Cultivating Hygge through Lightwork: Inner Warmth, Outer Ease

Joni // October 31st, 2025

 

What is Hygge?

If you’ve ever wrapped yourself in a soft blanket on a rainy day, lit a candle as dusk fell, or shared a warm meal with close friends while the world softened around you, you’ve experienced the essence of hygge.

Hygge (pronounced “hoo-gah”) is a Danish word that describes the felt sense of coziness, simplicity, and presence. Things like candles, sweaters, and a warm cup of tea can foster this, but it’s not just from these material things—it can be cultivated within yourself. And this is where Lightwork meditation tools come in. Hygge is about living in a way that honours presence, nurtures gratitude, and celebrates Spirit in life’s quieter moments.

How Lightwork Supports Hygge

In Level 1 Lightwork Meditation, you begin learning tools that support energy management: centering yourself, grounding, choosing to be in a state of ease, holding bright spaces — all of which capture the spirit of hygge. Here’s the essence of a few of the Level 1 tools:

    1. Centering & Grounding: These foundational tools help you remember your true nature, experience stability and empowerment in your body, and bring more awareness to day-to-day life. All of this allows you to enjoy experiences of comfort and calm more deeply.
    2. Creating Your Sanctuary: You learn to energetically clear your energy system, enjoy your sacred personal space boundaries, and create bright spaces around you, turning your home into a supportive, safe container.
    3. Running Your Energy: Learning to meditate on your own we sometimes call ‘running your energy’. The practice brings warmth and clarity through your energy system, sometimes experienced as a feeling of inner light.
    4. Golden Sun Tool: This technique lets you call back your own energy, joy and warmth—key ingredients for feeling nourished and at peace.

As you explore the Lightwork meditation tools in daily life, you refine your ability to hold space for yourself and others, finding the calm presence that makes hygge not just a concept, but a lived experience.

 

One Way to Share Hygge: Make a Pot of Spirit-Warming Soup

Spaghetti Squash Butter Bean Soup

This cozy, nourishing soup captures the essence of hygge—that warm, comforting feeling of a simple, wholesome meal.

Ingredients

  • 1 large spaghetti squash
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 white onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 carrots, diced
  • 3 stalks celery, chopped
  • ½ bunch kale leaves, stems removed and chopped
  • 2 (13-ounce) cans butter beans, drained and rinsed
  • 6 cups vegetable stock
  • 1 teaspoon thyme
  • 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
  • black ground pepper, to taste
  • ½ cup almond flour (optional)

Instructions

  1. Bake the spaghetti squash: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Cut the spaghetti squash lengthwise, remove the seeds, and brush the cut sides with 1 tablespoon olive oil and place the halves cut-side down on a baking sheet and roast for 35-40 minutes, until tender. Once cooked, use a fork to loosen the squash strands and scrape them into a bowl. Set aside.
  2. Sauté the aromatics: In a large soup pot, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and sauté until translucent and fragrant.
  3. Add veggies and beans: Add the carrots, celery, and kale, and cook for another 3 minutes. Stir in the butter beans, vegetable stock, thyme, salt, and pepper. Mix in the almond flour to thicken and add creaminess, if using. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 20-25 minutes, until the veggies are tender.
  4. Combine and serve: Add the cooked spaghetti squash to the soup. Stir well, taste, and adjust seasoning if needed. Serve hot with fresh pita or crusty bread.

 

Your Abundant Moment

Scott Robinson // October 31st, 2025

 

An excerpt from the book, ‘Navigation’, by Scott Robinson

You can heal yourself by seeing the ways you believe your happiness is external to you; that it is somewhere ‘out there’. What programming leads you away from this moment where everything is already as it needs to be?

Because it’s all right here, right now. Life is complete and whole as it is.

Yes, there is healing to do as you create freedom for yourself, but at the same time, there is only now. The present moment. So if you’re waiting for a different reality to show up, you are missing your life.

 

Meditation Poetry: The Coming Cold…

Scott Robinson // October 31st, 2025

 

The Coming Cold…

After the heat

After the fire

Comes the release

The power has been harnessed

And now it imbues life

Deep into the earth

The storms are brewing

The freeze up, is on its way

But today it is golden

Today the sun throws
long chilly shadows
and the air is sweet

Outside becomes inside

And all the creatures prepare for the coming cold

I prepare too

I prepare for the journey within

The internal trek, without movement

Entering the vastness inside

It is time

As the leaves let go

So do I

and the cool North
welcomes the stillness

 

Creating Balance & Stability Through Change: Erin’s Journey

Erin O'Shaughnessy // September 30th, 2025

In times of change, it can often feel like the day I greet when I wake up is an entirely unknown world compared to the one I faced the week before. When I’m feeling lost, my meditation space is a place I can turn to at any time to come back to centre, check in with myself, and remember who I am. The power to heal myself, let go of old ways, and create anew makes facing a new future feel so much more bright and hopeful.

I’ve also found the regular schedule of Lightwork Moving Meditation to be super supportive through times of growth. Sure, my body may complain initially, but it has learned to love the consistency of the routine, and the trust I have in knowing I will soon feel lighter and ready to start the day.

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Scott Robinson

Scott Robinson is the founder and spiritual director of Lightwork Spiritual Development, based on Gambier Island, B.C. For more than 30 years, Scott’s spiritual evolution has been his life focus, along with helping others discover themselves as spiritual beings.

Even in earlier stages of his life Scott lived outside the confines of mainstream society as a hippie kid, musician, video artist, photographer, poet and world traveller. Spiritually aware from childhood, he could see energy, and he knew there was a bigger picture than the material pursuits of life.

His spiritual purpose took shape in his early twenties when he discovered a meditation style that was an immediate fit. He dove deeply into spiritual studies, deepening his clairvoyant abilities and learning the art of self-healing.

Scott is constantly pushing the boundaries of spiritual knowledge. Through teaching, writing and photography, he empowers others to become conscious, bright spiritual beings on the path to freedom.

Scott is also Chair of the Board, chief visionary, and manager of the Lightwork Ecovillage, the Gambier Island sacred site that is home to the Lightwork practice.

Alison Cretney

Alison has been practicing Lightwork meditation since 2007. As a certified Lightwork teacher, she offers classes suitable to first-time meditators or anyone who has practiced other meditation styles. You can attend her classes in beautiful Nelson, BC, or by phone or Skype.

Alison has found Lightwork's clarity, ease and potency to be transformative in all aspects of her life including parenting, work, relationships and stress.

She has a Masters in Strategic Leadership Toward Sustainability which she applies in collaborative projects seeking solutions for climate change.

Julia Watson

Julia offers meditation and consulting services for organizations and individuals.

She started her conscious spiritual journey in her mid-twenties but it wasn’t until she came across Lightwork in 2002 that she found a meditation practice that really worked for her.

Julia completed Lightwork’s seven levels of training in 2010. She has been joyfully teaching meditation classes and offering private energy readings since then.

She was previously the Program Director at Hollyhock (Canada’s leading educational retreat centre) and is now a self-employed bookkeeper.

Julia received a Bachelor of Business Administration from Simon Fraser University in 1994. She received a permaculture design certificate in 2000.

Julia Thiessen

Julia started taking Lightwork classes by phone from Winnipeg in 2004. The classes rocked her world so thoroughly she moved to Vancouver to continue her meditation studies, eventually graduating from Lightwork's most advanced program, 'Level 7: The Apprenticeship' in 2012.

Her move to the West Coast allowed her to become involved in the Lightwork Ecovillage, where she continues to deepen her meditation practice and learn life lessons (like...you really can grow kale year round!).

Julia is a certified Lightwork Teacher. She offers Lightwork Level 1 and Level 2 classes for beginners, as well as private energy reading sessions.

She brings creativity to the Lightwork administration team, and manages two annual meditation retreats: the summer '9-Day Dharma Healing', and 'Winter Light Week'.

She has an intuitive and studied understanding of all things green, arising from her work in therapeutic gardening at BC Children's Hospital and other locations around Vancouver.

Cathy Belgrave

When Cathy signed up for her first Lightwork class, she entered brand new territory. Coming from a scientific background, meditation was well outside her normal repertoire but she felt compelled to try it.

Without even being able to describe how, she shifted perceptions in all parts of her life and began making decisions that decreased stress. Encouraged, she thought she would keep meditating until it no longer felt like a fit. That day never came. She’s now a committed Lightwork practitioner and teacher.

Cathy offers Lightwork Level 1, Level 2, private classes and energy reading-healings. She blends her passions for writing, teaching and meditation by offering creative writing workshops for children and adults.

Darci Rosalie

Darci discovered Lightwork meditation in her last month of nursing school. She realized she wanted a totally new way of coping with stress.

So she turned down a fancy job in California with a big signing bonus and season’s tickets to her favourite football team. Instead she registered for Lightwork's beginners class and never looked back.

Throughout her healing journey Darci has witnessed how meditation has the power to shift tough situations and heal what needs healing.

Her favorite thing about being a Lightwork teacher is the simplicity and presence of being in the moment. The big and small of the universe come into focus and make room for significant awareness and healing.

Darci graduated from the Lightwork Apprenticeship program in March 2014. She offers energy reading sessions and meditation classes in a loving, supportive environment.

Tiffany Robinson

Tiffany Robinson has 18 years of experience in the social services sector, a B.A. in psychology, and over 15 years experience developing and facilitating dynamic wellness programs for youth and adults. She is a full-time instructor of Lightwork’s Level 1 – 3 meditation courses and Teacher Training program, and has been studying meditation for over 15 years, completing Lightwork’s two-year meditation teacher training in 2012, and a three-year apprenticeship in 2015. She is also Lightwork's Director of Operations.

As the Wellness Programs Specialist for the Crisis Centre of B.C., Tiffany co-developed and facilitated hundreds of workshops, webinars and wellness programs designed to enhance well-being, resilience and mental health. Over 13 years, she championed the centre’s first mindfulness training programs and was instrumental in establishing key contracts to deliver large-scale mindfulness programs to 1,500+ employee organizations, such as the Vancouver School Board.

Tiffany lives at the Lightwork Ecovillage on Gambier Island, an off-grid permaculture farm-meets-meditation-centre set on 80 acres overlooking Howe Sound.

Jacqueline Voci

Jacqueline first learned to meditate as an antidote to stress and a crazy-busy lifestyle in the tech and PR industries. As she gradually made it part of her daily routine, an entirely new way of experiencing life emerged.

In March 2014, she completed Lightwork’s two-year meditation teacher program and began its most immersive course, a three-year apprenticeship to founder, Scott Robinson.

Jacqueline teaches Lightwork's beginner classes (Levels 1 & 2) and offers meditation workshops for companies and organizations. She has hosted workshops for the Dalai Lama Center for Peace & Education, UBC Faculty of Medicine, BC Cancer Research Centre and BCIT Student Association.

She is also a writer and communications consultant.

Elizabeth Stevenson

Elizabeth decided to give Lightwork a try in 2010, after observing a friend's Lightwork journey. Deciding it was a fit, she took classes from her hometown of Victoria by phone for six years. She then packed up and moved to Vancouver to continue her studies, completing Lightwork's Level 6 Teacher Training Program in 2017.

Meditation has helped Elizabeth let go of fears and embrace all aspects of herself. She's excited that teaching now gives her the chance to offer the Lightwork techniques to other people.

Prior to Lightwork, Elizabeth completed a B.A. in anthropology, and certifications in community counselling and permaculture. Music has always been an important part of her life. She enjoys singing opera and jazz, and offering vocal improv classes.

Leslie Dickout

Leslie took her first Lightwork meditation class by phone in 2012 while living in the busy city of New York. She was awestruck by the simplicity of the tools she learned, and how they helped her let go of old patterns. She knew she wanted to learn more.

Now settled in Vancouver and enjoying a much simpler life, Leslie offers Lightwork Level 1 and Level 2 classes, as well as private energy reading-healings. She completed the Level 7 Apprenticeship program at Lightwork in 2021.

She also works in communications at BC Recreation & Parks Association.

Zhenya Andriyash

Zhenya started taking Lightwork meditation classes in the fall of 2012 while living in New York City and working for a bank. Meditation was his way of dealing with stress-filled workplace and hectic city life.

While taking Lightwork's Next Step program, he moved to Vancouver to lead a quieter, healthier life with a focus on his spiritual development.

Zhenya completed the Apprenticeship program at Lightwork in 2021 and now he offers beginner Lightwork classes (Level 1 and 2), as well as reading-healing sessions.

Having a job in the tech sector, Zhenya finds his meditation practice to be essential for having wellness and balance in his life.

Bogdan Serban

Bogdan Serban is a certified Lightwork teacher and a soccer-playing dad of two boys.

He started studying Lightwork in 2015 after many years of interest in spirituality and energy work. He considers the Lightwork practice to be life-changing, improving his relationships at home and work, and instilling a deeper self-confidence. He uses the Lightwork techniques every day to support his parenting, marriage and work life.

Bogdan originally hails from the picturesque, mountainside city of Brasov, Romania. He’s lived in Vancouver since 2005 and works in the telecom sector. In his down time, you’ll usually find Bogdan hanging out with his family or on a soccer pitch.

Bogdan completed his Lightwork teaching certificate in 2020. He also holds a degree in business management.