SURREAL ADVENTURES

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ELYSIUM'S PASSAGE: SURREAL ADVENTURES is the fourth novel in the ELYSIUM'S PASSAGE novel series. The projected release date is the summer of 2025, the sequel to ELYSIUM'S PASSAGE: QUANTUM LEAPS.

The plot of SURREAL ADVENTURES continues where QUANTUM LEAPS leaves off. The narrative becomes even more intriguing with its interwoven themes and delightful complexities. The pace picks up momentum as James, the narrator and central character, continues along this strange adventure towards some unknown destiny. The promise of romance is not far away, as some very peculiar events and surreal encounters begin to occur in his alternate dimension of reality.

As a preview of the novel, I've included below the first few chapters of the novel

S U R R E A L   A D V E N T U R E S

 

A Philosopher’s Surreal Voyage into the Mysterium of the Unknown Universe

 

C H R O N I C L E S OF

E L Y S I U M ’ S  P A S S A G E 

 

                                          NG Meyers

 

 

CONTENTS

                                                                                                  

CHAPTER 1      MY ISLAND PARADISE

CHAPTER 2        A SPECTOR IN THE STORM                                                      

CHAPTER 3      VOYAGE TO THE VIRTUAL ISLANDS   

CHAPTER 4      RHOM’S WORLD                                                        

CHAPTER 5      FIRST STOP: THE FLATLANDS 

CHAPTER 6      THE TOWERS

CHAPTER 7      THE FORUM

CHAPTER  8     SOPHIA

CHAPTER  9     PREVAILING WINDS 

CHAPTER 10     NEXT STOP: THE HILLCOUNTRY

CHAPTER 11    THE MOUNTAIN GUIDE

CHAPTER 12    THE CODE

CHAPTER 13    FINAL ISLAND WALKABOUT                                                        

CHAPTER 14    I’M A CAVEMAN                           

 

      

CHAPTER ONE

 

MY ISLAND PARADISE

 

A man can be himself only so long as he is alone, and if he does not love
solitude, he will not love freedom, for it is only when he is alone that he is free.
                                                         Arthur Schopenhauer

 

We stood outside our lodge as a late autumn storm swept over the Summit, creating fresh drifts of snow. I was ready now; it felt like a good time to take my leave and withdraw to sunnier climes. We had spent the last couple of days talking about various saints and mystics who went into solitude to reach new heights of spiritual awareness. Mo was particularly conversant about these legends of faith and how their lives had been affected after retreating for extended periods.

‘Not such a bad day for a tropical holiday get-away,’ Eli said, ‘great timing for a bit of sun, surf and solitude.’

‘At least I have no concern myself about food and shelter, being the ultimate survivor in any domain.’  

‘Well, I think you’ll enjoy this little holiday paradise we hand-picked for you,’ Eli said. ‘It’s serene, with beautiful coral reefs and a long sandy beach.’

‘So exactly where did you say this island is?’

‘It’s a small Polynesian isle in the South Pacific, about three or four thousand miles northwest of Santiago. As far as we know, it has never been visited by humans except possibly by a pirate ship or two that might have strayed by several centuries ago.

‘So, if you’re ready… let’s be off.’

‘Sure… why not, since you and Mo have gone to all the trouble planning this. I haven’t been to the ocean in a while, so it will be great to feel the surf again. See if you can find a nice shady palm tree for me to sit under, preferably with a view.’

‘I think we have just the place for you,’ Mo said.

The next moment, we were on the beach’s white sand with the tide drifting near our feet and the sun shining brightly in clear skies.  The familiar ocean scent and breeze took me back years ago to my seafaring days in the Mediterranean.

‘This is quite the contrast to the snowstorms we’ve recently been experiencing on the Summit,’ I said.

 ‘I’m sure you will take quickly to your island paradise,’ Eli said,’ so let’s get your hut built.

I surveyed the area and found the perfect spot on a grassy patch where a giant palm tree stood a few yards back from the beach’s white sand.

‘This tree,’ I declared, ‘shall hereinafter become known far and wide on this island as James’s Bodhi tree. Let’s build my grass hut under it so I might achieve enlightenment like that other guy. What’s his name?’

‘You mean Crusoe?’ Eli asked.

‘No… not him.’

‘Ah, then you must mean Gilligan,’[1] he said with a straight face.

‘I think Siddhārtha[2] would be closer unless Gilligan had some epiphany or another that I wasn’t aware of.’

With their help and wizardry, it didn’t take long for us to erect a Polynesian grass hut much as I had envisioned it, befitting my little island paradise in the South Pacific. Yes, I thought, this is perfect… my new Bodhi abode. It would be my place of peace, relaxation, and, hopefully, some illumination.

‘I wonder, do you think it will take me forty-nine days to achieve whatever Buddha achieved? That’s a long time.’

‘Then why not try for forty days like Yeshua; it would be quicker.’

‘Still, that’s a tall order,’ I said, ‘even in this dimension where I’m not currently subject to the same limitations of physicality.’

After staying with me that first night to ensure I was properly settled in, we took a long walk along the beach in the morning, observing the many exotic plants and birds throughout this tiny tropical island of probably not more than a hundred acres.

As we walked, Mo handed me a list of questions he wanted me to think about and respond to in my journal by writing freely, whatever came to me without overthinking. I supposed he wanted me to short-circuit my analytic mind by avoiding my preconceived beliefs and intellectual chatter.

Listening to the inner voice is never easy, at least for me. Much like grappling with a Zen kōan,[3] Mo’s questions required disciplined inward focus. Some seemed simple enough, such as explaining the meaning of intuition, love, and innate intelligence. These simple questions often left me stumped whenever I tried to posit a coherent answer. It seemed these concepts required the kind of spiritual vocabulary my linear mind hadn’t yet matured into a commensurate state of conscious awareness.

His questions weren’t anything like what we address in philosophy, which might have been why he asked these and other conundrums.[4] Later, as I looked back, I realised he was priming me for what was yet to come in my pending MMT practicum.

Of course, I didn’t have to do any of this since I could do whatever I pleased, especially in this dimension where I had no obligations to anyone... no employer, no wife, no family… not even a mortal body to feed and manage. Never before had I experienced more freedom, although I felt an obligation to my companions, having accepted their mentorship on this plane of reality.

Mo suggested I continue with my spiritual exercises until I achieved a breakthrough that would release me from whatever lingering fears remained from my distant past. I wasn’t sure how this epiphany might occur; perhaps it would be some form of nirvana, even if I wasn’t sure what that might be. My perspective was Western, not Eastern.[5] 

Before departing, Mo said to me, ‘Understand, James, we brought you here not just for a vacation but that you might discover the depths of your being, the very essence of your divine soul.’

‘I’ll try; if I make the grade, maybe I’ll use this accreditation in my curricula vitae, not that anyone would recognise Summit U.’ 

‘Do as you wish; I just want you to know that you are whole beyond imagining in your Self, though you have yet to experience this because the world is a fearful place full of deception. All this can be overcome; that’s why you’re here… so let’s see how well you do. Even while challenging yourself to extreme feats of courage, your life has not been what it could have been had you slain the monster that lurks under the floorboards of your mind.’

‘Monster?’ I asked.

‘You know, the one that keeps tormenting you with fears of rejection whenever you’re with a fair lassie?’

‘Ah yes, that monster… I know the feeling well. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be a match for it.’

‘Which is why your love life always seems to end up in such shambles,’ Eli said. ‘Maybe you need to imagine these fears as a dragon so you can slay it like Saint George.’[6]

‘It might be your toughest foe,’ Mo said, ‘because it will be the hardest to draw out of its cave! But the whole point of you being here is to confront this monster that has breathed its fire at you from your earliest years. It may sleep at times, yet it has never left you and won’t until you recognise it for what it is.

‘This is the dragon you must slay before it consumes you. It will require every fibre of your courage; it’s more important than ever that you unite your heart and mind before engaging it in combat. If you don’t, you will fail.’

My years of education hadn’t prepared me for anything like this. There were no classes on slaying dragons, especially imaginary ones inside my mind.

As for schooling, I was never taught about the sentiments of the heart, only the cold, objective reasoning of the mind.

    Mo, however, suggested that until I could think and act from within the union of heart and mind, I would never have satisfactory relations with women or anyone else, for that matter, since the separated mind is inadequate to divine truths that can only be discerned spiritually, meaning it’s only when the heart joins with the mind that we find our Selves.[7]

    True rationality, they emphasised, must include the heart; otherwise, the mind will remain lost and confused in itself. In other words, I could only assimilate truth while maintaining a wholehearted union within.

I remember Mo once quoted Yeshua saying: A seed will not grow if cast upon the rocks, but requires fertile soil to germinate.[8] Mo and Eli had thrown bushels of seeds my way, yet how many would germinate to take root while my heart remained parched?

I understand what this meant, but only within the confines of my mind rather than the intuitive wisdom of my heart. As much as I tried to grasp some of their more interior teachings, my mind often got muddled.

So much of my life was only about the external fringes of life rather than the inward concerns of my soul. I supposed that’s typically what the mind focuses on when it doesn’t understand the inward wisdom of the heart.

It was becoming evident to me why I couldn’t properly connect with women when I couldn’t unite the soul-essence of my heart with my mind. Throughout my adult life, my inflated mind had little interest in being informed by anything outside intellectual comprehension.

Since I believed love was essentially sensual, I remained abysmally ignorant. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with sensuality; it’s necessary, yet not sufficient unto itself. I hated to admit it, but I might have acted a bit narcissistic among certain women… the ones I really liked.

Most likely, this was how I hid my fear of rejection since I didn’t understand the reciprocal nature of love. I didn’t understand love at all, except possibly that brief time with Máire, the young nun in my life. Even then, she rejected me for Rome, causing me to resent religion even more while creating new insecurities towards women.

Mo and Eli tried to help me understand that we can only receive what we first give. A cause cannot be a cause without an effect any more than an effect can be an effect without a cause since cause and effect are one, which is why giving and receiving are, in essence, one. At first, I wasn’t sure about that; nevertheless, I didn’t wish to contest their perspective. It wasn’t worth the effort because something told me they were right.

So, now was the time for me to conquer the fears of my ego-self by merging my mind and heart to discover my authentic Self, the wholehearted being they said was enfolded within my soul.

Finally, after circumventing the island, we arrived back at my hut, where they bid me adieu, then parted to wherever they might be headed… likely to their non-local dimension in what we agreed to call Elysium.

 

[1] Gilligan was the main character in Gilligan’s Island, an American sitcom series running from 1964 to 1967 in which a motley group became shipwrecked on an isolated tropical island much like mine. 
[2] Siddhartha Gautama, or Buddha.
[3] In certain Eastern traditions, a kōan is a statement designed to achieve pure conscious enlightenment through the practising of non-dualist thought that helps to lead to an awareness of universal Oneness. Mo's meditations were much like that. As soul prompts, they greatly assisted me in focusing my mind during times of deep introspection.
[4] Mo’s list of questions included: What is the soul, what is the spirit, what is God from a non-dualistic interpretation, what is gravity and where does it come from, and what is time outside of time?
[5] Nirvana has several meanings in the East's religions. What he meant here was probably the Bhagavad Gita interpretation, meaning liberation from the false self by experiencing peace in divine (Brahman) consciousness.
[6] The story of Saint George and the Dragon is a European legend believed to have originated in the middle ages of the 11th century.
[7] Once again, I refer to Pascal’s famous quote: the heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing.
[8] From the parable of the sower and the seed. (Matthew 13:1-23)

CHAPTER TWO

A SPECTOR IN THE STORM

 

But for this, it would have been difficult to detach its figure from the night and separate it from the darkness by which it was surrounded.[9]

Where wilt thou lead me? Speak, I’ll go no further.[10]    

 

At first, things felt lonely, having only the sounds of the waves, wind and birds to keep me company. For the first few days, I relaxed by the surf. While exploring the island and organising my Bodhi hut, I imagined how Gauguin[11] would have fashioned his abode in Tahiti.

After settling in, I began working on some of Mo’s mentation exercises that encouraged me to juxtapose my life with what I learned at the summit. That might sound simple, but it wasn’t since there was much I needed to re-contextualize, contemplate and reconcile before recording my thoughts in my journal.

Nothing from my past meshed with the introspection I was attempting now. Worst of all, many memories were laden with suppressed fears, making it harder to face what I hadn’t been willing to acknowledge. However, after struggling with this for a few days, all sense of time began to vanish, with a new clarity dawning in my mind as hundreds of pages of writing piled higher.

It didn’t even occur to me to eat since eating was more about socialising with my companions than anything else. When taking a break from my contemplation and writing, I would often hike the entire circumference of my island as I took in the ocean, plants and birds, completely forgetting about my past concerns in London.

The island was probably only a few miles in circumference, which was the perfect distance to walk to break up my day. Interestingly, I had some of my greatest epiphanies strolling along the surf, feeling relaxed and receptive to whatever might flow into my mind. Then, I would return to my hut to journal more of my thoughts.

Since the limitations of my previous philosophical beliefs no longer served me, my challenge now was to realign my focus with the broader perspectives of my heart’s understanding. This adjustment required me to leave the narrow judgements of my past so that I might open my heart to its higher wisdom as I shut everything out, listening only to the rhythm of the surf, feeling at one with the majesty and beauty of nature.[12]

At first, none of this came easily as my ego-monkey mind continued to conjure whatever fears it could impose upon me. Finally, after several days, the rogue thoughts began to relinquish control over me. When I engaged in the higher intentions of my will, a surge of rapture embraced me. How this happened, I didn’t know; it just seemed to arise from the inner recesses of my heart.

I thought about all the philosophers throughout the ages who tried to find joy within their minds yet always came away empty. Philosophical books throughout history are filled with vain attempts to discover truth solely by analysis, as if this could be apprehended by reason alone. Therein lies madness, driving the finite mind deeper into confusion.[13]

Contrary to material appearances, there is nothing left to reconcile; no dualism of mind and matter, soul and body or even separation of objects. There’s only Spirit from which all emanates, and all remain entangled in this one divine relationship.

As Mo would sometimes say, we must allow ourselves to be apprehended by the divine instead of attempting to apprehend what remains beyond the soul’s apprehension. I finally grasped that all reality is, in essence, spiritual, not material, and must be discerned accordingly.[14]

Berkeley had it more right than wrong… Descartes had it more wrong than right. And the materialists still have it wrong. The foundation of the universe is not material. That’s something I would never have admitted to or even dared to think about before falling into the abyss of this domain. Now, my very existence in spirit form proved how wrong I had been.

I came to accept the reality of what should have been obvious all along; although there might be a few outstanding personal issues I needed to deal with, I assumed it wouldn’t take long to sort these out now. After all, I had come to grips with the nature of spiritual reality. So, before returning to my mountain lodge, this beachside retreat would remain my peaceful ashram as I continued to journal whatever I felt inspired to write, much like Hemmingway in Cuba.

At least, that was my intent. Regardless, things were about to turn out much differently. An enlightened perspective was necessary, though not necessarily by reading an engaging book in the sunshine. Instead, I was the book needing to be engaged and written. This peaceful interlude was but a resting station along the way.

As I leaned back on the railings at our lodge with a glass of whiskey and cigar, I pontificated on various philosophical abstractions. Though it was a splendid respite after my long ascent to the Summit, I wasn’t sure if this was where I was destined to remain. It seemed I had a much higher Summit to ascend towards, even as I dwelt at sea level.

Nevertheless, the next pinnacle on my ascent would have little to do with intellectual musings while swaying in an oceanside hammock. Instead, it would become a battlefield… yet not just any battlefield; it would be the battle for my soul, the most brutal fight of my life, more formidable than with the meanest scalawags prowling the docks of Crete. That was easy; you could see them; still, how do you strike out at a projected phantom?

At first, all was quiet, but by the second week of brutally honest introspection, I felt something unpleasant oozing up from within that felt nauseous, seemingly from the lower depths of my soul. It was becoming all too apparent what this little tropical getaway was about. Not that I hadn’t been forewarned, yet I was surprised by what Mo’s poignant questions evoked in me. It seemed something within was being dislodged, now seeking release.

I felt tempted to go somewhere, such as a visit to London to spy on Julianne to avert this struggle. I could do that since I had done it before. Escape, however, would not only be cowardly; it would defeat the very purpose of being here.

Besides that, Mo and Eli would eventually call me out on it. That might be even worse. How could I look Mo and Eli in the eye, knowing I had turned tail in my moment of battle? I might as well slither back to the Lowlands than face them.

No, this time wasn’t going to be about intellectual repose, reflecting on what I had learned and how much more brilliant I had become on this side of the divide. No one else could do this for me; the inner battles were mine to fight. I remember Mo saying I could never proceed further in and further up Elysium’s Passage until I dealt with what was holding me to my past. Neither could I graduate from Summit U.

It was time. My intellectual reasoning could take me no further. So, was I ready for the slings and arrows[15] about to be hurled at me by these demons?  Considering all my extraordinary experiences, I wondered what else might await me once I got past this marker.  For now, I was here to take back my territory. I knew I had to do this. It was time.

After that, it wasn’t long before my tropical paradise became a virtual battlefield. Mo’s provocations were designed to evoke fierce emotions within me, and they did. Anger now simmered within me. I hardly knew why, except I wanted to lash out at whatever and whoever I imagined was responsible for my misery.

Finally, as I lay on my cot, trying to control my inner rage, the gates of hell broke loose as my inner demons began to attack me in the dead of night. I rose to my feet, and with my head held high, I walked towards the shore and declared, 'Now is the time to vanquish every wretched demon of hell that has ever plagued me, Then I shouted, VINI, VIDI, VICI!'[16]

 Projected before me were hideous faces of unresolved fears, envy, jealousy, vengeance and other forms of suppressed anger, often forgotten yet never forgiven. It seemed I was losing my mind, and at times, perhaps I was.

I could no longer pretend these demons didn’t exist, at least in some form, as I had in the past. I knew I had to defeat them now. There was no place to retreat when they lunged at me. Whether imagined or real, these foes identified what had been festering within me for years.

I became aware of my cruel hatred for certain enemies I wished to destroy. That shocked me; could I be that depraved? Or was there something deeper within that possessed me that I didn’t know about?

With trepidation, I called these demons out, exorcising them from their inner havens. They seemed to taunt and mock me, but at least they were out where I could slay them. Or so I wished to believe.

It wasn’t just that night, though; over the next few days and nights, I wrestled with whatever surfaced before me, even what I didn’t wish to acknowledge.[17] At times, when in a frenzy, I would cut off their heads with the flaming sword of my shillelagh as this hellish reality played out before me. Whether these monsters, snakes and beasts were projectiles from my mind, I wasn’t sure; nevertheless, the terror felt as if they were real.

Even while resting my mind in sleep, they seemed to be lying in wait outside my hut with their haunting yelps, growls and hisses. One night, I could take it no more, so I sprang up and ran along the beach, and in the illumination of the full moon, I plunged into the ocean, wishing to escape this torment, be it real or imaginary. At daybreak, I returned to restore my sanity as I lay on my cot. However, it was only a short respite until darkness returned that night.

I wondered if this might not be the dark night of the soul that Saint John of the Cross[18] spoke of or the dark forces of unconscious repression that Freud taught.[19] Could it be both? With my Jungian biases, I wasn’t about to give Sigmund any credit by accepting this darkness as a normative aberration of my human psyche. I knew there must be more to it, even if I didn’t know what.

As I continued this extraordinary campaign to recapture my soul, I recalled what Mo had written: Whatever fears you seek to expel through fear will only make them bigger and stronger as you feed them with more fear. It seems he knew what I would be encountering here.

How true it was; fears torment us mercilessly once stoked. I guess I had to find this out for myself after being exhausted by what was dredged up from my past the last few days.

By now, it was the end of the second week, and I had finally come to recognise I couldn’t hunt down these shadowy forces by attacking them in fear, anger or hate. They always re-emerged, even after I thought I had slain them.

That’s when I realised what Mo and Eli had been saying: Darkness knows only darkness and cannot exist in the light. We discussed this several times at the Summit, but now I was discovering it for myself.

I now understood the only way to transmute the world’s darkness into light was to allow the light to shine, first into myself, then towards everything and everyone against whom I had willingly harboured toxic grudges of vengeance.

By the end of the fourth week, I had made much progress in releasing the last fiends and ogres shrouded in the dark recesses of my soul. And yet, something still wasn’t right. It seemed more was lurking deep within me, something that had remained hidden for a very long time. Possibly, I was afraid to confront what remained repressed, and so it continued to fester within my soul.

On the thirty-fourth night of my stay on the island, which I later reckoned to have been my thirty-fourth birthday, something extraordinary occurred that walloped me in the middle of that night. It would change my life forever.

It all began as a disturbing nightmare where a dragon had me trapped on the beach between it and the ocean, breathing its fiery flames towards me, such that I feared it might devour me. I awoke with a series of deafening thunder cracks amid a tropical storm echoed by roaring crashes of colossal breakers slamming onto the beach.

Would my little Polynesian hut withstand the lashing torrential winds, the likes of which I had seldom experienced before, even as a sailor? The pelting rain and assailing squalls raged on, making me feel alone and shaken in the darkness. Worse yet, it seemed the dragon I had just dreamed of wasn’t about to leave me, even though I was now fully awake.

I wondered if a lightning strike in the sky might illuminate this dragon of the inward rage I had created and suppressed all my life. Was I a child then? I must have been. Then why did I continue to feed and nourish it all through my adult years? I had no answer. I imagined how this dragon often spewed out its flames with little provocation, yet I could never understand why.

Yes, the dragon I harboured within my soul continued to exhale its simmering flames at anyone I felt might threaten me. In turn, every seaport brawl, every angry dispute with authorities, every argument with a girlfriend, and every temper flare would create another storm in me. But what could I do?

As I lay there looking up at the wind-assaulted canopy, I felt powerless and disturbed thinking about this, just as I was disturbed by the storm outside. Finally, I got up and staggered out, stumbling across the beach while the rain and ocean spray streamed down my face as I braced the winds. I felt weak, as though I was dwelling in my frail human body again.

I knew the earth’s elements should not be having this effect on my spirit form, yet the heaviness remained within and without in this raging storm. Despite that, I felt compelled to run down the beach as the thunder continued to roar, with a foreboding that something was about to be revealed in the flourishes of lightning. Would my encounter with destiny be the dragon?

And then, far down the island shore, I saw it… not as a dragon, but more ominous. In a series of brilliant flashes, I finally saw what remained hidden all these years - what I loved most but had lost. Before me loomed a fearful spectre, suspended above the crashing surf, her hair streaming out as her long garment flailed in the wind.

Yes, it was her! A phantom... staring at me eerily, yet beautifully exquisite, just as I remembered her thirty years ago. For a few fleeting moments, she glimmered, disappeared, and now appeared on a protruding reef in the distance, illuminated by more lightning strikes. I didn’t know how I knew it was her; I just did.

Then her apparition disappeared in the darkness as quickly as she came. Yet, I heard her voice speak to me, telling me she was the storm. Without thinking, I instantly understood what that meant. The storm was the turbulence of my unresolved grief; it had always been about my mother. She was the storm... the storm in my soul.

In that early hour before dawn, drenched by the driving rain, I cried out as I ran mindlessly towards the breakers, faltering and falling before their mighty onslaught. Rising to my knees, I wept, purged in the realisation that the fury of the dragon’s fire within was my anger towards her. She had abandoned me… the one I loved most.

Yet, in all my years, I never loved her less. In my years of loneliness, I might have even loved her more. Still, her absence left me confused and angry, so I took it out on the world and various women in my dysfunctional life. It was bad enough that my father abandoned me; it was even more unconscionable that she would, too.

There was no one left; I was an orphan…  and an orphan I remained. Of course, I knew it was irrational to blame her for dying, but there’s nothing rational about fear, pain and anger.

I now knew without any doubt that my deep, festering wounds were the result of my lifelong struggle to reconcile these angry hostilities with a deep yearning to be embraced by her love. That night, on the beach, I wept. Overwhelmed by the memory of her love, I released my hidden resentment towards her, feeling only gratitude for the loving mother she was those few short years we remained together.

No longer did I feel abandoned; she had come to me, as when I sensed her presence at night while a young lad. I heard her voice speaking tenderly within, saying she had always remained close to me, loving me every day of my troubled life.

Seeing her, even as a shimmer of silver light, I knew with certainty that I would meet her one day to be healed after my years of loneliness and hurt. More than ever, I longed to be with her, to feel her warmth and all the love I had missed. I had never experienced this with other women, so I despised them for not providing me with what they couldn’t give. And now I understood; it had all come to this.

I don’t know how long I remained sprawled out on the beach in my wretchedness, but finally, I dragged myself back into my ravaged hut, exhausted by what I had undergone in this catharsis.

As I collapsed on my cot, I realised I had gone through much of my life frightened, often reacting towards anyone I believed might reject me. I understood why I feared women; as with my mother, they had it within their power to abandon me. It’s what I expected - and so it was.

Even though the storm continued to rage, I heard nothing, sleeping soundly until the sun was high, fully refreshed in my mind and spirit. I got up and sat under the bright sky, smiling at the calm ocean. All was well, and finally, I was at peace.

After that, and for my remaining time on the island, I felt an inward lightness I had never before experienced. Gone was the night’s heavy burden, and the hidden wound in my heart was healed. At last, I was released from the fearful phantoms that gripped me as much as I had grasped them.

For the next few days, I spent my time walking along the beach, circling the island several times in deep contemplation as I processed the series of strange events that had occurred. A dazzling image refraction of my mother, caught in the brilliant flashes of lightning, loomed just as brilliantly in my mind. So eerie was this phantasm, yet so entrancing; I felt shaken through the trauma, yet curiously, my soul felt rejuvenated.

At last, I would be able to accept myself for who I was, no longer an abandoned orphan but a lad who became a man, unaware I had been loved.

I don’t wish to belabour the process of my soul’s inward transformation; let’s say it involved much truthful introspection as I reflected on various relationships that went wrong. I realised I would need more wisdom and less cleverness when I returned home.

I was painfully aware of the subtle narcissism that had spawned in my mind as I advanced in knowledge and understanding. I also realised how I used pride to compensate for my insecurities, thereby sabotaging meaningful relationships with those I most desired. In the past, when they were upset with me, I told myself it was because they felt inadequate in my presence, although I suspected this wasn’t the case. Now, for the first time, I realised it was a ploy to hide the truth about my fear of being found out.

The women in my life probably didn’t understand, any more than I did, that my conceit was an attempt to offset the loneliness I felt after my mother died. I wished to appear strong when, in actuality, I was weak, requiring their approval since I didn’t have any of my own.

As if it was yesterday, I remembered how I felt when my friend’s older sister shunned me. That set the stage, making it more difficult to trust anyone whose affection I sought.

I smiled when this revelation struck me, realising how I had desired deference yet seldom received it, possibly because I needed it more than I deserved. Had I been wealthy, or at least had more, I might have been able to back my bluster like some men use their wealth to compensate for what inward qualities they lack.

As I continued to sit peacefully under my tree that morning, I reflected on how I might now use some of these wrenching lessons of the past to win Julianne. If I no longer conjured the dragons of fear, my chances with her would be considerably better. By becoming aware of my past insecurities, I could now relate to her from a position of strength and understanding. No longer would I need to be rescued as a frightened orphan.

I could desire her without needing her to serve the demands of my frightened ego. From what my friends said, Julianne had little tolerance for narcissistic fools who tried to come on to her without her consent. Fortunately, she only knew me as little more than a lump of biomass on a bed in her ward.

If nothing else, this island stay would have been worth more than the ticket if only I could remember who I was endeavouring to become. Then, I could return to London as the secure and composed specimen every woman wishes to have by her side.

That, however, was the kicker: how would I remember my new understanding and resolve so I wouldn’t revert to my past behaviour? Would it be possible to be transformed without remembering my transformation? I hoped so, but who knows what might happen next?

Still, that could wait; I wanted nothing more to do with worry. As with all expressions of fear, I now understood fear was not to be the essence of who I was, only the ego imposter within.

Now, I would be my own man, born anew in the storm. If there were a point where I could speak of being birthed, not of the flesh, but of the divine spirit, last night’s encounter on the beach would have been it. In the midst of the storm, it had been a painful birthing process. But I suppose that’s how it often is when transforming into a new Self; the old self must first die.[20]

After reviewing my recent journal entries, I could now understand how the fierce warfare helped me emerge out of the trenches of battle onto higher grounds, knowing the fate of my soul was determined by what I allowed into my life.

I finally realised what Mo and Eli were attempting to explain to me. Before, I was often annoyed and agitated when listening to their spiritual abstractions about the soul. But now I recognised that what they were teaching could only be discerned with my heart rather than my foolish ego-mind.[21]

As I write this, I wish I could say all the dragons had been slain, but they weren’t… not completely. After all, the ego’s dissonance is a function of one’s consciousness, causing us to forget who we are. From now on, I would have to remain vigilant to squelch the flames before they could breathe their vitriol.

Much the next day, I sat under my adopted Bodhi tree, writing in my journal, watching the breakers crash onto the beach and listening to the chirping of the multi-florescent birds perched in the trees. Yes, I thought; finally, I’m at peace with my life and the world. I felt my heart was in charge now, redirecting my mind from fear to love, from reason to wisdom, and most importantly, to new life.

Yet, I realised that it could take a while to reach this self-realisation after returning home. I thought of how Mo suggested I imagine myself as a fly on the wall while observing my responses, especially when my ego tried to get the better of me.

If I could remember to do this, it might help me become aware of what my ego was trying to do by what it said and did. By being conscious of it, I would have the choice to refuse to identify with it, giving me power over it. Then the real I, the pure I of my divine essence, sans ego, could transcend the petulant illusions that preempted my true identity.

If I could remember to do this when I returned home, I might become free of it so that it could no longer dictate what I thought and felt. Of course, learning to detach from the ego would require practice and discipline since illusions thrive endlessly on earth, generally without resistance.[22]

Furthermore, I realised I would be severely tested and tempered in the crucible of life, both within and without. Yet, isn’t that what the grit and grind of our world are about?

I wanted to believe that whatever happened, the fall guy would one day rediscover this silent tranquillity I was now experiencing. Otherwise, what would the point have been for this out-of-the-body exercise? I recalled something Eli quoted from a renowned Jewish mystic and philosopher: Solitude is the place of purification.[23] Indeed, that had been my experience here, only more like a purging enema.

In the future, I hoped I could maintain this peace of mind I had sought all my life. I wasn’t sure how I would unless an angel came to show me how. Possibly, Julianne would be my angel... a most pleasant thought to consider.

As I strolled along the beach later in the day, I contemplated how I had forgiven my mother last night during that extraordinary spectacle. With this, I had forgiven myself and everyone I thought had wronged me in the past. Being the most important lesson I learned on this island, it was probably the most difficult. Forgiveness was my big issue, something I didn’t often do willingly.

Should my old feelings of residual hate and resentment return, I could never be free, and that’s why I could never again allow myself to be trapped by old grievances that might ruin a lasting relationship with Julianne or anyone else. I would have to find a way to release my old judgments if I wished to be free and happy, the person she deserved in her life.

I also reflected on how Mo went on about how the world’s worst enemy was its collective ego, being responsible for its interminable wars and suffering. He often emphasised how the ego-mind has no interest in forgiveness, caring only to aggrandize itself with hate and vengeance while wallowing in its cherished beliefs of entitlement and victimhood. These delusions give the ego an illusionary reality it would not otherwise have by indulging in the same pain it causes.

When I first came to the island, my friends suggested there was a purpose for me being here, though they didn’t tell me specifically what that might be. I realised now it had to do with me learning how to forgive. Everything I fought against on the beach was a hideous phantom my mind had conjured by refusing to release whatever pain it represented.

That was quite the revelation. I would now attempt to identify with my divine Self rather than the old ego-self. Not that I was a Buddha, but at least I wasn’t Gilligan either.

After returning to my hut that evening, I sat down with my journal, wondering what might happen next while remaining in this surreal realm. Regardless of what might yet come, at least I could move forward in confidence, knowing that whatever fears held me back in the past no longer could unless I allowed them to return.

After examining my life as few men ever have, I felt I had, at least for now, discovered my authentic Self. I recalled how frustrated I was when Mo asked me to look within during those early days at the Summit. I now understood his relentlessness; it was so I might one day find myself.

However, first, I had to discover who I wasn’t. I recalled how he kept quoting Socrates: The unexamined life is not worth living.[24] I turned this around and declared aloud: ‘Forthwith, this examined life shall be worth living… hereinafter, shall I so live!’

I then saw a caterpillar crawling up my tree. Yes, I had been a caterpillar that remained in a cocoon for far too long, awaiting my metamorphosis into a free-flying butterfly. I had now become what was always enfolded within me. One day, I might return to the cocoon in my fall guy. Through him, I would complete my transition while integrating whatever spiritual gains I made here in preparation for my ultimate metamorphosis into Elysium’s rarified realm of existence.

Who else gets to do that? And of all people… why me?  

  

[9] Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol.
[10] Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 5
[11] Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), a French Post-Impressionist artist who travelled and lived in Tahiti while painting several of his famous masterpieces there. 
[12] Regarding this desire for oneness, C.S. Lewis wisely observed that: We want to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of ourselves.
[13] A few years later, I noticed this was wisely stated as: Philosophy applies thought to mystery, and that is why philosophy becomes such a muddle of words. (Oneness and Duality, A Course of Love.)
[14] While writing this portion of the narrative, I coincidentally found a supportive statement made by Werner Heisenberg (Nobel Prize in Physics 1932): I assert the nature of all reality is spiritual, not material or a dualism of matter and spirit. The hypothesis that its nature can be, to any degree, material does not enter into my reckoning because we understand now that matter, the putting together of the adjective material and the noun nature, does not make any sense.
[15] I was thinking of a line from Hamlet in Shakespeare (paraphrased): To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles.\
[16] I came, I saw, I conquered. An ancient Latin saying attributed to Julius Caesar going into battle, likely declared by many warriors since then.
[17] I came across a statement purportedly made by Jesus in the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas:  If you don't bring forth what is inside you, what you don't bring forth will destroy you. I think I implicitly understood this at the time. 
[18] Dark Night of the Soul is a famous poem written by the Spanish monk St John of the Cross in 1578
[19] Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) postulated that below our awareness exist unconscious feelings of anxiety, pain and conflict that remain hidden like the greater part of a submerged iceberg. Obviously, these repressed negative drives in our unconscious mind greatly influence behaviour. Freud also identified with this what he called the death drive or Thanatos.
[20] Except a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone: but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit. John 12:24 (KJV). Or, as previously quoted by G.I. Gurdjieff: A man may be born, but in order to be born, he must first die, and in order to die, he must first awake.
[21] That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. John 3:6 (KJV). Flesh in the Greek, (σάρξ), carries the meaning of a world that has separated itself from divine grace.
[22] What I stated here expresses one of G.I. Gurdjieff’s primary teachings.  He uses the word it when speaking of the ego-self because it is not you, but a distortion of your divine Self. Also, Peter Rhodes' book, Aim: The Workbook, excels in examining these concepts while making practical applications. He quotes extensively from Gurdjieff in conjunction with certain writings from Swedenborg.
[23] Martin Buber, I878-1965, Jewish writer and mystic.
[24] Allegedly, Socrates (470-399 BC) made this statement at his trial before being sentenced to death, as stated in Plato’s Apology.

 

CHAPTER THREE

 

VOYAGE TO THE VIRTUAL ISLANDS

 

‘O Captain! My Captain! Our fearful trip is done;
the ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won.[25]

 

By now, the third day after my calamitous epiphany on the beach, I felt rested and composed. After my days and nights of alternating angst and elation, it was time to take leave of my Bodhi tree and quaint Polynesian hut. I was excited to return to the Summit to tell Mo and Eli about my adventures and what happened here.[26]

Yesterday, I completed my most recent journal entry musings about what all this might mean for me, should the fall guy survive. If necessary, I could return to this island later should my mentors recommend I spend more time here to complete my practicum. As it turned out, I would return one day, but not alone.

I felt so peaceful, at one with my island paradise; hardly anything concerned me about what might happen next. Finally, a point came after more contemplation and journaling; I felt it was time to return to my Summit headquarters in the Andes.

For whatever reason, I assumed there would be a time for debriefing with my mentor companions; I would find out if I made the grade before proceeding further along the next phase of my journey through Elysium’s Passage.

After spending the last evening on my island paradise, editing and clarifying my recent collection of philosophical-spiritual musings, I was ready to take my leave. So, early the next morning, I placed my journal into my backpack and stepped out of my Bodhi hut. It was still dawn, shortly before sunrise, with the sky reflecting a brilliant hue of yellow and orange wisps in the east.

I was about to take my final walk around the island to say goodbye to my exotic and often noisy, feathered friends when something curious caught my eye, emerging from the ocean’s horizon in the distance.

Most peculiarly, it seemed like a far-off pole sticking out of the water several knots away that I had never noticed before. But as it drew closer, a ship’s hull appeared to rise higher and higher from the horizon.

Eli and Mo said ships didn’t come this way since it wasn’t near a route to any ostensible destination where ships would have a reason to sail. I wasn’t sure what it might be, perhaps a naval surveillance ship patrolling the waters for suspicious activity. However, as it grew larger, I could see this was no ordinary boat; it was an ancient ship, complete with billowing sails!

As it sailed closer towards me, I wondered… what’s this? Had Magellan lost his way? Indeed, the approaching ship appeared sixteenth-century vintage, perhaps similar to Columbus’s Santa Maria.

So, what was going on here, some crazy time-warp delusion? I knew my friends had sent me to a distant island, though I didn’t remember them saying anything about being thrown into a remote era of history, too.

The giant hull continued to loom directly towards me as if I were its target. What was I to do? As a spirit, I could have easily picked up and zapped myself back into the safety of the mountain lodge since I was going there anyway.

Yet, that would be bad form; Eli would never let me live it down if he found out I didn’t stand up to whatever this was. After all, I had recently confronted my demons, so how could this be worse?

I didn’t move but remained steadfast beside my hut, amazed as the bizarre scene unfolded before me. I must admit feeling intimidated as it lunged towards me, not slowing down or anchoring but ploughing onto the beach about fifty yards directly in front of where I stood my ground.

Now what? Would I soon be having company from this old beached ghost ship? Fine; if they must, they can have the hut. I’m done with it… and the island too, if they like. Whoever was on board would likely be here long since there would be no way of getting this marooned ship off the beach, even with a fleet of tugboats pulling from behind at high tide.

I waited patiently. Still, there was no sign of life on board. Possibly, it was some ancient ghost ship, even if I didn’t believe in that sort of thing, although I’m not sure why not, considering my current state of existence.

Nevertheless, things seemed disquietingly spooky; the massive hulk and masts loomed before me, sails flapping in the breeze. There was an insignia on one sail, although I wasn’t sure what it represented. For some reason, it occurred to me that it might be from medieval Portugal.

With some trepidation, I was about to cross the beach and investigate when I suddenly noticed a tall, lean pirate approaching me, waist-deep in the surf, from behind the ship’s hull! Maybe he wasn’t a pirate, although it sure appeared that way with unkempt captain’s attire, seemingly from centuries ago. Nothing was remotely contemporary about him unless unbeknownst to me; I was now living circa AD 1500. By now, I knew that anything was possible.

Despite having docked at various ports in Spain and Portugal, I knew little of these languages, so I wasn’t sure how much I could communicate with someone from a past era.

After walking unabated through the surf, the man reached the shore and kept walking towards me without pausing. I thought this was another good thing about being in spirit form; no one can harm you, be it with guns, spears or arrows… except women can. No matter where you are, they can hurt your feelings, although that’s another story… this was no woman.

Then it occurred to me… wait a minute, how can he see me? I’m not supposed to be visible to mortal eyes. Yet he looked directly at me as he continued his brisk pace, ever closer. Would that mean he was a spirit, too? Until now, I hadn’t seen anyone in this realm other than Mo and Eli, so this was a bit unnerving. I hoped he wasn’t from the dark side, should such places exist in this cosmos, as Mo had indicated.

About ten yards away, I could tell he looked like a captain befitting an antiquated pirate ship. He appeared middle-aged, unshaven, with long, slightly grey hair. I resolutely stood my ground without flinching, expecting almost anything to happen. Except for what happened! 

‘As you were, mate,’ he said.

Then he laughed a big belly laugh.

‘Who and what are you,’ I asked incredulously. ‘And that ship there?’

‘Sebastian, you don’t recognise your old ship and captain?’

‘Pardon me?’ I asked.

With that, he pulled out what appeared to be a rum canister from his long coat, motioning it towards me to have a swig.

I declined, whereupon he took a big guzzle and smiled in satisfaction.

‘You gone dry, matey… what kind of sailor are you?’

Then, for an uncomfortable moment, he stepped closer, looking deeply into my eyes with a penetrating gaze. Then, laughing heartedly, he asked, ‘What do you have to eat?’

‘Some fruit off the trees,’ I said. ‘By the way, you seem a little light on crew; are you looking for recruits?’

He grinned and said, ‘If I were, you’d be the first one I’d hire, First Mate Sebastian de Cartagena. You were one bloody scallywag of a sailor, even before I ordered you as my successor,’ he chuckled. ‘I’m not presently accepting applications; I only appoint. Do you remember when you took over my ship several centuries ago when I decided to take my leave mid-way across the Atlantic?’ 

‘Oh, yes, I remember it well,’ I said sarcastically. ‘It was on one of those cruise packages through the Caribbean islands – wasn’t it?’

I wouldn’t take him seriously until I knew this wasn’t a ruse.

‘Good memory, Sebastian, indeed, we sailed out of Jamaica, Guadalupe, St Martin and a few other islands before they were known as such. However, there were never tourists since there were none. Our lading was a variety of spices.’

I looked at him incredulously; I had never visited any Caribbean islands, although I had considered a winter holiday in Jamaica.

‘Allow me to introduce myself,’ he said, ‘since your memory seems to have lapsed from when you were my First Mate.  You once knew me as your friend and Captain, Miguel de Santandrés of Portugal. That might seem a while since we sailed between Europe and the Caribbean islands, trading in exotic cargo.’

‘Then tell me, Captain, why are you here if you’re not trading spices?’

‘Get me a beachside table, preferably with a view, and I’ll explain why I sailed all this way to meet you for breakfast in the South Pacific. And, oh yes, in case you were wondering, I’m able to accommodate you in your dimension, including several other strata, as need be.

‘As you’ve probably discovered by now, being interdimensional has its benefits, so don’t be concerned; I’m sure we’ll get along splendidly wherever we might meet. Good sailors always find their way, at least when they’re not brawling or mutinying,’ he said with a guffaw.

After frying a couple of fish over my grill, we dined on these and other foods, including some fresh, exotic fruits I had picked. Our meal was nothing fancy, though he didn’t seem to care or notice. I hadn’t eaten much during the last several weeks since I was preoccupied with my internal battles.

‘Tell me, Captain, apart from what you claim to be a chapter from my past, what do you know about me, and how did you find me here?’ 

‘Currently, in this incarnation, you are known as Dr James Phillips, recently employed as a sessional professor at King’s in London. I also understand you were a sailor for a short time before enrolling in a few fine institutions to study philosophy, completing your formal education at Edinburg, where you received your doctorate a few years ago. You now reside in London, or at least your battered body does.’ 

It was evident that this Captain had some rather impressive psychic talents, having somehow accessed information on me from the field or possibly from Mo and Eli. Yes, that was it; they must have told him. Yet, as he went on, I was taken aback by how much detail he claimed to know about my sailing itinerary, naming several ports where I was docked, things no one should have known.

‘Yes, of course,’ I said, ‘everything you said is correct… most impressive. So, why are you here if you’re not looking for shipmates to sail this impressive sailboat of yours? But how did you know I was here?’

‘Your companions, the ones on the mountain… remember them?’

‘Ah, so you do know them.’

‘Most certainly; they requested I accompany you to visit a couple of islands that might seem several hundred leagues away but exist beyond that in a virtual zone outside your continuum. Since I was visiting your galaxy anyway, I told them I would be pleased to set sail again with my former First Mate.’

‘By the way, the name on my intergalactic passport differs from what you once knew. However, you may call me Rhom unless you prefer to call me Captain, as you did before. Names and titles come and go; nonetheless, this one I’ve had for a while. Of course, it didn’t sound very Portuguese in those days, any more than it does now, so I decided to go with a pseudonym you recognised when I was a Captain on one of Magellan’s ill-fated ships.’

‘Yes,’ I said, ‘I understand that things didn’t go well on that voyage; in fact, very few survived.’[27]

‘No, they certainly didn’t, although I was mainly along for the ride. As I’m sure you might have heard, everything went downhill after the Philippians, even before Magellan was killed by the natives there. By then, I had been exposed to enough human folly, so I didn’t bother returning to earth until the Caribbean spice trade opened. That was when we met.

‘At the time, you were a young man on the lam,  so as Captain of a Spanish merchant ship, I took you on and trained you in astronomy so that you might become my First Mate. That’s how you eventually got to be a Captain of this ship.’

‘If true, that would be extraordinary. However, since you’re not a native of this earth, how did you become a human here; did you incarnate?’

‘No, not me. Not on earth or anywhere else that I recall… too messy. I prefer to come and go as I please by manifesting a form whenever I wish to engage with the human species for a short while.

‘You know, this earth has quite the reputation in the universe! Though I don’t wish to insult your world, it’s known to possess a relatively primitive state of consciousness. Or, I should say… semblance of consciousness. Yet, in its own way, there is a quirky charm to your planet I enjoy observing.’

‘Quirky charm; is that how you would describe us?’

‘Having visited this planet several times over the centuries, I find it interesting how things get so easily confused, although I admit to sometimes finding it more amusing than interesting.’

‘If this is true, I’m curious: how were you able to manifest a body each time you visit, and how do you determine how you wish to appear?’

‘There’s not much to the process once you decide how you wish to manifest on earth, much like putting on a suit, except I decided to go casual this time,’ he said, chuckling.

‘When I first came, I did some browsing in Europe before deciding to adopt the ethnicity of a Portuguese man since I thought I’d do a little sailing on your ocean waters.

‘While this body exists in higher vibratory octaves such as the astral plane, it can transduce down to earth’s lower plane such that I can lower my bodily frequency to walk down any street in town and be seen. When it suits me, no pun intended, I can assume another appearance. Most impressive, wouldn’t you say?’ 

All this was new to me; imagine that, shape-shifting aliens invading the planet as pirates on ancient sailing vessels. That would make one hell of a sci-fi movie.

Of course, Mo and Eli, being from Elysium, were off-worlders too, only for different reasons, although the lines of demarcation were blurring in these alternative realities. Was Earth any more real just because it was the densest? Perhaps, with its lower state of consciousness, it was the least real.

Nonetheless, being most fascinated with his storyline, I questioned him about other off-worlders and how many like him have sailed the seas and walked the earth over the centuries.

To which he replied, saying, ‘plenty; someone has to keep your earth intact... at least, until your species learns to raise its consciousness to where it can survive on its own cognisance.’

‘But aren’t there also less benevolent entities who infiltrate important positions of leadership so they may take earthlings down?’

‘Do you actually think humans need any help with that?’

‘Probably not, yet it seems this world continues to endure an inordinate amount of evil that appears to come from somewhere.’

‘While it’s true dark operatives from outer domains are present on earth, they can only inflict harm by aligning with those who are a vibratory match with their mutual obsession for greed, power and exploitation. That’s the only way they can intervene in your world affairs.

‘Without leeching onto willing human surrogates calibrating on the lowest extremes of consciousness, the forces of cosmic darkness could not anchor in your world. Fortunately, benevolent beings serve as a countervailing force where nefarious intruders exist. Some refer to these beings as angels.’

‘So, is that how you would describe yourself?’

‘I’ve never been accused as anything such… perhaps for good reasons,’ he chuckled. ‘Still, you might be surprised how many there are like me who visit your earth from various galactic domains to provide some direction and sanity to your world’s more dystopic nations.

‘However, we can only intervene when the collective consciousness of the masses becomes receptive to what is in their best interests. Left to your species’ devices, humans would have destroyed themselves long ago, as was attempted last century with their heinous genocides.’

‘Okay, good to know some backup may be available when we need it most, but why are these pesky humans allowed to return to make more trouble?’

‘It may not always seem the best way; nevertheless, humanity can only awaken to the light of higher consciousness by experiencing the contrast of darkness. All inhabited planets in the multiverse also have their growth processes. So, if you wonder why you have so many wars, homicides and genocides on earth, well, now you know… you’ve chosen the hard way.

‘When they reincarnate, many of these dim spirits wish to make restitution for past iniquities. Not that this always works. Many remain ensconced in their twisted state, refusing to see the light, and so return to where they came – it’s a hell of a way to live. Still, that’s their choice.’

‘If I may ask, why did you first come to earth, other than to save us from ourselves?’

‘As tough as things might get here, your world offers unique insights into how embryonic and unsophisticated beings manage to evolve while undergoing severe adversities. I especially witnessed this on my Magellan voyage.’

‘I supposed if it can be done on earth, then it can be done anywhere,’ I remarked wistfully.

‘That’s true, although there are also other reasons I return here.’

‘Such as what? I asked.

‘Well, you know, it might sound trivial, but there are some things you can’t get elsewhere. Caribbean rum, for instance… one of my favourites and a good reason to keep coming back,’ he chortled while taking another swig. ‘I always keep a bottle in my pocket since I can’t get it back home.’

‘So, where exactly is your home?’ I asked.

‘Mostly, I enjoy Montego Bay when visiting your planet, although it’s not possible to explain the galactic coordinates for my native planet since you have no point of reference in what you call the Pleiadean galaxy. Nor does it show up in your Hubble lens since our dimension lies outside Earth’s spectrum.’

‘So, it must be quite the distance.’

‘Distance in the universe is not what most of your scientists assume since they remain too fixated on linear time and space to understand what might be possible in other realms.’

‘Then how long does it take to arrive here on your spacecraft?’

‘Sebastian, you’ve learned a thing or two about teleporting, so why do you even ask? There might be an appearance of distance, although it has nothing to do with spatial measurement. You, more than anyone, should know that.’

‘Then why do you have spacecraft?’

‘Primarily, these serve as stations while visiting other planets, although significant disclosures will soon be made on your earth.’

‘You mean more sightings for the entertainment of sky-gazers?’ 

‘That may be, although we’re mainly here to ensure earth’s transition from lower to higher dimensions of consciousness by averting disaster due to the collective ignorance of the intelligentsia. We can’t make the changes, but we can help show humans what to do if they are so predisposed. We’ll speak more of that later.

‘We are encouraged to observe many of your physicists beginning to twig onto new paradigms of quantum mechanics and how they may lead to new perceptions of reality that advance humanity, not just intellectually, but in spiritual wisdom.

‘Yet, most astronomers gaze through their telescopes and assume the material universe is all there is. What a joke! Few have any idea of the variegations of energetic streams that have crystallised into an appearance of physical densities paralleling your known universe. What is perceived as being out there tells more about limitations of perception.’

‘Thanks to Berkley, I have a greater appreciation for what you’re saying, yet that doesn’t tell me much about your universe. I’m relatively certain your old boat wouldn’t get you very far when heading back into the stars.’

‘Ah yes… our boat. So how do you like it, First Mate? I decided to sail it again for old time’s sake, yours and mine. I understand your interest in these old vessels and sailing history.’

‘Tell me, Captain, I’m curious how you would know I was interested in ancient sailing routes. Even if what you said is true about my supposed past sailing exploits through the Caribbean, it doesn’t necessarily follow that I would continue to have an interest now.’

‘No, it doesn’t,’ he said, ‘not necessarily, just probably. From what I understand, you once discussed these historical events with an eccentric astrophysicist during your first year at university. You know, the one you went to pubs with while listening to his endless tales of sailing.’

‘So, you know about that, too, do you?’ I asked.  

‘Of course I do! There’s much I know about you, Sebastian; how else do you think I got this job?’ he laughed.

‘Then can you explain how my physicist friend always seemed to know so much about sailing back then? He spoke of what even historians have no record of occurring.’

‘You probably should have asked him, although, had he told you, you probably wouldn’t have believed him.’

‘You’re right, I probably wouldn’t have; however, I think I’m beginning to now. Yes, Miguel, my Portuguese professor, used to call me Sebastian, unlike anyone else before or since. The one who drank too much dark rum while speaking endlessly about the high seas. And, the one who one day suddenly vanished from the face of the earth.’

‘Is that so? So, where do you think he went?’

‘Probably to Montego Bay, or possibly he headed back to the stars. Would that not be this same ancient Portuguese Captain who happens to do all the same things?’

‘It really makes you wonder, doesn’t it?’ he said with a straight face as if he was genuinely perplexed.

I laughed aloud at his disingenious ruse. There was no doubt in my mind that I was once again with Miguel, the professor friend I hung out with at the pub as a first-year student, the one who convinced me to pursue philosophy.

‘You might also wonder about this old ship when you walk up its plank,’ he said. ‘I sailed it here through an orphic wormhole where I found it docked much as when you decommissioned it on October 12th of 1563, at Port of Póvoa de Varzim.

‘I decommissioned it? Well, I supposed in some fantasy I might have.’  

‘No, really, this is your ship, Sebastian, just as it remains suspended in time. I had to do a few repairs to the hull and patch some of the sails, yet I’m sure you’ll find it much as you left it, even if you don’t remember. Although in reality, you do, since nothing is ever lost; it only seems that way… until it’s not.’

‘I’ll admit,’ I said, ‘there are some things you say about having sailed during this era of history that resonate in my mind. Ever since I was a lad, I dreamt of sailing on a magnificent old vessel like this. Then, later, while navigating through the Aegean Sea, I became enthralled by ancient times on the sea as I repeatedly read my father’s copy of the Iliad. I often imagined I was sailing to Troy in those ancient times.’ 

‘So, possibly, you sailed these seas too, even thousands of years ago in the time of Homer. Why not?’

‘I supposed in this universe, anything is possible. That’s what I’ve been learning, yet I have no idea how you could have dredged this ship from a dock in Portugal’s past. Regardless, I’d love to go sailing on it again.’

‘Whenever you’re ready, we can set sail,’ he said.

‘To where?’

‘The islands.’ 

‘Which Islands?’

‘Didn’t your friends tell you about us sailing off to the Flatlands and Hillcountry?’

‘Oh, that; yes, I guess they did, although it seemed too fantastic to believe.’

‘Well, believe it, Sebastian. I didn’t come all this way for breakfast. Wasn’t this what you might have expected when they told you I’d be your assigned guide?’

‘Yes, of course, but do you mean now? With everything that had gone on with me on the island’s new environment, I hadn’t given much thought to sailing off into a virtual world without spending some time back at the lodge to debrief my mentors about my experiences here.’

‘What makes you think they’re waiting for you as if they didn’t have better things to do?’  

He was right; still, I wasn’t prepared for anything quite like this. Though I didn’t say anything, I would have expected to see someone better groomed who appeared less like a pirate and more like a guide who sailed in something more elegant than this dilapidated piece of antiquity.

‘Before I get on board, what more can you tell me about this voyage? Eli and Mo described it as a Magical Mystery Tour to some far-off islands that aren’t actual islands but virtual projections.’

‘You will find out soon enough; it all happens on a deep subliminal level such that you likely won’t even be aware of the process of how it happens. All you require is a willing spirit, which you now have; otherwise, you wouldn’t have ascended the Summit or stayed on your island paradise as long as you did.’

‘Mo and Eli tried to describe it to me, but it seemed so far out that I didn’t understand that much.’

‘It’s not that complicated; your perceptions will be condensations of the impressions from your accumulation of feedstock experiences in this life.’

‘So what can you tell me about those I was told who will be participating in our MMT?’

‘Other spheres of consciousness will undergird projected images into a field of virtual experiences that might appear a bit illustrious since that’s how we see things in higher dimensions. Every blade of grass, if you focus, will glisten in the rays of your mind’s light as you will experience the essence of everything. That’s why this voyage will seem so magical and luminous. Don’t worry; I’m sure you’ll get used to it.’

‘That’s lovely, but how realistic is that? Such perception might reflect many lives, but not mine.’

‘That’s why you will also witness many manifestations of low consciousness, whether in the people, places, objects or events graphically exposed in glaring detail. Truth is truth, so, for illustration purposes, all perceptions in the Flatlands and Hillcountry will be accentuated to appear all the more glorious or inglorious. Rather than perceiving as you did in the past, your eyes will be illuminated to see what you couldn’t when you lacked insight and understanding.

‘With your tacit consent, they will inquire into your subliminal memories to draw whatever relevant information you have so that you may access even the most abstract impressions. All this will be comingled with their projections within your mind’s hologram, pulled together to teach whatever lessons you are meant to learn. Within a collage of familiar and unfamiliar structures and objects, you will be able to interpret what is represented with enhanced meaning. Some may even seem humorous in their depictions to help you get the point.’

‘Okay, just so I understand, these holograms are supposed to extract, interpret and then project my subliminal impressions to a template where they can be perceived, much like life on earth. Is that right?’

‘Yes, these impressions will be downloaded as multisensory experiences even more perceptible than anything you could experience on earth. Regardless, you and I will be the only nonrepresentational realities there, whereas all other MMT experiences will represent various thought forms.

‘You may wish to consider this similar to a movie representing the images of actors rather than the physical manifestation of the actors themselves.  It’s even possible some of these projections may even include those you interact with in your dream states.’

‘I wonder if I could meet Julianne on one of these islands; that would be a dream come true.’

‘Good luck, although having a romantic interlude is not the purpose of this voyage; that would only confuse you. Take whatever comes as a lesson for when you return home. Because you are curious about how this works, I’m just giving you the basics; it’s not necessary to understand more than this.

‘Outwardly, you might not even be able to distinguish what you consider real and what’s virtually real. Once we arrive, you will witness symbolic representations of places and events that contributed to your intellectual development, for better or worse. Again, it’s about what’s within that is seen for what it is when outwardly projected.

‘However, you don’t have to reconcile what you observe with how you once perceived it since you will see your world as it essentially exists. We’ll discuss this more as we return from the islands so you will understand what I mean.

‘For now, there’s too much for you to assimilate, yet one day, I’m sure you will, as you reflect on what you write about these adventures.’

‘Fine by me,’ I said. ‘Mo and Eli already explained this to me, but it still confused me how I could participate in a virtual reality that wasn’t real even though I was. From what you’re saying, I think you're saying that, in essence, the virtual world is a composition of latent thought patterns of unmanifested reality.’

‘Yes, that’s what they are… holographic thought patterns. Nevertheless, appearances are fleeting, as in the quantum field of subatomic physics, where cause and effect manifest at once. I’m sure this will be easier for you to understand once we become immersed in these alternate dimensions.

‘So then, First Mate Sebastian… shall we at last cast off onto the seas of our virtual world? The skies are clear, so it should be smooth sailing. Are you ready?’

‘Sure, let me check my social calendar to see what else I might have going on. By the way, any idea how long you think this voyage might take?’

‘Maybe a day; maybe an eternity,’ he said, ‘after all, what’s time but a perception?

‘Well then, if that’s all there is to it,’ I chuckled, ‘I’ll batten down the hatches and pack my journal. I don’t suppose Mo and Eli are expecting me any time soon since they’re the ones who booked me on this voyage as part of my practicum at Summit U.’

‘We never stop learning, do we, First Mate? How often do you get to charter a ship from the ancient past to visit the present’s future?’

‘Not since ingesting a variety of substances while a student.’

After shuttering my window, I placed some items into my backpack with my bedding. We then walked across the beach, into the surf towards the ship.

‘So, Captain, tell me more about the physics of how this virtual trip exists in time and space… or does it?’

‘You might as well ask me how to square infinity. Now, there’s a wonderful koan for you to consider.’

‘I’m sure it would be. Funny thing; my professor friend once asked me about that.’

‘Indeed, a most clever question; I don’t suppose you’ve found an answer yet?’

‘No,’ I said, ‘I’m still waiting for him to tell me. Who knows, maybe I’ll find him on one of these virtual islands; it would be the perfect venue.’

He didn’t respond, although I thought I detected a smirk on his face. That’s one of the things I liked about Rhom… always enigmatic, as was my professor friend over a dozen years ago. He never would admit that it was him, not entirely, since it seemed he preferred to amuse himself, keeping me in suspense about this and many other things.

Besides that, at least from what he said, he might indeed have also been my Captain from a bygone era almost a half-millennium ago. That’s a long time, yet how would I know for sure? In any case, Rhom was a most impressive man: tall, slender, yet muscular sailor, as he claimed to be in the days of Magellan.

Interestingly, Rhom continued to possess his sailor swagger, a quality that might have amused others back in his galactic realm. I suspected, however, that he probably had accumulated an inventory of personas cultivated on various sojourns on Earth, along with other intergalactic forays through time and space.

I was curious to know how old he was but then realised that was a ridiculous question... as if our earthly solar years have anything to do with what’s outside sidereal time.

Not every day do you get to meet such a character, at least that you’re aware of. I suspected there was much more to him than I would ever know or could know. His depth of understanding was evident, just as when we met at various pubs near the university. I remembered how approachable he was back then, even as an ivory tower professor. Nothing was ever an issue with him. It was now apparent why he remained unflappable. 

As a professor, he appeared to be in his early forties, always looking dapper in expensive Italian designer suites. I noticed, a bit enviously, how women would eye him at the pub, and not always discretely.

When I asked him about women in his life, he would say they weren’t his kind, which to me didn’t make any sense since they most certainly were my kind. Once, when I inquired if he was gay, he said not in the modern sense of the term; he was just happy.

He must have been an ancient soul from somewhere deep in the universe’s underbelly rather than a shabby sea Captain from the past, as he now appeared. I could go on describing his compelling qualities… take my word for it; he always was a cool guy, whatever the earthly guise he assumed. Once again, Mo and Eli were right; he seemed the perfect guide for my island tours.

After reaching the ship and walking up the gangplank, we immediately set sail since the tide was still high, which might have helped to raise the hull, although that didn’t seem necessary. I’m not sure how he managed to dislodge the beached ship off the shore by just raising the sails. But he did.

From what I could tell, the boat should have been subject to the earth’s physical laws of gravity. It was apparent Rhom wasn’t subject to anyone’s laws, nor was this ship.

I couldn’t be sure of what was real or unreal; all I knew was that our ship was sailing off towards some virtual reality where, from what I was told, anything and everything might be possible. I soon discovered such questions are meaningless since reality remains relative to which plane we dwell on, except I had no idea what plane I was sailing in. I laughed to myself when I considered how this would give pause to some of the angst-ridden existential philosophers who could hardly figure out how things worked on just the earth plane, let alone any others.

As my paradise isle dropped behind us below the horizon, Rhom said, ‘Be sure to keep your mind open at all times on this excursion. Just because an experience occurs outside what you consider possible doesn’t invalidate it, particularly when participating in it, as you will soon find.

‘There are no acceptable explanations within paradigms that are too narrow to understand what’s outside the normal purview. Even on earth, many things occur that no one has an answer to.’ 

‘Such as what?’ I asked.

‘How about something as simple as gravity or the essence of life? These are among the greatest.’

‘Yes, not so not easy, but how about more exotic phenomena such as crop circles? It seems scientists are having problems coming up with a satisfactory explanation. As you might expect, I consider myself a sceptic, although I’ve never understood how they materialize in farmers’ fields, often at night, in just minutes. What would you say about that?’

‘I trust you have been enjoying our exquisite designs? Although few humans appreciate or understand what they mean, most have logarithms within the intricate patterns. Unfortunately, most scientists don’t care about the implicit binary codes in our sacred geometry, even though it all can easily be deciphered within the designs.[28]

‘Since they’re too smart to look, this tells us more about humans than what it tells humans about us, which it seems, is more than they care to know. Consequently, such evidence is often ignored or scoffed at, especially among archaeologists who ought to be most curious.

‘So, rather than investigate the enigmatic crop patterns, they dismiss our revelations with shabby rationalizations. Unfortunately, few in the scientific community seem to care, so no one is held accountable. That’s a much easier way to handle what might otherwise be too threatening to one’s career.’

‘What are you suggesting… that off-worlders created them?’

‘How else would these intricate designs appear in the middle of the night of their own accord? I suspect certain nocturnal forays will continue as long as enough inquiring souls are open to whatever might be encrypted in these messages. You know, there is much more subliminal intrigue to them than just creative circles and designs in a crop.’

‘So, are you personally involved in creating this cosmic graffiti mischief?’

‘No, not really, although I have gone along for the ride with certain artists. It’s interesting to watch, even though most farmers don’t appreciate their masterpieces. Most designs are already programmed into our laser technology, which explains why encryptions occur very quickly at night.’

‘That’s very interesting because I’ve never believed them to be anything more than hoaxes by local pranksters who wish to get people talking. However, if you’ve seen all this firsthand, there’s not much I can say except it must be fun to watch. Be sure to take me along next time you have the chance.’

‘We’re all for having fun, especially in a world that often takes itself too seriously. That’s one of the reasons we keep coming back… to open closed minds. That’s why this voyage should be enjoyable for both of us.’

‘But you know, what’s even more fun to watch is you, Sebastian… a most peculiar specimen from the human race. An over-achiever at times, an underachiever in others, yet always interesting to observe.

‘For the first time in your earthly sojourns, you’re prepared for what you’re about to encounter, not just on these islands. I suspect there awaits you plenty of other adventures, possibly, some of it, most pleasurable.’

‘From what Mo, Eli and you have said, I expect this Magical Mystery Tour could be exceptional, although I suspect I’ll have many questions about what’s going on there.’

‘I would expect no less. Don’t be too concerned about what you don’t understand. If what I say doesn’t always make sense, wait until an intuitive understanding resonates within, as does all truth.

‘After all your recent epiphanies on the island, you will recognise things as they are on these islands and discern truth from falsehood; it will seem so obvious you will wonder why you couldn’t do this back home.

‘In particular, you will notice how faulty so-called settled science has become. Many scientific beliefs are no longer considered valid after a generation or two, and yet these narratives often continue for years since much power and money are vested in sustaining them for dubious ends.

‘I recall how, in Magellan’s time, many believed the earth was flat. Few think that now, yet your world continues to believe in many other things even more ridiculous.’

‘That’s true,’ I said. ‘Even in England, some claim to walk on hot coals without burning their feet. It’s amazing what scams some people fall for.’

‘Have you ever tried it? If not, how would you know? Every day in your world, initiates walk across scorching hot coals as part of a spiritual ceremony.’

‘That’s bizarre; humans aren’t born with asbestos on their soles. It’s not realistic.’

‘You are right; it can't be realistic within the confines of medical science; participants should incinerate their feet. And yet, once they have been mentally prepared, they casually stroll through the coals without a trace of a burn or blister.

‘Since that’s not supposed to be possible, these phenomena are generally ignored, as any other para-conformity. And yet, nothing should be dismissed and declared impossible because it’s outside the parameters of acceptable science.’

‘As you probably know, I have often ridiculed anything that seemed paranormal. After all, I’m trained to be a sceptic, although I must confess, I’ve never seriously investigated these events.’

‘Which is my point,’ Rhom said. ‘Why would you question what others have already dismissed when it’s much easier to ignore what might otherwise get in the way of what many consider respectable beliefs? When you return home one day, you might have an opportunity to look further into such phenomena.’

‘Knowing the fall guy, as I call my body, I’m not sure he would be willing to do that.’

‘Well, I understand his nurse Julianne is interested in certain things you might consider peculiar. So, what if, after you return, she wants him to come with her to watch a fire-walking ceremony? Would he go? Who knows, maybe he would walk with her across the hot coals, hand in hand, and then you would know.’

‘That’s crazy; I know he’d never do that.’

‘But what if she did; then how would he feel? Like a hero? Yet, you’ve boarded this ghost ship to visit islands that don’t even exist.’

‘At least I won’t burn my feet,’ I chuckled.

‘Burned feet or not, openness to what’s more and different is something your planet seems to have some difficulty with. Even though there’s plenty for humanity to experience and celebrate, tyrants have attempted to control the masses’ thinking by dictating what they could or could not believe.

‘Even in your last century, many in your world were dissuaded from believing in the Source of reality[29] as the most inherent of all beliefs. Every totalitarian regime attempts to preserve its instituted beliefs by force, not power.’

‘Nevertheless, force is power,’ I said. ‘You can’t have force without power... it’s the same thing, only with different words.’

‘Actually, there is a subtle but significant difference. Force imposes itself from without, whereas power empowers one from within.[30] Stalin was forceful; Yeshua was powerful.’

‘I supposed that’s one way to look at this.’

‘Where would demagogues be if they couldn’t impose their rules and beliefs on others? Tyranny would cease to exist. Although it’s not only tyrants that use force, from what I’ve observed, most of your institutions tend towards authoritarianism, be they political, religious or scientific.

‘They attempt to enforce their myopic beliefs on subjects with laws they’ve instigated. Yet those who possess true power don’t require force or chicanery to survive, only the authority they receive from those they serve.

‘Is it not evident that Yeshua had the most power when his words were accepted as truth, just as they remain today for billions?’

‘But what about the masses who prefer to give away their power to tyrannical authority? Russians, in particular, have been ruled by strongmen even after centuries of authoritarianism.’

‘For now, in your world’s planetary history, most tyrants remain safe since consciousness remains too low to realise they’ve been duped. We’ll see that illustrated among the Groupthink elites in the Flatlands, who are obsessed with everyone’s thoughts remaining as flat as theirs. That’s how the collective Groupthink ego reacts; it’s always an existential threat to the ego when its beliefs are called into question.’

I wouldn’t say Rhom was a cynic, perhaps more of an iconoclast towards what he considered the shallow beliefs of the intellectual set. Though I regarded myself as an intellect, I liked that he could see through the sophistries of the most revered Flatland institutions.

‘Things in your world can’t be other than they are,’ he said, ‘while so many remain content in their slumber. Unfortunately, those with the lowest consciousness are often the most outwardly clever in manipulating the masses to revere them while serving their devious ideological ends.’

‘What you just said reminds me of what Eli once stated while quoting Einstein: No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it. That’s so demonstratively true. They also have the most to lose should humanity ever awaken to what they are about.’

‘Often things don’t end well for them,’ he said, ‘which is why they tend to be so afraid of any possibility of a coup or insurrection.’

‘As an ex-pat of this world, what would you say to its citizens if you could?’ I asked.

‘There’s not much you can say until they are ready to hear it. If most humans understood the true nature of power, they would refuse to give it away. Once souls become inwardly enlightened, [31] it’s only a matter of time until they become outwardly liberated, as your history has repeatedly demonstrated.’

By now, we were well on our way, seemingly ever faster, as the sails billowed in the wind, transporting us far beyond my Polynesian paradise. After a while, I retired to my quarters in the hull to lay down and process everything that happened since Rhom arrived on my shores at dawn.

I looked upward, reflecting on how I had unwittingly ventured into new worlds and dimensions with strange occurrences that would have been impossible to fathom in the past. It reminded me how, in my early student years, hallucinogenic substances had me flying in the skies with iridescent unicorns shimmering through glimmering rainbows. At least, that’s the way I remember one such flight into my Neverland island.[32] I wondered if these would be any different.

Possibly, we had already intersected with some impossible-to-comprehend interdimensional vortex that penetrated our matrix. I thought of how the Queen of Hearts once told Alice: Why, sometimes I’ve believed in as many as six impossible things before breakfast.[33] Though I realised my mind had expanded considerably while on the Summit, I wasn’t sure if I was as prepared as the Queen for what might be next… before or after breakfast. 

I recalled how sceptical I was when Eli and Mo tried to persuade me to take this ocean journey into what sounded more like the Sea of Oblivion. But now, here I was, sailing on some ancient Portuguese ghost ship with some off-world alien who claimed to have sailed with Magellan. Never again could I say my life was boring.

From what I understood, it still wasn’t clear how my previous thought-forms could be projected onto an etheric template that would mirror a virtual representation of my past.

Well, in any case, here I was, sailing off into the waters of infinite possibilities where anything might happen, or at least seem to happen. Magical Mystery Tour, indeed! Can it get any weirder than this? Alice and the Queen of Hearts had nothing on me.

Later that evening, as I stood talking with Rhom on the port side, I witnessed brilliant aqua waves interspersed with currents of glowing turquoise. If that wasn’t enough, the evening skies streamed with wisps of magenta offset by shades of deep indigo. And the wind; there was no other description than to say melodic.

‘You were right; I’ve never experienced anything like this, not even while sailing among the islands of the Aegean Sea. Even the air has mystical intimations; this is becoming quite the trip,’

‘In more ways than one,’ he replied. ‘If you focus your mind, you might notice even more delightful sights.’

I thought about that a moment, then scurried back to the aft, hoping to see beautiful, full-breasted mermaids swimming towards me in the ship’s wake. There were none, although, in that magical moment, it wouldn’t have surprised me.

I noticed Rhom chuckling to himself when I returned to where he was untangling ropes. I’m sure he read my mind.

After a deep sleep, I awoke, wondering if any of this was actually happening. I asked myself, what’s the difference between dreams and illusions since both are perceptions? Is our reality a matter of perceiving correctly or being correctly perceived, as Berkeley seemed to suggest? Perhaps it was both, or was it neither?

When I brought this up with Rhom a little later, he said with a laugh, ‘Bloody hell, James, who do you overthink everything? I suppose that’s an occupational hazard for you, but does it even matter? Enjoy the ride… you can figure it out later.’

I couldn’t let it go as I recalled how Mo said he and Eli would hold the field to sustain this virtual tour. That sounded enigmatic, if not intriguing, so I thought I’d ask Rhom if he could explain what they meant.

‘This might be difficult for you to understand within your limited terms of reference,’ he said as he sat on a spool of rope while pulling his battered canister from his inner pocket.

‘Nothing is external to the mind since that’s where everything is experienced. Sometimes, in your dreams, for example, you might sense amorphous images that shift, fade, disappear and then reappear to express what lies below the surface of your waking state.

‘This activity is evidence of your mind interpreting, then projecting its interpretations on the screen of your subconsciousness as you sleep. It might not always make sense, and maybe it’s not supposed to… at least until it does. Remember the dream that drew you to the Summit?’

‘Yes, that infamous dream Mo and Eli talk about so much. Mo even says he narrated the first part. They probably told you all about it.’

‘Actually, I believe you did last morning.’

‘Oh, yes, I guess I did when I gave you the lead-up to what happened to me before I fell into this altered reality.’

‘Or was it more like you falling out of the earth’s altered reality?’ he asked with a wry smile. ‘Something to think about, Sebastian. Regardless, these compelling images in your dream held the field for what was yet to come.’

‘And now I’m about to enter a new field of virtual reality. Circles within circles of reality. Is it real or virtual; it can’t be both?’

‘Why not; what if you’ve already entered into the virtual field? Does it not feel real?’

‘I don’t know, I’ve never done anything like this before… at least not legally,’ I chuckled.

‘Okay then,’ Rhom said, ‘let’s go back to the hologram concept to explain what’s going on here. How well do you understand the science?’

‘We discussed some of it at the Summit; still, there’s much I don’t understand, as if all life is one giant hologram.’

‘You may say it’s something like that. I think of this experience as being a micro version of the universe.’

‘You mean like a universe in a universe?’

‘Or, as you say, circles within circles of reality.’

‘Again, you may say it’s something like that, virtually, a wheel within a wheel.’[34] In this case, you will stimulate a holographic projection from your subliminal consciousness into an inner virtual wheel of reality. It’s like having electrodes applied to the human brain to resuscitate memories that create images being mirrored back to you.

‘Your mind, along with some telepathic suggestions from Mo, Eli and a few other advanced souls, will comingle images to create a template of comprehensive read-outs to formulate a field of perceptions including landscapes, buildings, people and events. As with a film projector, it will all be projected out there for your viewing pleasure.’

‘Still, that sounds rather intrusive. So how are Mo and Eli able to occupy my memory field just like that?’

‘Because you permitted them. By allowing them to be your mentors, you trusted what they had to say, so why not this, too? You can always change your mind if you choose.’

‘I guess so, but….’

‘Once affinity is established between individuated minds,’ Rhom said, ‘attunement comes naturally. That’s because, when you get right down to it, there is only one Mind. On Earth, this connection has often been referred to as psychic phenomena, while in physics, the principle is referred to as quantum entanglement.

‘Whatever you wish to call it, everything is interconnected; nothing remains separate or static since all that is, or can be, emanates from the Source.

‘However, while humans believe they have separate minds compartmentalised in different brains and bodies, it’s difficult for them to understand that they exist in a unified field of consciousness.

‘They must first be in union with what is metaphorically understood as the heart. If the mind isn’t whole, it remains inept or, worse, unhinged. Perhaps you noticed this back home.

‘Alternatively, when minds are healthy and whole, it’s possible to project intentional images onto a receptive mind. Remember, the subatomic world is of pure Source energy that fills in the grid of patterns created by thoughts, giving an illusion of crystallised material substance.’ 

‘This sounds like Mo when he gets into metaphysics.’

‘Then you know what I’m saying must be true,’ he chuckled, ‘but don’t expect to understand everything until you live what we say. The most important things in life can’t be learned with just the mind; they must also be discovered with the engagement of the heart.’

‘Yet most of what I’ve learned has been the hard way.’

‘You mean like knocking your head down a chasm wall?’

‘I suppose you might say that; quite literally… the school of hard knocks.’

‘So, did you learn anything in your formal education other than an assortment of facts, data, information and opinions for which they awarded you a certificate to hang on your wall?’

‘I want you to know I worked bloody hard so I could hang that paper by my bed for my visitors to see.’

‘I’m sure you did,’ he said. ‘For whatever its merits, and all the young women it might have impressed, I’m sure you might have asked if it was worth all the trouble where your career in the Flatlands turned out to be even flatter than your education.’

‘Compared to what I’ve experienced here, I have to agree my life there has been relatively flat.’

‘That’s why you had to leave, albeit unwittingly. How else could you have found your new life on the Summit? And now you’re about to ascend more allegorical Summits. This time, however, I’ll be your Sherpa, helping you interpret what you see and experience. As I said before, these two virtual islands might seem material, but they’ll actually represent thought-forms from experiences you acquired in these regions.’

‘No matter how much you say it, I still find this difficult to imagine.’ 

‘Nevertheless, as I suggested before, that’s much like what happens every moment of every day in your world, only more constrained. Few humans realise that they participate in the world’s collective consciousness, for better or worse. Your world is an amalgam of thoughts that determine, for example, expressions of language and culture.

‘Further to that, it may also be said that one’s environment, in turn, influences what thoughts are expressed and become materialised into form. Over time, this becomes self-evident in any nation of your world, explaining why cultures often remain insular and even antagonistic, be it the tribe across the river or the land across the sea.

‘As I said, it’s one of the reasons many advanced extraterrestrials visit your earth from time to time. We do what we can to help counter the human tendency towards spiritual devolution. Since we can’t do this by direct interference, we must rely on conscious souls who will attune their minds to ours.

‘As we discussed earlier, that’s why we see so much crop graffiti cropping up… if you’ll excuse the pun. Souls with higher consciousness are attracted to these geometrical patterns, yet these imprints are only one means to revivify cellular memory.

‘Of course, there are several other approaches to this, such as found in certain mystical religious traditions and modes of deep meditation. In your case, falling down a chasm abyss was your connection to our realm. Not many on earth make such a dramatic approach while still mortal.’

‘Then I should be honoured to be among the few,’ I said. ‘Admittedly, it was a most extraordinary leap… so to speak.’

‘Indeed, you should be honoured and not without good reason. It would have been impossible to teach you anything without you first leaping across the divide. Then, to your credit, you were willing to unlearn much of what you assumed you knew. That took some humility.’

‘And humiliation by Mo. That’s why I bolted, only to get trapped on a ledge to be humiliated again, this time by my rescuer Eli.’  

‘You mean when he got you to take the big leap up and off the ledge? He told me all about the look on your face.’

‘Yes, of course, by tricking me.’

‘That was all in preparation for you to take more leaps, this time into higher realms of awareness. As one’s frequency rises, it is easier to understand what’s not understandable on earth’s plane on linear limitations. Besides taking these leaps, had you not completed your last gut-wrenching test on the island, I wouldn’t have bothered to show up.’

‘In which case, I would have, as they say, missed the boat,’ I chuckled.

‘More than you know, matey. At least you’re on board now, well on your way to becoming the master of your ship. Did you know it only takes one enlightened soul to offset the consciousness of one thousand who tilt below the fulcrum?’

‘Fulcrum; what’s that?’

‘It’s the tipping point where consciousness slides downwards or ascends upwards. There are many ways of calibrating human consciousness. According to an arbitrary scale of what’s possible on the earth plane[35] on a scale of one to a thousand, the fulcrum point is two hundred.

‘Consciousness varies considerably, often influenced by what levels reside within families, communities, tribes and nations. These collectives create their perceptions of reality and what conditions they manifest.’

‘Yet who are we to judge what other cultures believe?’ I asked.

‘You’re right, Sebastian; it’s not for us to judge, only to observe, especially ourselves. Yet, never lose sight of the fact that only truth is truth; it is not relative, regardless of what your world says. Lower calibrations of egoic forms see separation, not unity, which explains why the world remains fragmented with tribalism, war and hate.

‘Everyone participates in creating holographic fields collectively experienced in degrees of poverty or prosperity.[36] Unfortunately, much of what humanity creates has to do with the delusions of its collective ego.’

‘Are you saying, for example, that if there are mosquitoes on earth, it’s our own damned fault since we hatched them through our pernicious thoughts? If so, to put it mildly, Rhom, I’m not sure there would be a lot of scientific evidence for such a hypothesis.’

‘It’s interesting you should bring up mosquitoes. Back in the eighteenth century, one of the world’s most outstanding scientists, Emmanuel Swedenborg, wrote about how pesky bugs and noxious weeds enter the material world through the deleterious thoughts of humans.’[37]

‘Yes, I’m familiar with some of his writings since Mo also seemed very conversant with these teachings.’

‘Then you might be familiar with what I have to say about this. Notwithstanding the tenets of Darwin’s mechanistic bottom-up theory of evolution, spiritual essence exists prior to manifestation in material form. It’s not so much about what happens with time and chance, rather, the involution of conscious thought.’

‘This idea, as I understand it, seems to relate to what Mo said was Swedenborg’s doctrine of correspondences.[38] From what I understand, he posited that all affections on the continuum between the polarities of love and fear, light and darkness, ultimately manifest in alignment with whatever is projected by collective thoughts. From a scientific perspective, however, this would be considered incredulous.’

‘So, what do you think; would you say Swedenborg was on to something?’

‘According to Mo and Eli, he was spot on, but I’m not sure my colleagues would agree.’

‘Then go with Swedenborg. He was right about most everything, having his origins in my galaxy.

‘Realise that some manifestations are perceived as material, while others are less tangible, as with music, poetry and other artistic expressions. Regardless, once a thought-pattern becomes in-formed, it crystallises into a thoughtform or, as more exotic traditions call it, an egregore.[39]

‘It may then continue to propagate within this pattern, as do mosquitoes, great musical compositions or anything else that might evoke some form of material expression.’

‘What you say sounds similar to what Mo described as resonating fields of morphogenetic manifestations.’

‘Yes, it amounts to the same as what I’m describing, though many of your benighted scientists still resist what has become evident in this fledgeling science. And yet, that’s how things are in the third dimension and will remain until the light of quantum understanding shines through the old prejudices of materialism.

‘Regardless, this tells how your cyber technology recently came into existence, as it will continue to progress for as long as desired. Though these latent technologies have always remained enfolded in the universe, they didn’t seem to exist, even a few decades ago, simply because humans lacked the vision for what was possible.

‘But when there was a sufficient mass of thought, the technology began to emerge as it became in-formed. By configuring and reconfiguring various mathematical patterns, technology evolves through the human mind and, in a sense, on its own. Already, it has the capacity to express itself in countless forms contained within the infinite desires expressed by humanity.

‘Human experiences are all based on a continuum of thoughts inspired between the polarities of love or fear, which is why all manifestations are expressions of thought, regardless of their qualitative merit.

‘Once this is understood, it goes a long way to explaining theodicies from the earliest of times when philosophers and theologians struggled to reconcile the existence of evil in your world with belief in the benevolence of God.

‘Had they understood how everyone possesses the ability to manifest thoughts, both good and evil, this realisation may have put them on the right track. It’s not all that difficult to solve this conundrum when you begin to reason from the correct premises.’

‘I’d be pleased to present this revelation to the attention of our esteemed intellectual community,’ I said, ‘however, I doubt if anyone would take me seriously.’  

‘Likely they wouldn’t. Darkness continues to prevail in many educated minds during this inchoate stage of conscious evolution. Without divine galactic intervention, it might take centuries, or even millennia, for humanity to emerge from its fears to embrace the truth. Most planets in this galaxy went through this a long time ago.

‘But this can only happen when souls discover who they truly are in the cosmos. When there are enough of these souls who embrace their divinity, enlightenment will dawn upon your earth. That’s what we are sailing towards, First Mate Sebastian, a new dawn. Glad to have you onboard.’

[25] Walt Whitman (1819-1892), an American poet.
[26] Only later did the significance of forty days occur to me as being what Yeshua endured in the desert in his days of temptation before beginning his ministry.
[27] By 1522, after three years, only 18 men out of 237 were known to have survived. Only one of the five ships returned to Seville after attempting to circumvent the world.
[28] I later saw something like this that resembled a binary code in a crop circle’s design, apparently woven into a field near Stonehenge.
[29] Within the former Soviet Union (USSR) and China, where communist control had forcibly swept much of the world last century, belief in God was highly discouraged, often meaning persecution by death or imprisonment. Through the indoctrination of Marxist ideology in schools and elsewhere, the authorities programmed the masses so they would only adhere to the government as their supreme authority.    
[30] The most exceptional example of this is Yeshua. He was outwardly crucified by force, and yet he inwardly inspired much of the world with his words while demonstrating that physical death is but a transition to new life. That is power! 
[31] This reminded me of a quote by Friedrich Hayek, 1899-1992, the renowned Austrian economist and philosopher: If socialists understood economics, they wouldn’t be socialists.
[32] Neverland is a fictional island found in the writings of J. M. Barrie as an imaginary faraway place where Peter Pan and other imaginary beings exist.
[33] Through the Looking Glass (1871), by Lewis Carroll. The context of this line is: Alice laughed. There's no use trying, she said: one can't believe impossible things. I daresay you haven't had much practice, said the Queen. When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed…
[34] I didn’t know what he was referring to by a wheel within a wheel until I later discovered the enigmatic vision described in Ezekiel 1:16.
[35] David Hawkins, (1927-2012) MD, Psychiatrist, Psychologist and Philosopher wrote and researched extensively on kinesiology muscle testing to determine the conscious and qualitative calibration of most everything. For more information on this, see Appendix C.
[36] Physicist David Bohm was one such scientist who advocated the holographic nature of the universe. Along these lines, many other physicists such as John Wheeler have taken similar positions, saying: In some strange sense, this is a participatory universe. See Appendix A for similar quotes.
[37] In doing a little research, I discovered Swedenborg often refers to this phenomenon in his commentaries. See Appendix B.
[38] There are several variant definitions for involution. In this context, we may say it is the expression of the soul through matter, becoming involved in time and space.
[39] Egregor or égrégore (Fr) may be considered a psychic manifestation which occurs when any group shares a common motivation—being made up of, and influencing, the thoughts of the group. The word also derives from ancient Greek, egrēgoros, which means, among other things, wakeful.

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The first half of Book One in the series, THE ASCENT, is available for reading at:
https://digitalbloggers.com/arts-and-entertainment/The-Ascent

Also, the first half of THE RETURN, the last book in the series, is available to read at:
https://digitalbloggers.com/arts-and-entertainment/THE-RETURN    

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OVERVIEW OF THE ELYSIUM'S PASSAGE SERIES
 

The series involves seven Elysium novel 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 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, go to:

https://www.prweb.com/releases/2018/05/prweb15515775.htm  

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 INTRODUCTORY VIDEO TO THE SERIES

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Elysium's Passage Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXpzFH6VNMQLOtqOK2SrXpg   

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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

 

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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 Andes. 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. 
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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 took 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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CONTACT AND SOCIAL MEDIA

Neil Meyers: nmeyers@shaw.ca

Blog Post: For more blog postings: https://digitalbloggers.com/arts-and-entertainment/ep-blog-posts 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meyersneil/ 

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/neilmeyers/   

  

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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 this blog sitel.

"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.”

"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 that 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 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…”

“The Elysium’s Passage series challenges and excites the reader while taking him into parallel quests for truth with the hero, James. It can be a fast fantasy read or a longer deliberation about what is reality or illusion; veracity or platitude. Take the journey!”

“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)