marja de vries

Marja de Vries Marja de Vries (1954) studied biology and ecology at the university of Utrecht (RUU) and Groningen (RUG) and obtained in 1980 her MO-Biology (qualification to teach biology). She made illustrations for several magazines and books andwas active in the field of Nature- andEnvironmental Education, the environmental- , peace- and feminist-movement. Her desire to integrate these different aspects led to the question “How can we, human beings, live in harmony with nature?”

Looking for answers to this question she worked intensively on personeal growth and spiritual development on the one hand and visited several native people on the other (e.g. the Dinka in the Nile-marshes of Southern-Sudan, the Quechua indians in the Andes mountains in Peru and the Blackfeet indians in Montana, USA). She developed her intuitive communication with nature and her insights in the non-physical reality based on far-reaching personal direct experiences as well as based on courses by CICO in Utrecht and trainings based on native American traditions (e.g. with Brooke Medicine Eagle and bij Tom Brown,Jr.). She gave several workshops in intuitive communication with nature and was during two years a member of the preparationgroup of the ‘Natuur College’. She applied her growing insights into the language of symbols in her dreamworkshops as well as in her wallhangings. As a fabric artist being a self-taught woman she continued to make wallhangings in commission. Concentrating on the energy of the person giving her a commission, she ‘sees’ the images as a simple form of psychic reading. She then brings these always beautiful images into the world of matter through her artwork. For more about her artwork

New ways of learning and education

In this time of great transfomations Marja de Vries focusses recently on new ways of learning and education. She is looking for new forms of learning and education better suited to present-day children and more in tune with the needs of this day and age and giving children the opportunity to develop their full potential. In other words she is searching for a form of learning that corresponded more closely to who we in essence are and that is also more in harmony with the world around us. For this reason she was looking for fundamental principles with general applicability and therefore of a universal nature, without being colored by a specific belief system, culture or period. So she studied the common perceptions of wisdom traditions and recent scientific discoveries that are in line with those insights. Such universal underlying premises might serve as a new foundation and a frame of reference for new ways of learning in public education all over the world. As a first result of this search she wrote The Whole Elephant Revealed that will be published in may 2007. As a member of the initiative group of the DiscoverI School she was a co-writer of the vision paper for this new school that started in 2005 in Zwolle. Since 2006 she contributes to the magazine Educare. Meanwhile she is working on her second book. This will be about new ways of learning and education based on the insights into the universal principles described in her first book. So it will be about new ways of learning and education that are more in line with our essence and more in harmony with the greater whole of which we are a part.

Party at june 1, 2007: The book 'The Whole Elephant' is out!

The story behind the coming into being of the book

Because people ask me often how it could have been possible that I wrote the book The Whole Elephant Revealed in less than 3 years, here is: The story behind the coming into being of the book

‘Elk holds the Starchild’ – the story behind my name

The name ‘Elk holds the Starchild’ was given to me in 1993 by Brooke Medicine Eagle after my first vision quest under her supervision. In native American traditions a vision quest is a way to get answers to important questions and/or to get more insight into the direction and purpose of your life. By spending several days and nights all by yourself somewhere in nature, in one spot, without eating and by being as much as possible in the here and now, insights might appear for example as remarkable behavior of animals, but also as small and large visions. During this first vision quest in the pristine nature of Montana, USA, I had two very impressive experiences.
The first impressive experience was the presence of the elk. During the twilight of the first evening I heard an unknown whistling sound coming from the direction of the edge of the forest, which I was overlooking from my vision quest spot. At first I thought it to be a bird, next I wondered whether it could be the sound of a coyote. Not until the next morning I understood what I had heard when I saw a large group of elk at the edge of the forest. Elk are large deer, comparable with our red deer. While male red deer during the mating season make a kind of mooing sound, the male elk make during the mating season a whistling sound. That was the whistling sound I had heard the last evening. The rest of my vision quest I have been aware of the permanent presence of these beautiful animals and I have been able to observe them for hours during daytime. By watching the elk aspects of their behavior, that attracted my attention in particular, worked like a mirror and made that what I was unconscious of visible. The aspect of their behavior that made the most impression upon me was their team spirit: how they as a group supported each other, warned and helped each other in this pristine natural environment where also bears and cougars were living. So I became aware of an inner longing to feel part of a social community, in which such a mutual support played an important role.
The second impressive experience during this vision quest was the lifely dialogue that took place between me and an inner child inside of me. This child appeared as completely starved and very neglected and I did understand that it was my responsibility to give her all the care and attention that she needed. While I managed, slowly but surely, to make contact with her, I cought myself calling her Starving Child. I did realize that that was not a good idea, for of course I wanted nothing better than her becoming completely healthy and in good condition again. So I decided she needed an other name. And immediately, even before I could have had one single thought about what might be a better name, instead of Starving Child the name ‘Star… Child’ emerged. That took me by surprise and my rational ‘me’ judged it as a little too easy. But much to my surprise I noticed that the starving child, who had looked until that moment quite washed-out, started to jump for joy, because I finally understood… This way I did understand indeed that she would like to be called Starchild. What I did not understand though at the moment was why she wanted that and why that made her so happy…
During the ceremony in which Brooke Medicine Eagle gave me the name ‘Elk holds the Starchild’, she explained that the purpose of receiving the name was to become the name. In other words, the name I was given did not reflex so much who I was at that moment, but rather who I was becoming. The name could help to embody it, to live it and to be it. She also explained that this name ‘Elk holds the Starchild’ showed that it was important for me to integrate the two important experiences I had during my vision quest so I could become more one and whole myself. That way hopefully I would be able in the end to express unrestrictedly the Starchild-aspect – my authentic self. I discovered that I did not find that an easy assignment. While I did not find it hard to get a good relationship with the Starchild inside myself, it has been a long and difficult journey to really become the whole name and to be my authentic self while being in the midst of people and the world out there. By writing the book ‘The Whole Elephant’ and by bringing the book into the world, to my joy I am discovering that finally there are moments I can do it!