Dimitri Moraitis is the author of the new middle grade novel Martin & the Light Beams of Amalius. His other books include Change Your Aura, Change Your Life. He is the cofounder of Spiritual Arts Institute, and he lives in Encinitas, California.
Q: What inspired you to write Martin & the Light Beams of Amalius?
A: The idea came shortly after having a personal spiritual awakening. At the time, I was pursuing a career in motion pictures.
I thought of a story of beams of light on a distant planet, Amalius, who fell in love with what they were illuminating. After ages of lighting oceans, flowers and mountains, they wanted to experience those things for themselves.
So they become the inhabitants of Amalius, but in the process they forgot they were light beams and lose their way. It's a spiritual parable about finding the true light within.
Q: How did you create your characters Martin and Amalius?
A: Amalius is the leader of the light beams and did not become an inhabitant. He’s trying to wake up his fellow light beams to who they really are, but with no success.
I was trying out different approaches to telling the story when I started to hear the voice of what would become the character of Martin, a boy who is unhappy at home because his parents fight all the time and thinks of light beams as his friends. Then the two story lines flowed together and the book started to write itself.
The story is told in first person from the point of view of Martin. He plans to run away, when Amalius stops him and convinces Martin to help him save the light beams. To do this, Martin is temporarily turned into a beam of light. Amalius takes him on the adventure of his life. In the process, they become best friends.
Q: Did you know how the story would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?
A: I knew that the story was about finding the true light in yourself. But the story sort of revealed itself through the different scenes and I let it flow. I had a message to say, but didn’t want the story to feel contrived.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?
A: There are several messages the book is hoping to get across to young readers: That life is wondrous even when things are difficult, to have hope that everyone has a unique contribution to make, that love and compassion truly can overcome anger and division, and most important that we all have an inner light that we must all tend to which will guide us through life’s challenges and opportunities.
I hope that young readers are inspired to use their imagination, as well as their intellect, and recognize how important creativity is. I’m happy to see that adults enjoy the story as much as children.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: Right now, I’m finishing up a book for adults on the spiritual dimensions of consciousness.
In a time when science is trying to discover the roots of consciousness, and artificial intelligence is asking so many questions about the nature of the mind, the goal of the book is to show how consciousness and the mind are first spiritual manifestations. The book is a call to action to live the inspired life and realize your creative potential.
I wrote the book with the co-founder of our nonprofit, Barbara Y. Martin. She recently passed on and I’m completing the book in the spirit and tone with which it was started.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: The book was a labor of love to write. I run a nonprofit that teaches meditation and spiritual principles. It is so important to have some type of spiritual foundation and to acknowledge that there is great mystery and wonder to life.
I hope to encourage children who are feeling anxious because of the overstimulation today how important it is to trust in themselves, how important family and friends are, and that life is a great adventure to face with humor, courage, and confidence.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
No comments:
Post a Comment