Bio Xavier de Bode
Since I was very young, I realised that the essence of life is consciousness and - consequently - conscientious living. This realisation fuelled my motivation to investigate the mystery of life, the forces and elements that create feelings of being in tune or being out of it.
Spending time by and on the water, always made me feel in tune. I decided to turn my love for water sports into a professional hobby and at a young age I became a sailing and windsurf instructor.
After high school I combined sailing with studying anthropology and psychology at the University of Amsterdam. The large anonymous lectures at university did not bring me the interactive and stimulating discussion I had hoped for. I changed studies to graduate in hospitality management at Business School Nooteboom Maastricht.
However, I did not forget about sailing and besides my small boating license I also graduated as a steersman for professional sailing vessels at the E.Z.S. (Enkhuizen Zeevaart School), a unique education for tall ships in the world.
What a traditional study of psychology could not bring me, I learned in self-study, reading two or three books per week for over 30 years. I deepened my insight in both the practical and theoretical, the occidental and oriental psychological self-inquiry systems and discovered their common ground. My main passion lies in both western and eastern non-dual wisdom traditions like Hermeticism, Gnosis, Alchemy, Shamanism, Daoism, Tibetan Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta, Zen and Sufi. My favourite philosophers are Rico Sneller, Henk Oosterling, Bernardo Kastrup, Alfred North Whitehead, Gilles Deleuze, Nagarjuna, Rick Tarnas, Rudolf Steiner and of course Carl Jung.
In life I follow my heart and soul. Having travelled and lived in and among many different cultures has given me the opportunity to learn some of these traditions from the inside. More than ten years of living in Brazil made me have close encounters with several South American Indigenous peoples, shamanic tribes and rituals like Candomblé, Umbanda, Kalunga, Xingu, Tupi, Shipibo and Santo Daime, among others.
In Brasília. the capital of Brazil, I have built and managed the first floating centre in South America, where I have been coaching people supported by the deep meditation offered by flotation, also known as sensory deprivation therapy.
Together with my life- and business partner Janet (www.janetvollebregt.com) I have created a “nurturing space project”, an architectural, art and landscape project in Brazilian national park ‘Chapada dos Veadeiros’, where circumstances are most favourable for guests to reconnect with their essence. My dream is realizing special (coaching) retreats in this and other beautiful places.
Back in the Netherlands I have studied Jungian Psychology and Astrology with the renowned Karen Hamaker-Zondag and now I am doing my exams to be a certified astrologer for I.S.A.R. (International Society for Astrological Research)
I did a post-graduation at Coaching Academy ZIN with Alexander van den Berg and have since been assisting at this academy, in the training of aspirant coaches.