The Origins and Sources of the Majesty Trilogy – Pt.3

 

Choice of Myths

Even if we don’t choose to write fantasy, an author is often implying myths even without realizing it. Because of the nature of the Gaia’s Majesty Trilogy it was essential that I pay attention to myths. In many ways they were one of the essential guiding lights. At the same time it was essential to realize that myths are not always myths. It may be that we think they are myths because the image or the themes may not be discoverable in a truly revealing manner.  And myths may be personal as well as functioning for societies or regions.

At Core

A myth is not just a fantasy or fetching story. Whether we see it or like it or not we have our own personal myths. Countries design their own myth and somewhere in the layers are the deep general myths we react to but we may not understand the origins or the intrinsic reality.

In these books I chose to take the myth of the mermaid. Of course there are always people that view myths as real. They may take reality and cast it as myth or the reverse. And some important component of reality they wish to reject may be cast as a fantasy or myth. For me mermaids were a mystery but it was possible to attach an interesting concept to them. For me there is always the “what if” and in this instance it was a matter of whether they might not just exist but also have a fundamental importance. When we look around the world, we see them as almost universally in cultures where they may be important. And then there are the larger unexplained myths.

Fundamental Forces

There are many levels of myths but there are a few large forces which are truly intriguing. I’ve written posts about the Mysterium and I would contend that women are closest to that force and it may well be related to why women seem to be feared and controlled. Also mentioned has been the Maelstrom which we see in the collisions of galaxies. There is destruction and creation.

There are various forms of power involved in these things we call myth. For some of them I see fundamental forces that are not mythical at all. It is just that their power is beyond our understanding and grasp. And so we hold them at distance and in awe. In literature we have the luxury of exploring these themes and forces. They are truly intriguing.

Struggle and Sighting Our Future

Futures and destiny may arrive unbidden and too often we fail to prepare. At least attempting to grasp what may be is essential. While we often cannot define precisely what is coming, it helps to consider some thoughts.

And as someone who engaged in psychotherapy with clients I understand that it is often difficult for us to understand what is driving us and who we may be at root. And then there is the matter of the forces outside of us that may guide us or certainly will influence us. Precisely because they are often so powerful we may try to ignore them. We struggle personally but also our societies struggle as well as if they are living entities.

And then I have to come back to the roles of women and why they are so routinely subjugated. And the subjugation exists not just because men impose it but there also appears to be a form of subjugation imposed by women. And now we have an opportunity to face this issue and, although it is widespread and deep, it seems we can attend to it and influence it.

Of course, we have to confront the large forces such as Mysterium and Maelstrom. It helps if we at least pay attention even if we cannot control forces striding through the universe. In all it is a matter of stepping away from passivity and working to understand and together work to influence our world and our future. I know that sounds trite but as I look at a time of growing crisis I see too many turning away or failing to evaluate. We have so many opportunities and the passion of change is fully upon us. 

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Don’t Miss My Developing Gaia’s Majesty Trilogy

I refer to it as a work of magical realism. It is a series with a strong mythological element and a real world setting in this time when women are being empowered at last. It is a time of wonder and awakening for all of humankind.

Gaia’s Majesty-Mission Called: Women in Power – Book 1

(Available now in Kindle and paperback on Amazon.) 

Avery had dedicated her life to work for the future of third world women. Her life was enhanced when she met the man who became the love of her life. They could not know that they shared a destiny and that a mission set long ago by our Earth Goddess was to be revealed before them.

Gaia’s Majesty-Challenge: The Chosen Rise – Book 2

(Available now in Pre-Order and goes on sale April 29 on Amazon)

These people, called Tethyans, live in cities in the sea but can morph into fully human form and come to land to form families. They join with the warrior women called the Andromeda to fight against the forces working to impair the future of humankind. Avery has found her birth name of Chantia and she and Beck find there is soon to be a child of seeming great import just as the world falls into terrible strife with millions already dead. 

Are We Kidding Ourselves Pt. 3

 

The Power of What If

Somewhere on the edge of our reality is a place where we maintain a larger, more flexible context for our lives. Properly managed it enriches our lives and our future. It happens when we explore possibilities. The nice thing about possibilities is that we can seize them or dismiss them. Asking ”what if” is not a commitment but an exploration.

Choosing an Audience

Exploring within our own mind is perilous in one sense because our audience is of one and we may not get good guidance from ourselves. And so we may choose an audience. Certainly you’ve met people who are utterly uninterested in exploring and then there are others who may be so unfocused that they explore eternally and never make a choice.

And so we have to select an audience. That may actually be the fun part. As we test the waters and explore we meet new opportunities. The art is in knowing when to change the subject or move on.

Growing Up

Children love to explore, Well, at least most do. It is important because their future is open and the exploration helps them assess their strengths and weaknesses. Not to mention that they find out what is out there. Up to a point things had to be substantive and then we seek departures.

We see this process on the larger stage. You know about gravity don’t you? It holds you to the earth. End of story. Well not quite. How does it actually do that? You see the balloon tethered to the ground but exactly how are you tethered to the ground. The answer is “by gravity”. That actually explains nothing. I’d really like to see gravity and know how it works. We are looking into it.

Opportunities

I might have pursued the study of nuclear physics except for a terrible math professor. I see the same thing there as with gravity. There is so much we don’t understand. In the end I chose something else which offered “what if”. Psychology actually has a scientific side and the clinical side had the opportunity to explore that I wanted.

The trick in life is to maintain openings we may choose from time to time. Choosing too many openings is perilous but the art is to define our means and places to explore the what if or what might be. It is in that place that we have to “kid ourselves” because only then do we open a larger and often mystical world.

Isn’t that larger world what it is all about. It involves risk and uncertainty which we often deny we are seeking. But this process of “kidding ourselves” has led us to open a technological world, for example, and we can only speculate about where it is going to take us.

Gaia’s Majesty-Mission Called: Women in Power by Roger B. Burt

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Creating Characters and Plots by Roger B. Burt

Stepfamilies: Professionals and Stepcouples in Partnership

Whatever Happened to Community Mental Health by Roger B. Burt

Waves in Human Existence

A Living Planet

The image of an ocean beach is always engaging. The movement and the sense of a living planet is essential and stirring. But, as we sense the attitudes of our life we can see that the waves exist everywhere and are compelling. 

Sometimes there is talk of the march of history but a march does not describe the essence of the experience of life on our planet. Certainly there is nothing steady and, for that, I am grateful. It is the overlapping waves at so many levels which makes life interesting. Demarkations, twists and turns are essential as well as the swelling to a crescendo. In fact, I wish to publicly thank Eve and the snake for freeing us from the prison that was Paradise. It would have been terribly boring. Challenge is better.

Dynamic Explorations

Life need not be a passive experience or at least I would never wish it to be so. Life is to be an exploration of meaning and possibilities. And within all those things are waves. Our social groups experience waves, our cities, cultures, countries and, now, I believe humankind is confronting a wave of the largest magnitude of our history.

For most of my life I have been something of cynic and not prone to accept the common wisdom. And I have always been suspicious of claims of an impending fulfillment religious or otherwise. Perhaps it is the word fulfillment of which I am suspicious. But presently I am perceiving, rightly or wrongly, that we seem on the verge of a consolidation of our future. As grim as things seem in so many parts of human existence currently, there appears to be a process which holds promise. And such promise is most often born of challenge and conflict. 

It is the theme of a wave of change or denouement which was central in driving my Gaia’s Majesty Trilogy. The first book, Gaia’s Majesty: Discovery: Mission Called – Women in Power sets the scene and develops the characters to travel with us as humankind faces a denouement with profound implications.

Of the Personal and the Species

Looking back I see repeated waves appearing in my life.  I see them of various duration and in everything from the personal to the societal and now in the existence in humankind as a whole. Personally I saw it in the wonder of growing up in vibrant New York. Then in the 1970s the city teetered on the edge of bankruptcy and we saw a very different city for a time. In our economies we see it over hundreds of years as we move through feudalism, capitalism and now it seems, toward postcapitalism. 

Repeatedly I turned to mythology and the meaning it coveys even as we experience the numinous or spiritual dimension. In our personal lives the mysterium, which is the mystery of woman, ensnares us bringing wonder and fulfillment. It may invoke fear among men but also fulfillment. And in turn it leads to the meaning of the empowerment of women and all facets of its meaning. And it is not a momentary phenomenon but is better characterized as a wave swelling and then breaking – toward what end?

Exploration and Enriched Reality 

In the coming posts I’ll share some thoughts about the waves we experience as humans, about what may happen to countries and our country in particular and I will be paying special attention to the human climate. This is an unimaginably fascinating time. I chose the cuspofreality for the name of the blog because I think we need to be exploring not just ourselves but our world so we may move toward an understanding of what is happening. Nothing is fixed and everything open to interpretation—like reality.

Waves enrich us in all aspects of human existence and I could not resist sharing a mythologically cloaked adventure about the wave which I believe may be dominating our lives right now and leading us into our future.

Gaia’s Majesty-Mission Called: Women in Power by Roger B. Burt

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Creating Characters and Plots by Roger B. Burt

Stepfamilies: Professionals and Stepcouples in Partnership

Whatever Happened to Community Mental Health by Roger B. Burt

Pie in the Sky

 

How do you think seniors are doing?

We Have Work To Do

Even if the actualization of a thought is distant or unlikely, there are times when some things have to be said.

Here is today’s dream.

The Elder Tsunami

The “advanced” economies of the world are facing the rapid aging of their populations which means a growing burden on the societies as a whole. The birth rate is often low and getting lower which means less familial and societal support for the elderly. Who will take care of them as they age and become frail? Family is often distant or members few in number. 

Time was that we lived in close family groups. No more. Instead we are fragmented. We need a realistic national dialogue about solutions. Perhaps, as the neocon obstruction dissipates we may see improved governmental programs, but it seems no matter what, it will be insufficient or impossibly expensive. And I must add that Paul Mason’s book Postcapitalism, that directs our attention the future, is making my blood run cold. It is a complex and dense book but each area he touches on is being validated by current events. But the true import of the coming changes in the world economic system is not being recognized publicly—yet.

https://www.amazon.com/Postcapitalism-Guide-Future-Paul-Mason-ebook/dp/B011I42XQ0/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1464014949&sr=1-1&keywords=postcapitalism+paul+mason     (get this from Amazon page for WordPress)

Certainly there are ideas out there to mitigate the coming trials. One alternative is social.

Societal Commitment

The Elderly for Each Other

I’m impressed by the progress that Habitat for Humanity has made nationally. There can be other forms of programs with societal support. The most likely source for the elderly is each other. Retirement is reached and then often there are healthy years before the inevitable decline. When I was working on my doctorate at Duke they finished a study which described a two year major decline before death that was common. Prior to that time, before the final decline the recently retired elderly could become more of a formalized volunteer force. It already happens somewhere, sometimes, but could be expanded.

The Elderly for the Young

In later years, having a cause is also useful. One cause I would recommend is making the commitment to support the efforts of a younger generation. The future for the elderly dims but there is reason to support younger generations. I don’t mean to say that these things don’t happen. What is at issue is the societal institutionalization of an ethos where we as elderly focus more strongly on our collective wellbeing whether that is for the elderly or for the ones who will remain. We have not been doing this well.

System Efficiency and Personal Management

And then there is the matter of health. Another thing we must do is to finally create a less expensive and more efficient health care system. Currently we have a very haphazard system which is expensive. Each of us experiences it on a regular basis. And included in these changes for the health care system needs to be a change of viewpoint by the elderly. Many have been trained over the decades to assume that the medical personnel will define what must be done and they adopt a passive stance. It is time to change that societal viewpoint so that we take the highest form of responsibility for our own care informationally and by action.

In Summary

In short, I would like to see a societal change in which the elderly, as they go through the later stages of life, work more closely together for mutual benefit. Secondly we should see to it that there is more organized societal support for the generations coming up. It is clear Millenials have felt overlooked and that needs to change. And the third item is long overdue reform of the health care system.

I know the response in many quarters will be that these goals are unrealistic or are already being undertaken. My response is we have not done enough and can do much more effectively.

I can dream can’t I?  Are you dreaming?

Gaia’s Majesty-Mission Called: Women in Power by Roger B. Burt

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Creating Characters and Plots by Roger B. Burt

Stepfamilies: Professionals and Stepcouples in Partnership

Whatever Happened to Community Mental Health by Roger B. Burt

Health Care Alternatives and Reality – Series – Pt. 2

Overcoming Innocence

A Lifelong Process

In a previous post I wrote about the lessons I learned from my father, a surgeon.  While he loved his profession, he also had deep reservations which he spoke to me about. It seems I took it in at a deep level because I was not exactly a rebel at such a young age. But over time I found myself having to clear my perception of all kinds of health care alternatives. And each time I found myself examining alternative pathways. And, looking back I think what was happening was that my intuitive personality was dictating that I search for alternatives and possibilities.

Searching Psychology

When I began my studies in college I was told psychology was a science. Well, of sorts. Definitely not hard science entirely. There was experimental psychology and there was clinical psychology. When I was accepted into graduate school at Duke it was in the experimental psychology program. it was a matter of a very few weeks before I walked into the chairman’s office and requested a change to clinical. Graciously he agreed.

Interface with Medicine

Early on we began clinical experience at Duke University Medical Center and eventually I did my internship there. It was eye opening. Up close and personal I interfaced with people I admired and some who horrified me even though they were highly respected. The echoes of my father’s positions were significant.

Now I’m Looking Back

Here it is decades later and I see a process of search and discovery. In this series I’m going to share my thoughts about health care and “treatment of illness”. Notice that there are quotation marks there. There are realities and there are dicta. I found myself weaving through a system which I saw as needing substantive modernization and reevaluation if not downright reform at all levels.

Rushing At the Future

And now we find ourselves being pressed into information technology and changes we are only now beginning to understand. The title of this blog is Cusp of Reality and I firmly believe that medicine resides on a vibrating cusp as well. In coming posts I’ll  be sharing my view of health care realities, misgivings about illness and diagnosis. I’ll be referring to revisions of definitions of illness, the difference between illness and life management. While much of what I experienced was in the psychological sphere, it is impossible to separate it from physiological, cultural and logical influences as well. We are on a rough road into the future and we need to explore and study what may lie before us. There I am again as the intuitive personality type facing a world of possibilities. But much of my viewpoint is conditioned  by experience. Jump on board and let’s explore together. 

What are your biggest concerns about health care?

Gaia’s Majesty-Mission Called: Women in Power by Roger B. Burt

Roger B. Burt’s Amazon home page

Creating Characters and Plots by Roger B. Burt

Stepfamilies: Professionals and Stepcouples in Partnership

Whatever Happened to Community Mental Health by Roger B. Burt

New Focus on Patriarchy – Pt 8

 

Exploring Our Future possibilities

It does not appear to be an exaggeration to say that we have reached a turning point in human history and may well be looking at an extraordinary future. We seem to have expanded options.

When we reach periods of crisis and resistance it is not always apparent what the underlying issues are. There are those who claim we know why women have been subjugated. I’m not at all sure. One conclusion is about the knowledge regarding paternity of children. While it can always be at question, it seems doubtful it is anything approaching a significant explanation. And there are no ready answers but opens our eyes to what is possible is important.

The New Woman

Do we have any idea what we are seeing. Is there a new woman at hand or has she been here all along. Our culture is changing.

I remember in the 1960s as women sought new roles some donned suits like men wore and had similar ties. That was abandoned shortly. Now again we are trying new roles and seem to be accepting that women can be both pretty and smart. I’m loving the women showing up on the news shows. They are not just window dressing except on one “news” channel. And they hold their own in all regards. It is both fascinating and delightful. And the fight for their empowerment continues.

Rescuing Our Future

Men have been largely in charge for a very long time and its time for a change. It is assumed that men are naturally competitive and aggressive. Well, if we go back to when we hunted and gathered there may have been a certain utility but it is not necessary anymore. Too often men can be hollow, shallow and lacking in actual power they assumed they had.

It is hardly uplifting or lofty for men to be in control who seem inclined to abuse the poor and take advantage only for their own profit. Sociopathy is not a necessary male attribute and we have seen much too much of it in the political arena recently.

Rulers Through History

In some ways we believe that we have a new kind of ruler in the “modern” world. I’m not convinced. There were men of power in the ancient world who engaged in stunning violations of human rights and dignity. Later royal families took charge but in Europe what it amounted to was closely linked families who warred among themselves and the true suffering were the people of their nations. Wars of conquest continued.

Now we have new ways to build and collect wealth but we still have a hard core of extremely wealthy rulers. The people of the world get meager shares of wealth but a few countries have more wealth to share. Still today we are looking at an effective rule by the few truly wealthy who hold the balance of control. We now refer to the oligarchs.

Struggle and Transformation in Cultural Transformation

There is a suspicion that a significant change in culture is upon us as we enter the information age and if we will employ vision it may be that we may have a new type of mature society. It will take work.

Struggle is always central among the animals of this planet. And that need not mean bloody struggle. Certainly we gain something from struggle and it simply needs to be combined with a vision of a future and possibilities. We have seen transformation in the past and a notable time was the Reformation which thrust us out of the dark ages. Are we near another such change. But It is my suspicion that fundamental to this transformation will be the empowerment of women.

Gaia’s Majesty-Mission Called: Women in Power by Roger B. Burt

Roger B. Burt’s Amazon home page

Creating Characters and Plots by Roger B. Burt

Stepfamilies: Professionals and Stepcouples in Partnership

Whatever Happened to Community Mental Health by Roger B. Burt

Opening Our View of The Future

Being Humble and Hopeful

What do you think your future holds?

Most animals forage for food and the human animal seems to forage for dreams. It is probably more than a little pompous for us to say we have our dreams because of our higher intelligence.

For the longest time we declared that we were the only animals to use tools. Then we found out differently. And there are night dreams and there are dreams we harbor. Have you ever watched your dog dreaming as he sleeps. We have to wonder what forms the dreams of other animals take.

Broadening Our View

What’s the point? It seems we humans get so caught up in how special we are that we tend to define ourselves in ways which separate us from other animals. And then there is the matter of life. For the longest time we believed we were the only intelligent animals and life existed only on this planet. Now we find that there is water in asteroids and within the water is salt and amino acids. It now seems life exists throughout the universe and that raises the possibility that the universe itself may be a living thing.

These thoughts may seem to have no point in themselves but such thoughts are the bedrock of our opening the possibility for what may be to come for humankind. Our darkest visions say nothing good but out of each dark age has come an enlightenment.

Clues to Our Future or Futures

Certainly we have our dark side and too commonly we kill others and inflict pain. But there is art, there is love, there are waves of hope. I created the Gaia’s Majesty Trilogy to have a story of exploration of future possibilities. Just as we have made foolish mistakes such as assuming we alone possess tools and this planet alone has life, we also may be overlooking the clues which exist and point to future possibilities.

We find those clues in our myths, in our struggle, turning to stewardship, in the meaning of the empowerment of women and in every unexplored parts of our existence. Is there a spirit world? Our senses have specific purposes. We can’t know for sure. What comes after capitalism? There are some intriguing speculations with some hard data behind them.

Making the Choice

As difficult as the world is now, we have the option of exploring alternatives and dreams and giving ourselves the option of transformation or at least a beneficial and unexpected future. We have come a long way and the potential in front of us is truly exciting. Among us are people who would have us turn inwards and back on ourselves. The future points in another direction. The choice is ours.

How would you describe what you have chosen for yourself?

Gaia’s Majesty-Mission Called: Women in Power by Roger B. Burt

Roger B. Burt’s Amazon home page

Creating Characters and Plots by Roger B. Burt

Stepfamilies: Professionals and Stepcouples in Partnership

Whatever Happened to Community Mental Health by Roger B. Burt

The Promise of Interregnum

Into the Future

Can you see the way forward?

Some of the next few posts are a departure but are related to the essence of the blog Cusp of Reality but also the Gaia’s Majesty Trilogy. This is not a time of clear stability, to put it mildly, and one of the underpinnings of the Trilogy is that we are shortly to embark upon a very new era. This perception has led me to do broader explorations. And what I found is fascinating.

It would be simple to sit back and observe recent events and shake our heads at the seeming futility and foolishness. We are beset by a political cycle in which the key elements are pandering and manipulation. We may view it as futile or may see in it a transition. There is talk about politics but it is reasonable to take a larger view and that we are seeing a new wave developing regarding not just the United States but the world.

Below you will see a quote from Jonathan Taplin in which he indicates that his view relates to the last gasp of the “establishment” and that we are in what he calls an interregnum. I believe in the essential validity of his perceptions.

And in the next post I include commentary on two items drawn from Wikipedia which relate to defining and describing neoliberalism and neoconservatism. The evidence is right before us. We see in these descriptions a great deal which gives us clarity about recent events. And later I will present material from Paul Mason’s book Postcapitalism. The case he builds for what is coming is supported by much of what we have already seen.

As difficult as these times are, this material presents the idea that this is a transition of great importance. Gradually all its components will be revealed including the role of women in the future.

Interregnum article:
View at Medium.com

The Establishment’s Last Gasp By Jonathan Taplin
“The Italian philosopher, Gramsci defined the concept well:”The old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum many morbid symptoms arise.” This sense of being trapped between a dying establishment and a new order that is not quite formed, plays itself out in four areas. In our domestic politics we see a populist dead end battle as an older, whiter America invests its hopes in Donald Trump and such people as Ted Cruz to stave off the multicultural state filled with immigrants and young people in which they are no longer the majority of citizens. In the world of business we see the giants of the carbon economy (Exxon Mobil, Koch Industries, Peabody Coal) fighting to preserve their businesses in a world that must transition to a clean energy economy. In fact that economy is well on its way. Similarly, the giants of Wall Street and Silicon Valley are fighting against real regulation of their businesses and serious taxation of their billions in capital gains. And finally in the world of international affairs we see the forces of the military industrial congressional complex battling to keep an $800 billion military budget in order to preserve America’s status as the sole hegemon, even as they realize that the future is a multipolar world.”

Do you feel trapped, hope or something else?

Gaia’s Majesty-Mission Called: Women in Power by Roger B. Burt

Roger B. Burt’s Amazon home page

Creating Characters and Plots by Roger B. Burt

Stepfamilies: Professionals and Stepcouples in Partnership

Whatever Happened to Community Mental Health by Roger B. Burt

 

Cusp of Reality and Visionary themes

 

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Crucial Exploration

There is another story which is related to the Gaia’s Majesty Trilogy. That story is the matter of vision in human affairs. The name of this blog is Cusp of Reality and that theme leads us to exploration.

In life it is typically most comforting to dwell in what we term reality. When we do, we believe we know where we are, how things are and what to expect. It may not quite be a delusion to believe in reality but a departure from reality has rewards.

Alternatives to Reality

Accepting alternatives leads to exploration and enriched experiences in the real world and internally. When I was in college I chose to major in psychology and on the first day the professor told us “Psychology is a science”. As I’ve said previously, at many levels, I don’t agree. Certainly there is a place for science but there is also a place to soar into quests for meaning. We are only now confirming the existence of the human unconscious in clear, observable terms. It enriches our lives. And in that unconscious we harbor considerable potential but also deep conflict.

Reality offers stability and reassurance. But vision offers rewards and opportunities for personal explorations. Vision may well offer us beneficial alternative paths. In fact it may lead to salvation of our future.

A Simple Question

When we look at the growing crises in the world, it is instructive to study wave theory and what humankind has learned about self management. In contrast there is the question “What if?” which leads us not into just idle speculation but presents us with options which have their own truths and opportunities.

And then there is the matter of the changing role of women in human society. In its own right it poses a series of questions including “Why now” and “Where will it lead us?” My interest in mythology and its meaning became wedded to the empowerment of women in the Gaia’s Majesty Trilogy.

A Matter of Vision

The future of humankind is not ordained. Like all animals we struggle and our future may be glorious or demeaning. We have made leaps forward such as when we grasped the wonder of culture, moved into the industrial age and, it would seem, our renewed threat of conflict comes just as we seem to be entering postcapitalism. Now is the time for vision, but it is far from clear if visionaries will triumph.

Exploration takes many forms. In Gaia’s Majesty Trilogy we will see options. Women in the future world will be ever more prominent. And, of course, there is the matter of the role a goddess may play and the possible existence of other life forms. When we look out the window, open our minds, there is a fascinating array of possibilities for us to explore in order to create a vision to which we can commit ourselves. Combining the lure of myth with the empowerment of women was, well, like a siren call. We begin there.

Do you have a core vision?

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Dreams Versus Reality

 

 

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Your Dreams

Do you dream? Oh no, I’m not talking about those things that crop up at night. I’m talking about the dreams you have for your future, your desires, what might be. How much of a hard edge do they have? Do they involve mysticism? Do they lead you into a spirit world of your own? What do they say about you and your life?

Questioning Reality
I’m a clinical psychologist and have spent a lot of time talking with people about their lives. Often we talked about what we call reality but as the decades passed I came to question the meaning of the word. Do our hopes and dreams fall outside the realm of reality? Of course not.

Fiction Choices
And when you read, what are your choices? Do you gravitate toward apocalyptic fiction, dystopian fiction, romance or simply something which advances a “what if”? Are you engaged by ancient mysteries or are you looking for inspiration in how they may emerge in the here and now.

Relating to Reality
At once I have to say that the title of this blog reflects my core belief. I do not believe in a fixed reality. Reality is ephemeral and subject to our own interpretations. We live on a cusp and reality is often something which emerges and recedes into a mist. We take up a station of beliefs and surround ourselves with family and friends who reinforce something stable enough to be called reality.

Myth and Mysticism
And then there is what lies out there in the mist of the past. We enjoy myths and may recognize that they may offer prophesy and be visionary. Yet, we may fail to recognize that they can convey a stark and important reality of their own. And myths do not just speak to the past but also may relate to the future as it is emerging and how it may be.

Conclusions
Assuming we live on the cusp of a changing reality, then we have to wonder what we are to do with that reality. Naturally most of us take hold and fix a reality of sorts which works for us. But then there is the matter of the emerging world. That is where speculative fiction and such things as dystopian fiction, science fiction etc. come in. We can explore with them. And my considerations have led me to the writing of the Gaia’s Majesty Trilogy. (The first book will be published in February.) It asks what ifs and comes out of my life experience. The trilogy relates to stewardship in a world in crisis. Women are central because it is apparent that they are emerging as a much greater force in the world. Certainly women have always been important but they are coming into power and partnership with men in new and important ways. And we have to wonder if there is a transformation of some form in our future.

A Dual Pathway
The possibilities are fascinating in a world which appears to have gone asymptotic in many ways. And so I’ve chosen to explore through this blog and through fiction in the Gaia’s Majesty Trilogy. Stay tuned.

Surely, regardless of your age, you have dreams, if not for yourself, then for someone in your life. What are those dreams and who are they for?

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