My name is Marc de Boer, and I warmly welcome you.
I believe that healing begins with genuine contact — between you and me, and between you and yourself. In our sessions, it’s not about right or wrong, but about authenticity: being present with whatever is here and now.
I work from the conviction that every person is essentially healthy and whole. Sometimes that connection with our core becomes clouded by business, expectations, or old pain. Counseling and body work help you feel that connection again.
My journey inward
I was initially trained as a scientist. My university studies in Artificial Intelligence brought together my interests in computing and in people. The intellectual side fit immediately, and IT became my work, and still is. Academic psychology, however, didn’t connect deeply enough with people for me at the time and remained in the background.
My journey inward began in 2015, when the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin crossed my path. Alongside classical Buddhist principles such as overcoming suffering by letting go of the ego Nichiren emphasizes personal responsibility. Through our life state we influence our environment and can contribute to global peace and well-being. This a great responsibility and also liberating, because nothing is beyond our reach.
Connection with the divine is fulfilling, but I still longed for connection with myself. Curiosity and discontent led me in 2018 to the week-long retreat Path of Love. It was a powerful experience of self-inquiry and radical honesty, ultimately delivering the same message: this is your life, and what becomes of it is entirely up to you. In a sense, East and West met for me.
Giving back
Inspired by Path of Love, I completed Working With People , a program to become a counselor based on the same principles as Path of Love. The primary attitudes of this approach are curiosity and love for the truth. Read more about my sources of inspiration.
From my own process and from what I observed around me, I noticed that sometimes relatively few words — and lots of space for feeling — help bring to light what lies beyond intellectual understanding. We tend to know our story in our head much better than that of our body. If words and emotions can lead to bodily experience, perhaps the reverse can also work.
In Touch & Awareness I found a method that truly opens this path. Muscle tension, posture and especially breathing tell the honest story of what is present.
Balance
The world of IT keeps me sharp and grounded, while inner work brings depth and meaning. Between these two worlds I find my balance. They enrich each other, helping me to be present, with openness, clarity and both feet firmly on the ground.