Happy coincidences play a significant role in the journey of Jurgen and Marinka, founders of TheGreatRepair.com and TGR Publishing. These “consciousness explorers” combine independent entrepreneurship with passion projects centered on altered states of awareness, philosophy, psychology, and consciousness. From collaborating on online projects to the rare chance of finding a pearl on Terschelling (a 0.0067% chance), and from a very special lamp to creating art for the soul and children’s books, Jurgen and Marinka’s lives are a chain of remarkable stories.
Life’s Little Pearls
Their journey together begins in 1998, when they meet during high school. After a year of dating, they decide to part ways, but not long after, they become good friends. In 2005, Jurgen asks Marinka to apply for a position at the online marketing company he is currently working for. Marinka says, “I thought for a moment, is this smart? But I followed my intuition and took on the challenge. Fortunately, it quickly turned out that we made a great team.” In 2008, they apply together at another marketing company. “It was a unique opportunity because they created a position specifically for us, and they would hire us as a package deal,” Marinka laughs. A year later, they decide to follow their hearts. Jurgen says, “We resigned together again, this time because we felt it was time to start our own business.” Marinka adds: “In 2009, there was a major financial and economic crisis, but we thought: let’s just start now, at the lowest point, then it can only get better later.”
In the years that follow, their bond grows even stronger, and they become partners in both business and private life. They marry on Terschelling, their favorite Dutch island. Marinka shares: “Right after our engagement, we stayed a week on Terschelling. We had picked a dozen oysters from the mudflats and brought them back in a bucket from the local toy store. While sitting in the backyard of our rented house, having lunch with the oysters, we fantasized about where we wanted to get married. A beautiful rainbow appeared in the sky, and at that very moment, Jurgen pulled a perfectly round pearl from his molar.” Jurgen adds: “The day before, during a cooking workshop on the island, we learned that the chance of finding a pearl is about 1 in 15,000. We looked at each other and knew: we’re going to get married here on the island!” They had the pearl set in a gold shell by a goldsmith on Terschelling, and Marinka often proudly wears it around her neck.
“We experience synchronicity as a positive connection to the symbolic side of life.”
“Carl Gustav Jung described synchronicity as an ever-present reality for those who have the ability to see it,” says Marinka. “We experience synchronicity as a positive connection to the symbolic side of life. These kinds of coincidences are–literally, in this case–pearls of life that make you feel: this is it, follow this path!”
Living on Purpose as Consciousness Explorers
Jurgen has been an entrepreneur since he was 19. “During my marketing studies, I was mainly involved in my own projects, which were related to music, the internet, and building an international network. Later, I found out that I could use those projects for my final exams. So, the fact that I wasn’t too focused on the studies themselves was justified,” he says with a wink. After completing his studies properly, Jurgen discovers a new fascination: business and life philosophy. “The important things I learned and started doing then are things I still do. Like writing down ten things every week that stand out, creating an archive of ones life. Applying the Pareto principle in work, meaning focusing on the 20% that generates 80% of the results. And, not to forget, building a meaningful life based on a calling: living on purpose.”
“I find every aspect that can contribute to enriching consciousness fascinating to explore and apply.”
Together, they set up their business in 2009 as flexibly as possible, including choosing a fully performance-based business model, collaborating with freelancers worldwide, and the freedom to not have a fixed workplace. “From the start, our intention was to also make room for projects related to consciousness development,” Jurgen explains. “This contributes to all aspects of both business and everyday life.” Marinka nods in agreement, “I always felt that just sitting behind a computer didn’t give me fulfillment. My heart lies in exploring psychology, philosophy, spirituality, and connecting with others. I find every aspect that can contribute to enriching consciousness fascinating to explore and apply.”
The first project that emerges from their shared intention to live as “consciousness explorers” is a website covering various psychological and spiritual topics. Marinka enthusiastically shares, “In February 2008, I traveled by myself to the Arthur Findlay College in England, where you can explore and develop extrasensory perception. This felt like coming home to me, and from that moment on, I went to this college and other special places—mainly in the United Kingdom—three or four times a year. I had truly beautiful experiences there, met wonderful people, and learned and experimented a great deal.” All of this inspires Marinka to share her experiences with others. “Writing, photographing, and creating content felt very natural; it was purely a passion project for me, not a commercial venture. I knew the site had many visitors, but the realization of its popularity only truly hit in 2013, when Jurgen and I organized an event where visitors from my website participated.”
Close Your Eyes and See
We jump forward to February 2013. Marinka is at the Arthur Findlay College, where she meets neurologist Dr. Dirk Proeckl and psychotherapist Dr. Engelbert Winkler. The Austrian scientists have been specially invited by the organization to demonstrate their innovative creation, Lucia N°03. This computer-controlled lamp produces a combination of warm, steady, and white flickering light, allowing you to quickly experience a deeply meditative “hypnagogic” state. This experience is undergone with closed eyes, and the effect is different for everyone each time. In the two minutes that Marinka sits in the lamp’s light, she is overwhelmed by an intense feeling and a beautiful combination of colors and geometric shapes. “Wow, I wish everyone could have this experience!” she thinks. She runs outside into the romantic English garden and calls Jurgen. “I’ve discovered a special lamp; we need to do something with it!” Coincidentally, Dirk and Engelbert have a few appointments in Amsterdam two weeks later, so a meeting is quickly arranged.
“Life is incredible!”
Jurgen recalls this period fondly: “My first reaction after trying the lamp was, ‘Life is incredible!’ To me, it was clear that Lucia N°03 did not come into our lives by chance. The timing for setting up a nonprofit project with this lamp felt perfect, and it seemed like all the doors opened automatically. For example, when we checked the domain name we had in mind, it was due to become available the very next day. Dirk and Engelbert came to the Netherlands to establish partnerships, but after meeting us, they wanted to work with us.” Together, they organize an event to see how Lucia N°03 will be received in the Netherlands. Marinka: “We already had a beautiful location for the event, but at the last minute, someone offered to set up a yurt in the garden at that same location. It fit there down to the centimeter. The yurt was so atmospheric, warm, and magical; we couldn’t have dreamed of a better setting.”
To create part of the guest list, Marinka posts a request on her website, asking visitors to share why they should be invited. “We expected a few responses, but the submissions kept coming in with the most wonderful motivations. Unfortunately, we couldn’t invite everyone, but we were deeply touched by the beautiful replies. One was from a man who, as a child, had a near-death experience that he described as positive and unforgettable. Upon reading the invitation, he felt he just had to attend. His light session brought him close to his childhood experience and gave him a sense of coming home.” The event in September 2013 receives such an overwhelming response that it leads to a nearly four-year partnership with Dirk and Engelbert.
“Don’t bring expectations, but surrender to the experience.”
In exchange for documenting and sharing their experiences, Jurgen and Marinka are allowed to borrow a lamp. Their intention is to explore, in a relaxed manner, where the light will lead them and others. “We were trained by Dirk and Engelbert in the use of the Lucia N°03, purely in a non-medical setting,” Marinka explains. “We have never presented the light as a medical tool, but rather as neuro-art, where you are both the creator and the viewer of the art produced by your own brain. Don’t bring any expectations, we would always say, but surrender to the experience.”
They demonstrate Lucia N°03 as widely as possible for free, all across the Netherlands. Together with a good friend, they make the lamp accessible for over a year at a fixed location, charging a fee to cover the cost of renting the space. This, too, is a nonprofit project, and since it becomes challenging to manage everything, Marinka decides to take her popular blog offline. “For me, Lucia N°03 was the sign that it was time for something new; a period in which we met many new people and witnessed many extraordinary experiences.” In the summer of 2017, the project with Lucia N°03 finally comes to an end. To conclude, they, along with Dirk, Engelbert, and four lamps, provide a week of demonstrations at the place where Marinka first experienced Lucia N°03: the Arthur Findlay College. In this way, they bring the circle to completion.
A Spark Becomes a Flame
After the project with Lucia N°03, both Jurgen and Marinka feel a growing need to take time for a period of study. Marinka explains: “Previously, for my own development, I completed various studies and courses in family constellations, hypnotherapy, and also neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) at the IEP in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. I still find the knowledge I gained to be particularly valuable, both in business and personal life.”
“For us, the unconscious is an inexhaustible source of new insights and consciousness.”
Since they both have a strong interest in analyzing dreams and the deeper meanings of fairy tales and myths, they delve into the symbolic psychology of Carl Gustav Jung. With Dr. Karen Hamaker Zondag, they learn the fundamental principles, and from the end of 2017, they are taught by Barbara Helen Miller, who was trained at the C.G. Jung Institute in Switzerland. Jurgen explains, “From Barbara, we learn about Jung’s psychology, dream interpretation, and integrating aspects of yourself that you don’t immediately see, known as the shadow. For us, it’s enriching to experience the unconscious as an inexhaustible source of new insights and awareness.” Marinka adds, “In science, dreams are often considered a way to process events you experience in daily life. We have learned to welcome dreams as messengers that carry the immense wisdom of the subconscious. By remembering, recording, and interpreting dreams, you can bring to light things that are often blind spots. Every night, you can distill and integrate new light from the darkness.”
Alongside the desire to learn more about the human psyche, Jurgen begins to wonder if there is a theoretical framework in which experiences like those with Lucia N°03 can be placed. This leads him, at the end of 2017, to Arthur M. Young—interestingly, through a video where Young explains that light and consciousness form the basis of everything. Jurgen says, “As a student at Princeton, Arthur M. Young was taught relativity theory at his own request, but he couldn’t agree with Albert Einstein’s conclusion that time, like space, is symmetrical. He decided to develop a theory that respects the value, the surprises and ‘novelty’ that time brings. To understand natural laws, Young dedicated eighteen years of his life to inventing the Bell 47, the first helicopter with a commercial license. In his Theory of Process, he then integrated his insights and many fascinating subjects that science has yet to explain, such as extrasensory perception, consciousness, and light. Unlike popular theories that assume a multiverse, this theory describes the world as it can actually be experienced: life as a process in which the evolution of consciousness can serve both oneself and the greater whole.”
“A spark becomes a flame, a flame becomes a fire, casting new light into life.”
Young passed away in 1995, but his ideas have been extensively recorded on videotapes and in books. “After watching his videos almost nonstop for three days, I took a walk in my hometown to clear my mind. Suddenly, completely at random, I thought, ‘Okay, Arthur, give me a sign if I should do something with your theory.’ About 5 seconds later, I saw a helicopter approaching from a distance. I decided to call Marinka, who was at the Arthur Findlay College, to share my experience. She didn’t yet know I had discovered Arthur M. Young. She picked up and said, ‘Hold on, it’s noisy here—a helicopter is just passing by.’ That’s when it was clear we had to do something with this.” By now, the two speak the “language” of Young’s process theory quite fluently and experiment with applying it in their projects. They also contribute to the foundation in America that preserves Arthur M. Young’s legacy for the future, including donating an updated website: arthuryoung.com. Jurgen explains why: “I believe that the current materialistic worldview is going to shift to a ‘paradigm’ where consciousness is central. The Theory of Process could play a major role in that, so it’s important to keep the flame alive.” As he concludes with an ancient teaching, “A spark becomes a flame, a flame becomes a fire, casting new light into life.”
From the soul, for the soul
In February 2018, something happens that ignites a spark in Marinka. “One morning, I was getting ready for the day. Although I haven’t watched TV for years, a friend told me about a Dutch series she’d enjoyed watching. ‘Easy to watch, and you’ll find it funny, Marink,’ she said. Curious, I decided to watch the first episode on my laptop while doing my makeup. I literally slipped with my mascara, because to my surprise, I suddenly saw a painting in the background that I had painted! Everything, even my signature on the canvas, was in full view. The painting is called “Freedom,” and I made it at the time when we were starting our own business. For years, it hung above the desks in our first office, like an anchor reminding us: we are free! Later, I gave it as a gift to someone who was also starting as an independent entrepreneur and loved the painting. We lost touch after that, so I don’t know what journey the painting has taken since, but now it suddenly came back into my life.”
“The process of ‘becoming who you are’ is called individuation. Creative expression, in any form, is a crucial part of this.”
The meaningful reunion with the painting Freedom inspires Marinka to get started again: “For several reasons, I hadn’t painted in a number of years. The unexpected ‘encounter’ with my painting reminded me of the freedom and joy I feel when I paint.” From that day on, she started creating paintings again and named her project Individuart: “In Carl Gustav Jung’s psychology, the process of ‘becoming who you are’ is called the individuation process. Creative expression, in any form, is an important part of this.”
Developments around Individuart start moving quickly. “After only a few months, I had the chance to exhibit my paintings in a beautiful monumental shop building. It was empty, and the owner, who had seen my paintings, asked if I would like to display them in the shop temporarily. Although I found it very exciting at first, it gave me even more motivation to continue.” After a year and a half, the shop was rented out, and she had to take down her paintings and return the key. “I felt a bit down when I closed the wooden door behind me,” Marinka admits. “That evening, Jurgen took me to a new restaurant nearby to cheer me up. During a conversation with the restaurant’s owner about a wine bottle label, the topic of art came up. She gestured around and explained that she didn’t have any artwork on the walls yet because she’s particular and hadn’t found anything unique. Jurgen decided to give her a card with my website, which had just been finished, individuart.nl. Fifteen minutes later, the owner came back excitedly, asking if she could see some of the paintings in person. And so, that’s how it happened, and since then, my works have been hanging in her and her husband’s restaurant. On the very day that one door literally closed, another one opened.” Nowadays, Marinka’s paintings can be found in more and more places. “It’s amazing to see how my paintings often spread through ‘coincidences.’ I suspect this happens because it aligns with my intention to create ‘art for the soul.’ From the soul, for the soul.”
The Great Repair: Reconnecting Spirit and Soul
“Our motto became: always keep rotating.”
In March 2020, the world goes into lockdown. Jurgen shares how he and Marinka experienced this: “As independent entrepreneurs, we had to act immediately, because we felt this would last several years. Our motto became: always keep rotating. The freedom to turn a situation around by looking at it or handling it differently is something no one can ever take away from you.” With heavy hearts, they watch how technocratic governance and corruption, among other factors, lead to an increasing divide in society. “We started thinking about an alternative, and that’s how the idea for a platform was born, aimed at helping to reconnect mind and body with spirit and soul. We call this The Great Repair.”
The Great Repair eventually leads to the founding of TGR Publishing, giving them the freedom to create and publish stories they truly believe in. Marinka explains, “Jurgen and I have been telling each other spontaneous stories for years, often with our cats, Snor and Oaty, as the main characters. We always wanted to do something with them, and at the end of 2021, we got started. Our goal was to publish a few stories for both children and adults online, for free, as a source of comfort in turbulent times. Soon, we wanted to enrich the stories with illustrations and music. We invested in audio recording equipment, voiced the characters ourselves, and collaborated with a composer for all the music for Snor & Oaty. We came up with all the illustrations, and our amazing illustrator brought them beautifully to life. When all 35 illustrations were finished, we found them so magical that we wanted to share the seven stories not only online but also as a physical book. The result is Snor & Oaty – Tales for the Soul, our first book, which we’re incredibly proud of.”
Always bring love along
TGR Publishing’s second book is another Snor & Oaty adventure. Jurgen explains why the approach for the second book differs from the first: “This time, we knew from the start it would be a single long story rather than seven standalone tales. We decided to use Arthur M. Young’s Theory of Process as a foundation for the structure and dynamics of the book. Each of the seven chapters, and the characters within them, reflect the seven stages of Young’s theory.” Will readers notice this process philosophy in the story? According to Jurgen, they won’t necessarily. “Few people know about Arthur M. Young’s theory, especially children—but it resonates on a subconscious level. A common response we receive is that the story simply feels right.” Marinka adds, “Ultimately, it’s the soul of the story that matters, which is reflected in the characters, dialogues, and insights that emerge.”
The writing process of The Valley of Imagination was marked (how could it be otherwise?), by a series of remarkable coincidences. Marinka gives an example: “We had just arrived in Sweden with our cats, Snor and Oaty. Here we wanted to start writing the story. The only thing that was certain for us was that the main characters, Snor and Oaty, would end up in a world of imagination through a small door and a secret passage. We stayed in a remote house in the woods and hadn’t received much guidance from the owner. On the second evening, we were wondering if there might be a secret door behind one of the bookshelves. Just as a joke, because there were real books everywhere. We pulled on all the books and pushed against them, but nothing happened. Later that evening, Jurgen walked past a specific bookshelf again and pulled the side of the shelf forward and it opened! Behind the shelf was a long spiral staircase leading down to a secret cellar. Through a passage, we eventually found ourselves at a hidden vault door, which led us up a staircase to the outside. As we walked through that passage, we realized: we are inside our story!”
It is thanks to this and other events that befell them that Snor & Oaty – The Valley of Imagination came into being. When asked if Jurgen and Marinka have a final message for the reader, their answer is that they would like to leave that honor to Octuela, the wise octopus from the book:
“Remember, you can always use imagination to face challenges, and most importantly, wherever you go, always bring love along.”
