Jim on Donald Duck, non-duality and his journey at Hypnosis Institute Netherlands
When you hear "hypnotherapist," you don't immediately think of Donald Duck. Yet that is exactly the combination Jim made: he is a hypnotherapist two days a week and an editor at the Donald Duck three days a week. What may seem like a striking mix to the outside world is actually quite logical to Jim: both revolve around stories, wonder and setting something in motion in people.
In this article, Jim talks about his life before Hypnosis Institute Netherlands (HIN), how he got there, what the trainings brought him, and what his life and work look like now.
For the HIN: Duck town, casino and non-duality
For a long time, Jim was "just" a full-time editor at the Donald Duck. For about 25 years he has lived among Duck City stories, jokes, adventures and wise lessons in comic book form. Before that he studied Facility Management "a kind of hotel school", which has little to do with what he does now. He worked in a casino as a croupier for a while, but eventually ended up in the world of Donald and Katrien Duck.
In parallel with all that, another track ran: personal development.
Jim: “Long before I started with hypnosis, I was already very involved in personal development. At some point, non-duality came into my life—the philosophy that essentially says that the ‘I’ doesn’t really exist and that there is no separation.”
That turned everything upside down.
On the one hand, there was the idea: there is actually no problem, without a separated self, everything is fine. On the other hand, in his daily life he saw people struggling, doubting, suffering, and just had emotions and themes himself.
"In non-duality, I kind of broke myself off. Later, I kind of went back on the path of personal development. And now I help people who are convinced that there is something wrong with them. Whereas, on the contrary, I see: there is nothing wrong with you. The core of what I do is clearing up misunderstandings."
The spark: a phrase from Break Free
He first learned about the Hypnosis Institute of the Netherlands through a family member. Jim’s sister-in-law had attended one of Edwin’s “Break Free” seminars and came back raving about it. She had the book; Jim flipped through it a bit, and that’s when it happened.
"In one of the chapters was the phrase: You don't have it, you do it. I was tremendously turned on by that. I remember thinking: this guy is saying meaningful things. I didn't yet understand exactly why, but something in me woke up."
He started following Edwin on social media, laughing at his humor and feeling drawn to his down-to-earth tone. Then followed the Hypnoplayshop: the first real introduction to hypnosis in practice.
“I didn’t have any plans to become a hypnotherapist yet. I just wanted to do something for myself—a wonderful adventure. Something that wasn’t about work, wasn’t about others, but was truly about me. I didn’t know exactly why yet.”
After the playshop, the itch remained. Jim continued to hesitate for a few months, looked at the website over and over again, and finally decided: I'm just going to do it.
He enrolled in Hypnosis 1.0 in Wormerveer. At the time, the training was completely live. Now you can also take it live-online.
Studying at HIN: "For the first time in my life, I enjoyed going to school."
The 1.0 training in Wormerveer felt like a celebration to Jim.
"Every time I felt like going there. I never had that as an adolescent and during my studies in this way. This was the first time I really thought, yes, we're going back to school."
What struck him most:
- Practice, practice, practice
"You don't learn to become a hypnotist from a booklet. You have to do it, do it, do it and do it again. That appealed to me tremendously." - Lightheartedness and humor
Hypnosis and therapy are not heavy, solemn affairs for Jim.
“I don’t like boring therapy. Lightheartedness and humor are essential to me. At HIN, there’s room for that, while still delving into the deeper issues.”
- Depth in a short time
The theory is compact, but not superficial.
"You don't have to plow through piles of books, but you do have to really get down to business. Learning phrases, going over scripts, writing out sessions. The quality is high."
A pivotal moment in his learning process was a a guest lecture by Edwin in the 1.0 in which everyone had to put away their notepads.
“Everyone was writing, and then he said, ‘Throw away your notepad.’ At first, that feels unsettling, but it’s fantastic. You’re then fully focused on the client. There’s no piece of paper to fall back on, so you have to listen and remember. It really makes you better.”
The 1.0 was followed by the 2.0. Then came corona and much shifted to online, valuable, but less his thing. Jim knew: if he was ever going to do the 3.0, it had to be live again.
A few years later, with his practice already up and running, it still didn't feel "finished." He signed up for 3.0.
"3.0 is really another level. More spiritual, more abstract, but also more practical in your posture, your silences, your presence. You have to film yourself, look back ... super vulnerable, but also enormously valuable. The last months I notice how much that has loosened and deepened again."
From Duck City to Wonderfully Aware: starting the practice
After the 1.0, it didn't stop at "a nice adventure for myself." Jim found that he was good at it, and that people were really changing.
“I saw how quickly you can achieve results with hypnosis. That fascinated me immensely. And I just really enjoyed helping people.”
In 2020, he started his practice, Wonderbewust.nl. He knew through training Hans Luijendijk who had a practice space, and offered to use it occasionally.
"At first I thought: yes, but can I ask? Until I thought: why not actually? That is also the beauty of such a training: you not only learn techniques, but you build a network. You meet people who are in the same field."
From that emerged:
- A permanent home in a beautiful building on the edge of the woods in Castricum
- Two regular practice days per week (Tuesday and Thursday)
- A growing network of colleagues and ambassadors who refer people to him
"Since I started doing this, all kinds of things have come my way. New people, new opportunities. You never know what's going to happen, and I think that might be the most fun. Every session is a puzzle, a mystery, a nut you get to crack."
No niche, but a clear thread
In a world where you have to "pick a niche" as an entrepreneur, Jim is doing something different.
"People always say you have to define yourself, but I actually help everyone. That works for me. The variety appeals to me; I like to be surprised."
The only real delineation is its style:
- There should be room for lightheartedness and humor
- The client must be somewhat open to wonder and playfulness
- Boring therapy is not an option
The common thread in his work is surprisingly simple:
"Almost everyone comes in with the idea: there's something wrong with me. My core is: clear up that misunderstanding. You're not broken. You're already okay, but you haven't seen it yourself yet."
Non-duality, emotions and the power of feeling
Jim's non-duality background seeps subtly into his work without overwhelming clients with it.
He sees emotions not as "positive" or "negative," but as signals and fuel.
“Frustration, gloom, loneliness— these are all signals. Frustration, for example, can lead to action, and action, in turn, brings peace. Why would we reject that?”
In his practice, he emphasizes that everything has a positive intention. Behavior as well as feeling. The unconscious mind doesn't want to bully you. It is trying to protect you or move you somewhere.
It's also important to just feel what's there. "Just start feeling without immediately putting a judgment or label on it. Almost everyone is afraid of something. Why is that such a problem?"
Having to accept something rarely works. "If you have to accept something, there is already disapproval in it. You're better off telling stories, offering different perspectives, so that people will naturally see things differently."
For those who are open, he also weaves a bit of non-duality into the sessions:
Taking the pressure off, letting go of the idea that everything must be just or makeable, seeing that everything is simply there.
"When you recognize that everything is there, we relax a little bit. Life is not all happy, light and fun. Sometimes it just sucks, and even that you can learn to bear."
Miracles, stories and hypnosis: the magic of Wonderconscious
The name of his practice, Miracle Aware, is anything but coincidental.
"I enjoy performing miracles of a sort and making the impossible possible. And you're immediately in the realm of the subconscious. Miracle + subconscious = Miracle Conscious. And I love that magic."
For Jim, hypnosis is not just technique, but above all wonder:
- Guiding someone in such a way that they themselves are surprised by what happens
- Experiences the mind can't quite follow
- THERE, in that "no longer understanding exactly," room for new choices and beliefs is created
His experience as an editor helps tremendously with this. Storytelling is his second nature:
"When you tell a story, people automatically go into a trance. They dive into another world and their mind goes to the background for a moment. I use that moment to let a new story slide in."
That world of stories now intertwines nicely. In Donald Duck 48 there will even be a story inspired by the famous parable The Chinese and the Horse: a tale of perception, bad luck and happiness, and the realization that often you don't know whether something is good or bad.
By "hiding" stories like that in Duck City, Jim gives children as well as adults a philosophical perspective, in a playful way.
Short Pathways
Jim works with short pathways, often 2 to 4 sessions, sometimes one session for a specific problem such as driving anxiety. But when it comes to self-image, identity or deeper patterns, he likes to "take some breaths" with his clients: layer by layer. He has also developed the Solo-seminar, in which you can work 1 on 1 for a whole day, with a tailor-made theme.
"I don't believe you can be completely happy with everything in one month, nor do I think that's the goal. Life is the whole palette of emotions. You don't always have to be happy, but you also don't have to be trapped in fear."
What HIN has given him most of all?
- A solid practical foundation for working with hypnosis
- A network of colleagues, friends, and ambassadors
- Confidence to embrace the unpredictability of every person and every session
- And perhaps most importantly:
the realization that with humor, wonder and honest contact, you can do an incredible amount for someone who thinks "something is wrong."
Want to know more about Jim?
You’ll find his practice at Wonderbewust.nl on the edge of the forest in Castricum, where stories, hypnosis, and a healthy dose of wonder come together.
Would you like to learn hypnosis, just like Jim?
You can take the training in person or online. Would you like to have a no-obligation chat to see if this is right for you? Schedule a one-on-one consultation here. You won’t be speaking with a salesperson, but with an experienced HIN coach who works with this training program and clients on a daily basis. In 20–30 minutes, you’ll get a clear sense of whether this is the right step for you and which start date suits you best.
The schedule for these sessions fills up quickly around the start of each group. Is there still a time slot available that works for you? Then book it now.