August 27th, Book Launch, Ottawa

Speech by Neil McKinney

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It is both an honour and a distinct pleasure to have this opportunity to say a few
words about Magda’s recent work, The Book of Returning. What an amazing
accomplishment.
First let me say that it is impossible to speak about Magda’s book without first
saying a few words about the author herself. From the time I first met Maga it
didn’t take long for me to realize that she has an unyielding focus on truth. In my
personal work with her, there was no room for obfuscating, fudging or being
unclear or indirect what was being examined. Magda always held up a clear,
unflinching mirror to what needed to be named, understood, and integrated. I
don’t think I have ever worked with a healer who has had such an unwavering
sense of integrity or laser-like focus when uncovering those parts of oneself that
had been abandoned, denied, and pushed into shadow. This was uncomfortable
at times but invariably it is where true healing lies.
In addition to this drive for truth, Magda possesses an in-exhaustive reserve of
courage. No fear, shame, or trauma was beyond her capacity to bring attention,
awareness and understanding to those fractured aspects of oneself that were
the source of suffering. Nothing under the quality of such examination and inner
inquiry was ever beyond redemption and integration. This is how human’s heal
and this was the container Magda has held for the countless people she has
worked with.
Lastly, there is Magda’s grounded compassion. It is one thing to assist a person
to uncover and integrate broken aspects of themselves, it is another to hold a
space of authentic empathy in the face of every permutation of the human
condition. This is something that only someone who has truly surrendered to
their own journey can do and it was apparent to me that Magda had committed
fully to her own path of extensive integration and self-knowledge.
I could go on and on but I wanted to highlight these qualities in particular:
Magda’s unwavering quest for truth and inquiry, her fearless courage and her
immense capacity for compassion. It is these very qualities that she has brought
to bear in the writing of her book.
In The Book of Returning, Magda invites the reader on a courageous and daring
odyssey of ideas, reflections and contemplations that are both intimate and
universal. Drawing upon her many years of inner inquiry as well as her
professional work as a Traditional Chinese Medical practitioner, her shamanic

training, her many journeys with plant medicine as well as her work with a global
clientele, Magda presents a delectable array of insights and observations about
the nature of reality, the true origins of humanity and the potential collective
destiny that is unfolding before us.
In the book, I was particularly impressed by Magda’s concise and incisive
understanding of how trauma becomes lodged into our memory and how the
unintegrated aspects of our life can easily become a narrative in which we are
imprisoned. This is something I had experienced directed in plant medicine
journey work and was pleasantly delighted to find stated in such a clear and
precise manner within her book. It was as if I were reading about my own
journey of healing
Magda’s reframing of the Ten Commandments at the very end of the book was
also especially powerful. It is amazing to see something we take for granted can
be transformed into a profound reminder of our true sovereignty when spiritual
understanding is applied.
Lastly, I was deeply moved by the many experiences Magda shared from her
own life. Most are incredible, many are touching, most are illustrative but all are
personal, true, and impactful. This is this degree of vulnerability that breathes
life into a work that would otherwise be less accessible. In this case, it enlivens
all of the spiritual insights Magda offers throughout the pages of her book.
Have no doubt, The Book of Returning is a book that speaks to our times. We
are on the brink of disclosure regarding whether we are alone in the universe.
We are also presented with the challenge of discerning our right relationship
with artificial intelligence. Most of our institutions are under the siege of
incredible change. All the while, we have access to an engulfing, wealth of
information that is truly staggering and yet it is almost impossible to discern what
is truth. As a counterbalance, there is the promise of incredible spiritual
evolution that is emanating from a vast array of sources: Indigenous wisdom,
remote viewing, channeled messages, ancient prophecies, hitherto unseen
astrological configurations as well as our own personal experiences all of which
are converging before us. The Book of Returning reminds us that within the
maelstrom of change that is our current age, there is a golden thread of self-
knowledge running through all these phenomena that is calling to us to
remember who we are, what our purpose is, where our place is in the Universe
and what is the potential destiny that simply awaits our individual and collective
awakening. The Book of Returning beautifully invites us back to our true origins
and to remember the full potential that can await us as a species.