Fiction and Your Spirit

Dear Reader,

I haven’t read much fiction lately. Most of my reading these days is about consciousness, intuition, the body-mind connection and spirituality. But when I was a kid, on into my twenties and thirties, I was a voracious fiction reader. I cannot tell you how many times my poor parents would  try to pry me away from a good story to go to the dinner table… or to turn out my light and go to bed… or to turn off the flashlight and go to sleep when I continued to read under the covers!  My imagination cut loose, I got completely lost in the stories,and I could read for hours.

The most recent fiction that captured me that same way was the Harry Potter series. I started book seven in the Aberdeen, Scotland airport, read until I arrived in Heathrow, continued reading across the Atlantic, read while waiting for my bag at La Guardia, and read the final words with a giant slice of pizza at 2 a.m., safe and sound in my Manhattan apartment.

But this past Christmas… Louise got me the latest Stephen King novel, “11/22/63”.

I should tell you that I am from Maine originally, and Stephen King lived in my home town for a while. I read my first Stephen King novel, “Salem’s Lot”, in high school, and was literally too scared to get up from my chair and go to bed.

Furthermore, “11/22/63” is about a high school teacher in Maine who, upon discovering he can travel in time, attempts to go back and prevent the assassination of JFK. That tragedy is one of my earliest memories; I was three years old when it happened. I remember the TV being on and me crying until my aunt Betty put me on her bed to take a nap.

I have many connections to this book. No surprise – it took over my life until I finished reading it.

I travelled back in time with the main character as he ventured from the year 2011 back to 1958. His descriptions of small town Maine in the late 50s and early 60s took me back to my own childhood – the shops, the sidewalks, the personalities.

And the story…oh, it was good. Ultimately, it was a love story. It cracked my heart open, triggered my imagination, and kept me reading until 3 a.m. It shook up my perspective and reminded me of how much I love this life.

At one point in the story (without giving too much away) the main character helps one of his students discover his true gift in life. The student rises to the occasion and steps fully into his talent. In this young man’s moment of glory, Stephen King describes the expression on his face: “But it was more than a smile; his face was transformed with the happiness that’s reserved for those who are finally allowed to reach all the way up.”

Is that not the most beautiful line?

And isn’t that what so many of us want in life, to be allowed to reach all the way up?

What is your gift, dear reader? What is it you do when you are allowed to reach all the way up – or, if you are not sure yet, what do you think it might be?

For me… it is helping others make that discovery for themselves. I would like to think that I allow my clients to find their gift (and yes, we all have one or more) and share it with the world – whether in large or small ways.

So – fiction. Have you read any lately? Nothing like it to stir up your creativity and ignite your inner spark, your spirit. And guess what happens when your inner spark is ignited?

It’s contagious.

I honor your loving heart,

John