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15,00 €

Eddy the Whirlpool

Unverified overall ratings (3 customer reviews)

One day, a little whirlpool appears in the stream. Eddy doesn’t know how he got there, but that doesn’t matter. He is having so much fun playing with his friends. Then a friend tells him he is in danger. He must grow bigger or risk disappearing. This starts Eddy on his life journey. A journey of forgetting and remembering who he truly is.

A heartwarming story about happiness, survival, and discovering that we are not separate from the world we live in.

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Description

In the tradition of Advaita Vedanta (or ‘non-duality’), the whirlpool or wave metaphor is used to show that all of existence is an indivisible whole. A wave cannot be taken out of the ocean. A whirlpool cannot be lifted out of the stream. After all, what are waves and whirlpools? Movements of water, that are not independent of the water in which they exist.

In this metaphor, all of us humans are whirlpools, that form one day in the vast ocean of the universe. We spin for a while until we dissolve again in the water from which we came. But what was it that truly existed? The whirlpools? Or the water? The metaphor helps us remember that we are not separate from the world around us. Each of us is a unique and temporary window of the universe onto itself.

In this heart-warming and humorous story of Eddy the whirlpool, we can recognize our own life-journeys. Because Eddy’s adventure is an archetypal life-journey: the journey of forgetting and remembering who we truly are.

The stages of our life journey

  • We just appeared one day

    We just appeared in this world one day without asking to be born. We don't know much about ourselves or the world around us, yet we are naturally playful and happy.

  • We learn how to survive

    We are taught who we are and how to survive. A new identity is formed and our journey into the world starts.

  • The end of the road

    We made it. We survived. But now what? We are aging and can no longer ignore our mortality. The place we find ourselves is not what we imagined. Without joy there is no point to life. Something is missing.

  • Identity crisis

    We fall into an identity crisis and start to doubt everything. What have we been doing all these years? We feel like we have lost something important on the way. We recall fragments of happy moments in our childhood. A timeless, causeless joy. When simply existing was enough to be happy.

  • A friend helps us remember

    We ask advise from a friend who seems happy, despite all of life's challenges. But instead of getting an answer, he holds up a mirror. We suddenly recall that we were never really separate from the world around us. We remember who we are and always have been.

  • We rediscover the joy of being

    The whirlpool and the ocean are one and the same. From the viewpoint of the ocean, there is no beginning and no end. There is nowhere to go and nothing to do. Life is an endless journey, of child-like play and creativity. The ocean forever enjoys simply being itself.

What readers are saying

An ideal gift to explain non-duality to a friend, in the most gentle way.

Simon

So clear, so simple, and yet so deep.

Bernd

One of the best children's books I ever read. So touchingly beautiful!

Klara

Additional information

Weight 0,39 kg
Dimensions 26 × 21 × 1 cm
Category
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3 reviews for Eddy the Whirlpool

  1. 5 out of 5

    Rachel

    As a family therapist, the books that I read to my own children are carefully selected to include a respectful consideration of their inherent dignity and the complexities of the human experience in ways that are accessible and fun for them! Eddy is the type of character that they relate in their experiences in the classroom and the social environments they inhabit. I highly recommend this book to all readers, young and old, who are on the path of self-discovery and joy.

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  2. 5 out of 5

    Audrey

    I love this book. It’s a cute and creative idea with little Eddy the whirlpool discovering his true nature. The illustrations are lovely and the message is profound. A book for any age and a great reminder of who we really are.

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  3. 5 out of 5

    Mae Anne

    This book is a fantastic read for not only children but adults too! It’s a reminder of what the journey of life is really about and teaches us to reconnect to the child within. Illustrations are also so wonderful, my 4 month old couldn’t keep her eyes off! Highly recommended

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Themes of the book

What truly exists can never die

A major theme of this story is life and death. Just as a whirlpool appears in the water, it will one day dissolve. But the water itself will not go anywhere. The water represents existence itself. It was never born and it can never die. The story of Eddy can help those who are processing the loss of someone they loved.

We can always return to our inner child

Another major theme of the book is the rediscovery of our inner child. The child we once were is never lost. No matter how old we are, or what we have done in our lives, it is never too later to return to our innocence. For the eternal child in all of us, simply existing is enough to be happy. This story can help us remember that love, joy, creativity and playfulness are what life is about.

We are one, appearing as many

Love is a major theme in Eddy's journey. Even though each of us appears as a unique whirlpool, we are all made of the same water. Even those whirlpools that we least understand, are still like us. In order to survive, Little Eddy had to become big Ed, capable of fierce competition. We are all shaped by the circumstances we are born into and by the ways we have learned to survive. Eddy's story helps us return to understanding for those who suffered much while growing up.

Who is this book for?

A gift to introduce others to non-duality

Eddy's story is a gentle introduction to the non-dual understanding. It uses simple and non-intellectual language to remind readers of what they deep down already know. This book is a great gift to a friend or family-member, so they can discover non-duality for themselves.

A story for (grand) parents to read with their children

This book is a soft and gentle way to confirm an intuitive understanding that children already have. It gives children and parents a way to talk about the oneness of our existence, without being intellectual or trying to teach anything directly. It also plants a seed that children can remember when they are adults.

A way to deepen your understanding of non-duality

The story of Eddy is perfect for those who wish to deepen their understanding of non-duality, with language that is non-intellectual and speaks directly to the heart. A simple story can sometimes convey more than many lengthy books on spirituality.