Love Changes Things
Even in the World of Politics
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
the sidewalks sizzled like water dripped over heated rock as insects hummed an undertone, the slow beating of wings flapping through soup.
It was my fifth day of house-sitting, on writing retreat. I paced Louise’s dark living room, my sandals flopping across the brown swirl of high-low carpet. … Overhead a fan clicked and whirred as an air conditioner thumped in the kitchen nearby, a poor effort against the oppressive heat. It sounded like the beating of dusty carpets: whap, whap.
I paused to stare at a straggly spider plant and pots of ivy nesting on the sill. Ten feet away, through smudged double windows, a white clapboard house glared in the midday sun. I wrinkled my nose at the smell of mildew and must and squinted at the white house, hands on my hips.
I was staring at the house when it struck. A surge of energy fired my neck, with sparks shooting up and down my right arm. My neck took the brunt of the charge, pulsing with spasms of pain. …
I searched my soul for the next two hours, trying to make sense of the experience. An answer came, which I quickly rejected. But the more I asked, the more it persisted. The same answer, over and over, more loudly each time, as though addressed to someone who was deaf.
“You are to build a relationship with Al Gore, Jr.,” said a voice of authority. And the thought struck me with absolute terror.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
In the summer of 1983, Caroline was recovering from her thirty-two-year-old sister’s untimely death, working as a consultant in rural Tennessee, and writing her sister’s story. Then, in one startling moment, she was struck by lightning. Its message? Develop a relationship with Al Gore, Jr, then a US congressman, for the purpose of ending the threat of nuclear war.
Although she had had little political experience, Caroline heeded the message of the lightning bolt, albeit reluctantly. In time, she moved her family to Washington, DC, where she could work to affect policy. In an era in which the US and Soviet Union had 50,000 nuclear weapons between them, she found herself surrounded by politicians who wanted to build even more.
Hundreds of dreams and the voice of Spirit led Caroline ever deeper into the political arena, urging her to build relationships based on love and respect with members of Congress and the Supreme Soviet, defense analysts, peace activists, scientists, and vice presidents of both the United States and the USSR.
Love Changes Things is a David and Goliath story where “David” included millions of people working to end nuclear test explosions worldwide. In this extraordinary story, what tamed the dragon was love—an ingredient that is often missing in social change work, but essential to creating a world at peace. The premise is simple, and the tools are easy to use.
About the Author
Caroline Cottom, PhD, led the US coalition that helped end nuclear testing worldwide. Her spiritual-political work has led her to Russia, Kazakhstan, South America, Thailand, and Fiji. She and her husband, Thom, are spiritual teachers and coauthors of The Isle of Is: A Guide to Awakening and the website www.sacred-messages.com. They live in Oaxaca, Mexico.