Australian author and spiritual teacher Barry Long calls on the depth of his self-knowledge to explore the deep space of the universe, making a connection between self-discovery and scientific enquiry that provokes extraordinary insights into the nature of man and the structure of reality.

Here is a spiritual cosmology set within our contemporary scientific world-view, a creation myth for anyone intrigued by the primal questions: How did it all begin? How and why has evolution brought us to this point? Where, ultimately, do we come from?

This book tells the incredible story of how a spiritual principle became intelligent flesh and blood. We go on a journey into the psyche of man to get behind our individual sense-perception and look into the levels of mind that structure and organize man's place in creation. We see how existence itself is formed and we span the universe to discover the cosmic scheme behind the forces of evolution. We actually look into the ultimate mystery of how nothing becomes something and are drawn step-by-step towards the original point of consciousness -- before time began. Finally, at the end of the book, Barry Long describes the fundamental structures that determine our reality, the original ideas that manifested as our life on earth.

This is one of those books that marks a shift in our collective consciousness, a book capable of changing its readers' world-view forever, and one which will probably stand for decades to come as an influence on the way we all look at life.

Acting as a spiritual guide, this book takes the reader through the labyrinth of spiritual paths to the one Way that leads in to the centre of ourselves. Ninety-nine brief essays seek to remind us that at the core of our being we have no history; we are in essence free and timeless. They chart the various ways to the Way, warning of the many blind alleys and false trails that can mislead before the ultimate truth is found. Not only seeking to challenge and stimulate our self-knowledge, Barry Long passes on the practical applications of his teachings, including the text of his audio cassetette, "Start Meditating Now".

Barry Long says we can't just trust to love and hope our children will turn out well. Love alone is not enough. Parents must also bring spiritual truth and justice to family life. This radical approach will help parents who want a more real communication with their children, or who struggle to meet their demands. To have harmony in the home requires a rare honesty and fairness. Barry Long's instructive dialogues with mothers and fathers from around the world show readers how it's done. Based on hundreds of conversations with parents, this is a compendium of practical advice covering very many typical situations that arise from infancy to adolescence. Includes among many other things: How to improve communication and why it's so important; How to deal with excitable or demanding behaviour; Why children need contact with the natural world; The function of toys, fairy stories, pets, games, sport; How to address issues of bullying or violence; How to deal with Christmas; Going to school and what kind of education to select; How to handle divorce or separation, and relate to step-children; How to help children cope with conflict and death; How to diminish the rebelliousness of adolescence; The real function of the imagination in the child's development; How to address the child's emerging sexuality; How the child's personality develops and why all children get unhappy. But this is not just a book for parents. The impressions of childhood run deep in all of us and every reader will gain a unique insight into the ways of the human family.