My 'Existential' First Book

Just like the piano and acoustic guitar, just like the pen and paper, books will never go out of style. As important as the computer has become, and all the derivative gadgets that depend on microprocessors and mass storage, books will remain the most viable medium for the external exchange of ideas for generations to come. Where electricity is not available, when batteries have worn down, or technology has been superseded, there will be books. And while even they may not be forever, they will ever be fundamental to humanity’s ability to transform itself.

I have authored three books thus far, with one in print and another two delayed, but on their way. I refer to I Am My Body, NOT! as “an existential book presented in a way that a child can comprehend. It is existential because it deals with issues that are basic to life and existence of ALL of humanity. Essentially, I Am My Body, NOT! introduces the reader to the workings of the human body in a modular way, starting with the hands, then arms, proceeding to the feet, legs, and torso, then to the head, then the internals. However, throughout the book, as one “module” is completed, it makes the following summation:

“Although my _____
Helps me
to help my family,
Friends, and others,
It is not my body,
And my body,
is not me.”

This sequence of words plant powerful seeds into the reader’s mind and psyche. Spoken in the first person, and in the affirmative, they connect the reader to the vibration of selflessness: “to help my family, friends, and others”, and discernment: “it is not my body, and my body, is not me.”Within each module are tidbits of thought that build appreciation for the body’s design and how well it works within the environment in which we live, move, and express our beingness. Rev. Michael Beckwith, founder of Agape International Spiritual Center in Los Angeles, and ardent supporter of me as I made my own journey to self acceptance and sufficiency, said this about I Am My Body, NOT!:

What Adam Abraham has accomplished in I Am My Body, NOT! is a gift to both parents and children. His profound description of how the body temple provides a home for the inner spirit are languaged to appeal to the Divine Intelligence residing in every child. Parents may trust this spiritually and emotionally mature approach to educating children about their true nature on the physical, emotional and spiritual levels of being.

I lived in the Los Angeles area at the time I wrote and published I Am My Body, NOT! and while transitioning from a life as an itinerant employee dreamer to a self-employed one I always found his message positive, meaningful, and timely. He not only spoke to me from the stage each week, he spoke to me personally, to my situation. I always left an Agape experience feeling better than I felt upon arrival, energetically and attitudinally ready to take on what comes next.

That is the intent behind all of my books and essays; that you, the reader is energetically and attitudinally ready to take on what comes next, because what comes next, is coming.

While actually writing I Am My Body, NOT! I didn’t know what was coming next, or even where the dialogue was going. I refer to it as a dialogue for two reasons. One was that it is not presented in a story form. You don’t have to read it from start to finish. This is why I called it modular. You can read as few as two pages in some cases, and get great value out of the thoughts that sit on the page. The second reason it was a dialogue was because the words came to me in a child’s vibrational “voice.” Essentially, I took dictation as a listener, more so as a writer who had something he wanted to say. So I went along for the ride as the ideas unfolded, just as the reader does today.

When just about everything you could imagine telling a child about how their body works had been covered, the narrator began summarizing:

My body is my friend, and in a way of speaking, my servant.  If I take care of it, I will most likely enjoy better health. Without it, I cannot be here. But it is not me.

All of this had been covered earlier. It went further.

My body is designed to carry me through the adventure that we call life on earth. It allows me to learn, and build and live in the earthly environment we call home. Through it I make choices and take actions that have impact and meaning.

All of these statements had been inferred already, so I knew that the end was in sight. The next page was like reaching the top of a ridge, only to welcomed by a grand vista, which made the journey worthwhile.

My body is the instrument by and through which I exist on planet Earth. But it is not me.  It is made up of earthly materials. I am not. One day my body will cease to function, thus ending my “stay” on earth, but not my existence, for I am my body, NOT! I am energy, I am Spirit!

This is when it all made sense to me, why the detailed explanations, and the summarizing after each section. What was nice for me is that as the transition process we call “death” was described (without using the actual word), the usual “wince” of fear that typically accompanies the subject was nowhere to be found, which I believe is the way our perception of death should be.

Far different than a book about death, I Am My Body, NOT! is a book about life and how to live it well. It plants positive ideas and energy into minds and hearts of each reader, regardless of their age. And as each resonates with the idea offered, its power is embraced and available to be of service.

Such is the power of pen and paper, and of published books. Such is the responsibility of authors, who should be mindful of what we are exchanging energetically with our readers. Given that most people believe their influence only ends at the length of their nose or arms, there’s often no sense of connectedness to the effects of what the reader reads.

One way or another, each will learn. We have an opportunity each day to become more mindful, more conscious, of our connectedness with everyone and everything, and that everyone and everything is part of who we are. What I’ve learned is that it’s never too early to begin the process; we can never be too young. Children need as much time to live with positive, life affirming thoughts and ideas as humanly possible, because you can rest assured they will be bombarded with negative ones. 

When we know this, we will change our world, for our world will be changed… one mind, heart, body, and spirit, at a time.

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