Blackness and the Dreaming Soul

Subtitled 'Race, Identity and the Materialistic Paradigm', this autobiographical reflection is a real odyssey as the author has personally blazed a number of trails from his childhood through his experiences of being shot down in the Second World War, qualifying as a barrister, founding the first black arts centre in Britain, performing plays and working as a broadcaster. It is an extraordinary journey by any standards, all the more so for its insights as a participating observer of the dominant Western way of life. Cy brings a fresh perspective to the intrinsic limitations of a worldview based on duality, alienation, exploitation, greed and materialism. Building on his understanding of the Tao Te Ching, he proposes a harmonious philosophy of non-duality and human interconnectedness with nature. His holistic outlook is radically multicultural, and implies the new vision of mutual respect and the end of Western monopoly on valid definitions of reality. He criticises in detail what he calls the seven pillars of the prevailing paradigm, suggesting that a true awareness of the unity of life will bring about radical change by going to the very root causes of our predicament. A truly liberating book.