Renatereborn’s recommendations

The title says it all, this will be a page dedicated to Renatereborn’s recommendations. So, whether it’s books, nutrition, skincare or travel for instance, everything is possible. When I discuss a specific product & have added a link through which you can purchase it I’ld be very grateful to you for using it, because I would recieve a small fee for this (even when you buy something entirely different via my link on that site). I thought I might as well be honest about it. The more income I generate this way, the more time & energy I can put into writing & setting up other activities to help & inspire people! Thank you for your support & I hope you enjoy and/or benefit as much from the following things!

Insight Timer

For the first of my recommendations I chose my trusty meditation app Insight Timer. Ever since the burnout back in June of 2016 I’ve tried all kinds of different meditation & mindfulness apps, but none of them really worked for me. The (free) content was limited & I just couldn’t find the right fit, until I stumbled upon the Insight Timer app that is. I can’t even remember how I found them, but I’m so happy & grateful for the fact that I did! The app has been & still is instrumental in my ability to deal with the cancer aftermath & in my ability to work through all my past trauma. In a year of using this app I missed just 6 days & average about 50 minutes a day. But let’s get down to the nitty gritty.

The thing about meditation is: You become more & more you.

• 19000 free guided meditations & music; the largest free library of meditations & music
• 200 topics ranging from the Secular & Scientific to Bhakti & Buddism
• free timer with different bell/gong options
• free course: Learn how to meditate in 7 days
• help with sleep; discover hundreds of meditations, talks & courses on getting a better night’s sleep
• free charts; track your progress with beautiful charts & milestones with sync between devices
• 30 languages; discover guided meditations, talks & courses in more than 30 different languages
• Insight Premium; for just $5/month you enjoy acces to The Daily Insight, hundreds of 10 & 30 day courses, offline listening, night mode, high quality audio & an advanced audio player (7 day free trial available)
• free profile; bookmark your favorite meditations, follow your favorite teachers, make friends, send messages & join groups of likeminded people

The goal of meditation isn’t to control your thoughts, it’s to stop letting them control you.

If that didn’t win you over I don’t know what will… Btw, I obviously do not get a fee in this case. May all be happy, may all be healthy, may all be at peace. Namaste. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spotlightsix.zentimerlite2&hl=en

Books

For the second of my recommendations I thought I’d tackle a few in one go. There have been several people who’ve asked me which books have been instrumental to my personal development & my response has been all. But since that would be a bit much, I’ll just randomly pick some to discuss now & get back to you with more some other time.

Women who run with the wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes; the ultimate empowerment of women. Through myths & stories the writer gives us more insight into women & who they really are and gives them the strength & courage to return to themselves, their essence. I have to admit that I’m far from finishing this book, but after reading the first story I already knew this book is gold. It’s pure gold for all women & men out there who would like to undestand women a little bit better. Here’s your chance: https://amzn.to/2YyL3Yn Oh and if there’s something like this out there about men do let me know!

The Celestine prophecy & The tenth insight by James Redfield; a novel/thriller presenting a theory about the origins & destiny of mankind. This is a book I read when it first came out & I was just a teenager at the time. For me the book represented confirmation, especially the point of view that everything is energy & how that works. I wasn’t crazy. What I felt, sensed & experienced wasn’t weird, it was extremely logical & completely normal. Now, I know that science proves everything is energy & everything is essentially one, but back then it was my first source of information on the subject & therefore it definately belongs on this list. As you can see I also read the sequel & I found out 2 more books have been published in the series (which I will read, even if it’s just out of curiosity), but do at least read the first one: https://amzn.to/2HpWaNN

Nothing exists except atoms & empty space. Everything else is opinion.

Insights; lectures and stories by Bert Hellinger. If you’ve had any previous encounters with systemic work or family constellations you’ve probably heard this writer’s name before. Bert Hellinger is a German psychotherapist & founder of Systemic Constellations & Family Constellations. These constellations are a way to get insight into your place within a system and your relation to others in that system. It reveals obstructions & why you continue with certain behaviour, sabotaging your own development & growth.

The Greater Soul moves in only one direction & that is to bring into union which has been made seperate.

To be honest I haven’t read this particular book myself. I’ve read the Dutch translation of ‘Die mitte fühlt sich leicht an’ (‘Stilte in het midden’), but despite my efforts I can’t seem to find the English translation; maybe there isn’t one. The description of this book did come closest, but I’ll also give you a couple of other titles that were highly recommended & seemed similar in subjectmatter & style to me. Love’s own truths: https://amzn.to/2WxZ8Jh & Love’s hidden symmetry: https://amzn.to/2F1sfcV

The book I read was recommended to me by a therapist about 15 years ago & I’m so glad I read it. It’a very enlightening subject, worth your time to explore further. I wish I had done back then, but hindsight is 20/20, right?! If you ARE ready to understand & apply the message & insights to your own life it can definately supply you with a nice injection of courage. You can replace your role of victim with that of hero in your family trauma drama. You’ve got the power to put it to a halt and say: “The buck stops here!”! I’m not saying it’ll all of a sudden be easy & painless & it also won’t happen overnight! But my next recommendation can assist you in that regard. Just remember there’s no light without darkness! https://amzn.to/2XCv1N8

The secret of letting go by Guy Finley. The title says it all, really. This book is all about how to let go & what that will bring. Despite the fact that, for the most of us, letting go seems like a mission impossible & a book about the subject would be expected to be a tough read; this particular book actually proves the contrary. The author leads us to our indestructable essence using stories, dialogues and practical tips & exercises. I honestly can’t remember how I stumbled upon this book, might be a review in a lifestyle magazine (Happinez) or one about psychology, but I’m so grateful for finding it. It has been extremely helpful to me during my burn-out ( & the tumor terror). Eventhough I wasn’t able to read large amounts of text, reading maybe a page or 2 at a time (& rereading it because taking in the info was an issue as well & sometimes still is) helped me get up again & recognize my strength. This immediately made me think of a quote by the Vietnamese Zen Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh:

When you learn how to suffer, you will suffer much less.

In conclusion I would say : an absolute must read!  https://amzn.to/2MNL4H3

Various recommendations for these virus times….

Of course all of the above still stands, especially the Insight Timer app, but here are some things I added to my daily life because of the current situation.

Yoga with Adriene is something I was already familiar with, because I tried out some of her routines back in The Netherlands. If you’d like to give yoga a try and prefer someone down to earth with a nice voice, give her a go! My friend and I are currently doing the 30 day HOME yoga, but she has lots for you to choose from, whether you want to build up strength in a certain bodypart or want to focus on weightloss, she’s your gal, https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene

Bodygroove was my friend’s discovery. Of course you can always put on your favorite tunes and dance like nobody is watching (which is very likely if you’re single, haha!), but we decided to try the Bodygroove on demand 30 day challenge for starters and it’s a lot of fun! https://www.bodygroove.com/

Popsugar is one I discovered today the 5th of April. My Bodygroove video kept stalling (not the first time) and got me out of my groove. According to my friend no issues when using the app, so I might try that tomorrow. Anyway, I found a 30 minute Latin cardio workout by Popsugar and I loved it! More intense, but definately my thing. They have lots of different workouts, so if Bodygroove is not your thing give this a try! https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=popsugar