A reflection on identity, inner experience, and Starseed orientation.
People sometimes ask me:
What does being a Starseed mean for you, personally?
For me, experience can’t easily be reduced to a simple answer.
I’ve often resisted narrowing myself down to a single definition.
Life feels much richer — and more nuanced — than that.
Some people are curious whether I see it as a literal identity, a intuitive language, or simply a way of describing inner experience.
If you’re new to the idea, you might enjoy exploring what the Starseed lens means here.
On this page, we’ll gently explore the space between identity, inner experience, and what I call Starseed orientation.
Because the question “Is Michiel a Starseed?” actually hides a deeper one:
What does it mean to relate to identity at all?
How people relate to Starseed orientation
People approach the word Starseed in very different ways.
Here are some common responses
- They interpret it as a belief
- Recognition or remembrance
- Search for identity
Let’s look at each of these.
Interpreting it as a belief
Some people hear conversations about energy, angels, or cosmic beings.
Very quickly it can begin to sound like a belief system.
When that happens, they may instinctively move away from it.
Recognition or remembrance
Others recognize something more familiar.
Perhaps they had experiences they never spoke about before.
Moments that felt difficult to explain at the time.
Starseed orientation might offer a language that resonates with those experiences.
Search for identity
Then there are people who are searching for identity.
Before exploring Starseed orientation, some people first explore their sensitivity as HSPs or empaths.
For myself, I’ve always had a certain resistance to defining myself too quickly.
On this page, I’ll first share where that resistance came from. And then I’ll explore why identity can sometimes be helpful after all.
My resistance to defining myself as a Starseed
At one point in my life I became deeply interested in non-duality.
It was often described as a finger pointing to the moon —
a set of words pointing beyond words.
Resting in this awareness brought me a deep sense of relaxation.
It calmed my nervous system.
It also closed many internal loops.
Questions I had been carrying for a long time suddenly felt resolved.
Non-duality offered a way to make sense of the world.
But after a while, something else started to happen.
It didn’t leave enough space for curiosity.
Over time I became cautious of defining myself through any system at all.
I didn’t want to replace one identity with another.
When identity becomes too rigid
Frameworks can be helpful.
They give us language and orientation.
But sometimes a framework quietly turns into something rigid.
For me, non-duality had slowly become a complete map for everything.
When a single map explains everything, it can begin to create hierarchy.
How identity can create hierarchy
On an outer level, there can be a hierarchy between people who are searching and those who are considered self-realized.
On an inner level, non-duality can be presented as the highest possible insight.
My original attraction to a single organizing principle had become something heavier.
What once felt like clarity and unification started to feel limiting.
It was a kind of unification taken too far.
When identity becomes helpful again
For me, things shifted when I began to embrace the basic rhythm of Creative Spirituality – expanding, breathing and expressing.
Expanding — questioning identity
Expanding is the movement of curiosity.
It means allowing questions to open again.
It means exploring ideas without needing to define yourself through them.
When I began questioning some of my non-dual assumptions, something softened.
Curiosity returned.
New perspectives became possible again.
Questioning beliefs created space.
Breathing — allowing experience to unfold
The second movement is Breathing.
Breathing means slowing down.
Pausing long enough to feel what is actually present.
Breathe consciously can be a doorway to the very space that non-duality points toward — a quiet sense of presence.
But this time, the space felt different.
It no longer needed to close every question.
Instead, it allowed new possibilities to appear.
Possible expressions.
Possible ways of speaking about experience.
Perhaps even defining myself again in some gentle way.
Expressing — speaking from a Starseed orientation
Eventually I began to speak from what I call a Starseed orientation.
Sometimes I even say:
“I’m a Starseed.”
At first this brought up old feelings.
The familiar discomfort of being limited by definitions.
But something had changed.
I began to realize that words themselves can evolve.
The word Starseed doesn’t have to be a rigid identity.
It can be an expansive lens.
A language that clarifies certain experiences — without trapping me inside a definition.
So… is Michiel a Starseed?
After this journey, I would say:
Yes — I can embrace that word now.
But I experience it more as an orientation than a fixed identity.
Because of my lingering resistance to rigid definitions, I sometimes prefer saying Starseed orientation rather than defining myself entirely through the label.
For me, “Starseed” is not a final definition of who I am.
It is just an orientation that works really well for me.
Exploring identity for yourself
You might also pause and ask yourself:
What does identity mean for you?
Which maps help you understand your experience?
Are there maps that feel supportive — and others that feel too rigid?
You don’t have to answer these questions immediately.
Sometimes simply noticing the question is enough.
And if these reflections ever feel a bit deep or overwhelming, the basic rhythm can help bring things back into balance.
Expanding
Question identity and explore meaning.
Breathing
Rest in awareness without forcing conclusions.
Expressing
Use language that helps you share your experience.
Sometimes identity is not something we need to solve.
It can simply be something we explore — with curiosity and care.
Am I a Starseed?
Some people arrive here with a very personal question:
“Am I a Starseed?”
Often this question arises when someone has experiences that feel difficult to explain through ordinary language.
They may feel deeply connected to the stars, nature, or something greater than everyday life.
Sometimes they sense that their perspective on the world is slightly different from the people around them.
The Starseed lens can offer a way of exploring these experiences.
But it does not need to become a final identity.
For some people, the idea of being a Starseed feels meaningful and empowering.
For others, it works better as a intuitive language for inner experience.
If you are wondering whether the Starseed lens resonates with you, it can help to approach the question gently.
Instead of asking “Is this absolutely true?”, you might simply ask:
“Does this perspective help me understand my experience in a meaningful way?”
You can explore it for a while and see what unfolds.
And just as importantly, you can always set it aside again.