James Connor: The Superyogi Scenario
OMTIMES: If this is a book about yoga and meditation, why do you include a Benedictine priest as one of the superyogis with powers?
James Connor: I wanted to make the point that these powers don’t belong to any one religion.
You have to remember in the Bible, people didn’t question Jesus performing miracles. They wanted to know in whose name he did it in, God’s or the Devil’s.
Father Agua has a similar question in the book. And it’s one I think we can all ask ourselves. Do we use whatever powers we do have to benefit others or do we use them to pursue our own self-interests?
OMTIMES: Who’s the main villain of the book and what powers does the villain have?
James Connor: I thought a lot about what makes a great villain. I think you need to really understand and almost empathize with their motivation and they need to appear unstoppable.
The main villain in The Superyogi Scenario is Physique. She’s a yogi who has gotten so fed up with the unending cycle of violence and wars on terror that she’s gotten twisted. She decides that the U.S. won’t stop wielding its military power so aggressively until she shows people how bad it feels.
She has this unusual ability to adjust the density of her body to the point where she can bring planes, buildings, and bridges down. It’s a terrifying power because she’s a weapon you don’t see coming. It’s also unusual to have a woman as the main villain. Readers tell me Physique is pretty scary.
OMTIMES: What’s the main message of The Superyogi Scenario?
James Connor: It’s not powers that make you super, it’s the wisdom of putting other people first. That to me is real spiritual practice. Being able to get your own selfishness out of the way and care for other people. To be able to love without holding anything back.
OMTIMES: When did you write The Superyogi Scenario?
James Connor: I wrote it in the middle of a long three-year meditation retreat that I did in a cabin in the high-desert Mountains of Arizona with my partner Kristin Walsh.
