A HIGHER VISION

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A HIGHER VISION
One of the major themes in Elysium’s Passage novel series is, "Come further up, Come further in." If you are familiar with C.S. Lewis's works, you may recognise this phrase from what was cried out by the characters as they ran further up and further into the New Narnia, as described in The Last Battle, the concluding book in the Chronicles of Narnia series.
As we each ascend our Mountain further up and further in, we continue to gain greater clarity and vision in seeing who we are while we remain on earth. Whatever path we may be on, we are all on a trek through life. James, the protagonist, shares a peculiar venture that took him further up and further in, far beyond what I could have imagined. He sensed there was more to life than he could see from his limited perspective. It wasn’t until he received his inner vision of a mountain that he knew he was called to ascend towards a much higher field of vision.
Excerpt from Chapter 1, ELYSIUM’S PASSAGE: THE ASCENT
So, it was that infamous night at the pub when I felt I had hit bottom, both literally and figuratively; this dream came to me as a flicker of light, dimly shining through the cracks of my broken life. A line in Leonard Cohen’s lyrics from Anthem speaks of how the light enters through the crack.[1] And Rumi, the Sufi Persian poet, made a similar observation centuries ago: The wound is the place where the Light enters.[2]
It was not until that night that I first became aware of this light when, in this dream, something shone through a crack in my soul. Thereafter, what I heard and saw in my dream remained indelibly inscribed in my psyche. More than just a dream, it was an extraordinary premonition that would lead me to several more cracks and almost fatal wounds, this time physically.
Interestingly, I seemed to hear a commentator during the beginning stages guiding me through various images, events, and peculiar landscapes I observed in my sleeping consciousness. I didn’t understand it at the time, yet I could feel this was my story told to me on various levels of my psyche. While sleeping, it occurred to me how peculiar it was that someone would presume to speak to me about my life in these terms.
Mysteriously, the sonorous voice seemed to emanate from far beyond: a plane identified as being on a Mountain far above the clouds in my life. I laughed, wondering if Zeus had, after all, deigned to answer me that night.
Wherever the voice came from, it spoke with uncompromised authority. I was disturbed at first by how it urged me to accept a new calling in life. To what fate was I beckoned? I wasn’t sure what to think.
At first, it seemed a distant echo: ‘James, prepare to leave your world.’ I half awoke, startled by the abrupt words. Was I about to die? Then I would fall back, this time into a deep slumber, as the voice returned, becoming more apparent than before.
‘Listen to us; we speak to you from a high plane on a Summit where you have often unawares sought to join us. From our lofty ridge, we view your life in the lands far below. We may appear far away, but we are very near; we dwell here even while we dwell within your mind to which we now speak, for we are all of one Mind.
‘As we survey the magnificent vistas beyond us, we regret those who wish not to leave the Lowlands below to discover the wonders of what might lie beyond. Although you remain unaware of who you are and where you’re going, we can tell you the Lowlands are no longer your home; you belong here with us… because you are of us. Those you dwell among corrupt your perspectives and opinions, believing their forlorn reality is the only reality.
‘They say you live, you die, then return to the elements from which you arose, and that’s how things are. That, however, is not how things are. One day, you will live to tell the true story.
‘Yet, you can only speak to those who, like you, envision this Mountain where we wait far beyond the flat horizon. Most will neither see nor hear; they have already decided what is real, but what they look upon is not real.
‘In your sleeping consciousness, you’ve oft heard our faint voice and questioned whether it came to you from afar or if it was only from within your mind. It matters not from where; the message is one, and there is no separation. You sometimes long to join us here on these high vistas to discover new mysterious realms on our side. We speak to you now since you are ready to be answered, just as all are answered who open their eyes to see what others cannot and will not see.
‘As we stand above on this Mountain ridge with you in our sights, we ask that you put aside all thoughts of how you think this may be and try to understand what we have to say. When you discover the wondrous sights that lie far beyond the Lowlands’ foggy images, you will know. The perceptions formed in the Lowlands are but a chimaera you choose to believe and live. ‘Though you were never told this, we are telling you now.
‘Ask yourself why you cannot see this Mountain upon which we stand. Is it real? What if it is far more than all you consider real? Tell us if you are able; what is real? What makes it real, and how can you tell?
‘Though you need not answer, consider these questions as we invite you to join us for a season by ascending to this Summit on which we stand that you may understand, not as your world understands, but as we understand... and know. We have something more significant in mind for you than just knowledge. It will remain your choice: to join us or stay unaware for the rest of your mediocre days in your Lowlands.
‘We didn’t make our dwelling on this ridge overlooking your world when we entered this threshold between the old and new worlds. It’s a special place where you can join us for a spell to discover new vistas of existence before you return. Once you depart your plane below, you will have begun your journey into the infinite landscapes of wondrous splendours. You will then realise there is no end to the ineffable splendours of indescribable dimensions. So, it will always seem you are only beginning to ascend further up and further in.
‘You have long considered this quest, so we call out to you now to join us where your soul longs to be, a domain you have long forgotten. Then, one day, you too may reveal to your weary world something of the resplendence you have seen, heard, and touched.
‘We have often watched you unwittingly gaze off into the distance towards our misty and mysterious peaks. There are others in your domain who, at times, share your vision, yet few give much attention to what lies beyond the flat plains. But you did. As you gazed longingly in our direction towards heights unseen and unknown, you yearned to know what lies beyond your marshy planes.
‘Then, ever more frequently, you began to dream shadowy dreams with strange images and voices calling out to you. From where? You didn’t know; still, it felt right because it came from somewhere beyond, possibly in a land much higher. In your dreams, you hoped someday you would be shown a way that would lead you away, far from the stifling Lowlands.
‘As these visions continued to ebb and flow over the years, they seemed to drift and meander without having any specific meaning. At first, these were just subliminal impressions, but as they congealed, something called out to you. You didn’t know what it was, perhaps a reminder of who you were and what you were to become.
‘Finally, within the deepest recesses of your ancestral memories, someone began to speak softly to you, saying you are not abandoned; you belong with us. You hadn’t heard this voice since you were a child.
‘After years of innocence, it said, you forgot who you were and why you came to this world! Now, finally, you’re becoming aware of what’s calling out to you from within. You wonder if you should leave the Lowlands to seek the higher grounds you didn’t know existed on a Mountain longingly envisioned when your mind was quieted.
‘At such times, you drifted towards mysteries more beautiful and majestic than you had ever known. Yet, they also confused you. Such hallowed stirrings were contrary to everything you had experienced, just as they are contrary to what the brooding muckraking inhabitants of the Lowlands understood or wanted to understand!
‘Whatever these inklings might be, you felt it would be best to remain silent. Such frivolous speculation is not well tolerated in the Lowlands, so you spoke nary a word.
‘As time passed, these callings didn’t go away as you continued to nourish the hope engendered in your soul until it became an exciting presentiment of what could be where you would take the risk and leave where all was safe and secure to venture beyond. Whatever was calling you was more sublime than what could be heard in the Lowlands.
‘Meanwhile, you grew increasingly weary of the amorphous fog hovering in the air where no one in the Lowlands could get excited about anything other than their predictable affairs. With no firm convictions, the air stagnated into the dense swamp gase of debilitating apathy.
‘In its mist, no one had clarity, so nothing had purpose or meaning because nothing mattered other than what should matter least. Perhaps it was the Lowlands’ aether, yet it didn’t seem necessary or even advisable to think anything different than somniferous thoughts that might disturb the collective slumber. Therefore, it was considered best not to stir things too much lest they awaken and attack you.
‘So, for much of the time, making your way among the boggy base was soft and accommodating. The ruts required little effort to meander through, so there was never any concern about where to go since all paths eventually returned to where you started. For what purpose you continued to wander, you weren’t sure, yet it didn’t matter. It was what everyone did.
‘The deepest ruts, you found, were always the shortest and most accessible paths to get to where you were going. With so many treading the same way, these ruts continued to wear deeper and deeper, making it increasingly challenging to go off-course, not that you would want to. What would be the point? Life’s path, you decided, was predetermined; the very notion of exercising free will was a fanciful illusion.
‘At least that’s what you were told by those who believed they had no choice, making life easier and more secure, much to be preferred over the uncertainties and responsibilities of having to choose a path. And so, there wasn’t much to strive towards or be concerned about. Neither was there anything to be inspired about; there were already enough meaningless amusements to be occupied with in a meaningless existence.
‘At times, things changed when the rain poured for extended periods when the ground became soft and sticky. That’s when you could sink and perish deep in a rut as the misty drizzle persisted. You, too, knew what it was to be stuck, and it wasn’t a great feeling.
As you reflected on your life, it became increasingly apparent there had to be more than what you had subjected yourself to. Having been told there was nothing to see beyond the Lowlands, you didn’t bother to look past the veils of Lowlands’ mists. Then, finally, one day, you realised you could no longer ignore our call from beyond, although you were unsure what that was or where it may lead.
‘Then, as you began to focus your inward eyes on what might lie beyond, you would catch vague images and shifting shapes of something you were unfamiliar with. As you paid more attention to these visions, the image of a Mountain appeared, causing you to wonder if there was something higher out there that was beckoning you. Or was it just your imagination deceiving you? At first, you didn’t know what to do or where to go; you only knew you must leave in search of what was calling you higher.
‘Though you didn’t know what direction you should go, you knew you had to follow your vision, trusting this would lead you to higher land. This hope, though indistinct and undefined, became irresistible. So, late one rainy evening, you stole away into the darkness, leaving behind the mud, sludge, drudge, and all that felt familiar and safe to you in the Lowlands.’
With that, the oratory faded into the distance. I heard no more of this enchanting narration, yet my dream continued as I saw myself embarking on a journey out of this land. Lucid images continued to impress my mind throughout an improbable but epic trek into the unknown.
It felt like days or even months that I continued to search for a way out of the Lowlands, aimlessly wandering through its boggy marshes. For a time, fog obstructed my vision, yet I forged ahead, believing I was on the right path to wherever I might be destined. As my hovel began to retreat into the past, I sensed I was finally becoming my own man, no longer bogged down in the Lowlands.
[1] The lyrics to Leonard Cohen’s copyrighted lines of Anthem may be found online.
[2] Rumi was a 13th-century Persian Sufi poet born in Tajikistan.
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Then, later in Chapter Twelve...
‘Savour the journey, James,’ he said. ‘It’s only beginning. Though you may rest along the way to take in the spectacular views, realise the adventure is never over because enlightenment never ends; it only expands with fuller vision from the heights. Wherever you find yourself, you’re always at the starting gate to go wherever you wish to go. There are always more marvels for you to see and experience along the unlimited paths yet to be discovered in paradise.
‘Unfortunately, many on the earth plane consider the body’s death to be the end of their journey, or at best, an eternal ennui of religious tedium that, if you had your druthers, you might prefer annihilation.[1]
‘For you, however, wherever you decide to ascend will always be your highest and most noble adventure. At least until the next, and the next...’
‘Most inspiring words, Eli. However, I doubt if any of this is what I will experience when I return. I see only more drudgery.’
‘Well then,’ Mo said, ‘I have something here I’ve been saving that might give you some cheer. It’s an excerpt from what Julianne was recently reading. Let me recite it to you: For you know that when you return to the level ground from which you climbed, you will be different as a result of having made your ascent. The hard work is done. What you gain here you gain from what is beyond effort and learning – what you have gained will never leave you but will sustain you forevermore.’[2]
[1] Pascal wrote: I would prefer an intelligent hell to a stupid paradise.
[2] From A Course of Love, Mari Peron, Book 3, Chapter 11.
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SUMMARY OF ELYSIUM'S PASSAGE: THE SUMMIT
This is the first in a series of seven Elysium Passage narrarted novels regarding a young British philosopher named James Phillips, who finds himself living in an altered state of reality while still remaining on Earth.
After experiencing a near-fatal fall while climbing to the summit of a remote mountain in the Andes, James awakens in a new dimension. He soon encounters two mysterious beings who provide him with a very different perspective on the nature of his existence. Over the next year, before his body recovers from the coma, he is challenged to re-examine his understanding of life’s meaning and purpose far beyond anything he previously believed or could believe.
An engaging and sometimes surreal adventure with intimations of impending romance, the narrative explores the most important questions about life, death, reality, and our ultimate destiny.
The Plains of Elysium (Champs-Élysées) was described by Homer, Hesiod, Virgil, and many other poets as the paradisiac afterlife realm reserved for heroes. As the title suggests, this is about a journey through a passage that leads towards Elysium’s exciting realm of existence.
To read a sample press review at https://www.prweb.com/releases/2018/05/prweb15515775.htm
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(ATTEMPTED) INTRODUCTION TO THE SERIES
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ELYSIUM'S PASSAGE: READER REVIEWS
The following comments are excerpts from among the first readers including a number of Amazon five star reviews. To read the full reviews, go to READER REVIEWS on www.elysiumspassage.com or directly at https://digitalbloggers.com/arts-and-entertainment/reader-reviews
"A delightful mix of fantasy, reality, conjecture, and humour; Mr. Meyers draws the reader into the story with a gentle narrative that captures the imagination, leaving one anxious to get to the next page drawing you into his exceptional world.”
"Quietly, gently, and without imposition, the Author unfolds the pages, creating an intricate, interlocking bridge spanning the chasm between mind and heart. Renewing, refreshing, restoring. In my bereavement, it was vigil and light…"
“Excellently written with an exceedingly deep understanding of this world and the next. The characters are very well written and engaging. I can't wait to complete this book!"
“Takes the reader on both a philosophical and spiritual journey, a journey that at times is both disquieting and tranquil. James, a British Philosopher can be irreverent and caustic, traits that should have left me cringing, but instead made me laugh out loud. Elysium’s Passage is a fun, enlightening and remarkable book.”
“This is a masterful fantasy, becoming a real possibility, as the reader is drawn into the story. The Summit leaves you anxious for the next book in the series, yet also leaves you totally satisfied with the world you have just visited. Genius! An exciting, yet calming, experience that is not to be missed."
"There was hardly a page on which I did not find at least one sentence worthy of hi-lighting for future reference. In addition, I thoroughly enjoyed the main character, James, whose personality and passionate verbal exchanges with the other characters, kept me coming back for more. I am reading the book for a second time while I wait for the next one in this series to be made available."
“N.G. Meyers has clearly put a great deal of research and thought into what the afterlife may look like and I like his perspective. It’s an altogether welcoming and exciting vision. The book gives one a great deal to think about and a reassuring confidence that the end of our lives is truly the beginning of life in the next. I highly recommend it."
"I am really enjoying your book, it’s fantastic! It is so incredible and diversified that I can’t really explain it to other people, so what I say is just read this book. Thank you so much for the blessings that you’ve given the world!"
“The humour interjected into a serious discussion makes me laugh out loud. Totally unexpected....l may be in the presence of at least a master, if not a genius. A fair ride into reality... seeking that which is unseen, yet absolutely real.”
“An engaging story of adventure embracing man's deepest desire to search for meaning and purpose, N.G. Meyers takes the reader on an adventurous thought-provoking journey. This book has substance. It is a perfect blend of adventure and fantasy combined with spiritual philosophy. It ignited my imagination. The author magically weaves a good story laced with wit and humour together with deep philosophical wisdom. This book has it all!”
“An evolution in thought is triggered by many fresh philosophical themes which could inspire readers to re-think their reality and former ideologies that have dictated their lives… the author fires readers’ imaginations to view what could be possible when spirit vacates the body.”
“This is the book spiritual seekers have been waiting for. For me, it granted a great read as well as increased inspiration to live every day with a heightened sense of purpose. I highly recommend it.
“The Summit is capable of hooking readers and luring them to search for Book 2 to discover more about Dr. Philip’s surreal trek into the mysterious unknown universe. This thick book is well worth the read and to share…”
“Mind-blowing statements and speculation (‘…everyone is a non-physical thought form conceived in the Mind of God, preserved for all eternity because God’s thoughts never die…’). Many will find Meyers’ journey up the Mountain intriguing—and possibly even life-changing.” (BLUEINK REVIEW)
“In its effort to grapple with fundamental questions about the meaning of life, it raises questions that have echoed throughout the ages, including about where we come from, where we are going, who we are.” (CLARION REVIEW)
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PENDING PUBLICATION OF ELYSIUM’S PASSAGE SERIES
THE ASCENT: Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage
THE SUMMIT: Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage
QUANTUM LEAPS: Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage
SURREAL ADVENTURES: Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage
MYSTICAL ROMANCE: Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage
THE ELIXIR: Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage
THE RETURN: Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage
1. The Ascent is the first novel in the Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage that’s foundational to everything that happens in the following narratives that embark on an adventure that will surprise and delight the reader like no other book.
It all begins with an extreme adventure of climbing a remote and challenging mountain somewhere in the Andean Mountains. Just as James, the protagonist, is about to reach the mountain summit, he falls into an abyss that leaves him in a coma for almost a year.
After being airlifted by a forestry helicopter and flown back to London, where his body remains for almost a year. Eventually, he learns it was not him but his body that was rescued. Several days later, without understanding what happened, he continues to climb to the summit in an alternate dimension of higher consciousness.
Fortuitously, he meets two adventurers on the summit ridge who are no longer of this world. After that, his surreal life leads him to several new adventures in the subsequent chronicles that include a rich mix of adventure, romance, and fantasy, along with profound discussions of philosophy, spirituality and the afterlife.
2. The Summit, the second novel in the Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage, carries on where James, the narrator and protagonist, is taught more about a multidimensional reality that he finds difficult to comprehend.
Not only does he find he’s not as clever as he imagined, but his off-world companions on the summit demonstrate that much of what he believed about life was not just parochial but wrong. At first, he finds this difficult to comprehend since their teachings are contrary to his limited understanding of non-material reality.
After being tricked into teleporting off a ledge where he was trapped, James becomes aware of the new reality that makes him capable of far more adventures than could have ever been experienced previously in his physical body back home.
Now, if only he would win over the only woman in this life who matters, the nurse on the other side of the veil, who continually demonstrates her unconditional love toward his healing.
Warning: This book may also open the reader’s eyes to a much vaster reality than most might be aware. As with the other Chronicles, there are discussions of philosophy, the spiritual afterlife and what might seem like fantasy.
3. Quantum Leaps is the third novel in Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage, where James, the philosopher-protagonist, teleports back to London to visit his body and make contact with the special nurse taking care of it in his absence. Immediately, he feels an inexplicable spiritual bond with her for reasons he remains unaware of.
Now aroused by a renewed interest in matters of love, the beginnings of a relationship begin to emerge as he attempts to reach across the chasm of their worlds. But it’s not until the fifth novel, Mystical Romance, that he encounters her in a way that he finds difficult to believe.
However, before that can happen, there is much about his failed relationships that must be resolved before he is ready to move forward in his new life in Elysium’s Passage. It is during this time he christens his comatose body as the fall guy since it took the fall for him down the abyss so he could learn the lessons he’s now learning.
That will be the next focus of his life, where in his next Surreal Adventures, he is given virtual lessons to release many of his past beliefs about life.
4. Surreal Adventures is the fourth novel in the Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage, which finds James, the protagonist and narrator, escorted by his companions to a remote South Pacific Island, where he is left to reflect on what he’s learned.
During the next forty days, he battles the demons of his past as he works through some rather painful issues from his early youth. Here, in a tropical storm, he encounters an eery suspended spectre of the one he loved yet still resents for abandoning him as a child.
After this, he achieves peace of mind and is ready to return to his lodge to join his off-world companions on the Andes summit. However, just when it seemed things couldn’t get any stranger, a sixteenth-century sea captain sails his ancient ‘ghost’ ship onto the beach. Together, they sail off on a mystical ocean voyage to a couple of virtual islands supposedly in the South Pacific, where he witnesses and, at times, participates in several important life lessons.
Near the end, these encounters help prepare him for a new challenge within the interior of a mountain, where he falls deep into a dark tomb of fear. After being rescued by a mysterious stranger wielding his Excaliber, he continues on to where his life is about to be transformed in the following chronicle, Mystical Romance.
5. Mystical Romance is the fifth chronicle in Elysium’s Passage, which will surprise the reader with a romantic twist of how love is expressed in higher realms. From this lofty perspective, everything about intimacy is understood as within, so without.
After escaping his tomb, James, the narrator and protagonist, makes his way through a maze of tunnels until he arrives at a large oak door, which he opens with the golden key he had been given. There, he steps into Elysium’s Passage’s Great Hall, where his life and recent achievements are celebrated now that his eyes have been opened to perceive a fascinating interior world of wonderment… and romance.
To say more might risk diminishing the multitude of delightful surprises as circumstances begin to open to The Elixir, where James is about to re-enter his earthly body’s existence.
6. The Elixir is the sixth chronicle of the Elysium’s Passage series that prepares James, the narrator-protagonist, to awaken and return to his body in London. Before that can happen, however, his off-worlder friend presents a mysterious equation enshrouded with a light code frequency that will stimulate multidimensional DNA strands within him.
Much of this narration is centred in London, where his nurse unknowingly becomes involved in how the Elixir’s equation finds its way from a taxi cab driver to higher echelons of science. There are many twists in how she unwittingly brings the Elixir to the attention of mathematicians and physicists, after which they eventually discover how to code the equation into a laser ray to stimulate his fall-guy body into full consciousness.
Ostensibly a new Adam, he is destined to return humanity to a higher multidimensional existence. How this happens is filled with intrigue, as is his shocking return to his earthly body.
7. The Return is the seventh and last chronicle in the series where James, the narrator and protagonist, has re-emerged from Elysium’s Passage as he readjusts to life in the third dimension. Many of the events experienced in the previous novels are tied together in an exciting, fast-moving, action-packed narrative over several countries.
At first, it seems all memories have been lost, with his fall guy’s brain not being aware of what happened to him while in his coma. As a consequence, it takes a while for him to be convinced he had been out of his earthly body for almost a year.
Through some rather unexpected events and evidence, along with his girlfriend’s urging, he is brought to an awareness of much of what occurred. It takes a while for his mind to catch up with the changes made in his heart during his stay in the alternate realm. But after experiencing several harsh realities, he discovers what he became within while out of his body. Gradually, he comes to understand the many challenges that lie ahead for him in fulfilling his future mission on Earth.
This book is filled with adventure, romance and personal intrigue that ties together all six previous narratives of the Elysium’s Passage series.
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