Non-Fiction
Available in most online bookstores including Barnes and Noble, AbeBooks, Amazon, Apple Books, Booktopia (AUS), Amazon Kindle (eBook), Kobo (eBook), Everand (eBook) and more.
Synopsis
In this sequel to his 2021 book, The Devouring Mother: The Collective Unconscious in the Time of Corona, author Simon Sheridan follows the archetypal breadcrumbs in search of the historical basis for the psychological drivers that increasingly dominate our modern world. Drawing on the work of the great comparative scholars Joseph Campbell, Arnold van Gennep, Oswald Spengler, and Arnold Toynbee, Sheridan expands the concept of the archetype beyond the domain of psychology to integrate biology, anthropology, literature, and, especially, history. The result is a unique synthesis that posits that the unfolding of civilisation proceeds according to the same pattern as an individual human life: a cyclical process punctuated by dramatic periods of transcendence.
Having developed the model, Sheridan then uses it to provide an archetypal history of western civilisation. He finds that the development of the modern West can best be understood as an alternation between the idolisation of the archetypal Father inherited from the late Roman Empire – the medieval era, the Renaissance, Napoleon etc. – and the rebellion against the Father which begins with the Reformation, proceeds through the British Civil War, the US War of Independence, and more. Sheridan combines analysis from psychology, anthropology, literature, film, and history to demonstrate that the archetypal patterns resonate across the biological, social, psychological, and spiritual realms.
The book culminates in a luminous account of the post-war years with the ascendancy of the nation that, more than any other, had rebelled against the Father: the United States of America. Sheridan argues that the peculiar form of politics wielded by the US is the direct result of the rejection of the archetypal Father, leading to an empire that has become increasingly run not on masculine forms of dominance but on feminine; in short, the Devouring Mother.
The Universal State of America is a brilliant work of synthesis. Inspired by the work of Gregory Bateson, it looks for the pattern which connects. It is a hero’s journey about the hero’s journey of civilisation, a descent into the unconscious mind of the modern West, and a return from the belly of the beast. It is a modern response to an ancient challenge: know thyself!
Available at most online bookstores including Booktopia (AUS), Book Depository (UK), Barnes and Noble (US), Bookshop (US/UK), Kobo, Amazon and more.
Synopsis
Those who fail to incorporate the shadow are doomed to project it. In the modern materialist West, we don’t merely fail to incorporate our shadow, we deny its existence. In The Devouring Mother, author Simon Sheridan takes a journey into the other half of the psyche looking for an archetypal explanation for the social ructions in western society over the last several years beginning with the Trump and Brexit votes and reaching earthquake proportions with the corona event.
Drawing on the work of the great Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung, Sheridan makes the case that the archetype that has been dominant in the west for several decades is The Devouring Mother, a shadow form whose primary qualities include gaslighting, emotional manipulation and guilt tripping all in the name of protecting her children. Sheridan switches between the microcosmic and the macrocosmic to show how The Devouring Mother permeates all levels of society from interpersonal relationships and employment through to large scale political and social movements including corona. A mother implies children and Sheridan identifies the two archetypal children of The Devouring Mother as the acquiescent and the rebellious. In so doing, he provides an explanation for the Trump and Brexit rebellions in politics as well as the broader psychological and cultural drivers inherent in the rise of both Jordan Peterson and Greta Thunberg. He shows that the corona event did not come out of nowhere but represents an escalation of the existing battle going on in the unconscious mind of the West; a battle that is increasingly moving into consciousness and therefore represents the process Jung described as individuation at both the individual and the societal level. The time has come for the West to face its shadow: The Devouring Mother.
Synopsis
“Those who tell the stories rule society” – Plato
Societies run on stories. But in the modern west, we believe that we are above stories; we are scientific. It is partly because of this (story!) that we are often blind to the stories we tell ourselves. In this book, I analyse the structure of the story we have been telling ourselves about the corona event: the plague story. I look at how the plague story unfolded and who has been telling it. The structure of that story dictates both what has happened so far and what needs to happen to bring the matter to an end.
There’s just one problem: corona is clearly not a plague. Therefore, our willingness to accept it as such needs explanation. In the second half of the book, I sketch out the larger social and cultural themes that have been at work. Among these are our growing biophobia and denial of death, our continuing belief in the myths of heroic science and progress, the tension between technocracy and democracy, the economic and cultural realities wrought by globalisation and how the corona event fits within the founding and dominant ethos of the modern west: heroic materialism.
The Plague Story is a work that draws inspiration from the systems thinking and cybernetics movements of the 20th century. It is a multi-disciplinary series of essays that aims to place the corona event in the broader cultural and philosophical context of modern society. If you have the feeling that the story of corona is not quite right, this book aims to provide a framework for understanding and a guide to meaningful re-evaluation.
Paperback edition also available through Book Depository and Booktopia (AUS).
Fiction
Available as an eBook via Amazon. Paperback via Bookshop (US, UK), Book Depository, Barnes and Noble, Abe Books, Amazon and most other online retailers.
JJ and Krusty’s business is CA$H ONLY. So, when the two entrepreneurs from Tittybong find out that the government is about to ban physical currency, they turn to Australia’s most notorious mafia boss, Pickles Macbeth, for help. But when the all-powerful leader of the Global Council, Kurt von Todhammerstein, announces a surprise visit to Sydney, Macbeth plans to topple not just him but the Australian government too and JJ and Krusty must team up with Norwegian polymath, Svenson, to thwart Macbeth’s plan, restore the rightful Australian government and rescue JJ’s ex-girlfriend.
Following in the footsteps of its predecessor, Once Upon a Time in Tittybong 2 is a riotous comedy that sees a group of teenagers from country town Australia go into battle against the behemoth of globalist politics.
Click here to download the first chapter as a preview.
Narquinxa never wanted to visit planet Earth. There were some nice trees and stuff but the so-called intelligent life form known as human beings weren’t very impressive by inter-galactic standards. But she had a job to do. A job that was made harder when her boss partnered her with that idiot, Xandalus. Their mission: get themselves a couple of human bodies, drop down to Earth for a few days and investigate the people.
It should have been straightforward but Xandalus did more than investigate; he fell in love with a human female. Narquinxa could have slapped him for his stupidity. But then she started to fall in love too. Just when they were both thinking that humans weren’t so bad after all, Xandalus did the one thing he had been explicitly instructed not to do and helped them create some new technology. Not just any technology; artificial intelligence. When the AI falls into the hands of a psychopathic army officer, Narquinxa must save not just her bumbling partner, but the entire human race from destruction.
“Sampson, you’ve got a woman problem.”
Adam Sampson does indeed have a woman problem: a sexy Russian witch has taken over his apocalypse cult (it’s a long story). Fortunately, Adam has help from his pickup artist mate, Liam Love, and spunky grandmother, Mrs Mitchell. Together, the three of them will have to fight to stop Madame Orlova and her horde of horny men from bringing about the end of the world.
The Order of the Secret Chiefs is a riotous action-comedy in which a young man gets in over his head with money, sex and magic. His fight to save the world will be the beginning of his journey of self discovery in life and in love.
JJ’s best mates, Krusty and Trish, are hardcore, dyed-in-the-wool potheads. They’re fun to have around. But sometimes, when you hang out with stoners too long, you do silly things like ask the Mayor if you can start a local currency that’s backed by marijuana. Sometimes, when you live in the small Victorian town of Tittybong, the Mayor says ‘Yes’.
Now JJ’s going to spend his school holiday living the dream of every entrepreneurial high school stoner: running a bank where the money is made from dope. But the local manager of the State Bank, the leader of the local bikie gang and the local constabulary don’t take too kindly to having their turf encroached on and JJ’s about to find out that high finance is not all beers and bucket bongs.
Once Upon a Time in Tittybong is a fast-paced comedy in which a group of idealistic teenagers take on the powers that be in an Australian country town.