COSMIC ADULTERY

The Trilogy

‘...before human evolution on the earth began, the human being stood upon a certain height from which we then sank down through a primeval sin which Saint-Martin, the ‘Unknown Philosopher’, describes as the Cosmic Adultery.’ Rudolf Steiner Karmic Relationships 1 August 1924 Dornach

Saint-Martin’s description of the fall into sin is beautiful and alluring. Human beings, he says, co-created the earth with the gods but then, from our vantage point in the heavens, we looked down on our creation and fell so deeply in love that we abandoned the gods to have an affair with the earth. Is this why adultery always features in human relationships across the globe? Cosmic Adultery places a psychotherapist and a memoir writer in a secret liaison to address essential questions about spiritual truth and conviction in a world besieged by technology, sexuality, secularism and consumerism. Ralf and Mary believe that having a common spiritual understanding justifies their love but the trials of deception force them to confront difficult questions.

Does technology encourage deceptive behaviour or does it simply allow us to act on our deepest inclinations. "The internet will soon become the most common form of infidelity, if it isn't already," said Beatriz Mileham (BBC news 21 July 03). "With cyber sex, there is no longer any need for secret trips to obscure motels. An online liaison may even take place in the same room with one's spouse."

Is it impossible today to distinguish truth from lies? In 1920, Rudolf Steiner said we will all experience our own capacity for deception by becoming skilled at using ‘empty words’ which we know to be devoid of truth and/or meaning. Only when we feel ashamed of our actions will we turn away from deception and turn instead to an inner call for spiritual substance. Does the absence of spiritual substance denigrate life experience, and therefore, identity? Children in developed societies know less about their family heritage than about random characters from film, television and books. Thus we grow up unsure of who we are and what the purpose of our life might be. Counsellors and therapists can tend also to negate experience through doubting the reliability of memory or even its importance. Yet, in contrast, memoirs and autobiographies that courageously, and often recklessly, present the stark and difficult experiences of the human condition are flourishing.

Cosmic Adultery is written as a fictionalised sequel to my memoir To Cause A Death. The main theme of the novel continues my quest to understand and recognise the path of Christian Initiation, and to ask, Is modern life always a hindrance to spiritual development or does it offer possibilities of true awakening?