Transformation and the Golden Keys: A book about facilitating transformation and rites of passage (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780648899709)

This autobiographical book draws on the wisdom and learnings of a lifetime of personal growth. The themes that run through the book are layers of personal stories drawn from a colorful family history, from many years as a veterinary surgeon, as facilitator in the adventure industry and as a trekking guide working with the Nepalese Gurkha soldiers. Beneath this are the psychological insights and wisdoms from an array of sources that relate to inner growth and psychology. The tone of the book is that of two friends on a trek sharing their personal stories, learnings, hopes and dreams. It is funny, sad, beautiful, brutal and honest. It goes on to discuss male and female initiation and the practices and methods of facilitating rites of passage programs and adventure work. Along the way, it discusses aspects of love, archetypal psychology, mental health, drug use, war, suicide, liminality, sacred processes and rituals, and most of all the miracle of life. It is a life-affirming book and by the end, the reader has a greater appreciation for the power of symbol and metaphor, for aspects of their inner world and their outer world, for the magic of cross-cultural interactions and ultimately the reader discovers a renewed love of self and of life. The book creates a paradigm shift within, a transformation, and the reader is drawn to consider an array of life skills and processes with which to negotiate life and the many adventures they will encounter on their life's journey