A fairy tale about love

Once a month it's sharing day... Diamond listens, Lotus shares. Endless series of words, interspersed with silences and tears, sometimes for two hours. Monologues about what she fears, what makes her anxious and insecure. About her deepest wishes and needs, about what makes her passionate and floats from moment to moment on that endless river. Only when Lotus says 'this was it', the tables turn and she listens. Lotus doesn't move, knowing that every sound, every reaction, disrupts Diamant's flow of words. Sharing with words is for Lotus and Diamant a way to be extremely vulnerable, a willingness to lose the other and experience connection in that willingness. A connection that feels deeper than before, a basis from which they can leave again in the weeks after.

The initiator of the Love Bubbles (Mariëtte Sinninghe Damsté) has been curious about, and driven by, love, passion and intimacy in romantic relationships from her teenage years. The question 'How do you keep a relationship alive and intimate after the period of falling in love?' Is an important quest for her. One of her discoveries to keep a relationship alive is the introduction of a part-day; a monthly calendar-free day where she shares with her loved one what is on their hearts. On a part-day time should not play a role and the space should also feel as if you are alone in the world with just the two of you. And so the Original Love Bubble was born from her own intrinsic need: a place where you can be completely naked, bald and vulnerable.
When someone asked Mariëtte if he could rent this place with his loved one and she said 'yes' after a day of hesitation, the Love Bubble concept was born and more Love Bubbles soon emerged, each with their own unique experience. The beginners' enthusiasm soon came up against local regulations. A 3-year legal process and a lot of patience, hope and trust followed. The apparent standstill was used to shape the Love Rituals, which provide the substantive inspiration for the Love Bubble experience, and to create a beautiful Love Bubble team. On Christmas Eve '19, the redeeming answer came from the Council of State, which granted LandGoed a recreational destination, making the development to 8 Love Bubbles possible. Each Love Bubble marks a phase in the growth path of love.

Mariëtte believes that when lovers find the peace and space to share their love, a holy relationship is created with a burning center: the holy fire that drives transformation and inner growth. You can find more about her alchemical view of relationships on The Lotus and the Diamond. Love Bubbles are part of the IAlmaMater Foundation in Lochem.

Interview with the initiator of the Love Bubbles, Mariëtte Sinninghe Damsté: