"Throughout most of my life, during the challenging and even the happier times, I felt that something was missing. I didn't know what it was, just that I didn't have it" says Tom Youngholm the author of The Celestial Bar.
A few years ago, Tom Youngholm was meditating. In his words, "it was a very deep meditation". He felt a hand gently rocking him and he made contact with what he calls his spirit guides. "For thirty minutes I went somewhere, and when I came out of that meditation I knew things I hadn't known before. I could explain reincarnation, spirit guides and angels". With a little prodding from his "guides", The Celestial Bar was written.
In the book, Mr. Youngholm's alter ego, Johnathan "Digger" Taylor is a forty something would be composer whose life has been a series of failures and broken relationships. He's stalked by a ongoing nightmare that affects his dreaming and waking state. Digger is searching for something that will not only lessen the sense of foreboding that he has in life but will also bring him a realization of balance and completeness. He finally gets the break in life that he's been looking for, an opportunity to compose a music score for a major motion picture. He's invited to an audition, arriving early and exhausted, he takes a nap in the studio's dressing room. Soon, in his dreams Digger Taylor is again being pursued by the foreboding force which has been stalking him for years. In his attempt to escape the force he enters a fictional bar (as in drinking establishment) called the Celestial Bar. In this cosmic tavern, "Digger" meets some very unusual people; Ahmay, a Shoshone medium who acts as his spiritual guide, Paula, who he recognizes as the love of his life and soulmate, and Ramda, an interactive computer who adds new meaning to term "virtual reality". All of these characters assist him in putting his life back on track and discovering PEIS - physical, emotional intellectual and spiritual balance. Five minutes before Digger's audition is to begin, he's awakened by the stage manager. Of course, he's not the same person who went to sleep an hour earlier. Digger auditions of course, and . . . well, it's worth reading the book just to read about the experience of the audition.
The Celestial Bar is in many ways similar to The Celestine Prophecy in that it mixes storytelling with truth in a way that entertains, yet has us thinking. The book is an enjoyable read, and reminds us of that search for balance that needs our constant attention.
Published by Delacorte Press, this book is available at your local bookstoreRobert Ross can be reached by e-mail at: SanDiegoRoss@Yahoo.com
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