'Do not despair. We humans are much more powerful than we think.'
August 19, 2025 —
On August 8, 2025, a special ceremony took place in Amsterdam. Dozens of people joined together to commemorate the planting of a special tree: a four-meter-tall Sequoia tree.
This initiative symbolized growth and sustainability, bringing together people from different cultures and countries in the name of peace.
The Dutch Jeantille Spruijt (member of the Charter for Compassion) is the driving force behind this initiative. Who is she and what motivates her?
By Monica Neomagus
Jeantille Spruijt calls herself a shaman, in the tradition of indigenous peoples.
‘A shaman takes care of the members of the community. He or she tries to promote that everyone can remain in good physical and spiritual condition. In my work, I guide people through their own transformation process. That can be a heavy and confronting process.’
‘This process is somewhat similar to the western therapies we know’, Jeantille tells.
’They are comparable, but also not quite. Our starting point is that we do not look first at the problems and shortcomings of a person, but always first at the potential, at what is inherently present in that person to be able to live and grow. If we compare it to a plant, we wonder what has landed on the roots that hinders further growth.
Furthermore, I remain fully available throughout the entire journey that someone undergoes to heal, even in the evenings and at night if necessary.
We work on a soul level with people. You could call it spiritual psychology, where the insights and symbols from our ancient traditions support us.’
In the West, treatments and sessions based on that old knowledge and practices are now also being offered. Think, for example, of the Ayahuasca ceremonies. How do you view this?
‘I see that many Western people struggle with the dark sides of life and of ourselves.
In each of us, dark sides have piled up; things we prefer not to see, pain we would rather avoid. That is very understandable, but it creates a desire for 'quick results and to be done by tomorrow.' Only, that cannot happen... we must go through the pain to make real growth possible. It is important to guide them very carefully.
My question is whether indigenous knowledge in the Western world is not often used to make a lot of money. Because then one does not properly give back to the community what one knows and has learned.’
Your own path has not been easy either. And you recently had to deal with a serious setback when you had a stroke in 2022. What have you discovered and learned on your own life path?
'My mother has Indonesian roots; that is how I am connected to that culture and indigenous tradition. My father's ancestry is less clear, but he has always been interested in shamanism.
My youth was unsafe due to my father's personal problems. This seriously threatened the well-being of my mother and us as children.
However, even as a very young child, I experienced the connection with The Higher, with what people call God, or - in our tradition - the Great Spirit. There I found comfort, safety, and infinite Love. It was also there that I decided to choose that all-encompassing Love. And would try to live from that place and to be in service; available for the world, everything, and everyone with whom we are inseparably connected.’
On August 8, 2025, there was a special moment: the dedication of the newly planted Sequoia tree, during the Let Love Rule Peace Tree Festival that you organized, which is also connected to 'Amsterdam 750 years'. Leaders of indigenous communities from Mexico, North America, and Greenland came to perform a ceremony in Sloterpark and the Fruittuin of West. What was the idea behind this?
‘In our traditions, we light fires. The so-called seventh fire has now burned and brought us the intention to return to our own roots, our tribes, and learn from them. What do they tell us that we do not yet know? Meanwhile, the eighth fire is being lit by many around the world, with the intention of bringing our knowledge to the world and working together with others for the benefit of our planet.
By lighting the eighth fire and dedicating the Sequoia Peace Tree on August 8 in Amsterdam, the indigenous leaders and peacekeepers created a historic moment of unity, healing, and global cooperation.’
Will the deeper meaning of a tree and your reverence for nature, of which we are all a part, really be understood?
‘We could not easily find a place to plant and then ended up at the Fruittuin van West in Amsterdam, where they warmly welcome this tree. But I understand what you mean. I was also asked by one of the people I spoke to earlier about another location: Jeantille. Do you really think that planting a tree will lead to peace in the world? ‘To which I replied, No, I don't think so. But I do believe that it can bring it closer if it inspires you and others to help build that peace.
That is how I see the deeper symbolic meaning of the tree, of those fires.’
You meet as indigenous leaders regularly in various places around the world. What happens at meetings like this?
‘Of course, we talk to each other about our vision on the present world and how we can contribute. And there are also 'issues'; we are ordinary people, just like others. For example, there are leaders who still feel the pain of colonialism to this day. For the land, and much more, that has been taken from them, the humiliations that their peoples have had to endure. Even in their current interactions, they sometimes experience a great lack of respect for what is sacred to them. I understand this very well.
At the same time, I want us to continue living. Out of respect for others, I don't want to shout that too loudly, but it is my conviction that we should not get stuck in that anger.
Engaging in conversation, explaining what is important to us, and collaborating with others is the way forward, towards further growth of our rich, shared traditions.
I tend to think that we have lost a lot in our Western world, and the indigenous traditions, which have long been dismissed in history as primitive, untraceable, and unscientific, are now precisely our teachers. Is that a fair thought?
‘Partly certainly. There is also a re-evaluation of this knowledge, although I must say I am sometimes skeptical about it. Often people want to hear it, but our advice ends up in the drawer.
\But when it comes to appreciation of the Western world, in which I also live, I see primarily the belief in progress as positive. A lot can be learned from indigenous traditions, but in turn, our traditions can learn from this drive to always keep developing and not look back for too long. If we work together as equals, we can combine our strengths and insights, and much beauty can arise.’
We are all part of nature. This is a deep realization of indigenous peoples. The world of plants and animals, as well as rivers and rocks, plays a significant role. In her book Sacred Nature, Karen Armstrong (the founding mother of the international Charter for Compassion) studies the great religions and ethical traditions to explore their relationship with nature. In Confucianism, she observes: 'Caring for the natural environment flows naturally from respect and reverence for humanity' (p.164).
In other words, reverence for nature and reverence for others are two sides of the same coin. Then compassion can also arise, is that right?
‘Yes, that's how it is. There is an inseparable connection between those two things. And when we realize that everything and everyone is interconnected and linked, we know that the destruction of nature, or of the other, will always affect us as well. And vice versa: caring for the planet, caring for each other, is also caring for ourselves.’
Finally, there is much suffering, violence, and war in the world. Quite a few people feel hopeless and helpless to really change anything. What would you like to say to us about that?
‘I believe there is a plan for the world, and at the same time, that is a mystery for each of us.
But I feel that this plan is not fixed, which would mean that everything is predetermined. On the contrary, everything we decide to do is also part of that plan. Our actions matter. And we, as humans, are actually much more powerful than we think. People constantly change the world anew, and that will continue.
One of the leaders who was in Amsterdam on August 8th, Rodrigo Martínez Romero, lives in Mexico. He studied at the Free University (VU) in Amsterdam, among other places, and is a co-founder of the Spiritual Politics Lab and the School of Conscious Politics (SCP). He wants to work towards a new, different way of doing politics, from a spiritual consciousness. He brings together indigenous leaders, trainers, and artists to do it differently.
I believe deeply that, despite all the darkness we are currently experiencing, new wise leaders will emerge who the world needs. And that we can all contribute something ourselves.
So: create, take action, do not be desperate or afraid!’
Article: Beweging van Barmhartigheid (Movement of Mercy), The Netherlands
(member Charter for Compassion)
www.barmhartigheid.nl
