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Author Redfern has compiled lore from far-flung, long-ago cultures to help us examine our own societies and, perhaps, make changes. She takes the reader on a whirlwind global tour from the land of the Mayans, now in ruins, to the still vibrant Himalayan home of the Hunzas. The journey continues to the region of the Haidas in Canada and on to Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. By studying earliest cultures, we moderns may understand better how to live. First, we must cease relying solely on science and accept that the knowledge of the ancients encompasses hidden, mystical aspects. The author suggests connections among ancient peoples who might never have met, such as the tau, or T, represented as a tree or a cross common to ancient Mayans, Egyptians, Mexicans, and Greeks. All ancient cultures, no matter how isolated, developed “rules” common to all—to do no harm, respect ancestors, and honor life.
Writer, lecturer, and psychic Redfern was inspired by what she calls her “spirit friends” to create this book. She has clearly done extensive research in her quest to demonstrate correlations among the philosophies of our ancient ancestors. The challenge she sets, and that which she shares with her readers, is to explore the history of ancient lands and the travels of our ancestors and then “look closely at ourselves.” She includes several illustrative charts showing linguistic and other linkages as well as references to various works that treat with her chosen subject. Believing that only peaceful people would devise peaceful, responsible, and respectful principles, she urges us to consider adopting the same, often simple, values as the ancients. Her writing is clear and her ideas well organized. Redfern’s expansive vision of a universal philosophy based on ancient ethics is thought-provoking and may garner a supportive readership.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review