Personal Note: Acknowledgements

This is an entirely original work, inspired by decades of prayer and meditation upon a variety of sacred and secular texts. Here is a sampling of the books and thinkers that have most influenced me in the past:

• The Holy Bible, various versions

• The Tao Te Ching, various translations and commentaries

• The Bhagavad Gita, translation and commentary by Paramahansa Yogananda

• The Second Coming of Christ, by Paramahansa Yogananda

• The Lazy Man’s Guide to Enlightenment, by Thaddeus Golas

• A number of popular physics books, including Geometry, Relativity, and the 4th Dimension by Rudolf Rucker; Dancing Wu Li Masters by Gary Zukav; and The Tao of Physics by Fritjof Capra

• And assorted works by Carl Jung, Fritz Perls, Baba Ram Dass, Echkart Tolle, Wayne Dyer, Aristotle, Plato, Cicero, and Kenneth Burke

I have also “sat at the feet” of dozens of inspired individuals who did their best to satisfy my insatiable intellectual and spiritual hunger. These teachers came in many guises, from university professors to preachers to my 7th grade homeroom teacher, Mr. Bond.

Lastly, I would like to thank my favorite philosophical sounding boards—my infinitely patient and loving husband, Gary Ropp; and my brothers, David Puett and Dr. Bill Puett, with whom I have shared a lifetime of inquiry, faith, and love.

Cyd Ropp, Ph.D.
November, 2009
Ashland, Oregon