The Macon Telegraph—Books Section reviews "Earth, the Forgotten Temple: A Spirit Quest in the Wilderness"
Author turns to nature to find spiritual fulfillment
Sunday, February 13, 2000 By Patti Laurens
M any of us view life as a journey, as a search for something deeper and bigger than, ourselves. "Earth, the Forgotten Temple: A Spirit Quest in the Wilderness" is a book about one woman's search for spiritual meaning.
The book is a true story of Niki Collins-Queen, a licensed counselor who has been working as a children's therapist in the Middle Georgia area for more than 20years.
The book focuses on the adventures that this nature lover undertook in the late '80s and early '90s as part of her spiritual quest. The adventures Collins-Queen experienced while on these quests are what make "Earth, the Forgotten Temple" an interesting read.
Born in America and raised in South Africa, Collins-Queen has had a life full of adventure—and pain. She spent her childhood being tossed from family member to family member. At age 18, she was able to meet her American father; who she says turned out to be a disappointment. She had divorced twice before meeting and marrying a man she considered to be her complete opposite.
When speaking of her current husband, Collins-Queen focuses on the permanent connection that she has finally made with someone.
"Our differences bring us together rather than push us apart, and we have broadened our worlds to include each other. For the first time I can see how mates stay together, and have the opportunity to break the pattern of losing loved ones that started in my childhood."
Throughout her life, Collins-Queen has been searching for a constant, someone who will always be there and who will love her unconditionally. Her spiritual quest centered on her need for this and her need to forgive those who abandoned her.
To find out more about herself and her spiritual side, Collins-Queen goes into nature and does some deep soul searching. Her various feats include many solo backpacking trips in the Georgia mountains, long canoe runs through Florida and a trip in which she sailed from Florida to Georgetown and back.
Through this soul-searching, she found spiritual guidance and many friends along the way.
The most interesting part of the book was the description of her dangerous and exciting outdoor adventures. One of Collins-Queen's most dangerous activities was "hitchhiking on sailboats."
For her sailing trip to the Bahamas, Collins-Queen took out an ad in Cruising World magazine to be a crew member on a sailboat sailing around the world. But she needed to find a way to Nassau.
Once she got to the end of that boat's trip, she asked around the marina for another sailboat that was starting out on its journey.
She "hitchhiked" all the way to Georgetown and then back to the United States.
Her love of the outdoors ,influences everything she does. Collins-Queen shows her environmentalist side when she shares with the reader the tragic deaths caused in the wilderness by the expansion of cities, pollution and inconsiderate people.
"Although fascinated with dolphins, humans continue to kill them by unregulated fisheries and purse seine fishing, and they are still drowning in the up to twenty-five thousand miles of ocean nets. Before the drive for "dolphin safe" nets, more than a quarter of a million dolphins were drowned or killed annually by tuna fisherman."
This book is best for a reader who enjoys the outdoors and finds meaning in Mother Nature. While Collins-Queen describes herself as "a mystic who attends church in nature's majestic cathedral," her book can speak to those of all religions.
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