The Other Side of God: the Eleven Gem Odyssey of Being (Personal Growth and Transformation) [Paperback]

A sage known as the Fool on the Hill guides a struggling woman into herself and frees her into the quintessential meaning of life beyond social perception and conventional belief systems. The adventure begins when she crosses into where perceptions of reality are born, then into the land of dreams, worlds of meditation, and levels of death. Her exploration continues in the lake of self-image where she fights for her authenticity, the zone of internal balance where she learns to be centered in herself, the desert of loneliness where she strives for independence, and the cave of strife where she beholds the importance of chaos. She struggles to traverse the minefields of love without surrendering herself to another, to make peace with her personal demons in the tunnel of confrontation, to find out who she really is in the house of illusions, and come into who she must be in the realm of earth-shaking transitions. Her journey concludes in the skies of synchronicity where self understanding flourishes and insights abound. This manuscript is a tribute to the inner sage in us all.

Excerpt:

The mystery, I thought, is what makes life exciting. Exploring the mystery was as taking ourselves back slowly bit by bit, and yet becoming more than we were by having taken the journey. "The journey changes us, doesn't it?"

His eyes glimmered. "The journey alone brightens our being and changes the Universe. We finish the earth journey in a way, by growing into it, like a crab that grows into its shell, and then one day outgrows it and leaves. In that same way, we can experiment with energy, manifest ideas, brighten curiosity, and come face to face with `what if.' When we free flow the experience of `what if,' we ride the river with open eyes, and shake off the conscious mind. Then wisdom rises from the deepest, purest part of us through impulses. Not the impulses that come from our facades, like, `I want to deck that guy for giving me a dirty look,' or `I want to hide in my room because my mommy yelled at me.' Wisdom comes from the deep within where dwells the inner sage that knows intrinsic significance of all. In tapping that vibration, words arise like, `I am worthy, so I will speak up for myself,' or `I am worthy, so I don't need to react to that insult.' Following these sagacious wisdoms that rise from one's self requires courage. The true leap of faith is to trust life--not a person, or doctrine, or a `way.' But Life itself."

I nodded. "Trust life, "I murmured, "just trust life."

"Following this flow is as riding the stream to the sea, deflecting public opinion and being an original." He stepped back from me as if preparing to leave. He gazed upon me almost paternally. "May your image become unnecessary. May your facades weaken. May you discover wisdom and joy, time and timelessness . . . through yourself. Who are you? You're nobody, and everybody." He took another step back. "Ain't--Life--Great!"

Suddenly I felt bone weary. All that work breaking free from Mud Lake had done me in.

"Rest," He said, "regenerate."

"If I sleep, will you be gone when I awaken?"

He nodded.

"Where are you going?"

"I will leave the Desert and go into the Quicksand." "The Quicksand?"

"The Quicksand leads to the Cave of Wounds. I have work to do."

"You can leave the Desert of Loneliness that easily?"

"I've learned." He smiled faintly. "You will too."

I looked at My Fool skeptically, still not quite trusting my ability to attain what I so badly wanted--wisdom and courage.

"Open your pack," He said.

I opened it, knowing He would give me another gem. I was excited to see what color it would be. He dropped an opaque blue-gray stone in my pack. It landed on my white silk scarf. What appeared opaque in the gem soon cleared. The blue-gray that at first seemed rustic and ugly had become see-through crystalline beauty with light blue hints in the shine of it. Then it turned bright crystal clear blue, reminding me of clear sky.

He said, "This is the Gem of Independence, first experienced as loneliness. Beyond loneliness lies your essence. Beyond your essence is all essence . . . Pure Creative Energy. Loneliness fades. Freedom is found and the boundless open sky is there to explore."

"Thank you," I said, closing my pack. "I will change the gray of loneliness to the beauty of independence and freedom by seeking quintessence."