Enjoy this new novel about the journey of the frankincense trail in ancient times. Why was frankincense more precious than gold in the ancient world? Can frankincense really calm you and lift your mood? The insights and history into essential oils are presented as never before in this wonderful story. D. Gary Young learned of the power of essential oils through a profound personal experience that led him on a worldwide odyssey to learn about essential oils and their importance in our lives. The One Gift is his gift to you and the world.
This book is set in the deserts, in what is today, the Middle East, in a time prior to Christ. The story is about the greatest caravan captain of his age. He is so competent and respected that he is commissioned to escort Queen Sheba across the desert to King Solomon. The book is also about the incredible healing properties of frankincense and myrrh.
To begin with, I wasn’t sure what to make of this story. It is written in a very narration style that places a lot of distance between the characters and the readers. As I began to explore the plot, I however became deeply interested in the lives of the desert caravaners during this time period. I was also interested in the way that frankincense and myrrh were used to heal. The caravan captain was also deeply religious which I initially found off-putting. Further in, I however realised that the book had considerable depth. The captain’s belief in god began to explore true faith not in a vengeful god, but in a loving god that is not separate from self. In knowing this god, the characters were able to own their fear and conquer themselves. They were also able to understand how to forgive and the story demonstrated how this enabled unsavoury people, given a second chance, to enact incredible change within themselves.
I would describe the book as a spiritual story that explores a link between the healing properties of frankincense and myrrh and one’s connection to god. It is what I would describe as a fourth seal (chakra) story. Rather than being fear based, the story is love based and the reader derives high points from incredible acts of kindness. It is not a story that everyone will understand or want to read, and in some ways, it is a book ahead of its time. However, I would recommend it to those who can handle depth and spirituality. I would certainly love to read more from this author, especially a non-fiction autobiography.
This book tells the story of the first camel caravan to traverse the great desert, carrying frankincense and myrrh, as well as gold and spices. Along the way the leader and master tells stories of his faith in God, and of his many adventures. Each shipment left him away from his family for a year or more. He was responsible for the safety of his men and animals. One adventure was escorting the Queen of Sheba to the palace of King Samson. This was an exciting adventure and I wholeheartedly recommend this book.
The story is set in the Arabian peninsula around 3000 years ago at the time of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. It highlights the frankincense, myrrh and precious spice trade as it existed back then; while the story itself revolves around Shutran, a merchant and caravan commander, and his family. Shutran and the men working with him must transport the precious frankincense through some of the most difficult terrain in the world, and in the novel, you get a great sense of the dangers involved: giant sandstorms, desert bandits, pirates, black scorpions and worst of all __ treachery. So there__s plenty of adventure and action in this story. But I felt that this was so much more than just a great adventure story __ there__s a lot of heart and wisdom in it too. Shutran is a true leader, a man of honour and integrity, respected and even loved by the men under his command. So much so, that he wins the respect of kings and queens. I reckon there is a lot that modern leaders could learn from him. And Shutran it turns out is also a great father and husband. It__s also a very spiritual novel and we see in many instances how Shutran uses his intuition and his faith in the spirit to get him and his men through many a danger. The novel has some great illustrations, but best of all I loved the large map of the Arabian peninsula that you get with the book. I think it__s a well researched novel. In fact I get the feeling from reading The One Gift, that this might have been a past life for Gary Young. Who knows? Check out the post on my blog for further information: http://essentialoilsforliving.com/blo...
This is a very exciting book, with lots of adventure and excitment thoughout. A story of a man who was the Captain of a very large Caravan, who lived during King Solomons time. If you think you would like to learn more about desert Caravans, before the time of Christ, King Solomons kingdom, and the Queen of Sheba, and high adventure on the desert, this book is for you.