Hi, I'm Geraldine
And most people know me as:
- The founder of A Lotus Seed meditation and retreat journeys
- The creative force behind the New Reality School
- The co-creator of O Ninho – The Sea Nest
- A curious adventurer, always seeking new ways to escape the unease of conventional boxes
- Serving as a speaker, coach, challenger, reflective guide, meditation trainer, business strategist and brainstorm evangelist, but happily, whenever possible and beneficial, transcending these labels.
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This is part of my story:
I tried to adapt to the norms and lost myself.
I often experienced a sense of unease when observing the world around me. It seemed to me like there were always two sides to every aspect of life: one, a visible facade presented to the world, and the other, a more hidden, profound essence where subtle truths resonate. Despite not fully understanding why, I endeavored to fit into these societal expectations. Yet, deep down, I craved freedom, the tranquility of nature, the thrill of adventure, and genuine connections. I found myself in situations and relationships that were misaligned with my inner being, leading to feelings of anxiety, stress, depression and a clouded state of mind.
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This drove me to explore my heart’s desires…
The good news is that this prompted me to search what the heart truly desired and who I was in essence, beyond the comfort zone context. It prompted me to learn from different study fields, live in Lisbon, meditate in silence with monks in Asia, study macro-economics and innovation, investigate the spiritual medicine field in Brasil, and live and work in São Tomé and Principe – a tropical island in the west coast of Africa.
I was fascinated by experiences that deviated from the norm and pulled me out of my comfort zone. Experiences that taught me about transformation, cultures and alternative ways of living and healing. Those that were sometimes magical, strange, and different. It was my attempt to understand more of myself and the world around me.
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One meditation transformed my whole future.
While studying economics in Lisbon, it was a professor who first introduced me to meditation. In that initial session, I experienced a glimpse into a different way of living. After completing my studies, I was committed to let this new vision for my life began to take shape and delved deeply into studying psychology and soon found myself working with the Institute of Mindfulness. Eventually, I took the leap and in 2015, I started my own business and called it A Lotus Seed. In the past years I’ve had the pleasure of guiding amazing individuals, entrepreneurs and companies in mindfulness, meditation, creativity, and self-compassion journeys in Belgium, Portugal and France.
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By closely observing transformation processes in both my life and those of my clients, I noticed clear patterns of transformation emerging.
It dawned on me that genuine transformation and creating a new reality have their own rhythm, with phases and skills that you can learn and refine. When I started applying what I observed, my life changed before my eyes, on all levels. The prolonged struggles with patterns limiting my potential faded away, and I felt more energetic, intuitive, and enthusiastic. Finally, I could bring to life what I had envisioned and when I started integrating these skills with my clients, they started transforming rapidly too.
The new reality school was born.
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Some other fun facts to know about me..
✐ At 18, I studied architecture.
Not knowing myself well enough, I initially chose architecture-engineering because deep down I loved designing new realities ;). Although I loved the design thinking process,I had a feeling I wouldn’t really become an architect after all – so I switched to macro-economics, and later on studied also innovation. I’m so glad I did, because it was an economics professor who introduced me to meditation.
✐ lived in Lisbon
When I was 16, I visited Lisbon with my boyfriend at the time, and I knew right then that I wanted to live there someday. 4 years later, the vision became a reality. I ended up staying for over 5 years and met the most amazing people who still feel like family to me.
✐ spend often my holidays monasteries or retreats
As a student and later on in life, I often spent my holidays in retreats – staying in silence for weeks, sleeping on concrete with a wooden pillow. This learned me to observe the effects of mind-body-environment and the interplay between inner and outer realities.
✐ lived in São Tomé e Principe.
I went to live and work in São Tomé e Principe to research for my thesis. It’s a small, tropical island in West Africa. I joined a team to continue developing a microfinance institution for small entrepreneurs in cooperation with the national bank. It learned me many lessons – one is that I don’t believe in helping people but in empowering people helping themselves.
✐ enjoyed design thinking & business coachings
I became a fan of hosting brainstorming sessions and bringing a diverse group of persons together while doing some out of the box business coaching for entrepreneurs with a societal impact. It learned me the ways in which our attention works in generating ideas and possibilities. Leveraging my background in innovation, I also became a coach for executives and entrepreneurs, helping them to unlock their potential and navigate their professional journeys with mindfulness and creativity.
✐ I once jumped into an experiment of turning part of a library into a meditation space.
This space was created to raise awareness about silence, meditation and reflection time in the busyness of Gent. It was a very interesting experiment as the whole building was transformed for months into an eclectic pop-up “nest”, co-created together with businesses, ngo’s, governmental agencies and entrepreneurs.
✐ opened A Lotus Seed practice space in Gent
With A Lotus Seed I had a lot of 8 weeks meditation trainings and coachings happening, so I felt it was about time to open a practice space in Gent where I could welcome groups too. It has been my safe space and creativity nest ever since too.
✐ We created a silent retreat nest in Portugal
Together with BB, my life partner, we created The Sea Nest – O Ninho in Portugal where you can retreat in a natural atmosphere. It has been my dream since I lived in Portugal and interestingly enough, our abode closely resembles the very house my partner had once pinned on his Pinterest board as a visionary inspiration :). Send me a message if you’d like to stay over. We’d be happy to welcome you.
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COMING SOON △ Transform what’s holding you back and leap into a new dimension △
COMING SOON △ The full canvas to turn possibilities into day-to-day realities △
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