FAQs

It’s been said that Sci-fi, or fantasy fiction, is the mythology of the modern world. Its real value then, lies in its ability to uncover and reveal what it is to be human.

Early on I discovered passages in the Dune series that set my bones “to vibrating”. And yet, with a turn of the page, the sensation was gone. The author, Frank Herbert, had touched upon truths so fragile, they could not stand in the light of day. What was that? How did he do that?

There were other books like Siddhartha, The Alchemist, and “mystery school” teachings that in one way or another touched upon this realm, but none, (that I found), combined action adventure grounded in our reality, while at the same time delved deeply into the spiritual and psychological aspects of our nature.

When I was young, action and wild speculation were enough to fascinate. As an adult, having discovered that the “ultimate battle” is the psychological, I needed more substantive fare.

That was the book I wanted to read. That was the book I set out to write.

Blood, sweat and years. I had to grow into the person who could write that book. And then I had to find a way to blend two seemingly disparate genres and create something new, something that would satisfy both.

“Sometimes the lessons that are closest to our hearts are learned only from the greatest of distances.”

So it has been, and so it continues to be.

In the beginning there was — ‘What if’?”

What if we, as humans, could live up to our real potential?

What if our sixth sense was as accessible to us as sight or sound?

What if a small group of us evolved into a state of awareness usually reserved for the mystics?

What psychological insights might we possess?

What would we know then that we do not know now?

What if, in the distant future, the world was destroyed?

These were the six ‘what-ifs’ that launched a thousand words, and then a hundred thousand more. Filled with excitement, I dove in, as only hope, grand ambition, and a healthy dose of naivete would allow.

The first three questions posed were exciting to contemplate. The fourth, “What psychological insights might we possess?”, brought a level of reality to the playing field I had no idea how to answer. Blood, sweat and years of study, learning, borrowing, and stealing from the ‘great teachings’ led to a ‘psychology’ that seemed suited to characters with such heightened abilities.

From Chapter Two: an abbreviated excerpt.

“Our bodies speak our thoughts in their own language,” Reena told them. “They speak thoughts that we ourselves may not be aware of.”

In this way the children began to observe themselves. It became a game to catch their bodies speaking hidden thoughts. A leg swinging, a foot tapping, fingers rubbing, arms twitching, bodies swaying. A secret language all its own.

“You think something, and your body speaks it. But who is speaking?”

They quickly discovered there was a separate mind to their body. Unconscious. It had a life and intelligence all its own. It perceived things they were not aware of. It often spoke to them in a language they could not hear or did not understand.

“It’s easy to hear the mind-of-the-body when it shouts out in pain or fear, but true understanding comes in silence.”

And so they had to learn to hear a voice that was all-encompassing, and yet invisible.

A mind that purposefully hid in order to control and direct them without their knowing. Only by separating from this mind could they begin to see it, understand it, and eventually use it. Only then was true awareness possible.“

Our powers of observation, when turned on ourselves, leads us to an ‘Observer-Self,’ which is an underlying notion common to most psychological disciplines. And it is in the realm of the Observer-Self where possibilities arise.

Having established the metaphor of the mind-of-the-body, and a psychological practice, the rest could now evolve organically.

An interesting question. I think it is best described as “Mystical Realism”, if such a category exisited.
Certainly, it is a dystopian fantasy grounded in a physical reality like our own, and yet has ‘fantastical’ elements.

‘Magical Realism’ might be described that way. It is grounded in the real world and uses fantastical elements to “uncover the extraordinary in the ordinary.”

“Mystical Realism” goes one step further. By employing a philosophical, psychological and spiritual lens, it delves into the extraordinary with the aim of uncovering mystical elements that reside there and perhaps provide a mystical experience all its own.