Ruxandra Duca

I began writing under the influence of my belief that all known approaches of the universe's creation are somewhat flawed. I aimed at writing a book that would both terrify and inspire people to believe in themselves both as individuals and as a whole. I wished to portray perfection in the most genuine manner, and got to the conclusion that perfection lies under the mark of relativity; i.e. what I find perfect might be potentially disastrous to any other person. I hoped to someday be able to employ some of the earnings so as help some less fortunate people. I ended up with an universal psychological description of man. Beyond anything else, I have always believed in change. Now, more than ever, I believe that we are all in need of a purely conscious paradigm shift, and that we need to remember our qualities to prevent ourselves from being buried under the weight of our obsession for our flaws.

Well, my first pick would have to be "The picture of Dorian Gray". If people could see their souls I believe that they'd be utterly terrified and disgusted. In the end, it's not about how many people you've impressed, but about how many people you've inspired. Those are two very different things.

Secondly, there's Kafka's "Metamorphosis". How small are we all when confronted with our greatest fears and failures? How do we crawl through life only to make ends meet? How do our fellow humans crush our spirit while treating us like disposable yet barely tolerable creatures?

Dostoievski's "Notes from the underground" appealed to me immensely because I was able to identify myself with his character. It was a relief to know that what I felt had been felt by at least one other person and so wonderfully transposed into words.

Immanuel Velikovski's "Worlds in collision" was truly fascinating in that it helped me understand that, if people seek the truth, the truth does not lie in religion or in science, nor in any of their multiple branches, but that, as always, the truth must be somewhere in the middle.

Not lastly, Rudolf Steiner's writing has had the greatest influence on the Pendulum. It opened my eyes to a different reality and, while I might have misunderstood it, I know I have not. As always, words offer the means to meaning.