‘the inwardly growing human being as a natural and cultural being’

Dear people,

Most of you have already heard about my book ‘t Tijdloze Uur / the Timeless Hour, own a copy or use in your work/practice. Through this letter I want to involve you and the new reader of this website in a beautiful, daring project that is being realized through crowd funding and ask you to join us, in creating new books in English, Spanish, German and French language.

The book the Timeless Hour, my life’s work, has followed on from my work as a visual artist, teacher and musician through expression and sound. All over the world I have been able to combine these different professions in an inspiring way and disseminated and shared them with adults and children.

‘If I had has this book as a child, I would now be a different person’, Liesbeth Rientjes said after having read the Timeless Hour and then offered to translate the book into English for all the children in the world. My wish was fulfilled. Later I received various requests and offers from European countries for translations of the Timeless Hour.

First for a German translation by a German creative therapist together with her sister, a social pedagogue. Sometime earlier there was a request from a countrywide organisation of pedagogues from Slovenia asking for permission to translate the Timeless Hour into Slovenian.

In Finland, where I have been giving lectures and seminars for twelve years, there is professional interest from (art)education and various therapeutic orientations in a Finnish translation, but also in an English translation should a Finnish one not be produced.

Just recently I received an offer from a creative therapist and former student of mine to translate the Timeless Hour into Hebrew in the near future.

From my publishers Lambo I some time ago received the rights to translate the Timeless Hour into all foreign languages. I will receive the rights to the Dutch (digital) edition as soon as Lambo has sold 2000 copies. Lambo’s prognosis is that this will be early 2013. All these developments show that the time is right for an innovating development regarding the Timeless hour and its dissemination to children all over the world.

Aspects as regards content of ‘the Timeless Hour’
The workbook ‘the Timeless Hour’ with as subtitle ’22 experience oriented exercises for the promotion of the child’s emotional, social and cognitive intelligence’, comprises a practical and creative working method to stimulate the child and to inspire it in creation and expression out of a personal and social growth model. Through these exercises children learn to discover and become conscious of many facets of themselves. This is the way in which the child develops its inner morals within the restfulness of its feeling out of self respect. The child develops its identity into a personality, in confidence and connectivity in self awareness.

By carrying out the exercises with children, values and norms are being developed in a natural way from the inside out. Imposing something on children from the outside no longer works. Girls learn more through the word. Boys on the other hand learn better and more through images and practical application, due to the differences in the connections between the two halves of the brain. This is confirmed by neurological research. It is not strange that boys, after having done these exercises, can suddenly remain more focussed and experience more pleasure. This has a direct positive effect on their behaviour and learning abilities inside and outside the classroom, for which there is such a need at present. In this manner disciplinary problems and ethnic tensions can be approached in a very positive way.

Four drawing exercises

Start of the script – Lemniscates – from Circle to Spiral

The basis of the method from 2000 was realised in the form of a bound workbook with much information material and photo’s of children; however, in 2013 I want to publish a digital version of the Timeless Hour in different languages, specifically English, German and Dutch. Through crowd funding I am asking friends and acquaintances to support this project mentally and financially and to help make it succeed.

The new website www.TimelessHour.org provides detailed information about the development of the method and its scope in the world together with background information.

The slide show presentation of children in the class illustrates the development of the different aspects of the personality which are stimulated through the exercises. The method is frequently applied in the Netherlands and has now also been integrated into the professional literature of vocational training courses for creative, expressive and art therapy. It is also used by the Rotterdam Erasmus art academy, group teachers and remedial teachers and private individuals. The method has been included in the Handbook for Art Therapy in the Netherlands. This Handbook is a serious step towards the professionalization of the work of therapists who have completed the above mentioned courses. 

The new Handbook Art Therapy: ‘uit de verf ‘- Vocational training courses
My idea is to set up an international Online distribution through ‘Print on Demand’ for professional target groups in education, therapeutic fields and art academies worldwide. Michiel

Rabobank account number: NL48 RABO 0160 9830 10 of Stichting ’t Tijdloze Uur / Foundation ‘the Timeless Hour’

Chamber of Commerce nr. 53374169, Stichting ’t Tijdloze Uur /Foundation ‘the Timeless Hour’
Charter Nr. 36276 Stichting ‘t Tijdloze Uur by Linde Notarissen 19–8– 2011 Dedemsvaart, the Netherlands

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