Not of This World

Marc Altmann
Feb 22
3 min read

We are here on this earth for only a few short years. And then we disappear again from the visible stage.

This simple fact carries within it a profound truth: Perhaps we are not truly from here.

Perhaps we are travellers. Beings of consciousness passing through. For a limited time we take on form – and call it life.

But who are we beyond this embodiment? And why did we step onto this stage?

OUR TRUE BEING

The truth of our being cannot be found in the body. The body is an expression – not the origin.

We appear as the children of our parents, carrying their features, their genes, their history. But is that truly our identity? Or merely the garment we have chosen for this incarnation?

The body is a costume. A mask of flesh. A temporary vessel for something immortal.

Carnival reminds us of this. It is the “festival of the flesh” – and at the same time the festival of masks. For a brief moment, we allow ourselves to make visible that identity is fluid. That morality, status and social roles are merely agreements.

Beneath every mask lives something timeless.

Carnival

In the ecstasy of Carnival, something primordial becomes tangible. Aliveness without justification.

When I stood in Brazil, in the Sambadrome of Rio de Janeiro, it felt as though the soul of a nation was speaking through rhythm and movement. Rich and poor merged into the same beat. Conventions dissolved. For a brief moment, the illusion of separation fell away.

Perhaps Carnival is so powerful because it reminds us of something we forget in everyday life: We are only playing.

OUR COSTUME

If we understand life as a stage, then we have played many roles – perhaps not only in this lifetime.

Some people feel mysteriously drawn to certain eras, figures or archetypes. Pirates, for example: a symbol of freedom, wildness, sovereignty. Why does this touch us so deeply? Why does a costume sometimes feel less like a disguise and more like a memory?

Perhaps because the soul stores experiences – beyond the mind.

Carnival allows us to briefly put on these stored energies once more. Not in order to escape – but to encounter ourselves more deeply.

THE MIDDLE AGES

Medieval fairs, historical films, ancient myths – they exert a curious fascination. It is as though they strike a hidden chord within us.

Why do we feel drawn to times we have “never lived through”? Perhaps because our consciousness is older than this lifetime.

We are living in an age in which all eras are available at once. Perhaps to remind us that identity is not static.It is a play of consciousness.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE?

Perhaps it is never about arriving here. Perhaps it is about experiencing.

We step onto the stage and play our role – intensely, seriously, sometimes painfully – and in doing so we forget that we are actors.

Yet home is not the stage.

It is the space from which we came –and to which we shall return.

And while we are here playing, we are allowed to feel joy. Curiosity. Anticipation.Life wants to be experienced – not controlled.

Recognising Meaning

Many people feel a quiet longing: “This cannot be all there is.”

In my sessions, I accompany you in gently loosening your identification with your role – without rejecting it. You begin to recognise the actor behind the character.

And that changes everything:

Decisions become clearer. Fear loses its power. Aliveness returns.

If you sometimes feel as though you are not entirely of this world,then perhaps this is not a problem –but a remembrance.

I look forward to accompanying you for part of this journey.