Here’s a sneak peek of what you will find in my book…

Prologue

When you are aware that you are the force that is Life, anything is possible. Miracles happen all the time, because those miracles are performed by the heart. The heart is in direct communication with the human soul, and when the heart speaks, even with the resistance of the head, something inside you changes; your heart opens another heart, and true love is possible.  ~ Don Miguel Ruiz

No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars or sailed to an uncharted land or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.  ~ Helen Keller

If not for the guidance of a still small voice, I would not have gone to China. If not for the inspiration of that voice, I would not have written this book. Both times the voice spoke in the first person and sounded like my own, though I don’t believe I was the one formulating the words. Both times the message was delivered in a detached, matter-of-fact manner, its quality of knowing unquestionable.

The first time happened in January 2004, when my life in Canada was at an unbearable standstill. Loneliness, boredom and a sense of having no purpose were squeezing the life out of me, that is, until I heard an inner voice announcing that I was going to China. Within a few months I took a leave of absence from my job and found another in China. In the fall of 2004, my English teaching career in China began. I was planning to stay there for at least one school year. Then, in early 2005 after four months of teaching, I embarked on winter holiday travels with a bilingual friend.

Dancing in the Heart of the Dragon recounts my experiences on this holiday, which started with joy and ended with sorrow. In a poor rural area, the van I was travelling in met head on with a bus. After that accident, it took me over a year to regain my normal walking ability.

Pinned in wreckage, I heard the still small voice again. It said: “I don’t know what this is all about but I do know it’s part of a bigger picture and it’s a good picture and it involves me and China.” Those simple words from a gentle, strong voice helped sustain me through much more trauma to come. Simple words from that wise and wonderful voice also helped lift me from despair and give me a purpose bigger than my life itself.

The good, the bad, the ugly and the wonderful. Indeed, I experienced them all. The accident, as intense and ugly as it was, plays a dramatic but small part in my story. The heart of China, as strong and vulnerable as it is, plays the bigger part. Now, from my own heart, I wish to share my story with you…