True happiness, we are told, consists in getting out of one’s self, but the point is not only to get out – you must stay out; and to stay out you must have some absorbing errand.  

–       Henry James

This quote is from James’ literary work Roderick Hudson – which I admit I haven’t read, although I have often been drawn to some of his quotes. James’ had a fascination with consciousness and the workings of the mind, and I suppose I’m drawn to his quotes because I share the same fascination.

This particular quote though – the quote I use to begin the novel INDUCED AMNESIA – is one of my favorite quotes. So why did I find it fitting for this particular novel? Well, let’s be honest…….we ALL want true happiness. And it’s an elusive, driving force within us – the unicorn of the consciousness – and no matter how far away from it we slip, there’s a haunting of it pulling us back up. But the mystery for so many is: where is it and how do we keep it? Hence the immense popularity of the self-help industry. Immense! People from around the globe want to know the secret of inner happiness. And the hunt accumulates more and more souls each and every day as year after year passes.

We search outside ourselves – self-medicating, buying, eating, fighting, displaying – and then, we search inside – burning up our consciousness, winding up emotion and getting lost inside our own heads. But our focus is on ourselves. When really, I think Henry James had something with that quote back in the late 1800’s. We all need to start focus outside ourselves.

When I started to consider Chloe, amnesia aside, I knew she needed an errand. Something to draw her away from herself, up and out, even if that was only an errand for her soul. But errands like that remind us of the reality of how small we are in the universe, and how we are all connected by energy. Focusing on the nurture of another’s soul is an empowering errand I think. And when we fulfill those types of errands, it cosmically feeds and empowers us too. Oprah is a beaming example of this power and peace. And that happiness, that peace, is real.

Check out INDUCED AMNESIA today!  http://amzn.to/JZL0yF