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Welcome to the World of
The Common Hours
Traveling back to her 16th century Celtic ancestors, Lindsay finds herself amidst the bloody conflict between the Tudor Crown and the Irish clans struggling to keep their independence. Yet here is where she also experiences the love of family. After committing to the cause of her newly found McDonnell kin, Lindsay uncovers that her mother had great ambitions to liberate womankind—starting with Queen Elizabeth I. Believing she can serve both ends Lindsay offers herself to be an envoy of peace at court. but in Elizabeth’s polarized kingdom, modern sensibilities may not only be disastrous for your kin but put your own life on the chopping block.
Lindsay McDonnell – An Awakening
For most of my 26 years, I’ve lived in Newburyport, MA—my father insisted we move there to showcase his academic and business success while my mother agreed because she simply thought it a town that ‘touched both nature and history’. He was a classic Catholic while she found Buddhism and took me with her. While it seemed that they genetically cancelled each other out, as I never reached their same pinnacle of illustriousness, I did find my way to become a healer only to learn that what lay deep within my DNA was also the ability to traverse the centuries. I just had no idea who I’d be called on to save and the impact I could have on western history.
I have understanding now that traveling through time is not a 21st century discovery. It used to happen in a manner of ways like being summoned and then carried back and forth in the arms of angels, especially when human perception was expectant of the deep powers of nature and the channels to the Divine were clear and unimpeded. The society that shapes us now, that we all unconsciously agree to, decided that the role of all that is magical falls firmly away from what is godly or what is of science—and with that agreement, the veil between the realms descended and thickened. The mind is trained to not sense the full continuum of what is. But centuries before I was born there were forces that were harnassed by my ancestors in the Celtic lands. One battle in particular 450 years ago, is what truly set my future tumbling backward…
The Common Hours – Where history meets spirituality along the heroine’s journey
As we are wired to seek connection with the Divine, whether it’s meditating on the Buddhist 8-Fold path, living the shamanic journey or communing in the sacred spaces of God, our consciousness thrives from the nourishment.
A parallel and sometimes forgotten path to our spirituality stems from our ancestral lines. As we do not lay feet on the earth at the same point in time as our ancestors, what would it mean to share Common Hours with them, to exchange wisdom and live with them through their history?
Further Reading & Resources
The Celtic, Shamanic and Buddhist traditions are rich in wisdom and inspiration. They all provide pathways to shift perception and the grounding in which to practice the teachings in real time, in real life. Below are the specific resources that are interlaced throughout the novel.
The writings and recordings of John O’ Donahue, especially the book Anam Cara: Spiritual Wisdom from the Celtic World are perpetual muses for both my story and spiritual growth.
John O'Donohue
A great friend of John O’Donahue, David Whyte’s Poems, prose and retreats bring you into community that help you calibrate your spiritual compass and clarify truths.
David White
Pema Chödrön is an American Buddhist nun who has brought the Dharmic teachings, including the practice of Tonglen– a meditation for when you find yourself in the midst of adversity, into the Western consciousness.
Pema Chödrön
Sandra is passionate about helping people to reconnect with nature. Since the 1980’s thousands of people have healed from past and present traumas through the classic cross cultural shamanic healing method Sandra teaches called Soul Retrieval.
Sandra Ingerman
Hank Wesselman is a research paleoanthropologist who has been looking into the mysteries of the origins of the human race since 1972. Hank is also a shamanic student, practitioner and teacher, as well as an accomplished author.
Hank Wesselman
Jane became a shamanic practitioner in 2005 and a teacher of shamanic journeying in 2007. She is a Celtic Reiki Master and also brings over 20 years of experience in the fields of psychic and medical intuition, energy medicine and past-life regression therapy.
Jane Burns
