The café in my novel, The Vanishing Café, appears to be a small place, tucked away in central London. The narrator, Nina, doesn’t find it special in any way, until she realises that it isn’t an ordinary place. In fact, it is a magical place, where she can read the thoughts of other people (much to her and their confusion) and at one point, the café transforms itself into a temple. Nothing is quite what it appears to be! Often Nina senses her grandmother who has passed over in the café.
To complicate things further, only Nina and another regular in the Café, realise that the place is special, holy somehow but not in a religious way. It’s a spiritual journey for Nina, an awakening to her higher truth - after her previous unhappy and ‘shallow life’ - that awakening is similar to our realisation that we have a Higher Self, a deeper connection to ourselves and the Universe. Is there something beyond our five physical senses? Are there other realities, is there anything more after we pass on? It’s the deeper truths that Nina is after now, her desire for answers makes her rational husband, Pieter, wary of her. He thinks her grief after losing her grandmother, has resulted in some kind of depression in Nina, that means she is imagining the scenarios taking place in the café.
So readers, is your Higher Self something you can identify with, or do you call it another name? When you ask yourself that question , does it come to you easily, or do you ignore it and push away because it sounds too vague or airy fairy?
How is the Café a metaphor as a vehicle for the Higher Self? It’s clear that Nina lets the café guide her to a place she isn’t accustomed to. She enters a spiritual realm and one where she feels that the café transports her to, a world beyond her world. Her truth expands, the death of her grandmother is no longer just a death at the end of the novel, it's more her own journey of exploration into other areas, where the potential for a life after death exists. The café becomes a microcosm of the Universe, a reflection of the true higher nature of life. It is not static - it is constantly in motion, relaying it’s message to whoever wishes to hear it. The voice of Intuition is the one we are also most likely to ignore - but that’s the one we need to listen to. It’s the Higher Self knocking at our door. So answer it and let the wisdom come in. You may be surprised at the direction in which it’s taking you, it may be one you're totally unfamiliar with. Yet you’re in for a beautiful ride along the way, so trust it and follow it.
To complicate things further, only Nina and another regular in the Café, realise that the place is special, holy somehow but not in a religious way. It’s a spiritual journey for Nina, an awakening to her higher truth - after her previous unhappy and ‘shallow life’ - that awakening is similar to our realisation that we have a Higher Self, a deeper connection to ourselves and the Universe. Is there something beyond our five physical senses? Are there other realities, is there anything more after we pass on? It’s the deeper truths that Nina is after now, her desire for answers makes her rational husband, Pieter, wary of her. He thinks her grief after losing her grandmother, has resulted in some kind of depression in Nina, that means she is imagining the scenarios taking place in the café.
So readers, is your Higher Self something you can identify with, or do you call it another name? When you ask yourself that question , does it come to you easily, or do you ignore it and push away because it sounds too vague or airy fairy?
How is the Café a metaphor as a vehicle for the Higher Self? It’s clear that Nina lets the café guide her to a place she isn’t accustomed to. She enters a spiritual realm and one where she feels that the café transports her to, a world beyond her world. Her truth expands, the death of her grandmother is no longer just a death at the end of the novel, it's more her own journey of exploration into other areas, where the potential for a life after death exists. The café becomes a microcosm of the Universe, a reflection of the true higher nature of life. It is not static - it is constantly in motion, relaying it’s message to whoever wishes to hear it. The voice of Intuition is the one we are also most likely to ignore - but that’s the one we need to listen to. It’s the Higher Self knocking at our door. So answer it and let the wisdom come in. You may be surprised at the direction in which it’s taking you, it may be one you're totally unfamiliar with. Yet you’re in for a beautiful ride along the way, so trust it and follow it.
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