The Long Journey Home

About the Book

This book is a story about an adventurous and mystical journey inspired by my immersion in a foreign culture on a six month assignment in the Orient with an unexpected secret destination...awakening to the true essence of life and divine love.

Disillusioned with society's standards for success and happiness, personal life challenges, and a desire to express my gifts and talents to the world, I welcomed this life-changing journey. Obsession with the past and excessive concern about the future often disengaged me from the present moment with a desire to search for some transcendent meaning in life. The geographic change, integration within a multi-ethnic and multi-religious culture, and a new lifestyle enabled me to engage in more passionate and intimate expressions of life. Experiencing the charitable spirit of the culture, marveling at the mysteries and wonders of the land, communing with nature, and engaging in cultural rituals stirred my heart and awakened me to the beauty of life and a peace beyond understanding. It enabled me to build self-confidence, trust, and experience unconditional love. Being faraway from home, the realization of the true meaning of home became more profound with the revelation of a meaningful gift revealed at the end of the journey.

The book highlights the "spectrum of love" in the 1880 classic, "The Greatest Thing in the World" by Henry Drummond including patience, kindness, generosity, humility, courtesy, unselfishness, good temper, guilessness and sincerity. These ingredients laid the foundation for transcending culture and language, a renewed sense of self, conscious living, and a heightened awareness of divine love.

About the Author

Jean Farish earned the Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, the Master of Arts in Rehabilitation Counseling, and the Doctoral degree in Rehabilitation. She has served as a counselor educator for twenty-seven years and engaged in a private practice serving the community. She has conducted international workshops on Responsive Multicultural Counseling, Wellness, and Volunteerism.