Platypus Dreaming

A prophecy brings common sense to the confusion of modern life, responding to its challenges in local and international conflict resolution, through remembering life’s composition of widely divergent yet related parts. An alternative view of life’s complexities, this novel is a modern-day take on an ancient way of seeing, placing the reader as the central character in a set of real-life circumstances, and confronting them wherever they find themselves. In many ways, the book is an initiation, taking you on a fascinating journey while deepening your comprehension of who and what you are and your place in the scheme of things. Disoriented and dissatisfied by the trite answers provided by compromised teachers and politicians alike, and perhaps lacking the experience and wisdom to judiciously negotiate life in the confusion of a world of apparent plenty, most people find themselves struggling to find representatives whose wise application of intelligence is the currency of their decision making. Where a balance of feeling and intuition equally weighted by logic and reason is absent, humanity is forced to conclude that society’s rulers, whether financial or political, have abandoned representing life’s common destiny as the foundation stone of humankind’s finest aspirations. When morality is applied differently in different settings to gain advantage and cultures have a variety of spiritual and existential beliefs pitted one against the other, the step to terrorism, though seemingly incomprehensible, appears understandable to a mind pushed to its extremes, as it attempts to reconcile that which is apparently irreconcilable. Without prizing humanity as an interwoven part of nature’s fabric, people are caught between a rock and hard place, but it is precisely there that Platypus Dreaming inspires hope.

Platypus Dreaming is a real-life animal adventure story about one of the world’s most mysterious animals. It is rare for Australians to even see a platypus in the wild, let alone have the chance to touch one. In this book, we get to know a platypus called Lucky, her family, and all the wondrous creatures that share her life on the river. The author draws from her own life experiences as an Australian naturalist and wildlife rescuer to tell the story of one very resilient creature. It is a fictionalized account of the life and adventures of a female platypus that is full of fascinating facts and is told in a very unique voice. The author combines elements of adventure, romance, self-discovery, humour, and family values, along with fascinating biological facts about a platypus. It provides solid learning based on a beautiful story. Photographs of the real-life Lucky illustrate this poignant account of the survival of this unique animal against all odds. Platypus Dreaming takes the reader on an Australian adventure without leaving home. It is a real-life story in the style of Watership Down and Ring of Bright Water, where the animals act as they would in nature. If you or your children love true-to-life animal adventure stories, then read Platypus Dreaming. You won’t be disappointed. “I love the wildlife-rescuer style of telling a story. Lucky’s story has everything. There are real facts woven into an adventure that you have to keep reading to make sure that Lucky and her male friend can endure. There are also real photos of the animals that are the heroes of this story. Or is the hero the author herself?” (Verified Amazon review by Otakara Kliettke, May 21, 2016). “An amazing, wonderful book! If all you read are the introduction and chapter one, you’ll marvel at the Australian aboriginal stories and the natural history of the platypus. Then begins the story of one particular platypus named Lucky, whose rescue from near death by the author inspired the tale. Photographs of the real-life Lucky illustrate this poignant account of the survival of this animal against all odds” (Lynn W.).

Ancient teachings suggest that we are capable of communing with the forces of nature and speaking readily to the animals, birds, reptiles, fish and even the insects. Each animal offers its own sacred teachings. When we learn the symbolic language of the animals and listen carefully to what they have to say, we can use the knowledge gained to manifest their qualities and wisdom into our own lives. ANIMAL DREAMING explores the spiritual and symbolic interpretations of over 200 native, domesticated and introduced animals, birds, reptiles and fish in Australia, offering a wealth of ancient knowledge and spiritual insight. ANIMAL DREAMING is an invaluable resource for anyone with an interest in the animal kingdom, sacred Earth Wisdom and Shamanic Lore.

On a warm day in May 2004, Liz Byron set off from Cooktown with her two companions, donkeys Grace and Charley, on a self-imposed challenge to walk 2500 kilometres of the Bicentennial National Trail over 9 months. This epic journey was a rite of passage to mark leaving 40 years of marriage and embarking on life as a single woman at the age of 61. She foresaw that self-reliance, physical stamina and route-finding would be challenges, but couldn’t have known how the outback environment in Queensland was to test her to the limit. Years of drought had left much of her route a dusty wasteland, without food or water for her animals. Years of suffering from childhood abuse and a family tragedy had left her unwilling to ask for help. Walking became a meditation, an exercise in being in the moment even when that moment was 43 degrees or she hadn’t eaten for 7 hours. In her moving memoir, Liz reveals how she healed herself step-by-step on the way to her new home in northern NSW - by learning to trust her intuition, the wisdom of her animals and the kindness of strangers.

What, if anything, do dreams tell us about ourselves? What is the relationship between types of sleep and types of dreams? Does dreaming serve any purpose? Or are dreams simply meaningless mental noise--"unmusical fingers wandering over the piano keys"? With expertise in philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience, Owen Flanagan is uniquely qualified to answer these questions. And in Dreaming Souls he provides both an accessible survey of the latest research on sleep and dreams and a compelling new theory about the nature and function of dreaming. Flanagan argues that while sleep has a clear biological function and adaptive value, dreams are merely side effects, "free riders," irrelevant from an evolutionary point of view. But dreams are hardly unimportant. Indeed, Flanagan argues that dreams are self-expressive, the result of our need to find or to create meaning, even when we're sleeping. Rejecting Freud's theory of manifest and latent content--of repressed wishes appearing in disguised form--Flanagan shows how brainstem activity during sleep generates a jumbled profusion of memories, images, thoughts, emotions, and desires, which the cerebral cortex then attempts to shape into a more or less coherent story. Such dream-narratives range from the relatively mundane worries of non REM sleep to the fantastic confabulations of deep REM that resemble psychotic episodes in their strangeness. But however bizarre these narratives may be, they can shed light on our mental life, our well being, and our sense of self. Written with clarity, lively wit, and remarkable insight, Dreaming Souls offers a fascinating new way of apprehending one of the oldest mysteries of mental life.

We all know about them. We've all had them. But let's face it; we don't have a clue what they mean. They're freaky dreams.

Presents factual information, a colourful history and biological investigation of this Australian icon.