BOOKS THAT INFLUENCED THE SERIES

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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 1960s through words inspired and dictated by Jesus to a bewildered and reluctant professor of Medical Psychology at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. Dr. Helen Schucman was the last person you would expect to be called to scribe these writings, sometimes referred to as the Christian Vedanta.
For one thing, she was Jewish and so had little regard for Jesus or the Christian faith. But not only that, she was also an atheist and scientist who had a scholarly reputation to protect. Added to this she was married to a devout Jewish businessman. The divine must have a sense of humour when choosing his scribes.
Rather than go into my own opinions, which are obviously favourable, I leave to the reader who is interested in finding more about this astonishing work.
One very informed book about ACIM is Understanding a Course in Miracles. It’s written by journalist and scholar Dr Patrick Miller who provides a very balanced view and excellent orientation of the book, its history and legacy.
If you are interested in knowing more, there is much information available on the Internet including a movie documentary. I would recommend beginning with the Foundation for Inner Peace website.
2. A COURSE OF LOVE (ACOL)
ACOL was published in various stages between 2001 and 2008 but only became readily available after 2014 and is today being translated into several languages. The book is based on the inspired writings of Mari Perron who likewise claimed to have received her readings by way of written dictation through the spirit of Jesus, just as A Course In Miracles had been delivered.
In these writings, Jesus purports to say much more about his life on earth as an example of how divinity is to be lived on Earth. ACOL is less centred on exercises to reorient and convert the egoic mind to a spiritual mind as encouraged by ACIM with its recommended exercise for each day of the year. Rather, it is more focused on emphasizing the union of heart and mind into the fullness of being and how this can transform humanity into Christ consciousness.
Though just as profound as ACIM, I find ACOL more readable and gentle. To me, it seems it has been bestowed as a love-oriented application and conclusion for what ACIM had to say.
I found it most interesting that many of the images I wrote about in the Elysium series were already contained in ACOL even before I read it or was even aware of the book. Especially prevalent is the image of the Mountain, its ascension and the ‘level ground’ (being comparable with the ‘Lowlands’). The hermetic words ‘as within, so without’ are also contained throughout. As with ACIM, I have quoted ACOL several times in the Elysium’s Passage series
3. THE HOLY SPIRIT’S INTERPRETATION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT (NTI)
I also make a number of references to another book called The Holy Spirit’s Interpretation of the New Testament, generally referred to as ‘NTI’. I have found this book be fully compatible with ACIM and ACOL in sharing the same basic perspectives with its own unique and highly personal approach.
The book was written by Regina Dawn Akers and published in 2008, purportedly dictated by divine inspiration in the same way as ACIM and ACOL. As with ACOL, I find NTI to be more heart-centred than ACIM’s more rigorous intellectual approach.
The message to the reader purports to come directly from the Holy Spirit. If this sounds preposterous, I can only say, as with the other two books, if you have an open heart and an open mind, the Spirit will speak to you such that you hear precisely what you need to hear, no matter where you randomly open the book. At least that has been my experience, but it’s not likely going to speak to those of who are contrary minded to its message of hope and encouragement.
I think its rather amazing how these three books seem to be in concert with each other with differences only in orientation and the scribes' writing styles. I would say they are more than complementary. For me, they seem to illuminate each other as does the heart with the mind.
After years of reading and meditating on these books, which I continue to do most days, I strongly believe that each are divinely inspired, in as much as that is possible through human oracles. I do not wish to suggest, however, these are the only ones since there have been many inspiring works written over the years, as I'm sure will continue to occur into the future.
4. EMANUEL SWEDENBORG (1688-1772)
Swedenborg was a highly regarded scientist in Europe in the 18th century, closely associated with Sweden’s royalty as a friend and administrator (Royal Assessor of Mines). In 1741, at the age of 53, much of his life changed when he became exposed to the spirit dimension. First beginning with dreams, a few years later he reported his soul’s heavenly visitations that continued for remaining twenty-eight years of his earthly life. This he described as his 'spiritual awakening'. From then on he recorded his celestial visits while speaking with hundreds of spiritual entities, not all in the higher realms.
He wrote several books of theological concern, with over eighteen works published in Latin. Most of his works are deeply profound, and for some, perhaps difficult to read. His most popular and arguably easiest to comprehend is Heaven and Hell (1758); a popular introductory summary of his experiences and conclusions.
Given the nature of his experiences and how remote his spiritual discourses were from the normal convention, some considered his works insane. But this was largely mitigated by his impeccable reputation as a scholar and scientist with the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. He was also part in the Swedish House of Nobility (the Swedish Riddarhuset) and Parliament (Riksdag).
On a personal level, he was characterized as being a very pious and warm-hearted man, speaking easily and naturally. Many literary luminaries became devoted readers of his works including, Jorge Luis Bores, Daniel Burnham, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Y.B Yeats, John Flaxman, George Inness, Henry James Sr., William Blake, Carl Jung, Immanuel Kant, Honore de Balzac, Arthur Conan Doyle, Helen Keller, Czeslaw Milosz and August Strindberg.
There are several books written on him and his works, many of which can be accessed online.
5. GEORGES I. GURDJIEFF (1872-1949)
Gurdjieff lived his early years in the Transcaucasia region which had rich ethnic mix comprised of Georgians, Armenians, Kurds, Greeks, Turks and Russians. At the age of fifteen, he set out to wander the world, gleaning whatever ancient wisdom he could in scattered Sufi ashrams, Christian churches, Buddhist temples and assorted mystery schools across central Asia, Egypt, Rome, Iran, Russia and going as far as Tibet. He later established himself back home in Russia where he taught his esoterica under his own auspices, often in Moscow and St Petersburg.
In the first half of the twentieth century, Gurdjieff brought many ancient esoteric traditions to the western world such as the Enneagram. Gurdjieff also wrote certain classic scores for piano designed to awaken human consciousness and introduced Sufi whirling dervishes by bringing several to New Your to perform.
Along with his primary student, P. I. Ouspensky and several others, they together escaped the Bolshevik revolution by travelling on foot from Russian down through Georgia to Istanbul in 1920. Later they established their own institutes, Gurdjieff in Paris and Ouspensky in London, each teaching and disseminating their ideas on the nature of consciousness and other arcane philosophies. Since returning to my earthly body, I’ve endeavoured to become more familiar with their teachings through their several books. I’ve also taken in several talks related to the Fourth Way school of thought that include concepts such as being present, self-remembering and non-identification, to name just a few.
Unfortunately, concepts dealing with higher consciousness are not well understood or recognized in most universities in the West, since so few now know anything about esoteric philosophy or consciousness for that matter. (One notable exception is eminent philosopher Jacob Needleman from San Francisco State University).
Anything was written by Gurdjieff, Ouspensky or others of that day’s cultural intelligentsia such as Orage, Nicoll, Nott and Bennett are recommended, although many of these books can be challenging.
The Gurdjieff Foundation has several affiliate organizations throughout the world. For more information, refer to the Gurdjieff Foundation web site.
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SUMMARY OF ELYSIUM'S PASSAGE NOVEL SERIES
This tis a series of seven Elysium’s Passage narrations 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 about life’s meaning and purpose far beyond anything he previously believed or could believe.
An engaging and sometime 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 ancient poets as the paradisiac afterlife realm reserved for heroes.
As the Elysium's Passage series title suggests, the ongoing narrative is about a journey through a passage that leads towards Elysium.
PENDING PUBLICATION OF ELYSIUM’S PASSAGE SERIES
Amazon in 2024
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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READER REVIEWS
The following comments are among the first Amazon reviews of Elysium’s Passage: The Summit. All are Five Stars! Others reader reviews are included below, along with excerpts from two professional reviews. To read full reviews, go to READER REVIEWS on www.elysiumspassage.com
"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…"
"A delightful mix of fantasy, reality, conjecture and humour; Mr. Meyers draws the reader into the story with a gentle narrative that captures imagination, leaving one anxious to get to the next page drawing you into his exceptional world.”
“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."
“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 humor 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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CONTACT INFORMATION
FACEBOOK: Elysium's Passage Novel Series, Elysium's Passage Public Group page, Elysium's Passage Author's Page, or to my personal page Neil Meyers
INSTAGRAM: meyersneil
LINKEDIN: Neil Meyers
EMAIL: nmeyers@shaw.ca
BLOG POSTINGS: https://digitalbloggers.com/articles/elysiumspassage or the Elysium's Passage website
A sample press review: https://www.prweb.com/releases/2018/05/prweb15515775.htm
The new Elysium's Passage YouTube channel is now up (October 2018). One may be accessed at for the Dr Jan Merta Talks here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXpzFH6VNMQLOtqOK2SrXpg
You may receive my free eBook HOW IT CAME upon request at nmeyers@shaw.ca This tells
the fascinating story of how the Elysium's Passage series came into being.
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