THE EDUCATION OF INNOCENCE: Book I

Why this book? During 2012 and beyond, humanity is faced with prophecies that predict an apocalyptic end. Awakening the Soul’s power existing at higher levels of consciouseness can alter our collective fate and reverse the severe issues of inequality brought on by fear-based conditioning. Left unchecked, civilization cannot be sustained where power monguls control global economy and over population and diminishing resources will force unimaginable consequences already slated for our future. What are we to do? The Education of Innocence is the Soul’s raison d’etre for existence. It is the Mystery that has existed behind the Soul’s journey across time. This story metaphorically addresses what caused our fall from grace and what compells our ascent into power, shattering the devastating illusions of the world, capable of bringing about a shift where anything becomes possible. The Education of Innocence is set in the Kingdom of Oceana on the Planet of Galexia. It is an underwater world where the Temples of the Goddess of the Sea is the only place where sea creatures are safe from deadly predators of the deep. The story begins with the birth of Little Sol, an innocent, who faces terrifying challenges in the ocean depths. Little Sol's journey becomes an awakening to higher consciousness balanced between bewildering, life-threatening situations mixed with wondrous magical encounters with sea creatures of all kinds. One such sea creature is Jason, a giant sea turtle, who becomes his mentor and explains the nature of reality and the challenges he must overcome when confronted by evil. He introduces him to The Sacred Sea Scrolls that speak of a prophecy of the return of the Original Ancestry of the Gods, Immortals of unparalleled powers, to be known in Book II. Little Sol faces his greatest challenge when he stumbles upon The Dance of the Sacred Spiral of Life, a prophesied event where The Sacred Sea Dragons of legend make their appearance and mark him with a destiny that must come into remembrance. [That destiny is the same every Soul must understand to become liberated from the challenges of the world of duality.] If not for the sorcery magic of the Wizard Domaine, the Gatekeeper between Worlds, Little Sol would have remained in the Underworld of Death, possessed by evil he must still face in the future. The Final Reckoning heralds a time of total freedom or absolute destruction before the raging forces of Darkness. The Temples of the Goddess of the Sea must marshall the greatest powers of the Mysteries to overcome the threat that lies before them.

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THE EDUCATION OF INNOCENCEBook IBy SophiaTrafford PublishingCopyright © 2012 Sonya Flores LugoAll right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4669-4395-7ContentsAuthor's Note...........................................................ixForeword................................................................xiiiIntroduction............................................................11. The Portal of Light..................................................72. The Kingdom of Oceana................................................173. The Curse............................................................274. The Elusive Presence.................................................335. Divine Betrayal......................................................396. The Original Ancestry of the Gods....................................497. Illumination.........................................................598. Multi-Dimensions.....................................................679. Souls of Darkness....................................................7510. The Temples of the Goddess of the Sea...............................8511. Temple Priestesses..................................................9512. Starborn............................................................10513. Encounter With The Record Keeper....................................11514. The Dance of the Sacred Spiral of Life..............................12715. Netherworld of Darkness.............................................13316. The Prophecy........................................................14117. The Hermit Crab.....................................................15118. The Mantle of the Sacred Sea Dragons................................161Chapter OneThe Portal of LightAs I moved beyond THE PORTAL OF LIGHT, I became conscious, awakening to sensations I had never known before. Solar, the Great Lord of Light, looked down from The Temple of Healing, as masses of panicked sea creatures crossed onto the holy sanctuary of The Temples of the Great Goddess of the Sea. Every day more and more came and refused to leave because of the safety and refuge holy ground provided from Nabyss, the Great Lord of Darkness. It was the only place in The Kingdom of Oceana where sea creatures experienced peace from the pervasive fear, terror, and violence that characterized their daily lives. With Nabyss's rise to power and tactics of penetrating control, terror had been ignited among the general population to such an alarming degree that most sea creatures were being demoralized into helpless pawns of gutless impotence. Others were abandoning their natural habitat for holy refuge rather than remain and defend their immediate territory. Solar wondered how long before Temple grounds would be filled to capacity. What then? As the Prophecies of old unraveled, Solar could barely keep up with the reports streaming in every day from all parts of The Kingdom of Oceana. Freak storms and earthquakes were intensifying. Illness and disease were claiming countless lives whose origin could not be traced, although Nabyss had been suspected of manipulating laws of creation. Violence had also become so commonplace that sea creatures traveled only in schools, as the social fabric of law and order disintegrated because of brutal crimes committed by gangs calling themselves the Sons of Darkness. More terrible than any of these disasters was the growing lack of sacred reverence toward The Great Mother Goddess. Creatures loyal to Her were losing heart quickly and acknowledging in ever alarming numbers that The Final Reckoning was near at hand. Once prophesied as a time of liberation from all Darkness, it was now being decreed as a time of total destruction before the raging forces of Darkness. Solar had already seen it all in his meditations, dreams, and nightmares. He could hardly believe how much the dream was accelerating to its inevitable end. Having survived the brutal initiation of The Dance of the Sacred Spiral of Life, he alone held the vision unraveling the Mysteries, as foretold by the Prophecies of old. Solar turned from the window to gather his powers, knowing the time had come to prepare for the last battle and the final initiation. Heading to the sacred sanctuary of The One Who Knows, memories of his journey came back to him vividly, as his eyes moistened from the strained tension in his heart. Solar surrendered to those memories, recognizing it was a good time to revisit the past even as he readied himself to reclaim the future. * * * I was born in the Ocean Mother. My brothers and sisters numbered many. Together, we were lulled by rhythms that ebbed and flowed and rocked us in our sleep. It was such a glorious sleep without end! Never did I want to separate from the heartbeat of that lullaby! I would have stayed in the womb of my Mother if I could, but it all began to change the day I started dreaming. I was suddenly jolted by the swoosh of cold water that sent a chill through me. I started to move then inch by inch. I was being pulled by a current in spite of wanting to be left alone. As it picked up momentum, I started to fight back. I did not want to go anywhere. I was happy just being! The current kept pulling me away from the heartbeat of my Mother's lullaby, and I could do nothing to stop it. Alarm turned into panic, when I could not break free from the spiraling whirlpool taking me down through a tunnel. I finally surrendered when the direction I was moving toward was filled with light! As I moved through THE PORTAL OF LIGHT, I became conscious, awakening to sensations I had never felt before. From an oasis of pure timelessness, I shifted into another reality, where a wave picked me up and carried me, and I could not imagine where I was going. When I finally looked around, I noticed I was not alone. The sea was littered with tiny creatures like myself, scurrying in all directions, each one moving with determination and purpose, each one already aware of itself. I was baffled by this. Where are they going, I wondered? Instead, I wanted to return to my timeless oasis, but I did not know how to get back. Determined, I stopped and turned ready to push against the tide, but I was caught up in waves of tiny bodies like mine, crowding me in all directions, making it impossible to return. I looked back wistfully and heavy heartedly, when I noticed a great door closing, as the last of the little bodies spilled out. I accepted my fate then and turned away. I was moving toward the ocean depths surrounded by tiny blue crabs like myself. I set out like everyone else moving in a common direction. I was comforted by the fact I was not alone, as I cheerfully greeted everyone as they passed. "Hello! Hello!" I said, as I drew nearer. "Hello!" I kept saying, greeting everyone that passed, but no one paid any attention to me. "Hello!" I said, again and again, waiting for a response. "Helloooow!" I said, desperately. As I drew nearer, everyone moved away. I hurried to keep up and some started to run. I ran to one but recoiled, when I noticed fear in her eyes instead of recognition. I was not seen as a brother. I was seen only as an enemy. I stopped to consider this. I was surrounded by so many of my kind and, yet, I was distinct from them, separate and alone. As I turned away, a claw smashed across my face, and I fell backwards. "Who do you think you are, buddy," a menacing male said, with drawn, upraised claws ready for combat. Several other males gathered around me, waiting to see if I would dare challenge any of them. For one brief moment, I considered defending myself. Pride swelled as I poised myself to attack. But then I looked from one to the other and lowered my claws and did what instinct compelled me to do. I exposed my throat, surrendering to their will. "He's not even worth kicking around," the leader said, shoving me aside as he pushed passed me. "Yeah, he's such a puny little thing," another said, as he threw sand in my face, and they started to laugh. "That's right, he's such a puny little thing," another parroted, as he jabbed me in turn and kicked sand in my face, before tipping me helplessly on my backside. Laughing together, they continued on their way, as I righted myself up again. Although I had shielded my eyes from the sand, I could not shield myself from the pain rising inside of me as I cried. In reaction, I dug myself into the sand as my whole body trembled uncontrollably from rejection. I retreated into empty darkness, until I could not stand the enormity of my pain, as overwhelming emotions of sadness and grief took hold of my being. I discovered I could not remain behind, feeling desperate and alone, paralyzed into a growing suspense without end. Poking my eyes out from under the sand, I looked to see where the great parade of birth was going. It was then I saw it before anyone else did. A great shadow was moving across the ocean sky, darkening everything in its path. As it met the great parade, there was bedlam. Panic set everyone off scurrying in all directions, as each one ran for its life! To my great horror, I saw the ocean turn red as my brothers and sisters were eaten alive by a swarm of hungry predators. With mouths drawn wide, they swooped down, swallowing everyone trying to escape. No one stood a chance against such awesome numbers. I pulled my eyes underground and trembled in terror, as I prayed for the miracle that would help deliver me from such a devastating nightmare. * * * My breathing slowed down to a trickle, and my mind went completely blank. I became like a sleepwalker floating in and out of shadows and dreams without substance or meaning. Days passed in this manner, as I became suspended between worlds with no will to live and no desire to escape from the comforting darkness of my own tomb. When I finally separated from my body, THE PORTAL OF LIGHT opened before me revealing a tunnel extending beyond it. As I entered the tunnel, I was beguiled by a dazzling pinpoint of light at the end of the tunnel and was drawn instinctively toward it. I drew nearer and nearer, until I crossed beyond its radiant threshold, as overwhelming euphoria and loving grace enveloped me. In breathless wonder, I found myself materializing before a Radiant Being of Light. "Who are you?" I asked, of the Radiant Being of Light. Although no response came, I knew immediately it was The Great Mother Goddess. I wanted to rush up to Her and be completely absorbed by Her exquisite vibration, yet I did not move. "Separation is only an illusion, my Son," The Great Mother Goddess said to me. "In The Kingdom of Oceana, the clay of my Body is the Sacred Temple that clothes you, while the Breath of your Father charges your Sacred Temple with life." She then touched my heart and kindled my own loving radiance, as She reminded me, "You are a Divine child born from the union of our Love." As I experienced the euphoric grace of Her Love, The Great Mother Goddess continued. "You chose to be free," She said. "You longed to experience your own mind, heart, and free will because you could no longer remain within the womb of existence, without coming to full consciousness. Thus, you must return to The Kingdom of Oceana to remember all that you are, and ALL THAT LOVE IS, and to show the way, to all who have forgotten." The Great Mother Goddess made it clear I had to return to The Kingdom of Oceana, though it seemed a world filled with formidable challenges. I was to remember the purpose of my existence, so I would not become disillusioned or brokenhearted. The Great Mother Goddess then reached out and touched me and all pain dissolved. "Keep an open mind and heart about all you experience. There are reasons for everything that happens in The Kingdom of Oceana. Faith is better served by knowing that perhaps you cannot always understand what those reasons are. Know there is always great purpose to all things, even if many mysteries remain unknown to you." The Great Mother Goddess gently reminded me that although I was born into a world that seemed harsh and foreboding, I would discover life's deeper mysteries, and all things would eventually become fully clarified within me. "Although you will live in a reality that denies your oneness with Me, your heart will always lead you to Me, so you may reclaim the Power of Love. It is the Power of Love that will set you free of all fears and limitations, once you have embraced this greatest of all powers within yourself." The Great Mother Goddess focused Her Light upon me, as silence fell between us. I was released into the oneness of Her Being, as I fell headlong into a swoon of timelessness. * * * When I awakened, I found myself buried in the sand. I tried to recall what had left me feeling so wonderfully, but I could not remember any details of my dream. Although I felt as though I were still floating in and out of daydream mists, the reality of being buried alive sparked my will to live. It was time to set myself free from the sand's oppressing grip. As I broke through to the surface, my breath stopped. Fear and terror vividly returned, as I remembered all that had happened and looked around to see if the carnage was still going on. But everything was quiet and peaceful, and no one was around. The storm had passed, and I had escaped its devastating consequences. Miraculously, I had been spared the fate of my brothers and sisters. I questioned why I came to live in such a savage world if only to be eaten alive? How could I be born from a Mother who would leave me to fend for myself against the ravages of the unknown deep? What good were brothers and sisters if they did not stand by me and embrace me with loving recognition? My eyes swelled with tears. My whole body heaved and trembled as I grieved my fate. I cried from the depths of my being because I had been tempted to give into sleep and disown life. Reflecting on my encounter with death, I softened, recognizing I alone was fortunate. If it were not for the chain of events that took place, I would have been dead like everybody else. Was it not for a reason I was spared and no one else? Now it was my turn to move. As I started my journey, I trembled and kept my antennae eyes moving in every direction. Fear would always be my faithful companion due to the painful trauma of my birth. Although being out in the open wilderness was perilous, I did not care. The blanket of safety that had kept me buried alive was not enough to keep me from wondering about life's greater purpose. Shaking the sand from my shell, I started my pilgrimage. I was on my way to somewhere, and that was enough reason to get moving. Chapter TwoThe Kingdom of OceanaThe elements of camouflage and surprise charged everything I saw with meaning and potential threat. Rather than making assumptions about what I saw, I questioned everything instead. During the day when The Kingdom of Oceana was teaming with life, I would seek refuge among the thick seaweed or remain submerged in the sand and watch the wondrous flashing of colors pass me by in an endless array of sea creatures dazzling my imagination. There were finned sea creatures of distinctive colors, shapes, and sizes that swam by at lightning speed, while others darted here and there, and still others glided by peacefully. Some finned sea creatures were short and narrow, compressed vertically or horizontally, while others were long, sleek, and rounded. Some sea creatures were as large as mountains, while others were barely perceptible. One small sea creature carried a stone on its back. I was studying the stone engraved with a spiral at the center of it, when it began moving. I began tracking the moving stone gliding above the ocean floor. I wondered how a stone could move in such a slow, deliberate way and even change direction. So, I picked up the stone to find the source of its movement, when a sea creature spoke. "Hey! What are you doing?" "I was helping you get rid of that stone!" "What stone?" "The stone you are carrying on your back." "You mean this? This is not a stone. This is my home. Haven't you ever seen a snail before?" "You mean you live in there?" "Of course! You think I have nothing better to do than to carry a stone on my back? Now, put me down!" "Oh, my," I said, putting the snail down. As it straightened, its eyes came right up against my own and said, "You mind your own business, if you know what's good for you. Nothing in The Kingdom of Oceana is what it appears to be, and the sooner you realize that, the longer you'll live. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way again." The snail turned and left. Although I wanted to follow, I let him be. As I moved away, a tingling sensation startled me into flight in time to elude an attacker. I slipped into seaweed and did not look back as I scurried away. When I emerged from the seaweed some time later, a piercing scream shattered the ocean stillness, as I caught sight of another sea creature with an oversized head and trailing tentacles devouring its next meal. It had wrapped itself around a stone that screamed the moment it was pulled apart, revealing a live creature inside. As I cowered near a rock to avoid detection, this same sea creature finished its meal, belched as it glided by, and then screamed in turn. When I looked again, a larger finned sea creature had clamped its jaws around its bulbous head and bloodied the ocean with black ink as it disappeared from sight. I retreated under the sand looking out into empty darkness confounded by death's reproach. I felt as though I had known another reality of blissful peace where I was not stalked for food. I tried to remember such a world hovering along the edges of elusive memories, but to no avail. The pangs bellowing from an empty stomach finally forced me to search for food in spite of my fear. * * * One morning, as I was scavenging for food, I looked up and saw a sea creature that was nearly transparent. Only its outline gave it away, as tiny finned sea creatures played in and out of its trailing tentacles, oblivious to the dangers around them. When I saw a predator approach, I thought all were doomed. But as the predator came close, I heard a tiny finned sea creature shout "Scatter!" and all bolted from sight. The trailing tentacles jerked, trapping the bewildered predator in its embrace, while paralyzing it into lifeless flesh. The tiny decoys returned and burst into laughter, as the predator dropped helplessly into its transparent tomb. I was stunned to witness a natural balance established between smaller and larger sea creatures, when sea creatures worked together to survive under the most life-threatening situations. (Continues...) Excerpted from THE EDUCATION OF INNOCENCEby Sophia Copyright © 2012 by Sonya Flores Lugo. Excerpted by permission of Trafford Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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