A very warm welcome. I invite you to join me as I pursue my quest to research and publish a book that has occupied my mind and soul for four years—a book I feel driven to write.
Ever since my visit to the stone alignments at Carnac in Brittany, France, I have been captivated by the people who lived there thousands of years ago and their curious allure to megaliths. I have grown to identify with them to the point that I see the world through their eyes. For instance, I watched a movie the other day called The Queen of Katwae. It is touted as a “feel good movie” and is described as “a heroic struggle of a Ugandan girl who, with the help of a missionary, was able to escape the abject poverty of her community.” I was left thinking, not of the triumph for the girl but about the tragedy of the masses that did not escape. I was left reflecting on the culture that chains so many men, women and children into this Hell on earth, and contrasting the ancient European culture that was actually known as Heaven or the Garden of Eden.
My research suggests the existence of a society of giants and luminaries who lived in peaceful partnership over thousands of years in what is now known as Europe—a way of life that has become lost and confused over time and only exists today in the lyrics of songs written by visionaries whose imagination somehow broke through the veil of darkness that has been reality for the past four millennia. I feel compelled to write of their extraordinary existence; I have for a long time envisioned “… a world with no war, …[of] people living for today…with nothing to kill or die for, …[having] no religion, …no possession, no countries, no need for greed or hunger—…a brotherhood of man… sharing all the world [and]…living in peace… [at a time [when] the world [was] as one.” (Phrases are taken from the John Lennon’s Imagine) That I serendipitously stumbled onto just such a culture dictates that I must rout out the truth and write about it.
I have a dream—a dream to explore and understand those wise men women of old and expose their secret. I have written a few chapters of my book, but I realize how much more work is needed to fully understand the magnificence of this ancient culture. I hope to spend five months in Europe of intense exploration.
My search would begin in Paris where I would spend a week or two seeking out art that reflects European prehistory in the Musée d’Orsay and the Louvre .
From Paris I would travel out to the Morbihan district of Brittany. Perhaps get an Airbnb for a month and walk or bike the many trails through the various pays of southern Brittany to immerse myself in the mystery of the ancient sites. I would scour bookstores, museums of prehistory, art galleries, the commune at Malansac, L’Archéoscope at Carnac, talk to local residents and listen for the ancient echoes of the peaceful countryside. Evenings would be spent reading and making notes.
The next thirty days, I would like to spend in a Bed and Breakfast on the island of Belle Isle en Mer where I would spend early mornings writing. After breakfast, walks to the lighthouse and around the island’s craggy cliffs or along its beaches would provide time to reflect.
From Brittany, I would travel to England to visit the Avebury henge monument in Wiltshire Dows, which is older and larger than Stonehenge. Then, across the Irish Sea for a month to explore the prehistory passage tombs at Newgrange in the Boyne Valley just northwest of Dublin and its sister sites at Knowth and Dowth. I am hoping to be there during Summer solstice. Newgrange is 500 years older than the Giza pyramid in Egypt and 1000 years more ancient than Stonehenge.
Perhaps if there were any time left, I would return to Belle Isle en Mer to finish my book.
My first task is to prepare for this journey. I have put my townhouse in Sidney, British Columbia on the market. This will free me up from the responsibility of owning a house and provide the funds needed to pursue my goal. I plan to liquidate all my belongings and for a while just travel and write.
I not only invite you to follow me on my journey to research my book, but I invite you to join me on my quest for a greater understand of the people I write about and the world they lived in. I would very much like to hear from you if you have any advice or suggestions that could help me bring this period of history to life.
A lot of my research was guided by advice from friends and family. One example is the tip I received from my granddaughter. Five years ago before I went to Europe on my journey of self-discovery, she told me about a place in France called the French Stonehenge. I followed up on that tip and later came to find out that it was called the Carnac Stones. This proved to be one of the most eye-opening parts of my trip.
Another tip came from a good friend of mine who often critiques my work. As I wrote my first story about the people who erected the stones at Carnac, I gave it to him to read. Usually he is very supportive and positive about my work, but this time he adamantly opposed the very premise that there ever existed a culture of peace that lived in peaceful partnership for thousands of years in what is now known as Europe. He was not open for discussion on the topic and simply dismissed the idea as idealistic fantasy and discouraged me from pursuing such a novel. However, a few weeks later, he phoned to say he had been discussing my project with neighbors, and much to his surprise they said indeed such a culture did exist and recommended that I read Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas’s book, Uriel’s Machine. He also read the book, and although he did not receive it with the great enthusiasm that I did, it did open him up to the possibility that there was some truth to my discovery.
Earlier, a member of our choir recommended that I read Riane Eisler’s book, The Chalice and the Blade.
So you can see that these key tips along with the many smaller ones, have served to guide the research for my book.
One purpose of my blog is to glean as much guidance as I can from anyone who follows me on my journey. It is my hope that you will be more than an observer. For anyone willing to do so, I invite you to be a part of the experience. I don’t really know a lot about the art world, and I would welcome advice on which artists would be a must see. Is there another venue in Paris or elsewhere that would enlighten and inspire me?
I Look forward to hearing from you. Just click on the comments button.
Ruth Welburn 