Written by Omu Obilor, Coach, Transition & Transformation Omu Obilor is an international coach, speaker, trainer, and thought leader. She specializes in guiding individuals through life transitions and transformation. Through intentional living, she empowers others to create fulfilling personal and professional lives. What happens to leadership when technology can analyse information, generate ideas and produce work faster than any individual leader? Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing how work gets done, but it is also changing what people need from their leaders. As technology takes on more tasks, distinctly human capabilities such as judgment, emotional intelligence, trust, communication and adaptability become increasingly important. In this article, we explore seven leadership skills that are becoming more valuable in an AI-driven workplace and why strengthening them now may be one of the smartest investments a leader can make. How is AI changing leadership? For years, conversations about artificial intelligence focused largely on technology: what AI could do, which jobs it might change and how organisations could use it to become more efficient. The leadership conversation now needs to go further. AI can help leaders analyse data, summarise information, explore scenarios, automate routine work and communicate more efficiently. But having access to more intelligence does not automatically make someone a better leader. Leaders must still decide which questions matter. They must determine when an AI-generated recommendation is appropriate and when it should be challenged. They must communicate change to people who may be excited, uncertain or afraid. They must make decisions when information is incomplete. Ultimately, they remain responsible for the consequences of those decisions. This means the AI era is not simply creating a technological transformation. It is creating a leadership transformation. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025, based on input from more than 1,000 employers representing over 14 million workers, identifies AI and big data among the fastest-growing skills. Yet analytical thinking, resilience and agility, leadership and social influence, motivation and self-awareness, empathy and active listening also remain among the skills employers consider important. That combination tells us something significant: the future requires technological capability and human capability. Why do human leadership skills matter more in the age of AI? Technology becomes particularly powerful when leaders know what to do with it. AI may help a leader generate ten possible solutions to a problem. It cannot assume the leader’s responsibility for choosing which solution should be implemented, considering the people affected, explaining the decision and living with the consequences. The World Economic Forum reports that employers expect 39% of key skills required in the labour market to change by 2030, while leadership and social influence, resilience, curiosity and lifelong learning are among the capabilities expected to grow in importance. The real opportunity, therefore, is not to ask whether humans or AI will be more valuable. It is to ask: What kind of leader becomes more valuable when everyone has access to increasingly intelligent technology? I believe these seven skills will matter enormously. 1. Emotional intelligence Technology can analyse language and recognise patterns. Leadership still happens between people. A leader must be able to recognise emotion, manage personal reactions, listen beyond the words being spoken and understand how their behaviour affects the people around them. That becomes especially important during transformation. Imagine introducing a new AI system into a team. One employee sees opportunity. Another worries that their skills will become irrelevant. Someone else is enthusiastic but overwhelmed by the pace of change. Sending everyone the same beautifully written announcement is not leadership. Leadership is understanding what different people are experiencing and knowing how to respond appropriately. Read the room, not just the dashboard Emotionally intelligent leaders pay attention to signals that may never appear on a performance dashboard. Who has stopped contributing during meetings? Where is resistance coming from? Is someone challenging the strategy because they are difficult or because they can see a risk others have missed? Can you receive uncomfortable feedback without immediately defending yourself? Emotional intelligence allows leaders to work with the human reality behind organisational performance. In workplaces increasingly mediated by technology, that capability becomes even more valuable. 2. Judgment and decision-making One of the biggest misconceptions about AI is that better information automatically produces better decisions. It does not. A leader can have extraordinary amounts of data and still exercise poor judgment. AI can support decision-making by identifying patterns, modelling possibilities and surfacing information. But leaders must determine what deserves attention and what context may be missing. Ask better questions, not just faster questions Before accepting a recommendation assisted by technology, leaders should be asking: What assumptions sit behind this? What information is missing? Who will be affected? What happens if the recommendation is wrong? Does this decision align with our values? Are we optimising what is easiest to measure rather than what matters most? Who is accountable for the final decision? The more answers technology can generate, the more valuable the ability to ask better questions becomes. Good judgment is not simply knowing what can be done. It is understanding what should be done, when, why and at what cost. 3. Strategic communication AI has made communication easier to produce. It has not necessarily made communication easier to believe. A leader can generate an email, report, speech or presentation within minutes. As AI-generated content becomes increasingly common, however, people may place greater value on communication that feels clear, credible and intentional. Strategic communication is much more than transmitting information. It creates meaning. Turn information into meaning During change, employees rarely need more information without context. They need to understand: What is changing? Why is it changing? What does it mean for me? What are we trying to achieve? What do you need from me now? What remains uncertain? Strong leaders translate complexity into clarity without pretending that uncertainty does not exist. They also understand that communication is not complete simply because something has been said. The real test is whether it has been understood. In the AI era, leaders who can communicate with clarity, credibility and humanity will stand out precisely because producing words has become so easy. 4. Adaptability and learning agility One of the most dangerous leadership mindsets in a rapidly changing environment is: “I already know.” Experience remains valuable, but it can become a limitation when yesterday’s success prevents tomorrow’s learning. The World Economic Forum identifies resilience, flexibility and agility among today’s most important core skills, while curiosity and lifelong learning are also expected to become increasingly important. Become comfortable being a learner again Leaders do not need to become AI engineers. They do need enough curiosity to experiment, ask questions and understand how emerging technologies may affect their organisations, industries and people. Learning agility means being willing to say: “I haven’t worked this out yet.” It means testing assumptions, changing your mind when the evidence changes, learning from people younger or more technically knowledgeable than you, and being willing to unlearn practices that once worked but no longer do. Your title should never become permission to stop learning. The leaders most capable of guiding others through change will often be those most willing to change themselves. 5. Executive presence Executive presence is sometimes reduced to appearance, charisma or commanding a room. That definition is far too narrow. Real executive presence is reflected in how a leader shows up when the stakes are high. It is the ability to communicate confidence without arrogance, remain composed without becoming detached and provide direction without pretending to possess certainty that does not exist. Lead confidently without pretending to know everything AI-driven transformation will create situations where leaders genuinely do not have all the answers. Presence is not pretending otherwise. Sometimes the strongest leadership response is: “I don’t know yet. Here is what we know. Here is what we are learning. Here is what we are going to do next.” That is not weakness. It is grounded confidence. People watch leaders closely during uncertainty. They notice how you behave when plans fail, when information changes and when someone challenges you. Executive presence is therefore not simply about how you enter a room. It is about what people experience from you once you are in it. 6. Building trust AI adoption introduces questions that cannot be resolved by technology alone. How will employee data be used? Which decisions will be automated? How will errors be challenged? Will people know when they are interacting with AI? What happens when a recommendation supported by AI disadvantages someone? Who ultimately takes responsibility? These are not merely technology questions. They are trust questions. Transparency matters more when technology influences decisions Trust grows when there is consistency between what leaders say, what they decide and what people actually experience. That requires transparency. It requires fairness. It requires leaders to explain decisions rather than hiding behind technology. “The system recommended it” cannot become the new version of “That’s just company policy.” Technology should not become a shield from leadership responsibility. As organisations integrate AI into more areas of work, leaders who communicate openly about how tools are being used, including their limitations, will be better positioned to maintain credibility. Without trust, even brilliant transformation strategies can meet resistance. With trust, people are far more willing to navigate uncertainty together. 7. Human connection and influence Perhaps one of the great paradoxes of the AI era is this: the more technology becomes embedded in work, the more valuable genuine human connection may become. Leadership has never simply been the ability to complete tasks. It is the ability to move people towards something meaningful. Employees want to know that their contribution matters. They want to be challenged and developed. They want recognition when they perform well and constructive conversations when they do not. They want to know that someone sees more than their output. Technology can scale communication, relationships create commitment AI can help personalize a development plan. A leader still has to care whether the person develops. AI can analyse performance data. A leader still has to conduct the conversation. AI can suggest ways to motivate a team. A leader still has to earn their trust. AI can help you communicate with hundreds of people. Influence still depends on whether those people believe you. That is why human connection should never be confused with a “soft” leadership capability. It is one of the foundations upon which commitment, collaboration and influence are built. Brainz has also recently explored the continuing importance of human judgment and interpersonal skills as AI becomes more prevalent in business, reinforcing the wider conversation about combining AI capability with human leadership rather than treating the two as competing forces. What leadership skills are most important in the age of AI? There is no single skill that will prepare a leader for every change ahead. The greater advantage is a combination of technological literacy and human capability. Leaders will need enough AI understanding to ask intelligent questions and recognise opportunities. But they will also need the emotional intelligence to understand people, the judgment to make responsible decisions, the communication skills to create clarity, the adaptability to continue learning, the presence to lead through uncertainty, the integrity to build trust and the influence to bring people with them. The strongest leaders will not choose between AI intelligence and human intelligence. They will know how to use both. Can AI replace leadership? AI will undoubtedly perform more tasks that have traditionally formed part of a leader’s work. It can already support analysis, planning, communication, forecasting, knowledge retrieval and aspects of decision support. Its capabilities will continue developing. But leadership is more than a collection of tasks. Leadership involves responsibility, context, ethics, relationships, judgment, trust and accountability for what happens next. Interestingly, the World Economic Forum’s analysis of more than 2,800 skills found that none were assessed as having a “very high” capacity to be replaced by the current generation of generative AI, while skills rooted strongly in human interaction showed particularly low substitution potential. So perhaps the more useful question is not: Can AI replace leaders? It is: Which parts of leadership should technology strengthen, and which responsibilities should leaders never surrender? That is a conversation every leadership team should be having. The future of leadership is more human, not less None of this is an argument against AI. Leaders should understand it, use it, experiment with it and learn how to integrate it responsibly into their organisations. But as access to powerful technology becomes increasingly widespread, simply having the technology will become less of a differentiator. The difference will increasingly lie in how leaders use it. How they think, how they decide, how they communicate, how they respond when things go wrong, how they build trust and, ultimately, how people experience their leadership. The leadership challenge of the AI era is therefore not to become more like machines. It is to become more intentionally human. AI may transform how work gets done. But people will still need leaders they can trust. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Omu Obilor Omu Obilor, Coach, Transition & Transformation Omu is an international coach, speaker, trainer, and thought leader. Her mantra is “Living my best life,” which she achieves by living intentionally. Her mission in life is to empower others to live their best lives by curating the lives they want for themselves. As a founding member of the John Maxwell Team, she has mastered intentional living in her personal and professional life. She serves as Executive Director and National Trainer at Business Network International (BNI), which has empowered her to master training and networking. Over the years, Omu has poured her heart into her clients' lives, walking them through various life transitions and mentoring them through their transformations. She is driven by her passion for helping individuals realize that it is possible to live the lives they dream of. Extremely passionate about personal transformation, she works tirelessly to see this through. Her approach is designed to increase awareness and accountability, boost morale, and clarify values. She runs a mentor mind group for women looking to grow in their personal and professional lives. She also runs monthly mastermind groups, among other initiatives.

Written by Phyllis R. Caddell, Communications Strategist Phyllis Caddell is an author, ghostwriter, publicist, and communications strategist. She has been guiding clients in developing, crafting, and improving their brand narratives for over 27 years. A strong event begins long before the doors open. Strategic pre-publicity builds awareness, gives the media time to respond, and helps turn one date on a calendar into a story people want to follow. An event can have an impressive venue, respected speakers, major sponsors, and a carefully planned program. Yet, if the public learns about it too late, much of that work may go unseen. Pre-publicity is the communications work that happens before an event. It introduces the event, establishes why it matters, and gives audiences a reason to pay attention. It also gives journalists, producers, creators and community partners the time they need to decide whether the event fits their coverage, platforms or networks. Waiting until the week of an event to begin publicity places unnecessary limits on its potential. Newsrooms plan ahead. Television producers coordinate guests and crews. Editors assign stories based on relevance, timing, and available resources. Potential attendees also need time to make decisions, register, arrange transportation or share the opportunity with others. Publicity cannot guarantee coverage, but starting early creates more opportunities for the right story to reach the right people. Publicity should begin with the story The first question should not be, “How do we promote this event?” It should be, “Why should anyone outside our organization care?” An event date is information. A compelling reason for the event is a story. The strongest event publicity often connects to a larger issue, cultural moment, community need, industry shift or human experience. A ribbon cutting may represent new jobs or greater access. A conference may bring together voices shaping the future of an industry. A film screening may introduce an emerging filmmaker or address an issue affecting families. A fundraiser may show how a community is responding to an urgent need. That distinction matters because reporters are rarely looking to advertise an event. They are looking for stories that inform, engage or serve their audiences. Related article: “13 Effective Tips to Generate Free and Positive Press for Your Brand” Early outreach gives the media room to work Different media outlets operate on different schedules. A digital reporter may be able to respond quickly, while a magazine could be planning weeks or months ahead. A local television station may make final decisions on the day of an event, but advance notice allows producers to place the opportunity on their planning calendar. For most events, publicity should begin several weeks in advance. Larger conferences, festivals, industry forums and events involving high-profile participants may require a much longer lead time. Early outreach also allows a publicist to create more than one media opportunity. The first pitch might focus on the event announcement. A second could feature a speaker, honoree or participant. Another may highlight a local connection, a trend or the people who will benefit. Each angle should offer new value instead of repeating the same announcement. This layered approach builds momentum without overwhelming journalists with duplicate emails. A Detroit example: Turning an event activation into a television story The FOX 2 Detroit broadcast of “The Noon,” featuring Pensole Lewis College of Business & Design students Tiesheko Houston and Hamza Crichlow, offers a practical example of what pre-publicity can accomplish. Their interview previewed the seventh annual Black Footwear Forum and the Merrell-sponsored “Look Again at MI Black Eden” experience before the activation opened at the forum. The pitch had several connected elements: Black Footwear Forum provided the timely event, Pensole Lewis College (PLC) Detroit provided the student voices, and Merrell’s activation provided a visually compelling story rooted in the history of Idlewild, Michigan. Instead of asking the station to promote an event without context, the opportunity gave FOX 2 a local culture, education, design, and community story its audience could understand. The students could also speak directly about the work. That preparation mattered. The segment introduced viewers to the larger forum while giving them a specific reason to care about one of its experiences. It also provided visibility for the students, the college, the corporate partner, and the cultural story behind the activation. That is the value of strong pre-publicity. It identifies the most newsworthy connection, prepares the right spokespeople, and gives a media outlet enough time to turn an event listing into meaningful coverage. Pre-publicity builds recognition before the invitation arrives People are more likely to respond to something they recognize. That familiarity is often created through a sequence of consistent messages: an announcement, a feature, a speaker reveal, a behind-the-scenes post, an interview or a partner amplification. Related article: “The Best Marketing Events Start with a Creative” Pre-publicity also gives sponsors, speakers, and partner organizations approved language and assets they can share. Their combined reach can introduce the event to audiences the host organization may not reach alone. Consistency is essential. The event name, date, location, purpose, and registration information should match across the press release, media alert, website, social posts, ticketing page, and partner materials. Conflicting details can create confusion and weaken trust. Visibility must be supported by credibility Generating attention without being prepared can create a different problem. Before outreach begins, event organizers should confirm the facts, determine who is available for interviews, and prepare materials that make coverage easier. A useful media package may include: A concise press release or announcement A media alert with the essential event details Approved biographies and headshots High-resolution logos and event images Interview opportunities and spokesperson availability Registration, credential, and parking information A clear media contact who can respond quickly The team should also prepare speakers for likely questions and identify any topics that require additional care. A polished pitch can open the door, but responsiveness and accuracy help keep it open. Related article: “5 Influencers Share How Much They Get Paid Per #Ad Post” Social media is one part of the strategy Posting a flyer is not the same as building a publicity campaign. Social media can create awareness, but strong pre-publicity uses each channel for a specific purpose. A press release provides a complete, credible announcement. A personalized pitch explains why the story fits a particular journalist or outlet. A media alert makes it easy for assignment desks to assess coverage on the day of the event. Social content builds familiarity and gives speakers, partners, and attendees material to share. These tools should support one another. They should not compete or tell different versions of the story. Visuals also matter. Images and short videos can help people imagine the experience before they attend. Behind-the-scenes, preparation, speaker introductions, and participant stories can make an event feel active before it begins. The goal is not to reveal everything but to offer enough substance to create interest. A practical pre-publicity timeline (depending on the market) While every event is different, a basic timeline can help organizers avoid the last-minute rush. Six to 12 weeks before: Define the story, target audiences, key messages, spokespeople, and media list. Confirm the major facts and begin outreach for opportunities that require longer lead times. Four to six weeks before: Distribute the main announcement, begin personalized pitching, and provide partners with approved promotional materials. Two to three weeks before: Introduce additional angles, confirm interviews, and share relevant speaker or participant stories. One week before: Send or update the media alert, confirm logistics, and follow up with priority contacts who have shown interest. One to two days before: Send a concise reminder to assignment desks and confirmed media. Avoid sending repeated, lengthy pitches. After the event: Follow up promptly with strong photos, accurate captions, key takeaways, and any meaningful announcements. Publicity after the event is most effective when it continues a story that was established before the event. The event should not be the first time people hear the story Pre-publicity does more than help fill seats. It shapes expectations, strengthens credibility, and increases the likelihood that an event will have relevance beyond the room. The event itself may last a few hours or several days. Its public impact can begin weeks earlier and continue long after the final guest leaves. That is why publicity should be included in the planning process from the beginning, with clear goals, realistic timing, and a story worth telling. When pre-publicity is strategic, the event arrives with context, recognition and momentum. Follow Phyllis on her Instagram or visit her website for more info! Read more from Phyllis R. Caddell Phyllis R. Caddell, Communications Strategist Phyllis Caddell is an author, ghostwriter, publicist, and communications strategist. She has been guiding clients in developing, crafting, and improving their brand narratives for over 27 years. A subject matter expert (SME) and adjunct professor at Azusa Pacific University, she holds a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Organizational Communications, a Master of Science (M.S.) in Internet Marketing, and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Public Relations.

Written by Godelieve van der Leij, Experience Expert in Recovery Godelieve van der Leij has extensive lived experience in international business and recovery. Through her website and blog, both named The Surf of Life, she aims to support others throughout their recovery journeys and bridge the gap between business and mental health care. She is also actively involved in the Recovery Movement in the Netherlands. In my previous article, ‘Why The Surf of Life is Recovery Reinvented’, I briefly mentioned my lived experience with medication, therapy, loss, and grief during my recovery process. These are the first things that come to mind when people think of recovery from any life-altering experience, like being diagnosed with a chronic mental illness, as in my case, or maybe recovery from substance abuse for others. What does come to mind when we think of recovery? 1. A sad story, or ‘lived experience’? Recovery from a physical injury from sports, or getting over a long-term relationship that has come to an end, can take months, or even years, and leave its scars. There is no better or worse when it comes to recovery. Losing the old and learning to live with the new takes time and is hard work. There is simply no way to speed up the process, and it is different for everyone. But luckily, today the Recovery Movement is ever-growing, and more and more coaches and counsellors are stepping forward to support others during their recovery process. Related article: Summer Recovery – Why a Recovery Coach Can Be Your Greatest Ally It took me years to find the ‘right’ medication and the ‘right’ dose for me specifically. I saw two dozen therapists, coaches, psychologists, and psychiatrists over the course of a decade, if not more. Then there were the years of grieving over everything I had lost, over and over again. Not just jobs, but people, houses, and habitats too. Luckily, getting over a fallback (read: manic episode) goes faster today than it did at the beginning. I didn’t even know what bipolar disorder was when I woke up in the hospital that one summer day in August 2013, after my first episode. I had never even been in a hospital, well, maybe when my brother was born, or my grandma broke her arm years earlier. So, you can imagine my surprise when I woke up in an unfamiliar, bright white room (after weeks of sleepless nights and racing thoughts), a room that looked like the movies. I thought that was it. I must be dead, I thought, but I wasn’t. Related Article: Understanding Hypomania In Bipolar Disorder 2. A recovery process, not just medication and therapy What impacted my life most after I was diagnosed with Bipolar I Disorder was the constant overestimation by health care professionals. Since I was well educated and had significant work experience with large corporations, psychologists, psychiatrists, and business managers thought, ‘she’ll be fine’. I was, for a large part. I would still go to my appointments on time, and I even kept working for a while. I was able to articulate how I felt, organize my days around volunteer work, and live on my own. This apparent self-reliance was tricky, though. Even though I felt fine most of the time, it usually took a few weeks, and sometimes even months, before people around me noticed I was not okay. The thing is, when I slowly moved from a ‘normal’ state of mind to the hypomanic phase, followed by the manic phase, I felt great. Larger than life, even. My thoughts went fast, and I became more and more creative. But soon, this would turn into paranoia and sometimes even psychosis. This is when it started to show that something was wrong with me. I would be late for appointments because matching time and place had simply become impossible. One time, I even wrote on the wall at work and moved objects around in the hallways, like mannequins and business cards. ‘Ma’am, are you okay?’ the security guards asked me. My house would be covered with Post-its, think of that movie, A Beautiful Mind, by Ron Howard, starring Russell Crowe (2001). The most dangerous thing that ever happened was in the US. I lived in Oregon at the time and had access to three credit cards and a car. For some reason, I felt like driving, and I drove. For a week. All across the state, from national park to national park. In snowy conditions, because it was wintertime. My friends from the Dutch Club in town (Portland) had literally ‘lost’ me. They had to contact my brother in the Netherlands over Facebook to tell him, they had no idea where I was. Luckily, for some reason, I ended up back home after a week and found my way to my psychiatrist, who gave me the necessary medication. Human Resources (HR) at work gave me some forms and two weeks off, but after that, once again, I returned to work before I quit my career in International Business for good a year later. I remember my senior manager saying, ‘It’s just a job’, when I was bawling in her office because I had just quit. But to me, it was not just a job. It was a lifestyle, a dream, that had ended. I had to leave everything behind and go back to Europe. 3. From book smart to street-wise, the ‘double culture shock’ What really gave me a ‘double culture shock’ was the social declassification that came with being unemployed. I used to work for companies like Nike and IBM, which paid me good money for the work I did for them for years. But without that salary, my life completely changed. I had to move continents, cities, neighborhoods, and even into a group home for the mentally ill for a while. I couldn’t go on vacation to visit friends in the US anymore. I am out of money at least two days a week. I lost a great part of my network from university due to different lifestyles and a constant lack of money. Among my university friends, I am ‘the patient’, but among my fellow patients in long-term mental health care, I am the ‘elite’. I am better educated, well-spoken, and have learned skills in school and at work that they don’t have, as they ‘grew up’ in care. I am the outsider in both worlds. Not good enough for the ‘normal’ world. The ‘top of the food chain’ among the other ‘patients’. I get slightly better benefits (because I used to have a good job), am good at networking because of my work experience, and do well at my volunteer jobs. Constantly having to adjust my perspective about the future and reinvent myself over and over again in different living environments was, and still is, exhausting. But don’t feel sorry, I am not trying to complain. I wouldn’t be able to tell you these stories if I didn’t have this ‘lived experience’. 4. Peer support, we support each other Over the past few years, during my own recovery, I was a peer worker and facilitator at the local recovery college, offering a listening ear and mental support for others in recovery wherever possible. At first, this was in the common area, and later I told my story during lunch sessions, followed by a Q&A. Finally, I facilitated sessions where we shared our recovery stories through exercises, which helped. You feel less alone in what you have experienced, even though you might not have the same experiences. Life-altering events still mean letting go of the old and, step by step, learning to live with the new, whatever you have been through in your life. The great thing about peer support is that, unlike counselling or coaching, you do it together. I don’t just support my peers, we support each other. I don’t talk to my peers, I talk with them. Related article: The Benefits of Lived Experience Counselling Recovery reinvented So, to conclude, recovery is not a linear process, as I advocate through my Surf of Life theory. It is like a set of waves, sometimes you’re up, sometimes you’re down. So is life. Secondly, recovery these days is about much more than medication and therapy, especially when you were once high up on that wave and now you are down. Don’t ever think your current situation will be your situation forever. Tides change all the time in this ever-changing world. Luckily, peer support and the Recovery Movement are steadily growing globally by adding lived experience to the care package. What I am trying to do as an Experience Expert in Recovery is threefold at the moment: Support as many people as possible during their recovery process. Give people faith in their abilities to overcome. Promote and grow the Recovery Movement as a whole. So, have faith in your abilities to overcome, this too shall pass. When you have to recover from a life-altering experience (whether it is an illness, a broken relationship, or the end of a career), take your time. Let go of the old and learn to live with the new, it is a process, always. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Godelieve van der Leij Godelieve van der Leij, Experience Expert in Recovery Godelieve van der Leij is a former IBM and Nike employee. After being diagnosed with a mental illness in 2013, she began working on her own recovery and became involved with the Recovery Movement. This experience inspired her to share the idea behind The Surf of Life, which compares life to a series of waves with its inevitable ups and downs. She is the founder, content manager, and author of the website and blog of the same name, which aims to “give people faith in their abilities to overcome.”

Written by Godelieve van der Leij, Experience Expert in Recovery Godelieve van der Leij has extensive lived experience in international business and recovery. Through her website and blog, both named The Surf of Life, she aims to support others throughout their recovery journeys and bridge the gap between business and mental health care. She is also actively involved in the Recovery Movement in the Netherlands. The idea that life is not linear, but rather like a set of waves, is ancient. The Roman Stoics and Taoism already gave us a hint, but the idea really took off when modern-day writers like Jon Kabat-Zinn and Danielle LaPorte started to spread the word about learning how to surf the waves of life. I picked up the philosophy in 2014 as a young professional who had just been diagnosed with a chronic mental illness, and it really helped me during my recovery process. I gained a deep realization that in life, as in surfing, there are different stages. I remembered from my time on a real surfboard that one moment you are riding that wave, the next you wipe out, then comes the liminal phase where you wait for the next set to roll in, and finally, there you go, back up on your feet for the next build-up. Easier said than done, I can tell you. This is not another sad story Now, I could tell you a story about medication, therapy, loss, grief, overestimation by health care professionals, apparent self-reliance, social declassification, the double culture shock, constantly having to adjust my perspective about the future, and what life is like in long-term mental health care, but I will not. Not today. Instead, I would like to share a few lessons learned from my own recovery process and the ‘Recovery Movement’ as a whole. What is the recovery movement? The recovery movement sprang from psychiatry and mental health care. Its origins lie in the US during the second half of the twentieth century. This is when people like Howard Geld, also known as Howie the Harp, started to advocate for more humane treatment of former mental health care patients. Peer work was born, with people who had ‘lived experience’ supporting others during their recovery from life-altering experiences. About two decades ago, the initiative came to Europe. Schools like ‘Howie the Harp’ opened in the Netherlands to educate people to become peer workers. Today, there are various Recovery Colleges across the country that organize recovery groups and other activities. Recovery Colleges from elsewhere in Europe also visit Dutch Recovery Colleges to seek out best practices. I learned about the recovery movement when I obtained a certificate from Howie the Harp and did peer work at the local Recovery College. Today, peer work, or Experience Expertise, has become a real profession integrated into mental health care practice. The myth of manufacturability Growing up as a young professional in corporate structures, winning was a lifestyle for me. Until I was thirty, all I knew was winning. Then I lost my health. I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. For over a decade, I constantly had to reinvent myself within my newfound reality. Life was no longer an upward linear line, but more like a set of waves. Sometimes things went okay for a while. Other years, I had to rebuild my life from scratch. New house, new town, new people, basically a new life. I always thought life could be made, but a coach once told me, ‘life is given’. I believe she was right. Let me be your guide I have extensive lived experience in both the corporate world and the world of long-term mental health care, and I believe these worlds can learn a lot from one another through the Recovery Movement. Right now, it is mainly part of mental health care. However, since I speak the language of both business and mental health care, I know what success is, but I also know about struggle, and I aim to bridge the gap between the two. I am different from many Experience Experts who might have grown up in mental health care or who do not have a background in business on a global level. Therefore, I would like to be a guide for young professionals, mental health care patients, business managers, health care professionals, and everyone else who is interested in lifting recovery out of mental health care and applying it to other areas of life. Four takeaways from recovery Obviously, I learned many lessons over the course of a decade during my recovery process. I know firsthand that getting sick does not just mean losing your health, but can also mean losing your job, home, and social status. However, for the purpose of this article, I would like to emphasize the four main lessons I learned from recovery. I will elaborate on them below. 1. Making a career vs. Living on benefits I think the biggest difference, but at the same time a parallel, between making a career and living on benefits once mentally ill is how you spend your time. Making a career is a lifestyle and very time-consuming. Days and weeks are packed with work, appointments, and people. Time is carefully scheduled to make everything ‘fit’. In return, you receive a nice salary, so you can vacation in faraway places and go out for fancy dinners with family and friends. At the other end of the spectrum sits living on benefits. Since there is no job obligation, time can be spent in many ways, such as working on your recovery by going to the Recovery College, meeting with your therapist, talking to peers, or doing volunteer work. Money is scarce, so you have to be very creative in finding free or cheaper activities and people with a similar lifestyle. The lessons I learned were, first, that the discipline of working long hours and following a tight schedule, developed through working in corporate structures, came in very useful when living on welfare. This muscle memory helped me stay active and disciplined during the week. On the other hand, I truly learned to be creative with a lot of time on my hands but hardly any money to spend. 2. Always on vs. Early retirement In my fast-paced working life, I was ‘always on’, always available for either work or my social network, as I remember it. During the first few years of my recovery, however, life felt like ‘early retirement’. That is what some fellow clients called it, at least. I think what young professionals today can learn from the Recovery Movement and mental health care as a whole is to slow down every once in a while. On the other hand, the businesslike ‘can do’ spirit is what is often missing among clients. People in long-term health care tend to lean back and get used to their free time and slow days, while there is so much potential when it comes to contributing to society once we take a closer look at their competencies and life experience. Of course, this should take into account their daily energy levels and general interests. 3. Not your job vs. Not your diagnosis When I lived the corporate lifestyle and was successful in the eyes of society, I identified myself with my job. But when I had to leave my career behind, existential questions started to surface. Who was I if I was not my job? Following that, as a patient, especially when I really started to work on my recovery, I became consumed with my mental illness. But soon I learned that you are not your diagnosis. It is something you have, not something you are. On another note, my business experience taught me about success and the pursuit of opportunities. This really helped during my recovery process when I was looking for help and volunteer work. Recovery, meanwhile, taught me a lot about self-reflection and about taking the time every once in a while to process the experiences of life. 4. Prevention vs. Recovery Finally, with so many people recovering from burnout, depression, or other causes, I believe the focus should shift from recovery to the prevention of mental illness. We can come up with initiatives like the recovery movement, but what needs to be done, in my opinion, is to create healthy environments at work and in society as a whole. This way, people do not get sick in the first place, at least not in such great numbers. Did you know that worldwide, 1 billion people live with a mental illness, and that many of them have a good job and are well educated? It makes you wonder, right? But that is a different discussion. The Surf of Life in practice The Surf of Life is a recovery story turned into a theory that compares the different stages of both recovery and life: surfing, wipeout, the liminal phase, and buildup. It is not just meant for people who seek support during their recovery process, but also for business leaders who develop policies on retention and reintegration, and for health care professionals looking for other ways to activate their clients. If you want to read more about my recovery and are looking to collaborate, or have any other inquiries, please visit the contact page on the website or my profile page. Remember, life is like a set of waves. Sometimes you’re up, and sometimes you’re down. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Godelieve van der Leij Godelieve van der Leij, Experience Expert in Recovery Godelieve van der Leij is a former IBM and Nike employee. After being diagnosed with a mental illness in 2013, she began working on her own recovery and became involved with the Recovery Movement. This experience inspired her to share the idea behind The Surf of Life, which compares life to a series of waves with its inevitable ups and downs. She is the founder, content manager, and author of the website and blog of the same name, which aims to “give people faith in their abilities to overcome.”

Written by Marion Isabelle Smith, Executive Coach & Transformation Consultant Marion is a certified Executive Coach and Psychometric Practitioner, specialising in leadership coaching and team dynamics, and currently developing a digital application for self-directed, AI-supported coaching reflection. Marion has an MSc in Healthcare Management and is a member of the European Mentoring and Coaching Council UK. Six months into a major transformation programme, progress has stalled. The strategy is sound. The leadership team is capable. Everyone says they support the direction. Yet decisions are slowing, meetings are circling, and different parts of the organisation are protecting their priorities and influence. So, you do what experienced leaders are expected to do: provide more clarity, increase accountability, and push for pace. The situation gets worse. Here is the uncomfortable possibility: "What if the greatest constraint on what you can achieve is not the situation you are leading, but the lens that you are looking through?" Sometimes, what limits a leader most is not the knowledge they lack, but the assumptions they no longer think to question. The leadership lens Leadership requires us to interpret situations before we have the complete picture. Experience gives us valuable pattern recognition: I’ve seen this before. It can save time, prevent mistakes, and enable decisive action. But every strength has a shadow. The faster we recognise a familiar pattern, the easier it is to stop looking for what does not fit. Our experience, beliefs, and expectations create our Leadership Lens, the perspective through which we interpret events. Once formed, that interpretation influences what we notice next: The team is resistant. The stakeholder is difficult. The culture is the problem. Each may hold a fragment of truth. But once we accept it, it begins to shape what we notice and what we overlook, until one interpretation quietly becomes the only reality we can see. The experience that enables us to see quickly can sometimes prevent us from seeing differently. What if resistance is information? Return to the transformation programme. The leader concludes that the organisation is resisting change, so responds with more communication, stronger governance, and increased pressure. Then friction grows. What happens if, instead of asking how to overcome resistance, the leader becomes curious about what it might be highlighting? A more complex picture emerges. One group fears losing professional autonomy. Another sees an operational risk. Frontline teams understand the rationale but cannot see how it will work alongside existing pressures. Influential people were never meaningfully involved. They may have been informed or invited, but they did not actively contribute, shape decisions, or build commitment. The strategy has not changed. The leader has changed the lens. What looked like a straightforward implementation problem now reveals questions of trust, identity, relationships, influence, and risk. The question is no longer, why are they resisting? It becomes: what can the resistance reveal? This matters in complex organisations. A rational boardroom decision may feel very different on the frontline. A solution that improves one part of a system may create pressure elsewhere. No single vantage point contains the whole picture. Changing the lens does not mean abandoning judgement. It means creating the opportunity to test it: "What could I discover if I became curious before reaching a conclusion?" Curiosity changes what becomes possible Now the stakeholder once labelled “challenging” reveals that the implementation timeline could compromise safety. A frontline leader explains that teams need protected time and practical support, not more communication, to feel confident. A well-connected colleague brings together people whom the formal governance structure has failed to reach. A disagreement about delivery exposes a critical assumption: that every part of the organisation has the same capacity and readiness for change. None of these people suddenly became less resistant. The leader became better at seeing what their resistance highlighted. What initially appeared to be slowing progress was, in fact, revealing valuable information, relationships, and resources needed to move the work forward. Resistance offered insight. Disagreement exposed risk. Informal influence became an asset. Curiosity is the discipline of remaining open long enough to determine whether the picture is complete. This becomes increasingly important with seniority: the consequences of a leader’s interpretation grow, while the likelihood that any one person holds all the necessary knowledge diminishes. Sometimes, the most valuable contribution a leader can make is not to provide the solution, but to create the conditions for a better solution to emerge. Instead of asking, "How do I make this happen?" Ask, "What would make this more possible?" The leader as part of the picture It is easier to become curious about the organisation, culture, or stakeholder than about ourselves, yet the greatest insight may sit there. Experienced leaders often ask, what am I achieving? A harder question is, what am I enabling? Leadership shapes what others feel able to say, challenge, own, and create. Your decisiveness may accelerate action, but could it narrow debate? Your expertise may reassure people, but could it encourage them to wait for your answer? Your ability to take control may rescue difficult situations, but have others learned that you will eventually take over? What if the leadership strength you rely on also helps sustain the problem? This is not an argument for becoming less decisive or accountable. It invites you to understand how strengths operate in context. At senior levels, the question is not simply, Am I effective? It is: what does my effectiveness create around me? Five ways to change your leadership lens Challenge your interpretation: Separate what you know from what you have concluded. For example, a team missing a milestone may be labelled uncommitted when unclear priorities or competing demands are the real issue. Ask: What am I treating as fact that may only be my interpretation? Examine your impact: Notice what your leadership encourages and what it may unintentionally inhibit. For example, regularly stepping in to solve problems may achieve a quick result while teaching others to wait for your answer. Ask: What are people learning to do, or not do, because of how I lead? Listen beyond the obvious: Seek out the voices missing from the usual conversation. For example, a frontline colleague may identify a practical barrier that has never reached the leadership team. Ask: Whose voice could change my understanding of what is really happening? Change the lens: Consider how others may experience the same situation. For example, a change that looks efficient from the boardroom may create additional pressure, risk, or confusion for those implementing it. Ask: If I viewed this through someone else’s eyes, what might I see that is invisible from my position? Make space for new possibilities: Question what feels certain. Value your experience, but stay willing to test your assumptions. For example, an approach that succeeded previously may fail here because the people, relationships, and context are different. Ask: What might become possible if I questioned what I feel most certain about? A space to think, not perform Changing perspective is difficult when leaders are immersed in complexity and expected to project confidence, clarity, and answers. There may be few places where they can say: Perhaps I am seeing this incorrectly. I need to consider my part. Senior leaders need somewhere they can think without simultaneously having to perform leadership. Executive coaching offers a safe, confidential, ethical, and non-judgmental space in which leaders can think openly and honestly. Grounded in trust, respect, and professional integrity, the coach does not impose solutions or direct the outcome. Instead, through purposeful challenge and reflection, coaching enables leaders to test assumptions, explore alternative perspectives, examine their impact, and make choices for which they retain ownership and responsibility. That may mean having the courage to ask: "What would I do differently if my current interpretation were wrong?" Change the lens. Change what becomes possible. The strongest leaders are not those who always have the answer. They are those who remain curious long enough to notice what others, and perhaps they themselves, have not yet seen. Experience matters, but it is never the whole picture. Senior leadership is not simply about defining the way forward for others. It is about creating the conditions for people to challenge assumptions, contribute insight, and shape a stronger way forward together. Sometimes, a complex situation does not need another immediate solution. It needs a different way of seeing what is possible. Change the lens, and different choices become visible. Different choices open new possibilities, and new possibilities can shape a different future. Feeling stuck? A different perspective could reveal a new way forward. Arrange a confidential, no-obligation conversation here or email me here. The views expressed in this article are entirely my own and do not reflect those of any organisation with which I am currently or have previously been associated. Follow me on LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Marion Isabelle Smith Marion Isabelle Smith, Executive Coach & Transformation Consultant Marion Smith is a certified Executive Coach and Organisational Transformation Consultant, and founder of CoachMuse.com with expertise in leading change in complex environments. Marion offers Executive Coaching and a range of psychometric services, specialising in leadership coaching and team dynamics. Marion is developing a digital application for self-directed, AI-supported coaching reflection. As an executive coach, her mission is to empower leaders to tap their inner resourcefulness for change.

Written by Rob James Brooke, Transformation Coach & Founder of Lionheart Transformation Academy Rob James Brooke is a Rapid Transformational Therapist and founder of Lionheart Transformation Academy, known for helping people release deep-rooted trauma, rewire limiting beliefs, and step into powerful, self-led lives through subconscious transformation. When we hear the word transformation, we often imagine a life in crisis: burnout, heartbreak, addiction, anxiety, or the moment everything finally falls apart. We imagine transformation beginning at rock bottom. But what if transformation does not require a rock bottom? What if your life can be good, and you can still sense that another expression of you is waiting to emerge? You do not have to be living in turmoil to transform. You may simply be ready to expand your capacity as a human being: to feel more deeply, receive more freely, love more openly, and build a life that feels more meaningful to you. Transformation beyond crisis For some people, transformation begins with the realisation, “I cannot continue like this.” Pain makes the old way of living impossible to ignore. Support at that point can be life-changing, and anyone experiencing significant mental health difficulties should receive care appropriate to their needs. But suffering is not the admission ticket to personal growth. For others, transformation begins with a quieter truth: “My life is fine, but I know I am not experiencing all of myself.” They may be successful, capable, and grateful, yet still recognise patterns of fear, self-doubt, or emotional protection shaping their choices. Nothing has necessarily gone wrong. Something within them is simply ready to grow. You do not need to hate your present life to desire a more meaningful one. Gratitude for where you are and a desire to expand can exist together. When good feels small Many of us become skilled at functioning. We meet our responsibilities, care for others, and create lives that look perfectly acceptable from the outside. Yet functioning is not always the same as feeling free. Perhaps you keep yourself invisible even though you want to be seen. You receive an opportunity but immediately question whether you deserve it. You long for a more authentic relationship, career, or way of living, yet continue making decisions from an identity formed years ago. This does not mean you are broken. It may mean you have reached the edge of the beliefs and emotional capacity that created your current life. Psychologists Richard Ryan and Edward Deci’s self-determination theory identifies autonomy, competence, and relatedness as fundamental psychological needs connected with healthy motivation, development, and wellbeing. In everyday language, human beings flourish when we feel able to choose our lives, capable of navigating them, and meaningfully connected within them. Transformation can therefore be more than relief from symptoms. It can be the movement from merely managing life to consciously participating in it. Expanding human capacity When I speak about expanding capacity, I do not mean cramming more into an already exhausted life. This is not another invitation to become more productive, impressive, or permanently positive. Your nervous system does not need a motivational speech delivered through a megaphone. Capacity is your growing ability to remain connected to yourself while experiencing more of life. It is the capacity to meet uncertainty without immediately abandoning your vision; to receive love without distrusting it; to hold visibility without shrinking; to experience difficult emotions without allowing them to become your identity; and to welcome success without unconsciously retreating to what feels familiar. Research describes a related quality as psychological flexibility: the ability to remain present, adapt to changing circumstances, and act in accordance with what matters. A major review described psychological flexibility as a fundamental aspect of health and found meaningful associations with outcomes including wellbeing and effective performance.[1] Expansion is not about never feeling fear. It is about increasing your freedom to choose even when fear appears. Safety before expansion This understanding sits at the heart of the Lionheart Method: soften the nervous system, free the mind, open the heart, and create your life from freedom. We begin with the nervous system because it is difficult to imagine freely when the body is continually preparing for danger. The stress response is not an enemy; it is a vital protective system. But chronic stress can keep the sympathetic nervous system and the body’s wider stress processes activated beyond the immediate moment.[2] Softening does not mean becoming passive or avoiding every uncomfortable feeling. It means helping the body recognise that it does not need to treat every unknown, opportunity, or emotion as a threat. When we feel safer within ourselves, we create space between what happens and how we respond. In that space, choice returns. Freeing the mind The mind learns through repetition. A belief formed in childhood can continue directing an adult life long after the circumstances that created it have disappeared. “I must not be too much.” “Love has to be earned.” “Success will make me unsafe.” “People like me do not get to live that way.” These beliefs can become so familiar that they feel like facts. Transformation begins when we learn to observe the mind rather than automatically obey it. We can ask: Is this thought true now? Is it mine? Does it support the person I am becoming? Freeing the mind does not require rejecting your history. It means understanding how that history shaped you, releasing the conclusions that no longer belong in your life, and choosing new beliefs with awareness. Opening the heart An open heart is not an unprotected heart. It is a heart no longer closed against the person who lives inside it. Many people attempt transformation through criticism: “I should be further ahead. I should be more confident. I need to fix myself.” But shame rarely creates lasting freedom. It often keeps the old identity alive. Real transformation asks for a different relationship with yourself, one rooted in honesty, compassion, and belonging. This is particularly powerful for anyone who has learned to edit their identity to remain acceptable, including many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning (LGBTQ+) people who have spent years assessing whether it is safe to be fully seen. Opening the heart is the decision to stop making your authenticity dependent upon somebody else’s comfort. Creating from freedom When the nervous system softens, the mind becomes easier to observe. When the mind is no longer dominated by old programming, the heart has room to speak. From there, we can create rather than continually react. Meaning matters here. A large 2023 meta-analysis found that greater purpose in life was associated with lower levels of depression and anxiety across multiple samples.[3] This does not mean purpose is a cure, nor that people struggling with their mental health have failed to find meaning. It reminds us that wellbeing includes more than the absence of distress. It also includes connection, direction, and the sense that our lives matter to us. A meaningful life will not look the same for everyone. It may mean building a business, changing a relationship, expressing your identity, creating a family, making art, deepening your spirituality, or simply becoming more present in the life you already have. The important question is not, “What should a meaningful life look like?” It is, “What feels true and meaningful to me?” An act of love Transformation is not the rejection of who you are. It is the release of everything that has prevented you from fully being who you are. You may seek transformation because you are suffering and ready for support. You may seek it because an old identity has become too small. Or you may seek it because life is already beautiful and you love yourself enough to discover how much more deeply you can experience it. All are valid places to begin. You do not need to prove how much you have suffered before you are allowed to grow. Transformation is not always an act of desperation. It can be one of the clearest acts of self-love. Soften your nervous system. Free your mind. Open your heart. Expand your capacity. Then create, not from fear, pressure, or the person you once needed to be, but from the freedom of who you now choose to become. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Rob James Brooke Rob James Brooke, Transformation Coach & Founder of Lionheart Transformation Academy Rob James Brooke is the founder of Lionheart Transformation Academy and a Rapid Transformational Therapist redefining how people heal, lead, and live. After overcoming years of anxiety, addiction, and self-sabotage, he now helps others break free from trauma and reprogram the beliefs that keep them stuck. His work goes beyond mindset, guiding people into a state of calm, clarity, and inner power through deep subconscious transformation. At the heart of his mission is a simple truth, when you free the mind, you change everything. References: [1] Kashdan and Rottenberg, 2010 [2] National Library of Medicine [3] Boreham and Schutte

Written by Aaron Eschenburg, Ayahuascero & Astrotheologer Aaron Eschenburg is an Ayahuascero and Astrotheologer. He is the Founder and creator of Ancestral Herbs, a natural plant medicine company, and MiTranscendance Entheo Religious Society. Through his work, he combines ancient wisdom, plant-based practices, and spiritual exploration to support personal transformation and a deeper connection with nature, consciousness, and the universe. For thousands of years, humans have lived harmoniously with nature, it’s how we survived. Just like the Sumatran orangutan, which crushes plant sap to treat facial wounds, nature has a cure for every ailment. In 1806, just 220 years ago, German pharmacist Friedrich Sertürner isolated morphine from the opium plant, creating the first pure drug derived from a plant. In the 1820s to 1850s, chemists began isolating other plant ingredients, such as codeine and quinine, with great results. The concentrated, purified doses seemed more precise than the unpredictability of consuming the whole herb. Around the same time, Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin. This was another shift from plants to microbes and mass production after World War One, which led the way for scientists to experiment with and chemically modify natural plant compounds to design entirely new synthetic molecules. Natural herbs and plants cannot be patented, but synthetic, lab-made “medicines” can be. By 1899, Bayer introduced aspirin, which was synthesized from a natural willow compound. This truly marked the beginning of the commercial pharmaceutical industry. At the same time this was happening, John D. Rockefeller earned the first half of his fortune by compromising the oil industry with railroad rebates and high-volume bargaining, manipulating and eliminating the competition. Rockefeller worked a deal with the railroads so that his competitors paid full prices for shipping oil barrels while he paid a fraction of the costs. Not only that, but he got a kickback percentage of every single barrel of oil that his rivals shipped. This allowed Rockefeller to sell his oil at a fraction of the price to his competitors, allowing him to buy out and completely monopolize the industry, taking control of over 90% of all American oil-refining companies. He made millions, then he turned his attention to monopolizing the food and health industry. He figured out a way to manufacture synthetic drugs from oil byproducts that were cheap, could be patented, and highly profitable. The problem standing in the way was that we already had a working medical industry. So, in 1901, John D. founded the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, which was the first major institution entirely dedicated to experimental biomedical science. This back-door Trojan Horse, disguised as “philanthropic” funding, shifted standard medical practices away from plants and natural remedies to petrochemical, laboratory-made drugs. By 1903, the United States had passed the Elkins Act to ban the railroad rebate monopolies, but they had no idea what was about to happen to the medical field. Rockefeller hired Abraham Flexner to travel and visit medical facilities across the United States to accumulate data for what we currently call the Flexner Report of 1910. His report expressed that the many practices of herbalism, homeopathy, chiropractic care, and holistic medicines that have healed humanity since the beginning of time were “quackery.” The solution: give away hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to medical schools, only if they taught his new pharmaceutical curriculum. The schools that refused to be bought out were forced to close. The medical monopoly was now a pill-based treatment, as insurance companies stopped covering holistic practices, doctors stopped practicing, and the knowledge stopped spreading. The next step was the language. Now, technically, no one owns the word “medicine,” but unless the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has evaluated what is claiming to be medicine, the word is flagged and technically illegal to use. Seriously. The words diagnose, prevent, heal, cure, treat, and remedy are all illegal unless the FDA allows you to use them. Seriously. So, how does one get FDA approval? Great question. The research and development (R&D) trials are about 50 to 800+ million dollars. An extract labeled as a dietary supplement is only $25,000 to $250,000, but it’s still being claimed as a supplement, not a medicine, so the descriptive words are still restricted. Now, the FDA is in place to create a medical standard so that every crook can’t sell us snake oil, but money rules the world. It’s the reason America uses high-fructose corn syrup and half of Hollywood is on Ozempic, looking ready for Halloween, like walking skeletons with their faces sunk in. Approved! From 2010 to 2016, Dr. Siyram Pandey and Dr. Caroline Hamm conducted studies with dandelion root tea and leukemia patients, showing significant clinical improvements. Over 95% of colon cancer cells were killed when introduced to dandelion root concentrates in rats and in vitro. Yet, they lost funding for human trials in 2016. How? Why? Because they make more money off the disease than the cure. We’re all in pain, we all need help. Those medical authoritarians are supposed to have the education to help, but the education has been compromised, and so is the help. The cascading effects of prescriptions can pile up and start to hurt when one prescription causes a side effect, and the solution is another prescription with another side effect. Sixty-six percent of adult Americans take at least one over-the-counter medication regularly. Approximately 19% of women, 10% of men, and 39% of the trans community use selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). We turn to these legal drugs to help us through hard times and keep us sane. Approximately 60% to 73% of people who take SSRIs for a prolonged period experience serious sexual side effects, like decreased libido, difficulty achieving or maintaining an erection, and permanent genital numbness. This was supposed to help mental health, not numb us. Almost 11% of the population is on pain medications. Some of these medications can lead to serious chemical dependencies and opioid addictions, resulting in smoke shop Kratom self-diagnosing. Fifty percent of the population over 70 years old are on arthritis pills, which create risks for high blood pressure, heart attacks, and strokes. Having a hard time sleeping? So are 18% of Americans. We’ll prescribe you Ambien, and you can drive while sleeping, send that angry email, go shopping in your underwear, or rearrange your furniture with zero memory at all! Ketamine has evolved from being an anesthetic dissociative to an anti-anxiety medication, just like Ozempic evolved from a diabetes drug to starring in a weight-loss epidemic. Yet, ivermectin was looked down upon during COVID-19 when it had shown real signs of combating the virus, and doctors were discredited, similar to the propaganda at the start of the Flexner Report. It’s not about your health, it’s about your money. History repeats itself. We learn, we do it again and again until we figure it out. It’s been interesting to watch big pharma get into the world of real plant medicines, and ibogaine get that FDA green light overnight. Helus Pharma and Eli Lilly have spent millions and billions on psychedelic mushroom medicines, not to make them legal, but to extract parts from them to sell to consumers. Texas has approved up to $100 million in funding to advance clinical trials for psychedelic alternatives to current antidepressants and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatments, but marijuana is considered illegal. The plant medicines themselves are still illegal. The ceremony is still illegal. I have been in the plant medicine world for over 20 years, working with natural plant medicines as well as psychedelic plant medicine ceremonies. I work alongside the indigenous Peruvians and have been leading ayahuasca ceremonies and singing songs for many years. I’ve heard multiple people in ceremony share that 25 years of therapy can’t touch what they’ve just experienced. The understanding, the healing, the teachings, and the humble surrendering that comes with the ceremony are the medicine. The companies coming in to extract some part of the mushroom or plant to achieve a 24/7 bliss state are bypassing the ceremony itself. It’s like putting a Band-Aid on a broken bone. The ceremony can be the reset that is so needed instead of masking the pain with more medications. Sometimes people need to go outside and eat some mushrooms to reconnect with the external beauty of nature, and that journey is exactly what is needed. Sometimes we need to go internally and connect with ourselves in an ayahuasca ceremony. These explorative, higher-dose experiences have a longer sustained response time without needing daily supplements, allowing us to break a habit-forming pattern. There are plenty of safe facilitators out there, but it’s hard to find them, as these mushroom or ayahuasca ceremonies are underground, taboo, and illegal without the expensive, proper legal documents. So, the plants, the mushrooms, and the ceremonies are all illegal, just like using the words heal, medicine, cure, prevent, and remedy alongside plant medicines and herbal elixirs used to describe their effects on the body when consumed. We shouldn’t have a monopoly on health. The word medicine shouldn’t be illegal unless the FDA is paid millions of dollars. Safe, original alternatives are necessary that don’t have the same harmful side effects as the oil companies’ pills. Personally, I always work with the plants and am grateful to my predecessors in the jungle who have continued to teach about the plant kingdom and its knowledge. After a particular ayahuasca ceremony, the message was to serve these plants and make them available for people, just as a pharmacy. So, I started a high-grade natural plant medicine company, and I actually use them. When I have brain fog and need a natural SSRI alternative, I reach for Pure Being (B. Caapi vine). If I have joint pain, arthritis, or back pain issues, I reach for Pure Vitality, and it’s amazing. If I start to get sick and feel off, I reach for Pure Immunity (Peruvian catsclaw). If I need to wind down and relax my bones at the end of the night, I reach for Pure Heart (Bobinsana) or Pure Dreams (Piñon Colorado extract). They’re not going to knock me out like Ambien, but staying conscious of blue light intake, eating late, and several other factors help with restful sleep. When I need to cleanse my gut and mind, I reach for Pure Clarity, and Pure Moon (Uvos Colorado extract) helps with muscle spasms and is the best for the ladies out there with painful cramps. I personally take these over anything, and so does my family, from young to old. It’s not the McDonald’s bite of the burger here. Even Rockefeller didn’t take his own pills but preferred holistic treatment until his death at 97. One thing we agree on. We are at interesting times with the health of humanity, as our current medical system is just over 100 years old. Architecture from over 100 years ago is breathtaking compared to today’s standards. Chinese herbal medicine dates back more than 5,000 years, and the government implements a state-supported dual system where both herbal medicine and Western petrochemical pills operate alongside each other at every level of healthcare. The pre-Inca Empire of Peru has a history of using plant medicines for thousands of years, and the Peruvian government and medical system work together with modern and traditional plant medicines and ceremonies. Getting our priorities back to basics. Certainly, technology and surgery have improved and are truly the crowning achievements of modern medicine, but sunshine is medicine too. We need to integrate plants with pills. Ask for and prescribe a day at the beach or a day in the woods for mental health. Prescribe the gym for weight loss. One day, potentially prescribe an ayahuasca ceremony or guided mushroom trip as therapy. We are making baby steps, slowly but surely making progress. One hundred seventy of the 195 countries can legally prescribe plant medicines, and it is my goal to help spread information and education where necessary. Creating the Center of Spirituality and Ancestral Herbs, it is my goal to work alongside the progressive psychedelic pharmaceutical industry as an ally to help reintegrate some of the old ways with the new, while educating people about the plants that the pills are derived from. If you are inspired, an ally, and you want to donate to the cause, humanity needs all the help we can get! Follow along for upcoming retreats to Costa Rica and Peru. Follow me on Instagram and visit my website for more info! Read more from Aaron Eschenburg Aaron Eschenburg, Ayahuascero & Astrotheologer Aaron Eschenburg is an Ayahuasca Shaman and creator of the natural plant medicine company Ancestral Herbs. Being hit by a drunk driver at 21 spiraled him into a journey of exploring alternative medicines to get away from the side effects of pharmaceuticals. Astrotheology and plant medicines then came into his life at the same time, creating a better understanding of humanity's relationship with our living planet, solar system, and the universe. He now dedicates his life to helping others explore the options of natural healing, entheogenic practices, and embracing the Aquarian Age.

Written by Ronite Anne Hammond, Founder & Creative Director of lvb_collection lvb is a global luxury accessories house redefining luxury through modular design and dual aesthetics. Every handcrafted creation transforms without disruption, allowing owners to personalise their look in under a minute. Handbags, sculptural charms and interchangeable chains are the beginning of a new luxury ecosystem. For centuries, luxury has been defined by exceptional craftsmanship. The world’s great luxury houses have perfected materials, celebrated artisans and created objects that have become symbols of heritage, aspiration and timeless elegance. Those values remain as important today as ever. Yet while craftsmanship has continually evolved, one part of luxury has remained remarkably unchanged: the ownership experience. Luxury has traditionally encouraged us to own more. Another handbag for another occasion. Another accessory for another outfit. Another purchase because our lifestyle has changed. But what if luxury wasn’t designed to be replaced? What if it was designed to evolve? That single question became the beginning of lvb, not another handbag company or another fashion label, but a global luxury accessories house founded on the belief that beautifully crafted pieces should continue to evolve with the people who own them. Where the lvb philosophy began The philosophy behind lvb did not begin with designing handbags. It began more than thirty years ago through fashion, graphic design, and ultimately interior design. Each discipline taught me something different about people. Fashion taught me that what we wear becomes part of our identity. Graphic design taught me that every visual decision communicates before a single word is spoken. But interior design completely changed the way I understood ownership. For more than three decades, I designed homes, hospitality venues and commercial environments for people from every walk of life. No two projects were ever the same, not simply because the architecture was different, but because the people were different. Every client brought their own personality, memories, aspirations and story. I realised I wasn’t simply designing rooms. I was helping people tell their story through design. The most memorable homes were never necessarily those filled with the most expensive furniture. They were the ones that felt deeply personal: an artwork collected while travelling, an inherited antique chair, a contemporary sculpture beside a bespoke dining table, books gathered over decades and objects filled with memories. Those homes never remained static. They evolved. Furniture moved. Artwork changed. Personal treasures were added. Pieces that no longer reflected the owner’s life disappeared. New experiences found their place. The beauty wasn’t in owning more. It was in thoughtfully curating pieces that reflected the owner’s evolving life. From interiors to luxury That lesson stayed with me because I realised the same thing rarely happened in luxury. Luxury celebrated craftsmanship, but it rarely celebrated evolution. It rarely let the owner keep shaping the experience after the initial purchase. So I began asking: if we instinctively allow our homes to evolve as our lives evolve, why don’t we expect the same from luxury? Why should beautifully crafted accessories remain exactly as they were on the day we purchased them? Why shouldn’t they adapt to different moments, occasions, and expressions of the person who owns them? That question eventually became impossible to ignore. It became the reason lvb exists. The lvb ethos begins with one belief: luxury should evolve with the people who own it. Not through constant replacement, but through thoughtful design that creates a deeper relationship between people and the beautifully crafted pieces they choose to keep. It embraces individuality, timeless craftsmanship, intelligent design, versatility, connection, and original artistry. Every artwork, silhouette and sculptural form begins as an original idea created exclusively for lvb. The handbags, sculptural charms and interchangeable chains are the first expression of that philosophy, the beginning of a much larger vision for a global luxury accessories house. "Luxury should not ask people to remain the same. It should give them beautifully crafted pieces with the freedom to evolve." Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Ronite Anne Hammond Ronite Anne Hammond, Founder and Creative Director of lvb_collection Ronite Hammond is the founder and Creative Director of lvb, a global luxury accessories house redefining luxury through modular design and dual aesthetics. With more than 30 years of experience across fashion, graphic design, and award-winning interior design, she has built her career creating deeply personal, experience-driven design. Today, she combines that expertise with a vision to challenge the traditional luxury model by creating beautifully crafted collections that evolve with their owner. Through her articles, Ronite shares insights on entrepreneurship, luxury innovation, branding, and the future of design.

Written by Hana Feidi, Founder & Wellness Marketing Strategist Hana Feidi is a seasoned marketing and digital strategy expert in the wellness industry. She is the founder of Heal & Zeal Digital, a boutique marketing agency that builds impactful digital solutions for wellness professionals and brands. There is a question I hear constantly from people living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), friends, colleagues, clients, strangers in conversation. It comes in many forms, but it always means the same thing, "I need help with my health, but I don't know where to start." Someone is struggling with gut issues and doesn't know which nutritionist to trust. A mother is searching for a child therapist but can't find one through a simple search. A fitness enthusiast wants a sports recovery specialist but keeps landing on gym websites. A woman navigating perimenopause is looking for a holistic practitioner and has no idea who is qualified, credible, or even available in the UAE. The expertise exists. The UAE is home to thousands of qualified, passionate wellness professionals across every discipline imaginable. Yet finding them remains a challenge. No single platform brings the full breadth of this community together, across nutrition, fitness, mental health, and holistic healing, in one searchable, accessible place. That is the gap Heal & Zeal Wellness Hub is building to fill. Introducing the Heal & Zeal Wellness Hub Heal & Zeal Wellness Hub (healzealwellness.com) is a growing, curated UAE digital directory dedicated to wellness, bringing every expert and business together in one trusted, searchable platform. It is not a medical directory. It is a wellness-focused community hub that connects wellness seekers with wellness experts, supporting holistic wellness journeys through access, connection and community. The platform is at an exciting early stage. The foundation has been built, the community is forming, and the vision is clear. What comes next depends on the professionals who list, the seekers who search, and a shared belief that the UAE wellness community deserves a dedicated home. The platform is built around a simple but powerful belief: we want you to Eat, Sweat, Love and Live in the best way possible. Four pillars, each with a clear purpose: Eat: Food & Nutrition Nourish your body with intentional nutrition. Eat connects you to trusted experts, guidance and resources that support healthy eating, balanced lifestyles and sustainable nourishment for long-term wellbeing, from dietitians and nutritionists to functional health coaches, organic shops, healthy food businesses and meal planning specialists. Sweat: Fitness & Exercise Move with purpose and power. Sweat is your space for fitness, movement and physical vitality, helping you build strength, energy, confidence and a body that supports your life, not restricts it. Personal trainers, yoga instructors, group training communities, boutique gyms, Pilates studios, sports recovery specialists and more. Love: Emotional & Mental Health Care for your inner world. Love focuses on mental health, emotional wellbeing and self-connection, supporting clarity, resilience, confidence and emotional balance in everyday life. Therapists, psychologists, life coaches, counsellors and mindfulness experts. Live: Healing & Holistic Create a life that supports your wellbeing. Live brings together holistic practices, lifestyle design and conscious living, helping you build routines, environments and habits that elevate your quality of life. Reiki practitioners, sound healers, holistic health coaches, naturopaths, functional medicine and regenerative medicine specialists. Users can search by name, category, location, symptom, wellness goal or discipline, filtering further by whether they prefer to work with an individual practitioner or a business, and whether they need in-person or online sessions. Over 160 searchable wellness tags cover everything from depression and gut health to burnout, perimenopause, sports recovery and beyond. This breadth is deliberate. Where other platforms focus on a single discipline or therapy type, Heal & Zeal Wellness Hub brings the entire wellness spectrum together in one place, because real wellbeing rarely fits into one category. The platform puts the professional's full profile and practice at the centre, not just a transaction. Someone navigating burnout may need a therapist, a nutritionist, and a movement practice simultaneously. A platform built around one dimension of health cannot serve that journey. Heal & Zeal Wellness Hub can. It is a brand built around wellness, not just a search tool. The market opportunity The context matters. The UAE wellness economy reached $40.8 billion in 2024, grew 14.3 percent between 2019 and 2024, and ranks number one in several wellness sectors in the Middle East and North Africa region, making it one of the fastest-growing and most dynamic wellness markets in the Middle East, according to the Global Wellness Institute, November 2025. The UAE market has many fragmented solutions, such as standard doctor websites and apps, scattered fitness directories, and isolated corporate mental health networks, but lacks a unified ecosystem. That exact gap is what inspired the creation of the Heal & Zeal Wellness Hub, built to address this fragmentation in three distinct ways: Breaking Down Silos. It unites the four essential components of a healthy life, Eat (Nutrition), Sweat (Fitness), Love (Mental and Emotional Support), and Live (Holistic and Alternative Healing), under a single digital roof. Cross-Discipline Searching. The platform recognises that health issues are rarely isolated. If a user enters a symptom like "fatigue" or "burnout," the hub surfaces how a nutritionist, a mindset coach, and a yoga instructor can collectively help, rather than forcing them to browse multiple disconnected sites. Centralising the Community. It gives independent, highly qualified UAE wellness entrepreneurs a centralised space to build visibility, making it easier for everyday seekers to find trusted, credentialed options without relying on chaotic social media searches or word of mouth. Unlike booking-focused platforms built around transactions, Heal & Zeal Wellness Hub is built around the practitioner's full story and the seeker's full journey, making it a community destination, not just a search result. This is the core of what Heal & Zeal Wellness Hub is building: a single, accessible, and searchable wellness ecosystem for the UAE. What the platform offers For wellness professionals and businesses Wellness professionals can register and manage their own profiles through a dedicated expert login and dashboard, choosing from flexible listing tiers that grow with their practice. Entry-level listings allow professionals to establish their presence on the platform, while higher tiers unlock enhanced profile visibility, booking management, and more tools to connect with and convert the right clients. Paid subscribers also receive an exclusive 20% discount on a new website with Heal & Zeal Digital, an added incentive for practitioners ready to invest in their digital presence. For wellness seekers The search experience is built around how people actually look for help. Browse by category, filter by location across the UAE, search by your specific symptom or health goal, and find a professional who matches exactly what you need, whether they work in person, online, or both. Seekers can also join the Heal & Zeal Wellness Hub community for ongoing support, connection, and expert wellness content delivered directly to the inbox. All listed professionals and businesses are encouraged to hold recognised credentials and qualifications in their field, including licences issued by relevant UAE regulatory bodies such as the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), the Health Authority Abu Dhabi (HAAD), the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP), or the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) where applicable. Heal & Zeal Wellness Hub reviews listings and checks credentials to the best of our ability. However, the platform is a directory and the ultimate responsibility for the accuracy of individual professional information lies with the practitioner. Built for the future Heal & Zeal Wellness Hub is built on a modern, scalable technology stack designed to grow with the community it serves. The platform is fast, reliable and flexible, built to support a growing directory of wellness professionals across the UAE and beyond. For wellness professionals, the platform includes integrated payment processing, supporting flexible listing tiers that can be upgraded as a practice grows. A dedicated dashboard gives experts full control over their profiles, with more self-management features planned for future releases. Looking ahead, the roadmap includes enhanced search and filtering capabilities, deeper profile functionality, licensing verification fields for added credibility, a growing bank of listings across all four pillars, and richer data to help seekers make more informed decisions. The goal is a platform that becomes smarter and more useful with every iteration, always in service of connecting the right people with the right expertise. Why the Heal & Zeal Wellness Hub matters For wellness professionals and businesses This is your moment to be part of something being built for the UAE wellness community, a platform dedicated to the full spectrum of wellness. As one listed professional put it: "This platform stands for something bigger than just visibility." Here is what listing on Heal & Zeal Wellness Hub gives you: Be part of a UAE wellness community built around all four dimensions of health, nutrition, fitness, mental health, and holistic healing, in one searchable, trusted hub. Get found by the right people: seekers search by symptom and goal, so they find you based on exactly what they need. Your professional profile, 24/7: showcase your qualifications, specialisms, services and photo, your digital business card always working for you. A wellness-only trusted space: every visitor is actively searching for a professional like you, no noise, no distraction, pure wellness intent. Flexible and affordable listing options: free and paid tiers available, with paid subscribers unlocking more features and an exclusive 20% website discount with Heal & Zeal Digital. Online and in-person welcome: your profile reflects how you work and who you serve, anywhere in the UAE. For wellness seekers The Heal & Zeal Wellness Hub is more than a directory. As one seeker shared, "It feels like having a wellness guide, not just a website." Here is what it gives you: Search by symptom, health goal, discipline or location. Browse 160+ wellness tags across all four pillars. Find qualified, credentialed professionals across the UAE. Connect with experts who work in person or online. Join the Heal & Zeal Wellness Hub community for support, motivation and wellness content updates. Free to search, free to browse, always. A call to the UAE wellness community Heal & Zeal Wellness Hub is not built in isolation. Like any community, it grows through the people who choose to be part of it. Every wellness professional who lists their practice adds depth and credibility to the directory. Every seeker who searches, connects, and shares their experience makes it easier for others to find the right support. Together, they build something bigger than a directory, a wellness community the UAE can rely on. This platform can only become what it deserves to be with the support of the people at the heart of it. To wellness professionals and businesses This platform is being built for you and because of you. Register your practice, create your profile, and become part of the UAE's growing wellness community. The UAE deserves a dedicated wellness hub, and together we can build it. Visit healzealwellness.com to get listed today. To wellness seekers Every search you make, every connection you build, and every expert you recommend to a friend helps this community grow. Visit healzealwellness.com, search for your symptom or goal, and find the expert who can help you move forward. Your wellness journey starts with finding the right guide, and your support helps others find theirs. The Heal & Zeal Wellness Hub is live at healzealwellness.com. Register as a wellness professional or wellness seeker today. For questions, contact contact@healzealdigital.com. Heal & Zeal Wellness Hub is an initiative by Heal & Zeal Digital, a Dubai-based boutique digital marketing agency dedicated to building purposeful digital experiences for the wellness industry. Learn more at healzealdigital.com. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Hana Feidi Hana Feidi, Founder & Wellness Marketing Strategist Hana Feidi blends deep technical expertise with strategic, creative marketing insight. In search of her own wellness and greater purpose, she founded Heal & Zeal Digital and the Heal & Zeal Wellness Hub to create meaningful digital spaces within the wellness industry. Passionate about holistic wellness and impactful digital presence, she empowers small businesses and entrepreneurs to elevate their brand, build authentic connections, and grow with clarity online.

Written by Manuel Wotsch, Founder of AURA Silent Disco Manuel Wotsch is the founder of AURA, a Barcelona silent disco and wireless headset company that has produced over 1,200 events across 14 countries. He writes about experiential events, wellness formats, and how personal audio channels are reshaping the way people gather. The first time most people see a silent disco, they laugh. A room full of dancing bodies and no music playing out loud looks absurd from the outside, like a joke everyone is in on except you. Then someone hands you a pair of headphones, you slip them on, and the joke turns into something else entirely. I have watched this moment happen thousands of times, and it never gets old. What looks like a novelty from the door becomes, once you are inside it, one of the most intimate ways to share a space with other people. Here is what is actually going on and why the format matters more than ever in 2026. How does a silent disco actually work? A silent disco works by sending the audio wirelessly to headphones each guest wears, on up to three channels, with no speakers in the room. Strip away the mystique, and the mechanics are simple. Instead of speakers pushing sound into a room, the music travels wirelessly to headphones. There are no cables and no PA stack in the corner. Every person hears the music directly, at whatever volume they choose, tuned to a crisp signal rather than a wall of noise bouncing off the ceiling. The part people find surprising is the channels. Our headsets carry up to three simultaneous audio streams. One DJ plays house on the red channel, another spins something slower on green, and a third voice, maybe a live host or a different genre, sits on blue. Each headset glows with an LED colour showing which channel that person is locked into. Glance across a crowd, and you read the room like a chart. A DJ learns to work this in real time. If the blue channel starts pulling colour away from the floor, you feel it before anyone says a word, and you adjust what you are playing to win the room back. It becomes a quiet competition and a conversation at once. Guests, meanwhile, treat channel switching as its own game, daring a friend to guess what they are dancing to. A sea of red, a scatter of green, a few stubborn souls on blue. People switch with a button on the ear cup, drifting between worlds without ever leaving the floor. Our equipment runs an 8-hour battery and reaches up to 500 m outdoors, which matters more than it sounds. The music does not have to stop, and it does not have to stay boxed inside four walls. A signal that carries half a kilometre lets a crowd spread across a beach, a park, or a rooftop terrace and still stay in perfect sync. Nobody is tethered to a stage. The dance floor becomes wherever people happen to be standing. The other thing worth saying is that the sound quality often beats a traditional system, not despite the headphones but because of them. There is no fight with the acoustics of a hard-walled room, no muddy low end sloshing around, no distortion from a system pushed past its limit to reach the back of the crowd. Every guest gets a studio-clean feed. People frequently tell me it is the first time they have actually heard the detail in a track they have danced to for years. What they are hearing is the track without the room in the way. A speaker has to fight reflections, standing waves, and the bodies absorbing sound across a floor, so the mix that reaches your ears is never quite the mix the DJ is playing. On headphones, there is nothing between the signal and you. I have watched people pull one cup off, put it back, and grin because the difference is that obvious the moment they compare it to the air around them. Why does the format actually matter? The format matters because it removes noise, the one factor that quietly shapes every event in every city. Speakers create complaints. They spill into neighbouring flats, they trip decibel limits, and they force events to end when the fun is peaking. When the sound lives inside headphones, that entire problem disappears. A rooftop hosts a party until late without a single call to the police. A beach, a courtyard, a museum after hours, a park at sunrise. Places that could never hold amplified music suddenly can. That is not a smaller version of an event. It is a category of event that simply could not exist before. Then there is the thing I did not expect when I started this company in 2021. Silent discos are strangely intimate. When the music is in your ears and not in the air, you become aware of your own body in the space. You hear yourself breathe. You catch the person next to you mouthing the same lyric. Take the headphones off for a second, and you hear the raw sound of a room full of people singing with no backing track, which is one of the most human sounds there is. The format does not isolate people. It focuses them. Everyone is chasing the same beat in their own private booth, and that shared solitude pulls a crowd closer rather than apart. Far more than dance floors Silent disco is far more than parties because, once audio becomes personal and portable, it starts solving problems all over the map. If you only think of the format as dance floors, you are seeing a fraction of what it does. Walking tours use it so a guide speaks at a normal voice while forty people wander a noisy street and still hear every word. Outdoor cinema uses it so a film plays in a park with no sound bleeding into the neighbourhood. Wellness sessions use it for sound baths and guided movement, where the facilitator's voice needs to land softly and directly in each person's ears, undisturbed by the city outside. Corporate events use it for conferences with breakout tracks, product launches, and team gatherings where three things happen at once and nobody has to shout over anyone. I have watched the same box of headsets power a sunrise meditation on a Tuesday and a warehouse party on a Saturday. The morning group barely spoke above a whisper and moved like the light was fragile; the Saturday crowd arrived to sweat and shout the lyrics into a silent room. Same hardware, same channels, two completely different human needs met by the same simple idea of putting the sound in your ears instead of the air. That range is what convinced me early on that we were not selling party gear. We were selling a way to gather that bends to whatever people bring to it. The hardware does not care what you bring to it. Over 1,200 events across 14 countries have taught me that the format is not a genre. It is a tool, and the ceiling on it is really just imagination. There is a practical side that planners come to love. Because the sound is contained, you run two very different things in the same footprint at the same time. A kids' zone on one channel and a grown up dance floor on another, sharing a park with no clash. A conference keynote translated live into a second language on a parallel stream. A wedding where the older guests keep the volume low and the younger ones push it up, all on the same floor, all part of the same night. Once you stop thinking of an event as a single fixed broadcast, the whole thing becomes far more flexible than a speaker ever allowed. The quiet revolution What I love about this work is that the technology is almost invisible. Nobody remembers the headphones. They remember dancing on a rooftop at midnight with the whole skyline lit up and no sound reaching the street below. They remember switching channels with a friend and cracking up when they realised they had been dancing to completely different songs. The gear fades, the feeling stays. That is the real answer to what a silent disco is. It is not a party without speakers. It is permission. Permission to gather where you could not gather, to stay later than you could stay, to be in a crowd and still feel like the music was made only for you. If you are curious what that could look like for your own event, the simplest place to start is renting a silent disco setup and seeing what your space does once the speakers come out. Most people are surprised. I still am. If you want to feel it for yourself, you can rent a silent disco for your event and get in touch, and we will help you plan the details. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Manuel Wotsch Manuel Wotsch, Founder of AURA Silent Disco Manuel Wotsch is the founder of AURA, a silent disco and wireless headset company based in Barcelona. Since 2021, he has grown AURA from an equipment provider into a full experience producer, delivering more than 1,200 events for 250,000 attendees across 800 venues and 14 countries. His work focuses on experiences that thrive inside real constraints, from city noise limits and venue curfews to inclusive access and corporate wellbeing. He writes about silent disco, sunrise sessions, wellness formats, and the shift from events to designed experiences. Through AURA, he helps brands, wellness practitioners, and companies gather people around sound without disturbing anyone around them.

Written by Danielle Van de Velde, Meditation Teacher, Reiki Master, Psychic Medium, & Author Dani Van de Velde is a passionate advocate for living a spiritually aligned life in the modern world. She is a meditation teacher, Reiki Master, psychic medium, and author of Spirited. She is the founder of Spirited Living and Spirited Business online communities, a broadcaster on News for the Soul Radio, and host of The Modern Crone podcast. Of all the questions we ask about what it means to be human, perhaps the most consequential is also the one we are most reluctant to sit with, "What happens when we die?" Does consciousness simply cease when the brain and body stop functioning? Or does something of us continue, awareness, identity, memory, or relationship? I have spent years exploring this question, not only philosophically or spiritually, but also experientially through the development and practice of evidential mediumship. The longer I do this work, the more fascinating the question becomes. An ancient human question Across cultures, continents, and millennia, humans have pondered what lies beyond physical death. The world's major religious traditions offer very different interpretations of what happens next. Christianity and Islam speak of an afterlife. Hindu traditions describe reincarnation and the soul's continuing journey. Buddhist traditions explore cycles of death and rebirth, although their understanding of a permanent individual self differs markedly. Many Indigenous and ancestral traditions understand the relationship with those who have died as continuing rather than ending at death. The explanations vary enormously, yet the idea that physical death may not mark the absolute end of consciousness recurs throughout human history. From belief to experience The rise of modern Spiritualism in the nineteenth century added a new dimension to this ancient question. Rather than simply asking people to believe in an afterlife, Spiritualism became interested in whether the continuation of consciousness could be experienced through communication with the deceased. Mediumship moved into séances, public demonstrations, Spiritualist churches, and development circles. Despite living today in a world increasingly shaped by science, technology, and materialism, the practice has never disappeared. Why? For me, part of the answer lies in the profoundly experiential character of evidential mediumship. When I began developing my own mediumistic awareness, I wasn't interested in offering vague assurances that someone's loved one was "still around." I was taught to look for evidence by asking, "Who is this person? What were they like? What did they look like? What happened to them?" What memories do they share with the person receiving the communication? And interestingly, are they still participating in their living loved ones’ lives in some way? After years of development, I still find the specificity of the information extraordinary. Personality traits. Relationships. Physical characteristics. Shared memories. Significant objects. Circumstances surrounding someone's death. Sometimes a phrase, a habit, or a seemingly insignificant detail that means nothing to me yet everything to the person receiving it. There are moments when information arrives that is so particular and personal that I find myself wondering the same thing as the recipient, "Where did that come from?" What if our model of consciousness is incomplete? None of this, of course, constitutes scientific proof of an afterlife. But I do think experiences like these warrant curiosity. Our dominant materialist understanding generally assumes that the brain produces consciousness. If the brain ceases to function, consciousness ceases too. Yet consciousness itself remains one of the great mysteries of science and philosophy. We still don't fully understand how subjective experience arises, or whether the brain generates consciousness entirely or merely mediates it. This is where mediumship becomes interesting beyond the spiritual arena. If accurate information can sometimes be perceived without an obvious sensory source, what does that imply about the nature of the mind? If a medium can perceive highly specific information about someone they have never met, where is that information held? And if what appears to come through retains personality, memory, humour, and relationship, what might that suggest about identity beyond the physical body? These questions are extraordinary because they invite a shift in perspective on who and what we truly are as humans. Perhaps mediumship isn't really about death One of the things I have come to understand through this work is that mediumship is rarely about death itself. It is about relationship. What matters most in meaningful communication isn't some abstract spiritual energy. It is the recognisable sense of personhood. The particular way someone laughed. The nickname they used. The family dynamic they were part of. The thing they always did. The memory nobody else would consider significant. Above all, love. If even some of these experiences point to the continuation of consciousness, then perhaps death is less an annihilation and more of a transition we don't yet understand. And that raises an even bigger question. What if the real question is how we live? Imagine for a moment that consciousness continues beyond the physical body. How might that change the way we live today? Essentially, life becomes less of a race towards an inevitable end, and the relentless accumulation of possessions, status, achievement, and recognition begins to look different. Because what would we actually take with us? Sometimes I wonder whether consciousness is less like something we possess and more like something we are here to cultivate, our capacity to perceive, to love, to relate, to make meaning, and to become increasingly aware of ourselves, one another, and the extraordinary experience of being alive. Mediumship has taught me that one of the deeper purposes of human life is the expansion of awareness itself. I think it is a question worth asking. Exploring the unseen These are some of the questions that underpin Wonder of Spirit, returning to Singapore this October, 12th to 16th, with renowned evidential medium Christine Morgan. Beneath the workshops, exercises, and demonstrations lies a much larger inquiry, "What are we capable of perceiving? What is consciousness? And might our relationships persist beyond physical death?" You don't need to arrive with a belief. Curiosity is enough, because the most interesting way to explore consciousness isn't to be told what to believe about it. It is to discover what you can perceive for yourself. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Danielle Van de Velde Danielle Van de Velde, Meditation Teacher, Reiki Master, Psychic Medium & Author Dani Van de Velde is a meditation teacher, Reiki Master, psychic medium, and author of Spirited. She is the founder of the Spirited Living and Spirited Business communities, supporting spiritually aligned growth and conscious leadership. Dani is a broadcaster on News for the Soul Radio and host of The Modern Crone podcast, exploring modern spirituality and embodied wisdom. Her work bridges intuition and everyday life, offering grounded, accessible pathways to self-trust and inner clarity. She is known for a warm, practical approach that honours both the mystical and the real.

Written by Leah Crescenzo, RTT Hypnotherapist & Women's Coach Leah Crescenzo is a Transformational Coach and RTT Hypnotherapist who guides women through life’s biggest transitions. She helps them reconnect to their inner wisdom, bridge the gap between who they were and who they are becoming, and step confidently into their next chapter. A particular kind of disorientation comes when a significant relationship ends. It isn't only the loss of the person. It can feel like the loss of the life you thought you were living, the future you had imagined, and even the person you understood yourself to be within that relationship. Suddenly, things that once felt certain aren't. Your routines change. Your plans change. The way you spend your time changes. You may find yourself making decisions you never expected to have to make while trying to figure out who you are now that the relationship that shaped so much of your life is no longer there. Even when you know the relationship needed to end, there can still be grief. Even when you chose to leave, you can still mourn the life you thought you were going to have. Underneath all of that, eventually, comes a question: "Who am I now?" I've experienced my own significant life ending. In 2009, after having my daughter, losing my job, and experiencing the end of my marriage, I found myself having to move forward without the life I had expected to have. At the time, I couldn't have known what that ending would eventually open up for me. I certainly wouldn't have chosen all of it. But I've come to understand something about endings that I now see in the people I work with, too: we rarely recognize an opening while we're standing inside the ending. An ending can simply be an ending We tend to rush toward meaning, especially when we're trying to help someone through a difficult experience. “Everything happens for a reason. This happened because something better is coming. You're supposed to be grateful for the lesson.” Sometimes those ideas are comforting. But I don't think you have to find a reason for something painful in order to eventually find meaning in it. A relationship can end without the ending itself being something you wanted. It can hurt. It can be unfair. It can leave you grieving a future you genuinely wanted. You don't have to convince yourself it was good to eventually discover something good in what happened. The ending is allowed to be an ending, and there is something powerful about allowing it to be exactly that. You don't have to change what happened. But you can change the meaning you've made of it, the beliefs you've formed because of it, and the story you keep telling yourself about who you are. What if life is happening for you? This is a perspective I have come to believe deeply: life can be happening for you without every experience being something you would have chosen. To me, that is different from believing that everything happens for a reason. I don't believe every painful experience was necessary, predetermined, or somehow meant to happen exactly as it did. I believe that once something has happened, we still have the opportunity to meet it differently. We can ask what it is showing us. We can become curious about what we couldn't see before. We can recognize patterns that may have been operating beneath the surface. We can decide what we want to carry forward and what we are ready to leave behind. The ending doesn't have to be good for something good to come from it. That distinction matters because there is a big difference between telling yourself, "This happened because I was meant to suffer so something better could happen," and saying, "This happened." I didn't choose it. Now, what do I want to create from here? The second question gives you your agency back. Sometimes an ending reveals what was already there When we're inside a relationship, it can be difficult to see ourselves clearly. We adapt. We compromise. We develop routines and roles. We become accustomed to certain dynamics, sometimes without realizing how much they have shaped us. Then the relationship ends, and suddenly some of those things become visible. Maybe you realize how often you put your own needs aside. Maybe you recognize how much of yourself you had edited or softened to keep the relationship working. Maybe you discover beliefs about love, worth, abandonment, or trust that have influenced your choices for years. The ending didn't necessarily create those patterns. It may simply have made them easier to see. Seeing them gives you an opportunity that you may not have had before: the opportunity to choose differently. The relationship ended, and your identity is changing, too When a significant relationship ends, you're not only losing a person. You're often losing a version of yourself–the partner, wife, husband, caretaker, peacemaker, or future you had built your life around. What feels like emptiness can also become space. Space to ask: Who am I now? What do I want now? What am I ready for now? Because the beliefs you formed within the relationship don't necessarily disappear when the relationship does. You can leave the relationship and still carry the same story about yourself into whatever comes next. That is where a deeper kind of beginning can happen: not simply changing your circumstances, but becoming aware of the beliefs and patterns that have been shaping your experience and deciding what you want to create from here. You may not know what that looks like yet. You don't have to. Sometimes a beginning doesn't look like a new relationship, a new home, or a completely transformed life. Sometimes it looks like realizing you are allowed to become someone different from who you were before. Perhaps that is where life begins to feel like it is happening for you. The relationship ended. But your story didn't. The next question isn't, "How do I get my old life back?" It is, "Who am I becoming now?" Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Leah Crescenzo Leah Crescenzo, RTT Hypnotherapist & Women's Coach Leah Crescenzo is a Transformational Coach and RTT Hypnotherapist who helps women rebuild their sense of self through life’s biggest transitions. After witnessing firsthand how easily women lose connection to their inner truth in relationships and motherhood, Leah dedicated her work to guiding them back home to themselves. Through subconscious reprogramming and somatic healing, she helps women bridge the gap between who they were and who they are becoming, releasing old identities, stepping into new possibilities, and trusting their own wisdom. Her mission is to help every woman remember who she is beneath the noise, grounded, whole, and free.