A Year of Living Wondrously

There's a scene in my novel The MoonQuest where the main character, upset by a vision of the slaying of loved ones from his past, is told to look ahead not backward.

It seems a thoughtless, almost cruel injunction. But when we find ourselves at the intersection of Old and New, the only way to honor what has passed is to move forward, even as our natural tendency is to want to reach back.

After all, we gain our grounding from the past. It was in and through the past that we learned how to be in the present. How often have we been warned not to ignore the lessons of history?

And yet as we edge more deeply into 2008, it's increasingly clear that the past can no longer serve as an adequate or effective guide to what's ahead.

I'm not the only one around who's predicting a year of personal transformation that transcends anything we've ever experienced, a year of revolutionary not evolutionary shift.

My prediction isn't based on astrology or numerology, although both, I'm told, have been saying similar things. It's based on a profound inner knowingness, on an awareness that the tectonic plates of my life and of the lives of so many around me are already shifting and sliding at unprecedented velocities.

When we're evolving in consciousness at rates never before recorded and in ways only barely understood, it's normal to feel unsettled, ungrounded, uncomfortable. It's normal to want to turn back, as did Lot's wife in the Bible, to be reassured by a past that, however difficult it may have been, is known and understood.

Unfortunately, as Lot's wife discovered, looking backward under such circumstances can be paralyzing.

The chances of any of us turning into a pillar of salt are pretty slim. That's the good news. The bad news is that the chance of being held back by the lure of the familiar are much higher.

I'm reminded of two times at pivotal turning points in my life where the exterior rear-view mirror was ripped from my car.

The first occurred in 1998, weeks before love-at-first-sight claimed me and turned my life upside-down. The second, seven years and several cars later, occurred on the first eastward foray of the 30-month road odyssey that was sparked by the end of that relationship.

In both instances, as I hovered on the cusp of revolutionary life change, it was tempting to look back -- not to mark how far I'd come but to somehow try to snuggle in the womb of the familiar.

Yet in each instance, as I asked for guidance on the meaning of such a bizarre event, I was reminded to look ahead not back.

There's another scene in The MoonQuest, where a young prince just crowned king in his father's place, kneels before the old king. Although he has been proclaimed sovereign, he insists that the old king remains "ever my lord."

The old king pulls his son up and quietly rebukes him. "Do not bow to me, my son. I am the past. And you must never worship the past."

I can't know what 2008 will bring -- for me or for you. I do know that the revolution in consciousness will play out in my life -- and yours, if you let it -- in wondrous, disruptive, scary and exhilarating ways.

I know, too, that all I can do is move forward -- day by day, moment by moment, breath by breath -- in the certainty that the past holds nothing for me that the present and future cannot surpass.

It's the ultimate roller-coaster ride, this journey into the unknown and unknowable. And it's a journey that moves in one direction only: forward.

In the final moments of The MoonQuest's coronation scene, as all that represents the old reign is consumed by the fires of a funeral-like pyre, the oracle performing the ceremony calls out, "The past is passed. We let it go."

As we step more deeply into this still-new year and into all the new life it will birth for us, it's an important call to remember. The past is passed. We can only move into the future and honor the new beginnings that await us, by letting it go.

Happy New Year.
May it be a year of living wondrously!

Namaste,
Mark David

Book News I

Great news for The MoonQuest this month...

~ An upcoming issue of the prestigious magazine, Library Journal will include a glowing review of The MoonQuest. Here's an excerpt:

"This debut moves quickly yet gracefully, its songlike prose a match for its ethereal characters and its allegorical message of inner truth. Fans of quest-centered fantasy and visionary fiction as well as New Agers should enjoy this emotionally solid tale..."

~ The MoonQuest, already distributed by New Leaf to the new age/metaphysical market, will soon also be distributed by Baker & Taylor, which serves the independent/chain bookstore market in the U.S. as well as the public library market. Here's hoping all the librarians who see the Library Journal review will order a copy!

~ The MoonQuest received its ninth 5-star rating on Amazon last week. If you've already read the book, please add your review. To read what others are saying, go to The MoonQuest's Amazon review page.

~ Thanks to all of you who cast your vote for The MoonQuest's cover last month. Angela Farley's dynamic cover design won the November cover-of-the-month award and Rita Alarcon of Westminster, California won the draw for a free copy. In the next weeks, The MoonQuest will be up against the other 2007 winners for book cover of the year. When the time comes, please vote again!

~ I'm collecting photos of readers reading The MoonQuest to post on my MySpace page. The idea came from one Austin reader who posted his unsolicited MoonQuest-reading photo on his MySpace page (you can view it as part of the slide show on my MySpace profile page). If you e-mail your photo to me at the same address this newsletter was sent from and include a mailing address, I'll send you a MoonQuest fridge magnet!

Book News II

And The Voice of the Muse...

~ Through some quirk of cosmic fate, The Voice of the Muse book and CD will have completed their respective manufacturing processes (different companies, different parts of the country) on the next full moon, January 22, also known as the "quickening moon."

~ January 22 is also your last day to order the book and/or the CD set and get free U.S. shipping**. Normal shipping charges will apply starting on January 23. (If you add a copy of The MoonQuest to your Voice of the Muse order by the 22nd, I'll waive shipping charges for that as well.)

~ Advance orders of the book and CD will ship by the first week of February.

~ If you prefer to order through Amazon, The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write (book) is already available for pre-order. The CD set, The Voice of the Muse Companion: Guided Meditations for Writers, should be on the Amazon site within the week.

~ If you already have the old Voice of the Muse eBook, the new softcover edition is more than 50 percent longer, with many new chapters and new exercises. And the 2-CD set (now sold separately) is a professional studio recording (backed by meditative music) that is nearly twice as long as the single CD that came with the eBook.

~ Hear me interviewed on listening to your muse and avoiding writers' block on Writers in the Sky.

Whether you're a seasoned writer or just starting out, whatever your genre or form, The Voice of the Muse book and 2-CD set will rekindle your creative fire, free your creative spirit and revolutionize your creative life. You'll never feel the same about writing again!

Check out these free The Voice of the Muse excerpts
~ Book excerpt #1
~ Book excerpt #2
~ CD Sound Clip Excerpt (complete meditation) (Professionally recorded & updated since the last newsletter.)

** Free-shipping orders will be sent via Media Mail. Quicker shipping is available for an additional charge.

http://www.erinaislinn.com/BookCoveroftheMonth.htm

New Earth Chronicles

Haven't been following my New Earth Chronicles blog? Catch up on these recent posts:

Dec. 14 - Instant Gratification

Dec. 17 - Hidden Desires of the Heart

Dec. 19 - Why Are Americans Afraid of Dragons?

Dec. 22 - The Miracle of The Voice of the Muse

You'll find them all, as well as all blog posts dating back to February 2006, at www.markdavidgerson.blogspot.com.

You can now access my blog through my pages at
~ MySpace
~ Gaia
Please stop by these sites and join my friends' lists there.

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