Hi! My name is Shereen Jaeger, nice to meet you! I’m a world citizen, born and raised in Surinam South America, currently living in the Netherlands. As a lover of all (ok most) things ‘Lifestyle & Wellness’, I like to say I’m a true wellness nut. Just recently, I made it official and can now say that I’m also a ‘Wellness Coach’! It’s a great feeling to finally pursue my purpose which is to inspire people and help them find (w)holistic health at the root, so that they can live out ‘The Abundant Life’.
GiGi is one of my closest and dearest friends and even though we’ve only known each other for two years, we’ve been vibing on the same wavelength from day one! She’s a true blessing in my life and I’m happy and honoured that she asked me to join in and co-write on this ‘Quarantine Clean’ topic. Thanks, Gi! <3
‘Gilleon’S Hope + JAEGER Lifestyle & Media @KVK in Amsterdam, the Netherlands’
First thoughts
Have you thought about what ‘Quarantine Clean’ means to you? What thoughts does this spark in your mind? It could be literally anything. Keeping your eating habits clean? Or maybe your environment, or your thoughts? This fascinates me. Everyone has a different perception of what ‘Clean’ is and some people could honestly care less, haha! That’s ok. Anyhow, especially now that we’re entering a new season most people have the tendency to do a big spring cleaning around the house. Did you notice that we also have this tendency in our own personal seasons? We just tend to do things that symbolize a new start. Where does that come from? Perhaps it has to do with new beginnings and starting with an entirely clean slate. For me it was chopping off my hair up to my ears in 2017, when I was coming out of a very dry season. I always had very long hair (except for a time in 2015, I thought I was being adventurous and had a medium cut LOL). It was a way of me letting go of the past and moving forward with a new mindset.
Tackling stormy seasons with a good clean
Looking at this past season I think most of us had a tough time adjusting to a new way of life and the impact this had on our daily life has been or still might be huge. For me personally though…although the reasons were not so pretty, I welcomed this quarantine period with open arms. I had prayed many times for the clock to stop just for one week – so I could breathe and slow down. Right before we all went in quarantine, I was already at home recovering from something that looked like ‘Borderline Burn Out’. I realized I had never given myself the chance to fully recover from any of the blows that life had thrown at me since about the year 2002. That’s 18 whole years filled with great memories and good things, but also very harsh events both health wise, environmentally and relationally.
Events that had a tremendous impact on my mental health. I guess the enemy really tried his best to stop me from living my life to the full. But GOD! In this blog, I won’t go into the full details because I’d need to write a whole book to tell you my story (one day) but I can truly say that the God I’ve got to know since 2014 has changed my life for the better. Not many people know my full story, not even those closest to me. But to summarize it just a little bit: I’ve been blessed with a peace in my soul, deliverance from many demons, chronic health issues and received miraculous healing in the midst of all the rainy, dry and sunny seasons since then. I don’t have to get all woo-woo about it, but my life is a testimony in and of itself. Without Jesus in my life I would most likely be lost and locked in a psyche ward or dead – for real.
I’ve overcome many challenges that came along with sickness and other disappointments since then. Although I’ve always had a fighter spirit and positive mindset which kept me going, even the toughest warrior has its limits in fighting an ongoing battle and needs time and rest to recuperate. Because, hey, we’re human after all! These experiences accumulated like a pile of sh… (sorry, I have no other way to put it) leading to sickness and several stages of depression, exhaustion and burn out. So, without offending anyone who has been personally impacted by this pandemic, you could imagine that once the world had finally stopped for a moment, I welcomed it. The entire world needed a reset, so did I and we finally got the break we needed. This is the light in which I look at ‘Quarantine Clean’.
Holistically clean
Since a good few years now (2012) I like to look at everything holistically. Now I hear some of you thinking “WTH is that anyway?” Holistic means the whole or entirety of things, different aspects that are separate yet inherently interconnected.
Miriam Webster describes it as: “Relating to or concerned with wholes or with complete systems rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts.” //holistic medicine attempts to treat both the mind and the body //holistic ecology views humans and the environment as a single system.
For me, holistic health/ wellness pertains to treat the mind, the body and the spirit. We’ve been created as such for a purpose, so I believe we shouldn’t leave out the spirit just because at first glance you might not see it. It’s like the air you breathe and can’t see, but desperately need to survive. Without the spirit, we’re…well…dead. Yep, we’re spirit beings with a soul and we live in our earth suit called the body. Do you know the difference between the soul and the spirit, would you be able to guess? People often talk about ‘soul, mind and body’, but did you know the mind is actually also soul and that spirit and soul are not the same? Spirit-soul-body is like a complex reality that’s so layered you could write several books on just one of them.
But for a quick understanding of the concept of the three, here goes:
The soul is a collective name for the mind, thoughts, intellect, emotions/feelings, (sub)conscience, choice, free will and personality. It’s what essentially drives us humans to determine how we live our lives.
The body is everything you can see and touch, and the organs, muscles, tissue, cavities, liquid and cells – our physical aspect.
The spirit is our original as created before the foundations of the earth (I’ll give you a moment to grasp that). Our intuition lives here and if you’re a born-again Christian, this is where the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of God) lives, alongside hope, faith, reverence for God our Creator, prayer and worship. It’s where your desire comes from to live a spirit-driven life: a life lived according to the will and purpose of God our Father, as led by His Spirit in us (rather a soul-driven life).
So, this quarantine clean season to me is about reassessing my entire self in spirit, soul and body, as it’s the primary factor to influence my life and drives everything in it. It’s cleaning the body from nasty diseases, toxins and a fortified immune system to keep our body healthy and it’s a clean environment. For me it goes as far as making my home smell like ‘freshly washed sheets’ or ‘pumpkin spice’ depending on the season. It’s a healthy relationship with myself and loved ones and getting rid of toxic relationships. ‘Quarantine Clean’ is a clean and healthy soul. A soul healed and delivered from bondages such as emotional trauma, unhealthy habits and a peaceful home for our mind to be the proper-working engine for our body. It’s doing what I love and growing into all I am created to be (my purpose).
It’s a clean spirit, which I believe can only be achieved by the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ (coming from a background of Taoism and New Age, I can tell the difference by experience). In a spirit-driven life with Jesus, I’ve received the first good ‘spiritual cleanse’ so to say. Washed clean by the blood that He shed for ALL of humanity (so that includes you and me today), his death on the cross and His resurrection that conquered death and grave on the third day. A life-giving bath of Love and Grace that no language in this universe can put into words.
So I hope you understand that during this quarantine season, I finally had the time to step back and heal from it all at the root. Wow, let me tell you – it was rough and tough! I really think this is the reason why so many people (unconsciously) live unhealthy and unhappy lives. Hey, I’ve been there. Even if we think we dealt with past trauma, usually the memories or experiences are just tucked away in one of the deepest layers of our souls. And digging in to get to those layers takes hard work and can be tiring and painful. And that can be quite scary, but it’s so necessary and even worth the pain in the end. Who knows, maybe that’s where the phrase ‘no pain, no gain’ comes from…Did you know that it’s scientifically proven that trauma actually registers in our body cells as a memory and that many sicknesses and diseases of the mind and body are actually rooted in past trauma as it affects your DNA? Our cells are the foundational building blocks of our body, so if the cells are filled with/affected by traumatic memories, what does that mean for our overall health?
To me there’s an undeniable link between how it affects our physical health (sickness and generational diseases of the body), the emotional/ mental aspects (depression, burn out, anxiety) and the spiritual aspect of it (commonly known as generational curses or others might define as ‘bad karma’). Remember how people commonly say things like “it’s in the family” when referring to certain diseases that are not necessarily lifestyle diseases? I find it mind-blowing and fascinating and shows even more how much we need to make every effort to heal holistically if we want to be well and live life to the full. I mean, if we’re created with a purpose (which I wholeheartedly believe) and we have been given this life to live it abundantly, we should do our part right? There are so many things that can stand in the way of us stepping into our purpose – living the life that gives our days meaning and a deeper/ true sense of JOY.
I’m grateful to say that I’m now more healed and at peace than ever before and it does me so well to hear people say that they notice something different in me and notice that I’m radiating joy. I think life is a journey where we’re continually healing, rather than just a one-time event. Living in this world, we’re bound to be hit at one point with some negative experience that we need to let go of or heal from. Glad to tell you that once you know how, it gets a bit easier or at least you can get there quicker????
Ultimately, the good news is there’s always hope and we can do something about it! Aside from inner healing, finding our purpose and living it, we can create healthy habits through self-care such as healthy eating, working out, doing what you love, pampering yourself and spending time with the people (maybe even pets) that bring you joy. Some might not be believers, but for me the essence of living a (w)holistic healthy life is to start with a life in service to God, the One Who created all things and make sure His Holy Spirit increases in me by the Word and honoring Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour, by living out the purpose-driven life I’m created to live. Every other good thing flows from there, from a place where we are made perfect in His Love. Not religion, but a real relationship. I love it!
In this crazy dynamic and demanding world, where we are to grow or be the best version of ourselves, come rain or shine. The key is to find a healthy balance in it all. Add time and patience to the equation and there you have it. Easier said than done right? Tell me about it…but surely not impossible! I would love to take you on an inspiring journey to explore a healthy (clean) and (w)holistic life, even after this quarantine season is over. Because like any season, this will not last forever honey! You better believe it????
You’re more than welcome to learn more about this holistic lifestyle and why I’m so passionate about this. And hey – if it inspires you to start your own journey, even better! I’d love to help. Either way, make yourself comfortable in my digital home space on Instagram: @shereenjaeger or connect with me via LinkedIn: www.linkedin.nl/in/connectwithshereen. I’ll be sharing all things (w)holistic wellness, body-soul and spirit, touching every layer of this lifestyle, including food, movement, mind health, emotional health, wellness treatments and even travel. It would be a joy to have you join me at ‘The Purpose Well’ (where you can listen to my podcasts on holistic wellness for free via the Spotify App: bit.ly/purposewell).
Hope to see you there – don’t forget to say Hi!
Stay Healthy & SoSo Lobi (Only Love).
XO,
Shereen
1 If you would like to read more about ‘DNA impact’ here’s the link: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/07/parents-emotional-trauma-may-change-their-children-s-biology-studies-mice-show-how#
Review:
“I took a few Academic sessions with Gilleon’S Hope to sharpen my planning skills. In her unique and hands-on teaching style; Gilleon helped me to bite-size goals to get rid of the overwhelm, I was dealing with as a visionary so I could regain clarity and focus. Highly recommended!”
– Shereen Jaeger 2022
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