Elleke Van Kraalingen

This is a clear and practical book for everyone who practices meditation - or who wants to do so. In a brief introduction the original meaning of meditation is explained according to the classical Yoga Sutra's of Patanjali. After this introduction the book consists purely of exercises, soberly and almost poetically described, to practice directly by oneself, or together with others. This book takes you from simple relaxation and concentration exercises, which everyone can start with, gradually building up to more advanced exercises leading to higher meditation. Different techniques are explained along the way to come to awareness of the transpersonal Self, the universal core in every human being. The last part of the book comprises a series of playful imagination exercises, which can be applied to shape your daily life creatively. Meditation is more than a discipline, meditation is a way to live life to the full!

An autobiographical story about the love between a young Dutch woman and her Norwegian friend, who is knocked down by a car and dies in front of her eyes. In the middle of the chaos and terror she perceives how his soul withdraws from his body and watches the scene. He stays with her that first, difficult night. An unusual dialogue develops in which he convinces her that there is a reality which goes beyond life and death and that their relationship continues in this reality. In her sorrow, love, longing and curiosity about what is real, she is willing to explore this contact with him. This leads to an extraordinary voyage of discovery in the following months. While she goes through her process of mourning, he takes her into his world. She moves out of her body several times, going through experiences of other states of consciousness and travelling through spheres beyond the earthly dimension of time and space.