May You Live in Interesting Times | by Cindy Stone

“May you live in interesting times…” is often attributed to an old Chinese proverb that doubles as a curse. Interesting times most often come fraught with difficulties and challenges and there is no doubt we are living in interesting times.

In the recent past, we have had devastating terrorist attacks, people have banded together to vote against the establishment and the expected, whilst the status quo was overturned in the UK by Brexit. Books and movies for young people span the territory of dark vampires and werewolves to comic book superheroes that save the day. What does all of this say about where we are as a people? We have gone from breaking down imprisoning walls to constructing new walls to keep people out. We have recently retreated into a mindset of fear and scarcity.

Michael Crichton, author of Jurassic Park, was asked in an interview, if he believed words could change the worlds’ consciousness. ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘it is the only thing that can, but it’s slow.’

So, armed with some words, a story idea, and a spiritual practice that had changed my life and consciousness, I set out to bring something positive, something fresh, and something exciting into the world of fiction. I wanted to inspire people who may not have yet stumbled upon the ancient wisdom of Taoist philosophy, or the incredible mental strength and focus meditation can achieve, and the power, confidence and inner peace that martial arts can bring about.

I confess. I have been afraid for our young people faced with the anonymous cruelty of cyber bullying and the humiliation of schoolyard intimidation and beatings. It doesn’t go away in adulthood, it just becomes more sinister, less obvious but no less devastating. Bigotry, prejudice, and racism, lives in our world. If I can inspire others to become a force for good in the world, then I have been true to my purpose in life.

There are many paths that lead to the top of a mountain. I found a path, or perhaps the path found me many years ago. I am psychotherapist, a hypnotherapist using the power of the unconscious mind to unlock individual creative inner resources, and I practice inner martial arts to achieve a higher state of consciousness. These are the influences that inspired me to write SCORPION. A necklace with stones almost two thousand years old, laden with history became another thread to weave, along with the discovery that my great, great grandfather in the 1800’s sought the ancient wisdom of the great mystics of his age in India and Tibet. He passed those stories in books for others. It seems that time has come full circle and the interesting times that my great great grandfather found himself in, are similar to the times we find ourselves in. We are all seekers, looking for the path, our path, that will take us somewhere meaningful.