Book excerpt: What if your brain were divided into pieces of land: six distinct territories, each with its own distinct 'laws of nature'? What if each time you visited one, it took control of your thoughts and feelings? What if, all of a sudden and for no reason, you couldn't make up your mind, or you just felt lost and confused? Tony Kirkland, MS, a former psychotherapist in NYC, discovered six such places where we collectively gather. These are not physical places, of course, but they might as well be. There are six regions in our brains that, once we enter them, control what we experience. We all move from one region to another, or remain 'stuck' in one... hoping we will find happiness. But what if there is really no happiness to be found in our brains? What if happiness is located in a totally different, as yet unexplored location: the mind! What is the difference really between the brain and the mind? We all suspect there's a difference, but no one has been able to answer the question definitively. The mind holds the key to eternal joy. The brain tries to solve problems and figure things out, yet only makes matters worse. What Tony discovered is that, collectively, we have all found a home in those brain territories. Some of us have multiple homes, and we move around from area to area. We try to avoid unpleasant feelings like loneliness, disappointment, boredom, and powerlessness. Instead of experiencing these things, we just change locations or pretend that things are not the way they are. We move around and around until we die, and we call that life. Tony offers a different option. This book is about six people who set out to discover their minds. The mind is embodied in a place called the Stream. The six travelers start their journey determined to make it to the Stream, but, one by one, they drop out, settling down in the different brain territories instead. What they must confront to move on proves to be too difficult for most of them. Through the journeys of the six characters, this book explores one central question: What does it take to discover true transcendence?