A carefully structured combination of essays and stories - partnering fiction with nonfiction - based on years of research, and the author"s personal philosophy and experiences, The Psychosomatic Survival Guide directs the reader toward a clearer, more positive path for living in today"s fragmented, and often mentally negative, modern world. The Guide traverses a course that thoroughly entertains as it evolves into a developing tale of characters finding personal discovery of life, while, at the same time, explaining its own purpose as a guide. The Psychosomatic Survival Guide is both an explanation and a celebration of the Human Experience. Partially comedic, partially spiritual, and entirely fulfilling, it may be the most entertaining advice that money can buy. From the Back Cover When someone utters the phrase, "Stop and smell the roses," it conjures up a mental image of two possible personality types: one that has been run ragged by the fast pace of modern society, and just needs a break or some stress-relief; and one that has sniffed the roses, but wants to know the deeper meaning of why one should do this. This guide is intended for those of you, who, like both the smeller of roses and the runner of rat races, seek a larger, more beautiful understanding of the magnitude of existence, among other things. From the Author, Dan L Dudgeon I originally wrote this Guide in 1996 for two different reasons: one, a "survival guide" was a format that I felt best encapsulated what I needed to express to others; and two, as an answer to what I perceived as an ongoing theme of total confusion in the world of metaphysics and spiritual enlightenment. In the recent past, numerous authors, filmmakers, and self-entitled New Age gurus had created an enormous realm of half-truths and almost-answers, toppling over onto a base of subliminal religious fundamentalism. This situation created in me a sense of anger and distress, not only because of the unbridled lack of responsibility by these persons, but because of the fact that I could personally see through all the hype and confusion, yet had no channel through which to pass along my own wisdom. So, I grabbed a pen and paper and didn"t stop until I had what I considered to be a complete work. It has taken me ten years to publish because I have had to work for a living, and editing and refining a text of this size requires time and mental dedication, resources which I have not had in abundance. However, due to what I have witnessed more recently as an urgent need for clarity, I have finalized and published my guide. Now I present to you The Psychosomatic Survival Guide. I enjoyed writing it, and I hope you enjoy reading, and maybe get a little light of understanding in the process.