A book that changes the way we think about everything, from who does the cleaning to who rules the world.
A book that changes the way we think about everything, from who does the cleaning to who rules the world.
Mind & body, New thought, Religion (general)
If History is written by the victors then this is His-Story, as corrected by the losers.
The Parable of His-Story is a telling of the age where men have been in charge. Inspired by ideas of feminism and spirituality, it suggests that eternal rules are temporary examples of a one sided story, repeatedly told to glorify the masculine and denigrate the feminine.
Charting the origin of this story at the dawn of civilization, the book details how his-story spread across the world through successive masculine-driven empires and affected our ideas of sex, gender, sexuality and race. As the financial system crumbles, as religious and political ideologies grow more extreme and as more of us contribute to a collective consciousness through the Internet, The Parable offers suggestions as to what we need to remember in order to bring ourselves, and our relations with our planet, back into balance.
If you’ve ever wondered why zero has been taught to mean nothing, why gay has come to be synonymous with rubbish, and why all the major monotheistic gods are blokes, then this book is for you.
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Recorded history spans the last 5,000 years - but is, writes Nick Taylor in this thought-provoking book, more accurately thought of as "his-story, the period of time when men have been in charge." He adds that, "his-story includes Judaism, Christianity, Islam, materialism, communism and capitalism [...] But it is all one story: the story of the dominance of the masculine." The author cites the written word, agriculture, cities, private property, war, hereditary monarchy and a monotheistic (belief in one god) worldview among the forces that have shaped our world and, as he points out, so pervaded human culture that they've become synonymous with it in most minds. But what we consider to be eternal realities are in fact "temporary examples of a one-sided tale, repeatedly told to glorify the masculine, denigrate the feminine and affect all our ideas of life, from who rules the heavens to who does the cleaning." The point of this book is, "to remind us that this last age has been a cultural creation and, as such, it has a beginning and will have an end." But for the time being, writes Taylor, "Whether in terms of our diet, anxieties around our bodies, attitudes to animals, children and Nature in general, or our sense of gender and sexuality, his-story is a force negatively affecting each of us. A story that elevates the masculine while forbidding, alienating and negating the feminine is fatally unbalanced." The book first explores how his-story began, with an analysis of the changes that took place in Ancient Mesopotamia in around 3000 BC, charting the movement away from harmonious, goddess-based culture towards ideas of ownership, conflict and division. It then moves on to look at how the masculine principle has spanned the millennia and continues to affect everything from our relationship with the planet to the way we bring up our children and consider our bodies. Pollution, famine, war, depression, social alienation... All, writes Taylor, are rooted in the dominance of the masculine over the feminine. In the final section of the book he offers solutions - from embracing the transition movement and placing the well-being of Mother Earth as a central principle within our political landscapes to gathering in circle, dancing and playing. "If the last age told us one story, unbalanced and aggressive, then the time is approaching for other stories to be remembered," he writes. Hard-hitting yet uplifting, this is one of those special books that would transform the world if enough people read it. ~ Sarah Best, www.sarahbesthealth.com
I love this book! ~ Tanya Gold, The Guardian
I loved it. Very well written and powerful arguments... What you have to say is perfectly in tune with where we are (or need to be) at the moment. ~ Phil Cope, Author 'Holy Wells: Wales' and 'Holy Wells: Cornwall'
This book shakes me gently. I have been changed. I dance and sing a song more than before. I appreciate bees in my garden. I try not to work hard. I became to love the circle. Yes, this book gives me a beautiful journey. I hope more and more people can take part in this journey. ~ Yeansoo Aum, Translator
Beautifully observed and written, each chapter is a self-contained meditation on the imbalances of our current world and the solutions we can seek, personally and globally. Taylor reveals himself as a humorous and human author throughout, and his parable is an important blueprint for world change. ~ Lee Harris, Author, 'Energy Speaks'
Absolutely superb. Masterful. Tremendous. Stirring and inspirational. ~ Dr Lynn Dicks, University of Cambridge
A wise, witty and - essentially - hopeful alternative to economic gloom and planetary despair. Read this and feel like dancing. ~ Libby Brooks, Author 'The Story of Childhood'
A seriously superior slice of writing... a well-paced, riveting, stimulating and insightful book which should - and I trust will be - read far and wide.
