The Alternative

By Marcel van Heijzen

A friend pointed out that I should create a book, which assists people during this hectic life, by teaching the art of meditation.

I gave this challenge some thought and started writing.

 

This book contains a simple process to learn the art of meditation, it explains terms which one can find when following the spiritual path, and it provides an alternative to the present hectic way of living.

 

Enjoy the reading, and try out the ways of creating a disciplined mind.

 

Meditation is not something that separates people from life; it is part of life itself, and it assists those that learn this art to lead a healthy and fulfilling lifestyle.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Marcel van Heijzen
• Release date: Sep 30, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393496588

Book preview

The Alternative

People use drugs, conspiracy theories and fake news to consume their lives

For those interested, this book aims to supply an alternative.

I dedicate this book to the person who got me on the Spiritual Path

The changes forced onto my life are tremendous

I cannot thank him sufficiently for this gift

Books by the Same Author

Beating Cancer

Spiritual Development

Short Stories

The Life of Derek

My Life as a Lioness

A Life of Adversary

The Path

A Seekers Guide

Life’s Surprises

The Penguin that wanted to Fly

Acknowledgements

I created this book because a special friend asked me whether I would be willing to write a story that could assist young people in following the spiritual path, rather than to get hooked on drugs or other harmful activities. As I love the idea to create something that can be of use to others, I accepted this challenge and started writing. This book is the result.

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When anybody would like to discuss items in this book, please get in touch. I am always available for those that need contact or assistance.

To get in contact, please, write an e-mail to:

[e-mail]

You can also register on my website to receive my weekly blog.

https://alyaconsultancy.com/

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The writing of this book started in August 2020

Copyright of this book rests with Marcel van Heijzen.

All parts of this book may be copied and used, but please, reference the author.

Contents

introduction

the path of conspiracy and fake news

using drugs to achieve enlightenment

meditation to achieve spiritual development

the seeker

the mind and coincidences

what do we mean with the five vices?

phase 1 - discipline

phase 2 - realisation

phase 3 - real meditation

phase 4 - the vegetarian lifestyle

dealing with karma

the power of attention

communication

knowledge

the spiritual master

phase 5 - weeding

phase 6 - the domain of the soul

phase 7 – the one

about the author

Introduction

When reading this book, be very critical, and find ways to tell the story different from my descriptions. At the material level of awareness, we cannot understand the reality, and any description, including this one, is a simplistic attempt to touch the truth. Make sure to be analytical but in a positive way. Never throw anything aside because it looks like nonsense; it is a gift to establish why anybody creates something that we may consider not useful. Only after understanding the background, consider discarding

-o0o-

In my younger years, we roamed the streets and scraped chewing gum off the pavement. Owning a car or TV was for people with money. Anyhow, the TV started daily at 17.00 hrs and finished around 22.00 hrs. Entertainment was something that needed ingenuity; there was no smartphone or remote control. A house with an indoor toilet was already impressive, and a bathroom with a shower or bath in the house was, at working-class level, unheard-of luxury. We washed our body in the kitchen and, once a week, we went to a bathhouse. My parents owned a flat with an indoor toilet. Very luxurious. Grinding coffee we did manually, the house had coal heating in the living room only, and my mother did the washing on washing day, manually. Life was simple, but we managed to be happy. Drugs were something that we never heard off, and news came with the morning newspaper. Every day, a man on a bicycle brought a large block of ice to the grocery store on the corner; they did not have an electrical fridge. Nobody had a refrigerator in our street. Early morning, the milkman came with a horse cart, and all women bought fresh milk and butter by the pound. When the milk was off, it went in a towel, and, after the watery liquid drained off, the substance left in the towel was hang-up. Similar to young cheese, I presume, and we ate it like yoghurt.

These days, people lead a more sophisticated lifestyle. Houses have more amenities, we own cars and motorcycles, supermarkets sell whatever we want to buy, and various types of drugs are illegally available to children from a young age onward. Our children have access to the internet on their smartphones. A lot of information hides in the dark corners of the internet. It appears that some people like to stir up hate via mostly fake publications; apparently, it appeals to a lot of the children. I looked at some of this information, and most of it is easy to unravel, while at times the info seems remarkably real. All this information has a single aim; it stirs up the mind to create hate and fear. I recognise fake news this way.

Conspiracy theories are abundant on the internet. I know that it is likely that some secret arrangements go on, which aim to control our lives. During my history lessons, I learnt that various churches colluded with governments to exercise control over the population. Nowadays, people look at wealthy people exercising their control, we blame immigrants for spoiling our country, and we feel that our group – whatever this group constitutes – Is poorly treated, compared with others. I see little on the internet about the cameras everywhere in large towns; apparently, we accept that type of control.

When I analyse this behaviour, I notice that some people stir up part of the population with writings and photos. Out of the angry people they create, a few may plan actual action, which involves killing and sabotage. We should realise that those that make the hateful writing aim to achieve such reactions. Why I can only guess, likely it gives them the feeling of power. I see myself as an opposing force to these aims, and I wrote this book to create an alternative to following those that generate hate and fear in the world. It is so easy to drive around the countryside to take in the beauty of life. When the realisation comes that all this will always be around, whatever some people try to tell us, our mind calms down. Of course, climate change can still destroy our world.

Humanity may cause substantial changes to the environment and kill a lot of life on earth. The result will likely be that people annihilate themselves; the world recovers and new life evolves. We tend to believe that we are the top of the creation, but, in reality, we are part of the creation. When we outlast our use to this world, nature will remove us in some way. We, therefore, will not kill the world, we destroy the environment we require to live in, with the result that the human race perishes.  Let us hope that this realisation comes before it is too late.

This book does not deal with the drugs available, and it does not go into details of what not to do. Each person has the right, and ability, to make such choices for themselves. However, we do show that there is an alternative to following stories that create fear and stress and using drugs.

My knowledge of drugs amounts to the occasional use of Hashish and Cannabis. The reason for writing this book was a request to create a book that would provide younger people with an alternative to the path of drugs. To give an informed opinion on the subject, I did a bit of research, and my conclusion was that the use of drugs is only part of the issue. Especially young people follow in large numbers – the figure I found is 33% – fake news and conspiracy theories. These can be as damaging as drugs.

Further study showed me that fake news and conspiracy is not new. It is always around at low levels, as people like to find scapegoats for their misfortune.  However, when serious situations arise, like war or the present pandemic, the amount of followers increases tremendously.

To me, this shows that people love stability. When life is regular and stable, people are happy and content. When disaster strikes and significant changes happen to the lives of people, we tend to look for scapegoats, and those that create fake news and conspiracy theories have a field day.

I cannot change the way people behave. We are a herd animal, and we look for safety and stability, to protect the community from predators. This background to our origin is, likely, the reason for the search for entities that create our misfortune.

I refer to the use of drugs at times, but the primary intension of this book is to show a simple and very Western way to the art of meditation. Contemplating, and only using our mind when we need its use, is an excellent way to combat stress, and it avoids our involvement in the theatre of life. The term refers to the way people live their lives, following a system that looks like a theatre play. We create a role, and we play it to perfection. In the process, we completely forget who we are; we associate ourselves with the role we play. Meditation and contemplation are ways to go back to our origin; find the real self somewhere inside of us.

The system used in this book – If we can refer to it as a system – is to move in steps from living an ordinary life to living a life of conscious awareness. I added several chapters to this book that explain specific terms used in spiritual circles, to assist the seeker on the path of spiritual development. The way I describe these terms tend to avoid the existence of powerful lords; it is my view that all there is in our lives is I. Any issue in life is a consequence of the specific actions we took, and nothing happens because of others. When we explore our consciousness to get to know ourself, we do not meet others, all we find is ourself.

The art of meditation is a process that takes time to master. Please do not feel like we do not achieve much; any effort to follow the art of creating awareness involves progress. We may not always be able to identify the progress, but it will be there. Be patient. Each person practises meditation in its basic format. It is the awareness and discipline that needs development to get to the phase of conscious awareness of what we are, and what goes on in reality.

People who practise spiritual development are not following a type of religion, and they are not different from ordinary people. Never assume that a more developed person is exceptional. Numerous masters in spirituality are, in reality, running a business, and accumulate a lot of assets in the process. Such activities are fine and are part of the material awareness level. However, it has little to do with spiritual development. When we meet a real master, it will not be something we realise. We do know that we met a friend and a likeable person, but he or she will never tell you what they are. The reason for this is that at any awareness level, this awareness creates a realisation that a lot more achievement is possible. As long as we know that we can learn more, why tell people that we know it all? It is not possible at any physical level of awareness to acquire all knowledge available. When we develop at a spiritual level, we learn that the accumulation of money and assets stops our development. Progress stops because we focus our attention on the outside world, and, consequently, we forget to focus on the third eye.

-o0o-

In this book, I show a way to learn and practise the art of concentration and meditation. I do not pretend that this is the only way; I know it is not. Every person is unique, and therefore, every system of spiritual development is, in its essence, unique. Avoid looking too much at others. Study what other people do, and develop a method that suits you. Never think that you are behind, or, even worse, pretend that you are ahead of others. We all are seekers; the difference of following a spiritual path is that we make it a conscious development. Even this statement is only partly true; I have seen a lot of people at spiritual Satsang’s who do not show much understanding of what goes on. I also met people who do not understand the word spirituality, but these people are exceptional. When we follow the path, we know