THE FOUR ELEMENTS: Seasons Bleeding into Existence is about whole humanity; Holistic Humanity. Whole humanity includes art, social criticism, eco-justice and care for Earth, word etymologies, mythology, poetry, philosophy, personal reflection, psychology, Spirituality, science, World Religions—to name a few. It’s all here, Holistically.
“The origin of spirituality is art; art’s origin is spirituality. Our modern mind wants reality compartmentalized in categories according to the sundry professional disciplines, and has difficulty understanding art as spirituality as art” (PREFACE).
Fire, Water, Earth, and Air are the ancient FOUR ELEMENTS, going back as far as Aristotle, and further into the antiquity of Alchemy. Upon consultation with Cree Chief Eric John Large, I was given permission to use The Medicine Wheel to organize my book, as symbol of The Universe. Accordingly, the book is divided into four sections, in relation to the Elements and their valences on The Medicine Wheel.
“THE FOUR ELEMENTS: Seasons Bleeding into Existence” is not a work of Nehiyawak spirituality—I don’t know anything about that. Although I reflect on the medicine wheel, as I reflect on other spiritual traditions in this artwork, essentially, it’s all me—if there ever is such a thing” (PREFACE).
My scholarly background at Harvard and my Ph.D. Degree from University of Virginia give me a unique perspective on Literature. I can say with informed confidence that nobody has written or is now writing as I am in this book. Joseph Campbell or Carl Jung are the closest samples—but not them, either.
“I was moved to create this work of art because I am a spiritual being. I suppose everyone is a spiritual being. Just not everyone acknowledges it. Maybe I was filled with the Holy Spirit, inspired, called to make this artwork. For me, it is an offering of gratitude to my Origins. I’ve got a lot, and so, a lot to be grateful for.
Karl Marx rightly criticized capitalism for making bonds of the heart into monetary transactions. My bond with the Origin of everything is a bond of the heart. And I can’t express my gratitude for all The Creatress gave me by paying Her money, like tipping a waitress. So I thought I’d give Her something from my heart, like I give my girlfriend gifts from my heart on special occasions and because I love her” (PREFACE).
It is really the artistic edge I cultivated as a published poet, composer, and performer that created the artistic intermingling of the many disciplines into what I call this, a prose poem.
It has taken my whole life to evolve into the person who could write THE FOUR ELEMENTS: Seasons Bleeding into Existence. I had to go through multiple identities—since self is defined by job, today—engineering student, musician, philosopher, divinity student, English Literature student, poet, Ph.D. in Religion and Literature, part-time university professor, mental health caseworker, Mystic, Mystical Christian Pastor, poet, musician, Taiji and Internal Taoist Alchemy, among many. All that and more went into THE FOUR ELEMENTS: Seasons Bleeding into Existence, and you can read it. It truly is my Magnum Opus. Yet this book may well be the swan song of the mind who wrote it.
A hardcover, coffee-table book; 149 pages including colour pictures.
LINES DRAWN AUTHENTIC: A Realized Man, by Dr Dave Fekete, is mostly a collection of really good poetry—the only thing that commends it to readers. It is good poetry that bespeaks humanity in a way that is not in the literary world.
However, being poetry by a straight male; who doesn’t particularly like sports; prefers art; grew up a short, skinny boy in high school—a curse for a male; who needed to give himself permission to be a poet—growing up in a suburban factory city—this book ends up redefining male role images, accidentally.
It’s about a man both living and discovering how to live an AUTHENTIC life—a life not defined by family, society, gender roles—but defined by reaching deep into self, and being that REALIZED MAN.
“Though it is none of my business, may I yet hope to be an inspiration, dear reader? May I serve as a blueprint, a GPS, if you will—for my fellow REALIZED INDIVIDUALS DRAWN IN LINES OF THEIR OWN AUTHENTICITY? Please—BE YOUR OWN AUTHENTIC SELF, AS YOU, YOURSELF, DEFINE IT! In LINES DRAWN AUTHENTIC, I’ve shown you one way how.”—Dr Dave Fekete
LINES DRAWN AUTHENTIC: A Realized Manis available through Indigo Bookstores, and by contacting the author, directly.
A Rhapsody of Love and Spirituality
316 pages Paperback $22.95 Hardcover $28.95
Love: the most beautiful, the strongest, the most frightening human emotion. A Rhapsody of Love and Spirituality is a historical survey of love through the ages.
Beginning with the oldest western romance story, Dr. Dave discusses literary, philosophical, and theological expressions of love up to the present day. A Rhapsody of Love and Spirituality follows two kinds of love through the ages: interpersonal love and ideal love for an ultimate, transcendental object. Books may be ordered here.
The Struggle and Ecstasy of Living Spiritually
Paperback, 132 Pages Price: $15.97
A collection of inspirational stories drawn from the author’s life, The Struggle and Ecstasy of Living Spiritually brings up issues in living spiritually. Along with the stories are quotes from the mystic Emanuel Swedenborg. The stories illustrate Swedenborg’s theology and Swedenborg’s theology illuminates the stories. This book inspires as it informs. Books may be ordered here.
Inscribed Memories
Price: $15.00 Paperback, 84 pages
Inscribed Memories is a collection of poems that range from metaphysical to emotional–love poems, spiritual poems, reflections, contemplative, and critical/theoretical. The poems are easy to understand, and vary in form: strict rhyming verse, free verse, sonnets, blank verse. Inscribed Memories will make you feel and think.
David Fekete 