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Blurb

From Patriarchy to Paradise (It's about time)

This is our story: where we came from, how is it is we arrived at where we are now, and where we're going. It's an individual story, as well as a collective one.

Sex plays a dominant, oversized role, whether we are born female or male. In that respect, our path is predestined at birth, not good for males, worse for females.

The framework/vehicle driving our story is Patriarchy. The engine is sex.

If the male/female balance is off kilter, as it has been since we moved out of the Hunter- Gatherer stage of our evolution--then our world will be unbalanced.

Civilization itself has been out-of-balance, floundering in needless warfare and competition throughout the centuries. And now, an unhinged Cabal is taking patriarchy to its ultimate limit, claiming the power to change and control nature itself, including human beings.

That's the story up to this point. Now we are on the threshold of a leap in evolution, characterized by the ability to be aware of our thinking. Accompanying that is the realization that," I am not my thoughts."

Millions of people around the world are waking up, becoming aware that they are conscious, and that consciousness is the essential part of everything and everybody, of life on planet Earth and the Universe itself.

We can access it in a moment - of stillness - right now for example (STOP: what you're doing for 30 seconds) - and realize, without thinking, your place and purpose in life. Consciousness, our essence, is within, ready to be accessed at any moment by any one of us.

In that moment, we can change the trajectory of our story.

We're now in a transition phase, moving from being enslaved by our thinking, to "being free to think." To think creatively, not wallow in fear and despair.

Change doesn't come without suffering. In the coming chaos and upheaval, humanity will find the opportunity to awaken to their life purpose, to become conscious. In the meantime, we don't need to wait for the Promised Land, the New Earth.

Being on the journey is its own reward. It invites the destination. It's here now.

What Our Readers Think

The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
EDITORIAL REVEW
29th November 2024
TITLE: From Patriarchy to Paradise
AUTHOR: Jerry Schaefer

Star Rating: 5

“An accessibly written, often thought-provoking race through history with emphasis on patriarchy and how it brought us to where we are today.” The Wishing Shelf

REVIEW
I always find books in this genre to be very, very longwinded. But that's not the case here. Jerry Schaefer, with a little help from his illustrator, have put together a highly accessible history of gender specifically in terms of the authority of men. Starting with Adam and Eve when 'God told Eve that she would henceforth be under her husband's power' and patriarchy was born to the 'small, well positioned, wealthy group of human beings, predominantly male' of today, the author shows how cultural influence can be a shackle and how, if we wish to think our thoughts and not the thoughts of others, we need to stop being a hamster running on a wheel.
There are a number of elements to this book I particularly enjoyed. Firstly, the layout is excellent; so much so, I never felt out of my depth. Everything is displayed in bite-sized chapters, the author seemingly determined to 'prompt' the readers to think as opposed to overwhelming them with historical facts. Secondly, I liked how it wasn't all doom and gloom. There's a sense, particularly in the later chapters, that right now is the moment – or, as the author puts it – 'an incredible time to be alive'. And thirdly, I enjoyed how personal the book felt, the author even going so far as to discuss his wife and how he allowed his own thoughts on whether he was happy to be controlled by others.
So, if you happen to be the open-minded sort and/or you have an interest in how male dominated culture still controls so many aspects of the way we live, this book is for you. It's so easy to allow the internet to control the way we think; it's so good at keeping us in our comfort zone, our safe bubble. But if, as a culture, we want to move beyond the shackle of patriarchy, we need to step back, we need to think; to be aware. And that, I think, is very much the message the author is trying to put across.

A 'Wishing Shelf' Book Review
www.thewsa.co.uk