Almost three years ago, an article of mine was published in the Trans4mind ezine,
Cultivate Life!, describing the book I was writing - a photo essay collection of couples who found love later in life - and asking for more such couples. At that point, I had found about a third of the couples who would eventually comprise this book, "
Autumn Romance."
My only criteria were that both had to be 50 or over when they became romantically involved and both had to consider it real, true love. I was hoping for couples in different locations than I already had. So when a Trans4mind reader, Bob T., wrote me from Nevada, I was delighted. Another new state!
My interview with Bob and Wanda (then his girlfriend, now his wife) was eye-opening. Their previous lives hadn't been free from struggle. But with this new relationship, they were creating something new, a "no blame relationship." I remember sitting at my desk in Philadelphia after our first interview, smiling. Wow, I just met the most amazing people. So unafraid to reach for something that other people would call unrealistic. But they are actually making it real.
My idea of "Autumn Romance" seemed clear but as time went on, the vision kept being redefined by the journey. Two years into writing the book, it was not just about older couples finding love late in life. It was also about the spiritual opportunities therein.
According to conventional thinking, the second half of life is all about relaxing and accepting what life has handed you. But I was interviewing people who were looking at past mistakes and trying to do things differently - people breaking away from old patterns and starting over - people, after great pain, who were changing course and setting their sights for great happiness.
Bob T. suffered many losses in his early 50s, but then he managed to extricate himself from lifelong negative patterns. Free to connect with a woman on a deeply emotional level, he met Wanda. In their 50s, they both had learned how to understand themselves... and how to be in touch with their most innocent dreams.
Bob and Wanda were brave enough to create great change in their life and that's why their story falls in the chapter called "Change" (there are six chapters in the book). Another chapter is called "It's You Again," where couples who knew each other when young fall in love when they are older.
In this chapter, RJ (who fell in love with Esther when both were 13, thinking her "the prettiest girl in the world") meets Esther again when both are 62. He had never stopped loving her and now she loves him back.
Was his initial adoration due to Esther's big brown eyes and slender figure? In their 60s, it is now clear it was Esther's soul he always loved. When you read this story, the incident that seems like an unrealistic miracle, is totally believable because the love they feel for each other is so powerful.
Writing these stories was difficult, because I wanted to convey both the gritty real-life narratives of each life story, and also, how these life stories combined in almost fairy tale simplicity - because of love. In the end, I believe that the real power of "Autumn Romance" derives from the fact that a romance late in life becomes a perfect prism through which to glimpse the nature of true love, which of course is soul to soul.
In the autumn of life, the bloom of youth is gone. The illusion of perfection is pushed aside. And then, what is visible is a person's soul. In these stories, we get to see people loving each other's souls and this is powerful stuff. The stories are filled with magical turns of events: marvelous coincidences, predictions coming true, cynics becoming believers.
The book is a perfect present for Valentine's Day... with your help I'm hoping to spread more love around the world. If you buy a copy of "Autumn Romance" during the month of February, it comes with Free Shipping. If you buy two, the second one is half price.
Daring to be Yourself
The aim of the new book, Daring to be Yourself by Peter Shepherd, is to help you achieve a 'wide-awake' state of consciousness, with integrated use of left and right brain abilities, forming the bedrock for breakthroughs in personal consciousness and spiritual insight. The practice is based on the premise that we have learned disabilities that set boundaries to our action and knowing. But no one need accept that they must remain as they were shaped by their hereditary body-mind and by the conditioning of their childhood and culture.
This 264-page eBook is like a "best of" the Trans4mind site, all brought together for your convenience. But much more than that, it's also an incredibly powerful program for personal growth. Remove the barriers to self-knowledge and reveal your full potential with this step-by-step approach... Daring to be Yourself. Also available for Kindle (or the free Kindle Reader application for all platforms) at Amazon.com.
Our Blog features excerpts from the book plus current news, views and links.
More Trans4mind eBooks: Click here to download the Trans4mind eBook Catalog + complimentary eBook!
"I realize many people use praise in ways that sound frivolous...but I must tell you that your book has changed my life AND I mean that in all ways. I found the entire work wonderfully upbeat, readable and valuable! It really was quite a wakeup call. In the midst of my "trials and tribulations" I had failed to be "me." Anyway, this "talk with you" really did change my life. Thank you! I needed this kind of "kick in the pants." It worked. WOW! You made a huge difference in my world."–Becky, USA
A digital copy of Daring to be Yourself is included with purchase of the Start a New Life! home-study course - which is effectively the practical "workbook" that accompanies the book by Peter Shepherd.
Working through this course enables you to dare to be yourself and design a brand new life. Expressing your true needs, wants and feelings, you can start to live your life's purpose!
After you have purchased the course, Peter Shepherd is available whenever you wish by email, to guide you every step of the way from where you are now, until you are established in a brand new life - the life that you have designed... Start a New Life!
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