From the back of the book:
(Slightly amended for the purposes of this website.)
This collection of essays is comprised of powerful and compelling stories in which the author deftly shows how the seemingly mundane contains the sacred within.
In this perceptive and illuminating work, the author relates five personal stories which have universal appeal as well as two further essays which provide a fascinating insight into Dreams and the ancient creation myth.
* Gardening: weeding and creating a secret garden is analogous to clearing one’s psyche of unwanted dead wood allowing for creative energy to flow.
* Beyond Duty: The simple act of picking up rubbish on the beach leads to an understanding and valuing of the concept of Duty.
* Death’s Beauty: the synchronicities surrounding the death of the author’s mother, highlighting the reality and value of synchronicity.
* In Praise of Lilith, Eve & the Serpent in the Garden of Eden: How the myth of Lilith (first wife of Adam, i.e his wife before Eve), Eve & the Serpent in the Garden of Eden is relevant in today’s world and illustrates the necessity of leaving Paradise (more on that further on).
* The Opposites: the value of opposites within us – both a Mother Theresa and Medusa – and the necessity of balancing these extremes.
* Dreams: The Inner Way: the value of dreams as an integral part of our daily living.
* Mt. Kilimanjaro: summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro the highest mountain in Africa was both an inward and outward journey.
Olympia Publishers: Press Release on approximately 19th Nov:
The appearance of the Serpent in the Garden of Eden changed everything in a ground breaking instant when Eve took and digested the apple that the Serpent offered. From unity in the Garden into duality in the real world - this was their destiny when God banished Adam and Eve from Paradise.
Who was the Serpent? Why was it there when all was so blissful in the Garden and Adam and Eve wanted for nothing? What is the relevance of the Serpent? Was it pre-ordained that Adam and Eve had to leave the Garden and why?
What meaning does this myth have in today's sophisticated globalised world?
In this creation myth, the myth of Lilith, first wife of Adam - his wife before Eve and mostly unbeknown to us - the presence and symbolism of Lilith as Serpent is explored.
Lilith is seen as a necessary force to get Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden for their psychological development and health.
Eve's action for taking the apple is looked at in a new and heroic way, whereby the supposed guilt born by women for causing the downfall of Man - i.e their expulsion from Paradise - has long passed its usefulness.
It is an exciting story and like all good myths which are good because of their lasting value, no matter how ancient they are, this one begins at the beginning according to the Bible.
