Chris J. Berry

Throughout his younger life, the author suffered continual bouts of sickness that was to leave him bereft of education. The first indication to suggest he would write books arose from a séance he attended as far back as the year nineteen fifty nine. But uneducated then, it had little impact on him; a young teenage youth with a mind full of skiffle groups and the approaching rock scene. Over the years, he has been influenced by his mother's activity as a spiritual medium, developing an interest and an understanding of the subject that has revealed a deeper purpose in his life. He does not follow any particular religious sect, but has come to possess a reverent respect and belief in the Maker, and endeavors to follow the doctrines laid down by Him.

The time approached in midlife when the desire in him to write became obsessive. The lack of a basic education in his childhood produced a formidable stumbling block now in these later years. The need in him to get his message across, and the availability of evening tuition, provided the impetus and the opportunity to study as a mature student. To date he has published fifteen projects. Cataclysm Earth, Heritage from Cyan, Avataria (The Cyannian Trilogy), Poems of petals Poodles and Prayers (by his mother Ivy Berry), Sixty Psychic Years (his autobiography), a music album of nine tone poems for the piano entitled Treasures. The spiritual Inception, Rendezvous with Evil, The Celestial Window, The Imperceptible Conflict, The Guardian of Nemisia, The View from Infinity, The Purlieusian Emcounter and Galactica Eternal; these latter eight books complete the octology A Voyage To Infinity, and finally The Elysium Covenant. The octology follows two souls' story over eight volumes. The first book of the series, The Spiritual Inception, was released June 2011; the second, A Rendezvous with Evil released June 2012, (along with the music album), with the others following in yearly intervals. As in all his writing, he continues to reflect on his concern for Earth, its inhabitants and creatures on it. Indisputably, over the latter part of the twentieth century, Earth's environment has suffered degenerative changes that have affected its delicate Eco-systems. Using information, both from psychic sources and media reports his Cyannian Trilogy created a fantasy of predictive science fiction that bordered on reality; while his autobiography submits his own story, relating real human and environmental issues that touched his life. The series A Voyage to Infinity focuses on an idea of how a soul might be created and then embark on a voyage across the universe to learn essential truths.

The knowledge he has gained from his psychic sources has produced an outlook in life that has pointed him to the spiritual dimension as being the real existence. In these modern times, this belief seems to be supported by films that realistically depict lives touched by psychic events. Treating the physical existence now as the learning environment, he reflects back over his life and can see missed opportunities that have eroded his achievements. Now as he approaches the twilight years, he waits to see if the prophecies in that early séance of nineteen fifty nine will come to fruition, and signify an opportunity he has seized.

A Personal biography by Chris J Berry.

Introduction

How it all began.

As a youngster, I endured persistent illness throughout my infancy to primary years; my basic education suffering considerably. During a near-death experience I suffered, my parents, in panic, offered a prayer to our Maker that brought me back; my mother, from then on, pledging my allegiance to Him for His intervention.

The Lost Library Book.

My first conscious encounter with the team beyond occurred during the latter part of my primary years. As an eight year old, an extraordinary event took place during a school summer holiday. I was blissfully ignorant of the responsibility one inherited when borrowing books from the local library. This blissful ignorance was brought to an abrupt conclusion when a stern-faced librarian appeared at our front door, threatening legal action to retrieve the loss of a book I had taken out; now several weeks overdue. After tearfully dispatching mother off on a frantic search, I offered a desperate, heart-felt prayer to our Maker for His help; my sincerity fueled by imagining myself being dragged off by the men in blue. While making my plea I implemented a count of ten, at which point it was hoped Mother would find my book. Somewhat bemused she finally came down the stairs waving the book in her hand, declaring she had searched the particular place were she found it several times before. The manner in which the book's subsequent recovery had come to light was to affect me profoundly as I grew up, eventually to be accepted as the first evidence of the world beyond, and that my life was never going to be my own.

The Growing Up Process.

The rest of my childhood, following that event, was unremarkable; like any other child's, it was spent playing with friends, and pre-occupied with mundane school-routines.

The Unforgettable Séance of 1959.

Around my sixteenth year, my mother persuaded me and some friends to sit in on one of her séances. This event took place in the year nineteen fifty nine, and was to landmark its importance throughout my life. At the time, my companions and I viewed it more as a joke than with any serious intent, me, in particular, long-since convinced mother to be one bun short of a dozen. If I and my friends had no belief in our Maker then, we were required to recognize Him now during Mother's opening prayers. The initial period into the séance was spent, interrogating Mother's North American Indian spiritual guide to try and search out his previous location on Earth. Deriving it to be somewhere in North America five hundred years earlier, the name he gave was an area known as 'The Hoo Doos'. It caused us considerable confusion; subsequent references to maps producing no results with us eventually giving up. Mother's guide's location would have to wait some thirty odd years before it was revealed to me during an unprecedented turn of events, and I move forward to relate it now.

My marital break up occurred in the early 1990s, plunging me into a desolate and depressed frame of mind. A best friend, and previous ski companion, who had joined my then wife and I on past holidays, suggested a two-week ski-trip to Canada to help lift me out of my depression. It was during the middle of the first week that our ski preparations were interrupted by the mysterious loss of my ski-safe key. A manic search revealed no key; convinced I had placed it in my haversack as usual the night before. My friend, Pete left to catch the bus, telling me he would chalk up on the base-lift board where he was on the slopes. I was fuming as I unpacked my haversack and gave it a good shake, noticing a glint of light as the key fell out onto the bed. In view of the mysterious circumstance of its sudden appearance, a strange, intuitive notion edged into my mind that I should go hiking instead of skiing that day. Deciding to go on a trek around the Bow Valley in Banff, I set off along a riverside trail, eventually coming upon a sign indicating that the trail led the hiker around the Bow Valley to the 'The Hoo Doos'. This staggering discovery immediately brought back the dialogues of the nineteen fifty nine séance thirty odd years before with Mother's spiritual guide. I spent the rest of the day wandering around weird objects that appeared to have grown up out of the valley slopes, reading a brief historic account of the ancient North American Indian settlement from a roadside display case. I was immersed in a surreal-like atmosphere that sensed me with the presence of Mother's spiritual guide, whilst simultaneously serenaded by the haunting sound of a gentle breeze blowing in and around the Hoo Doos' honeycombed surfaces. Reading from the display case, it briefly related the story of how the strange, Hoo Doos formations were considered by the ancient Indians as sacred spirits who maintained the fertility of their valley. For Mother however, the real purpose for that séance was revealed when it was prophesied I would write books and my sister, musicals. After the book and musical revelation, I personally considered the whole séance as a complete joke? barely able to write my name.

And so into Adulthood.

Over the years, the realization I was going to spend my life on my own had finally been confirmed when my previously mentioned marriage broke up. My obligation to our Maker, and my adherence to his ten laws, has prevented me from committing myself to another relationship since. Reflecting back over my life, I have to concede that had my marriage succeeded, I would never have written my books, especially in the event children had come along.

A legacy of Loneliness.

Having gradually come to accept my lot in life, I intuitively sensed the urge to write. As I gave more thought to it, the theme of my writing appeared to lean towards Earth's uncertain future? its creatures and the people on it.

The First Hurdle.

The first stumbling block, as mentioned earlier, was my lack of education; barely able to write my name let alone string coherent sentences together. With little money and no job prospects, it seemed my writing career was over before it had started.

Failed Venture.

My dilemma was further exacerbated following three years of exceptionally bad weather; a period of self-employment as a decorating contractor ending up down the local Employment Exchange. Pleading for any sort of job, I was offered one weeks work in Reduth Hospital as a porter, rotating with others through various departments including the Operating Theatres.

A New Venture.

During the week I was asked to stay on, as the post we were covering was still vacant. That solitary week, unknowingly, had set a precedent for my future, with the job extending to five years. It was during that five year period I studied and passed several 'O' levels, including the classic subjects Maths and English Language.

More Opportunities.

Having passed my exams, opportunities in jobs began to open up, with the persistent urge to write now becoming obsessive. During the period of study, the theme for my writing had been confirmed again by strong intuitive feelings, which were relating to the plight of Earth's creatures and the declining morals in the world generally.

The N.H.S.

Deciding to remain in the NHS, I studied as a 'UK Registered Operating Department Practitioner', finally qualifying in the autumn of nineteen eighty one. With that qualification under my belt, it brought to mind a meeting I had attended, while taking my mother to her spiritual church meeting one Sunday in Sevenoaks. The visiting medium, a man well respected for his genuine spiritual submissions, straightway focused on me, stating he had just one simple message to offer. Gazing intently at me he declared, 'you are going to work for the Maker whether you like it or not'. Even though my beliefs were still a little remote from my mother's, I intuitively sensed, then, that what he said had summed up the writing on the wall for me.

The Writing Venture Begins.

The first Project.

In the autumn of 1974, the first book Cataclysm Earth began as a jumble of scribbles, which my mother eagerly typed out for me. Father viewed the project coolly, neither encouraging nor discouraging me. Following the completion of the first manuscript, a visit to a local publisher resulted in him offering to become a co-author of the work. From his suggestion I deduced he felt the story had potential, but that my interpretation of it was rubbish. I declined his offer; feeling the project was vaguely expanding to a trilogy of novels in my mind. The prime reason for my refusal was not out of any possessive intent; rather more from an intuitive notion where I felt I was not the only story-teller here.

A Dormant Period.

Following what effectively had been my initial attempt at publishing my manuscript, I shelved the project for three years while studying for my new job in the NHS. Succeeding in my exams brought home to me how I was at last settled in a comparatively secure job, and one that would provide me with the resources I needed in the future to continue writing.

A New Writing Era.

As we passed into the new millennium, two of the fantasies, Cataclysm Earth and Heritage from Cyan, were completed. Using real events, the themes of the books told the story of what effectively was taking place around me. By the time I had drafted out the first manuscript of the third book Avataria, the strange feeling that I was not the only writer here had persisted in me.

An Issue with Avataria.

Well established into my writing now, I took issue with my thoughts on Avataria's individual stories, feeling this book should follow the progressive, mono-thematic story-line the first two had. The change was extraordinary; my source of inspiration suddenly disappearing overnight. The ideas I generated seemed unrelated to the themes of the first two books. Cataclysm Earth essentially told the tale of a world abused; Heritage from Cyan, a story of a world where its inhabitants had united as one people embarking together on a common cause. The impression I was getting on the third book of the trilogy, seemed to be leading the reader back to the problems that had dogged pre-cataclysmic Earth. It was not until I conceded to that intuitive notion, and returned to the individual story theme, I realised Avataria was symbolic of Earth. Each story was randomly looking at different aspects of life, while revealing subtle links existing between the physical and spiritual dimensions.

No Planned Strategy.

Throughout my writing experience, what had convinced me that there was someone working through me was the absence of any strategy or planning; how characters in any part of my past books suddenly sprang to mind when referenced in subsequent books. Right from the outset, when picking up a pen and paper, and then later with the arrival of new technology, sitting at a computer, the information began to flow.

What I believe it all means.

A Logical look at Life.

It was before my mother passed on that she offered a thought to me, which over the years has produced a lasting impact on my view of life. She asked me to look at life logically in light of two irrefutable facts, the affects of which none of us can avoid. First; the aging process (the transience of life). Second; our inevitable exit from the physical life (our transition to the world beyond when it ends). Her idea was not to state the obvious; more to encourage me to rationalize that there was a purpose for, and something beyond, the physical life. Considering those two facts over the years I have come to realize the underlying importance attached to them; how they highlight that nothing in the physical life belongs to anyone. From her revelation, she went on to explain that it followed then we were offered a choice. We could choose to indulge ourselves with the physical attributes available; hoard the wealth of our world, share nothing and then effectively leave the world with nothing. Conversely, we could choose to share our physical attributes of achievement and wealth, and in doing so, turn them into spiritual attributes that we could take with us when we left the world.

The simplicity of my parents' outlook on life.

I have spent a lifetime considering my parents' views on life, and have come to believe that their outlook on it really was quite simple. The one attribute they considered a stumbling block in life, standing heads and shoulders above all else, was 'free-will'. The inability to manage this aspect in life had led humanity into copious differences of opinion during the past, and where failed, rational arbitration had finally led to conflict. They believed free-will had been humanity's Achilles heel since time immemorial; the expression 'my way is best' time and again manifesting into conflict. I had to concede that my parents had put forward powerful arguments in support of their theories, but equally, I had to admit they came across as just theories. They waved my observation aside feeling my response was natural, and stated that the first move had to come from each individual. Until one understood the purpose for the physical life and shared their resources with others, the opportunities offered in the world beyond could remain out of reach.

How is it possible to gain proof the spiritual world existed?

I ask myself, why is there no physical evidence of the world beyond? If we view our lives here in the context of an exam; to expect proof of the world beyond seems to me that one would expect the answer-paper to rest next to the question paper. The presence of free-will tells me we are all undergoing a test to learn essential truths. Our inevitable exit from this life indicates to me this cannot be the real world? everything subject to evolution in a finite lifespan. How have I come to my conclusions? Initially, my curiosity was primed by my parents' teachings while I grew up. It was only when I flew the nest that I realized the majority of my contemporaries did not share my parents' beliefs. Venturing out into the world, I have realized the value of my upbringing. What my parents taught me had generated a conscience that I was able to draw on to rationalize life's challenges. What really comes across to me now is the covert method they used to help me make that first move, and which has led me to establish my faith that has since revealed proof of the world beyond...Chris J Berry.

What Sort of Future?

In all my fantasies, I have used real events to try and demonstrate the effect humanity is having on Earth’s environment. We are experiencing horrendous climate anomalies as pollution wreaks havoc on the ecological systems Earth needs to maintain its environment. Armadas of plastic waste lap the shores of our continents, and impose a devastating toll on the various oceans’ marine life. Our rain forests are fast disappearing that are so vital in generating climate equilibrium around our world, resulting in horrific storms that continually exceed previous records.

If we gaze back across Earth’s past, we see it littered with failed civilisations. Our scientists postulate on how mismanagement of the environment helped to lead to their demise. I speculate on how the ecological systems back then were able to regenerate the environment, and compare it with the extent of the environmental abuse that is taking place around Earth today. Failed arbitration among communities leads to conflict, producing confrontations where human issues enter in to never-ending loops of retaliation that imposes hardship on the innocent— the weaponry used degenerating the environment still further.

All that has been briefly discussed above represents just a few of the issues facing us, and openly highlights the need for us to address them today. If we continue to ignore Earth’s warnings, then I ponder, at what point in the uncertain future, Earth might reach the stage where its ecological systems will fail to regenerate its environment. Earth is a finite body existing in a constantly evolving, universal environment where time plays a major role.

Complacent attitudes, that refuse to recognise how humanity is mismanaging the environment, raises a question mark over our lives and those of future generations— Earth’s warnings are clear. The above are all issues that have arisen from physical endeavour, and ignore the one resource that could lead us away from humanity’s intent on self-destruction. If we look at life on Earth logically in sight of two irrefutable facts none of us can avoid— the aging process and our inevitable exit from the world, it should point us to where the real world exists. I concede this is a dramatic statement to make with no proof, when considering the mood existing in the world today. Immersed in conflict and computer technology that encourages conflict, the likelihood of anyone pausing to make the first move towards the world beyond seems unlikely.

The choice rests with the individual in the material life, but not in the world beyond. I may not have all the answers, but I have made my submission in my books. I concede that having written the books supports only half of that submission, and realise that I cannot force people to read them nor expect them to accept the suppositions made in them in those who do. My sources have offered their help through my writing and now gaze down on us as Earth enters an uncertain era.