I’m pretty sure Swami Brahmananda knew he was speaking a deep truth when he said, “In truth, to attain to interior peace, one must be willing to pass through the contrary to peace.” What he didn’t know was that when I read his words, I’d have just come through my own very ‘contrary to peace.’ Those of you who follow my peace path may be surprised at this. Let me tell you a story.
Fifteen years ago, I drove four hours into the White Mountains of Arizona to write my second book about peace. It was called Circles of Peace, and it’s available on my website for free. My intent was to apply the notion of peace to different life situations. I finished it, and sent it off to my editor on Valentine’s Day that year. I drove home, and then it began to snow.
Now, you know and I know that there’s snow and then there’s snow. That particular snow held heavy, fat flakes that took their time coming through the atmosphere, and when they landed, they stuck. But I mean stuck—to the ground, to each other, to the trees. Eventually, my car would disappear under the accumulation but that day, it was simply beautiful.
I was sitting at the kitchen table that afternoon, watching the lazy flakes make their way down through the pines when I heard a voice in my mind’s ear. [I’m an intuitive who is clairaudient so that’s not unusual for me.] It said, “So, when are you going to write my story?”
“Uh … and whose story might that be?” was my reply.
Ten days later 350 pages sat on the coffee table. I’d written my first novel.
Its working title was More Than You Know. After lots of feedback from friendly editors and editorial friends including my own mother, it became Oklahoma! Hex. I made the book the best I could, and I began to look for an agent, an interested editor, and a publisher. Everyone who’d already read Mex had loved Mex. I was sure I would find a publishing team lickety-split.
And now to the good Swami.
Every editor who saw it loved it. I got great feedback. Agents as well. Even publishers loved Mex EXCEPT …. Except that the books were spiritual. Except the books were mysteries. Except the books were about a lesbian. Except (and I’ll do it in a nutshell here) she crossed genres and didn’t fit into the marketing categories that have publishers by the short hairs.
For fifteen years, I gathered rejections. Staying peaceful about it as best I could, but occasionally losing it until the final straw about six months ago. A lesbian publishing house sent me a note telling me she wasn’t “lesbian enough,” and my ‘contrary to peace’ reared its ugly head.
I told God off. That makes it sound so civilized.
Screamed, yelled, hollered, cried, shrieked, had tantrums. Every contrary to peace you can imagine. I cursed God. I cursed publishing. I cursed everything. And slowly peace began to reassert itself in my psyche and in my life. You see, it’s more important to me to stay peaceful than just about anything else. As my peace was restored, so advanced my guidance and I knew what to do.
I had a publishing company. Ebooks were getting easier and easier to do. A stellar eProduction Supervisor showed up.
This past Thursday, I celebrated my 20 year anniversary as an ordained minister, and of all days, what happened? My first novel appeared in the Kindle store on Amazon.com.
It’s called Oklahoma! Hex, and I’m pleased as punch that Mex has finally arrived in the world, the first of The Mex Books. Four more are due within the next few months. And soon they’ll be available in all eReader formats.
Not only that but my interior peace is stronger than ever. I was willing to go through my ‘contrary to peace.’
Are you?
What I can tell you from this side of the experience is this: interior peace is worth it.
By Susan Corso | For spiritual nourishment, please visit www.susancorso.com and to know more about The Mex Books go to www.themexbooks.com.
