The Master’s teachings came into my life about fifty years ago. Friends, who knew the difference between what is true and what is not, had come upon Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov’s books while visiting France from the US. They knew immediately that this was a great Master and what he said in those books was true.
Although these friends are no longer here, the influence of this Teaching, through them and through the Master’s books, lives with me and seems to influence everything I do. What I do now is write and illustrate children’s books.
I hadn’t planned on writing children’s books, however times change. With the closing of my galleries and messages received in dreams, children’s books became my next adventure.
Never knowing where a story will take me, I just write along and see where it goes. Usually, I’m quite surprised at the outcome. The Master’s Teaching seems to find its way into these stories.
A Mermaid Tea Party passes on the essential idea of never offering another an empty teacup, sand pail, or anything. And also, that by adding “loving kindness” to any occasion, even to a tea party, you can make a party out of it.
Positive Pete follows a young boy through his day with mishaps, and ordinary disappointments that he sees as opportunities to improve. Many of the books are about having the right attitude. The Three Sillies (a raccoon, a baboon, and a loon) find that their aversion to each other improves when a butterfly (having come out of its cocoon) advises them to “live with it.” Then there is poor Jim Duncan (Jim Duncan Needs Help) who seeks advice from his father because his living conditions are so wretched. Like the Master had explained in one of his stories, Jim is advised to add a cat, then a dog, a goat, a pig, even a cow, etc. to his household. Then, he is asked to remove each one each day, improving the conditions daily. And what did Jim’s father say to Jim when it was all done? “Attitude is everything! Pick a good one, my son!”
Let’s Everybody Fish! explains the benefits of a collective effort. Mindful eating is demonstrated in One Green Omelet, Please! as a little girl in a noisy restaurant contemplates her plate of food by imaging all the efforts made by people, nature and the sun that goes into her delicious green omelet, and she is thankful.
In most cases, I do not pick a subject and then write about it. But in the case of Mr. Getaway and the Sunshiners I wanted to suggest the benefits of contemplating the sun at sunrise. In this book, a group of children are taken on a field trip to the land of the Sunshiners and return with an appreciation of this practice.
I have done several books to give military families techniques to help alleviate the sadness these children experience upon their parent’s deployment. The princess books in my collection (An Ordinary Princess, The Princess in My Teacup, and Better than a Princess) all emphasize self-worth and useful behavior – helpfulness, sharing, working together, and kindness. Kindness is an underlying theme; it seems, in all the books, as I look over the list.
Meeting the mayor of Anaheim, California was a great honor. Mayor Tate had run on a platform of kindness… and won! His administration implemented a culture of kindness throughout the city, including the school system. The results throughout the city have been hugely successful. Every year the school children perform one million acts of kindness. The Monkeys Who Tried Kindness was written for the mayor and those children and captures the importance of this quality… and all in rhyme.
Recently I met with a woman who is director of the Head Start programs in Denver. We sat together as she read many of the books. Here was someone who finally understood what these books are about and how they can help children. This is what I have been praying for. She explained the desperate situation many of the children are in here in Colorado and probably around the country. She said that in many cases, “School is the only safe place they know.”
This realization has prompted me to continue my work by creating these books. At the present time, there are over 100 books in the collection (70 stories, over 30 in a multicultural version, and 6 translated into Spanish.) Many of these books are in rhyme and all carry with them some of the essence from the Master’s Teachings. I am forever grateful for the opportunity to be useful in such a worthwhile way. Everyone is here to be useful.
Sally Huss, one of our authors in our 2nd book, Awakening, our soul journeys.
PS We invite you to visit the website Journey with Omraam where you can find resourceful information on the Teaching, the methods and study groups: https://with-omraam.com/