those that are exhausted cannot truly care for others who are sick. Annelies, your commitment to healing supports all those you care for to truly heal.

     1. Thank you Vicky and true, we cannot truly care for others when we are not caring and loving for yourselves. For me It is a deepening process of the relationship with my body which doesn’t stop.

269. That you have returned to your profession after so long and are able to work for longer hours with even more pressure on your self, shows the strength of your love and Religion.

270. Living and working from a connection to the love that resides within us, is the only way that things will truly change. Thanks for sharing, Annelies.

271. It just shows us that it is not the stressors of the outside world that really inform our quality of life but the relationship we have with ourselves first.

     1. Simply and beautifully stated Matilda. Developing a loving relationship with ourselves is like having a solid foundation made from ‘pure gold bricks’.

272. This is just what I needed to read today. Thank you, Annelies. A confirmation of what is at the heart of our relationship with ourselves, others and life… our innermost qualities brought forth rather than an acquired skill base applied.

     1. True service in motion – learnt skills supporting our true qualities.

273. Now that I have true religion in my life, via The Way of The Livingness, I realise that even though religion is something that I have shunned my entire life, it’s actually the one thing I’ve always been searching for.

274. It would be such an amazing thing if all the nurses who left the profession (or any other profession that burns you out for that matter) could read this blog and be inspired by your story, that although these professions are a lot of work and are stressful there is a different way of doing them that doesn’t do you in and maybe reconsider going back in with a different approach. You are an absolute inspiration Annelies to all those who have perhaps given up on what is a well needed profession.

275. To come back to a job where once you had given up and shut the door is a remarkable turn around…and not only that but to love it and be fully committed again is an inspiration to us all.

276. “The way I care for and nurture myself is the way I care and nurture for patients. ” and in the same line when we return to our natural religious way of living then that too, our divinity will be brought into everything what we do and to everywhere where we are.

277. I agree Annelies, to be connected to our innate qualities and essence changes the energy in how we are and do our jobs, actually it changed my life and the way I work.

278. We can blame our work, others, anything, for how we are in our day or how we feel at the end of our day… but in truth it all comes back to us, and how we have been with ourselves (or not) in all that has happened, that will be exposed at the end of our day. And when we bring honesty to ourselves and how we are living, we can be more open to change and to bringing more loving choices into our day… and these then reflect to all others we meet – quite beautiful really.

279. It is not what you do but the quality you do it in and then if done with integrity and self-loving care first then the care you offer others as you have come to realise through your livingness is a wonderful support for them. This is true religion in action not just in words and it is beautiful Annelies, thank-you for sharing.

280. “What is my secret of working and enjoying myself in a stressful job and feeling very well?” Your question got me to stop and appreciate how much this way of living, this religion, The Way of The Livingness, has enabled me to change how I feel in myself and how I know life, work, family and relationships to be. Every aspect of our days is touched by it, and in each of those words; The Way, of, The Livingness, describes that it is a way of being in life, in every aspect.

281. It is not good when nurses who are caring for sick patients have to harden themselves in order to survive a busy shift.

     1. True Carmel that’s not good but nurses see this as the only way to do all the tasks that are at hand and don’t value themselves enough to even consider there could be another way. And I must agree it can be quite challenging as the demands are huge and we are used to supply for the needs of sick people, often sympathy is involved as well.

282. “Not a religion in the way of the traditional religions, but religion in the true meaning of the word.” Nothing about The Way of The Livingness is traditionally religious, it is completely Ageless, a way of living that restores a true sense of purpose, vitality and wisdom to daily life, transforming the mundane into the exceptional as we learn to bring all of our hearts to what we do.

283. beautifull to make the way you live and your commitment to nursing your new religion

284. This is a perfectly timed reminder for me – the key is how we live – not what we do.

285. “Me living me” . . . I love this Annalies, I can say that since I have come back to religion in the true sense of the word, I have never felt more normal in living me than I ever have since being a child.

286. If religion indeed means how we actually relate to life – which is relate to ourselves, others, nature and God. If it would be this simple – which in my experience it also is – why wouldn’t we want to forever deepen this religion. Than after religion wouldn’t be such a bad thing, would it. It would be like a dance within life, deepening and surrendering to the love that we all naturally are. And in choosing so reflecting to others that they can choose the same. We’re Powerful, very much so:-).

287. What a beautiful way to live and work… “it is no secret at all. It is true religion that’s back in my life…. A religion that lives within you and in the relationship with yourself first before anything or anyone else…”

     1. Indeed Johanne, and actually so simple compared with what we were taught religion to be from the institutionalised organisations. Religion does live within and does not need any place for congregation but is lived in the temple of our body and from which we live and work.

288. “No church, no temple other than my body and my own heart”, how beautiful and true this feels. No dependency on anything or anybody outside myself to tell me what religion is. It is all there inside us, the whole universe; our bodies vibrate with its vibrations, we are Children of God. With this knowing of the all encompassing and unconditional Love within us we can go to any work with openness, appreciation and a totally altered perspective on work that gives us energy and vitality and the ability to sustain ourselves despite the pressures. A beautifully and simply expressed blog Annelies

289. You are so spot on Annalies. The way we are with ourselves, one’s religion, has a tremendous impact on how we feel about things.

290. Yes, Annelies. Moving in a way where we are feeling the quality of God in our bodies, makes every day a blessing for us and everyone around us.

291. What a beautiful way to practise nursing, knowing that you are connected to God and to all others. The more you value yourself, the more you value the patients under your care and this is exquisite and very healing for patients to receive, as it allows them to feel their value also.

292. At 53 I have more commitment and more willingness to work than ever. Some people are considering – or looking forward to – retirement by now, but to do what? I feel more than ever now that we are purposeful beings who thrive on work and on making a meaningful contribution to our community and our race. I look forward to working for as long as I can do so. Like Annelies, I attribute this to a deeper and more loving relationship with myself and hence with others and innately with God, a living way of being in life that is truly religious.

293. “Today I say I have chosen to become a nurse because I love people and I love to care for and nurture them, to give them an insight into how it is to truly be caring and loving for oneself.” What an inspiring and fresh perspective on Nursing, if society felt this way about nursing and if those who are considering nursing could see this potential, we would have a very different nursing system.

294. I feel there is a truth at the heart of the nursing profession that calls people to it and it is encapsulated in your first paragraph here Annelies. The call to be a nurse is from a place of love for people, a love of caring for others and more so, to reflect back the power of self-love, self-care and self-nurturing. What a beautiful calling and what a beautiful profession it is. Even if this is not consciously understood when every nurse enters the job, the seed of this truth is surely there for them somewhere.

295. A colleague of my had to visit his mother in the hospital and remarked how young all of the nurses were. Is the burnout rate that high, that there is a constant flow of new staff? Annelies, you are the light that is missing in the new nurses, that will cause a ripple of change.

296. Annelies what I find very inspiring is: “At the age of 56 years when a lot of people decide to work less hours, I am choosing to work more hours than I have for a long time.” You show the world that it is possible to work hard and long hours because you have learned to truly look after yourself with care and love. It would be a great idea if you could bring all your experience as an official “teacher” at your workplace for the ones who are starting to be a nurse, to learn this too.

297. I love how you share your process of living more and more the truth of you and your inner heart and learn to not react to the expectations from outside.

298. “The love I feel inside is what is coming out and this is true religion, me living me” – gorgeous Annelies “me living me” – I didn’t know who ‘me’ [myself] was until I looked at who I had become as a product of life/society/family. ‘Me living me’ is living the truth of love, stillness, harmony – living from the inside and out, as opposed to the opposite, being directed or quashed by the outside.

299. I find that there are few people who become medical practitioners for whom being of service to humanity isn’t a very high priority, yet there is a high rate of burnout. If those who wish to serve humanity can learn how to do it in a sustainable and even joyful way, that would be an incredible boon for the servants and humanity as a whole.

300. Your hospital is turning into a temple of love and truth Annelies. These are amazing steps to re-establish the holding energy and awareness that will lead to people becoming truly aware of the root cause of why they came to that hospital with that disease. Amazing pioneering Annelies!

     1. I love this Lyndy – workplaces being turned into a ‘temple of love’, simply from the re-connecting with our body and innermost qualities, and thus, re-building the deep, innermost foundations and living them, for all to know the truth of themselves from this reflection.

301. “The way I care for and nurture myself is the way I care and nurture for patients.” This is what all medical professionals need to learn and understand from day one of their training, and to value what it is they bring to others.

     1. Yes. It will be great when our understanding of this permeates all our professional training.

302. Thanks Annelies. “The love I feel inside is what is coming out and this is true religion” – this is such an insightful line, moving religion away from something that is outside of us that others to some degree are in control of or bestow upon us, to something that first and foremost is lived within, built within, until it flows out from there, naturally so.

303. What a beautiful reminder that when we live religiously we are always working in collaboration with so much more than is normally assumed.

304. What an absolute gift it will be for anyone who comes under your care Annelies, and also for the people who work alongside you. They cannot but be inspired by you and your renewed level of committment that you bring to your job and the care that you take of yourself to enable you to do what you do.

305. “At the age of 56 years when a lot of people decide to work less hours, I am choosing to work more hours than I have for a long time.” You are living proof Annelies that when we truly look after ourselves from the inside out, work becomes an absolute pleasure because we have so much more energy with which to live our lives.

     1. Yes, it is amazing to watch Annelies and others look more vital year by year.

306. Beautiful Annelies. Imagine if all doctors and nurses had the understanding you have from when they first go into their training…what a different healthcare system we would have around the world.

307. Refreshing! Amazing! Inspiring! Must-read! Food for thought! Vitality in your fifties is the new black!

     Thank you Annelies van Haastrecht for lighting the way by simply choosing you where-ever you go, including your work place! The love for your clients is so clear and strong, what a delight and blessing for them to receive all of you (and so much more) when you’re at their homes.

308. It may sound simple to offer and provide care for another, but when it comes from the way we care for ourselves it comes with a whole lot more.

     1. This is true Vicky – the deeper the true self care, the quality that is then brought to another is profound and without the exhaustion that often is felt by carers.

309. When it comes to work, we can often blame it for our burn out, resentment or exhaustion. But really, all of that only has to do with the way we are living and how we are with work. Certain jobs are hugely stressful and can demand a lot, but this is an example of how the way we live impacts everything including what we take to work.

310. ‘The love I feel inside is what is coming out and this is true religion, me living me.’ – We, living who we truly are is what is needed to change the ills of the world.

311. What an inspiring Way to Live Religiously … “A religion that lives within you and in the relationship with yourself first before anything or anyone else. A religion that unites people as we are all the same and asks us to take care of our bodies, to truly nurture ourselves…”

312. What an awesome potential for a vocational training is highlighted by this blog.

313. ‘It is true religion that’s back in my life. Not a religion in the way of the traditional religions, but religion in the true meaning of the word.’ The word ‘religion’ can come so loaded because so many of us have been hurt by organised religions. Understanding that the true meaning of religion is to re-connect, and that to reconnect all we need to do is to connect to our bodies and our hearts, it takes the trying out of it or the feeing that we are not good enough, because when we take the time to really connect (which is a very simple thing to do) we find that we are far far more than we had been led to believe.

314. This new religion is an ancient religion which comes from the ageless wisdom that we all know from within. This needs no priests or other interpreters, for we can access God directly from our own bodies. It needs no church or temple for the body is the temple through which we access the divine.

315. Living ‘what the outside world wants me to live’ is exhausting so no wonder we struggle with work, parenting, relationships etc. Once we shift to ‘living the connection with the love I am from inside’ we don’t get so drained and we can bring that love to whatever we do and this makes our work etc so much more enjoyable both for ourselves and for the other people involved. 

316. I love life stories like this that show that it’s possible for us to be consistently healthy and hard-working life-long. Who says we need to work harder when we’re younger? I get the sense that as I get older I’ll probably work more rather than less!

317. Thank you Annelies, it’s quite amazing that instead of feeling more burdened by working more hours in an older body (older than when you left nursing) you now feel so vital and joyful. You are actually a new form of healthcare in a healthcare system!

318. You often hear people say they love their job and while they may enjoy what they do it is the love that must be their for oneself that allows one to truly embrace and love what they do in full. So many love the doing but not the people yet it is the people that form the core of the job simply because the job would not be there without people! The more love we have for ourselves the more we can also bring that to all those we meet and interact with.

319. ‘Love is patient and will never give up’. Absolutely Esther. Love is what we are made from and can never be destroyed. It always observes, reads the situation and understands why we are behaving in a certain way. Love knows that eventually we will all evolve back to where we came from, and so it just keeps on holding us.

320. What a delight you must be to your patients Annelies, if I am ever in hospital I sure hope I get looked after by someone like you.

321. It is remarkable to read at the age of 56 and returning to a job that is even more demanding than what it was and working longer hours that you Love your job Annelies. Clearly this religion with yourself and naturally with God is the way forward

322. When we commit to looking after ourselves, looking after others and making this commitment to continue working in our careers even at an older age and supporting humanity is much, much easier.

323. I love this line, Annelies – “I am connected to God, not as a trust but a knowing in my body, a quality that is inside me.” All the knowledge in the world cannot get you to the point of knowing God in this way, it is only through opening your heart and clearing any of the hurts that distract you from feeling all that is already there.

324. To have care for yourself first, Annelies brings a whole different level of care for your patients… and what a blessing it is that you bring to them.

325. As I am approaching 50 at a fast pace myself I can say that 56 is definitely not old anymore and we should at this age just be getting ready to shift into top gear without all the ailments, illness and disease that are plaguing the human race at the moment.

326. It makes sense to me that the more we are able to deeply care, connect and honour ourselves the more we are able to genuinely do this for others.

327. Many people feel so disconnected, not in touch with an inner calling that they know is there, but often they look outside to solve the discomfort….I know I did, talked and talked to people about my unease and life not making sense….and then I began to look inward, at a reconnection with my essence, who I am and then, from this has burst, an inner knowing, appreciation, connection, a revitalisation, through living a religious life, rebinding with who I am in essence is a return and it brings depth to life that is incomparable.

328. Beautiful, beautiful blog Annelies, thank you for sharing about your religion and your love for people. ‘A religion that lives within you and in the relationship with yourself first before anything or anyone else’. This part sings in my heart and it makes so much sense to me. I too love this as my religion and am learning to live this every day.

329. It was said to me recently that some people no longer have a work ethic: they simply go through the motions and do what they have to, nothing more. Without purpose, we miss the immense potential work brings to deepen relationships with self and others. It’s been said before, ‘work is medicine’. When we truly care for and nurture ourselves, we have energy and inner resources to give fully to others at work and elsewhere.

330. “What is my secret of working and enjoying myself in a stressful job and feeling very well?” – LOVE Annelies !!! The love of self, is love of the job. And this is the purpose of all work, and every profession.

331. Annelies what you have presented here should be a study. Lately on the radio I have heard a lot from professionals themselves (nurses and doctors) saying just how burnt out and disheartened they are about the health care system and their jobs. What you have shown here is when we truly look after ourselves we can quite literally turn everything around … our own health, our value of ourselves and others, our self worth, our self esteem, our commitment to life, our vitality .. the list goes on. And of course this works for not only people in the healthcare profession but for everyone hence why it should be studied and … lived.

332. Most jobs are challenging, but often it is not so much the technical aspect that is as challenging as dealing with people, and unfortunately this is what often burns people out. What this exposes then is that whilst it is important that education focus on the how, there is a call to look at how education can assist people to learn to develop themselves in a true way that gives them the foundation then to deal with the many varied relationships they will deal with at work.

333. It’s a travesty that any person can start off so caring, open, purposeful, and end up feeling not enough, a failure and giving up on themselves and on the profession they have chosen. Most people seem to dislike work, considering it a necessary chore they have to partake in. What you have shared here is a significant insight into how it does not need to be this way

     1. I agree and yet so often this happens in professions like medicine and teaching – the system crushes people and the passion that took them into that area. As has been shared in this article, by connecting to something within, we can find all we need to remain dedicated, vital and purposeful even within a system that is not.

334. ‘A religion that lives within you and in the relationship with yourself first before anything or anyone else’ – Reflecting on your experience has helped my understanding of what I can feel happening in many industries where people are not fully there and their care is diminished. Building the love of ourselves and deepening the loving self care we practice does have a definite flow on effect when we take ourselves out into the world and into service.

335. If we know God as a quality that is inside our body and we build a loving and deepening relationship with ourselves, then we are in effect building our relationship with God.

336. Nursing or any other job is beautiful and precious. But only truly beautiful and precious when we choose to do our job with the connection to ourselves. Otherwise it will always be about the result of the task at hand. Rather than the quality of the relationship between the nurse with first herself and secondly the patient or collegae. This is a truly inspiring sharing! Food for thought:-).

337. This is a great read Annelies – it confirms how significant it is to be conscious of how we care for ourselves in our day to day lives, and how much this affects our health and wellbeing and consequently our ability to truly care for others.

338. What an amazing reflection you are to all the staff and patients that you come into contact with. Living proof that it is possible to thrive in a stressful environment when you take care of yourself first and then share that with others.

     1. It is amazing to hear examples of people breaking the stereotypical view of what it is to work in stressful environments, in this case health care – real points of inspiration.

339. ‘I am connected to God, not as a trust but a knowing in my body, a quality that is inside me.’ Gorgeous Annelies, a full body experience, the Divine essence that we are.

340. If i were to get sick, it would be you I would want walking the wards for the simple reason that it is clear that we can only care for another as much as we care for ourselves and in you I feel a deep and true level of care for yourself, rather than the usual burn out and exhaustion because staff are given no support or foundation.

341. This is really amazing. The workplace you work I understand to be challenging but that you are living the love within and working more hours, loving your job is so inspiring. Just shows living the love we are is so much more powerful in its tenderness and strength than anything else.

342. Only when we know how to live within, the God within we can live in a world that lacks this connection and expression without getting clobbered by it.

343. I know of several nurses who find their work extremely stressful, I know there are commonly very long shifts that they work and, having stayed in hospital a few times, I for one truly appreciate all that they do. It is wonderful that you have been able to return to your profession and this time feeling more supported from within.

344. Very inspiring and beautiful to read and feel the true love and appreciation you have built up for yourself and your purpose in life in every way through your religious way of living and the amazing effect this has on others also. What an amazing reflection and gift to all your patients, family and yourself.

345. Burn out is a frequent accompaniment to the caring professions right across the board; it is not until we understand and learn that we have to care for ourselves first before we care for another/others, that we are truly serving and answering the call.

346. The patients now are truly blessed to have you – it makes such a difference when we approach work with love and care, in fact when we approach our whole lives this way because then everyone we meet and interact with gets an opportunity to feel love because are simply being ourselves. It only takes 1 person to brighten up another’s day and the ripple effects are then huge.

347. ‘A religion that unites people as we are all the same and asks us to take care of our bodies, to truly nurture ourselves. A way of life.’ This is beautiful to read.

348. This is a perfect example of what caring for yourself first and then being able to care for others is all about.

349. I’ve never really heard of a profession being a religion before as on the surface that sounds at odds with what I used to think religion was and is. Yet today when we bring in true religion I can see how that makes so much sense. What a gift the nursing profession has with you as part of it again, I hear story after story of nurse burn out so you will be a living example of what is possible.

350. The fact that you are now choosing to work more hours is total proof that what you are doing is extraordinary and outside the norm and that the norm doesn’t have to exist with all its burnt out exhausted people. I had a stint in hospital last year and I could have really used a nurse like you on the scene with a bit of love in the care.

351. How beautiful that you are now loving your job and have full commitment to the role…your patients are truly blessed when you turn up for work.

352. “I am connected to God, not as a trust but a knowing in my body, a quality that is inside me.” And you have shown us Annelies that once we claim this quality it empowers us to return to areas of our lives where that we had completely given up on and reclaim them with an incredible depth of commitment, care and vitality.

353. Annelies I would hazard a guess that you are bringing more of ‘The love of God’ to people than the Pope.

354. There are many ideals and beliefs attached to work; even the title can drain us, but committing to self-love we learn to let go of them and begin to live life in connection to ourselves first.

355. Annelies, what you present on your work is a way of living that will support the people in many ways. It is not only the physical nurturing you bring but also the nurturing of the inner-heart, that place many people have walked away from and with that, closed off the way to the preciousness that resides in them.

356. “At the age of 56 years when a lot of people decide to work less hours, I am choosing to work more hours than I have for a long time” – gorgeous and inspiring to read Annelies, yes, when we change the quality of oneself to the quality of self-love, we love, and are in love with any job to make us naturally want to work more, not less.

357. If God is love and we truly connect to God, then we connect to love and perhaps find out that, like God, we are love too.

358. Making life about serving others with love and care, no matter what profession, is living a life of purpose which is very sustaining and the body totally loves it!

359. Nursing is such an important role because often patients have given up that anyone actually does care… and so for us as nurses to then reflect to them what true loving care is in how we are with ourselves, then has the potential for them to also be that way with themselves… and this opens the way for true healing – even if they don’t get physically ‘better.’

360. What you share here is gold – to be able to work in a very stressful workplace environment and work in a state of not being stressed but lovingly and deeply caring without getting exhausted – I can relate to this as well, I love my work although it is extremely demanding and challenging – but connection to God, a way of livingness supports me, and then the quality I am in, supports others. It is not perfect, but it is true.

361. It is in that religious way of being with ourselves, that we then bring to work and share with everyone we meet in our day, that naturally transforms the way we work – and can transform our workplaces along the way too.

362. I can so relate to what you share here Annelies… I too left nursing, burnt out and vowing never to return – I even let my registration expire, so set was I to stay away. And like you, I have come full circle… back in nursing after 10 years absence, and loving the work and the connection with people – staff, relatives and patients. And this is only because I have come to love and appreciate myself more, and by making work about connecting with people, not a tick-box of things to be done (which is never-ending).

363. This is truly remarkable, when you were describing what you love about being a nurse, it made so much sense. In order to really nurture others, you must first have a deep and loving relationship with yourself and that is one huge component missing from the health care industry. This lack of self love, leaves all the “giving” nurses do on a daily basis, a draining exercise. Your Religious approach to health and life is inspiring.

364. I love that you bring all of you to what you do at work – a gift indeed for those you treat.

     1. By bringing all of us we also bring God, if the all of us that we bring is the real us.

365. Best description of religion I have read in a long time. And I can feel the absolute blessing you are bringing healthcare – putting true health and true care into those words.

366. Time to start sharing this with the whole medical sector. I read so many stories about people being burnt-out and what you offer here Annelies is a complete turn-around from what is currently experienced! Amazing working more hours in your fifties than you did in your thirties. That alone is an example worth exploring and an amazing case study.

     1. Yes, that is very unusual and worth investigating.

367. mmm, I really appreciate this. There is a struggle to see religion as anything other than a doctrine, a set of rules imposed and attached to a power play as well as a set of specific venues. Yet what you present is a relationship with Love that really resonates with me. Thank you for the work you do as a nurse, having been on the receiving end of their care recently I am always appreciative of the work they offer and can see the difference it makes when it comes from a place of self-care first.

368. There is an absoluteness when you feel God from the body and not the head. Knowing God is within us all has changed my understanding and perspective of what true religion is and I now have no problem saying I am religious and that religion is my everyday way.

369. It is a very clear reflection of a health care industry that it is not working well when one (actually many) leave it burnt out and exhausted… Health care of the health care provider is an essential and necessary ingredient in any health care system for it to be profitable all round.

370. It is a real shame – and an indictment of the lack of support of true education and understanding offered when healthcare professionals are trained – that there is so much burnout of individuals who choose such professions because they deeply care and wish to support people. This blog is a great starting point to an empowering journey that starts with self-care and self-responsibility.

371. Amazing to live with clarity and dedication to purpose in a demanding system such as healthcare! Leading the way.

     1. Leading the way indeed as are you! The key for me is to live this clarity and dedication to all areas of my life so then everything gets an uplift and everyone is truly supported. I used to think I could have an on off switch but the problem is then when you go to turn back on it is a struggle and you start off dimmer – much simpler to stay bright all of the time!

372. It is amazing the turn around – you are truly setting a new standard in health care!

373. A re-connection to my inner-heart and learning how to live and express, in all the ways that may look like, in accordance to the quality that lives within me is my ongoing practice aka, my ongoing religious way.

374. “I take all of me to my job, to my colleagues and the patients I love and care for.” This simple statement alone puts you far beyond any qualifications, diplomas or certificates that one could hang on their wall.

375. Every single nurse on the planet should read this. I’m sure there are many burnt out ex-nurses who originally felt a true impulse to serve humanity in this way but became disillusioned due to the usual way nurses operate. A whole shift in consciousness is needed as you have described. There is a way to serve and not burn out.

376. It is interesting how when we start out in our working life, we more often than not know exactly what it is we want to do and the area of work that we are most suited to, but as time goes by we get demoralised by what is going on in that particular area of industry and in addition life happens and we get affected by both. But what you are showing us here Anneliese is truly inspiring, and that there is another way to be in any work environment when we make choices that really support us and our bodies to cope with what is in front of us. And as you have done, we then inspire our work colleagues to understand that there is another way to live and work without driving ourselves into the ground.

377. The beautiful thing about The Way of The Livingness is that its basic teachings of self care and self love, followed by responsibility and universality support us all, no matter what profession we choose to express in. I have met so many who have had stressful jobs and been on the verge of quitting who have turned things around and are now more committed to their jobs and to their lives than ever before. There is such a magic in hearing these stories – the inspiration offered allows those who feel given up to know that life doesn’t have to be that way.

378. There is a palpable feeling of how religion is a living way in this blog – where it is a movement that is in every moment of our days, something that walks our every step with us. Having experienced this myself, I can fully understand how a 56 year-old might well choose to work more hours not less, and live the joy of this way in her work.

379. “A religion that unites people as we are all the same and asks us to take care of our bodies, to truly nurture ourselves.” As a true religion should, it puts love and truth first before all else, revealing our unity and cherishing every single person without exception, religion that stems from the love in our hearts and the immense wisdom of God that resides in our bodies.

380. You are the Florence Nightingale of the 21th century and what an amazing refection for all of those around you!

381. “What is my secret of working and enjoying myself in a stressful job and feeling very well?” It’s a great question that so many would ask Annelies, after all it’s unusual for you to feel like this when compared to the world, but completely normal if truth is our marker. Your dedication, purpose and relationship with The Way of The Livingness is very inspiring.

382. Your absolute love and appreciation of yourself transmitted to patients and colleagues. What a blessing to be a patient in your ward.

383. “The way I care for and nurture myself is the way I care and nurture for patients.” To truly care lovingly for others we must first love ourselves and when we do that then the stresses of life are not exhausting. The way we care for others is a reflection of how we care for ourselves. Beautifully expressed, Annelies. Thank you for sharing

     1. It is so true, the exhaustion comes from doing before we have made that connection with ourselves and taken that time to ensure the vessel we are offering from is well supported.

384. So many well needed nurses leave the profession due to stress, overwork and being underpaid so your story is such a breath of fresh air that could revolutionise many jobs if people could just learn to make the same sort of commitment in the same sort of way.

     1. Indeed Kevin, there is a simplicity in what Annelies chose as her experiences and the turnaround that took place, and perhaps such an easy way with nursing is something that can be taught. It would make sense to support nurses and stop the flood of those leaving the profession.

385. ” I love to care for and nurture them, to give them an insight into how it is to truly be caring and loving for oneself”, Annelies this is of great significance as many people who like to care for others are invested in them staying unwell as it then accommodates their own need to be needed. I love that you are seeking to support others to care for and love themselves.

386. This is a beautiful tale Annelies, of how we can change the way we respond to life when we truly are connected to our hearts.

387. Anneliese I agree, a loving relationship with oneself is the key to a deeper joy and no job is joyful if we lack connection with ourselves.

388. ‘I take all of me to my job, to my colleagues and the patients I love and care for.’ and this can be the same for any job, once we build our inner resources, what happens on the outside becomes less of an issue and we can enjoy the connection with everybody we meet as well as finding joy in working at whatever we do.

389. I can so relate Annelies, I was burnt out and ‘retired’ from practising as a naturopath 17 years ago, not knowing how l’d ever go back and looking for something else I could do that was less draining. Enter Serge Benhayon and some significant healing of myself, then Universal Medicine and the modalities taught, and I had everything I needed to re-start my career in health care. The relationship with myself has been foundational of course, and to this day is the thing that underpins all I am able to do. Understanding this as true religion has also been transformational, and developing an ever-deepening connection with myself and God is very much part of that.

     1. Yes I have no doubt that I would be in the same boat had I continued in that vein. What Universal Medicine offers is ground-breaking and life-changing in every possible way. Nothing in my life has remained the same since coming across the Serge Benhayon in 2001, all changed by my own choices and a commitment to my own healing.

390. Gorgeous to read such transformation Annelies, to love one’s job, one has to love oneself first : )

391. “And so I can say I am religious; no church, no temple other than my own body, my own heart” . . . I love this sentence Annelies as it says everything to me. It honours the body and the love that we are. It is little wonder that we find ourselves exhausted if this honouring has not been given for then we are not fully appreciating all that we are and all that we bring.

392. Annelies, when I read your blog I hear the phrase ‘love gives us wings and allows us to fly!’

393. You are a walking talking life-educator as you walk through the wards of your hospital Annelies. Patients will receive the best care and a huge healing on a deep level from their stay in hospital with you. And both nursing and admin staff will have a beautiful role model in their midst with your Livingness.

394. Such a true beauty in your sharing, I could feel your unfoldment from being a ‘tough, hardened nurse’ to a very caring, nurturing, loving nurse, starting with your relationship with you first – a religious way of life and then taking this into your nursing and everywhere. Religion is our loving relationships with ourselves and everyone. Very inspiring and bringing an everyday simplicity to ‘Religion’…religion is about people, about all of us.

395. A beautiful example of the simplicity and beauty of religion – a way of life of true care for oneself and everybody else.

396. Annelies, such an inspiration you are for others that may be in the profession or even any profession that have become despondent or given up. Your chosen way is a great model for others to know, self care and self appreciation, are the most supportive choices to make that support us through all aspects of our lives.

397. Beautiful Annelies. Your story is remarkable as many people find nursing a stressful and taxing career path. If I was a patient in a hospital I would Appreciate being supported by a nurse who makes love their focus.

398. It is in living with true care and nurturing of ourselves that we can truly care for others. This is religious and needs a commitment to the truth that we know.

     1. I agree, then it becomes natural.

     2. Yes Benkt, it needs commitment to the truth we know as a choice and everything that will follow from then will be done in the same energy of this commitment and will bring true care back to all of us.

399. It is amazing the difference it makes to simply say yes and commit to life, to look after yourself, to make time for self care and love, those acts make life so purposeful and that gives us the energy that not being committed drains us of.

400. This is an awesome story Annelies! That description of religion, I align to very much. How wonderful it is to read about someone who by society’s standards should be considering slowing down, and retiring, you are doing the exact opposite. Blowing those ideals out of the water.

401. Commitment to life, people, living love, bringing all of us to life is religious. Simple and radical in a world where most people have given up to even consider the possibility that they could live as who they are, their real self.

402. That’s an amazing turn-around, not just in that you have gone back into nursing and are working more hours than before but in the quality of care that you bring to all your patients by caring for yourself equally.

403. Nursing is such an awesome profession, thank you for being there in your beautiful way Annelies.

     1. True Jenny and we as nurses should value this much more than we do now.

        1. Absolutely Annelies and Jenny, the value of a loving and expert nurse is incalculable. Every nurse needs to utterly value what they bring to our society – being the beacons of light and care and all that they can be.
           I know when I had my broken foot, those friends that visited and took care of me were like shining angels – my appreciation is boundless.

404. Gosh – I want to know which hospital you work in and if ever I start to feel ill, I’ll jump on whatever transport is needed to get close!! Amazing to hear this kind of testimonial – even more amazing when set against the backdrop of 99.9% of the stories that we hear coming out of the health care systems across the world. The people and the machine are both near to total combustion. All the more amazing that people like you are forging a different path; and it is from this ‘within the machine’ that true change will occur.

405. Annalies beautiful to hear religion expressed like this, the care, understanding & nurture you bring to yourself is palpable through your words, there is a steadiness and purpose that makes your return to healthcare feel like the deeply supportive service it can be.

406. This has to be true religion – building an ever deepening loving relationship with ourselves and then reflecting this to other people and in our work. It is lovely to read how you have re-imprinted your early nursing experiences and are thriving in the increasingly intense world of health care.

407. To know God in the body not as a belief but a lived way and how you’ve taken that knowing and living into your everyday – religion in it’s truest for after all how can it not be as you’re living all of you daily.

408. How joyful and grateful will your patients be Annelies. How super inspiring that a hardened woman can turn her world around and come back to her passion: loving and caring for people. I loved to read this. There’s a religion to life which – of course – starts with loving and caring for ourselves. Your sharing is not only beautiful and inspiring, but also very necessary as so many colleagues in nursing all around the world suffer from burn-out, feeling pressure, exhaustion etc.

409. I agree Jane, this is a powerful innovation that the world needs to hear and see more of.

410. “The love I feel inside is what is coming out and this is true religion, me living me. The way I care for and nurture myself is the way I care and nurture for patients.” This is incredibly beautiful and for all nurses.

411. “Love is patient and will never give up.” It is me who gives u and steps away from it only to choose time and time to come back.

412. To read that you have returned back into nursing after being burnt-out and exhausted by the system to now living in a way that supports you on all levels is outstanding … We need more nurses like you!

413. It feels important not to underestimate your secret of working and enjoying yourself in a stressful job and feeling very well Annelies. It isn’t a secret at all but it is a way of how you are living in your life that has been the change and is great to accept deep appreciation of how your choices now differ from ten years ago.

414. I agree Annelies, there is no need to go to a church or temple, our body is our temple and every answer we need is with in. We just need to re-connect and listen to our inner heart. Very inspirational that you have returned to nursing at your age and re-imprinting your previous experience.

415. What if we had a full hospital run by people with this level of vitality, love of life and people – staff that embody true health – imagine the experience of being a patient there!

416. It’s superb to hear these stories and that these stories are getting out there as an antidote to the quagmire of exhaustion and intensity that has beset the health system; showing us all that there is another way. People will be watching you, observing you, clocking your moves. Some may react – but there will be many who will begin to see your continued commitment, steadiness and vitality and will begin to ask questions and possibly change their own choices. You are healing the system from the inside out. Amazing.

417. If we are treated by a doctor who looks exhausted, drinks in the evening and consumes coffee all day, are we going to be inspired to look after ourselves. I was with a doctor yesterday who was trying to convince me that alcohol and dark chocolate were good for us. I mean, seriously??? I don’t need a PHD or seven years at medical school to tell you that is utter garbage…all I need to do is listen to my body…and I can guarantee you a zillion times over that alcohol and dark chocolate are NOT good for us.

418. People like you are a true inspiration to us all. Service, purpose and an expanding vitality and commitment and all at the tender, young age of 56….where else will this go?! Beautiful.

419. Beautiful Annelies, your blog brings a lot of understanding of why healthcare professionals in particular get so worn out by the system. As there is no foundation of true love that has self-care and nurturing at its core principle.

420. What you have shared is so gorgeous. Everything we ever need or have hoped for lives within our own body and inner heart. Messages such as: “The Kingdom of God is withing you” keep bringing our attention to this – only if mankind starts to listen.

421. What a fundamental understanding is it to know that “The way I care for and nurture myself is the way I care and nurture for patients.” To know this and act on it by bringing the necessary changes into life changes everything for those working in healthcare, and the lives of all those who receive their care.

422. What you have discovered about working in a demanding and stressful job without getting burnt out needs to be shared with many people because so many people are suffering from both at present. Your experience shows that if we care for ourselves first a whole new way of being emerges that is deeply supportive of all.

423. Wow! Now that’s an amazing account from an amazing nurse! It is not often you hear a nurse enjoying and truly loving their job and the patients they work for much less themselves and it is refreshing to feel that the changes we can make are not from changing the systems that exhaust and do not support but changing ourselves from the inside out first. We are after all much much greater than the systems will ever be.

424. I love the simplicity that you share here Anneliese. There is nothing to show off or live up to, just a straightforward true and loving way of life that offers so much more than what you personally gain from it. Everybody wins. And what a perfect job you are in to be sharing that with your patients, reflecting to them that there can be a different way to live.

425. Annelies I bet you are a breath of fresh air to the patients you care for, especially as today nurses are under so much pressure these days, and the patients can sense this. Having people around who are exhausted and under a lot of stress does not exactly create a great healing environment.

426. I wonder how many health care professionals would tell a similar story? I wonder how many amazing health care professionals we have lost because of this? I know that most of them have a general love for people and want to support health and wellbeing but get burnt out and crushed by a system and a general approach to medicine that does not support the staff or the patients in truth.

427. ‘Today I say I have chosen to become a nurse because I love people and I love to care for and nurture them, to give them an insight into how it is to truly be caring and loving for oneself.’ This is really of true service but I have learned like you, that in order to really care for others I have to care just as much for myself first. If we are trying to care for others based on a foundation of emptiness and need then burnout surely follows.

428. “A religion that lives within you and in the relationship with yourself first before anything or anyone else.” And a religion that keeps on deepening and unfolding the more we come to understand, appreciate and express our true grace and virtues, qualities that the Way of the Livingness empower us to rediscover within ourselves.

429. How beautiful Annelies – yes true religion is a reconnection to ourselves and thus to everyone else and all. It brings great joy and purpose to life.

430. We often believe the work we do for a living is ‘the’ work. Not at all, true work begins within and with ourselves.

431. The world needs to know the truth as we have been in the dark too long, religion governments and education seems to like it that way but with a few simple choices like you have made Annelies so much can change and life can be joyful and inspiring.

432. Its interesting that around your age many are talking about retiring and/or going part-time, not requesting extra hours. I am sure people will be curious about why, so its great that you have written this blog to explain what has made the difference to your life. I can see that you are probably a great inspiration for others, especially the younger nurses who may be struggling with the demands of the job like you used to.

433. The amazing quality you now bring to your job must be infectious and will be felt by everyone you meet and treat.

434. “I am religious; no church, no temple other than my own body, my own heart.” I love this part you share, it shows what true religion is and what is available to us all, all the time.

435. Very very strong and beautiful blog Annelies.. You are showing us that even though we might have given up on things we love in life – we can return. And that we have this inner-strength to stand for what we want and truly know to be.. I find that by reading your blog it touches, seeing you being so humble and open even if things have been painful in the past. That love is stronger once you commit to it – that this light is always stronger. Nursing to be that expression you like to be part of your everyday – you bring your light of joy to patients, staff and the whole world. Thank you.

436. What a glorious sharing of a way of life that is not only accessible to all and tangible, but very real in every way. A beautiful testimony of how being truly religious is to live in connection to a quality of vibration that equally represents us all in love, where we are guided by our Soul to live who we naturally are in all that we do.

437. I remember as a 5 year old at a kindergarten we were asked to write down what we wanted to be when we grew up and many girls wrote down ‘nurse’ (I didn’t – I thought I was not cut out to be one) and there was an air of it being THE right answer. It carried the sense that girls were naturally loving, kind, caring and nurturing of others – which I feel is true, but unfortunately we never learn to do that for ourselves, quite the contrary we grow up leaning to disregard ourselves in order to meet that expectation.

438. This is such a beautiful, inspiring sharing. Thank you, Annelies. Working and enjoying yourself in a stressful job and feeling very well, and actually choosing to work more hours – that’s incredible. You share here a very different way of living, a very different version of what the word ‘religion’ has for a long time represented.

439. I agree Jane, there is so much here to understand and learn from on how someone can buck the trend and have the energy and vitality to work more hours and be less stressed. This is not in line with what we have come to accept as normal.

440. This blog to me shows clearly that the way we have chosen to live for ourselves will be reflected in everything that we do, so when we do care for ourselves first, that same level of care will be brought to your work, your relationships and in the way you move. As with religion, when we build that religious connection with the divine that lives within, that same quality will emanate through us in anything that we do and everywhere you are and in that you bring back divinity on earth.

441. So simply put Annelies – ‘The love I feel inside is what is coming out and this is true religion, me living me’. There are ways I chose to live life 30yrs ago that I know I would choose the ‘mechanics’ of again now but one important difference would be the quality that I would now bring to these choices – those same things would be done with a deeper love and with all of me. As you shared – ‘And so I can say I am religious; no church, no temple other than my own body, my own heart’.

442. What a testimony to your religion! That you can come back to nursing at the age of 56 and face the pressure and challenges of that profession – pressures that you could not handle when you were younger – in today’s world is something that should be shouted from the rooftops. The truth is that Science and Religion go hand in hand together, they are not adversaries as is so often presented in the fragmented mind-sets of so many.

443. This is such a beautiful blog Annelies. I love the honesty and simplicity of it – telling it exactly how it is with no recourse to any language but that which comes from your inner-heart. Such writing should be totally honoured!

444. The far majority have gone into nursing (and all other health care professions) because we have a deep love and care for people. I would never have said that either when I started nursing and I would never have thought the same of a doctor. But it’s very true. I work very closely with a range of different health professionals and it is true for all of us. But something happens to this care along the way and we can end up blaming each other and “the system” we work in for all of our woes. But there is no-one to blame for anything for what is being highlighted is that we have forgotten one very super important element and that is that we also need to care for ourselves. For how we care and nurture ourselves expands to everyone in our care, whether colleagues, patient’s or families.

445. It is beautiful that your patients are presented with a body that reflects a way of living that is able to care and nurture for them deeply as this is what you offer yourself. This is a rarity in your industry and therefore a much needed blessing and an inspiration of what is possible regardless of the pressure.

     1. Indeed Samantha, how inspirational for the patients to be met by someone who is not drained by the system but a living example, a testament to the integrity and fullfillment of this religious way of life.

446. What you have expressed here is very tangible

447. How beautiful to have your deep care for humanity and vitality in and around the healthcare system!

     1. Agree entirely. Reflections like this walking the wards and corridors of the health system will evolve humanity in a way that $$ never will.

448. Annelies, this blog is absolutely glorious – there is so much to appreciate with all the new choices and subsequent changes you have made in your life – from being burnt out at work to emanating love and joy in every word you write.

449. At a young age we are often drawn to those careers that we are truly capable of shining in, but then the system sometimes (in fact often) can wear us down, and we can walk away disillusioned. Thankfully, Annelies, you returned to this career later on, otherwise so many would have missed out!

     1. Interesting that you mention this Henrietta as I can remember having the same experience with the profession I am in now. When I started working after leaving school I could not find the right expression to the branch of industry I wanted to work in so I left the profession and looked in some other ones. But after a few years i was drawn to the world of the engineering offices and that was the place for me where I could fully excell in my profession as electrical engineer.

     2. True Henrietta, and as I wrote I had never thought I would ever go back but as I could not deny the messages I received to step back in and to feel my responsibility to use my caring and nurturing qualities in nursing.

450. Annelies, this is wonderful to hear that you have been able to turn things around in your life and embrace your career… it is like you have found your ‘mojo’ in life again – in other words your purpose or true meaning of who you are and why you are here.

     1. I agree, and when it is lost it can seem so far away. Too far to ever return and yet it is just always there inside us. Waiting for us to choose again. Life after life. Never Really lost actually.

451. A lovely blog Annelies. It isn’t possible to offer loving care to someone without first offering it to yourself, and no wonder you left nursing early in your career if you weren’t caring so well for yourself. Lovely to hear that you’ve returned to nursing and are now offering so much more to the patients in your care.

452. What you share Annelies is the great gift of true medicine. By choosing to live this you are also offering and reflecting this in the care of the patients, what a true gift of expansion of medicine they are receiving. Then as patients we choose our own responsibility to take care of our well-being we are supporting and expanding the medicine that is being offered to us.

453. The amount of people who say that the healthcare industry is for them, too hard, well it is so common to hear people say they have decided to leave that. It’s a miracle really Annelies to learn that you have gone back. You remind me that it’s never too late to change something so big if you bring Love to it. That is the very definition of true Nursing to me – the nurturing of others and yourself and our delicacy.

454. This is beautiful, Annelies, that you have returned to your original profession with such a positive light and that the true religion you found supports you so well as you support yourself.

455. A gorgeous sharing where I feel the purpose in what you do. You see a job as a part of the whole responsibility in life – I love that you are working on committing more and more, and so work does not feel like a slog. We’re at a time where no matter how much knowledge we have or money we have, if there is no purpose we will feel the tension. But when we bring purpose into what we do, anything is possible.

456. This brings a whole new depth of meaning and understanding to the saying ‘my body is my temple’.

457. This feels beautiful to read in my body Annelies. Makes so much sense that how we are with ourselves is then how we will be with others… this is something that most waste a lot of energy on resisting being aware of this fact. We like to believe we can do anything we like and then straighten ourselves up, dust ourselves off and then support and offer more than where we are at in the work place. It just doesn’t work that way. Annelies you are offering staff and patients another truer way of being in service and healing that leaves you full at the end of the day, and taking that home with you too.

458. Beautiful what you share you take all of your to your job, colleagues and patients. It is when we are connected with ourselves and feel the depth of love within we are able to share that with everyone else.

459. How inspirational, a carer who lives self care and shares that with all who she works with.. its what our system truly needs, a breath of fresh air. It doesn’t need more system changes, more policies and more regulating, it needs the joy and vivaciousness that you are offering Annelies. And there are a lot of versions out there that are like this, with an offering of peace, hope, and the emotional do-gooding but it doesn’t come close that what you have shared Annelies.

460. Beautiful confirmation of what true religion is all about, a connection to yourself & the god within

461. I love the way you talk about your body as a temple, a church – a true one and no edifice in sight. Your burn-out and toughened exterior at a much younger age prove that we have to care for and nurture ourselves first before we can truly offer those lived qualities to another/ others.

462. Learning to allow our true support to be there in our body is revolutionary. I know from my own experience of life that my belief has been that support comes from others, and that I had better tow the line and fit in, or I won’t be supported. I now know very differently, as my life is a result of how much I choose to support and hold myself.

463. I love reading this article and feeling the true pleasure and joy of a person who loves what they do.

464. Truly amazing, in a health system that is cracking under pressure and where the staff cannot keep up with demand without compromising their own heath, wellbeing and bodies, your sharing is vital – it could totally revolutionise the way that health care is run and staff are cared for – you are far more capable of bringing someone else true love and care if you can first bring that to yourself.

465. Annelies the difference in the nurse that you were and the nurse that you are is startling. However your profession is really neither here nor there in a way, the fact is that you are love in all that you choose to do and that is what revolutionises the world.

466. The vast difference and change between the two stances in working life that Annelies describes, is simply that of religion – the ongoing and deepening connection to our innermost.

467. Annelies the love that is within you is literally spilling out onto the page for all to feel, incredible, this really is incredible as it clearly demonstrates that love is not dormant but an activity, a palpable aliveness that all can feel.

468. I have come to understand that it doesn’t matter what job that I do, if “I take all of me to my job” those that I work for and those I work with get absolutely everything that I am. How we are at work ought to be no different from how we are at home; different ‘hats’ for different roles is a very exhausting way to live. This is such a joyful blog Annelies and I can certainly feel the joy, the love and the care you bring to work and all who work with you every day; now that to me is true religion.

469. This is so inspiring, Annelies. To be so enthusiastic and committed in your challenging role at work is a testament to the steadiness and consistency of connection you have with yourself. There is simply nothing more powerful than when we make love the bedrock of our lives.

470. Thank you Annelies for this simple but very powerful message. The love you now hold yourself in can clearly be felt and so of course is at the forefront of everything you do. ‘What is my secret of working and enjoying myself in a stressful job and feeling very well?’ A great question to ask that engages the reader to deeply ponder on this as a potential or confirmation for themselves.

471. Really our life only changes when we change within. Richness in life does not come from what we do but from how we are feeling when we do it.

472. Science and Religion today would appear to be rivals, but what your sharing here Annelies is that they are actually best friends and can work together. Your years of experience + the connection to love within brings out the best way of working even in high pressure environments, thats awesome.

473. How beautiful that you care for yourself in order to prepare yourself to care for others. This is the right way round. You are a nurse in the true sense. Your patients can learn heaps from you.

474. This is so lovely, Annelies, if I am ill, I am coming on your ward. I can feel how caring for yourself has expanded you to bring all of you to care for others and how much you enjoy and embrace this service to your community.

475. I love this blog, it is so precious and so inspiring. I agree, as I get older I feel like my working life expands and instead of shutting down and retiring I feel I am opening up and just beginning and it is due to the connection of which you speak.

476. Bringing understanding to ourselves and others when we make mistakes is absolutely key to moving forward and learning from them. When we withdraw and beat ourselves up for our mistakes, we stay stuck in them and there is no learning.

477. Annelies what you have shared with us is very beautiful how you made your way back to your truth
     “Love is patient and will never give up. And so I can say I am religious; no church, no temple other than my own body, my own heart. I take all of me to my job, to my colleagues and the patients I love and care for.”
     Imagine for a moment how differently the world would be if we were all living in this way, the possibilities are endless.

478. Thank you Annelies, this is beautiful. You bring something very simple and you make life and work make sense when the inner-heart is re-connected with and true religion is lived.

479. The Livingness of Love in action in health care – the future of medicine for sure.

480. Thank you Annelies. I love what you share here for it reminds me that however many extra courses and workshops we may attend to improve our skills in whatever job we do, the fundamental thing that we bring to our work is ourselves and therefore, building a loving relationship with ourselves first is the greatest gift of all, for all.

     1. True Jane, it is all about our relationship with ourselves and the more we surrender to what we feel in our bodies, the more we can bring true care and love to others.

481. We can never underestimate the power of love, it’s reflection really does change the world we live in. I never really got what love was, what I saw seemed to contradict what I was feeling. I knew emotional love wasn’t it but I had no idea what true love was either. Through The Way of The Livingness I have got to understand that love is all encompassing and holds everyone equal, it breaks down barriers and harms no one, this makes sense to me and like you Annelies is my religion, a religion I can feel that makes absolute sense and has made a ginormous difference to the way I live.

482. Beautiful post Annalise. “The love I feel inside is what is coming out” – gorgeous. Your patients are blessed to have this quality of nursing. It is so important to love and care for ourselves first. Then we are able to care for others and not get burned out.

483. This is a great testament to how you are living Annelies, as going back into a high pressured job at the age of 56 years of age is pretty unusual these days, in fact unheard of. How many of us find it difficult in our 20’s to cope with the demands put on us within the working environment, let alone at 56 when most people are on the count down to retirement, and have one foot out of the door well before they leave a job.

484. I have worked in health and social care for the last 16 years and have known people to want to leave this area of work due to the pressures they are under and it is challenging but how we live does truly make such a difference every day and over long periods. This is a great sharing and it feels awesome for you to be returning to this area of work as we have much to offer when we are bringing what we live in this way to work.

485. “And so I can say I am religious; no church, no temple other than my own body, my own heart.” Most beautiful, the religion we can all live.

486. Your choice to return to a profession that left you so burnt out is quite stunning Annelies, especially in view of the fact that you have taken on more hours and are dealing with even higher demands and are loving every moment of it. It is clear evidence that how you are choosing to live is creating a strong foundation from which to go forth into the world. True religion is not a practice confined to a building or particular time in our day, it is a living breathing choice to love everything all the time, our selves, our bodies and each other deeply, resulting in a commitment to and appreciation of life previously unimagined.

487. Wow Annelise that is a major turn around and one that you don’t hear very often from the world of nursing currently. This should be on the front pages of newspapers as it is this that will support the failing systems not more solutions but for those in the professions to truly support and nature themselves.

     1. I agree Vanessa, and in every hospital or clinic staff room.

488. Annelies it is great to hear how you have re-entered the health care system rather than staying away from it when before you had felt so strongly to be in it. What you have highlighted is how we are taught to look after others but not ourselves. By coming back you are showing the world it is not about what we do but how we are with what we do that matters and makes the difference.

489. I know of many amazing women in their 60’s working full-time and giving back to communities in many different way outside their regular paid jobs. Each one vibrant, purposeful, loving what they do and their lives. Instead of winding down these women have accelerated and as role models inspire others. Our new religion empowers us to deeply love, care and nurture ourselves and with these inner qualities work becomes something we want to do, not have to do.

490. So true Annelies, true religion is no secret, it is a way of living that calls us back to the Divine beings we already are; The Way of The Livingness.

491. Annelies I have a similar experience with my profession of teaching. I am loving it more now than ever, but I too left for a period, burnt out and exhausted thinking I would never return. The turn around came about from taking responsibility to start taking care of me and developing a relationship with myself. What a super foundation for a true religion.

492. Thank you Annelies for writing this blog and I appreciate that you share the way you approach life so openly. There are so many aspects to life that you live so differently from what people in general live: you increase your hours working while many people of your age are looking for ways to decrease the hours; you truly enjoy your work while many just see their work as a burden, something they have to do because of earning a income and do not find any joy in it at all; you have returned to a profession that is highly undervalued and not appreciated for what it brings to the people that need this special support in their lives and last but not least you claim you are religious, not according to the commonly understand meaning of the word but the religion of your body and inner heart, that place in all of us where our connection with God resides. You bring reality back to your life and show to the world that there is a different way of living possible, a way of living that brings healing not only to yourself but to all people you are with and the most important part in this that it is not from a concept of the mind but instead impulsed from that which lives in your inner heart.

493. Annelies, truly remarkable to re-enter a profession you left with burn out and return years later renewed and inspired to offer true care to patients and not be affected by the demands of the job.. A great testimony of what it means to live with true religion: one that re-enlivens our bodies, strengthens relationships with self and others and gives us a new sense of purpose.

494. ” A religion that lives within you and in the relationship with yourself first before anything or anyone else.” yes this sounds like a religion I want to be a part of. Every other religion always feels like it is taking something from you, that you are in some way bad or not good enough, whereas if the premise of this religion is to build a loving relationship with yourself first, then that supports and radiates out to all other relationships in life.

495. Most people are not so much lazy as they are deeply given up, and that resignation to accepting life as the way it is, and feeling that they need to plod along going through the motions, forever hoping for an escape of some sort, be it by way of financial fortune or change in career, is embedded by the fact that they do not have true vitality. If you have true vitality, there is very little that can dampen your zest for life, even in its darkest corners.

496. Annelies your story completely busts the myth that one should wind-down one’s activities at a certain age or stage of life. Makes sense – we’re born to serve and be productive, and I don’t feel our current obsession with retirement gels with any of that. Congratulations on your return to work – and on your re-imprinting of your approach to an industry you once found stressful. Super-inspiring.

497. I am learning that our bodies pay a high price when we lack self appreciation and self care in our everyday living -including our work and home life. It is only with true appreciation and self care that we are able to fully bring ourselves in our gorgeous bodies to others and they can really feel it as the difference is remarkable.

     1. Aptly written, we have to care for ourselves to be able to care for others👍

     2. Is there true self care when we lack appreciation for ourselves? I am noticing that when I am in a rhythm of appreciation my level of self care goes up and the other way around when I don’t appreciate myself the way I care for myself has a lesser quality, some kind of auto pilot.

498. Beautiful Annelies. Religion isn’t confined to a church or a book or a set of rules, it’s something you live. And when that religion is filled with as much love as you describe here, and is lived religiously – every day – with such glorious results, well, I call that TRUE religion. What a beautiful offering for yourself, your patients and colleagues and the world. Actually, add the universe to that list, for surely what you live ripples out there too.

499. “A religion that lives within you and in the relationship with yourself first before anything or anyone else…” A walking temple Annelise! I love it!! The steadiness of love on legs!

     1. Yes Johanna, I am inspired to be present in every step I take and what a great way to put it ‘The steadiness of love on legs!’ Awesome!

500. Thank you Annelies for sharing your journey to finding your religion. You showed great wisdom in stepping down from your job and focusing on yourself. Finding your new Religion and self nurturing. To enable you to return to your Nursing and then bringing that into your care and Love with your Patients.

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