It is not often that an editor feels compelled to add a note to an author's book. But by the time you are through reading this, I hope you will understand why I felt that, on this particular occasion, it was not only important to do so, but possibly even essential to your understanding and enjoyment of this book.

As someone who has spent their entire career working in the media as a journalist, magazine editor, publishing consultant and the author of six books of my own, I've naturally encountered many challenges over the years. In all honesty, however, I have to say that nothing in my career thus far has been as challenging and frustrating, or indeed as truly bizarre, as editing this book.

Given my background, it may not surprise you to learn that I am somewhat of a 'stickler' for clarity, punctuation and good grammar. Imagine my surprise, therefore, when, over and over again, I found that many of the text cuts, edits, corrections in grammar, punctuation and syntax, as well as several of my own attempts to clarify some of the information in the channels, kept disappearing from my computer. At first I dismissed this as a simple, stupid failure on my own part to hit the "save" button. The second time I began to wonder whether there was a technical malfunction. But when it kept on happening, often with the very same passages I had been 'clarifying', I started to wonder whether there might be another explanation…

When I voiced my concerns to Steve, he fell about laughing. For, of course, Steve understood something that I, in my enthusiasm to do a "proper, professional editing job", had failed to consider. The information in this book had come from the Group. Thus, what was more natural than that they should be hovering over my shoulder, approving - or not, as the case clearly proved often to be - the changes I was making?

To say that I was totally flabbergasted by their involvement is an understatement. After all, an editor's job is to guide his or her author, to help them clarify what is unclear, to tidy up their work by showing them where they may have repeated themselves, to edit extraneous passages… and so on and so forth. Fortunately, Steve was always very amenable and co-operative when it came to being 'guided' by his 'editor', but clearly the same could not be said of the Group.

The lesson I learned from this is that it is one thing to guide an earth-bound, in-the-flesh, human author, such as Steve. It is quite another thing to deal with a group of non-corporeal, higher entities whose sole purpose is to guide, rather than be guided. Steve says that the Group has a wonderful sense of humor. All I can say is, they must have been clutching their sides and falling off their heavenly chairs in mirth at my earnest, but woefully naïve, attempts to 'tidy up' their communications!

So if this book leaves you wondering why the Group often present the same piece of information in different ways; why they often repeat themselves three times, or even why they construct their sentences in such a labyrinthine fashion, take it from me, these are no accidents. Indeed there is a definite purpose to their unique method of communication.

It took me a long time to understand it, but I now fully accept that it matters not whether the Group speak in a manner to which we are accustomed, or even whether we comprehend their words on a conscious "human" level or not. What matters is that they are planting "seeds" in our biology as well as our "unconscious." This is the purpose of their communications; it is their way of helping us to re-member.

Given the many frustrations I encountered throughout the editing process, I cannot truthfully say that I have enjoyed editing this book. But, of course, that's only the "professional me" talking. Speaking on a purely personal (and, of course, spiritual) level, I wouldn't have missed this opportunity for the world.

I feel immensely privileged and honored to have been offered this opportunity to be challenged, frustrated, bemused, but ultimately illuminated by such a close encounter with these loving messengers from Home.

Thank you, Steve, and thank you, the Group, for blessing me with this task, and for helping me to discover this part of my contract.

Sandra Sedgbeer