[Excerpt from 'The Ringing Cedars Series'] In 1994 a Siberian elder told entrepreneur Vladimir Megre a fascinating story about ‘ringing cedars’ — trees which heal bodily diseases and elevate the human spirit. The elder told him where such a cedar was growing in the Siberian backwoods. Intrigued, Vladimir Megre delved into literature on Siberian cedar trees and was one of the first Russian businessmen to re-discover the tremendous folk medicinal, nutritional and commercial value of virgin oil pressed from Siberian cedar nuts. However, knowledge of the traditional technique of pressing the oil had been lost.

Determined to re-discover the secret and launch a highly lucrative production of cedar nut oil, Vladimir Megre set out on an expedition to find the tree, but his encounter with the elder’s granddaughter, named Anastasia, transformed him so deeply that he abandoned his commercial plans and, penniless, went to Moscow to fulfil his promise to Anastasia and write a book about the spiritual insights she so generously shared with him.

What happened next has thrilled and inspired millions. With no advertisement other than word of mouth, books of the Ringing Cedars Series have sold over 10 million copies in Russia alone and have been translated into 20 languages, making Vladimir Megre one of Russia’s most widely read authors. Inspired by the Ringing Cedars, thousands of people are now planting trees, changing their lifestyle and, in search for a mortgage-free existence and spiritual re-connection with the Earth, are relocating to new eco-villages which have sprouted all over Russia and beyond. Thousands of readers have felt a huge creative upsurge and started writing poetry and songs and doing paintings.