Shirley Andrews is the author of two classic books on Atlantis and Lemuria, called (a) Lemuri and Atlantis:  Studying the Past to Survive the Future, and (b) Atlantis:  Insights from a Lost Civiliztion.  She is considered one of the world's authorities on Atlantis and Lemuria, if not THE world's expert on Atlantis and Lemuria.  

She writes that she had a spiritual awakening when she was 56 years old.  In Shirley's words:

 

"My outer lifeseemed pleasant and adequate, but my inner life was partially unfulfilled. After spending the last 30 years nurturing and guiding two sons and four daughters who had grown into responsible adults, I was a successful flutist with many students, but my daily life was almost totally focused on my immediate surroundings. I only practiced meditation irregularly.When one of my daughters invited me to join her on a walking safari in Kenya and then a trip to Tanzania to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro I eagerly accepted her invitation.

 

"After weeks of arranging and preparing, in August 1987 I was in Africa close to the Equator, ready to climb the grand mountain. Although we were at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro, I had only seen it once when we were many miles away. The huge mass is so large that when one is close to it and clouds surround the top, it appears to be a very wide, gently rising slope that advances into dense haze. Our adventure finally began as we walked gradually upward through a muddy rain forest to the Mandara Hut 9,000 feet above sea level.

 

"Day two was also easy and we spent the time talking as we slowly trekked on a barren, rocky treeless area for ten miles to the Horombo Hut at 12,450 feet. On the third evening at Kibo Hut we found ourselves at the challenging height of 15,450 feet. I felt fine, but watched helplessly as person after person became ill from the altitude. The final walk to the top began in total darkness at 1:45 a.m. as those of us who were able moved upward in a line rather briskly back and forth across a steep slope of loose rocks. As we climbed, each time one or more unfortunate persons vomited or complained of a violent headache a guide was assigned to lead them down. The curving line of lights from our flashlights grew shorter and shorter as people departed and we moved into gloomy clouds. I was tired and sore, my lungs needed oxygen and it was getting extremely cold, but I willed my body onward - to turn back was unthinkable for I was determined to climb to 19,340 feet and reach the snowy dome of the mountain. Placing one foot in front of the other and focusing on taking ever deeper breaths and small sips of water I slowly moved upward, happy that my head and stomach were not a problem.

 

"As I trudged into the snow around Kibo Cave, I stopped and stared at the amazing site of fluffy pink, yellow and orange clouds far beneath me. Suddenly a tiny edge of the sun appeared and I watched as the small bright object grow larger and larger. All at once the world around me turned from dark to light, from small to enormous. Simultaneously, a bright pillar of light from the sun flashed through my body and I was abruptly struck by an overwhelming sense of the majesty and power around, above and below.  The mystical aspect of this experience continued as I moved upwards along paths cut between immense icy glaciers and finally around the top of the extinct volcano. I seemed to be floating in a blissful, ecstatic state, almost totally unaware of my body. I began to comprehend the vastness and the splendor of the universe that extended up, around and forever onward. My mind opened like a new flower and I realized I belonged to the whole cosmos, not just to the tiny dot that was the Earth".
 

"This mystical experience resulted in her seeking new truth and opening up many doors to the lost civilizations of both Atlantis and Lemuria.  She writes that "as a young child I KNEW the name Atlantis. Like a powerful chord sounding within a beautiful musical composition it sent shivers up and down my spine. Atlantis was always with me and one day soon after the event on the mountain top someone said the word. The chord resounded again, just as in my earliest years. Now the desire to learn more and report my knowledge became an obsession.Driven by curiosity I researched extensively in the libraries of the British Museum, Harvard, Chicago and the Edgar Cayce Foundation in Virginia Beach. The more I discovered about Atlantis, the louder the chord sounded, and yet, the questions, my questions, were not all answered". 

 

Yet, Shirley has published two classic works on both Atlantis and Lemuria, and her interview should be truly fascinating and Out of this World!