About Hèlen Vink

Some rooThe fusion of my experience of meditation and photographym for a sub-title

Educated in the United States

Instantly I understood the freshness of this contemplative art form where the two experiental worlds of meditation and photography fuse. From 2006–2008 I completed the Miksang course of study under the guidance of Michael Wood (CA), founder of Miksang Photography and The Miksang Institute in the USA.

Captivated by the beauty and power of this young artistic discipline, I completed the Miksang Teachers training in the USA. Since then I have been the sole Miksang teacher dedicating fulltime teaching Miksang training courses in the Netherlands and Europe based on this Miksang tradition. Over the years I have introduced all levels of the Miksang Photography training course, developed new Miksang courses and the Miksang Instructors Education.

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My encounter with Miksang Photography

2006 - I coordinated the first Miksang Contemplative Photography in Europe, in Cologne. This introduction to Miksang brought together my experience of photographic art and meditation. Instantly I understood the freshness, timelessness, and accessibility of this artistic contemporary discipline.

I immediately understood the freshness and accessibility of this young artistic art form: an innovative discipline of photography as meditation in action and a contemporary fusion of East & West.

2007-2011: I organised Miksang workshops with Michael Wood in the Netherlands every year. Passionate and dedicated, I went through the entire Miksang curriculum, regularly traveling to Halifax (CA) and Boulder (US), repeated several workshops and completed this trajectory with the Miksang Teacher Training.

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How my spiritual journey started

As a child I had a boundless curiosity about who and what I really am. Around the age of 8 I often wondered why I am 'I', and not someone else. I consciously tried with great effort to put myself in someone else's shoes, like my mother, classmate, girl next door ;-)

I was an active child, running a lot, climbing as high as possible, and immersed myself in reading, crafts and children's movies. Playing outside with other children was my favourite thing to do: playing marbles and getting really good, playing soccer and getting good at this, running up against walls and getting good at this, and every year I wear out a pair of roller skates.

Being really good at something was something that interested me from an early age. I practiced endlessly, enjoying the progress and waking up every morning with a sense of adventure and endless possibilities.

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My love for sports and arts

After a semi-professional career in long-track skating until I was twenty, I studied photography and sculpture for 2.5 years at the Utrecht School of the Arts. I then spent a year as an intern with sculptor and architect Dries Kreijkamp.

I further developed myself as an autodidact into a visual artist: in my studio I made 3-dimensional installations and photo works and participated in art projects, subsidy applications and art funds.

My dissatisfaction with my development opportunities within contemporary art grew: I increasingly clashed with the conceptual approach to art and felt out of place. At the same time, my need for depth and meaning in my life grew.

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New approach to the creative process

1997- introduction to Dharma Art: a new chapter began with coincidentally overhearing a conversation about art in a Shambhala Meditation Center. ShortIy hereafter I signed up for a Dharma Art workshop and immediately afterwards I participated in a 10-day Dharma Art Festival in France. All in perfect timing ;-)

In the years that followed I learned about calligraphy, Kyudo (Zen Archery, the way of the bow), Mudra Space Awareness (awareness movement), Maitri Space Awareness (5 wisdoms, 5 energies) Kado (the way of flowers) and Bugaku (Japanese Dance).

The essence in this contemplative approach to art - based on the Dharma Art teachings of the meditation teacher and artist Chögyam Trungpa - is the training to be in inner open space, with no idea, and applying the timeless principles of heaven, earth and man in each unique creative expression. Transgressing mental aggression and confusion into clarity, gentleness and friendliness. (More: Contemplative Arts>)

This new approach to the creative process was initially uncomfortable and yet incredibly refreshing. And in great contrast to my usual ways of working as a visual artist. For the first time since long I experienced deep meaning, joy and vivid breathing creative expression.

Joy of Life & Shambhala

2000 - I met my Dharma teacher Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. A week later I had a car accident. This abrupt stop and major life change was, in retrospect, exactly the standstill I needed. As I was exhausted and stuck in myself, mostly unconsciously.

Rediscovering my lost joy
I immersed myself in meditation, Shambhala Buddhism and contemplative arts, and studied with Tibetan Buddhist meditation teachers, Japanese Zen masters and senior students in the Netherlands, Europe, the US and Canada. This is where my real study began, and where I had previously not been able to find my way, I felt at home here, challenged and immediately applicable. I had the time of my life, with a sweet and sour touch, and gradually rediscovered my lost joy.

Three consecutive years
I lived and worked in Shambhala Buddhist centers in France and the US, as an office manager, cook and as an assistant to the Director of Arts at The Great Stupa of Dharmakaya in Colorado (USA). After this I followed training courses for meditation instructor and teacher and was active as such in various programs. Around the start-up with Miksang Photography I moved to Zandvoort, where I organised meditation evenings for several years.

'What stopped you?'

"At the end of June (2013), a group of 14 people gathered mostly from the Netherlands, but including two Brazilians, and one person each from England, France, Germany and Spain. We learned and rediscovered exercises with our eyes and body, training to stop and look without thinking or allowing mental chatter, long before picking up the camera." By Luz Rodriquez, Shambhala Times, 2013

Read the article

A playful permission slip to Know ThySelf

🕊️ Every moment of an awake experience can open your mind to the vastness of your True Self, beyond your Physical Self.
🌿 Real knowledge is what you have integrated in your behaviour.
💛 Miksang photos show a natural simplicity and beauty, mirroring an experience of nowness, freshness and your authentic true self.

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