CLEA AND MY POST FOR VISIONARY FICTION

CLEA AND VISIONARY FICTION

HAVING JUST COMMENTED ON MY LAST POST ABOUT THIS PIECE, I DECIDED TO INCLUDE IT HERE.

(The image of Kali, above, is an illustration I designed for the book cover. Unfortunately it's the only one I can find at the moment, as this ferocious Goddess only appears briefly within the pages of the book. However, she still has the power to impact the imagination!) 

This takes me back quite a few years - 1999, I think. I bumped into a friend in Town -- Simon. I’d just got out of my car on the way to the Post Office, when he called me and asked if I’d done any more writing since we last met. I told him I‘d just started a new book. Simon had a shop in town; moved into it recently -- branched out from the much smaller one he’d owned before, into this fine, new establishment in the centre of Bath. It had been his dream to have this New Age emporium with all the accoutrements of the time; crystals, Native American incense and pouches, essential oils, beads, bells and smells, downstairs; meditational, spiritual and esoteric-type books, disks and tapes on the upper floor.

Simon had stayed with us for a while during the time he and his partner, Andy occupied Arcania. That was the name they’d given their small shop. Cramped, and crowded though it was,  it already had many customers eager to squeeze into its dim interior and sample its fascinating array of goods. At the end of the Nineties, I was leading workshops, meditation and spiritual awareness groups, some in larger venues, depending on numbers attending, but mostly in my own house. Simon was living with us as a tenant for a while, and he was a regular member of our group. He once asked me if I could contact my Guide and ask if he could tell us about the ancient origins of the City of Bath, where we lived. What came through at first seemed to me like gobble-de-gook. I’d felt somewhat unsure of my channeling abilities at times, but was astounded, a few days later, when I happened upon something in an ancient book which completely backed- up everything I had just been given.

It spoke of a time thousands of years before, and a king who became father of Lear, the ill-fated King Lear dramatised by Shakespeare. But this channelling mentioned that this king (Bladud) had travelled to Greece and taken part in the Olympic Games there. That he’d also learned to fly! All this sounded utterly unbelievable to me -- that is until I later met a fellow author, Moyra Caldecott.  When we got to know each other better, she told me that most of what I’d received from my guide was correct. She had done a of of research herself, and the king in question was Bladud, King of Bath from 863 B.C. (Vis: The Winged Man, by Moyra Caldecott.) I showed her the book in my possession, Camden’s Britannica, printed at the end of the 15th Century, and she was amazed to discover there a passage by Geoffrey of Monmouth, an ancient chronicler of the British Isles. Maybe his was the first mention of the legend of King Bladud, (Welsh version Bladdyd,) and the Pigs. 

This is a long, and fascinating story of itself, and one I shan’t go into in detail here. But there is something further I would like to add: Michael, my husband, a landscape gardener at the time I knew Simon, was commissioned by him to create for his new Arcania store, a living fountain in the shop window, the water for which would be brought from the Chalice Well in Glastonbury, 30 miles away. This water was also legendary for its miraculous properties. So Michael created this fountain or waterfall which constantly gushed, trickling down over specially chosen rocks, into a pool below -- and in fact, attracted many passer’s-by who would not otherwise have entered Arcania’s wonderland.

 However, to return to my meeting with Simon back in1999.

“What’s this new book about” he asked. “What’s its title.”  

“Clea and the Fifth Dimension,” I told him.

“Wow! Great title” he exclaimed. “What’s it about?’

I gave him a bit of a summary, as well as mentioning my subtitle, which was; A Tale of Manifold Realities, explaining that I’d intended to put, A Tale of Co-Existent Realities, but thought most people wouldn’t understand that.

“You know what you’ve got there,” he went on. “That sounds like Visionary Fiction. Let me know as soon as it’s published and we’ll get it on our shelves.”

This was the first time I’d heard the term, Visionary Fiction, but it felt ‘just right’, it fitted me, and I took to it then and there.

At this moment, however, back in the 2013 Now, and having published Dreaming Worlds Awake about 18 months ago, unlike before, when bursting with new ideas and couldn't wait to begin writing them down, I don’t feel I’m about to start a new book. I won’t force it. If it happens, It will happen. But, I have been feeling the urge to design a new cover for my previous book; This Strange and Precious Thing. I seem have done the designs for all of my books to date. Not by ‘design’: I had commissioned other illustrators to do one for me, yet each time I felt they had missed the mark; not understood the book in question well enough, and I ended up doing a design myself. After all, I am art trained as a sculptor, and only came to writing late in life.

Strange and Precious is definitely a work of Visionary Fiction, but  I decided to relaunch it with a new cover, as I wasn’t too enamoured with my last effort. Also, while I’m at it, it presents an opportunity to see if it needs a bit of re-writing. And this is what I’m in the midst of right now, and so far, although I’ve only read the first 60 or so pages, apart from tweeking a word or two here and there, I’ve not discovered anything major I want to change.

So, there we are. This is the project I’m engaged with at this moment.

Well, it seems quite some time since I visited my own blog. I've been busy, but with other social networking things. Facebook has taken up most of my time, and that's mainly because I get many people visiting and commenting - lots of fascinating comments too. Also I visit Goodreads and add books I'm interested in; posting my reviews on books I've read and would highly recommend, and looking at other writer's reviews. 

Visionary Fiction, too is a favourite drop-in spot of mine. I was invited by Jodine Turner, one of its founding members,  to come up with a guest post a week ago on the themes of 'Who influenced you to write Visionary Fiction?' and 'Is Spirituality an important theme for V.F?' The piece I wrote seemed to fit both of these.

(Victor Smith, whose review see below, is also a member.) 

WHAT, I WONDER, WILL PEOPLE MAKE OF THIS REVIEW BY FELLOW VISIONARY FICTION WRITER, VICTOR E SMITH?

But first,Victor, let me give my comments on your review of me. (The actual review is in larger type below.)

I so like, ney admire, your style of writing. It flows with strength and intelligence. However, before I comment on the review itself I'd like to pick up on one comment, quote; your patently masculine mind. It's a subject that's been on my 'mind' lately. Even on BBC radio news this a.m. there was an item; Why, when girls do better in school, getting higher grades than boys, do they come off worse in achieving top jobs? And the answer it seems is, they are not disruptive enough. Asked what on earth that meant, the report said: They don't take risks or dare to challenge enough. 

I brought the subject up with Eleni (of the VFA) re her writing from the male point of view in her Jessie's Song. In my last Visionary Fiction book, This Strange and Precious Thing, I write, or made the attempt in my writing, to inhabit the worlds of my 2 main characters, one male and one female. It would never have occurred to me if you hadn't put it in parenthesis, that your questioning of my Kuthumi quotes, e.g. and if they were made up, as particularly masculine or feminine. Does this imply that female writers don't question themselves?  Isn't it an author's duty to be in both camps? And indeed, isn't that what my chapter, In a Nutshell, in the aforesaid book, demonstrating? But the answer to your question re Kuthumi is; No, I didn't make then up. They were channelled by Marisa Calvi, and she didn't make them up either.

Hope this doesn't sound like I'm criticising. On the contrary, I just find the subject fascinating. 

So, here is my comment on your actual review, (followed by the review itself.)

I smiled at your discomfort, Victor -- if it was discomfort - of having to arbitrarily decide between, was it reality or fantasy, objective or subjective, non-fiction or fiction, and that's because I'd had such a hard time myself finding something to say on the back cover; defining for myself what kind of book this was. I settled on calling it a miscellany, but I love your potpourri as an alternative. What serendipitous flash of insight led you to that? Though what would the general book-buying public have made of that word? On the other hand, what do they make of VF itself?

It's said that people buying books have a quick look at the picture on the front, then turn to the back, and if the blurb catches them - intrigues them sufficiently, they might just buy it! (Maybe I should commission you to write me a good blurb!)

On your question is it reality or made up fantasy, the simple truth is: It's all real. I made nothing up. I dreamed the dreams exactly as I wrote them. But that begs the question; what is a dream? Is it fiction, fantasy or an incomprehensible rambling story? Or is it something revealed to us, carrying within it deeper truths than our conscious minds are capable of seeing? I guess you can guess my answer to that. 

Now to Victor's actual review -- and thank you for the 'Highly Recommended' accolade!

Esme Ellis’s Dreaming Worlds Awake is a “potpourri” in several of the word’s meanings. As announced in the subtitle, “Stories, Synchronicities, Dreams and Correspondence, with a scatter of poems,” it is a miscellany of literary extracts exploring: “New consciousness, New energy, New writing.” The book is true to its description.

But there were times while reading that my (patently masculine) mind went, “Hunh, why is this in here?” or “Are these actual quotes from a disembodied entity named Kuthumi or something the author made up?” In which case the book struck me as a potpourri in the sense of “any mixture, especially of unrelated objects, subjects, etc.” Perhaps intentionally, some of the tidbits tossed out left me hungry. I bless the Internet when it came to the sections on Jacob Epstein’s work—my education in sculpture is shamefully limited. It took the images there (e.g., The Rock Drill) to add substance to the author’s enthusiasm over art objects I’d never seen. But I don’t complain: I like a book that makes me look further to learn something new. What a gift to have come to know Jacob and the Angel and its powerful message, as Esme explained it: “Aspects of the human being which are normally, in some parts of the Christian world at any rate, seen as separate, the Divine and the born-in-sin, fallible human, here they’re in a process of attaining a Wholeness which embraces both Light and Dark.” I experienced, perhaps for the first time, a stone statue whirling with dynamic energy.

“Potpourri” has a third meaning that perhaps best, if metaphorically, applies to Esme’s delicately woven web: “a mixture of dried petals of roses or other flowers with spices, kept in a jar for their fragrance.” It was not a book I could toss aside upon completion, facilely assigning it five stars or one. Its impression lingers, evoking “I wonder if…” at unexpected moments. The bloody line between reality and fantasy, between the objective and subjective, between non-fiction and fiction, which I’m supposed to be able to count on when all else fails, has again been blurred and I’m left in that excruciating but oh-so-present “space between” where it is all up to me to decide, arbitrary as it may seem, what is and what isn’t.

Highly recommended, especially to those curious to get inside the writer’s mind and see the visionary genius at work.

A NEW ARTWORK.

THIS, MY LATEST PAINTING WAS FINISHED A FEW DAYS AGO.

I call it a painting although there's as much charcoal as paint; mainly it was done after severalamazing experiences. But I'll leave talking about them until later. I just want to post up this new 'painting' first. Secondly, I'd like to post another painting done a few days prior to this one. This earlier one I titled; LET THERE BE LIGHT. The following one I called; AND THERE WAS LIGHT.

LATEST REVIEW FOR DREAMING WORLDS AWAKE

REVIEW BY JODINE TURNER FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE VISIONARY FICTION ALLIANCE.

This is a book that offers glimpses into the soul of the author.

It could have gone the way of many memoir or Visionary Fiction books and been self-absorbed or pedantic. This does not happen in 'Dreaming Worlds Awake.' Esme expresses her life experience through narrative, through life synchronicities, through her dreams, through conversations with mentors (dead and alive), and through poetry. This variety proves creative and interesting. Esme's writing drew me in.

I particularly liked  her description, (quoting Christopher Vogler's The Writer's Journey), comparing the Hero's journey with the Writer's journey as being one and the same. How fashioning words, and paragraphs, and stories is magic and is in effect casting a spell ... (in its most basic form, when you 'spell'a word correctly you are casting a 'spell!)

In one of the dreams and past-life remembrances Esme related, a priestess appears and gives symbolic messages about the inner feminine and masculine of both herself personally, and the world at large. These reflections are so crucial to our world today, where these two aspects are out of balance and struggling to come together in harmony as they are meant to be.
She also asks an intriguing question which bears further contemplation -- Is there an unconscious aspect  to Divinity?

While studying the art of sculpture, one of Esme's earliest mentors chose her to be in the college program because he said she had 'presence'. This indeed, comes through in the art of her writing.

Jodine Turner, award winning and best-selling author. "Carry On The Flame. I am with you. Goddess of the Stars and the Sea" 

EXAMPLES OF MY MOST RECENT ART

BEGINNING WITH FOUR COLOUR DRAWINGS

(All from my sick-bed, winter 2012/2013) 

Monolith, usually a single massive rock or stone, but here it takes on a lighter, transformational aspect.

Tri-Pod, comes next, also resembling a piece of sculpture, but with a slightly humorous, light-hearted feel.

With Cock-a-Doodle --- well, it's left to the viewer to to decide, but it's title suggests a jokey take on a Doodle.

Finally, Lark Ascending; my favourite, depicting, I feel, the joy of a bird in soaring flight, captured in seconds in one stroke of the pen. A dash of blue sky; a touch of green grass.

And now I'd like to add:-----

Another group of 4. These were actually the first drawings I made while sick in bed. At the time the illness was affecting my brain, and for several weeks I had been having horrific dreams and was hallucinating. It came to me that it might be a good idea if I got all this horror out of my system, using my artistic abilities, but in a completely new way. I would suspend my mind; I would simply take a sheet of paper and a strong, thick pencil, pen or charcoal and allow, allow; allow all that was in me to emerge freely, instantly, without time for thought to creep in.

I had been haunted by a strange series of figures coming in through the door to my bed-room, and on one occasion dropping in from a trap-door in the roof. This was one of these drawing which emerged, titled after a school-cild's verse; Yesterday upon the stair, I met a man who wasn't there. He wasn't there again today: I wish to Hell he'd go away.

MAN WHO WASN'T THERE

This second such drawing I have given the title;  NEW ENERGY.

I could explain this title at length -- or just leave it to explain itself.

The Third in this group arose from a story, BLACKBIRD SINGING in my Dreaming Worlds Awake book. The subject was in my mind before I took up my drawing implement, but the resultant image was spontaneous and beyond-the-mind.

BIRD IN A BUSH

Lastly; it just happened; it just came. A spontaneous image.  HERMAPHRODITE.


A FURTHER GROUP OF FOUR STARTING WITH:---

Portrait with Charcoal Hair. These drawings emerged after the episode where I had been hallucinating; they illustrate a completely new approach to Art, which culminated in the colour drawings which I placed above the pencil/charcoal drawings. Spontaneous, non-thought out, in some cases a single line which captures in a stroke, in less than a second, a form emerging in space.

 Emerging Form 1

Emerging Form 2


And finally I leave a space for the last of this group, titled, Stellaris.
which unfortunately has escaped for the moment!




AND, Finally, FINALLY! The last; a group of three, beginning with:---

 This is First Movement.

 This is Second Movement

And this is Third Movement.

THE WYE VALLEY

A few pictures from our recent trip. 

1/ Showing the Wharf where boats coming from the Bristol Channel unloaded their cargo. It was reloaded onto smaller boats which took it further upstream.  

2/ The village of Underhill where we stayed, showing cottages and the road bridge  crossing the river from where the picture of the wharf was taken.

3/ Tintern Abbey built by Cistercian distinctively white-robed monks in the 12th century.

4/ Another view of the Abbey. Same day, same time of day, but quite a different feel. More romantic; more dramatic.

5/  This is one of the cottages in the Village looking at least as old as the Abbey.

A NEW REVIEW FOR DREAMING WORLDS AWAKE

Having been absent from my Blog for several months due to illness, I would like to post a review I received 6 months ago from Visionary Fiction author, Pat Perrin which I was unable to do at the time.

I read and later reviewed Pat's great book, Mayan Interface, to which she replied, 'a very intelligent and insightful review,' In return she offered to review Dreaming Worlds Awake. This is it:-

PAT PERRIN’S REVIEW

Dreaming Worlds Awake, by Esme Ellis.

This is a personal book, a narrative of experience that leads the reader through some very nice juxtapositions. In her introduction, the author says, “Of its own volition something began to take shape. Stories arose, dreams came, a poem or two, a letter here and there.” And that is what the book consists of. In poetry and various prose styles, Esme Ellis describes dreams, synchronicities, channelled entities, and everyday life. She treats them evenly, finding something to learn of all of them

Esme Ellis is open to the wondrous without insisting on dogmatic interpretations. She says that dreams may, “if you learn to ‘live alongside’ them without pressing for instant disclosure, reveal their secrets later, in their own good time.” She could be describing her approach to adventures of all kinds. Her discussions range from the philosophies of Freud and Jung, to insights from the spirit of the sculptor, Jacob Epstein, to advice from an ancient consciousness, to encounters with animal totems and other unconventional topics. She looks on it all as a “playground of boundless discovery and spiritual expansion“ that is simply not to be missed.

My personal favorite is a brief story about helping a blackbird to protect its nest from a feral cat by .... well, you’ll just have to read the book. I recommend it for those who are searching for a playground such as this.

Review by Pat Perrin.

It might be nice at this point to add one or two reader's comments. To my mind, this first says a lot in a few words. 

What an amazing book. It has the impact of a spiritual depth charge. Pat Panton.

Another one which pleased me, and which also used the epithet, amazing, was from an Australian friend who came to visit me in Bath last year. 

It left me raw, turned upside-down and inside-out. Amazing!  Suzy C

The Visionary Fiction genre seems to puzzle many people and commercial publishers shy away from using that title. Even on the FVA website there is still an ongoing discussion about what exactly it means. 'Visionary' ? Well, it doesn't mean having a vision in the literal sense of the word -- seeing shining figures with wings, and all that. It is about having a vision though. A vision for what the future on mankind could/can be, and about writing a book which, as well as creating a gripping story which people can enjoy for itself alone, may also have an impact on human consciousness. The Visionary Fiction Alliance's 'mission statement' speaks of "getting in touch with our inner wisdom". For myself, personally, I'd like to introduce another term, 'gnost' meaning, inner wisdom connected to, or stemming from our Soul. VF too, 'envisages humanity's transition into evolving consciousness.' Again, I'd like to take that a stage further. Evolution is still within our present understanding of Time: Past, Present and Future. Whereas Expanded Consciousness steps out of Time and into the Eternal NOW. 

If all this sounds too complicated and 'esoteric', remember VF's aim is to create a spanking good read! 

Oh, by the way, Dreaming Worlds Awake  can be bought from:
www.lulu.com/spotlight/Esdragon
or from my website: http://www.esmeellis.co.uk

ASCENDED MASTERS

Ascended Masters: What is Ascension? And who cares anyway!

I've been thinking about that ---- that's always a mistake -- thinking -- but this is what came to me; Could it be that the 1st law of Ascension is; "When Nothing Works - Do Nothing!"

There! You see! For a moment I didn't think --- and there he was!  ---  just popped into my head.

If you're thinking what I'm thinking, it's 'Haven't we seen this fellow somewhere before? And not all that long ago either. Let me guess! That Swami's your idea of an ascended master, is he? He's certainly a bit ungrounded -  somewhat up in the air - Celestial, even, but hardly one's idea of the Great Spiritual Teacher. Shouldn't the sudden appearance of an Ascended Master fill us with awe, or at least something close to awe; deep reverence, knee-trembling respect, stupefaction - - - ?' 

Well, maybe; but maybe this is why we find the whole Master concept so difficult, and the question of Ascension so unapproachable. We tend to be very hung up with old ideas of arduousness and suffering when we consider what the personal spiritual journey entails. Asceticism, celibacy, denial or repression of our sexuality - and look where that's got the Catholic Church. Denial of pleasure, abstention from food and water, music, colour, imagery  - and look where that's got Islam, (and judging by an item in the BBC news this morning on the draconian blasphemy laws in Pakistan, I'd be stoned to death before being executed for saying anything critical about Islam.) 

But that aside, I wont go on; this is old ground, and you've probably got the picture already. But just to turn my statement on its head, I'm about to do just that -- go over ground I've covered already --- and the reason for that is to pick up on the Part Two section of a previous post.

I originally posted Part Two in my April 2012 post under Part One of 'AN EVERYDAY MIRACLE'. I did that so that anyone who wanted to read it in its chronological wholeness could do so there. But that was then, and since then, there have been further developments. In 'Life As We Know It,' nothing stands still; events happen; consequences, sequels, appendices are added, only to be followed by further happenings, aftermaths, outcomes and events. And as in 'real' life, so in dreams.

Except that in dreams, past/present/future linearity is suspended. Is this a contradiction - a paradox, or what?

"Fear not," said the angel.

Hello Angel, there you are! Nice to see you again, but who said I was bothered by all that? I take it in my stride. OK? I'm not afraid.

"OK, but people have come to expect the 'Fear not.' It's my signature, my greeting. Been saying it down the ages and folk seem to find it reassuring when I suddenly pop up out of the blue and startle them. By the way, in case of confusion, my appearance is altogether distinct from that lower-class Swami fellow who dropped in/popped up - a few moments ago. We patronise a very different cut of costumier, you know."

I think I'd noticed that, but if we could change the subject, bring it back to me, you see, I'm trying to do something serious here. I want to introduce a sequel dream, and link it with this earlier post of April 2012. Maybe you'd like to chip in -  help me out. It doesn't have to be too serious. By the way, don't you think 2012 has been an astonishing year  - weatherise? Disturbing, to say the least, alarming even. Torrential rain as it would never stop, month after month all through the so-called summer, and then, as if by magic, out came the sun for the whole period of the Olympics!  Astonishing and Golden. Opening Ceremony astonishing; medalists astounding; Team Britannica coming third! Never was there seen anything like it. And back in April none of these signs and wonders had happened. Don't suppose you had a hand in any of this, did you? But I digress....

"Fear not," said the Angel again, comfortingly. This particular angel being that part of myself we variously call, our Higher Self or our Divine Self, Soul Self, Angelic Self. "Why don't you tell us all about that dream, then?" he went on. "I'm sure your readers are getting impatient for you to begin -- as am I."

OK. But first I must remind myself - and not only myself, but anyone who didn't read the April post in its fullness, right to the end - of what transpired in the initial dream where I saw, what I have called My New Self - and at the cost of sounding repetitive --- I'll now repeat myself.

(I wrote this down in my journal at periods in the middle of the two or three nights following the dream where I saw the complete stranger, my New Self. 

If you feel like skipping this repeated passage, perhaps because you've read it before, then go straight to the dream in green, below.)

*   *   *

"And so," said my angel at this point, sounding more serious, "let us continue on this journey of ours, and this conversation where you commune with your divine self.

You dream once again of the New person, a not-yourself woman, (an Esme not as you've know her and identified with all your life,) and waking, you find your body reacting by seizing up. I have told you many time before that this painful and extremely uncomfortable sensation is a reaction to fear, and we have been trying out a few exercises to help you develop your own understanding of the phenomena you are meeting. A simple exercise -- we gave you an example of two people, let's call them ...  it doesn't matter, it could be X and Y or whatever you choose.

X is the Old you, the familiar, everyday you. She has your identity, (which, by the way, is just another illusion,) she has your memories, all your past in this life, the family, friends, events and incidents - everything that shaped your present life. X is constantly remembering details from the past, comparing and contrasting herself with others, "This is what happened to me; I made such mistakes;  if I do this I'll miss out on that; if I don't do that I'll be sorry because look what happened last time; he is much better than me at blah blah... ; she has the advantage of a better whatever...  better luck, better body, more attractiveness, greater talent... " on and on it goes. I'm not saying this picture is exactly you, you've more sense, more balance than that, haven't you! but just giving an illustration. X, the old you, lives in the present but is fearful of the future because of her experience of the past. You see the linearity of that? Yes, living this way we do create our reality, but we have created it out of our past experience and it is biased towards victimisation and lack - insufficiency of some kind, be it self-worth or health or wealth.

Let's carry on with this exercise and look now at Y.

Y is the same person but she looks at the past that she created and takes responsibility for it. She knows she gave her permission at some level for all that she experienced as she travelled her pathway. And what a lot of experience she did gain! Now she has arrived at that place where she looks in the mirror and sees herself, values herself, loves herself, and feels much better about herself all round. Her future is now filled with promise; new potentials are there on the table ready to be picked up. She lives in the Now, but it is a Now filled with compassion, love, understanding and self-awareness.

Think of it this way: This New Person lives now in the centre of a circle, no longer in the old linear manner with the Past behind, the Future ahead, and the Present You restricted by that continuum. Instead, by being in the Now, you're in the centre of a circle where you move on and up from level to level as your consciousness expands, and it's like being in a living, spinning spiral  -  a circle which is a spiral - hard to describe - but because everything around you moves at the same time and at the same rate, so you don't notice yourself changing. You feel the same Self to yourself, but we see you as we've always seen you, from outside the illusion of linearity. With delight we see you 'becoming' - not the right word, but for now....taking up more and more of your real self - expanding into your Divine Self.

Out of this realisation a new Creativity flows in, and it is an energy which is changing the planet -  for you can't separate your human self from your planet. As your consciousness shifts and expands, so does the Earth's. Even though the Earth shakes, as it does - I'm sure you've all noticed - at the moment, weatherise -- extremes of heat or cold, rain or drought, fire and flood --  these are but her rebirthing contractions that you feel. But now you feel safe within your own knowing that You are the Creator. You have moved from Victim to Creator.

You stand upright in this New situation about to step forward - you take a step into unknown territory. You are about to encounter something you've never seen before, The Great Unknown - full of promise - a wonderful revelation. But there is no map drawn out for this new territory which opens up at your feet as you go forward into it. This shows what a powerful person you are. You forge ahead, and it comes to you that you have just given birth to something  - but at this moment you can't see what it is you've given birth to. And suddenly all your fears come flooding back - all the dangers, the traps, the sharp snags that you imaging you might encounter. Your fear of making mistakes. You are not done with the Old You yet. But this is as it should be. These are unknown waters, and the unknown is your creative territory - your playground. Step into it  - dive in - and discover the wealth of resources awaiting you, Shaman, Alchemist, Artist. There is more and more to come....."

*   *   *

Well, that was where the angel came to a stop. Several days and nights passed, days in which I had ventured out into decidedly unknown- for-me, territory. Way out beyond my comfort zone. I began taking lessons on website building and attempting to learn HTML code. Stressful, but exciting at the same time. And then came this new dream.

DREAM.
I am in a large, light room. Big windows. A lot of space. I'm sitting at a desk or table in the centre of the room and there are other people around me at desks of their own. It feels like a place where a lot of creative activity goes on, but I seem to be using a larger than usual, big-screen computer and am intent on some important, but difficult work. It's in unfamiliar code - rather over-my-head technically, and it's making me a bit tense. I feel concerned that if I make a mistake, do something wrong by accident, I'll lose some extremely important work.

I have to make a decision: there's no-one to ask 'Shall I or shan't?' so I must take a huge risk and act. I press 'Enter' --- and the whole *****!!! thing disappears! Not just the work. The ****!!!***  computer disappears!!!!  Blank space where it sat. I'm horrified! Lost! What am I going to do? I look frantically around the room, but it's no-where to be seen. I look under the table - get down on my hands and knees --- Nothing! I try to calm myself. I realise that panic will get me nowhere, but this is something inexplicable and I know I can't retrieve the situation myself.

At that moment an old friend (who actually died many years ago) comes into the room, and we greet one another. He, I realise, will have the answer. But he walks past me casually, telling me he's busy with something else. He goes off into a side room with a client, turning to smile and wave at me as he goes. I'm getting the feeling now that I have to take charge of myself, my panicky emotions, and be aware of what my internal energy is doing. I also know that this male figure represents my Male Self, and that his appearance signals that I am calling him in to help me, but in reality he is part of me. If I centre myself in this sudden knowledge the problem will be solved. I also realise that by centring myself I am also calling in my Higher Self, (or Divine Self) and it is from this point of realisation - Self Realisation, actually - that any appropriate solutions will come. 

The door of the side room opens and my male friend comes out and walks casually over to my side. I feel his benevolent helpful, male-mind presence and tell him what happened to the computer - and he tells me, and I tell him, simultaneously that I only have to look across the room and the computer will have re-appeared. Dare I belief it? Yes!  AND THERE IT IS!

But there is a wonderful, deeper meaning to this dream which I will go into later.

VISIONARY FICTION: A DISCUSSION.

FOUR YEARS AGO MY SECOND BOOK OF FICTION, 'THIS STRANGE AND PRECIOUS THING' WAS PUBLISHED. I WAS ASKED BY BOOKSHOP MANAGERS TO CATEGORISE IT; WHICH SHELF IN THEIR STORE TO PUT IT ON. WAS IT NEW AGE, FANTASY, SCIENCE FICTION? I WASNT SURE. THE 'NEW AGE' TAG DIDNT SUIT; NEW AGE AS FAS AS I WAS CONCERNED HAD MOVE ON, AND ME WITH IT. I WASN'T COMFORTABLE WITH 'FANTASY' EITHER. A LOT OF RESEARCH HAD GONE INTO IT AND QUITE SOME  EXPERIENTIAL  EXPLORATION OF CUTTING-EDGE SCIENCE.

TO MY MIND IT WAS PARTLY SCI-FI, YET MOST WRITERS IN THAT GENRE WOULD PROBABLY HAVE FELT UNEASY HAVING MY BOOK INCLUDED ALONG-SIDE THEIR OWN WORK. 

One male friend at my launch, picking up the book and inspecting the cover, turned to me with a wry look, and said 'I guess This Strange and Precious Thing is love.' Is he wary of taking home a Romance? I wondered. I assured him the strange and precious thing which found its way into my title didn't refer to Love, nice as that though might be; it was in fact a nick-name given to Finn, one of the main characters in his childhood - a childhood, in this case, set two hundred and fifty years in the future.

Eventually I came up with a category suggested to me some years ago, Visionary Fiction, but wasn't sure. What exactly is the definition of this new genre? There has been some discussion in the last few days on writer's groups I subscribe to of that very question. On writer Eleni Papanou's website I found a great definition that says it well: -----

Visionary Fiction embraces spiritual and esoteric wisdom, often from ancient sources,  and makes it relevant for our modern life. These gems of wisdom are brought forth in story form and in a way that readers can experience the wisdom from within themselves. It emphasizes the future and envisions  humanity’s transition into evolved consciousness. While there is a strong theme, it in no way proselytizes or preaches. 

Visionary is a tone as well as a genre. The ‘visionary’ element can be present in any genre and set in any time. The emphasis is on our limitless human potential, where transformation and evolution are  entirely possible.

This is a definition I can aspire to - one, I hope, that I come close to reaching within the pages of This Strange and Precious Thing. By the time I dotted my final chapter with its final full stop, and agreed with my editor that I was happy  - or happy enough - to send it off to the printer for publication, I felt it embodied, as near as possible, most of the elements present in Eleni's definition above.

In 2008 when the book was first published, I hadn't read  a definition of Visionary Fiction. However, this preliminary review below, (from which I've removed sections where  the reviewer points out places where I need to rewrite and make changes,) seems to me to come close to the same conclusions. I regard this book, not only as an entertaining read, not only as a vehicle for teaching, both of which I hope it includes, but as something more. Transformational, certainly. But something else, perhaps indefinable. As my celestial friend and ascended master  Kuthumi told me; in the new genre we call New Writing, New Consciousness, New Energy, this kind of creation carries an energy which goes beyond the words on the page, an energy of transformation that is absorbed, breathed in, and which goes on expanding within the consciousness of your readers long after they've put down the book.

Although, at the time I was writing Strange and Precious, I had not yet met Kuthumi, and the later book I wrote, Dreaming Worlds Awake, and which to some extent was co-written with him, had not been consciously envisioned, I think that his observations were never-the-less coming to birth.

This below, is the review by Crysse Morrison; Writer, Dramatist, Performance Poet and Novel Mentor, from which I have removed several lines where she made invaluable suggestions for improvement. Having followed her good advice and implemented them, I feel it OK to show the main body of her review. 

This is an invitation for comments on the discussion or on how you see this review as Visionary Fiction. The comments button is at the bottom of the page. Alternatively, please comment on Writers who believe in supporting Writers, Writers doing what they do best, Twitter, Goodreads, or any other venue.

THIS STRANGE AND PRECIOUS THING

(working title)

by Esme Ellis

Genre Adult fantasy

Aim Publication - commercial or individual

Length 95,000 words (est.)

Central characters Annya, Manfred, Finn, Mandlebrot - alternating viewpoints

Theme Possibilities of resolution in human and environmental relationships, through supernatural and elemental energies of which we are currently unaware.

Overview

As I'm more familiar with the genre of psychological realism in fiction I was unsure whether I'd find aspects of this difficult, but the contemporary setting and character portrayal ensured enjoyable reading. I found the descriptions of setting superb - visually graphic and hauntingly evocative. Dialogue is, for the most part, credible and effective to move the story forward. The underlying messages are subtly clarified, and I liked the mood shifts and the lightness of touch, so profound points are made without overt moralising.

Initially I was wary of a novel without a clear protagonist, but as the story progressed I felt the balance between Annya and Finn is important, and has been well maintained. The love story at the heart of the book is beautifully expressed and moving in its inference of hope for us all, gods and humans alike.

The narrative pace is very good, varied and with great cliff-hanger endings to most chapters. .... sections describing Finn's experience do benefit from slow(ish) assimilation, as this is unfamiliar territory to the reader,..... in those chapters describing Annya's responses .... we can readily empathise with her - very human - reactions.

My final reservation is regarding the viewpoint itself. While in a book of this length, where several perceptions and timescales are involved, it is quite acceptable to use different points of view in narrating, it is better practice to maintain one for as long a section as is possible. Towards the end of the book there are lots of short edit cuts as Simon is rescued by Finn and Mandlebrot through the intervention of Jamil, Khaled, and Ahmed, while Annya worries at a distance; here I think the constant viewpoint shifts work well, creating a pattern almost like that of the carpet as the loose threads are gathered up. 
(Refers to key scene in carpet weaver Ahmed's workshop. E.E.)

I really liked the opening -- very filmic and sensual also, visual and kinaesthetic and with a sense of the pulsing of the ocean. This sets the scene at a profound level, as elemental energies will become as important as characters in the unfolding tale.

Finn is well introduced, but there is an inevitable difficulty in leaving Annya's drama on pause while his backstory is unfolded, which means that the main interest lies in beautiful writing and the power of the theories articulated and implied. These are both strengths, but tightening the early sections would enhance the narrative energy too. (DId do. E.E.)

Much of the dialogue -  especially in later section - is great: interesting, imaginative, informative and often humourous. I really like the sensuous moments between Annya and both her lovers - especially Finn. I did wonder whether as a love story this would work even better if Simon was Annya's brother rather than lover, but by the end was convinced; the second, more human act of love is important.

In conclusion: The complex layering is carried successfully by a strong and simple plot: Finn recalled to earth to help humanity - and ironically bring about the train of events that will lead to his own conception - combined with a 'Chekhov's gun' sub-plot - a dramatic hook (Simon's mission) which comes into significant focus towards the end of the story. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to have an early look, and I hope you find these comments helpful and encouraging.

Crysse

AN EVERYDAY MIRACLE

In my last post I wrote ‘Everything that could go wrong, went wrong.’ A few days later - today, in fact - I report something rather different.              

 

I dreamed a dream last night. Nothing unusual in that. I dream a lot; I keep a dream journal; I share some of my most interesting dreams with friends - mutually, because they reciprocate in the sharing; and I write about dreams. I even wrote a book with Dreaming as part of the title. So maybe it’s not so much of a stretch to call myself something of an expert in dreams. 

I studied way back when - back then - in the 60s with a Jungian, himself an ‘expert’ in that he had studied with the great man, C G Jung himself. But even well before that I intuitively understood that dreams, though sometimes trivial or muddled, were capable of bringing vital insights into our consciousness from a part of ourselves which is free from the control of our waking mind. And being free, they are likely to deliver vitally important messages - messages  which our everyday self has censored. Our ego self likes to see us in a more idealistic light and develops strategies which deny or avoid its more unpleasant aspects. Many of the monsters of fiction arose from the world of the unconscious; Jekyll and Hyde, Frankenstein and his Creature, as examples from past literature, with our multimedia today constantly throwing up ever more exotic visions for our delectation.


On the other hand dreams may also reveal parts of ourselves that are more courageous, smart, talented, or spiritual than our every-day self. Their scope is endless, revealing glimpses both too brilliant to see clearly, or so deep in the shade we can't see that aspect either. 

Then of course there is Lucid dreaming. This is where, with a part of our mind still on the edge of sleep we train ourselves to capture elements of a dream and manipulate it, thereby taking back control again. And there may be something in this approach which could benefit us. But this opens up a whole new area for discussion. Maybe one for another day.


But returning to this day and the dream I dreamed last night.......

In last night’s dream ‘Everything that could go right, went right.’


How did I move from 'Everything that could go wrong' to Everything that could go right? What happened? I need to retrace my steps ........


My dreams of late have changed .... in the last few nights they no-longer carry messages from my unconscious which need to be interpreted by my conscious mind. There's a subtle but important difference.


Finding myself now a nightly traveller knowing myself as a new person. I have left the old me behind, and with her, all the old stuff she has carried from the past. And not only from her life of yesterday, but all the yesterdays down the ages, along with their karmic baggage. I observe myself, this new woman, a complete stranger, with interest -- fascination even. She is quietly confident, competent, taking everything she meets in her stride. Intellectually sharp and technologically savvy, yet she is relaxed and serene, soft, warm hearted. As I observe her in this moment, she is in the midst of a highly complex piece of work. This, she has either undertaken herself to been commissioned to carry out.


The me, Esme, the self who observes her, knows she would be out of her depth if she had been given this task. So she looks on in awe, marvelling that a woman so young and normal-looking has been entrusted with such a commission. We exchange glances. I understand from this that she is as aware of me as I am of her, and this look somehow fixes in me a 'knowing' that I am being challenged about what I hold onto as my identity and my 'reality'.


I wake soon after this and feel slightly troubled that I haven't been able to capture the full extent of what I understood whilst dreaming.


The following night I dream it again, and wake in the same way. Several nights in a row I dream the same dream, waking with a sense of frustration because I haven't 'got it,' but letting it go as I connect with the 'reality' of today and my need to get on with that. It's so comforting to return to my old self and the day-to-day reality I've always known. I don't have to bother with disturbing and incomprehensible challenges. I can let this strange new woman continue with whatever she's doing. At the same time I realise I will have to take up the challenge soon, and this creates a painful tension in my body. 


I won't run away from it, yet even acknowledging it intensifies the pain.

___________________________________________________________________________              




HERE IS PART TWO FOR ANYONE WHO'D LIKE TO READ THE WHOLE PIECE (WHICH I FIRST POSTED IN THE BLOG OF JULY 22nd.)

"Fear not," said the angel.

(This particular angel being that part of myself we variously call, our Higher Self or our Divine Self, Soul Self, Angelic Self. I wrote this down in my journal at periods in the middle of the two or three nights following the dream where I saw the complete stranger, my New Self.)

'And so, let us continue on this journey of ours, and this conversation where you commune with your divine self.

You dream once again of the New person, a not-yourself woman, and waking, you find your body reacting by seizing up. I have told you many time before that this painful and extremely uncomfortable sensation is a reaction to fear, and we have been trying out a few exercises to help you develop your own understanding of the phenomena you are meeting. A simple exercise -- we gave you an example of two people, let's call them ...  it doesn't matter, it could be X and Y or whatever you choose.

X is the Old you, the familiar, everyday you. She has your identity, (which, by the way, is just another illusion,) she has your memories, all your past in this life, the family, friends, events and incidents - everything that shaped your present life. X is constantly remembering details from the past, comparing and contrasting herself with others, "This is what happened to me; I made such mistakes;  if I do this I'll miss out on that; if I don't do that I'll be sorry because look what happened last time; he is much better than me at... ; she has the advantage of a better...  better luck, better body, more attractiveness, greater talent... " on and on it goes. I'm not saying this picture is exactly you, you've more sense, more balance that that, haven't you! but just giving an illustration. X, the old you, lives in the present but is fearful of the future because of her experience of the past. You see the linearity of that? Yes, living this way we do create our reality, but we have created it out of our past experience and it is biased towards victimisation and lack - insufficiency of some kind, be it self-worth or health or wealth.

Let's carry on with this exercise and look now at Y.

Y is the same person but she looks at the past that she created and takes responsibility for it. She knows she gave her permission at some level for all that she experienced as she travelled her pathway. And what a lot of experience she did gain! Now she has arrived at that place where she looks in the mirror and sees herself, values herself, loves herself, and feels much better about herself all round. Her future is now filled with promise; new potentials are there on the table ready to be picked up. She lives in the Now, but it is a Now filled with compassion, love, understanding and self-awareness.

Think of it this way: This New Person lives now in the centre of a circle, no longer in the old linear manner with the Past behind, the Future ahead, and the Present You restricted by that continuum. Instead, by being in the Now, you're in the centre of a circle where you move on and up from level to level as your consciousness expands, and it's like being in a living, spinning spiral  -  a circle which is a spiral - hard to describe - but because everything around you moves at the same time and at the same rate, you don't notice yourself changing. You feel the same Self to yourself, but we see you as we've always seen you, from outside the illusion of linearity. With delight we see you 'becoming' - not the right word, but for now....taking up more and more of your real self - expanding into your Divinity, the I AM.

Out of this realisation a new Creativity flows in, and it is an energy which is changing the planet -  for you can't separate your human self from your planet. As your consciousness shifts and expands, so does the Earth's. Even though the Earth shakes, as it does - I'm sure you've all noticed - at the moment, weatherise -- extremes of heat or cold, rain or drought, fire and flood --  these are but her rebirthing contractions that you feel. But now you feel safe within your own knowing that You are the Creator. You have moved from Victim to Creator.

You stand upright in this New situation about to step forward - you take a step into unknown territory. You are about to encounter something you've never seen before, The Great Unknown - full of promise - a wonderful revelation. But there is no map drawn out for this new territory which opens up at your feet as you go forward into it. This shows what a powerful person you are. You forge ahead, and it comes to you that you have just given birth to something  - but at this moment you can't see what it is you've given birth to. And suddenly all your fears come flooding back - all the dangers, the traps, the sharp snags that you imaging you might encounter. Your fear of making mistakes. You are not done with the Old You yet. But this is as it should be. These are unknown waters, and the unknown is your creative territory - your playground. Step into it  - dive in - and discover the wealth of resources awaiting you, Shaman, Alchemist, Artist. There is more and more to come.....'