Visionary Fiction in Today's World

Visionary Fiction speaks the language of the soul. It contains all the elements of modern storytelling yet there is a deeper layer, an archetypal level. This level invites a reader to personally undergo the mystical inner initiations that the book’s character experiences. Visionary Fiction (VF) not only entertains, it embeds esoteric wisdom and paranormal experiences in story. It is an ancient art of storytelling – but a fairly new genre in the publishing world.

Often relegated to the genre of Fantasy, Paranormal, Metaphysical, or Spirituality, VF contains elements of all four. But the story line is more concerned with how the character’s internal experiences of paranormal events – such as visions, dreams, psychic phenomena, past life remembrances, or forays into uncharted planes of existence – are the unique catalysts for transformation. These types of non-linear occurrences run parallel to our everyday conditioned reality. VF allows the reader to glimpse a doorway into these alternate realities.

VF engages the reader in the worlds of the seen and unseen. It is a quest into the deeper mysteries of life - in story form.

Our Current Reality

We live in a world that operates under an imbalanced masculine-principle way of thinking. I am referring to the unhealthy attitude that produces greed, war, violence, domination, authority outside ourselves, and rational/linear thought to the exclusion of intuition and feelings. In general, society demeans the feminine principle of nurturance, receptivity, cooperation, emotions, our ‘sixth sense’ and intuition. I am not talking about gender when I speak about the masculine and feminine principles, but, rather, about ways of being and behaving. Both principles can act healthy or unhealthy; helpful or hurtful. In other words, you could say there’s an excess of unhealthy Yang, and a suppressed/restricted Yin. You need only examine the degeneration of our cultural institutions – the banks, church, the politics – to see that societal structures are crumbling under the effects of this imbalance.

I find it interesting that many ancient spiritual systems, such as the Hopi, Mayan, and Hindu, foretold a golden age. They predicted our current era in history as the transition point into this evolution of consciousness. As with all change, there is chaos and destruction before there is regeneration. This is simply the way our world works. If these ancient spiritual predictions are true, this explains the depth of turbulence we see and feel around us.

The Relevance of Visionary Fiction in today’s world

Humankind longs for a new story. A regenerative and hope filled rebirth. A world that joins the best that both the masculine and feminine principles have to offer. In the union of heart and head, and with wisdom, guardianship, and power that are infused with love, that golden age the ancients predicted can arrive.

One time honored way to open up to this alchemical change and explore humanity’s potential is through the vital act of storytelling. VF can rouse humanity’s new story – through story. The mystical encounters, paranormal abilities, and spiritual awakenings woven into VF provide the raw material for the transformation of not only the novel’s characters, but for readers as well. The invitation is to apply the embedded wisdom of the book into our own lives.

Yes, VF speaks the language of the soul. It offers a vision of humanity as we dream it could be. At a time where our world is going through so much tumultuous change, we need more Visionary Fiction.

A version of this article first appeared in the Visionary Fiction Alliance blog August, 2012

Carry on the Flame - I'm expecting!

When a woman is pregnant we say she is ‘expecting’. She looks forward to her due date, and as the end of her third trimester approaches, she may even cling to that due date like a life raft, eagerly awaiting her baby’s birth. She’s counting on that date!

I feel like a pregnant, past her due date mother. August 1st was the date my publisher assigned for the birth of my book into the world. While I wasn’t waiting for a baby, I was certainly awaiting the delivery of my creation. I was expecting! However, book distribution channels such as Amazon.com, etc., have their own schedules and timing. On a bigger scale, apparently the Goddess does, too.

So, while I was previously expecting, I am now surrendering. I give up trying to figure out exactly what day my novel will release. I surrender to a force that’s wiser than I am with regards to timing. No, this wiser force is not Amazon.com, although the matter is indeed in their hands – when they put my novel up live, it will then be available for purchase. The wiser force I am referring to here is the birth force, the creation force. The Goddess who was the inspiration for my novel series.

I apologize to all those who contacted me on August 1st, wanting to get a hold of Carry on the Flame: Destiny's Call. I may be past my due date, but I am told it shouldn’t be too long before my newest novel is available. I will post as soon as it is. And this expectant author will humbly continue to surrender to that wiser timing.