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The Monarchs Wins Literary Titan Gold, American Fiction Award, and Firebird Award (Plus Metaphysical Musings On What It Means To Be Happy)

August 7, 2024August 7, 2024Mark Sabbas

“We are but dream characters in the mind of God, striving for Self-realization, though only a select few may consciously remember this. Most identify entirely with their egos, and this generates great inner conflict.”

– Leon, from The Monarchs

Awards and recognitions keep rolling in for my debut novel, The Monarchs, for which I am very honored and grateful.

Following a rave review in which they called the book “a mesmerizing tale set in a chaotic yet magical and spiritual futuristic dystopia” (I love this line), Literary Titan bestowed The Monarchs a gold medal in their monthly book awards program.

According to their website, the Literary Titan Gold “honors books that exhibit exceptional storytelling and creativity. This award celebrates novelists who craft compelling narratives, create memorable characters, and weave stories that captivate readers. The recipients are writers who excel in their ability to blend imagination with literary skill, creating worlds that enchant and narratives that linger long after the final page is turned.” All books that receive five-star ratings are automatically entered into the Gold Award category and are then further reviewed by a panel of judges.

This is the third award that The Monarchs has won since its release in June. Last month, the book was announced as a winner in American Book Fest’s 2024 American Fiction Awards in the category of New Age Fiction and Finalist in two other categories. Subsequently, the book won a Firebird Book Award in the categories of Science Fiction and Dystopian. I recently spoke with Pat Rullo, who organizes the charitable Firebird Awards, on her radio show to discuss the novel and its inspiration. We had an amazing conversation that you can listen to at this link. (For those who are interested in reading more about the deeper topics and themes behind The Monarchs, please also check out the print interview I did with Literary Titan, which I will post at the end of this article.)

I can’t deny the satisfaction that comes from winning a book award as an author. There is a sense of recognition for all of the time and loving energy that we spent crafting our stories; our books become our babies that we thrust out into the world, and it brings us joy to see them doing well for themselves! Plus, as my wife reminded me, I can now call myself an “award-winning author.” But does this mean that I’ve finally “made it?” Is this what it means to be truly happy?

While winning a book award (or attaining any other accolade) certainly yields temporary gratification, one may soon realize that not long after the initial high, it does not bring true, lasting happiness. The universe inevitably confronts us with unforeseen challenges, and one might even think that life has suddenly gone terribly wrong. This world of form with all of its pleasures is but a transient dream, and those things we were once attached to (be it money, status, physical appearance, worldly recognitions or material treasures) eventually fade away.

The key, according to Buddhist philosophy, is non-attachment—not only to material things but also to our egoic identity, which ultimately is also a temporary dream. And yet the ego craves external validation. It seeks to separate from others by whatever means it has at its disposal, whether by a superiority complex or a victim mentality. When things go right, it clings to its accomplishments, taking them on as part of its identity. And when things go wrong, it points fingers at others, blaming the world for how terrible life has become because in the ego’s eyes, it can do no wrong.

Group of Teenagers are Invited Onboard Arcturian Extraterrestrial Spacecraft, Remote Viewing, and New Podcast Announcement

July 23, 2024August 20, 2024Mark Sabbas

In the inaugural episode of The Mystery Temple Podcast, Adrian Solomon and I interviewed our good friend Beth about extraterrestrials, remote viewing, astral travel, planetary awakening, and other mind-bending metaphysical topics.

Beth is a wonderful, genuine soul whom I’ve gotten to know from being in the same weekly meditation and remote viewing group (more on that in a bit). I also had the chance to hang out with her in person for a few days at the 2023 Journey to Truth conference. What you probably won’t guess from initially meeting her is that she has experienced one of the most extraordinary cases of benevolent ET contact that has ever been reported, and also one of the most credible, due to the level of corroboration. Let’s dive in.

Group Contact Experience with Arcturian Beings

During the summer of 1989, a 20-year-old Beth was lying in bed one night when she saw a bright light shining through her window. She ran down the hall and, eerily, the light stayed fixed on her through the wall. “We need you to come with us,” said a voice in her head, “but we won’t take you until you say okay.”

After consenting, Beth was transported onboard a scout ship with a small, grey-looking being who was driving the craft as well as her friend Frank, who waved at her and yelled, “this is fucking awesome!”

One of Beth’s hand-drawn pictures of the event

Beth and Frank soon boarded a larger craft where they saw six other people they knew—including friends and people they worked with—as well as several tall, graceful-looking beings with large, loving eyes and flowing robes; these otherworldly beings exuded an aura of peace and communicated with the group telepathically.

One of their friends, Ellen (whose mother was also present), was lying on a table while a being was running a silver cloth around her, which seemed to be interacting with her energy field. When Beth’s turn came, she received the same treatment, and she got the impression that the beings were measuring their energy and frequency level, in addition to giving them healing.

Subsequently, another being telepathically invited Beth to look at a different portion of the ship where she saw a gorgeous waterfall and bountiful garden replete with bioluminescent plants.

The being proceeded to tell Beth that they are teachers and guardians who have been here “from the beginning” and that they “collect beautiful things” and bring them to other planets. They told her that she has been given information that she will remember when the time is right (this might partly refer to a math equation that Beth reveals on our show) and that they will be gifting the bioluminescent plants to humanity.

When asked of their origin, the beings told Beth and Frank “you would call us Arcturian.” This corroborates with several other reports from contactees which describe these Arcturian beings as extremely advanced, ancient, benevolent galactic guardians.

My Debut Novel, Creativity, and The Question of Identity

March 29, 2024July 22, 2024Mark Sabbas

After several years of writing, editing, and diving headfirst into the world of publishing, my debut novel, The Monarchs, is set to be released on June 25th of this year, currently available for preorder from major retailers (links on homepage). Published by Koehler Books, a small Virginia-based publisher which has a close-knit team I’ve much enjoyed working with, this novel is a culmination of a ten year journey ever since I received the original idea for it back in 2014, and is truly a reflection of my own spiritual awakening.

The Monarchs tells the story of seventeen-year-old Samuel Helen, one of the first in a wave of “new youth” children born into a war-ravaged world with abnormally large eyes and breathtaking psychic abilities. When the book begins, Samuel has already spent ten years at General George Mabus’s military facility, where they perform cruel testing on him and the others, although Samuel cannot control his telekinetic abilities as easily as his comrades. He finds solace in his sessions with his wise tutor, Walter, who introduces him to music records from the “old world” and teaches him philosophy. Metaphysical questions such as the existence of God, the nature of consciousness, free will versus predestination and the soul’s true purpose are addressed here and expounded on throughout the novel.

Music is also a central theme—as is the idea that we are living in a musical universe, or in Samuel’s words, the view that “all things could be expressed through vibration, sound and geometry.” From the beginning, music was a big influence on this novel, and music fans (who isn’t?) will find an added dimension in the many songs referenced throughout the manuscript, by artists ranging from The Beatles to Fleetwood Mac to Jimi Hendrix to The Flaming Lips. Although some song lyrics are overtly quoted, others are hidden in the manuscript, and when interpreted they may contain messages pertaining to the story. (Obtaining print license permissions to use these song lyrics has been a journey in itself, and is one reason the novel’s release has been delayed several months!)

Samuel’s other solace is his weekly visits with an “ordinary” orphan girl, Evelyn, who lives in the neighboring village, and whom Samuel falls in love with. Evelyn wishes to escape with him, but Samuel is hesitant, having heard tales of the “hazardous radiation” affecting most of the planet, of which many think the arrival of the new youth was a consequence. Of course, circumstances change, and Samuel and Evelyn are soon thrust out on an adventure where they meet a strange new friend; thus commencing an action-packed journey that is also filled with romance, humor, as well as uplifting spiritual wisdom.

This book is infused with symbolism and synchronicity, and the entire novel can be interpreted as an allegory for spiritual awakening, Samuel gradually becoming aware of his own essential oneness with God (or, using an analogy of a book, oneness with the author) manifesting as increased compassion for others, self-responsibility, and mastery over his extraordinary abilities.

Music was a huge influence on this novel, including this M83 music video

Writing a book is a spiritual process in itself, and as previously mentioned, the original idea for The Monarchs came in 2014 during a beach trip on my college spring break. Where exactly it came from I cannot say, but I experienced it almost as if a file was downloaded into me, and it would take another decade to unpack the entirety of its contents. This was an interesting point in my life where I was graduating from college and was about to enter the corporate world, the next stage of the assembly line that was expected of any successful graduate, but this expectation merely left me depressed. Is this all there is to life? Awakening spiritually enacted a counterprogram to the materialistic incentive to rise through the corporate ladder and make lots of money. But when I received the idea for this book, I felt an inner excitement that I had never before experienced. I recall crying in my dorm room as if I were remembering a higher purpose for my life: a calling from my soul yearning to express itself.

Nothing is Impossible: The Importance of Perception in Creating Your Reality

February 6, 2021February 9, 2021Mark Sabbas

“The [human] observer creates reality and not the other way around. . . . that is factually correct. It is an elementary conclusion from quantum mechanics. . . . but we, the physicists, do NOT say it—or if we do say it, we only whisper it, and in private—furiously blushing as we mouth the words. True, yes; politically correct, hell no!”
-Richard Conn Henry, Professor of Physics (Johns Hopkins University), Journal of Scientific Exploration (2009)

Hello friends, I have not posted here for a while, so I hope that you all had a marvelous 2020 (it was all fun and dandy, was it not?).

Today, I had the urge to talk about a subject that may challenge certain preexisting worldviews, but could potentially help a lot of people, especially if one is going through a tough time. The purpose of this post is to provide the necessary empowerment to create for yourself a better reality. And don’t worry, I’ll keep it short.

Now, this concept of “creating your reality” often comes up in New Age circles, usually along with the appealingly-named “law of attraction.” Is there any sort of scientific validity to these so-called laws, or is it all a bunch of hippie hogwash? That’s an excellent question. But before we dive too deep down the rabbit hole, it’s important for us to lay an ontological foundation.

Since the dawn of quantum physics in the early 20th century, an increasing number of thinkers have speculated that our existence is holographic in nature—even a simulation. Indeed, giants of modern physics—including Werner Heisenberg, David Bohm, John Wheeler, and more recently Tom Campbell—have concluded from experiment that the very fabric of our reality is simply information, with independently existing atoms replaced by probability distributions, actualized by an observing mind.

The Light Within

February 21, 2020Mark Sabbas

A finger is pointed at the politician
The dissenting citizen
The common man with differing opinion

Eyes stay glued
To a talking illusion
Constant noise obscures one’s vision

Fear the virus
Concede your consciousness
Pay your dues to our kindly masters

Hand away our power
To things that don’t matter
Divided brain cells warring with one another

Blind to our nature
We lie to the mirror
Unable to create a better future

Unless we decide
That maybe it is time
To finally try a different exercise

So point that finger in a new direction
And for goodness sake
Turn off the damn television

This is a call to daringly unite
To love with no condition
And to trust in the guidance from the light within

Rising Through the Shadow of Nihilism: Redefining Measures of Place, Purpose, and Success Within a Sick Society

April 4, 2019April 6, 2019Mark Sabbas

“People don’t live in a materialist reality, they do have free will, they are not a body—they are consciousness. They have a purpose: their purpose is to lower the entropy of their consciousness. That’s how a consciousness evolves.

“And what that means—and it’s a very logical process that derives this—is they need to become love. They need to become more caring, more about others and not so much about themselves. That is the direction of consciousness evolution.”

-Thomas Campbell, PhD nuclear physicist (NASA), “ANU Physics Experiment and the Implications for Everyone” (2015)

Hello fellow humans.

First of all, I’m sorry I do not post very often, as I’ve been busy with other endeavors. However, from now on I will try to make things concise, so this will be a far cry from former 50,000 word pieces. But it will still be about something we could all relate to, and should contemplate deeply. Now please meditate on this question we must ask ourselves as human beings:

What is the measure of success in our society?

Because whenever someone mentions the word, the mind automatically gravitates towards money. A successful person must have a nice house, a nice car, a high-paying job—these material things we treasure dearly. Thus it is perfectly ingrained within the Western psyche, fostering an ideal breeding ground for ruthless competition and social Darwinism.

The ones who do not cut it, sadly, can be losers for life. Especially if they are not born into the right family. We lie, we cheat, we steal, even murder for this currency that at its essence, has no intrinsic value, and can be printed out of thin air.

What could possibly explain this mode of thought?

I believe there are root causes. For it hasn’t always been this way.

Philosophers from Aristotle to Immanuel Kant have regarded the cultivation of virtue as the highest good in life, and thus the most honorable goal. Religious figures from Buddha to Jesus Christ have preached the importance of love and forgiveness, as a means for man to purify his soul.

We’ll Live and We’ll Die and We’re Born Again: Analyzing Issues of Religion, Soul, Reincarnation and The Search for True Spirituality (Part 3 of 3)

December 9, 2018May 3, 2022Mark Sabbas

Intro:

In part 1, we looked at the reincarnation research of Dr. Ian Stevenson. In part 2, I advocated for the view of panpsychism—that consciousness is both fundamental and universal, behind all matter.

In this final part, we radically shift our epistemology—our way of knowing—from quantum mechanics to the “deep reaching inward” of regressive hypnosis, which I believe is equally valid. We review the findings of pioneers in this field, while later obtaining feedback from those I’ve talked to personally who have been regressed to another life. We spend less time talking about a universal consciousness and more on a subjective consciousness—the soul.

I regard the soul as fundamental consciousness that is fragmented from the Source into a self-aware subject, independent of matter, and has an option to incarnate physically. The soul is the transcendent observer behind every pair of eyes, and is at some level, at one with the whole of the universe.

Although the panpsychist view still holds—there is a form of consciousness behind every atom—the soul is greater than the sum of bodily constituents. When the body dies, the organized atomic consciousness still remains, but there is a greater part of us that leaves our eyes.

Now excuse me while I take off these damn glasses, because here comes the fun (and final) part!

To Bring Without

“So it seems as though this part of us that is living a life on Earth is only a small piece or splinter of a much larger us. That we are many rather than one, or rather pieces of a more complex whole. We are only able to focus on the splinter we perceive as our totality. That is a good thing, because if we were aware of the complexity of it we would not be able to function in this world or reality.

“We are only able to see the facade that masks a much larger picture. Only now are we being allowed to peek behind the veil.”

-Dolores Cannon, pioneer in past life regression, The Convoluted Universe (2001)

A common criticism of reincarnation is that, at least anecdotally, there are many people who claim to have been rich and famous in their past lives—even royalty! Whether or not said jokingly, these boastful claims damage the validity of the field, and can make the whole idea of past lives seem silly and absurd. This is exactly what PhD psychologist and hypnotherapist Helen Wambach believed, who beginning in the mid-1960s set out on a decade-long journey to finally debunk the foolish notion of reincarnation altogether.

The study did not go according to plan, however, as she was soon forced to challenge her preconceived beliefs. While under deep trance, all 1088 Californian subjects successfully regressed to former lives, experiencing them as if they were in an immersive movie, often with extreme emotion. They heard ancient languages, wore foreign clothing, and ate exotic food, confidently responding to the specific questions of Wambach when asked. In all but 11 cases (1%), the hypnotherapist found the detailed descriptions of historical settings to be entirely accurate, verified by obscure experts.

A converted skeptic, Dr. Wambach published Reliving Past Lives: The Evidence Under Hypnosis in 1978, containing comprehensive reports of the groundbreaking research. Taken as a whole, her results were stunning:

Angels

December 8, 2018Mark Sabbas

When you were born
Tiny and premature
I was smiling from above
Lending you my warmth and light

Waiting patiently
For your little heart to grow.

When you were younger
And almost drowned in the sea
I was blowing out a gentle wind
Washing you to shore

Giving you air
As it filled through your lungs.

When you grew older
And had too much to drink
I was whispering to friends
Who wouldn’t let you choke

Making sure your breath was firm
Your heart remained steady.

And as a young man
When you felt so lost
I was fueling a higher wind
That would spark your soul

Sending signs from above
That everything was going to be alright.

For in your darkest moments
When you feel that
This world is not for you
I’ve brought you light
I’ve found you love

Because I too love you
Though you do not yet know it.
And I do know you
Better than you know yourself.

We’ll Live and We’ll Die and We’re Born Again: Analyzing Issues of Religion, Soul, Reincarnation and The Search for True Spirituality (Part 1 of 3)

November 29, 2018March 18, 2022Mark Sabbas

“Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality.”

-Carl Sagan, acclaimed astrophysicist & father of modern skepticism, The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark (1995)

A Question I’ve Long Pondered:

Why am I born who I am?

Come on, it’s not like I don’t know how babies are made, but I’m asking this from a deeper level—why am I born as a male human being, in this country, to these parents? Why not in Zimbabwe, or Syria, or even North Korea? Why not an elephant for that matter, a soaring blue jay, or an advanced alien race, at the other end of the Milky Way?

Who is the “I” in this case I treasure so deeply? Because to me, this identity has to be something more than simply the symbols that my parents assigned since arriving to this world.

In other words: why am I me and why are you you?

And why are we both alive right now, as intelligent beings on a beautiful planet among billions of others in this galaxy?

Unfortunately, we as a humanity are at the mercy of a paradoxical existence: As much as we come to know our bodies, identifying with it as we are told, we can never shift outside of ourselves, and look directly into our soul. As such, it wasn’t long before I was made to forget this question that others would consider so strange, knowing simply:

“My name is Mark. This is me! I come from a Roman Catholic family. And I am only seven years old.”

Oh but I hated Sunday school! And that’s putting it lightly. My twin and I would devise all sorts of ways to escape this religious instruction, and it is no wonder I was not prepared in the least for my first communion . . .

For Life is But a Dream: Exploring Ideas of Lucid Dreaming, Astral Projection, Synchronicity, and the Essential Validity of Non-Physical Reality

October 3, 2017February 8, 2018Mark Sabbas

“I went to Africa. You can go to Africa. You may have trouble arranging the time or the money, but everybody has trouble arranging something. I believe you can travel anywhere if you want to badly enough.

“And I believe the same is true of inner travel. You don’t have to take my word about chakras or healing energy or auras. You can find about them for yourself if you want to. Don’t take my word for it. Be as skeptical as you like.

“Find out for yourself.”

-Michael Crichton, Travels (1988)

It was the Summer of Inception-Mania:

Ke$ha was in the charts. Oil was in the ocean. Cleveland just lost half its economy. And the characters of Lost finally found themselves. But it was Christopher Nolan’s mind-bending film that captivated the nation, and if only for a short while, granted us a break from reality, thrown through a realm where the laws of physics don’t apply.

With a smart premise and a sexy cast, the movie was a hit, and the main question on everybody’s mind was if that little totem thing was still spinning at the end: Was it all a dream within a dream within a dream?!

Or, going further . . .