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Could it be there’s no such thing as the paranormal … only infinite varieties of normal we’ve yet to understand?
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This is an important and timely question explored in the highly acclaimed spiritual novel, SNOOZE: A STORY OF AWAKENING, winner of the 2015 National Indie Excellence Award for New Age Fiction. 
Written with young adult and young-at-heart readers in mind, SNOOZE further proved its literary merit by being selected as a 2016 Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Finalist in the Young Adult-Coming of Age category and receiving an Honorable Mention in the 2014 Beach Book Festival Prize competition in the General Fiction category.
Now for the first time ever, this epic visionary tale is being officially serialized—in both readable and audible formats.
You’re invited to join—either with eyes or ears—Max Diver, a.k.a. “Snooze,” along the razor’s edge of a quest to rescue his astronaut father from a fate stranger than death in the exotic, perilous Otherworld of sleep.
This inspiring tale interweaves a plethora of paranormal and metaphysical subjects, from Bigfoot and enlightenment to the Loch Ness Monster and time travel via the Bermuda Triangle.
In her review of SNOOZE published in INDIE SHAMAN Magazine, June Kent had this to say about what she described as “superlative fiction”: “Engrossing, entertaining and occasionally humorous, SNOOZE also takes a look at a wide range of subjects including levitation, telepathy, lucid dreaming, spirit animals, parallel universes and shamanic-like journeying, giving a wide range of information effortlessly absorbed as you enjoy the story as well as much food for thought.”
If you’d like your own downloadable review copy to share your thoughts via Amazon, Goodreads and elsewhere, read details and contact the author with your request.
Naturally, your generous review would be greatly appreciated even if you simply enjoy the full text now being presented on this blog and numerous podcast platforms. Keep in mind that paperback and ebook versions are for sale. A complimentary online version is also available for your reading pleasure.
IMPORTANT: Be sure to follow Snooze 2 Awaken and/or Sol Luckman Uncensored for alerts as new chapters of the 84 in total that make up Max’s extraordinary story become available.
Sweet dreams!
SNOOZE: A STORY OF AWAKENING
By Sol Luckman
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
Fortunately, he didn’t have to worry long. Within minutes an equally naked Maxwallah passed through the membrane and landed with a flop beside him on the illuminated moss. “Fancy meeting you here,” said Max. “I thought you were going to toss me in water only if I set myself on fire.”
Maxwallah, still sopping and breathing hard, stared sideways at his twin with a mischievous grin. “It worked, did it not?”
“If you mean it made me find the Cave of Origins, I guess so.” When Maxwallah only laughed, Max said, “What’s so funny?”
“It did more than make you find the Cave of Origins.”
“You’re speaking in riddles.”
“Let us review what just occurred after I pushed you in the water.”
“So you can gloat?”
“So you can understand better.”
“Fair enough.”
“What was your first act after you realized I was not going to let you climb out of the Sacred Pool?”
“I sort of … surrendered.”
“Surrendered to what, exactly?”
“To following the energy.”
“Did you attempt to control the energy?”
“No. I didn’t even think about that. I just … felt it.”
“Good. Then what did you do?”
“I allowed myself to sink.”
“Were you afraid?”
“Not really.”
“Why not?”
“I immediately heard an odd noise.”
“A noise?”
“A high-pitched tone. Like a dolphin whistling. That was my innate tone, wasn’t it?”
Maxwallah smiled again. “Obviously. What happened next?”
Max reflected on the subsequent phase of his descent into the Cave of Origins. “It seemed the tone was coming from my heart. It struck me as a type of language.”
“The language of the heart?”
“Cheesy, but—yes.”
“What did your heart say?”
“It kept repeating ‘diver down.’”
“Did you?”
“Did I what?”
“Did you dive down?”
“Of course. But first, there was a light. From the moss, I think. The next thing I knew, I swam through the membrane and fell. I sure didn’t see that coming. It’s a good thing I didn’t break my neck.”
“It is a good thing I did not bury you alive.”
“Bury me … alive?”
“Some initiations require it.”
“Is that what this is: an initiation?”
“Something like that. Call it the initiation of your initiation.”
“Great.”
“In any case, luck was with you. Upon review, Maxwell, has this experience become clear?”
“Clear as mud.”
“Then I will tell you a story.”
“Another story?”
“Humor me. In the beginning, before the birth of stars and planets, and before the first day was followed by the first night, Great Spirit sat alone in contemplation of his loneliness.”
“Been there, done that.”
“Great Spirit dreamed of not being alone, but he also realized—powerful as he was—that he could not end his loneliness by force of will. To do so would create mere slaves to his will with no will of their own. Thus his first act was to surrender his will in order to follow the energy of creation wherever it wished to go. Sound familiar?”
“Maybe a little. Go on.”
“Great Spirit became a servant of the energy, not its master, and in so doing left a blueprint for all of his children—born of freely flowing energy—to follow.”
“You’re talking about the Way of All Things!”
“Precisely. The Way of All Things is to follow the energy wherever it takes us. Only by doing so can we retrace the energy all the way back to our origins in Great Spirit.”
“So is this where the Cave of Origins comes in?”
“Almost. As soon as Great Spirit began to follow the energy, he heard a sound.”
“His innate tone?”
“You have a sharp mind, Maxwell. His was the original note out of which all other notes grew to form the Circle of Life. The music welling up in Great Spirit’s heart was cyclical—like his heartbeat—and spoke of the oneness at the heart of creation.”
“Is that why you once told me that everything is one?”
“Yes.”
“And is it also why you greet others by saying you see yourself in them?”
“Very astute. Greeting others as ourselves reminds us there is really only Great Spirit. For from Great Spirit’s innate tone, uttered in surrender and love, emerged a vast universe like an endless cavern centered on and powered by the energy of his heart.”
“The Cave of Origins?”
“The Cave of Origins. And into the Cave of Origins flowed the notes of Great Spirit’s heartsong to give life and consciousness to all things.”
Max sorted through the pieces of Maxwallah’s puzzle of creation. “Unless I’m missing something,” he said finally, “the Cave of Origins is the universe—which is actually the heart of the creator.”
“You did not miss anything.”
“But that would mean the Cave of Origins doesn’t really exist—not in a single location like this place, anyway.”
“Think of it this way: the Cave of Origins is everywhere and nowhere.”
“Everywhere and nowhere?”
“It is everywhere the heart is—and nowhere the heart is not.”
“That’s mind-blowing.”
“The mind cannot begin to grasp it. Only the heart has any chance of coming to terms with the mysteries of creation in which it played a pivotal role.”
“How did you learn all this?”
“I had an excellent teacher.” Maxwallah smiled again. “Do not attempt to understand what I am saying with your head. That is like trying to control the energy. Simply feel it with your heart. By surrendering, you create space for the answer to manifest.”
“The answer to what?”
“The question in your heart.”
In fact, there was a question there—as if in a lockbox waiting to be opened—that Max hadn’t dared to ask. He had been so programmed through cultural conditioning to believe God and humans were separate that just asking the question seemed sacrilegious.
Seated in glowing moss in a supernatural cave with who knew how many tons of hot water suspended precariously overhead, Max concentrated on just breathing and paying attention to the energy.
In his mind’s eye, he watched the energy emanating from his own heart and radiating outward to the cave’s overgrown floor, stone walls, and membranous ceiling. It was as if the Cave of Origins … originated from inside him!
“I did this, didn’t I?” he asked in astonishment. “I created the Cave of Origins with my innate tone?”
Maxwallah beamed. “Yes. Though if I may say so, I am helping sustain it.”
“But I thought Great Spirit made the Cave of Origins.”
“Great Spirit lives in and through all things—or he does not live at all.”
“You’re saying I’m Great Spirit?”
“You are an aspect of Great Spirit, Maxwell. Just as I am. And just as all things are. How could it be otherwise—if all things exist inside his heart?”
“Do you have an innate tone?”
“Naturally. All things do.”
“Is everyone’s innate tone … different?”
“Since there are only so many audible notes to go around, no. But the application of one’s note is always individualized. The innate tone is the beginning of personal power. Discovering it represents the first step in our journey back to our larger identity in Great Spirit.”
“What does your tone sound like?”
Without skipping a beat, relaxing his face and dropping his jaw, Maxwallah produced a bass note oddly reminiscent of a raven’s croaking. The light in the moss suddenly grew brighter—and for the first time Max saw the tattoo over his twin’s heart. “That’s strange. I’ve seen a tattoo just like yours before.”
“Where?”
“On some guy’s arm in the town where I grew up. It’s a raven with the sun in its beak, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“When did you get it?”
“When I completed my training.”
“I imagine there’s a story about giving light to the world associated with it?”
“There is indeed. Would you like to hear it?”
“Why not.”
“I will share it with you. But then we must continue our training.”
Maxwallah paused as if remembering some event in the remote past. “Among Great Spirit’s first creations were two brothers: Black Thunderbird and Star Mirror. The two brothers were like oil and water—yet together, they created the universe. Black Thunderbird focused on organic life; Star Mirror was interested in inorganic things. Black Thunderbird loved flight and freedom, while Star Mirror’s temperament was like that of the ocean: treacherous and given to reflecting the world in a distorted fashion.”
“I take it the two had a falling out?”
“You could say that. Being the younger brother, Star Mirror was jealous of Black Thunderbird and always sought to undermine his plans. When Star Mirror fashioned the earth, on which Black Thunderbird planned to foster life, he intentionally kept our sun for himself in his own solar system far across the stars.”
“Didn’t his solar system already have a sun?”
“Of course. Now he had two suns. When it came time to initiate life on our planet, this did not sit well with Black Thunderbird, who devised an ingenious scheme to remedy the situation.”
“Let me guess: he transformed into a raven.”
“That he did. Black Thunderbird could not gain access to his brother’s world in his own form. But aware of Star Mirror’s penchant for ravens, which were known to be great medicine animals conveying magical power, he changed into an enormous raven and was permitted to enter Star Mirror’s world—whereupon he stole one of his brother’s suns and flew back to our solar system with it in his beak.”
“Nice story.”
“It is not finished. Things did not go exactly according to plan.”
“What happened?”
“Black Thunderbird mistakenly stole the sun intended to illuminate Star Mirror’s world, leaving behind the sun meant for our world. Thus the worlds of Black Thunderbird and Star Mirror—even though opposites in most ways—will always be connected.”
“Sounds like a mythological retelling of Reciprocal Theory.”
“What is Reciprocal Theory?”
“A scientific explanation of how the realms of time and space interrelate.”
“Fascinating. But enough chitchat. Our air will run out if we do not hurry. Are you ready to learn to create light like Black Thunderbird?”
“I assume this involves using my innate tone?”
“You assume correctly.”
“Sure. This should be interesting.”Copyright © Sol Luckman. All Rights Reserved.
Introducing Sol Luckman’s new visionary novel, CALI THE DESTROYER. Learn about the single most censored story in the history of the human race—and why it matters today.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sol Luckman is a pioneering ink and acrylic painter whose work has been featured on mainstream book covers, the fast-paced trading game BAZAAR, and at least one tattoo on a female leg last sighted in Australia.
Sol is also an acclaimed author of fiction, nonfiction, and humor. His books include the international bestselling CONSCIOUS HEALING, which you can read free online, and its popular sequel, POTENTIATE YOUR DNA, available in English and Spanish.
Sol’s popular book of humor and satire, THE ANGEL’S DICTIONARY: A SPIRITED GLOSSARY FOR THE LITTLE DEVIL IN YOU, received the 2017 National Indie Excellence Award for Humor and was selected as a Finalist in the Humor category of both the 2018 International Book Awards and the 2018 Best Book Awards.
Snooze 2 Awaken 