If your friends/family had to describe you in 3-4 words, what would they say?

She's an independent and very energetic woman who is living her life to the max. Always busy, always laughing.

She's tough and has charisma!

What would you say is your best emotional quality?

My optimism and empathy. My glass is not half full but completely full! I always see opportunities to make life a little bit more pleasant for myself and also for others. If we can't go to the left, then we'll go to the right and if that's not possible then I'll find another way to go forward. There's always a way!

I am a people person and can sense what others need. I like to connect people with each other to make the world a better place. I think that my intelligence, my curiosity and my creativity are great gifts which support the way I live, love and connect (with) people.

What is your occupation and how do you like to spend your free time?

I have been working in IT for over 30 years. I left school in 1989 as a programmer and have a successful career in IT in the financial sector, where I now work as an IT project manager. I have an analytical brain that loves this IT work. I love mathematics and economics.

Since 2016 I have been introduced to Tantra by my beloved at that time (my second great love) and that has enriched and shifted my personal life a lot. I have started to live a much more self-aware life. I've had to face my own shit and traumas. I had to clean my system energetically to be able to live much more self-consciously in the here and now with as few judgments and as few expectations as possible and with more self-love and self-acceptance. It's a continuous learning path, I'm never done with it. I can look a little bit deeper into myself every time and I am now also able to help others with this process. So in addition to my work as an IT project manager, I also give tantra workshops and massages.

Working in IT and as a Tantra teacher also ensures that I am very well balanced.

Any guilty pleasures?

Lingerie, I spend more money on lingerie than on clothes. It looks like a fetish, but it gives me so much joy and happiness.

Any 'life hacks' to share?

My life hack is Tantra. That has given me so much peace of mind. It completely changed the love-hate relationship with my body for the better, which now makes me feel super feminine and sexy. It has also given my life energy a huge boost. And if something doesn't work out, just fail with radiance and laugh at yourself! it gives you the opportunity to start over again.

What brings you joy?

Dancing and especially Tantric dance. It's a dance of giving and receiving, in which one person is in charge and the other person is blindfolded in the dance and surrenders to the leader of the dance. When you use a blindfold, your other senses become more sensitive. By blocking your view, many prejudices are also removed, it allows you to meet yourself and others with a more open heart.

What are you most proud of?

I am the most proud of my daughters Sylvie and Lotte. And after that I am the most proud of my courage to turn my life around, despite the fact that I have hurt others a lot by doing so. That I was brave enough to choose for myself. The hardest choice of my life was to divorce my first great love, the father of my beautiful daughters. I deprived my children of the family they grew up in and felt guilty about it for a long time. But in the end, I became much happier myself. So I also hope that I have been able to give my children the example that you may choose for your own happiness at all times and that you do not have to live according to the expectations of others.

What is your favourite poem, quote or saying?

1. A day without laughter is a wasted day. Laugh loud and love deeply every day!

2. In Tantra we say: Behind your biggest dragon is your biggest treasure chest. It means that where you feel resistance, you have to discover something. There you can probably learn your biggest lesson. Because outside your comfort zone is where the magic happens! So be brave!

When you entered your 50's, what did you find were the most significant or poignant changes?

One of the most poignant changes in my life was my mother's death. She died at the age of 71, I was 47 years old at that time. She had cancer and we knew she was going to die, which gave us an intense period of saying goodbye and I was very grateful for that. And it sounds strange, but her death was a magical and wonderful event, which removed my fear of death. After her death I had a burnout for 9 months. A few years later I suddenly felt a rush to live my life. I started saying yes to many more things because I was afraid that I would miss something or later regret the things I didn't do in my life. I want to experience so much more!

Do you have a story about yourself that you would like to share?

Among all the adventures I found myself in, I discovered TenClub in Amsterdam. And that made me so much happier! TenClub is a life theatre for self-realisation. TenClub is a society for curious people that want to explore humanity. Membership is as much about receiving as giving; therefore each and every member of TenClub commits itself to his or her curiosity and willingness to open up. TenClub is so inspiring because as members we share and further develop our fascinations with each other. I come into contact with such diverse subjects, supported by various forms of art, that I would never have sought out myself and Tenclub has elevated partying to a form of art!

What are your thoughts on aging?

I'm happy and proud that I'm getting older! Every year I celebrate exuberantly, knowing that it can just be over and I am grateful that I can live this fantastic life. I am older and wiser and feel more beautiful than ever!

An aging body does need more attention and I was even able to increase my fitness and strength by doing strength training at Fit20, 20 minutes of super heavy training for muscle failure once a week. Yes, I also thought that it couldn't be true and that it was a sales pitch, but I am a curious person and you only know whether something is really true once you have experienced it yourself. So I booked a trial lesson and after that lesson I had sore muscles for almost a week, also in muscles that I had not been aware of before. Well, then I was convinced and now I have been training there for over 6 years and I am healthier and fitter than I have ever been.

I love natural beauty and use little make-up myself. Be proud of your wrinkles, they show that you have lived. My credo is: don't cut a healthy body.

Do you still have a dream or big goal that you would love to accomplish?

I'm already living my dream. I feel free and liberated. I live with my full YES for life. And I am convinced that life is predestined, that is why it is best to surrender to life and approach everything with an open mind and an open heart.

You meet the people you need in your life, sometimes to take care of you, sometimes to show you the way or the other way around - they need you to grow and move forward. Some people stay longer than others, but usually you can see afterwards what that person brought you or why you had to meet him/her. Embrace setbacks, it doesn't happen for nothing, you have a lesson to learn or insight to gain from it. No matter how difficult life is sometimes, the sun rises every morning for you too!. Love and be well!