Reviewer Bani Sodermark. Bani has a Ph.D in mathematical physics and has been a teacher of physics and mathematics at the university level in both India and Sweden. For the last decade, her interests have been spirituality, healthy living and self-development. She has written a number of reviews on Amazon. Bani is a mother to two children.
ISBN: 978-0-615-60681-1
Author: Jill Haire
Publisher: Free Flow Press
ISBN:
978-0-615-60681-1
A Parable for Self-Cognition
This
is a deeply allegorical novel, using a cloud as the embodiment of a
soul, who enters Earth Consciousness, leaving behind the extreme
comforts of Heaven, where not only all needs and desires are
instantly satisfied, but Life is one long festival embedded in a time
without end. There are, of course many possibilities in such a
scenario for the incoming Soul cloud to a cloud family on Earth, but
in this particular book, the family archetype selected to be
explored, is that of a relatively rich and overbearing father, called
Double-Him-a-Cane, and an insipid, manipulative mother, called Mother
Cloud. Both parents are deeply afraid of their own soul stirrings,
which they fear will obliterate their personas from the face of the
Earth, if heeded. Therefore, they do not encourage similar tendencies
in their daughter, whose memories of the love of Heaven are still
fresh. The parents cover the enormous vacuum inside their hearts with
addictive substances and their daughter learns to do likewise.
A
second ingredient is added to this story i.e. “Relax on Impact.”
Once, while driving a car, the author happened to be seconds away
from an inevitable collision, In that moment, she heard the above
words in her inner ear and promptly obeyed. She fell forward on the
wheel, letting her body go limp. That action saved her life. As she
let go, she felt cushioned in a blanket of Love and emerged unhurt
from the incident, even as her car was completely damaged.
The
protagonist in this novel, the cloud, starts out as Perfect Cloud,
but takes on various other names as her journey progresses on Earth.
“Relax on Impact” is a lesson that she takes with her from
Heaven, on a conscious level, and she uses it when faced with danger.
The very act of that relaxation opens up a portal for her, and she is
given directions as to how to heal herself and regain single vision
once again. She realizes that the love and caring that she accepted
as her natural birthright had always been there for her; it had never
gone away.
The primary purpose of this book is to explore the
effect of addictions in the family. To this end, the author chooses
the family prototype mentioned above, to illustrate exactly what
happens to most people when old family patterns are repeated over
generations, how they reinforce themselves over time, thus creating a
fear-based mindset, engineering, in the process, a massive disconnect
from one’s true essence, where all wisdom and peace is available.
At the end, the author presents a list of questions to be posed to
the reader who uses this book for therapeutic purposes. There is also
a list of questions that are relevant for the therapist
practising addiction therapy.
This is a book to be savoured
bit by bit, it is not a fast read. It contains very deep truths that
we can all learn from, in language that is meant to awaken the child
in us, even as this is not a children’s book. There are also a host
of illustrations which complement the text very well and make the
reading experience even more joyful.
I recommend this unusual
book very strongly to all, but especially to those battling with
addictions and acceptance issues.
