. The Soul passes from form to form; and the mansions of her pilgrimage are manifold.Thou art old, O Soul of Man; yea, thou art from everlasting.                                                               Book of Hermes Every soul… comes into this world strengthened by the victories or weakened by the defeats of its previous life.          ...

. After five long years, the first of the Elysium's Passage series, The Summit, is about to be released. And yes, I promise -- this time for sure! . Last June it was about ready for publication. But after I received a one-off copy for final review and approval, I knew it still required more work. And so I went back to editingThe Summit for another eight months of very hard work, day and night, every day. Finally, when I felt I had finally done ...

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger; who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.             Imagination is more important than knowledge.                                              ...

I'll be going to the LA TIMES FESTIVAL OF BOOKS in April as one of 400 featured authors. This will be an exciting time with about 140,000 people expected over the two days at the University of South California campus.  I'm not sure what all will happen, but I hope to make a few contacts with those movers and shakers in the publishing and media industries -- maybe a few movie producers too. After all, Hollywood is only a few blocks ...

A pilot glanced outside his cockpit and froze. He blinked hard and looked again, hoping it was just a mirage. But his co-pilot stared at the same horrible vision. "My God, this is a nightmare," the co-pilot said. "He's going to destroy us," the pilot agreed. The men were looking at a grey German Messerschmidt fighter hovering just three feet off their wingtip. It was five days before Christmas 1943, and the fighter had closed in on their crippled American B-17 bomber ...

I had a dream, which was not at all a dream - Lord Byron . There was a time several years ago I would pay attention to my dreams. And funny thing, I found when I did this, they seemed to pay attention to me, or at least they seemed to be there for me. All that was required of me was to intend to remember them when I awoke. And so, first thing in the morning after getting out of bed, I ...

You can't blame gravity for falling in love.                                             Albert Einstein Who can give law to lovers? Love is a greater law unto itself.                          Boethius 470-524 (De Consolatione Philosophiae) The Elysium's Passage series has many themes, but perhaps none greater than love. Though there are countless expressions of love, the ancient ...

The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek - Joseph Campbell Failure is a greater teacher than success - Clarissa Pinkola Estés  Recently I was thinking about how we all experience failure from time to time and yet not realize how much we can learn and benefit from the experience. At times its feels like a huge loss, but mostly failures are minor setbacks. As Joseph Campbell seems to suggest in the quote above, the cave we fear may contain ...

I assert the nature of all reality is spiritual, not material or a dualism of matter and spirit.     Werner Heisenberg, Nobel Prize in Physics (1932) For anyone interested in the question of who and what we are, I have included a short excerpt of a discussion on this topic that occurs between the two main characters James and Mo. This is taken from chapter 7 of Elysium's Passage. Are we spirits or are we just material beings that have ...

What is it?  Whatever it might be, it seems something or someone is on my trail. If we allow our imagination, we may see it as an orb from interdimensional space looking for some crazy person to take a picture of it. And yet I don't recall anything whizzing by that day while climbing in the mountains. But let's keep an open mind -- that doesn't mean something wasn't there. Obviously I don't I see what my digital camera sees or ...

You see what you’re looking for, so look to the light to see the light I received a lot of interest in my orb pictures last week with hundreds of views in just days. Since I have many others stashed away in my external drive, I thought I pick a few more out to display on a new post. I have enlarged and enhanced most of these for contrast purposes. I am not representing they are anything more than natural phenomena ...

. There are hundreds and hundreds of books I’ve read and studied over the years that have influenced and enriched my thinking. Below I have provided a brief summary of a few books and a couple of thinkers that had special significance for me while writing the Elysium's Passage series over the last five years 1.      A COURSE IN MIRACLES (ACIM) I repeatedly make reference to ACIM throughout the series. I found it fascinating to learn that the book came into existence in the late ...

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy. William Shakespeare PART ONE Introduction What has happened during the five years was truly extraordinary. Perhaps that's why it's with some trepidation I put myself out there, since this is a very personal story and not just a little bizarre. However, it may help future readers of the Elysium's Passage series understand why the books are so different from 'normal' fiction. In fact, I'm not sure which will ...

The Meaning of Elysium Elysium is described by Homer, Hesiod, Virgil and many other poets as the mythological paradisiacal plains reserved for deceased heroes. The name may have its origins with the Greek verb eleuthô, meaning release for the souls of heroes and virtuous men.  Some traditions considered this a realm of the netherworld, others certain eastern islands in the Aegean Sea, and later, a place by the Black Sea. Perhaps the best way to explain the meaning of Elysium within the ...

. PROLOGUE TO ELYSIUM'S PASSAGE SERIES . Hi, my name is James. I’m a lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at one of the universities in London, England. Don’t let that concern you though, I don’t wish to overwhelm you with a lot of philosophical terms, concepts and jargon in order to show you how clever I am. In fact, my girlfriend says I may not be as smart as I sometimes think. Although I know she’s just trying to keep me humble, ...

'  . THE SUMMIT   INTRODUCTION . This narrative begins with a most unusual allegory that came to me in an intensive dream one night which, as it turned out, would foreshadow the direction of my future life. The symbolic nature of the objects and environments I encountered reminded me of the allegorical meanings I read of in Pilgrim's Progress. My dream experience had a similar quality to it: the most provocative interpretative expression of my life up to that point, including various deficiencies not so ...

To access all four chapters and all blog posts go to www.elysiumspassage.com WHERE AM I? . I had a dream, which was not at all a dream                                 Lord Byron I awoke on a patch of dry grass feeling disoriented and dazed, not remembering exactly where I was. And yet, for some reason, I felt more rested than I could ever remember. Curiously it felt as though I had been ...

. . STORY TIME . From these depths depart towards heaven, you have escaped from the city full of fear and trembling [17]                                            Rumi .  Then, as the sun rose, I continued to lie there, completely relaxed. Never before had I slept so peacefully… except for possibly the night before down in the ravine when it felt as though I had slept for days. While lying ...

. . THE COMPANY YOU KEEP A person starts to live when he can live outside himself                                      Albert Einstein .  I remained in bed for some time the next morning still thinking about my inward identity and who I really was. It weighed upon me that I hadn't come up with a single plausible answer to this basic question, even though I thought about it through much ...