JOURNEYS WITHIN A True Story of Time Travel, Past Life Regression, and Channeling By HENRY LEO BOLDUC FIRST EDITION Copyright 1988 by Henry Leo Bolduc PO Box 88 Independence, VA 24348 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages or reproduce illustrations in a review; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other without written permission from the publisher. First Printing April 1988 Second Printing, June 1989 Third Printing, November 1993 Fourth Printing, July 1995 Printed on Internet November 1997 ISBN 0-9601302-3-3 Internet Edition Copyright 1997 by Henry Leo Bolduc. All rights are reserved. Permission is granted for personal noncommercial use only. No further publication by any means is authorized, nor does this internet publication constitute a waiver of any rights. Adventures Into Time Publishers P.O. Box 88 Independence, VA 24348 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS NOTE ON THE EDITING OF THE CHANNELED MATERIAL PROLOGUE SECTION I -- HENRY'S BOOK Chapter 1. My Search Begins Chapter 2. Moving Into Action Chapter 3. The Turning Point Chapter 4. The Adventure Years Chapter 5. Healing the Past Chapter 6. Opening New Doors Chapter 7. Adventure Into Time SECTION II -- THE VOICE OF VISHNU Chapter 8. Meeting The Eternals Chapter 9. Progressions, Balance and Counterbalance Chapter 10. Opening the Consciousness Chapter 11. From the Teachings Chapter 12. Readings SECTION III -- PRETTY FLOWER Chapter 13. Pretty Flower Makes Her Appearance Chapter 14. A Typical Gathering Chapter 15. The Story of the People Chapter 16. The Little Stories Chapter 17. The Fantasy Called Reality Chapter 18. The Door of Trust SECTION IV -- A SCHOOL FOR PROPHETS AND GUIDES Chapter 19. An Exercise for Group Hypnosis Regression Chapter 20. A School for Prophets and Guides NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS SAMPLE ILLUSTRATIONS Author's Note The book reports actual events involving real people. Except for a few instances in which the sequence of events has been changed for the sake of clarity, the facts have not been altered nor the names changed. NOTE ON THE EDITING OF THE TRANSCRIBED MATERIAL Much material in this book is quoted directly from audio tapes made during both regression and channeling sessions. The channeled and regression material is presented almost exactly as it was spoken. I have not corrected grammar, syntax, or diction. Some words are necessarily spelled phonetically. In rare cases I have added a few words for clarity or inserted an explanatory note; these are indicated by brackets [ ]. I have made a few omissions, again for clarity; these are indicated by dots, either three (...), for a deletion within a sentence, or four (....), for a deletion at the beginning or end of a sentence. Pauses, where the speaker hesitates or changes the subject abruptly, are indicated with dashes ( - ). I have added capital letters where they seem necessary. Of the vast material from both the Teachings (The Eternals and the Gatherings (Pretty Flower), I have used what seems of highest general interest and what best represents the messages of the souls who speak. I have not, however, included any material on health issues, since answers to health questions are specific to individuals. PROLOGUE I once heard a delightful story that the ancients came to earth, bringing with them the secrets of eternity. The ancients worried about how to hide these great secrets until mankind was spiritually ready to appreciate and appropriately use them. One lamented, "If we hide them on land, people will conquer the land and discover them." Another commented, "If we hide them in the sea, mankind will reach the very bottom of the sea." A third observed, "If we hide them in space, men and women will one day soar into space." They pondered. Then the wisest said, "Let us hide these secrets in the last place they will think to search. Let us hide the secrets in their own minds." And this proved to be the perfect hiding place. Not until recently has mankind dared to explore this final frontier; people are now searching their minds for the secrets of eternity. I am part of this exploration. I am a past-life researcher. I do hypno-regression to help people experience episodes of past lives. I also help people become channels through which voices speak from eternity. This is a book about how, and why, I do it. I have few theories to offer, but I have a quarter of a century of exploration, exhaustive testing and research to share with you. I didn't set out to be a past-life researcher. In fact, when I was young the word didn't even exist. I did have an early desire to be a priest, to help people achieve their spiritual goals. Later, in junior high school, I thought I'd be a detective, a goal implanted by watching far too much television. Now I have become a detective of a sort, investigating clues to the mysteries of time and the soul. And I sincerely hope my work helps people grow spiritually. My work takes a scientific and humanistic approach to previously uncharted areas of the inner mind. The belief in past lives is centuries old, but the methods of exploring and testing this belief are modern. One of the things I have realized over time is the spiritual significance of the human mind that is not to be linked or confused with religion. Religion has an important place in the community, but it oversteps common sense or becomes dogmatic if it says, "Only our religion and church have the answers; God is on our side only." No one owns an exclusive franchise on God or truth. God and the spirit are universal known to all people of all ages and places, if sometimes under different names. Naive people say jokingly, "Oh, when you talk of past lives, why is everybody Cleopatra or Mark Anthony?" But I say from experience that we were not Cleopatras or Mark Anthonys. We were street sweepers, murderers, cutthroats, rogues, and whores. We were also priests, priestesses, healers, helpers, nurturing mothers, and providing fathers. We were varied people with varied life experiences, just as we are today. Within this context, only cynics will declare that we were all famous personalities and only egotists will hope so. As a past-life researcher, my primary tool is hypnosis - a mind-awake-body- asleep process. Unfortunately, the word is loaded with meanings, not all of them favorable. As I see it, there are three kinds of hypnotists, each using hypnosis for different purposes. The first group comprises the stage entertainers. They use hypnosis almost entirely for entertainment, working with a person's mind to show one can do more things, or different ones, than one normally could. My early courses were in stage hypnosis and they taught me good techniques. I learned to work in front of an audience and I learned selfconfidence; it was impressive to me to see people respond to things I was asking them to do. The next group of professional hypnotists uses hypnosis as a therapeutic tool for stress management, cigarette cessation, weight and habit control, building self esteem, and other manifestations of a positive personality and a healthy lifestyle. In my years working at a hypnosis clinic, that was the kind of hypnosis I did; I gave suggestions to clients to encourage them to respond in certain specific ways. In this type of work, the hypnotist gives what is needed, whether a formula of exercises, suggestions, key words, visualizations or metaphors, to get subjects to respond in ways they need and want - to produce a desired therapeutic result. The third group of professional hypnotists believes that the best way to enrich lives is to enrich minds. They work to bring out information and feelings already in the mind or subconscious of people. This information can be from a present life, a past life, or both. This is how I use hypnosis now; I induce a trance and guide my subjects to reexperience past lives or to open themselves to the eternal. The object is to gain access to the subconscious by using hypnotic techniques for the purpose of allowing what is stored in the mind to come forth. I am not a magician; I put nothing in, but simply draw out what is already there. For those with a technical bent, I include information in this book on my methods. There is not always a therapeutic intent; the subject may merely want information - you can never learn too much about yourself. Other subjects do have therapeutic aims. This kind of person believes an unsolved past problem is affecting the present life. By bringing the problem into awareness it can be dealt with and let go, the first step toward solving the present-day problem. I have found that merely taking this first step is sometimes enough to solve the problem; on the other hand, success can come after multiple sessions. Early in my career, I had to decide how to approach my research into the subconscious. I could enter the academic world, as did Dr. Milton Erickson, a pioneer of modern hypnosis, and Dr. Ian Stevenson, whose research on reincarnation is unique. Or I could go in the direction of the spiritual entrepreneur, like Edgar Cayce, the preeminent American psychic, or Jane Roberts, whose channeling of the entity Seth made them both widely known. Even a world renowned, respected, and meticulous reincarnation researcher like Dr. Stevenson, with impressive academic credentials, has encountered resistance from his peers. So I realized that to have the freedom I wanted to pursue my hypnosis exploration goals I would have to work apart from the establishment. The academic world or even a structured organization could be stifling to my desire to map the mind and pursue truth wherever I saw it, wherever it led me. In later years I realized that the academic world and life as a scientist in "the system" were in the words of those already there: "...tenure wars, grant skimming, departmental cocktail parties, Byzantine academic politics, Department of Defense contracts, jealous colleagues, not to mention the work of actually doing the science. It turns out that 'doing science' is quite a bit different from studying it.* On the other hand, choosing the path of the entrepreneur meant that I would receive no financing from anyone; without grants I would have to fund all my research myself. But this is the path I chose and it has offered far greater freedom. It has been years since I've been to a cocktail party, and I'm a pacifist in the tenure wars. To compensate for lack of funding I worked slowly and used whatever resources were available. I learned patience and kept careful records of procedures and results. I suggest to others who wish to follow this path, this quest, that they first learn to keep an open mind - but not so open that their brains fall out! Build trust - not blind trust but trust for those people worthy of tnust, whether individuals or organizations. Later, when I explain the procedures I followed in my own search, I will welcome you to test and duplicate the experiments. These experiments can easily be conducted in any quiet home setting. You do not need stainless steel labs with state-of-the-art technology, only honest questioning minds and the desire to learn and to experience. The journey within is different for everyone, so you will want to evaluate your results for yourself. Then do accept the validity of your own experience. See for yourself if this work answers any inner questions, satisfies any inner needs, or resolves any inner conflicts. I find past-life-regression work does satisfy deep needs for me. Here are some reasons I do what I do. I have found my goal is to understand and to be understood, then to inspire others. I like to unravel the mysteries of the past through self-examination to appreciate the incredible sagas of the soul's journey. I like to awaken to awareness of my life's mission and the knowledge of my spiritual evolution, and to help others to do so. I like to recognize past friends and soul mates-echoes of the heart from some enchanted time and place; to find reasons to laugh at human folly and reasons to cry for human weakness; to realize how extraordinary every person is now and to appreciate the magnitude of their shared memories and experience. As I give talks, seminars, and workshops around the country, I discuss the latest discoveries in the field of past lives. So much information is being discovered by other researchers every day that our vocabulary and understanding change and grow rapidly. Part of my work is to simplify these complicated new ideas. I strive to translate new ideas and concepts into familiar words and images. One of these new words and concepts is "channeling." My hypnosis and regression work led me to this exciting new field. Again, I will clearly spell out my channeling procedures so you can test and replicate these experiences also. Hypnosis is the tool I use to guide both regression and channeling sessions. In regression work I guide people into their own inner minds. They journey deep within to examine memory imprints that we call "past lives." Whether these visions are always actual past lifetimes or whether they are metaphoric or symbolic doesn't really matter to me. What matters is that the person experiences new insight and selfunderstanding. The regression session focuses on a person's stored memory banks, deep within. The channeling session is completely different. It guides a person to other sources of information. These sources seem to come from "outside" the person; that is, an entity enters the body, or vessel, and speaks through H. In this book, Daniel and Eileen are the vessels; they become channels for the entities of The Eternals and Pretty Flower. These latter entities seem separate from Daniel and Eileen "outside" them, as it were. Yet both The Eternals and Pretty Flower stress the oneness of the entity and the channeler and, indeed, of the whole universe. What can we say, then? Are the entities real? Or are they figments of the imagination? Manifestations of the subconscious? Does it matter? I think it does not. I believe channeling tunes in to a person's superconscious mind - a kind of universal mind or infinite universal intelligence. Going to this higher state of consciousness is opening new channels to divinity, accessing the soul's mind - what some people call "angelic communication," the "compassionate mind," or the "God Force." Channeling does not originate in the conscious or subconcious mind but transcends them to the superconscious. That at least is how I understand it now. I have much to ream, as we all do, about the process. Of course I have had questions, doubt, and self-criticism about my work. I wish to help everyone, but experience has taught me that I can only help those who first ask for help, and then I have time only for a small number of those. I see my role more as a door opener and teacher to encourage and inspire other people to become guides and channels so they, in turn, can help even greater numbers - like being a teacher of teachers. Only one minor problem has arisen from my search into the secrets of the mind. Some few people heard it rumored that my work was "speaking to the dead." Such a description is born of ignorance. Had anyone said such a thing directly to me (these things always seem to come second or third hand), I would surely have explained that anyone can speak 10 the dead. Getting the dead to answer back is the hard part. Well, that is a very old joke, born perhaps of the days of seances and mysterious tappings by unseen hands. We work differently now, I hope. I myself have been fortunate to have received favorable notice from other explorers of the human mind. I have met and made friends with some of the advanced thinkers of our time. I consider it a great honor just to be a part of this new movement and the exciting time of enlightenment in which we live and learn. My 25-year search is a long time in which to realize how much I still have to learn. My search is still just beginning, it seems. All the secrets of the ages are not revealed in the blink of an eye of cosmic time. But in these years I have gained profound insight and experienced peak episodes that I am about to share with you in this book. I will present my story without embellishment. I do not pretend to be more than I am, nor do I hide in false modesty. This is a story of youthful curiosity and my eager search for answers. The adventure quickens! Working with the mind is like opening a window into eternity. Every mind is like an entire living universe, a mother lode of information. When we search deep within and travel the pathways of our minds and souls there is a joy of accomplishment. Like buried treasure, mankind is finding and unlocking the secrets of the ancients - mining them, at last, from their hiding places within us. * Jane Hooper, "Hard Science," Omni Magazine, October(1985): p.116. Chapter 1 MY SEARCH BEGINS The heart knoweth, the soul never forgetteth. Edgar Cayce, Reading 5351-1 In the late 1950s, when I was a teenager, my brother went to a hospital fair and spent five cents on a used book. That nickel changed my life. The book was The Search for Bridey Murphy, by Morey Bernstein.* Mr. Bernstein hypnotized a friend and asked her to reexperience episodes from her childhood. Then he asked her to experience her prenatal state. And then -- he asked her to go beyond. His friend, Ruth, began speaking of herself in another lifetime in Cork, Ireland. The book my brother bought for five cents was the story of Bernstein and Ruth's search for knowledge of lives before the one we experience "now" -- reincarnation, in fact. In its heyday, The Search for Bridey Murphy was a best seller and stirred up controversy and conversation. I was overwhelmed by excitement as I turned its tattered pages. The story added a whole new level to life. If the premise was correct, life was now a series of adventures rather than a single episode. Newspapers and magazines sent reporters to Ireland to try to check out the story. But I thought that the press had missed the point. For me, the question was not "Is every single detail accurate?" I accepted the book's truth. Its basic principles felt right, touched some hidden core in my being. Maybe I just wanted it to be right. No matter. I wanted to know, "Can this experiment be duplicated?" And, more important, "Can I do it?" I knew I would have to try. So, in my high school years, the adventure began. Because Bernstein had used hypnosis to bring Ruth back to past lives, I said to myself, "Well, I will simply have to learn hypnosis." I realized that hypnosis was just the first step -- the tool that would enable me to get to the important thing, the regression experiment. __________________________________ *Bernstein, Morey. The Search for Bridey Murphy. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1956. With the drive that fills explorers, I devoured information about hypnosis. I took courses, attended lectures, and listened to tapes. Most information available then was about stage hypnosis techniques, though I found some serious material, like a course for doctors, dentists, and psychologists that taught me more useful therapeutic hypnotic procedures. At 15, I was doing hypnosis. By the time I was 16, I felt I knew enough to start experiments in hypnotic regression. At a time when most of my friends were buying their first cars, I bought my first tape recording system. (At this point I was following Bernstein -- a ood model, by the way. I needed the tape recorder to record every session, as he did.) With this equipment and with interested volunteers, I was ready to begin. My friend, Calvin, volunteered to be my first subject. Earlier, Cal and I had practiced stage hypnosis exercises and I could tell when he was in a deep trance. On this particular evening, he and I entered the dimly lit room we had chosen for the session. Other friends sat around us in a half circle. A hushed silence fell as we began our first experiment. After inducing a trance, I repeated the techniques used in The Search for Bridey Murphy. I asked Cal to write his name, first in the present and then again as we went back a year at a time to the very first time he wrote his name. We watched in amazement; Cal wrote his name differently with each year. With the last, or youngest, signature, he described his grandfather placing a hand on his, guiding the pencil and showing him how to write his name. This is the actual writing Cal did. [Illustration #1] The success of this experiment encouraged me to venture further into the past. Cal was receptive and ready to work, and I will report the results of our work later in this chapter. Meanwhile, I continued working with friends, guiding other hypnosis sessions. I was learning to use this tool -- hypnosis that would help me achieve my goal, to duplicate the Bridey Murphy experiments. My biggest needs were for guidance and practice. There were no books or courses on methods of past life exploration. My high school psychology teacher encouraged me to learn hypnosis and even allowed me to guide a group hypnosis session in our class. The students who participated enjoyed themselves, so their evaluation sheets said. But I was often puzzled or discouraged. For instance, once in a trance a friend described one of his earliest present-life memories: his aunt dropped him from the top of a bureau. Later, when I asked his mother, she denied the incident had taken place. I jumped to the conclusion that my friend was "making up" the episode. I questioned the validity of what I was doing, and nearly gave up regression work altogether. Now, of course, I am glad I didn't, especially because years later, when I was visiting my friend's older sister, the full story emerged. As I was telling the story of her brother's regression, she blurted out that she had been the one who had dropped her little brother and had covered up the incident as best she could. This was my first big lesson that not everything in a regression session is exactly "accurate." I have learned to allow every subject tell his or her story without interrupting the flow of information. There is plenty of time after the session for analysis and judgment if accuracy is an issue. The First Past Life Regression Up to now, I had experimented with hypnosis as a way of helping people recall experiences from their present lives. It was time to see if we could go deeper into the past. Although I was young, I wanted to work slowly and carefully and to make a sincere, in depth study. Somehow I knew, or had a premonition, that this was something far more than a single experiment. This was something that would become part of my life work. Many of my friends wanted to "go first" on this journey, my first attempt to help someone experience past life recall. I chose Cal because I liked his receptivity and felt our earlier success augured well for this experiment. My preparation in learning hypnosis and regression techniques was about to pay off -- or fail. Cal and I agreed on the date, time and place for our first past life session. I felt both eager and apprehensive. The day ticked by slowly. Evening came and we gathered at Cal's. Earlier that summer a group of us had built a room in the large barn attached to Cal's house. This room, separated from the activity of the home, gave us an ideal place to work. Cal lay on the sofa as the group of friends and observers sat in a half circle. I dimmed the lights and turned on the tape recorder. Here is an excerpt from that first, hour long session. CALVIN August 19, 1962 Ashby, Massachusetts You are in a past lifetime.(1) Everything is so completely clear. Your mouth is nice and moist. Now I want you to tell me about the scene you can see. I'm standing in front of a house. I'm -- it's a wooden house and it's got some kind of a grass roof -- something like that. And there is two big trees in front of the house. I'm leaning against one of them. I got a beard and -- ah -- a grey beard. And there's a dog -- a dog standing beside me. I don't know, never seen the dog, but he's good dog. And um -- Cal then began to describe a life he lived as John O'Hara in 1762 near Berkshire County, England. After the session we were hushed into a long silence. We had all witnessed something profound and exciting. When we did start talking, we asked Cal if he remembered anything of the session. He did. In fact, he was able to add details of the lifetime he had just reexperienced. I was very surprised by this fact, as other subjects I had read about had no conscious recall after the session. Cal appeared fine -- reenergized, even -- after the experience. Our success encouraged us to schedule another session a week later. I knew that something important had happened that summer evening in 1962. I realized that my life's work had taken its first big step forward. But I had no conception whatsoever of the phenomenal events that were to come of it. For the next three years Cal and I continued to work together(2). In his second session, while returning him to the present, I specifically gave him the suggestion, "You will retain in your conscious mind only that which is important and beneficial for you to retain at this time." I was trying to guide Cal not to have memory after awakening if it was not good for him. Nonetheless, Cal did continue to recall much information; I have since found recall after the regresssion to be a normal and natural occurrence for many people. I also discovered that it was possible to have Cal explore more than one lifetime during each session. He could easily review and relive two, three, and four lives in a single session. The Word Spreads I lived in a small town. It didn't take long for word to spread. Soon I was flooded with volunteers eager to experience what Cal had. The friends who sat in on Cal's sessions saw that it was safe and interesting, so they wanted to try -- and they told their friends. Even I wanted to experience regression, but there was no one prepared to guide me. Cal and I listened to his recorded sessions, I to perfect my techniques and he to fill in the gaps in his conscious memory from subconscious recall. We soon realized that there were curious things about his past lives. Cal observed this first. One day he said, "Have you noticed that in every one of my past lives I died a violent death?" I had typed out the material on the tapes, and went to study the transcripts. Sure enough, Cal was right. There was a form or a mold or a design -- a kind of thread stitched through his lives -- a pattern that might warn him to be careful of possible violent death in his present life. A few sessions are necessary for patterns like this to begin to show. Two years later, a man came along who was to teach me the vital importance of understanding past life patterns. This man, Tom, heard of my work and asked me to work with him. He did not say if he wanted to learn more about himself or if he was just curious, and I didn't ask. Whatever his reasons, Tom proved to be an excellent subject. On Oct. 21, 1964, Tom and I worked together for the first time. During that session, Tom relived his life as Mokoutu, and talked of living on a smoking volcanic island, Ponjupo. With a smile of love, Mokoutu spoke of his mother, Moko. Then his story turned to pain and sadness as he remembered the drowning of his beautiful woman, Byutu. He often spoke in a language no one in our area had ever heard. He called houses "kieyoshuto" and described their structure of sticks and clay. He talked of his people's washing their clothes in the river, of the hard work in the garden, and of his dog. Mokoutu and his friends took their "kelia" (boats) to the deep water to net whitefish and rockfish. They returned from these expeditions as quickly as possible, because the Monokis, their enemies on another island, might attack their homes in their absence. "Don't go to the islands!" Mokoutu shouted. "Go halfway between! Never all the way!" Mokoutu's father had died in war, when enemies came in war boats to destroy their homes, to steal, to trample their gardens, to kill his dog. Mokoutu and his people fought bravely and fiercely, killing some of the war men. The rest fled. "How old did you live to be?" I asked. "Lived to be old -- forty -- fifty." I had learned from Cal and others that death is often as important to a person's memory and development as life. I guided him to the time just before his death. "Men standing," he said. "Old women weeping. Crying. Men sad. Presents -- gifts -- for me to take." He saw the young men leave, while the old men remained to "take a smoke." The old men stayed with him and told the story of the village. "Time," he said. Time for what? "To go." That was his simple description of his death. "Time to go." As I questioned him about his death state he described a "blue darkness" and then "swift movement." After a moment, he said spontaneously, "Leap! Move quickly!" I now guided him back to his childhood as Mokoutu and then to a life "before." This concept of lives "before" or "your next life" are probably not always chronologically accurate. But the sequence of lifetimes is confusing. For example, is your "first" life your present life or does it start the first time you enter flesh? This life "before" was in Belgium, where in his childhood he was with his mother, picking grapes. His father worked in a cotton factory. He talked about how he was too small to work in the "Allen Tavern." "Too small -- too small to work in tavern. Steins -- floor -- broke and I got mad. Men drag me -- stab." Tom's face contorted with intense pain and his body jerked. As a guide I feel my duty is to protect my subject, so I guided him forward to detach him from his pain. "It's something of the past," I said. "What happened after?" He said that he died and after death was "clear." I did not know what he meant, but he continued, "Clearness -- waiting very clear -- sky was very clear." Upon returning to the present and waking, he had little recollection of the session. Tom's Other Lives This two year period gave me confidence. I knew that the Bridey Murphy experiment could be duplicated and that I could do it. I continued my work. Tom was a Marine, and we could not schedule another session immediately, but on Feb. 7, 1965, we met again. Apart from the vivid description of his death state and his speaking a foreign language, our first session had been quite ordinary. Now, in Tom's second session, his past life patterns started to emerge. In this session he reexperienced two lives. The first was in 1912 in Norway and was not remarkable. There was no discussion of his death or the cause of death. The second, an earlier life chronologically, took place in France. Tom, now "Peter Foulke," described the beautiful countryside as he traveled through many towns and forests. He said that "Bradfire" forest was one of the nicest places he ever saw: "Large forest with straight trees -- very straight. Dark. Walk through the forest during the day and it's almost like night." "Did you ever go to any big cities?" I asked. "Stick with small towns and small people. People are friendly. Work here and there." And later: "Towns are nice. People are gay and happy and friendly." "What did you benefit from this life?" I asked. "I seen places, beautiful country." Peter Foulke wandered through 18th Century France as 20th Century Tom wandered through his life in the Marines. Then I asked, "How old were you when you died? Do you see a scene now when you left this life?" Not old -- forties -- about forty. How did you die? Died in bed. Of old age? No, heart trouble, drinking. And what happened after you died? Do you want to tell me about this? Going away from building. What form are you in? Go away from the building -- going north -- just leaving. In what form? Well, white -- silver form. It's pretty good. Going away -- getting away from everything. This happened. Leaving people that hated. Just leave. What's the purpose of death? Why do we die? Purpose? We just die. Things don't go away. We die and we -- can go on. Why should the body die and the soul live? Well, the body is just the soul's shield. It takes all the blows and everything caused by the human hate, despise. The body dies -- it has to. Is there anything else? Move on. Which way? Toward better things -- you move to improvement -- trying to look for happiness -- not so much just achievement. You have to move. If you stayed in one place, you wouldn't be progressive. Move on and you see and live more full -- better. Learning From Our Sessions At the time of these sessions, I could only observe and learn. I faithfully transcribed the tapes and read and reread the material. I was learning to grasp the valuable clues hidden in each and every regression experience. For instance, at the time I did not understand the implications of the material about alcohol Tom was presenting. In two lives, his deaths, one from the tavern stabbing and one from heart disease, involved alcohol. At the time of our sessions, Tom was a heavy drinker. He died suddenly in 1979, killed instantly in an alcohol-related car accident. Had I been more aware of the patterns that can occur from lifetime to lifetime, I might have seen the obvious correlation of his present life and his past lives in regard to alcohol use. I have come to believe that past life regression has therapeutic value if it helps us to understand our present lives and to make the changes necessary to clear away the wreckage of past lives. Perhaps I could have helped Tom bring about the changes he needed to make to avoid a repetition of his destructive alcohol use. But perhaps not. I had so very much to learn about the patterns and lessons of lifetimes. After-Session Events Reading about a regression experience is completely different from being there in person. The body movements of a subject being regressed are sometimes unusual and almost always different from those made in the conscious state. Subjects wring their hands, smile and laugh, cry and sob. Often after the session, the memory door is still open and the subject will continue to talk in great detail about the events he or she has experienced. For instance, during a regression a woman thought she was a servant in a house; afterwards, as she continued to "live" the experience, she realized she was the wife of the man she served. Sometimes the memory door closes but the subject continues to behave for a little while as if still in the regressed state. This was the case with a young man who experienced a past life as a leper. Others considered him -- and he considered himself -- unclean; he was disgusted with his body, which the disease caused to rot away before his eyes. After the session, he immediately got up and went over to the sink, where he washed his hands over and over. I watched and asked, "What are you doing?" Only then did he realize he was doing something unusual. There was still the need to wash his hands after being considered unclean. He was quite unaware of his action. He was astonished when I told him he had been washing his hands for almost 10 minutes. The repellent nature of leprosy and the subject's reaction brings up the question of dealing with "disagreeable" episodes in past lives. If the session brings forward a violent or traumatic episode, or a whole life, the subject tends not to recall it consciously when brought out of hypnosis. His or her subconscious protector takes over. In these cases I doubt if it is necessary or beneficial to share the content of the session with the subject, and I rarely do so, except when a subject makes a serious request, and then only after a month or two has passed. Odd as this sounds, no subject has demanded to hear the tape if I explained it was a tragic or difficult lifetime. Perhaps some inner voice or guidance reassures them that the experience of the regression in itself is enough. The subject who experienced himself as a leper followed that life's experience into and through death and achieved peace and understanding. He had little need for conscious recall in this life. It seems to be true that reexperiencing past lives, no matter how traumatic or violent, can have positive effects. Another time, I guided a woman into a past life as an American Indian. She came to me, she said, because her life had always been sad. She had a good job and enough money and a loving husband and child, yet she always felt sad. The recall opened dramatically. Her small band was attacked by another tribe while the men were away. The older women, the old men, and all the children were slaughtered. A few of the desirable younger women and maidens were taken as slaves. The subject watched her two children being killed. She was taken captive and barely survived the trek to her new home and a warrior husband. The subject was able to tell this much; the remainder of the hour session was filled with floods of tears. She cried for 40 minutes. Not knowing what else to do, I simply let her cry. As her anguish subsided, I gave positive suggestions about forgiveness and about closing the door to the past. Then I brought her back to the present. When I saw the woman and her husband months after the session I hardly recognized her. It was as if a giant weight of resentment had been lifted. She talked differently; she laughed; she walked more lightly. I believe she made a major breakthrough in changing her pattern of habitual sadness. She said she felt wonderful about the session, and had no need or desire to hear the tape; I saw no reason to give her a copy or to play it for her. Except for floods of tears, I have had no real problems in regression work. Not everyone has instant success either. This is a new field, a new science, a new study. There are no guarantees whatsoever. My early years were experimental; there were no manuals or courses. But I strove always for high standards of ethics and professionalism. As past life regression becomes more accepted as therapy, there will be the need for more schools and the sharing of knowledge. There is great need for therapeutic responsibility; when dealing with any trauma there are risks. In these early years I had only the vaguest idea of the challenge I was accepting. This is human reality, with all the shadows and all the joy. Past life regression is looking into the most secret, complicated inner workings and the profound simplicity of the soul. There is far more to humanity that behavior and statistics. The psyche is the human soul. Psychology, as I see it, is the study or the science of the soul. Past life exploration is to me in-depth soul study, the real essence and the real meaning of tomorrow's psychology. The psychology of the past -- and unfortunately, of the present -- has sometimes concentrated on behavior to the exclusion of other things. I believe this produces a narrow and stunted view of the soul. There is more to people than mere behavior. Working with past lives shows me how much more there is to a person's psyche than old-school psychologists will admit. The behaviorist view of an earlier generation of psychologists seems to me too distant and cold compared with the enriching humanism of the past lives approach. Through the continuous thread of lifetimes, with their patterns and lessons, I am beginning to view humanity in a clear new light. Deep within each of us is a timeless sensitive soul seeking to unfold and open into the light. This unfolding I call the human adventure. Notes to Chapter 1 (1)"Now I want you to tell me..." is an outdated method of questioning a subject. I would not use such a directive approach today; modern hypnosis uses indirect, open ended questioning. For examples of the newer method, see the guided group experience in Chapter 19. (2) We had five sessions together. They were witnessed and recorded in Massachusetts. The dates were Aug. 19, 1962; Aug. 26, 1962; April 4, 1963; August 24, 1964; and Sept. 30, 1965. Chapter 2 MOVING INTO ACTION The class philosopher, Henri has no use for pseudo-intellectuals. He enjoys life, death, adventure, and beauty. Included in his future plans are hypnosis, travel, and writing. Ashby High School Yearbook, 1964 Watatic 1964, the Ashby High School yearbook, had it right. After two years of regression experiments I knew where my life was going and what the next adventure would be. I had taken all the courses I could take and read all the books I could read. For instance, in high school I devoured books about Franz Anton Mesmer, the father of hypnotism.(1) Now I needed more, and the only place to get it was the Edgar Cayce Foundation in Virginia Beach, VA, home of the Association for Research and Enlightenment (ARE).(2) I sold or gave away almost all my possessions -- my record albums and recording equipment, even my car. (This paring down was to become a pattern marking periods of major change and growth.) I lingered in Massachusetts until Thanksgiving, so I could spend the holiday with my family. Then, taking only traveling clothes and my tapes, notes, and transcripts of regression sessions, along with the money I had saved by working weekends and evenings in an apple orchard, I got on a bus for "college." I matriculated, unannounced, one December night in 1964. I didn't have a plan; I didn't even know where I could sleep. I did know one thing; I needed to learn more about past life regression work. My technique as a hypnotist had improved, and I had kept accurate transcripts and case studies. I was acquainted -- barely -- with Edgar Cayce; I had read about him in the Bridey Murphy book. I knew he was America's preeminent psychic, and that he had conducted "readings," or discourses, given in a self-induced hypnotic sleep. I knew that he was a recognized source of documented past life information, and although he did not conduct "regressions," he did speak of people's past lives.(3) I also knew the name of his son. I had been impressed by one of Hugh Lynn Cayce's taped lectures on reincarnation. So when I got to Virginia Beach I looked up Hugh Lynn's address in the telephone book, cadged a ride to his house, and rang his bell. "Here I am," I announced. "I've been doing past life regressions. I have tapes and transcripts. Teach me." Or words to that effect. It was evening. Hugh Lynn and his wife, Sally, were just leaving for a dinner engagement. Instead of laughing at this a naive, brash teenager on their doorstep, they kindly arranged for me to stay at the ARE headquarters building, where I could also study. The next day I had the first of many talks with Hugh Lynn. He seemed interested in my work and asked me to give a talk and demonstration to a large group of the members, but I had sense enough to know I wasn't ready. Years later I was to give speeches and workshops at ARE; now, I was a student. I was full of doubts and questions. I had tried to ignore them, but they would not go away. What could past life study teach? What could be gained from knowledge of the unconscious mind? Where was I going and how? Did people think I was crazy for pursuing this "stuff?" Was I wasting my time and money? Did people want to know about past lives? Sometimes I doubted it. I wondered, "What am I doing this for? What do I do with this information, anyway? Is it all just wishful thinking? What if it is real? Will we have to return again and again and again until we get our lives "right?" In 1964, the Cayce Foundation headquarters were in a big white building that had been donated by Cayce supporters as a hospital that used procedures in the Cayce readings to heal. The building is a Virginia Beach landmark, perched high on a hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. In 1964 it contained offices, a small rack of books for sale, and a library that housed thousands of books on topics that paralleled the Cayce readings. It was and is one of the most important libraries in the world in parapsychology. In addition, the library contained all 14,253 readings, cross-referenced for anyone to read and study. The upper floors of the building had a number of rooms where members of ARE could stay while doing research and study. Hugh Lynn kindly arranged quarters for me there. An adjacent building housed a print shop and an auditorium for conferences. (Since then, the guest rooms have been turned into offices; the library has been moved to a new library/conference center; the single rack of books has grown into a large and active bookstore. The presses are still rolling and computers help ARE keep in touch with a membership of more than 65,000.) [Illustration #2] The Cayce Readings The more than 14,000 Cayce readings are a fascinating but difficult study. The technical language and vocabulary were far beyond my high school comprehension. Also, the flow of subconscious psychic channeled material was a whole new world for me. I could not just sit and read it as I would a story book. It was hard even to understand most sentences. I am good reader, but the material was very deep and unfamiliar, and it has a complicated syntax. I also read just about every book in the library on hypnosis and age regression experiments. I averaged about one book per day, reading late into the night, during the month I stayed at ARE. Here are some of the key questions I explored. Can we remember past lives? I answer, "Yes, we can recall past lives." But if I could prove it absolutely there would be no need for this book. Reincarnation, which is what we are talking about, would be accepted by everyone -- or almost everyone, as almost everyone now accepts that the world is round. We use electricity every day, but no one can define it. We fall in love, and who can define that? We accept many beliefs we cannot prove, and that does not affect their reality. Here is a parable from Kahlil Gibran that illustrates my point. OTHER SEAS A fish said to another fish, "Above this sea of ours there is another sea, with creatures swimming in it -- and they live there even as we live here." The fish replied, "Pure fancy! Pure fancy! When you know that everything that leaves our sea by even an inch, and stays out of it, dies. What proof have you of other lives in other seas?"* Are we making it all up? I remembered my youth and the Santa Claus myth that all adults seemed to be in conspiracy to protect. I wanted real answers. I did not want fairy tales. I had peeked on Christmas _____________________________ *Gibran, Kahlil. The Forerunner: His Parables and Poems. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1961. So in the library I read books by other serious researchers who had done regression work that paralleled my experiments. Answers began to unfold slowly. There was no great flash of light nor instant revelation; it was not like that. But slowly, bit by bit, things fit together. Some things did not fit well and I put them aside. As it turned out, it took a few more years of living, learning, and growing before I proved to my own satisfaction that people just didn't make up past lives. Meanwhile, I delved for the answers in the Cayce readings.(4) In his conscious state Cayce was very wary of reincarnation. In his subconscious state he was an outspoken advocate. He said that in past lives we "find talents and strengths" (Readings 30222-1 and 2002-1) and that our recollection "brings peace that passeth understanding to inner turmoils" (105-1). The readings said that recall is for "soul development" (2121-2); it "helps others and brings them comfort" (764-1); and, most important, that the recall itself "brings awareness of the continuity of life" (1641-1).(5) These were fine explanations of the advantages of understanding past lives. But I could not find anything by Cayce that said we could prove their existence to anyone but ourselves. This dilemma led to my biggest question. What role does imagination play in past life recall experiences? In past life exploration, many people worry that their experiences are "only imagination." At times, I suspect this is so. Nevertheless, further research may reveal that even simple imagination may have strong messages embedded in symbols, as in nighttime dreams. Cayce suggests that imagination is the avenue to the visual faculty of the mind. My own experiments suggested that hypnosis enhances the image part of the mind; that is, people who could consciously visualize, imagine, or daydream seemed to be better subjects for hypnosis. Years later I was to understand the reason for this: hypnosis stimulates and enhances right brain activity and visualization is a right brain activity. There is a definite link between the part of the mind that stores and retrieves images and past life work. The processing of visual information is one function of the mind; we do this all the time when we recall anything from our experience. The creation of visual fantasy is another function of the mind; we do this whenever we daydream. The functions are separate and distinct, but they are often confused. Fantasy is fantasy. Retrieval of a stored image, whether the image is conscious or unconscious, is retrieval of a stored image. But there is a fuzzy border between the two. That overlap is what causes confusion in many people -- thinking that all images are fantasy. For instance, consider two Walt Disney movies. Real-story, true-event "imagination" would be like the movie, The Living Desert, while fantasy- imagination would be like Fantasia. My own regression experiments had shown me that most people recalled events through scenes, pictures, and images, though the other senses can trigger recall of past memories. A few subjects said they "heard" the information in their minds and repeated it. A few others said they "felt" or "sensed" the information that came forward. One said she "smelled the ocean," and much of her recall was triggered by her sense of smell. But for most the image facility was the key or the doorway to the past life memory. Most of their recall was of images and scenes, and because they had not consciously "seen" these images before, I could understand that some thought of it, or mislabeled it, as imagination. But this imagination stayed with them long after the session. With time comes the realization of what is valid and meaningful. Time separates the wheat from the chaff in past life recall; the impressions that last for a long time are more meaningful than passing flights of fantasy. When I searched the Cayce readings on this question I discovered an entirely new link of the imagination with past life study. Cayce said, "The ability to imagine other places [is] because of the past there" (379-3). I responded to this statement with a surge of enlightenment. The imagination is not in conflict or opposed to past life memory; it is a helpful tool. "So that's why my subjects can describe a particular place or time period so vividly," I thought. "Because it is actually remembered from their own past!" People are always so quiet in libraries, but I wanted to shout for joy when I found this nugget. In fact, Cayce told a person specifically to "Use your imagination to fill in details of past life" (1468-1). A reading told another person, "Turn to the mirror of life and ask yourself, `What do you suppose was served as supper then?'" (1179-2). Another person was told, "Visions and odors harken back to past life in the desert" (2662- 1). (This reminded me of the woman who started her regression by smelling the ocean.) What are the warnings about recalling our past lives? Cayce said, "Beware unless you are balanced in purpose" (5399-2).(6) Also, "Don't abuse the talent for recall" (340-15) and "don't dwell on it, rather abide in love" (1608-1). One person was cautioned that past life exploration could cause him to be "side tracked" from his present life (3360-1). I heartily agree. My concern was not that a person would get "stuck" in the past, because that has never happened in my experience (7), but that someone might dwell on the past or, worse, take it too seriously. I was beginning to realize that we are given a series of lives specifically to be able to start anew that we are born again to be free of the past, not sentenced by it. Insight and self-knowledge of our pasts can bring benefit, sometimes can help us change and grow. But the past is past. The readings encourage people to study themselves and their past lives and caution only of the "abuse" of recall. I had faith that if my intent was unconditional love in helping others there was nothing to be afraid of. Why can't everyone recall past lives? In one reading, Cayce said, "Doubt" (1152-9). To me, that summed it up in a neat one-word package. But really, there are many more factors than that. Some people are afraid of what they will uncover. Some people still think hypnosis is like a truth serum that will cause them to blurt out some deep secret (they won't unless they want to). Perhaps a bigger block than either of these is over-anxiousness. Some people are too eager and try to rush the process. The best subjects are neither too apprehensive nor too zealous. The qualities I value most are honest skepticism and an open and honest mind that is willing to accept new experience. What are other recall techniques? If using the imagination can help recapture past life experience, are there other methods? Looking into water, a mirror, a crystal ball, or one's own mind can be good tools for meditation. But a more practical method to enhance past life recall is to study the time period. The readings told one person, "Study Grecian period to recall lifetime there" (1732-2). Another person was told, "Study geography, scenery, windmills, etc., will give the person proof of experience there in Holland" (114-1). Another was told, "Study and vision monuments to recall Egyptian experience"(311-2). When I read this material in the ARE library, I wondered how many people already subconsciously study a certain era or place because of their earlier ties there. The readings gave sound advice; anyone can get insight into themselves by studying times and places that deeply interest them. To me, this gave clues to why some friends only read a certain era of history and others studied only certain places. And the opposite: Why some people dislike a particular time or place -- because of negative experiences, perhaps? One young woman I had recently regressed had had a sad and tragic life in China. After the session, she confided that she hated Chinese food and disliked everything Chinese. In her present life she had no ties whatsoever to the Orient. Travel can also help us get in touch with past lives, Cayce said. He told one person, "Travels to Williamsburg will stimulate recall [of] lifetime there with present husband" (578-2). To another, "Travel to Jamestown and the sense of familiarity what will come over them" (268-3). One person was told to "travel to Palestine to recall both the crusade experience and earlier" (341-8). Another: "Sit on the sands [anywhere] and remember Persia" (1837-1). And: "Travel to coastal areas of Connecticut to recall early settlement there" (1825-1). The readings even suggested travel and activity combined to reexperience events: "Go to the fort on the August moon and listen to your voice which was raised there" (3377-1). Many readings recommend meditation. Cayce suggested meditation "to recall details of life in Jerusalem" (853-8 and 1486-2). For another he recommended "Entering into the silence for the visions that may be brought from the Grecian experiences" (858-1). I loved the suggestions for travel. I took the advice and launched a new career of extensive travel. Studying was a nice, passive approach to past lives. Actual travel to other lands suited me better. There are feelings and vibrations that can only be lived; I do not find them in books. Little did I realize it then, but I was destined to fill a number of passports and to live in and travel to many countries. I love travel and recommend it as an exciting, if sometimes difficult, method of stimulating inner experience. Reading is a memory stimulant, Cayce said. Among the many books he recommended were historical novels and several books of the Bible, such as the stories of John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene and the first chapters of Acts. What about dreams of past lives? The Cayce readings said, "Dreams recall past lives" (5569-1). People were told that dreams recall major events in other lives -- Egyptian, American Indian, and Roman, for example. The study of our dreams, along with daily prayer and meditation, is one of the main paths on the road to the spiritual, according to the readings. My Days at ARE Soon after my arrival at ARE I started my personal dream journal. I put a notebook and pen by my bed. Before retiring I gave myself a suggestion to recall my dreams and write them down immediately upon awakening. There were many people, both staff and visitors, to help me interpret them (dreams are symbols that must be translated into words and ideas.) There are many kinds of dreams, I learned: Dreams to relieve stress, sexual dreams, dreams of fear, dreams of flying and occasionally dreams of past lives. Some dreams have personal meanings that apply only to ourselves. Studying my dreams was fun and I achieved some new past life insights, but to me this method was more haphazard than a guided regression. The dreams that have the most significance are recurring dreams. A Cayce reading explained, "A recurring dream validates past life information" (2072- 1). The recurrence of a dream definitely means a message is trying to reach the dreamer. To me, a recurring dream (even, or especially, a frightening one) needs to be discussed, explored, looked at, studied, meditated upon or prayed about in order that its message be fully understood. If the message is from a past life, a combination of dream analysis and regression can help understand the memory. The link between dreams and other lifetimes is not yet fully understood, but I thing it is clear that dreams and daydreams are a key to unlocking the mystery of the subconscious. Carl G. Jung said, "The unconscious helps by communicating things to us, or making figurative allusions. It has other ways, too, of informing us of things which by all logic we could not possibly know. Consider synchronistic phenomena, premonitions, and dreams that come true."* ____________________________ *Jung, Carl. Memories, Dreams, Reflections. New York: Vintage Books, 1965. p. 302. Many Kinds of Education My mind was filling with ideas and inspiration. I read almost a book a day, studied the readings, recorded my dreams. To balance so much mental exercise, I did yoga exercises in my room. I washed my clothes in the bathroom in the evening and hung them to dry near the radiator. I cooked my meals in the kitchen (everyone cooked for himself) and shared many a stimulating conversation with staff and visitors at mealtimes. I walked on the beach. Virginia Beach was then quite open, with ample dunes to explore. The years have brought in more hotels and condominiums. But the spirit of ARE has remained the same -- there are usually sensitive souls around to share sparkling conversation and experiences. In fact, the biggest benefit I received at the Foundation in the mid-1960s was the meetings with other seeking people. In daily conversation with people living or working at the Cayce Foundation I began to see honest minds with valid questions. These were not carnival psychics but real people with real experiences. Not only had Cayce questioned what this work was all about, but those after him did also. I was not alone with my questions. The ARE confirmed my research and gave substantiation to my work. I was excited by the readings and realized I was not alone; I was not "weird." People were there to study Cayce's information on holistic health. Some came to test their extrasensory perception. Many came to study the prehistoric past, others to look into the future. People came from all over the world with searching minds and most found the answers they craved. Even skeptics were welcome and many broadened their views. The Cayce material taught me that I could now look at life in a much fuller way. The information broadened my horizons and confirmed my own research that there is continuity to life. It now seemed that five or six lifetimes was no more miraculous than just one. To hear honest and sincere people discussing their previous lives as openly as talking about last year's trip to Europe was comforting. South and North I stayed at Virginia Beach another month working at the home of an author and movie producer who was writing a book on the legendary continent of Atlantis. As the weather got colder I felt the call of warm, sunny beaches. Staff members at the ARE gave me the names of a Florida chiropractor husband and wife team who were active in using hypnotherapy. Taking a bus to the Interstate, I started hitchhiking. Within two minutes (and I am not exaggerating) I got a ride all the way to Miami Beach, my destination. My hosts were a delightful couple; they introduced me to my very first psychics. Naively, until now I had believed that Cayce was unique in psychic channeling. In Florida I received my first psychic reading. The psychic did not know anything about me, nor I about him, but after meeting for just a few minutes he began to give me an abundance of information that was totally correct and then predictions that later proved to be correct. Later I had my first palm reading, an impressive one. Before I left, the chiropractor guided me through the deepest and best session of hypnosis I had experienced until then. In New England there had been no one to work with me to guide me as a subject. I had experienced good sessions by using pre-recorded tapes and made a couple of tapes myself, but this was my first "live" session of hypnosis. Traveling back north in the spring I was in Norfolk, VA, and ran out of cash. I had an out of state personal check that I kept for emergency use, but because it was a weekend no bank was open. A sign on a bar said "checks cashed," and although I was too young to drink I went in and explained my situation. The bartender asked for my local address, but I had none. He asked if I knew anyone locally; I did not. He said, "I would like to cash this for you, but I can't." I said, "Well, I was staying at the Cayce Foundation a few months ago; it`s about 20 miles away." His face lighted up and he said, "Well, then, of course I'll cash it for you." I thought he was kidding. But he told me to sign it, and counted out the cash. "They're all real good people over there," he said. Or something close to that; I was so full of appreciation I still don't recall his exact words. To me this experience explains better than almost anything else what the Cayce Foundation is all about. The Cayce material taught me a great deal; the Cayce philosophy and way of life, with its motto, "That we may make manifest the love of God and man," taught me even more. I believed I could gain still more understanding of soul development, and the way to do it was clear: Do the work. I could whole-heartedly welcome the field of inner exploration. If I did the work, went in and explored, if I was willing to take the steps, the answers would come. If I was willing to learn, if I had patience, if I was determined to understand the secrets of the mind, what the mind is, and what my purpose and spiritual destiny were, then I would have to do the work. Other people might misunderstand or reject this type of search. That could not be my attitude. I would search. If I was hurt or others were hurt, then I would put it down and stop. But if I could gain understanding and knowledge and realization of self ... if I could know myself through the exploration of past lives ... if I could attain insight, then that's the course I had to follow. To dive in. To search. To learn. Notes to Chapter 2 (1) Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815), Austrian physician. He believed that "animal magnetism," a mysterious inner fluid, had healing properties. It could sometimes be transferred from person to person by touch, inducing a sleeplike state from which the patients awoke cured or much improved. Mesmerism was discredited by the hostile 18th Century medical establishment and Mesmer died in obscurity, but some doctors continued to experiment and improve his techniques. One was a Scottish physician, Dr. James Braid, working in the 1840s, who coined the word hypnosis, from the Greek root, hypnos (sleep). Interest in hypnosis reawakened in the late 19th Century and has continued until today. (2) "Three organizations have been created to express and promote the worthy ideals which were articulated through Edgar Cayce: The Association for Research and Englightenment; The Edgar Cayce Foundation; and Atlantic University," according to James C. Windsor, Ed.D., president of the last two. The Association (ARE) is "an open membership organization dedicated to making available to all interested persons the readings of Edgar Cayce, and related materials and experiences, through publications, lectures, conferences, home study, group study and specialized programs." The Foundation serves "as the custodian of the Edgar Cayce readings and related materials," which it makes available to researchers and organizations. It also maintains a collection of books and journals in parapsychology, comparative religion, and mysticism. Atlantic University, which reopened in 1985, offers a Master of Arts in Transpersonal Studies, emphasizing "the integration of body, mind and spirit; and of Eatern and Western thought." Residential and independent study courses are offered. (3) According to the ARE, "Edgar Cayce (1877-1945) manifested one of the truly remarkable psychic talents of all time. Widely known today through the scores of books published about his work, he was able to enter a deep state of meditation and give accurate and helpful information on a virtually unlimited range of subjects. The transcripts of this psychically given information are called `readings.' For many years the information requested of Edgar Cayce related mainly to physical ills. The repeated accuracy of his diagnoses and the effectiveness of the sometimes unorthodox treatments he prescribed made him a medical phenomenon. The fact that he needed only the name and current location of an individual anywhere in the world in order to give a careful diagnosis of the physical condition compounded the mystery. Eventually the scope of his work expanded to include information and advice on thousands of subjects, including mental and spiritual counsel, metaphysics, parapsychology, religion, and prophecy of personal and world events." (4) The Cayce readings are arranged numerically. The first number is the one assigned to a person who received a reading, for confidentiality, and the second number is that of the reading given this person. Thus Reading 914-44 refers to a person, Cayce himself, and to the 44th reading for which he was the subject. (5) The first mention of past lives is usually said to have occurred on Aug. 10, 1923. However, it has recently been discovered that there is an earlier one, on April 22, 1911, when his secretary, Gladys Davis, made a notation in Reading 4841-1. This reference, being so unexpected and about a topic unknown to those present, must have slipped by without anyone's remarking it or understanding its significance. (6) I heartily agree with the Cayce admonition ("Beware unless you are balanced in purpose"). If you are a balanced person, and your purpose is balanced with your ideals, you can gain great insight from past life exploration. But if you seriously need psychological or psychiatric help, believing that the solution to your problems lies only in your past life experiences may be a serious mistake. (7) No serious or professional hypnotist would allow a subject to get "stuck" in the past. It has never happened to me, nor have I ever heard of such a case. I do have one undocumented story about a stage entertainer who undertook a successful past life experiment, but did not properly close the door to the subconscious memories at the end of the session. The subject functioned normally but was disoriented for a few days after the experience. Chapter 3 THE TURNING POINT Belief consists in accepting the affirmations of the soul; Unbelief, in denying them. Ralph Waldo Emerson Representative Men In 1974, my friend Patricia and I set out to drive by van through the United States and Mexico. On the first morning, we picked up a young man who was hitchhiking from Boston to Lansdowne, PA, a town just south of Philadelphia, where he was due that evening at a rehearsal at the church where he played the organ. The three of us talked. We all enjoyed the conversation so much so that we drove a full hour south of Chuck's destination. Turning, we headed back to Lansdowne. During that last hour, Chuck talked about the recent death of a young woman who was very close to him. Her death left him with the feeling that their relationship was incomplete, unfulfilled. Trust and friendship had developed among the three of us. I wanted to help Chuck. While it is difficult now to reconstruct the sequence of events exactly, I think I simply asked Chuck if he wanted to participate in an exercise that might help him understand the loss of his friend. I must have explained that I had done similar work before. He agreed. I suggested he mentally look into the eyes of the young woman, to send love from his eyes into her eyes, and to allow her to fade away. Chuck responded very well to this exercise. Then, spontaneously, with his eyes still closed, he held his right knee and talked about a pain he felt there and had -- with no apparent cause -- felt at other times in his life. I suggested we look for the cause of that pain, and I then guided him through a few steps of a technique for viewing past lives without hypnosis.(1) I asked Chuck to imagine enlarging himself to twice his normal size; then returning to his normal size; then floating safely a few inches above himself; and then returning to his body. Eventually, after a few more steps, I asked him to come down to earth once again, place his feet on the earth, and describe his feet. (In retrospect, this seems very strange and confusing direction to give in a moving van.) Chuck did the exercise. What happened next filled me with astonishment and awe. Chuck's Experience Chuck began to talk. In fact, he began a monologue that lasted 45 minutes, and which I stopped only because I knew he was due at his rehearsal. First he described himself as an old man in an Eskimo-like tribe in a frozen land. His tribe could not support its elderly; there was simply not enough food. Chuck suffered the fate the tribe prescribed in this situation; one of his legs broken was so he couldn't follow the band as it migrated. He was left to die. Next, without pause, he started to talk about a life in a place he called Atlantinus or Atlanticinus and later, Oceanus Atlantis. He was delivering a speech. His message was apocalyptic: He told the people in his audience they had five years left before the land was destroyed, and he begged them to flee with him and other leaders. As a guide or facilitator I had conducted many past life regressions. A few were dull, most were good, some were excellent. But what was happening with Chuck, right here in my van, was phenomenal beyond anything I had yet seen or imagined. Chuck was about five minutes into his speech before I realized we had a tape recorder in the van. I started it, picking up his speech in mid- sentence. CHUCK Spring, 1974 Near Lansdowne, Pennsylvania First Session ....need to be fed tonight, to be clothed tomorrow, and to love tomorrow after. You will follow every single origin that that has been before you, only to follow a conclusion you have not known. You will be part of me. You will be part of ourselves. We are teach[ing] each other. You must follow. Pack up everything you own. Pack up your idols. Pack up your possessions. Tell your children, tell your grandparents you must leave them. Break every tie. There is a mountain and a valley beyond it. There is a spring. There is everything ever that we have ever had; that we have never had. There is a being within us so strong that you cannot deny it. I will lead you; believe in me. We will go to a valley that no one has ever seen or no one will ever see again. There is a forest, a veritable forest. There is unanimity in our purpose, but our purpose is to be beyond, to a point where people will precede us and antecede us. People who have known us and never known us. Generations of generations will come after us and they will know where we were but they've never been. They will be in places to the north and to the south. They will to be with the fair skinned people from the East. We will create our own, Atlantinus -- Atlantinus Atlantinus! We will be there! We will die with you so that we will live with you. When our race is with our race, we will be. We will be what has never been, and we will die, but we will live, and you've got to be with us because that is what Louana was ever.(2) That's what she pointed. That's why I hurt. I've been among you, but I've been away from you for years. It's Louana. I've come out. She knew. She knew she had to break away so that I would be me, but it's us and it's me, so follow. Will you follow! Will you be with us! Will you be with me! Will you be with the passion and will you be with the purpose! Will you rise above your lowly rags and will you rise above your lowly existence! Will you be something that has never been! Will you dare to conquer what is unconquered! Will you go with me! Then we shall go. Then we shall go. Then we shall go. Chuck next spoke quietly in a language I did not know, though I am familiar with French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Latin. With the next question, I was able to guide him back into English. I was relieved, for two reasons: it made the session intelligible and it reassured me my skills were sufficient to guide him during the session -- the possibility that I might not be able to was very real, as Chuck was totally living the experience. What's happening now? People. What are they doing? They're following a course that cannot be followed. Why? Its conclusion is so soon. They're abandoning what made them what they are to become, something they can never be. Too fast! They don't realize what they are. They can't. If they did, they'd slow down. They'd teach their children, but they're not teaching their children. They're not even teaching themselves. What are they doing? They're following a principle that can't be followed. What principle? They're selfish. They can't be. They're worshipping, they're worshipping the Power. They can't. It's not the Power they should worship. They should worship what made them powerful. They don't understand the difference. What made them powerful? They don't know. They know that they're gifted. They know they've conquered, but they don't know why, and they think they're omnipotent, but they're not. They're human. They're subject to weaknesses. I'm trying to tell them. They won't listen. There's a few. Launch ships. Go places you've never been. Start what we've started, but start it. Start it so they can be themselves and not what they're not. We'll kill each other off; you know it. You know we'll do something we can't ever recover from. You've got to go. You've got to leave. You've got to follow me. You've got to follow me to places that we've never been. We're explorers! We're adventurers! We're not self-effacing. We're not dignified without our dignity. They will follow themselves until they die. They will create powers they can't control. You can't allow it. We'll kill each other from within. We've got to start over. I know we do. We've got to start slower; we've got to realize what human dignity and value is. We've got to realize behavior. We've got to realize our minds. Don't you understand that people are worshipping us, but we're not worshipping-ful? They are worshipping us as ultra-beings and we're not. Can it be that we're not? Can it be that we've learned something for not- learning? There are people that have been before us. We've got to find them. We've got to find their secrets. Why are we different? Why are our colors different? Why are our heads bigger, our noses longer? Why are our fingers longer? Why are we taller? It's not from something we've learned. It's from something that's within us. It's inherent. We've got to learn it before we advance any further. We've got to take time to study what we are and what we will become. We can't be powerful without until we're powerful within, and we can't ever be powerful within until we realize our potential. You who believe me, you've got to follow me and Moran. You've got to follow me and Moran and Estes and Challis. You've got to follow the four of us. We are the Quadrant. We are the ones who are what we were. If you can see beyond your fingers, if you can see beyond the sunset, you'll know it's not the sun we revolve around. You know it's not ourselves we revolve around. It's a universe. It's a galaxy. You know that we are not the seasons. We're the reasons for the seasons. You don't know the reasons. You must know that the reason for man and woman is not because of some, some divineness within self. Did we create man and woman? Did we create learning? Did we create our noses, our bodies, our beings? Did we create sexual fulfillment? Did we create learning? No! We were created. We are what our predecessors were and what they built upon. So we must continue to build. Think of the horizons we can expand. Think of the enormous structures, the enormous learning. Think of the philosophy, the etiology. Think of what we are. Think of what we are now. It's one billionth of what we can become, not in our lifetime, not in our children's lifetime, but it's up to us. We must propagate. We must procreate. We must go to our centers of learning. We cannot think that we are the end. We cannot believe that this is the absolute end of what we are. We are a stepping stone. You're leading to destruction. Don't you understand? There will be mutants. There will be emaciated faces. There will be people who will never arise beyond what half of what we are. We must go to other lands, other horizons. There are places to the south that we have not ventured to. We must launch ships. We must launch everything that we have. We must build cities. We must build waystones. We must build pointers to where we have never been. We will build again. We will arise, only slower. We must use every single ounce of mentality. And we must learn what we are so that we can become what we will be. What will our children be? Will they be self- centered egotists? Will they be caught up with their own power? No. They can't be that. We'll never evolve. Think of what we can do. There are civilizations we've haven't seen. We must be there. You must follow me. See my hand. See my eyes. See what they tell you. Don't listen to my words; see my being! Look at it! Look at it! It trembles! Look at it! We will be! We will conquer what we are to be, what we haven't been! We will reach! There is strength within us that has never been strengthly tested. We must be. We must arrive. If this is the end, we cannot look at ourselves with pride. We must abandon sex. We must abandon bodies. We must be outside our bodies. We must be mind. We must be, we must be mentality and spirit. We will cover oceans. We will cover mountains. We are! Understand that we are! Your politics are worthless. Your physical sensations are needless. Your starving, your hunger, they can be overcome. There will be - - there will be people after us. There have been people before us. They are pointing the way to something, to somewhere we must follow. There are pathways that have been made but never recorded, and we will follow. Look at me! Look at the strength! You know me as a leader. You know me as a strong man. You know me as a man who can move temples with a single word. You know me as someone who has power from within. You know me as parentless, as brotherless, as sisterless, but you do not know me! You must abandon yourself. You must abandon physical being. You must abandon pain and hurt and pleasure and surface. You must be from within. It has come from your very stomach, from your intestines. You must be able to look beyond what is to be seen. You will follow! You will follow because I command it. Yes, I dare command it. I dare command what you are. I command what you think you are. I will lead. I will lead because it is within me to lead and I question it not. I question not! I know that you are with me. You will follow. You will go now. You will pack. You will bring your asses, your donkeys, your lambs, your llamas, your goats. You will bring everything that was in you. Everything material, everything financial -- you will abandon it! You will follow these hands. They will lay themselves down to the west and to the north. We will cross oceans. We must launch now before the entire Brotherhood abandons itself for power, and they will never do that successfully. There is a power from underneath that will kill us. We will be abandoned. We will be cast into the ocean. We will die. We will sink. We cannot allow it. I give you five years, five years, 364 days times five. I give you calendars. I give you dates. Follow me. If we die, we die, but we'll die living. We will die living instead of dying slowly. We must be, we must be better than what we are or else -- or else what have we striven for all these years? Our ships that go under, our vehicles that fly over mountains, are they to fly because we command them to fly? Did we invent them because we were the only inventors, or did we invent them so that after we die people will follow them? They will say, "Look at what our predecessors were. That is what we must become." We must discover why we are so light and others dark. It is because there is a light within us. It is because we have the power that we do not deserve, but that we must continue. You must realize that drunkenness and immorality will never ever sacrifice or never ever replace spiritual immortality. We will conquer. We will conquer because I see us conquering. We will rise above what we are. It is what Louana was. It is what her parents sanctioned. It is what I must continue and I will bear the burden if only, if only to die and leave you carrying it on. I will die helpless. I will die friendless. I will die, if only so that we can continue. Do you think that we go underneath the water because we are so gifted that we looked in silver plates for mirrors that told us that we were omnipotent that we were gods because we have seen others lower than ourselves? No. If all we are here for is self-preservation and for selfishness, then we are here for nothing! We are transient. Follow me, follow Challis, follow Moran. We are the way. We have given you the knowledge. You must contain within you the need for understanding. Then we will conquer, from worlds beyond, from horizons beyond, we will overcome what we are to be -- what others before us and after us need to be. And that is why I stand before you, and that is why I ask you: Will you follow? Will you be what our brothers cannot see? Will you be the preservation of a -- of a goal? Will you lower yourselves with brothers [others]? Will you continue a race that can never give hope to be what we are? In only a thousand years to be what we are? Have I reached that much? Is that single chord within you struck enough? Will you follow -- Challis! Challis! Challis! Then let us go to the west and tell them what we were and hope -- and hope that those under us will never undermine what we've become, because we are the hope. We are the compassion, we are! And we can never be less than what we are. Let others die underneath rubble. Let others waste themselves in principles that we'll never know. Let us be beyond what we are. Let us rise above flesh to be what our spirits command. Let us leave now. Let us launch. Let us journey. Let us continue. Let us propagate and procreate. Let us carry on those principles of humanity that our brothers have forsaken for power. Let us be -- let us continue -- let us go! My Doubts Removed Everyone has doubts, especially about new ideas and new discoveries. When does doubt become belief? At what point does belief become reality? Does a child, for example, believe it can walk when it sees other people walking, or when it takes the first unsure step, or when it can go a certain number of steps without falling? For me, belief in the existence of past lives turned into the reality of acceptance with Chuck. All my previous questioning and doubt suddenly took a quantum leap into unqualified conviction. I had never met Chuck until the day we worked together, and as far as I can tell, he had nothing to gain by faking any of this recall. When we talked later, I discovered he had virtually no knowledge of the concept of past lives or even of hypnosis. He knew nothing of my previous explorations in mental recall. Chuck did not know specifically what I was doing -- neither did I, for that matter. At this point my sessions were very much learn-as-we-go affairs. So he did not want to please the hypnotist, a phenomenon some people mistakenly assume accounts for behavior under hypnosis. I was not leading the witness with questions, or directing him to a conclusion, as the session was almost all a monologue. My mind was fully occupied simply with understanding what was happening; I could hardly formulate questions at all, much less lead him in a preconceived direction. When we started, I never imagined a full regression. I had only conducted such sessions in a controlled setting with preestablished procedures and at least a few witnesses. To attempt anything more in an impromptu session in a van on a highway was the farthest thing from my mind; I hoped only for a few basic exercises. But the door opened to a full, in depth, profound session. One step flowed easily into the next without effort and soon Chuck was in the deepest hypnosis. This was completely against my normal procedures. He was an able subject and seemed to have a flood of information waiting to burst forth -- and it did. There was no stopping him. Rather than the usual question and answer approach, he began the monologue I eventually had to stop so he could get to his appointment. I was astounded not only by Chuck's spontaneous speech, but also by his delivery. He spoke with commanding power and authority, in the voice of a man, not a youth (he was 18 at the time). He accented each important point by pounding on the dash of the van. I could not see his audience, but I could see and feel his pleading to them. There in my van, in the person of an 18 year old, I was seeing the great leader of a lost people as he warned them of their approaching doom. I believed it would require a phenomenal imagination and vocabulary -- more than Chuck had displayed in conversation -- to create and deliver such a story. I believed his Atlantinus to be Atlantis, the fabled lost island civilization, and the effect of his speech was all the more overwhelming because I believed his audience to have been inundated for thousands of years. I asked him later if he knew anything of Atlantis; he had no conscious knowledge of or interest in it. To him it was just a myth, an imaginary colony or a mythical island that had sunk in the ocean. In the second session (below), however, he talks of Atlantis, rather than Atlantinus, adapting the word to fit my vocabulary. After this session, Chuck had no conscious memory of what he had said. He was, however, shaken by the whole experience and knew that something unusual had happened. He left to go to his organ practice. We agreed to meet the next day. The Second Day When we met again, he still had no recall of the session, and asked what had happened. I made an exception to my usual practice and played the tape for him. (If there is no conscious recall of a session, I do not play the tape for the subject. I made an exception with Chuck because he had no painful personal recall during his first regression.) When we had listened to about a third of the tape, he closed his eyes and started speaking again in a monologue. I sensed that listening to the tape might be enough to propel him back into the past time and asked him to be careful not to do that, since I hoped to discuss the tape with him and then conduct another session. However, he went spontaneously into past time, without detriment to himself or the session. On this second day, he spoke in a tone of deep resignation about a time that seemed to follow the destruction of Atlantis. He spoke of the destruction; of how the people followed the principles of a person called Pyramadis; of what the people did; of the beginnings of the city of Rome. A great deal of history not all of it history as modern historians recognize it -- is related in this session. CHUCK Second Session Conquer -- there was no need to conquer. We were teaching, we were building -- the principles of Pyramadis. We had constructed them. The ancients worshipped us. Why? Why did we destroy two cities? To prove our power over men, or to prove our power? Was it an accident? It was a tragedy. It couldn't have been our fault. No, we're the gifted. It was meant to be by purpose. Ah, Challis. How I do respect you -- I disagreed with you. I called him a coward in the face of nobility, for the only true patriotic thing to do was to leave. And Ares abandoned. He abandoned his entire principles to save face. He said he would start again, but he didn't. He and I have been warring ever since. No, Ares, your chance will never come again. They've outgrown us, because we outgrew ourselves. We had so much pride in what we were that we refused to look in mirrors for fear it would spoil the image. You know, I often wonder, when you were lecturing, how many people wrote your words, 'cause you were so divinely wrapped up in self, it was beyond you to lift a pen. That light -- what you must have thought when you saw the light. You didn't believe that a light could undermine your world. It was to be a glow. I curse you. I curse you and shall always curse you. The view you are standing, watching us burn and I can't even feel enough hate to want to kill you. The time when I thought I'd most want to have you between my arms. I cry for you, for what you made yourself and your followers. To the east they expect us. To the north there is ruin. To the south there is the sun. What would few follow? What did they follow? They don't know why. Maybe it's better. Maybe it's better.... I told Chuck he had no right to curse anybody and he laughed, saying: There is no curse. It is he who has cursed himself, and I am only the physical embodiment of that curse. He will die hating me for something that I am. He will die hating me because I am what he could never be. I am the sight for the blind. He is the sight from the mirror. I am the strength from within. It is in this hand, as long as he can never usurp my strength, he is nothing. He combated that all his life, you know. He fought the Quadrant. He fought Challis. He hated Challis and despised him because Challis would not fight. He hated me because I would fight and he could not beat me. Yes, Estes, you are right. It is not for me to curse. I beg you forgive that weakness. The curse is beyond destiny. Let us go to the Hall. Let us go. The last vibration will be soon. The fire is ignited. What is there left but to ascend? What is your name, your full name? Moran Charras, Challis Karmas. Ares Vilas, Ares Vilas, Ares Vilas. And what is the name of the land you are leaving? I am not, I am not leaving. I shall stay, for there is nowhere for me. What is the name of your land? [Here he lists, in Atlantian language, all the provinces of Atlantis.] He mentioned a ring, and I said, "Tell us about your ring." I remember. There was a large stone to be divided into four, and cut four different segments, and a ring, a large ring. Pinnacle in the center -- placed in such a way -- the roundness -- the oval -- the eclipse. It was the eclipse. An eclipse with an orbit. Thirty-nine degrees at parallel five would bring us far to the south.... It was like a map. It was like a geographical, nautical map. That was where the secrets were. We needed all four. Our last point, we buried the last secret so no one could find it -- and subjected ourselves to mirrors, so that we would never be able to remember what we did. That's why -- that's why Ares Vilas hated us so much. Because we stole the second key. The binary key. He never saw it because he had his friends working on it and had them executed and we knew. We kept him from destroying the world, but we sacrificed Oceanus Atlantis. That's why I'm free. That is why I'm free. My curse was in making him lost by losing myself. That is the secret of this ring. That is [pointing] the eclipse, the planet, the orbit, the moon. The orbit pattern 39 to the fifth. One, two, three, four, and five was the dark. I'm sure of it. I'm sure of that. The patterns, every layer is of orbital flight. Every layer is a pattern of air. Levels, by 1,000 [unclear]. Every light being the space between, so no collisions could possibly occur, and every pattern had a vortex. The vortex, there was something about the vortex. Yes, yes, every vortex, here [pointing], was in parallel with Ascension Hall, there [pointing]. It was our guiding; it was a guide. It was natural because we had no records of its creation. It was monolithic in proportions. [Pointing] That was for trade; [pointing] that was for dignitary; [pointing] this was uncharted. It was night. The configuration is perfect. Granlandia, Islanda, Sudias Articas, Estes Avilas. Thirty-ninth by the fifth binary sector. Where did we put it? By the spider. Oh, yes, we've put it by the spider.(3) Three degrees from the wing to the arrow -- four; Oceanus - - four. There was an earthquake there. I remember four Phoenician sailors accidentally drowned because of turbulence caused in Oceanus Four. If only they had known! Ares Vilas retreated to the west hoping to start again. He couldn't have made it. The west was uncharted and there was no one there. He and his whitefaces took it. They tried, but they segregated and they split. I remember the accounts. Ten years after the fatality, they had a monolithic war. Souls were dying, but the war continued. They crossed mountains. They crossed valleys, and every time the war would end another segment would start. In the end there was a revolution. And Challis Karmas came out of hiding after 27 years. Told his followers he would have no more to do with war. Promptly retreated to the Mediterranean and he started his sect. It was the same time the ancient Romans began conquering. The Romans under the direction of Montomus Caras and Antonus Romilis, who they said was raised by the heathen, but he wasn't. He was the nephew of General Maros. Estes and I had raised him. He was a fine general. He took after Alexis, who conquered the east. Netarnius Forests started the underwater colony in hopes that perhaps they could start again underneath and become their own civilization, but it never lasted. I remember -- I remember the Wavian telling us all that the pressure was too great, that a large force had cracked the top. And I remember Challis Karmas writing to me at last through the ballast that he had cast his ring into the sea, begging me to do the same. And Ares begged me to keep it in the hopes that one day when our futures were ready, our spirits would be united again, and have the rings together. It never worked. Ares retreated again into the east, hoping to get what he had buried. Ares Vilas went. Ares Vilas went, and ran and ran, creating colonies and hoping to band them together, but he couldn't teach them. He could not teach them. So Ares Vilas died in a show of martyrdom, proclaiming himself the last great hero and could not kill himself properly, needed the aid of a Sarian sister, who came back to proclaim her great deed. Chuck now speaks in a different tone of voice. He is quieter, introspective, almost reserved. We were gods then. We were revered as gods and we were, but only to others. We made ourselves gods in others' eyes because we were so weak in our own. If only we had taken time to realize what we were -- that we had had fathers and forefathers. If only we had realized what we were. Instead, Ares Vilas did the final call. And Atlantis burned for seven years. Seven god-awful years and collapsed as a nation. Ares Vilas did one great purpose. He had discipline. His followers had discipline and they had discipline after them. And all we could have was compassion. But that was the secret of the ring. That was the secret. I understand the ring. There are three more like it. From here on, Chuck seems to be going in and out of the trance, from past to present life, on his own. By now, he was really guiding his own session. I had very little influence over what was taking place.(4) I was learning that the biggest job of the guide is to protect the subject from external disruption and to gear the session in a certain direction if it needs it, if the subject gets stuck. Chuck seemed to know where he was going, and I was wise enough to let him go there. I don't believe this. This is the Milliyear 1974. I am in the present, as a Chuck, but I remember what I was. I was somebody else. Somebody else in a different time. There's a voice. It keeps telling me I've dealt enough with origin. I should go to transformation. What else am I? What else am I? What's the voice saying? What's the inner voice saying? Yes, yes, I remember. I was there, I remember. I remember the great scene. It was him coming off the boat and all of us laid down our arms. We couldn't fight him. He was one of us. He was the greatest man our country had ever produced. How could we fight this man? I remember going home and telling Juliette, "There will be another war." I remember her crying, but it was happiness, because we were going to be victorious -- But we lost -- He wasn't the general any more -- and me a mere lieutenant, commanding a cavalry of half-starved men who had lived on pride and sacrifice for months. Disgraced and ashamed and hoping to regain honor by fighting the vilest, filthiest, stinkiest, cruelest, most ludicrous and lewd, vulgar, repulsive army on earth who called themselves "proper, and the true army" -- We had to fight Prussians to beat the French. I remember. That's not all I am. That was very short. So confusing. Too many trials, but not enough tribulation. This cannot be. I can't have been all these things. You've been all these things and many, many, countless more. They are all within the part of you that goes into the making of what is the you and it's all part of soul development. It's all part of the evolvement, that this voice is saying that you must evolve to, what you must strive to. These are all memories and experiences of things that you have done, you have been. Frightened. What else was I? Who am I? I'm scared. I sit here now and I see what is, but I'm scared. How do I deal with myself now? What do I say when I look in a mirror? What am I to become this time? Why now? Look ahead. Look yourself to what you will become, to what you must do in this life. Look ahead now yourself to what you must be, to what you must fulfill and to what you must accomplish in this life. Don't be frightened. Just look ahead. Let it come. It's clear. It's very clear. We have been fighting a war for thousands of years in different bodies, in different faces, in different times, but it's the same war. It's the Quadrant. It's Ares. It's Napoleon, it's Waterloo, it's every single war. The battle is not yet ended. The lost keep searching for themselves and Challis still roams this earth trying, trying hard to keep the war from going on -- trying to break down that blind obedience -- and I keep trying to find compassion in a world that turns heartless. You said it yourself, it was the war of Karmas. It was karma gathering to fight unjustice past, and it's that way ever since. If Atlantis had fought Atlantis, if the victory had been decisive -- the earth [death?] would not have needed to continue. Atlantis would be here. But Atlantis died, not the people, not the karma, not the reasons, not the evil or the good. It is good versus evil. It is the wisdom versus the youth. It is why I could not give my blessing for Atlantis. It was why I could not kill my general. It was why I lived a pauper. It was why I died an alcoholic. It was why I could not see the reason for the hanging of John Wilkes. It is why, it is why the battle will never end. Look ahead. Look ahead in this life. What must you do? What must you do in this life? I must find Challis. How will you recognize him? I will know him, his eyes. I recognized them before, but we didn't meet. I saw him in passing. It was recognition. It was a half smile. "Welcome, brother, to the fight. Welcome, because the fight is continuing and I can't talk with you now, but later." I must find Challis. In this life, I must find Challis. We must talk. We must put away our hatred and our longing. We must find ourselves here. We must make this the last stand. This must be the last stand. Moran, Challis, and Estes. Estes had the idea, but he didn't have the strength. He had the knowledge, but he didn't have the ability to carry it. We must unite and be one as we were once one. We must come face to face with Ares, but we cannot, we cannot allow it to battle. Is Ares on the earth's planet at this time? No. Ares was always late with us. He always came later. He was always the late arrival. I could tell. We must await him coming. We must sit down and reconcile, for it's our only hope. There must be a reconciliation, because annihilation will never work. We've used too many people carrying on our cause -- carrying on the principles -- carrying on a war that should have long ended. I must find Challis. I must find his eyes. Where will you look? Inside myself. If I know myself, then I will know Challis. I will know where he is. I will know what he's thinking, and he then will be able to find me. He's not here. I don't sense him. I remember sensing imminent danger with imminent joy. Challis was that way, a blind man who saw with his fingers. A blind man who glowed in his eyes. They were colors. I could see them at night. There is such a man. Where is he now? He must be to the south. Yes, he must be to the south. The West isn't ready, and the East is in turmoil. The South is all that's left. I must finish here and I must go to the South. I must find Challis. I must find Estes. We will stand against Ares Vilas. They never could pronounce his name in the West.... They never understood our language. I am -- I is -- Ares. We used his name like he used a godhead title. Ares -- Ares -- Ares -- Ares. Challis: the fountain, the seaman. Moran: morales [morals?], dignity, loyalty, compassion. Estes: Always looking, always seeking, always going to the east. Estes, Estes, Foturas. After the session, we were all hungry, and we went looking for a park in which to have a picnic lunch. Somehow we needed a real lawn to "ground" ourselves after our wrenching soul traveling experience. We found no park. Instead, a cemetery, strangely appropriate, with green grass on which to sit. (I have never before or since had lunch in a cemetery.) Chuck's mind was full of memories. He remembered much of the second session. The whole experience was unexpected and fantastic. Truly, Patricia and I didn't know what to say or do. In retrospect, we obviously should have stayed on and continued working with this young man, but we didn't. We simply said goodbye after our picnic and left. We never saw Chuck again. After our return from a two-month trip in the U.S., we wrote, but he had moved, leaving no forwarding address. I was unable to follow up on what he did and what happened to him. I often wonder if he did follow the map that he had outlined for his present life. Patricia and I resumed our trip, going to the Mayan ruins in the Yucatan, and north to the Oregon and Washington coasts, then back to New England. There, we were to start a whole new adventure. Notes to Chapter 3 (1) In 1974, I attended several classes a week at the New Birth Center in Groton, MA. It was started in 1972 to educate people in psychic development, health food, and organic gardening; it has since closed. Patricia and I met there and formed a loving relationship that lasted several years. At the time of our trip, she was not yet familiar with my regression work. At the center, I learned a technique called the Christos Experience; I was using variations of this with Chuck. The purpose is to open a subject's awareness -- to show him he can reach beyond a limited perception of reality by changing size, floating, etc. The subject is given time to accomplish each step. To send love, the subject is asked to close his eyes, visualize the eyes of another, and then, when this is accomplished, to send love from eyes to eyes. The technique is described more fully in The Case for Reincarnation, by Joe Fisher (New York: Bantam Books, 1985, pp. 138-143). (2) I do not know if Louana was the name of Chuck's friend, the girl who died. At the time, so much information was coming through, and I was so astonished by its extent and depth, that I did not think to ask, either during the session or the next day. (3) He may be referring to the giant earth drawings that appear in many parts of the world; for instance, the spider on the plains of Nazca in southern Peru. (4) A subject's taking control of the entering and exiting in hypnosis is rare, but not without precedent. A young woman I had guided a few years earlier described a violent scene in which she was stabbing someone or being stabbed with a knife. She was particularly surprised that there was a definite sound to this act. (From her description the lung cavity was probably punctured by the knife.) She willed herself back to the present and out of hypnosis, refusing to discuss the episode. As I write this 16 years after her session (her first and only one), she still will not discuss the memory with me. Chapter 4 THE ADVENTURE YEARS Begin with that in hand, but begin if there would be anything accomplished. Talk is well. Action is wise. Deeds are golden. Edgar Cayce, Reading 254-35 The years between 1964, when I went to the Edgar Cayce Foundation, and 1974, when I met Chuck, were eventful ones. I traveled. I married and divorced and got to know the son of that relationship. I worked at many jobs. I started a successful antiques business.(1) I also continued taking courses on hypnosis, personal development, applied psychology, mind development, mind science, and psychic development, and continued guiding regressions for friends and acquaintances. And I was unhappy inside. My life, I often thought, resembled a wave that I rode precariously on a slippery surfboard. I wanted more control of my life. I wanted to grow up. My studies helped. So did Patricia, whom I met in 1974 and with whom I had a loving relationship for four years -- four years that coincided with a period of enormous personal and professional growth for me. I call these the "Adventure Years," after a house I bought in 1974 when Patricia and I returned from our transcontinental odyssey. In retrospect, I see that the Adventure Years had two main facets: the experience of living in a group house; and the development of my professional life as a hypnotist; and each contributed in its own way to my personal growth. The house, which I bought from my parents, is in Ashby, MA, a quaint little town not far from the New Hampshire border. Patricia and I set about renovating it, using century-old board siding from the big barn to panel some of the rooms (it had 11, not counting the two baths, a solarium, and a four story tower). We used the barn and part of the house for the antiques business and rattled around in the rest. But we didn't rattle around for long. Because we were frequently in Europe on antiques buying trips, we found housesitters. Many came; few left. In addition, we held "open invitation" weekends for friends and acquaintances who wanted to explore new regions of consciousness. Some of these people stayed too. Soon the house was filled with a large, shifting, human population, plus 18 cats and dogs and -- in the fields -- a horse named Fred. We named the house "Adventure Into Time," and called it "The Adventure." It was an apt name. We who lived there were seekers. All came for reasons of their own, the teachers as well as the novices. But most who came to stay or study were embarked on personal adventures into new knowledge and understanding. Learning and Teaching at The Adventure Although we never planned for it to become a teaching center, it quickly evolved into one. With new people came new ideas and perspectives. Our community offered classes on self-hypnosis, therapeutic massage, yoga, astrology, and whole health cuisine conducted by people who were, or are now, professionals in their fields. Everyone, visitor or resident, contributed to the whole. Some came with music, others to read palms, cards, or auras. Psychics used their abilities to flash on past lives. (One of them asserted that many in our community had been together at least once before, in another lifetime in medieval Europe, and that the souls of many American Indians had visited our tribe, or lodge.) Two professional astrologers lived at The Adventure, and other astrologers came who had studied ways of detecting past lives in individual horoscopes. My own chief interest, or course, was exploring the past. I also started experimenting with guiding people into the future, but I soon saw that for me, this was a less productive avenue. The subsconscious mind has access to stored material from the present and the past; the future is not so readily available, as it comprises only probabilities based on past and present. Besides, the patterns of past lives also reveal the directions future lives are going. The sheer numbers of people passing through gave me an opportunity to conduct countless past life regressions and to fine tune my skills as a hypnotist. Before long, I filled two cartons with tapes of sessions. Working and living in a close community with these varied and wonderful people became quite an adventure in itself, one of the most significant learning experiences of my entire career, for I gained much in my ability to relate to people. The Providence Hypnosis Center Meanwhile, the question of my professional life occasionally arose. I was happy and successful in the antiques business. Still, I told Patricia one day that if I were ever to change vocations, I would like to work full time in the field of hypnosis. It was one of those speculative conversations that ordinarily lead no farther. Then, not long afterwards, I received a phone call from Robert Bow, the director of the Providence Hypnosis Center in Providence, RI. Would I like to come to work for him, with a view toward purchasing the center in the near future? I would. Bow had been a guest at one of our open invitation weekends and had seen me do a demonstration of group hypnosis. He evidently liked my style, and followed up with his astonishing phone call. I went to work at the center in October, 1975, and in 1976 became the director. I worked hard to build the clinic up, and we soon became one of the largest in New England, with four therapists besides myself. We specialized in helping people to lose weight and to stop smoking cigarettes. We later offered a number of other personal development programs and courses on hypnosis and self hypnosis. I also found time to write booklets about self hypnosis that were published through the center. In 1977, with George Parker, a colleague there, I co-authored my first book.* I was invited to speak at the local medical center and at schools, colleges, and civic organizations. I attended professional development workshops and conferences and conventions of other professional hypnotists. Later, I was a speaker at meetings of these same organizations. I enjoyed the local speaking engagements. Most of the time I simply spoke of hypnosis and its therapeutic uses. Sometimes, however, the occasion was more dramatic. One of these evolved from a talk at a high school psychology class. Though the topic was hypnosis the question of past life regression quickly arose. The students and teacher were eager for a demonstration. I was reluctant to agree. Although I had had audiences, this would be the first time I would perform a regression in a classroom setting. Moreover, I didn't (and still don't) like doing this kind of soul work in a class or demonstration setting; it is too much like stage hypnosis. Finally, I was concerned about the atmosphere. The regression experience is characterized by high degrees of emotion and openness. These must be respected; in particular, the audience must not mock the subject. Could I create the right mood and setting? Something in the climate of the group reassured me, and I agreed to come back the following week and perform the regression. The teacher volunteered to be the subject. In hypnotic regression, he quickly experienced touching episodes with two sons of a past life. The class was enthralled as he revealed secrets of his heart and rekindled the sparks of past love. ________________________________ *Bolduc, Henry, and George Parker. How to Unlock the Power of Your Mind With Hypnosis and Explore the Riddle of Reincarnation. Ashby, MA: Adventure Into Time Publishers, 1977. Out of print. After awakening, the teacher held his hands to his face and sobbed in a full, sincere, and spontaneous release of joyous emotion. I feared the students would mock his tears, but they were most considerate, mature, and understanding. Working as a hypnotist at PHC was totally valuable. Hypnosis became an everyday tool, not an occasional one. The best thing I learned was to work with all kinds of people in all kinds of circumstances. For instance, before going to the center, I might have been intimidated had a high ranking state policeman in full uniform walked in, asking me to hypnotize him so he could quit smoking. Not now. Though I very much wanted him to succeed (for the prestige, if nothing else, for he was on special duty as the governor's chauffeur and bodyguard) I had learned something. The most you can do is the best you can. In this case, it wasn't enough; he was in too much of a hurry and didn't give himself a chance, for all my rooting for him. Seeking Personal Growth At the beginning of the Adventure Years, I was at a very precarious place in life, especially as regards my relationships. I had recently been divorced, and though my relations with Pat were warm and rewarding, I was aware of some deeper immaturity. Selling antiques is a fine business; so is working in the field of hypnosis. But I dimly realized then -- as I strongly realize now -- that personal growth, especially through marriage or relationships, is the paramount life issue for me. In the Adventure Years, I began in a serious way to develop the process of change that I continue to use: I reprogram my present and work to explore and understand my past, including my past lives. Because my knowledge and experience is in the field of hypnosis, it seemed obvious to me to use what I knew. Rather than go to a hypnosis clinic or center, I decided to work with self-hypnosis tapes. I used (and use) two kinds, the commercial ones and those I make for myself. The commercial tapes are prerecorded and are sold in bookstores, pharmacies, and in the mails; they are used to reprogram a certain aspect of personality or behavior or to reach a certain goal. I quickly realized I could make my own tapes for very specific individual projects and goals. For instance, in the early 1960s, I used commercial tapes on personality development. Soon I made my own tape to cure fingernail biting. (As you see, not everything I work on is "serious" -- although my fingernail biting was a serious, advanced case.) Since then, I have made tapes to help me feel more at ease when speaking in public, to help me relax, to help me listen better to others, to find a good love relationship, and many others. Using these, I began to reprogram myself, shedding some of the silliness of youth. I could not change the world, I realized, but I could change myself and my world. I believed my immaturity was rooted in past lives; I could soothe the scars on my soul by delving into my own past lives. I had seen the healing process as I worked with others.(2) I believed the process could work for me and that insight from my own past contributes to my soul growth in the present. Here is an example of how knowledge of my past lives helps me in the present. As I said, one of the nagging problems of my life has been my difficulty with intimate relationships. In the mid-1960s I was living in a remote part of Spain, where I went to escape the bitter New England winter. Ironically, the house where I lived was made of stone and was unheated, as are most in that part of Spain; I was not much warmer that winter than I would have been at home. In addition, I was full of sadness over a failed relationship and the loss of a son [from the relationship] who had gone with his mother. I brooded over other unsatisfactory relationships too, for I saw the beginnings of my pattern of difficulties. For several days, off and on, I prayed and meditated, hoping for insight into the origins of my problems. One day, I sat drearily in my room, sick with the flu and a high fever. In my fevered state, a waking dream, or vision, came, with very strong images and powerful feelings of sadness and tragedy. I was in a past life, in France, and I was abandoning a wife and our three children, two who had been born and one I didn't yet realize had been conceived. By the standards of the day, it was a good life; I had work, we had food. It was a normal peasant's life. And I was leaving that good life to go on one of the Crusades. In that vision, I saw that I left my wife for the magic, the joy, the glamour, and the glory of the Crusade -- and for the lure of riches. My comrades and I were going out to fight the infidel for Christ, and we thought it was going to be great fun. We were fools! They called the Crusade holy; for me it was hell. We marched, and we marched, and we marched. When I got to the very sight of Jerusalem, to the very sight of the Holy City, I died on the side of the road. I died of disease and exhaustion. My body fell into the ditch. The Crusader army kept marching. That was the vision. It provided me with physical and emotional release. I cried; it seemed as though I cried for hours. When I finally dried my eyes, I was filled with peace and self-acceptance. I was grateful that my prayer for insight had been answered. In my mind, I sent to my French wife my profound regret for abandoning her and our children. I did not really know what to do with the information I now had. But at that time, it was enough that I had information that shed light on my state of mind; that my pain had been relieved; and that I experienced calm and self- acceptance. Nor did I feel a need to do anything. I simply resumed my life. When I recovered from the fever, I traveled throughout Spain buying antiques in the tiny mountain towns (I was apprenticing with a dealer who taught me the trade), living almost as a native. After six months I returned to New England, working in the apple orchard (as I had in high school), traveling, working at other odd jobs -- experiencing life. But my vision stayed with me. In retrospect, it is a key episode in my life. Later, at The Adventure, I was able to confirm its truth when I was the subject of a series of guided past life regressions. The hypnotist/guide in the following exchanges is George Parker. HENRY Summer, 1974 Ashby, Massachusetts Okay, tell me about it. It is me. It is in Jerusalem, the Holy Land. We ravaged a city. We burned a city like a heathen. We raped and we plundered. We killed. We destroyed everything. We burned their bodies. We burned their homes. It was a horrible place -- a horrible thing. Jerusalem? Near there. In the land of Jerusalem. Do you remember capturing Jerusalem? I was killed soon after. What was your name? I died, I died disheartened, disgusted, rejected by my friends, condemned by the enemy. I died very bitter. I know what I have done. Having sinned in the name of God. Having destroyed in the name of Christ. Having killed in the name of religion. My name is John. From what country did you come? From Europe. Do you remember where? No. I don't care. I know what I have done. You learned a lesson from this life? A very difficult and very bitter lesson. Do you know what it is? Not to go off to war. What did you lose here? War is not beautiful. I lost a family. I lost friends. I lost a home. I lost a life. Is that all? Is there anything more of this life? Is that all! I lost everything and I gained nothing! I went out seeking adventure and I found death. When you left -- I went off to glory, found tears and sadness. I went off to the marching of bands and the blaring of bugles. Then I heard the wail of children dying, the stench of cities burning. Had a -- [tape unclear] -- ugly destruction. Clouds of death overwhelming us. We destroying just to destroy. No reason, just to destroy. Oh, what waste! What loss! When will it ever end? When will it ever cease? It goes on today. It will go on tomorrow. Pillage and destruction. Rape and ravish. It goes on. In a later session (Aug. 2, 1976, in Ashby), I reviewed the Crusades era again. Louis Acker is the hypnotist/guide. ....I do see a green field, a dusty dirt road, myself in a suit of armor with a long lance, very well dressed, a purple plume -- a reddish- purple plume, a little dog beside me, a very nice horse -- well groomed going off, going to the crusades in a lot of splendor and a lot of glory. I felt this image before. I haven't seen it this vividly. The horse is white and brown, has even black on it. It's middle ages. There is a castle and a small town way off in the distance. I left a wife and two, three children -- two and a third one coming, there's three children -- to go off. I didn't have to. I chose to. I wanted to go for the glory and the adventure and all I found was sadness and death and defeat. There was no glory and less adventure. There was privation, there was hunger, there was thirst, there was betrayal of friends, there were empty dreams and emptier promises, empty dreams and sad nights -- a very unhappy time, a very sad lesson. The lesson being that sometimes we have something very good, something that we need and want so very much and we always feel like there's more. It's sad, but the grass is always greener, I suppose. What it's telling me now is to know what I have, to appreciate it, to be very content and very pleased with it. Granted, there can always be more but there can always be much less. In my present life, I have had two marriages, two children of my own (and others through marriage), and yet have been denied the companionship of my own children. Difficulty with relationships, the loss of wives and children -- I believe I experience these now because in that former life I left a wife and children. I believe my present condition is the price I pay, or have chosen to pay, for the desertion of my family. I believe from my heart and soul that my present life is the payment due on that previous life, the balance that I owe for deserting a loving wife and family. Even more perturbing is this question: Do I have an embedded cyclic pattern of leaving loved ones for crusades (in various forms) or is it my karma to endure (or be thankful for) the losses of family and relationships in my present life? Karma is a self-chosen fate. It's like a credit card; the bill comes in and we must pay it, probably with interest. But we incurred the bill; in purchasing the item we have made a contract to pay it. Lives are like that; you pay the bill. You can pay it all off at once at any time you want or you can pay it in small payments over several lifetimes. This is the great question of lives and the cyclic pattern of lives: How much can we change and write a new script and how much must we act out verbatim on the eternal stage of life? Investigating the hidden workings of the mind has brought answers that satisfy me. Past life work can ease the mind in the present life and sometimes, give information on which to base the new script. For instance, my vision in Spain eased my mind and spirit. While I didn't feel then it was prophetic, it came to seem so, and the regressions at The Adventure confirmed the Crusade story. While I could do nothing about the recent past -- the two marriages were over and the children gone -- I could perhaps rewrite the script. I became more careful about my crusades and transformed the problematic patterns of my past lives. I give more thought to loving relationships, and I do not end them carelessly, but give them all I have. Learning from My Lives At this point, I understood karma as a "what ye sow, that shall ye reap" phenomenon; knew there were prices; knew there was choice in the sense that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Later, with other hypnotic experiments, I was to gain more insight into the larger picture of lives; karma; the ways we change our scripts; and the uses of forgiveness as one of the important healing processes. That understanding all began at The Adventure. So did my understanding of the cyclic character of lives. Two of my own past life experiences illustrate this. In the first of these lives, I was a wealthy, influential female prostitute in ancient Greece. I had an attractive body, a beautiful house, servants, and a clientele of wealthy politicians and generals, the elite of the country. Using my connections with them, I jockeyed myself into a position of wealth. Calculating and bitchy, I got what I wanted for myself and my friends. Every possession a person could have in life at that time and place was mine. I was even buried with great ceremony and state honors. Most unexpectedly, a contrasting life flashed vividly before me one night in Providence. I saw a vision that night while I was watching TV. I had had a long day at the hypnosis center and was relaxing, tuning out the conscious world. My mind was in a relaxed, alpha state, but I was not looking for any past life memory. Psychic flashes can come on their own, uninvited and sometimes unwanted. In this life, I was a younger girl. I was destitute and homeless, sleeping in the cold and windy corner of an innkeeper's mule shelter on the steppes of China. The only people who came through were the mule traders. After they finished using my body, they threw down on the dirty straw floor coins of almost no value, more in mockery than in payment. I died of disease and malnutrition at the age of 13. With no ceremony whatsoever, my body was thrown into the pigpen. The body decayed and was eaten by the pigs. How do these two diametrically opposed lifetimes relate to themselves and to my present one? Both of these lives were female, and I know I have had other female lives. With these two lives, I began to understand what Carl Jung meant when he spoke and wrote about the combination of masculine and feminine in all of us. These lives shed new light on my sexual identity -- of course we've all been male and female. The soul is androgynous. The body is far less significant than our society thinks. I believe the story of my two prostitute lives is one of balance. On the one side of the scale was the pretty but calculating and avaricious Grecian. On the other, the poor, starving, beaten victim. Centuries later, as I see them both in my mind's eye, I like the China girl best; she paid the balance without ever complaining. As gruesome as these two lives sound, they were a valid part of my soul's evolution. Granted, they were from a caterpillar stage of my growth; but without going through a caterpillar stage, how could I ever hope to be transformed into a butterfly? To me, though, the interest of these tales is not in my gruesome experiences, but in using the past life information to gain loving guidance for a more healthy use of my sexual energy in the present. An action in one life does not cause an action in another. In another life we choose (maybe subconsciously) an opposite. The Grecian prostitute abused power more than she misused sex; I paid my bill in my Chinese life. But I do not need to reexperience a life of prostitution and manipulation. In these years of research and experience, I saw few set rules concerning lives. People always seem to have choices. There seems not to be a moralistic rule of "right" and "wrong," nor did I observe any rule that says people must experience abuse in order to balance abuse. Patterns, I decided, can be changed. Hurts can be healed (or at least kissed). Earth school is usually a merciful institution. By the time of the Adventure Years I was beginning to view life as an unlimited school, with the different grades as different lifetimes. When we study and learn we pass our tests and we progress; when we neglect our studies and fail our tests, we take those tests over and over again. But in this school of life we are our own teacher, and we grade our own tests. Psychic flashes, in myself and others, can awaken past and present experiences of life. Often simply telling another person of an experience, whether the telling is done consciously or under hypnosis, can give additional perspectives and relief and allows additional information to come forward. When emotional attachments have been released, the person can generally see and accept a clearer picture of the facts. I believe it is a matter of letting go and continuing on in the human adventure. For instance, the vision in which I experienced myself as a Crusader -- and a deserter of my family is still strong in my mind's eye and my soul's memory bank. If I allowed myself to dwell on it I could dredge up the same feelings of terrible pain at my folly. But I must let go of my pain and move on. The experience of the process stays with us for use again and again as such awarenesses come to us in the exploration of ourselves, as we travel deeper within. Notes to Chapter 4 (1) To me, antiques have always been closely linked with my past life hypnosis work. Both deal with the past, one through the subconscious mind and the other through artifacts. The antiques are real, solid, living history I can hold and feel and see and smell. They are tangible history. I love each peice, but can also detach myself to sell them to others who love them. It is a win-win-win business. People are happy to sell their "old junk," and I am happy to buy it; other folks are pleased to buy it from me. Now, in 1986, I am so busy that I am preparing to retire from antiques and concentrate on speaking and writing as well as guiding regressions and channeling. (2) The work of professionals like Irene Hickman, an osteopath who also uses hypnosis for therapy, supports my belief in the healing potential of past life experience. Hickman often uses hypnosis to help patients regress to a time of conflict or trauma. She said, "Whenever an emotionally loaded memory was revealed, and the incident relived..., there was a reported definite feeling of release and relief of tension, a lessening of symptoms of the illness, or a movement toward a resolving of personal relationships." Hickman, Irene: Mind Probe -- Hypnosis. Kirksville, MO: Hickman Systems [4 Woodland Lane 63501], 1983. Chapter 5 HEALING THE PAST Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul .... Leave thy low-vaulted past! Oliver Wendell Holmes Autocrat of the Breakfast Table The Adventure Years were over. By 1978, it was time to remake my life. I was living in a group house, driving thousands of miles to buy and sell antiques, commuting to and from Providence, managing the hypnosis center, writing a book, and ending a relationship. It was too much, and I had to slow down. I tried to do it gradually, taking a townhouse in Providence in 1977 to ease the strain of commuting. But it became apparent I needed a complete break. At a time when most people are feathering their nests, I cleared mine out completely. In the course of a few months, I sold the house, the antiques, and the center, and finished the sales effort for the book. Patricia and I parted amicably, and in April of 1978 I went away for two months. I flew to England, took a bus to Greece, traveled overland by bus via Baluchistan (a region in South Asia near the borders of Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan) to New Delhi, and then flew home. When I returned, Patricia and I parted for good. "Go south," my meditation told me. What did I know of "south?" Only the Edgar Cayce Foundation. So, packing all my belongings in my car, I headed again for Virginia Beach. There, I stayed with friends and attended lectures and did research on the Cayce transcripts in the library. I went to the meditation room and prayed for direction. I cried there also. My meditations said, "Henry, you are always going so fast that nothing good can ever catch up with you," so I decided I would plant myself at the beach until something good came and tried to prepare myself for a new love relationship, hoping to be worthy. One evening in summer a young woman came and sat beside me at a lecture. I saw her again the next day and for a few days after that. She left, then returned. Her name is Ann; we have been together now for eight years, marrying in 1981. With her two children, we lived in Virginia Beach the fall, winter, and spring of 1978-79. There, at the ARE, I met Geraldine, who was employed in the library. She recognized me from my picture on the jacket of the book I had done with George Parker, and we fell into conversation. At her request, I agreed to work with her on a past life regression. That was the start of a busy period. My regression work started slowly, one a night a few nights a week. Then every night. Then also weekends. People brought their friends and their friends' friends. So many people wanted regression work! I also started work on a book on how to make your own self-help cassette tapes. It was to occupy me -- what with writing and rewriting and testing and evaluating -- for the next five years.* This was not what I had planned for retirement! A move to Dallas was afoot - - Ann had to tie up loose ends of her life there. I resolved that there I would again simplify my life; I would give classes in self hypnosis, but I would not take on more regression work; it snowballed too fast. That resolution didn't last long, of course; for all my complaining, I love the work. In retrospect, I'm not sorry I worked so hard. For this period, between 1979 and about 1983, turned out to be the period in which I firmly consolidated the skills and knowledge I had been building. To get back to Geraldine. Often people say, "Oh, gee, past lives are so interesting; I just want to go have a regression! I can't wait! This is going to be so much fun!" But not all regressions are fun and exciting. Most are simple memories of normal life experiences. Or they find they are poorly prepared for some memories and revelations. That was not the case with Geraldine, however. She was interested in regression work and serious and knowledgeable about it, and she thought past life exploration might help solve a present-day problem. She was experiencing bad headaches and recurring nightmares. She says: "From the time I was quite young, I had a recurring nightmare. It was always the same. I was riding a big brown horse, sitting sidesaddle. I wore a pale pink, almost lavendar, hoop skirted dress. I was tearing down the road and my long black hair had come unbound and was flying out behind me. The Spanish moss hanging in a long line of gigantic oak trees was hitting me in the face. "I could see the lights far ahead shining in the window of a large plantation house. It was almost dark. I had this terrible sense of something wrong. This nightmare had also presented itself to her conscious mind more than once in daylight, while she was driving a car, especially if she was heading south. She says, "I was `there.' I was real. For a few minutes I ___________________________ *Bolduc, Henry. Self-Hypnosis: Creating Your Own Destiny. Virginia Beach, VA: ARE Press, 1985. was`gone,' so to speak." It was clearly a hazardous situation. Her husband and children were aware of her blackouts and used to them. Nevertheless, she felt she was causing a problem, and not knowing the cause was the worst thing. "You think you're going bonkers," she says. Yet somehow she knew "It was on my soul and my soul remembered." I agreed to work with Geraldine, in the hope that a past life regression might shed light on the source of her headaches and nightmares. We hoped for a therapeutic result -- that is, that if her trouble had its roots in a past life, recall and acceptance would relieve her pain, or at the least help her to understand it. Here is what happened. GERALDINE March 27, 1979 Virginia Beach, Virginia ....and now look around you and you will be able to tell what you see, what you sense, and what you feel. It will be very easy for you to speak. Your mouth will be pleasantly moist -- always remaining at this same level of awareness at one with yourself, at one with the creative forces and at one with your own higher intelligence. Take your time now. Take all the time you want and tell me what you are feeling, what you are sensing, what you are seeing and experiencing. A party. And the ladies have on hoop skirts, big wide skirts, and their hair is parted in the middle and fastened back with flowers and ribbons. The men have on long swallowtail coats and oh, they`re so polite and nice. And they're hovering around the girls like bees. We're eating off of little plates that you hold in your hand like a dainty napkin. It's out on the lawn ... sitting on the grass. And our skirts are all around us, like flowers. It's a beautiful day. Everyone's so happy. Look around you. Tell me who you see. Tell me the people you see. Is there anybody special? Yes. There's one tall man with red hair. He's staring ... must be at me 'cause I have that long black hair. And he's bending over me asking me if I'd like to have a cool drink. I say, "Yes, I'd like some lemonade," and he goes to get it. I turn around and watch him and think how graceful he looks. He's so tall. And then what happens? He brings me back the drink and he sits down beside me on the grass and we talk. And he tells me he'll soon be going back to ... up north. And I tell him I hope he doesn't stay very long. I hope he comes back. And he says, "Oh, I will. And then he laughs. Where will he be going up north? Syracuse. What will he be doing? I think he's a banker. Go now to the next important event. What is the next most important event now in this life? What happens next? Take your time. [Geraldine's expression becomes very sad.] Tell me what it is. You will be detached from it. Just tell me what's happening. Well, I'm on a horse and I'm riding down the road -- something terrible! Detach yourself from it and just tell me very calmly, very relaxed, very collected. Now what's happening? I'm going toward the porch ... and I'm riding on this big brown horse, sidesaddle. And I get to the porch and they tell me he's gone. And all the slaves are crying and I'm crying, and I say, "Oh, God, I'm too late." I know I'm too late, but I kneel down beside him and I say, "Love, don't go, don't go." But he don't come back. And then what happened? And then they put him in the box and I've got on a long black dress and a black thing on my head and they put flowers on him. They take him out and bury him under the magnolias. Okay. Give him your blessings, send him your love and just let the memory fade now. Go forward and tell me the next major event. Let that memory go now. Geraldine vividly recalled this important event very emotionally for there was such stress involved with this porch scene she had dreamed so many times. Her mind was still blocking out the sequence of events and exactly what was happening. She was very tearful in this situation so I did not press for more information in this first session. I did want to spend a little more time viewing this particular life, so I asked her to go forward in time to the next major event. And continue forward. What is the next major event now in your life? Well, the war is over. And I'm all alone. And the big house is empty because all the slaves are gone -- there's just a couple of faithful ones that stayed. Continue forward -- to the time of your death. What is happening? What do you see around you? I'm lying in my fourposter and my hair is white and they've put a little cap on my hair. And my Mammy's still with me. She didn't go with the rest of them. She stayed with me. And she says, "Now, don't you fret, love," and she puts cold cloths on my head 'cause my head's so hot and she says I've got the fever. And I don't mind dying 'cause I know I'll go out there under the magnolias where he is. How old were you when you died? Oh, I think I'm about 68. And where is the town where you are living? What is the name of the place? It's near New Orleans. And do they put you out under the magnolias where he is? Yes. Do they put a stone to mark your grave? Yes. What does the stone say? Read to me what is on the stone. You're just observing now. It says, "Devoted wife and faithful friend, Sarah." Just Sarah. Is his stone there also? John. Does it say any more? No. Is there a date? Eighteen forty-six for John. What is happening now? What are you doing now? Everything is sort of misty. Okay. Very good. Thank you. Geraldine experienced a great emotional release after reviewing this life and allowed her tears to flow. Suggestions were given at the end of this first session that she would gain a better perspective and understanding of the life. Suggestions were also given to prepare for the next session. ....And look back at those people, at all the people there, and bless them and send them your love. And as you send love into their eyes and into their hearts, they begin to fade. Let them fade now, sending them your blessings. As they fade, slowly start returning to the present. You will retain in your conscious mind only that which is important and beneficial for you to retain at this time. The other memories, let them go now. You will be detached from the pain and sadness for that is past. You are back in the present, where you have so much to be joyful for, so much to be thankful for. You have learned a great deal, you have gained a lot of perspective and understanding of yourself and of your world. You are one with creative forces, one with your higher self, the god-self, that stands above you and guides you and directs you. You are better understanding the purpose of this life. And this understanding is helping you now. It is guiding you and assisting you. And for that you give thanks. Ask yourself now what it is that you may do that will help you in this present life to learn and grow and what steps you can take that will guide you into your next life. Answer the question only within yourself, planting the seed that it may grow. Let the white light surround you and protect you and encompass your heart and soul -- and bless you. You are now in the present and in a little while, when you awake, you will feel very good. You will feel better than before. You will be wide awake, refreshed and happy. I will count from one to five and at the count of five, you can open your eyes, be wide awake, and feeling fine -- feeling better than before. I will count now: one ... two ... coming up slowly, releasing the burdens of the past ... coming up slowly ... three ... four ... and five. Open your eyes. Now just stay right there -- don't jump up. That was amazing. Geraldine said, "I've been crying." I said, "I know, but that's very normal and very common -- physically a good releasing. It's good emotion and there's things -- sometimes buried within us -- that need to be released and tears are a great blessing. Tears purify the soul and cleanse you." (Tears can be a vital part of the unlocking of the storehouses of the soul.) I scheduled the second session for Geraldine approximately a month later. She had ample time at a subconscious level to prepare herself for this next session. Again I began the session by looking for pleasant, happy experiences. I did not wish to start directly with an emotional or difficult situation. This second session began, as did every session, with entering alpha and present life regression. This excerpt picks up after that point. GERALDINE April 17, 1979 Virginia Beach, Virginia When you are ready, begin telling me what is happening. I'm about eight years old and they are brushing my hair in curls all around. And my hair is black and shiny like always. And they're taking their fingers and rolling my hair in curls around the fingers and making them fall around my head. Putting on my long pantaloons and my chemise shirt and my petticoats and a blue silk dress with ruffles and a bow in the back. And Papa brings me in a little gold locket and puts it around my neck and says, "That's for my girl." I'm going to a party. And I take Mother's hand and she takes me out to the carriage. Then Papa puts me in and says, "Now you all be careful, 'cause that's my girl." And Mammy's with me. And the coachman? Caleb is the coachman and they've got two horses hitched up to the carriage. And he cracks the whip and off we go. And now what happens? Take your time. Go very slowly. Relate to me what is happening now. I'm going down the road ... going down to the house ... quite a piece. And the house is big and it's got wisteria hanging over the porch. The children are all out in the yard, picking up acorns and chasing each other. They stop the carriage and I get out and the minute I get out, somebody starts chasing me. The boys are being real mean. One of them untied my sash. It's Mary's party. And her Momma calls us into the dining room and there's a long table with candles. They've got a great big cake. And they tell her to blow out the candles and she has to take two or three puffs on it. It's only about seven candles, but she can't blow 'em out. And anyway, they cut the cake and her Momma says, "Now be careful, 'cause we baked prizes in the cake." I've got a little ring in mine. I put it on my finger and it just goes about half way up my little finger 'cause it's so little. But I think it's real cute. She gets a lot of presents. We all just sit around and watch her open up the presents. And then her mother takes us out back on the lawn again 'cause there's so many -- it's pretty overwhelming in the house. And we play blind man's bluff and hide and go seek 'til about four in the afternoon. And then Caleb comes back after me. We go home. Had a good time. That's very good. Thank you. As the regression proceeds and as the episodes unfold, the story takes form and texture. Her life becomes more vivid as experiences are related. I ask Geraldine for the next event of major importance. Okay. Now go to when you were a little older, to the next event of major importance, and you will find out that the more you tell me about it, the more clear this life becomes, the more vivid, the more easily you can relive these experiences. Take your time now and you will understand -- you will learn and grow through this experience. Now, when you are ready, just begin telling me what is happening. It's a garden party and they've strung Japanese lanterns all through the trees with candles in them. They look like fireflies -- beautiful. And they have two or three people playing guitars. They have a violin and they have a flat floor we can dance on. Have tables set around under the trees. How old are you, about? About 17. And my hair -- I've got it back -- it's long and I've got it sort of swirled on the back of my neck and have a big magnolia pinned right where it goes together in back. And I've got on a white dress. And I have a fan I hold up before my face. Now what do your friends call you? What is your name? Sarah. Do they always call you Sarah, or do you have a nickname? Is there a special name that somebody called you? Just Sarah. [Expression of sadness.] And why are you sad, Sarah? This is a party. Is there anything that is making you sad? I'm watching for someone. He hasn't come yet. Somebody's always asking me to dance and I'm dancing but I keep watching. What are you watching for? Can you tell me? I'm watching for John. Does he come? He hasn't come yet and I wonder what in the world's a-keeping him. Let's just wait and see if he comes. Well, I keep dancing and I don't want anybody to know I'm a- looking for him 'cause they'd be sure and tell him. I think I hear him. Yes, it's his horse and he comes up to me and I say, "What in the world! Where have you been?" And he says he.... [Here Sarah stopped talking and appeared to be listening to an inner voice.] What did he have to do? Listen carefully and you can hear him say it. What does he say? Something about his horse. He started to ride one horse and the shoe was loose on the foot and he couldn't take that one; he had to take his Dad's. And his Dad's horse is so mean that you have to watch the thang; he's gonna throw you if he's gonna carry you. But he got there in one piece anyhow. He's a good dancer. And they play a waltz. I like that. So I tell him, "It's all right, but next time, better start a little early." And what is happening now? Everybody's going home and the servants are picking up all the debris on the lawn. And John and I are out back in the grove where there's a swing, a-swinging. And he swings me real high and it must be getting late 'cause Momma comes out and calls me and says, "Sarah, you better come in; it's getting late." So he walks me up to the door and she stands there on the porch 'til I close the door. I think she's afraid he'll try and kiss me good night. But he goes on home. Okay. Very good. Now continue to the next major event. The next event of importance to you. Take your time. It will be very easy for you to speak and relate what is happening. Feel the emotions and the experience and when you are ready, just begin telling me what is happening. I'm in my bedroom and I'm putting on my dress -- and a long white veil on my head. It's my wedding day. And Momma's fussing around fixing my hair. And she says, "You're not gonna be my baby any longer." And I say, "Yes, Momma, I'll always be your baby." And she says, "Well, at least you're not going far away," 'cause John don't live very far away. I'm kinda worried 'cause seems like a big step we're taking. But I guess it'll be all right 'cause I've known him for a long time. And Daddy comes and says, "It's time to go downstairs." I can hear the music playing. Someone's playing the piano. I walk down the stairs and I have to be real careful 'cause I have a long train and Momma takes it up over her arms so I won't fall. And a lot of people are in the parlor -- all my friends and all our relations -- never knew I had so many relations. They all show up for weddings and funerals. John comes in and I know everything's gonna be all right. And what is happening now? What are you doing now? We're on the lawn and they have tables spread out on the lawn and we're standing in a line and everybody's coming along kissing us and they say they hope we'll be happy. And everybody goes to the table and they have all kinds of refreshments. Then Mammy comes and gets me and I go up to my room and put on my traveling costume; I've got a green velvet dress and a little green hat. And now what's happening? I get in the coach and -- I'm trying to think where we're going. It will come; just relax. It will come to you. Ask John and he will tell you. What does he say? He says Savannah, 'cause he's got some relatives up there and we're going to visit. We're going to his aunt and uncle's in Savannah. How is the trip? Pretty rough. The roads are awful rough. We sit real close together and when the coach bounces, we laugh. 'Cause some of the bridges are nothing but logs stretched over; have to be real careful that the wheels don't go off. Okay. Continue. But it's fun really, 'cause it's the first time we've been away from everybody really. Feels sorta funny not to have all the people around. Okay. Very good. Now continue back -- continue on to the next event of major importance. Take your time; go very slowly. You understand and you know and you learn and grow from this experience. Now tell me what is happening. What are you doing? Well, I'm in the house. Sorta nice to have your own house. It's big. Oh, I don't really have to do very much; just sew and always have a lot of company. Someone's always coming to visit 'cause I've got a lot of relatives and he has too. There's always someone visiting, to talk to. And I like to sew and embroider, so we spend a lot of time sewing. And we have musicals in the evening and play the piano and sing and say poetry. And the days just drift along. How old are you? Twenty-four. I'm about 24. And what does your husband do for work? What's his work; what is his profession? Well, mainly he just oversees everything. He's got an overseer but he rides out every morning and inspects everything. And what year is this? Do you know the year? It will come to you; just relax. Listen and you will hear it. What is the year? It's about 1834, I think. And what is the town or area where you are living? Is there a name for this town or this part of the country? It's on the Mississippi, but it's not really a town. We have a plantation out in the country. It's not really a town -- it just -- everybody's got a big plantation with a lot of farming land around. Does the plantation have a name? What's it called? Something Oaks -- it's got this big line of oaks going up to the door. Oak Alley -- that's the name of the way you get into it. Very good. Thank you. Now, are you in a territory or in a state? Louisiana. Thank you. Very good. Because Geraldine was responding so well, this seemed a good time to continue with more serious work. As you will see, she was guided to that critical time that had always been a block. In this session she was able to relate the experience and understand it. She was thereby released from the emotions, guilt and self blame, linked to this memory. Geraldine's story continued with the pain from her past. She reexperienced the pain stored in her soul's memory and is about to break through and go beyond the pain. She is now ready to crack the shell and get to the heart of the experience. Now just relax. Feel yourself moving ahead. Listen carefully because this is very important. Moving ahead now to just before the time when your husband passes away -- to just a few days before the time that your husband dies. Remain detached and stand above yourself, looking down at the events, the scenes, and the people. Just look upon it without reliving, without feeling, without sensing, but just knowing. Uninvolved, detached, just looking. Now, I'd like you to tell me what is happening. Just looking down and seeing the events -- what is happening now? Tell me what is happening. It's not good. John's not feeling a bit good. And he looks real sick and I keep asking him what's the matter with him. He keeps saying he's all right, but he doesn't look good. Has he been to a doctor? Has he seen a doctor? No, he won't go. He says he don't have any faith in that doctor - - he's a quack anyhow. But I wish he'd go see someone. Where is his pain? Does he talk about it? Where does he have discomfort? He won't talk about it, but I think it's in his chest. And what do you do? Well, I fuss around him. He gets mad at me 'cause I keep asking him to sit down, and take it easy and lie down. He keeps telling me not to fuss. But I'm worried and Mammy's worried too. She says, "There's something wrong with that man but you can't get him to stop going." He just gets on that horse every morning and goes out to those fields. He won't quit. This is very important. Again, be very detached, and just look upon this event as if you were standing above yourself, looking down at the scene. Now go to the time of his death when you first hear or when you first sense his death. This will not disturb you. You are standing above yourself now. Relate this as if it is happening without the feeling, without the sadness, and without the emotion. Just relate the events, that you may grow, that you may learn through this experience. Now tell me everything that is happening. Tell me your thoughts, your feelings, and the events. Tell me what is happening. For as you tell me, you free yourself from this burden. What are you doing? What is going on? What is happening? It's morning and I get up and John looks so pale and I say, "How are you feeling?" and he says, "Oh, tolerable." And he says, "What are you gonna do today?" And I say, "Well, I have to ride over to Mary's and return that piece of embroidery she left over here the other day." I don't know whether to leave him or not 'cause he looks so puny but he says, "Oh, go on and stop fussing." So I have 'em saddle the horse and I ride over to Mary's house. When I get there, her brother's a-visiting. We get to talking, having a good time, and I look out and say, "My Lord, it's almost dark! And I better be getting home. John will be worried." And then what happened? What are your feelings and your thoughts? What is happening? I'm riding down the road. Tell me about -- tell me what is happening. And I see Jacob riding up the road on a mule. Oh, he's just a- tearing. I say, "What in the world is the matter, Jacob?" He says, "Oh, Miss Sarah, something awful's done happened." [Geraldine's face contorts, her body shakes with intense emotion, and tears flow freely.] Detach -- just the facts. And what do you say? "My God, Jacob, what is it?" He says, "I cain't tell it," and I say, "Well, tell me, man, what is it?" He says, "Master done shot himself -- he shot himself in the head." And I says, "Oh, God, Jacob, I can't stand it!" I fly down the road, run up on the porch -- oh, no! He's lying on the couch and blood is all over his face. I said, "Oh, God, what in the world did you do a thing like that for?" Detached, now -- just standing above yourself, just looking. Maybe he was so sick and tired he just couldn't stand it any longer. I will never know why -- why he did it. Why did he do it? You will know now. You will know why. Because I am going to count from ten to one and you can go to your higher self that part of you that knows and understands all things -- and ask why. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Now ask yourself and ask him and you will know why this had to be; nothing more and nothing less. Oh, it hurts so much. It hurts so bad. I'll never know. Is it my fault or what? What does he say to you? What does he tell you? Listen very carefully and you will hear him speak to you. What does he say? It wasn't my fault really. It was just the pain; he couldn't stand the pain. He hurt so bad. What are your thoughts? Just sad -- sad that it happened this way. He wasn't very old. We had a lot of good years ahead of us. And now what do you do? Everybody comes and tells me they're so sorry. They put him in the box. Oh, I guess that's the end of everything for me. And then what? Bury him out in the magnolia grove. And then everybody leaves and I'm all alone in that big old house. Just me and the servants. Momma comes and stays with me a few days. But she says I'll just have to face it and learn to live with it, 'cause she can't stay there forever 'cause she's got to take care of Papa. He's not well either. So she goes away and leaves me there by myself and I'll just have to learn to stand it. Now listen very carefully, because this is very important. Before he died, look into his eyes that morning. Send love to his eyes and send your blessings and your forgiveness. Pour all the love you can into his eyes. And then, he fades. The more love you send him, the more he fades away. And you let this memory go now. You let it go. And he is gone now, and you bless him and you forgive him, for you understand him now. You understand the reasons and the whys. You release him, for this is not your fault. This happened -- nothing more and nothing less. You let this memory go, sending love and happiness and compassion and understanding. Let him go now. The purpose of past life work is to understand, to learn, and to grow. I sometimes call it "healing the past." I knew that Geraldine/Sarah had experienced healing from both sessions. Again she burst with fluent tears. She had no recall of the sessions so I did not offer her the tapes. However, there was one more step for her to take. Here is her story of the last experience. "After a time I asked Henry if I could listen to the regression tapes. Every time I listened to them or tried to talk about it I was overcome with grief. I felt I had to face this experience and get over it. One of my friends heard the tapes and said she would take me to New Orleans and we would look for the house. Two other friends came with us. "All the way down it seemed like I was going home, the South looked so familiar. We went to the Oak Alley Plantation near Vacherie, LA. We went around the house with a tour group. When I got upstairs on the veranda, I turned and looked back down the road and I started to cry. I couldn't help myself. I ran around the corner and leaned my head on the side of the house and cried it out. [Illustration #3] "A nice gentleman tapped me on the shoulder and said, `Is there anything I can do?' I said, `It's too late, too late, it's all over.' And I knew it was. I dried my eyes and rejoined my friends. "I asked the guide many questions about the plantation. I told her what I knew and she confirmed what I said. I knew where everything had been and what it had looked like in the 1800s. `When did they cut the Spanish moss out of the trees?' I asked. She answered, `About 12 years ago the moss reached the ground and the lady who owned the house at the time said it looked too gloomy and she had it all cut out.' `Are the graves still over in the magnolia grove back of the house?' I asked. `No,' she said, `that property was sold and the graves were moved over to the parish church yard.' "I felt like I had been to a funeral. It took me several days to get over it." Geraldine has since reported that she has not been bothered in any way with the recurrent nightmare. By keeping an open mind, her sessions and after- session experiences enabled her to understand and to free herself of the guilt and trauma associated with that life. There has been absolutely no recurrence of the nightmares. The memory is healed. Chapter 6 OPENING NEW DOORS Time present and time past Are both perhaps present in time future, And time future contained in time past. T. S. Eliot Burnt Norton Until now this book has mainly been about my years of research into past life regression. The Bridey Murphy book stimulated my interest. Experiments with Cal and many others over the years taught me how to use hypnosis to initiate regressions. My experience with Chuck convinced me once and for all that past life regression -- or time travel, a phrase I coined to cover any journey in time, either to the past or the future -- is a reality; and my own voyages into the past were sources of enormous personal growth. Gradually, through these and other experiences, I came to see the therapeutic value of time travel, as the transcripts of Geraldine's sessions show. Ann and I left Dallas in 1980 and moved to Independence, a tiny town in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. There, almost by accident, I was to begin a new and incredibly absorbing phase of my work, helping people to become channelers -- that is, to become vessels through which other souls or entities speak. Before I tell that story, I'd like to pause in my narrative to reflect on some of the things I have learned about hypnosis and past life regression. This chapter and the next deal with those topics. Why travel to a past life? "Because it's there," as the mountaineer said when asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest. Because I believe in the reality of past lives (and believe that we all have many), I want to explore them. I want to explore the process of time travel -- simply to experience the experience. But also, I am a soul explorer on a life quest, a learning quest. I seek personality integration, spiritual development, and just plain fun. The people I work with share some or all of my motives for traveling in time. Some also want to have fun -- to "experience the experience," to adventure into the past. Some hope for relief of a problem; some seek spiritual enlightenment. Let me discuss these things more fully, as well as offer some suggestions for the beginning time traveler or guide. Having Fun With Time Travel To me, past life work is like dancing in eons of time. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit will "bring all things to your remembrance" (John 14:26). This is what my work is all about. If I choose I can walk into the misty, echoing ruins, witness ancient happenings, tune in to primeval beginnings. I grow to realize that each lifetime is but a step in an eternal dance, and I am one of the dancers. Fun? Yes! Enjoyment is a valid reason to do this work. During my school years I noticed that teachers who made their classes and subjects fun were the ones who enjoyed their work the most. I observed that as students we learned and remembered far more from those teachers. Education can be fun, life can be fun, spiritual development can be fun, work can be fun. If my worked stopped being fun I would quickly find something else to do. I am not saying this work is a laugh a minute -- no way. In fact, I witness more tears than laughs. But the tears of remembrance wash away the crud shadows and stains of the past, and people then speak of great relief. That is rewarding, and that is accomplishment, and that is fun. Of course, there are sessions in which a person laughs and laughs. There is great release in laughter also; there is a whole spectrum of human experience in these time travel sessions. Closely allied to the fun of time travel is the pleasure of experiencing the experience. Why do people travel to England when they can go to the library and get free a book that shows almost everything they will see and tells more than they will ever learn? Because they want to do it, to be part of it, feel and smell and taste it. We all want to experience it firsthand, whether it be a present or a past life. Spiritual Development Past life study gives an overview of the soul's journey and purpose: spiritual development. Most especially, journeys through time gain clarity or an overview of life eternal and universal. Spiritual development is the most important reason for undertaking time travel, but it is not necessarily everyone's first choice. A far larger number try it out of curiosity, but that curiosity may lead to a fuller understanding of the continuity of lives. Spiritual development is personal and different with every person. The goal is to learn, to improve, expand, and unfold into a more whole, healthy, and happy person. Spiritual development is what Earth School is all about. But as children in school we seldom think of our reasons for being there; and even less about our purposes and ideals. We are there because we have to be there to learn our lessons. Personality Integration My work is practical, not theoretical. I see that delving into past lives sometimes eases the pain a person experiences in the present. For instance, Geraldine, whose story is in Chapter 5, was relieved of nightmares and headaches after her sessions. I don't know why it works, although I believe we are on the verge of great discoveries about the mind's and soul's memory; as we do more we will learn more. (For those who wish to pursue the theoretical and practical foundations of regression therapy, a reading list is included at the end of this chapter, and other books are referenced in the Notes.) I am not a psychotherapist, and I never call myself one, practice as one, or offer my coworkers in time travel assurances that therapeutic goals will be met. (I do not call them clients because I do not accept payment for the regression work we do.) Once, in a reading, I was told that my role as a regressologist is to a be a "door opener." Can't you just see it on a business card? Henry Bolduc, D.O. (Door Opener) But that's really what my work is. When I agree to work with a person on a past life regression, I am helping open the doors of the subconscious. I want to help people learn about themselves, I want to learn about the processes of past life regression, I want to cover new ground and explore new territory, and I want to set up a program that can be duplicated by others. Time travel is a tool for better understanding one's inner self, for obtaining greater insight into soul origins, life purposes, and skills. With great self-knowledge the past can be used to relieve present-day problems and to build a brighter, more rewarding future. Although triggered by present life circumstances (parents, school, television), human neurosis and character disorders are usually rooted in the soil of times past. Budding, they grow again in the present. Past life therapy is a not a gimmick nor a quick or painless process. In past life therapy, patients may experience once again the terrible hurts, the loss, death, and pain of times past. The work is not always easy and tears flow in abundance. But these are the tears that wash and cleanse the soul; therapy without tears is like bathing without water. But the most painful lessons of the past are usually the ones that teach us most in the present, and growing through these lessons is what brings true wisdom. For wisdom is but having learned to grow from our myriad incarnations. Past life therapy helps people to be more balanced and responsible, to gain emotional and spiritual maturity and a sense of their true worth. In some cases the recall and therapy is so vibrant that it is like a total and complete spiritual release, followed by profound peace. Although many people experience great revelations in past life exploration, there is no guarantee that everyone will. In fact, some stored memories can be very difficult to accept or even to understand. A person with major psychological problems may wish to clean up some present-life situations before delving into other lives, and disturbed people especially may wish to undergo traditional psychotherapy. Past life therapy is a good tool, but first comes the desire and determination to get well no matter what method is used. There is another reason for undergoing past life regression than just erasing and healing the problems of the past. Great benefit comes also from reliving joyous experiences. The times of great love and accomplishment are also healing. I help people focus on their positive patterns of fulfillment, the triumphs of the soul. As for myself, integrating my present and my past has not always been easy. First I have tried to get the essence of each life condensed or distilled into its most important nuggets. I search for the reasons for each life and seek its most important lessons. I try to form this all into a whole picture to bring all the varied parts and experiences together to get an overview. I study how the past fits into my present and where my present is reflected in my past. From this process have come many revelations. The biggest one is that what I dislike in others is often a part of myself (past or present) I am unhappy with. As I grow more tolerant and and appreciative of others I recognize parts of them as part of myself; I see myself reflected in other people. Most of my problems are thus self-created, whether in a past life or the present one. A personal example of growth is that I have been able to combat a childhood sense of inferiority and self-doubt. I learned to compensate by masking my feelings with arrogance. Then, after some regression work, I saw those extremes rooted in my past. By using self-hypnosis tapes, I was able to create a more healthy self-confidence. I have learned to laugh at my follies and the really dumb things I have done (and do). I have improved my attitudes, learned to understand my emotions better, and discovered reasons for living more fully by seeing my many lives as a whole and growing experience. In turn, I become more whole. Hypnosis as a Tool Hypnosis makes past life recall easier by bypassing the critical conscious mind to give access to the subconscious memory banks. It is not the only tool used to reclaim memories of past lives; others are dreams, meditation, study, imagination, travel, and drugs. I believe hypnosis is the quickest and most direct. Drugs are unstable and uncontrollable. The other approaches are valid and time-tested, but very slow. Recently Shirley MacLaine, the actress, reported using acupuncture successfully to stimulate past life recall.* All recall is based on accessing short-term or long-term memory files. Present life memories are often recalled both consciously and subconsciously. Most present life memories are readily available in the conscious or short- term memory (except early childhood and repressed traumatic memories which are buried in the subconscious). The conscious mind questions, filters, weighs, and analyzes information. On the other hand, past life memories are usually only recalled subconsciously. There is little conscious confirmation or rejection. The subconscious stores long-term memory and information. It does not confirm or evaluate. Events and experiences that are not well understood have a way of appearing either miraculous or sinister. In truth, they are simply events and experiences that need to be further explored and better studied. Facts are simply that -- facts. There is no judgment. My early experience, for example, I was perturbed to discover I had been a prostitute, but now that revelation just amuses me. Past Life Proof But is that information true? I believe so, but who knows? I wonder sometimes at the intellectual arrogance of those who scoff at the idea of past lives. The idea that the earth revolved around the sun, instead of being the center of the universe, was considered heretical (by the Christian church) and idiotic (by scientists) as recently as the 17th Century, when Galileo espoused it; yet now it is the foundation on which all astronomy is built. Not until later could scientists prove the original idea, propounded by Copernicus in the 16th Century, was correct. Is it any less possible that the existence of past lives -- in which Eastern cultures have long believed -- could someday be similarly proved? My friend Eileen, of whom you will read in Section III, likes to tell a story that illustrates this point. The scientists are climbing the mountain to find out what God and creation are all about. They struggle over all obstacles, they learn all the scientific rules and unlearn them. They are about to conquer the highest peak, and they are about to yell out their victory. And as they pull themselves over the last rock, there we all are, meditating. So until proof arrives, past life feelings, like love, are hard to prove or even measure. Who can prove love or God or even life? ________________________ *MacLaine, Shirley. Dancing in the Light. New York: Bantam Books, 1985. Long ago I stopped trying to prove anything. I have also stopped worrying about seeming discrepancies of dates or years or names or places. What did you have for dinner only one week ago? Where were you when you were five -- and can you really prove it? Many case histories have acknowledged discrepancies or inaccuracies. For instance, here is an excerpt from a tape from a session with a friend. SHARON Nov. 19, 1979 Dallas, Texas What are you doing? We are standing on the steps. I'm patting down my dress. We are waiting for the men to come back from the hunt. Tell me more, please. What is happening? Some are riding up and getting off their horses and coming up. The King has come up and he will -- he's giving his wife, the Queen, a kiss. We're turning back to go up the steps. And they are going off to his chambers. We are going to ours, where we will wait 'til supper. And now what happens? I've got -- I keep checking my left arm. There's a handkerchief in my left sleeve. It's a nervous habit I have. And I'm looking for something to look in to see myself. I'm looking for a piece of glass, and I seem to have found it. I'm just fixing my hair to make sure it's tucked in. I'm walking down the hall, past the guard and I'm going and turning around and sitting on a bench in my room until I am summoned again. I see myself writing. I see light coming in from a window. I'm writing to someone -- I'm writing to someone named George. I can look out the window -- and see the lake and there are trees. It's a very nice room. It's nice and airy and open. It's got a very big bed -- centered. And there are long high windows on either side. I'm sitting at my desk on the left side of the bed. This is my room. What are you called? What is your name? My name is Eloise. Do you have a family name? The name in the castle is Hanover -- I -- that's not my name. That's okay. We'll come back to it another time. Where is the place? Do you know the country? Yes. We are in London. And do you know what date this is, what year? 1640. And who is the king that rode in? It's Henry. And how well do you know him? I know that he is king. I know that he is husband to the queen, Catherine. How close are you with Catherine? I am one of her ladies. We tend to her. Do you like her? Yes. She is quite nice. I am treated very well. What are your duties? I help her pick her clothes -- cut flowers -- fix her hair. Sometimes I read to her. What do you read to her? Is there anything that stands out, that you enjoyed reading? The Bible. Is that her favorite? Yes. She likes the Book of James. Okay. Thank you. Now continue on ahead -- to the next event of major importance. Continuing on now, when you are a little older, to another event -- a major event in your life. See it, sense it, relive it, and then when you are ready, begin telling me what is happening, what you are doing. We have just come in from a carriage ride and I'm taking off my coat. The ladies are knocking the snow off my hair and I am walking in by the fire to warm my hands. It's quite cold out there. We have a lovely house -- it's the Lancaster house. You can look up and there are windows from floor to ceiling. It's very warm in here; it's very nice. And George has come in and he is standing beside me. We are both getting warm from the fire. It is cold. We have just come from a visit to the King and Queen, who -- Tell me. Well, it's not Catherine anymore; it's Anne. He seems to be changing daily. But -- he is the king. We're getting ready for dinner. Oh, and the children are coming down. Oh, we're going to have pheasant tonight and we're all at the table now and we're holding hands to say grace. Who says the grace? George does. Do you remember what he says? What does he say? Well, "Bless this food, O Lord, and be glad that we're all here together tonight. Praise be His name." It's nice. Yes, it is. Thank you. Tell me about dinner. You said it was pheasant? Yes, pheasant and corn and some potatoes and gravy and wine. And as always, Michael and Seth are sitting there chattering away. It's nice. This is a nice time of day for us; we're all together. Okay. Thank you. Now, any historian could pick this material apart. The most obvious "mistake" is that in 1640, the King of England was not named Henry. The king then was Charles I, the second Stuart king. Henry VIII, to whom Sharon seems to refer (because of the references to Catherine and Anne, the first and second wives of Henry VIII) reigned much earlier, from 1509 to 1547. On the other hand, there is an interesting historical usage of which Sharon presumably knew nothing: her mention of corn. We all thought it was a mistake; corn, or maize, is native to the Americas; it wasn't known in Europe until the 17th Century. But she was not mistaken. The British and many Europeans still use the word corn to refer to the most widely grown cereal crop in any given district -- so wheat, rye, oats, or barley could all be referred to as corn. The information we all thought was wrong turned out to the right for that time and place. Do the discrepancies matter? Sharon may have had information overlap from her two or more lifetimes in England. Moreoever, the flow, the message, the emotion, and the sincerity are real, at least to Sharon, and that is all that counts. If it helps her or entertains her, what has she lost? -- a few hours of her time. Hoping to prove past lives to a closed minded individual is a Catch-22, a no- win situation. When recalled information is not substantiated by history, it is discounted or rejected. If the recalled information is confirmed in a book then the cynic will smugly say that the subject read it as a small child and consciously forgot reading it. Followup research and investigation can verify or disprove any historical information. (Though I sometimes wonder about history. History is only as unbiased as the people who write it, and the victors write the history.) The personal validity of the information is proof for most people. For others, the experience is in itself sufficient and revitalizing. People who brush aside regression experiences by saying they are just imagination have probably not truly experienced them. For others, there can never be proof. Past lives do not need to always be literal but can be symbolic and still helpful. The overview and the potential for learning is enough in itself. And although I accept most of this work as valid or "really real," some people accept it only symbolically or allegorically, as archetypes, metaphor, or a collective unconscious, but they can still receive benefit and betterment no matter what they label it. Sometimes in a session a past or present life memory can be disjointed. Sometimes information comes and there is not time to follow up on it, or the follow-up questions are not asked. For example, I would love to know more about Louana and the principles of Pyramadis from Chuck's sessions in Chapter 3. Sometimes the full picture becomes clear only after several sessions. I encourage people with whom I work not to be distracted by attempts at verification, but to continue on the path of honest, open-minded exploration. Each of us tells a story with our lives, one different from all other stories, our own unique history. Results do not require belief. Open minded inquiry is all that is necessary. Several people with whom I have worked did not believe in past lives. Nonetheless, through the experience of time travel, they achieved positive results and insight. Not all information proves to be applicable and a person may wonder if he or she is just making up details of the life. Often a person thinks it's his or her imagination. Shirley MacLaine wonders at length about this in Dancing in the Light. The human mind is an unlimited storehouse of knowledge. The answers are already there. All that is required is to ask the right questions and evaluate the answers. The mind resonates with the excitement of discovery. Time travel is perhaps one of today's greatest adventures. Books and Periodicals on Hypnotic Regression Past life therapy is being used more every day and has become an innovative and important tool in the field of mind sciences. Professional past life therapists honor confidentiality and are considerate and protective of the client's soul history. Past life therapy is a valuable tool in the workshop of the mind, but it is not the only tool. The solution to every problem is always an individual one. Every subject has a "secret memory," as Carl Jung said, and in unlocking this memory is the key, the clue, to the therapist's success, no matter what method he or she uses. Many excellent books and articles by nationally known psychologists, counselors, therapists, and doctors who use past life research to discover the origins of patients' fears, anxieties, and habit patterns are now available. Here are some I consider excellent. Periodicals Regression Therapy, the Journal of the Association for Past-Life Research and Therapy, P.O. Box 20151, Riverdale, CA, 92516. Published quarterly. The journal describes itself as "a professional journal with articles prepared by skilled professional people. The information in the journal is designed to aid the less skilled hypnotist to manage situations that may be encountered spontaneously at any time during the hypnosis of a client. Ongoing articles will keep the hypnotherapist informed on techniques to improve their service to humanity." Reincarnation Report, Malibu, CA: Valley of the Sun Publishing Co., c1982. No longer published, but back issues contain articles on reincarnation, hypnotic regression, astrology, predictions, prophecy, karma, altered states of consciousness, future life, and New Age. Books Note: These titles are from such Cayce Library categories as "Regression, Hypnotic," and "Past Lives Therapy," but there are hundreds more titles on past life work until the general topics "Hypnosis," "Hypnotism," and "Reincarnation." Dethlefsen, Thorwald. Voices from Other Lives (translation by Gerhard Hundt). New York: M. Evans and Co., Inc., 1977. Goldberg, Dr. Bruce. Past Lives, Future Lives: Accounts of Regression and Progression Through Hypnosis. North Hollywood, CA: Newcastle Publishing Co., 1982. Moss, Peter, with Joe Keeton. Encounters with the Past: How Man Can Experience and Relive History. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co., 1980. Netherton, Morris, and Nancy Shiffrin. Past Lives Therapy. New York: Morrow, 1978. Riley, Betty. A Veil Too Thin: Reincarnation Out of Control.Scottsdale, AZ: Valley of the Sun Publishing Co., 1984. Steiger, Brad. You Will Live Again. [New York: Dell Publishing, c1978]. Sutphen, Dick. Past Lives, Future Loves. New York: Pocket Books, c1978. Sutphen, Dick, and Lauren Leigh Taylor. Past-Life Therapy in Action. Malibu, CA: Valley of the Sun Publishing Co.,[c1983]. Wambach, Helen. Life Before Life. New York: Bantam Books,[1979]. Weisman, Alan. We, Immortals: The Dick Sutphen Past Life Hypnotic Regression Seminars. New York: Pocket Books,[c1977]. Chapter 7 ADVENTURE INTO TIME During deep meditation it is possible to dispel time, to see simultaneously all the past, present, and future, and then everything is good, everything is perfect, everything is Brahman. Therefore, it seems to me that everything that exists is good -- death as well as life, sin as well as holiness, wisdom as well as folly. Hermann Hesse Siddartha A beginner in past life work is likely to focus on the personalities or the prominent figures of a time. He or she wonders, "Was I someone famous or important?" Well, yes; some of us had to have been. But the odds are against it. Sharon, who was lady-in-waiting to a queen (Chapter 6), is the only person I myself have worked with who was near the great and powerful. No, the experienced time traveler focuses on the lessons to be learned from past lives and seeks to apply that knowledge in the present. The important question about other lives is not proving who we were, but rather evaluating what we did and how we helped others. If you wish to look at your past lives, first ask yourself why. You may find things in your past that are not necessarily pleasant or easy to accept. Some people are sidetracked by reliving the past over and over like a rerun on television. The present is where growth is experienced. Triggers to Soul Memory For those people who are ready, there are some good beginning steps to take. You do not have to seek a full past life regression immediately. Begin the journey inward with a prayer for protection and direction; start with a search of your motives, your reasons for wanting to do this work. Then, practice relaxation techniques like those in yoga; there are many books and teachers to help you find the methods for you. When you are in a relaxed, meditative state, try this exercise. Practice "daydreaming" by recalling a special episode from the past -- a vacation, a talk with a friend, a day in summer. Everyone has such an event, a wonderful, magic, never forgotten day. Go into your mind and relive that special day. Remember the details and the feelings; recall the other people who may have been there. Describe what you and others are wearing, what they are saying. Bring this memory into the present; think of it as happening right now. Do this exercise with other events. Later, choose sad events also; recall even a tragic time. Let the gears of your memory -- your image storage and retrieval system -- begin to turn. At first, do your daydreaming as you meditate. Later you can do it in a waking state when you have a few minutes to wait when driving to work (if you are not the driver!), waiting for an appointment, standing in line at the bank. Not only is it enjoyable to review episodes in your life, but also you will learn more about how your mind functions. You can also take some of the courses that are available for spiritual development; there are many, offered by many institutions. You can also buy or make self-help self-hypnosis tapes.(1) Study your dreams and daydreams and keep careful journals about what you experience. Keep a notebook and pen and pencil near your bed. On awakening take a few minutes to jot down dreams. Some dreams have hints and insights into the past in this life and other lives. Dreams do not prove the existence of past lives, but many people find them a useful door into the subconscious. There are books on the interpretation of dreams, but you are the best judge of their meaning, and you are likely to see patterns of meaning very quickly. A recurring dream (a few times a year or oftener) is especially significant. Travel is a good way of triggering memory. Any place in the world can bring forward impressions or memories. Some people say they are drawn to places in which they lived in a past lifetime; sometimes this hunch is confirmed later in regression sessions. Or they travel to a place, only to sense they are having a very familiar experience; the place itself reawakened the memory. Where you want to travel may be a clue that you have been there before; where you have lived before may subconsciously pull or repel you now. Many people I know have a yen to go to some particular place for no apparent or logical reason. Now, if a person has a strong desire to go to Ireland and that person is very proud of her Irish ancestry and her family always talked in glowing terms about the Emerald Isle, that yen is pretty explainable. But -- perhaps -- that person has chosen Irish parents for the close tie-in with a soul memory. Then there are the places a person never wants to go. After high school in 1964, I dated a young woman who refused to eat at any Chinese restaurant, though I love Chinese food and often coaxed her to go to one with me. She hated Chinese food, she said. Before we broke up (not over the choice of restaurants), she asked for a regression session. It was the only time we worked together. The one lifetime she explored was a very unhappy, poor, miserable time in (you guessed it) the Orient. Of course, there is no profound conclusion here that people with pleasant past lives in the Orient now love Chinese food, or vice versa. You will recall I had a short and tragic life in China on a barren trade route and I presently enjoy spring rolls and lychees more than anything else I can think of to eat. There are many other triggers to soul memory besides traveling. For instance, sometimes in a fever state, past life insights come through, as they did for me when I was living in Spain about 20 years ago. My own past lifetimes have flashed as sudden revelations, as insights, as dreams, and as daydreams. They have come at most unusual times and places. They were not always the result of hypnotic regressions, but came spontaneously. I didn't ask to experience my life as a poverty stricken girl in China; I was in a state of reverie, watching a television program (it wasn't even about China), and the memory came very powerfully. At the end of the vision or memory, I could immediately contrast it with my lifetime in Greece as a rich and powerful prostitute, and see how in some way one life was a payment for another. Astrology can give insight into past lives. I learned this at The Adventure, where two astrologers looked at cyclic life patterns brought forward from the past. Possible future direction was clearly shown from past patterns. Palm, card, Tarot, and crystal ball readings can trigger past life memories in sensitive or psychic people. The Regressologist The bottom line is that searching into soul memory is a personal experience and a personal adventure. A regressologist can be of help, as he or she is experienced and knowledgeable as a guide. But you are the person doing the real work. As Edgar Cayce said, "Self is the best help in finding the confidence in self and then in choosing that [which] you desire to prepare" (Reading 2310-2). Probably the best way to prepare for a session with a regressologist is not to prepare. Simply go in without expectations, without wanting to explore anything specifically. Leave judgments and assumptions outside the door. Use your first session to get to know the regressologist and become familiar with the procedures. The regressologist may suggest homework and exercises. Learning to pay attention and listen carefully to one another is the best preparation for success later. Assuming, then, that you wish to experience a past life through a hypnotic regression -- or that you are interested in guiding a regression -- here is what you might expect in my sessions. Other researchers and regressologists use similar techniques and procedures. In a group, I use my standard hypnosis procedure. This has been an evolving procedure from my years of hypnosis work. It incorporates the best of what I have learned through the years. In individual sessions I often guide the person more elegantly by wording suggestions according to the temperament and needs of the subject. A very nervous person, for example, may need deep breathing exercises before we begin. On the other hand, a person with whom I have worked many times requires less time to enter his natural level of relaxation. The individual approach -- sometimes called the "naturalistic" approach, pioneered by Dr. Milton H. Erickson(2) usually brings quicker and deeper results. It requires that the hypnotist listen acutely and observe closely all that the subject says and does; the hypnotist uses what he receives from the subject and rewords or reframes it in terms the subject relates to, incorporating stories, parables, and visual examples from everyday life. As a guide and facilitator my job is to see that the entire process is orchestrated. I make sure the subject is cared for: soft lighting, a comfortable chair or recliner, a light blanket to cover the body (because the metabolism slows down), a quiet, private setting without disturbance from phones or door bells. This all builds trust and protects the subject from distraction; it is particularly important during the first stage of hypnosis. Next I help any visitors to place their chairs and get quieted (I encourage the time traveler to invite a spouse or a friend to sit in on the session). I always double check the cassette tapes and recording equipment. Because the throat muscles are completely relaxed, many people speak in a very low voice during the sessions. I have found I need to sit close to the subject and to use a good external lapel or tie clip microphone with the recording equipment. But all of these are mechanical procedures; the truly important part of my work is helping the person simply experience the experience. That is not a cute play on words. Some people are too anxious or too self-doubting or self-critical to just let go and do it. I tell them the only real problem is in too much self-analysis. We are not trying to prove anything but just to experience the experience. Some subjects are nervous at their first session, which is normal. Progressive relaxation and hypnosis quickly relax them. Other people are anxious -- some too anxious -- for dramatic results. The best subjects come with an honest and open attitude. My own first sessions were a life changing positive experience that I will always remember. I try to make it that way for others. My principal role as a regressologist is that of questioner, guide, and facilitator. My most important allies are patience, mutual trust, and an open mind. The Hypnosis Process When everything is ready I begin the hypnosis process. The human brain has four levels of activity, each having a particular cycle per second rate of electrical activity. Most researchers call the normal everyday waking state beta. Alpha is a transitional phase somewhere between waking and sleeping. We all experience alpha as we go into regular nighttime sleep and again later as we awaken in the morning. Theta occurs in deep hypnosis, intense meditation, and during the early stages of nighttime sleep. Delta, perhaps the least understood, is the deepest sleep or unconsciousness. Most people experience the hypnotic state when they are in alpha, and many sessions fluctuate between the levels of alpha and theta. Most people pass through alpha so quickly every morning and evening that they hardly even realize it, let alone utilize it. It is the door to the subconscious and is sometimes called waking hypnosis. In a way, alpha hypnosis massages the mind and relieves mental stress. As a session continues many people automatically enter theta as more and more trust develops. Theta is deep hypnosis usually accompanied by clear strong recall and accessing of deeply stored memory. The entire process for time travel, or hypnotic past life age regression, has five distinct stages, although each stage progresses naturally into the next. They are hypnosis (the subject's natural level of deep relaxation); present life regression; prenatal regression; past life regression (the Blue Mist); and the return to present life and awakening. As the person enters the hypnotic state, the natural level of relaxation, he or she is automatically guided into the second stage, present life regression. Present life regression is simply recalling, mentally viewing, or remembering events or impressions from this present life, something we do almost every day of our lives. Hypnosis simply starts the gears of the mind turning, as in an audio or visual playback, and opens the door to clear recall. During this experience, different senses come into focus. As new levels of perception and awareness are reached, some people may see an image, others hear a memory, some feel an experience, and others sense an impression. Occasionally someone begins by smelling a recollection, and there are even people who mentally read inner records from their own book of life. I have found that responses of different people vary widely, even from session to session. The time traveler is simply asked to relate what comes to him or her, no matter how it comes through, to simply state the impressions he or she receives without analyzing, censoring, questioning, or passing judgment. Time travel is usually easy and enjoyable. Beginning sessions usually look at happy, pleasant experiences, and during subsequent sessions, more in-depth exploration can be experienced. I begin therapeutic sessions by requesting pleasant memory stores and files. Soul disorders and stressful material will surely erupt soon enough, without rushing it. Most people like the active dialogue of questions and answers, but others relate a flood of information with little questioning required. After a present life regression the subject may explore the third stage, the birth and pre-birth experience. This "rebirthing" can be intense, so I usually pass through this step without lingering. But many pscyhologists and regressologists explore this time in great detail. Prenatal regression is a term given to exploring the formative months before birth and has shown that the unborn child has perceptions and reacts to stimuli from the outer world. The perceptions of the forming child are somehow also connected to the mother's thoughts. I recall a case where a prenatal regression subject realized that she was an unwanted baby. (This fact was later confirmed by a parent.) This realization was so strong and the subject cried so much that she could not continue her session at that time. The Blue Mist Approach Past life regression is the fourth stage. The procedure I have developed to help the subject reach it is called the "Blue Mist Approach." This terminology is not intended to sound mystical. You may call it anything you like. Previously, I used the approach that Morey Bernstein used in the Bridey Murphy book. Later I used an awareness technique called the Christos Experience, in which the subject is asked to imagine getting larger, then smaller, floating safely above the body, floating safely above the building, and then returning and standing upon the earth in a different time and place. I designed the Blue Mist Approach while working with regression subjects at Virginia Beach. It was inspired by the near-death experiences of clinically dead patients and by what my subjects described specifically as the transition state between lives. Different regressologists have adapted it to fit their individual styles. The approach goes like this. (Compare Chapter 19 to see how this is integrated into the full session.) ....Continue back to when you are two -- and then one. You find that you can even go to the time of your birth. And you can go beyond this time. Going now to that very warm, very safe, and very secure place where nothing can harm you. Where you feel so very good -- so protected. This is a good time -- a forming and growing time. And you find you can go beyond this even -- going now into the Blue Mist. And the Blue Mist protects you. This is a time of trust and a time of understanding. This is a time of rest, of ancient echoes and quiet movement. A time you only thought you had misplaced. Looking into the deep recesses of your own mind. Opening your memory banks to the remembrances of your innermost feelings. For through the avenue of the heart all things are revealed to you. Embrace the feeling -- reach deep within. You are happy here. Yet part of you longs for movement -- and you look out toward the horizon or as if looking through a long tunnel -- and you see a light. You begin going, flowing, moving toward the light. You merge and converge within the light. The light surrounds you and protects you. You feel the life energies flowing throughout your being. As you look down at your feet -- describe what you see on your feet. What do you have on your feet? The more you tell me, the more clear and vivid it all becomes. At this time, I usually wait, giving the person the necessary time to respond before continuing to ask questions about the description of the clothing and the body. As in present life work, this can be give and take of questions and answers, or it can be a monologue delivered by the subject. Some people require little questioning to pour out a veritable fountain of information. Either way, past patterns and hidden clues emerge from the deep recesses of the subconscious. Experiencing Time Travel There are at least two different ways of experiencing past life time travel, reviewing and reliving. In the first, the subject is a detached observer. Many memories and impressions are recalled and related from the viewpoint of a spectator of the scene rather than as a participant. It is almost as if the person is looking through a family photo album and commenting on some of his or her favorite pictures. Reliving can be more intense and dramatic and is not always desirable in an early session. This level is a deeper soul level but may be too intense for the first times. Many sessions are actually a combination of the two, with an ebb and flow of involvement and detachment, or reviewing and reliving. If you will look back over the transcripts of sessions in this book, you will see how often subjects change from one state to the next and where I tend to guide them back into the reviewing stage. One lifetime or several can be explored in a single session. A detached view of the death experience is also valuable near the end of the session. Death is simply a stage of growth and most people with whom I have worked are amazed to discover their awareness does not end with death. Many people achieve their greatest personal insight through reviewing their former death experiences and the many passages from life to life. I have discovered that most memories are recorded and stored as images, emotions, emblems, and symbols. Often a person will describe at length his or her feelings about just one image. The more emotion involved with an image, the more vivid it becomes. But because the mind more easily stores and retrieves images, names and dates may be difficult to remember. There is no credibility gap but merely the lack of a stored image or emotion for a particular name or date. Emotion filled scenes and memories are usually much easier for most people to remember and relate. Experiences differ from person to person, session to session. Some people speak in languages they do not know in their present lives. When I talk about time travel and regression it may seem that the work centers in the mind or in the head. This is not usually so; most soul work centers on what people call the heart. The heart encompasses the emotions, the attitudes, the will, and the feeling part of a person. This is where real past life therapy is -- at the feeling level. We begin by going through the mind, but the accomplishment is in the feelings, the soul or spirit. Minds store dates; the heart stores sorrow, anger, fear, and joy, hope, and love. Returning to the Present The fifth stage is returning to the present and waking. Closing the mental, emotional, and spiritual door to a past life memory is as important as opening it. A person's subconscious usually has the final say as to which memories are to be consciously retained and brought back, and which are to be refiled for future reference. Just because the subconscious mind can understand the lessons of a past life does not guarantee that the subject's conscious mind can also deal with it in the present. Most information can be processed in the present but some is best refiled and stored for future work at another time. This type of healing suggestion can be used near the end of the session. Now see in your mind's eye all the people you recognized in this life [or lives]. Look into their eyes. Now, send love from your eyes into their eyes and they begin to fade. Bless them. Release them and let them fade. Let them go. You will retain in your conscious mind only that information which is beneficial and helpful for you to retain at this time. These suggestions are a gentle yet definite way of closing the door to the past, and allow the subject's subconscious the choice of what to remember. Two of the biggest lessons I have learned in this work are the closing of the door to soul's memory and the careful return to the waking state. The transition back to everyday, beta level awareness (the normal waking state) should be smooth, whole, and complete; otherwise, people can come back temporarily disoriented. I call it "spiritual jet lag." The considerate guide or facilitator does not cut corners or rush the wakeup process. In fact, this can be a special time for the subject's full spiritual comprehension and digestion of information. Returning to the present and wakeup suggestions similar to this approach can be used. Returning through the Blue Mist -- going to that warm and safe and very secure place. Returning to the present and feeling the life energies throughout your being. Your conscious mind may forget to remember(3) all that you accomplished here today. You are in the present, the date today is ___________ and the place is ________________. I will count from one to ten, at the count of ten you can be wide awake, clear headed, refreshed and relaxed. One, coming back now. Two, coming out now. Three, coming up slowly. Four, feel total normalization at every level of your being. Five, feel the circulation returning to the extremities. Six, awakening to your full potential. Seven, perfect equilibrium. Eight, energized. Nine, in full strength. And ten, wide awake and feeling great. As the person awakens, because of the suggestion or their own subconscious regulators, there may be little or no conscious recall of the session, or only certain parts may be recalled. Most commonly the person recalls the entire session and can add more details and information not mentioned during the actual experience. Past Life Insight Subsequent sessions can complete the narrative and give insight into the patterns that link past to present. Past life insight doesn't usually come in one big flash. Information comes as pieces of a puzzle. As the pieces come to me I size them up, hold them up to the light, and turn them one way and another, until they all fit in and the overall picture becomes clear. Memory can be stored and accessed as emotion, word, emblem, image, or symbol. At crisis times or with traumatic events in present or past times, some people need to tell their story over and over and over. In regression work I always listen carefully to what each person is telling me. A story may sound strange or disjointed at first because memory is not always sequential. However, by the time the sessions are completed, the individual pieces form a clear picture. Listening carefully reminds me of the tombstone that says, "I told you I was sick." As I trust people's information, I listen to their truths no matter where it comes from, or how, when, or even why. Whatever occurs in a time travel session is a legitimate part of the process of self-discovery. The keys to a soul's memory are trust and patience. Trust cannot be created artificially. Above all, it takes time. It grows from the foundation up, just as a house is built. The foundation is the most important (and often seems the most time consuming) part. Trust in the process builds as both people work on the foundation projects. A foundation project is any one in which the hypnotist and client work together on preliminary exercises, like a session whose only purpose is for the client to experience hypnosis. The object is for the client to learn the procedures, and I prefer a couple of sessions for preliminary work before we begin an advanced project like psychic development or exploring the chakra system. Similarly, in my book on self-hypnosis I recommend people tackle the easiest, most entertaining procedures first. If I have learned one lesson, it is the need for patience. In this age of fast food and faster living, people are accustomed to quick and easy -- the dollar buys everything, fast. But wisdom cannot be bought. Some people, it seems, want their soul's evolution revealed to them in full in a few hours. The mind does not work like that. Knowledge comes as the person is ready and able to accept it. Not everyone is able to digest the food of memory; it must be eaten slowly and carefully. Except for the unusual and unexpected session (the one with Chuck, Chapter 3, for instance), I do not work with past life subjects until we have completed the proper preliminary foundation sessions. If I detect impatience in the early sessions, I will usually go even more slowly. This is not intended to be annoying, but rather to allow the subject to prepare more fully for what is usually a major life experience. For those who insist on instant enlightenment, I usually suggest 40 days and 40 nights of fasting in the desert. Notes to Chapter 7 (1) The Association for Research and Enlightenment (ARE) and Atlantic University offer year-round courses in psychic and soul development. They also offer home study courses and courses in many parts of the U.S. For information write ARE, P.O. Box 595, Virginia Beach, VA 23451. Another excellent course is Silva Mind Control. For an introduction, read The Silva Mind Control Method, by Jose Silva (New York: Pocket Books, 1978). Two magazines, New Age Journal, 342 Western Ave., Brighton, MA 02135, and Psychic Guide, Box 701, Providence, RI 02901, publish regular calendars of events for people seeking soul development, and you will find other publications in bookstores, natural foods stores, libraries, and pharmacies. The same kinds of places sell self-help hypnosis tapes. The commercial tapes are usually very good, but it is far better to make your own tapes. If you wish to try my book on making self-help tapes, Self-Hypnosis: Creating Your Own Destiny, it is available from ARE Press, Box 595, Virginia Beach, VA, 23451, and at bookstores. The price is $7.95. The four cycles I recommend for preparation for age regression are "Developing Psychic Ability" (p. 138), "Beyond Tomorrow" (p. 146), "Friends and Soul Mates" (p. 152), and "Chakra Attunement" (p. 156). (2) Milton H. Erickson, M.D.(1901--1980). A pioneer in the development of modern hypnosis and psychotherapy. Erickson developed a nonauthoritarian, indirect approach to suggestion, demonstrating that patients could use their own unconsicous minds to solve their own problems. In the 1930s, when he began his work in hypnosis, it was regarded as a dark and fearful art. He was one of the first to demonstrate experimentally that hypnosis is a safe procedure. He was an authority on the use of naturalistic induction techniques, hypnotic utilization, metaphorical and subconscious communication, and the use of behavioral tasks in order to effect change, according to one description of his work. Erickson spent his formative years in rural Wisconsin. At 17, he was paralyzed by poliomyelitis. He recovered largely through his own efforts, developing techniques for relaxation, use of sense memory, and observation that later became the foundation for his work as a hypnotherapist. He received his medical degree from the University of Wisconsin. After years of experience as a clinical therapist in mental hospitals, he went into private practice in Phoenix, AZ, remaining a private therapist there until his death. He was president of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis and a Life Fellow of the Americian Psychiatric Association and the American Psychopathological Association. He was the founder and editor of the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, and is the coauthor of Hypnotic Realities, Hypnotherapy, Time Distortion in Hypnosis, and Practical Application of Medical and Dental Hypnosis. I have learned much about his work from The Collected Papers of Milton H. Erickson on Hypnosis, a four volume work edited by Ernest L. Rossi (New York: Irvington Publishers Inc., v. 1, 1983) (3) This reads oddly, but it is a very advanced suggestion, derived from Erickson. Chapter 8 MEETING THE ETERNALS All that speak are one and we are of the eternal. The Eternals* In 1980, my life took a new turn; I met The Eternals and heard the voice of Vishnu. As with so much in my life, it wasn't planned. I moved from Texas to Virginia; I met a man who wanted to learn hypnosis; we agreed to try to duplicate the kind of work Edgar Cayce did. And all those things have focused my life in such a way that I now concentrate on guiding past life regressions and on channeling work. For those readers who are new to this field, channeling is the process by which a person becomes a "vessel" or a "channel" for the spirit and voice of an entity or entities from another dimension; the voice represents a superconscious, a collective unconscious, or a universal mind. Information from the entity comes through the vessel, but does not appear to originate with him or her. In contrast, in regression, the subject delves into his own subconscious to find information recorded there about his/her own past lives. I had no idea of working with channelers when Ann and I left Dallas in 1979 to return to the East. Eventually we settled in Independence, VA, where we had built an underground house Ann designed. In 1982, as a way of becoming better acquainted in the community, Ann suggested I teach a short course on self-hypnosis at the local library. A good idea; I scheduled it one night a week for four weeks. Our town has fewer than 1,000 people, so I expected that perhaps a dozen would attend. The first night more than 100 people showed up, during a storm; and the rest of the sessions were just as crowded. Thanks to the class, I met my neighbors, who included a local psychic, with whom I later worked; people from the state mental health department, ______________________________ *Unless otherwise noted, the quotations at the beginning of each chapter are from the entities we called The Eternals. who invited me to speak occasionally at their programs; and members of the local and state police forces, whom I was privileged to assist in a few special cases requiring hypnosis. I also met Daniel.D. Clay Pugh is the name he goes by. Ann and I call him Daniel or Daniel Clay. He wanted to get a job at a hypnosis center to help people with tobacco and weight problems. Would I teach him to be a hypnotist? Impressed with his sincerity, I agreed to do so, although I had not taken individual students for some time. In 1983, for six months, Daniel and I met once a week on Tuesday evenings. I gave him lots of homework and he did more than I required; for instance, he used self-hypnosis tapes, which either he made or I made for him, at least once and often twice and three times a day. He was already getting interesting and prophetic dreams that he recorded in a dream log. To help him interpret his dreams and psychic flashes (or daydreams), he frequently used one of these tapes, "Developing Psychic Ability." It was not intended to help make him a channeler, but it did, in fact, prepare him for what was to come. He also practiced hypnosis techniques on me and on a local dentist who came to some of the sessions. He was an apt student and became a very good hypnotist, quickly acquiring the skills he would need for weight and tobacco control. In June, 1983, I thought he was ready to practice at a clinic. As he was walking out the door (and, I thought, out of my life), he turned to ask, almost as an afterthought, "Did you ever try to duplicate the kind of reading that Cayce did?" No, I had not. But I was willing to try. Instead of going out of my life, Daniel Clay was really introducing the next phase of my learning and spiritual development. Edgar Cayce, the American psychic, visited the Akashic Records (soul records) while in a self-induced trance. While there, he "read" from the life scrolls of people who had asked for counsel. The topics of the readings ranged from diagnosis of health problems to explanations of the astrological influences playing on individual lives and relationships; he interpreted dreams and even gave financial advice. It was readings of this type Daniel wanted to emulate. Cayce had fascinated me from my very first introduction to his work in the Bridey Murphy book. When Daniel suggested we follow the trail Cayce had blazed so many years before, I was enthusiastic. The thought of trying to duplicate the Cayce methods, as I had once duplicated the Bridey Murphy experiment, excited me. I had scheduled a business trip to Virginia Beach. Ann and I drove down and while I worked, Ann went to the ARE library to search the 14,000-plus Cayce readings. And she made a great discovery. With the help of the librarians, she found Reading 294-19, the process Cayce had used to gain access to information after he was in a trance. We returned home prepared for a new experiment using Cayce's own procedures. Simple hypnosis would not guarantee success, I found. After entering a trance, Cayce went through a series of levels of consciousness to reach the place where he could read from the record, or Book of Life, of an individual. When Cayce was ready, his guide (usually his wife, Gertrude Adams Cayce), gave him the suggestion to begin the reading. If the proper suggestions were not given at the right time, he would drift into normal sleep and there would be no reading. I certainly didn't want that to happen with Daniel. I would follow the Cayce process as closely as possible. The Cayce Levels As a first step, I simply read the Cayce material below while Daniel -- who had proved to be an excellent subject for hypnosis as well as a student of it -- was in a trance. The only change I made was to change Cayce's "I" to "you." (It is important to note that after each session I read the steps in reverse. Returning through the levels was vital in enabling Daniel to become safely oriented in the present.) I said: You see yourself as a tiny dot out of your physical body, which lies inert before you. You find yourself oppressed by darkness and there is a feeling of terrific loneliness. Suddenly you are conscious of a white beam of light. As this tiny dot, you move upward following the light, knowing that you must follow it or be lost. As you move along this path of light, you gradually become conscious of various levels upon which there is movement. Upon the first levels there are vague, horrible shapes, grotesque forms such as one sees in nightmares. Passing on, there begin to appear on either side misshapen forms of human beings with some part of the body magnified. Again there is a change, and you become conscious of gray-hooded forms moving downward. Gradually these become lighter in color.Then the direction changes and these forms move upward and the color of the robes grows rapidly lighter. Next, there begin to appear on either side vague outlines of houses, walls, trees, etc., but everything is motionless. As you pass on, there is more light and movement in what appear to be normal cities and towns. With the growth of movement, you become conscious of sounds, at first indistinct rumblings, then music, laughter, and singing of birds. There is more and more light, the colors become very beautiful, and there is the sound of wonderful music. The houses are left behind, ahead there is only a blending of sound and color. Quite suddenly you come upon a Hall of Records. It is a hall without walls, without ceiling, but you are conscious of seeing an old man who hands you a large book, a record of the individual for whom you seek information. Strange things started to happen. Daniel began shaking violently, almost like a person in an epileptic seizure. I had seen this kind of energy release before. Convulsive paroxysms often accompany the sudden unblocking of dormant psychic channels in the same way that a volcano can roar to life in one instant. Profound changes were taking place beneath the surface, and Daniel was shaking in response.(1) Then he began to speak. At first, his words were scattered and disjointed. He spoke about the crisis in the Middle East, the bloodshed in Lebanon, and the unresolved tensions between Israel and Syria. His words contained Biblical references to the strife in this stormy crossroads of the world. We did not record this first session because we were not sure anything would result from it. But something was coming through, and we tried again with a recorder a week later, following exactly the steps of the first session. Again I witnessed a startling eruption. Daniel's psychic channels, or chakras, were bursting like floodgates. In the second session, Daniel again seemed consumed by the events of the troubled planet. Much of what he said, however, was incoherent, which is typical in beginning channeling. As he voyaged through the layered seas of his subconscious, his voice changed dramatically. When he awoke he had no conscious recall of what he had said. Gradually, as we repeated the procedure in the following weeks, he spoke more coherently and his seizures abated as he accepted the energy that flowed through him. Meeting The Eternals As Daniel tapped a different level of consciousness, the sources explained that more than one entity was speaking. The voice always referred to itself in the plural; that is, it said, "We are eternal," "we are" so and so. For simplicity's sake, Daniel and Ann and I and our circle of friends began to call the source The Eternal or The Eternals. We could not say, "Daniel said ..." when referring to something The Eternal told us, for it was not Daniel who was speaking. In the same way, Cayce Foundation people say, "The readings say ...," and not, "Cayce says ...." In these early days we learned how to work with The Eternals. We learned a new vocabulary. For example, The Eternals rarely called Daniel by name. He was almost always called "the Vessel." I was called "the Guide," which is an accurate description of the hypnotist at work. We accepted new concepts; the word karma and the theories about its meaning were replaced with "balance and counterbalance," and the word reincarnation became "progressions." Gradually, our meetings assumed several forms. In some, The Eternals gave personal readings for participants. Some sessions were experimental. For instance, some of our first sessions involved readings in which Daniel seemed to develop telepathic skills. We had called a few friends, people we thought would like to be part of this continuing experiment, and asked permission to request readings for them. Everyone consented. Each person was given a specific time to be at home, resting or meditating so as to make a better link with the inner mind and the source. At the prearranged time, Daniel picked up the receiver at his end of the psychic line. Two of our early participants reported that they "felt" Daniel plugging in and also sensed when contact was broken, about an hour later. Some of our sessions we called "work sessions." These were meetings in which we asked The Eternals for guidance on how to conduct the work. For instance, we discussed ways to make the sessions accessible to a wider public. How should we describe our work? I asked, "Exactly what is the service offered?" The Eternals answered: You are counselors, guided by God, given power by God to see into the deep recesses of your own subconscious minds.... This service is the soul guidance.(2) Later, The Eternals advised us to form a community of seekers, an organization that would handle personal readings for our group and others. This we did, calling it Ageless Expressions.(3) The Teachings Then The Eternals asked us to form a group to meet once a week. We called these meetings "Teachings," to distinguish them from the sessions in which personal readings were given. We ask that one day a week you set aside one time specifically for us, the Eternal, that we might teach. We will give you the Teachings that we have given through the ages, that they may be written again. These shall be compiled and put together for there shall be many who will seek it for the light that we will give through you. The text of the rest of this chapter and of the next two chapters is based on the dialogues that took place in the Teachings. We invited people from the community to the Teachings to listen, to learn, to ask questions, and to seek the counsel of The Eternals. Participants ranged in age from about 20 to about 60, with an equal number of men and women. Many were professionals; we had mental health workers, teachers, lawyers, construction workers. Some came once and did not return. Many who came out of curiosity returned week after week, attending all 10 Teachings (4). My back room was too small for the numbers attending, so I brought the recliner and recording equipment into our large combination living/dining room. I dimmed the lights. Everyone was silent as I guided Daniel through the hypnosis exercises and then the Cayce levels. Then soon a very different energy began speaking -- speaking with great authority, but always with warmth and humor. One never knew exactly what to expect. Although the Vessel did stand up and even walk a little within the circle, he always had his eyes closed. Even for me, as someone familiar with psychic events, it was eerie to have someone speaking directly to me, touching my innermost soul, with eyes closed -- and seeing more clearly than if they were open. Most sessions lasted about two hours. Afterwards we all discussed the information that had come through. Ironically, only Daniel felt out of place. He had no recollection of what had been said and felt odd and a bit estranged from the group. He once explained to me, "I must admit one feels a bit like a fool when he awakens from a slumber and is greeted by friends who claim he has just uttered words of profound wisdom. Talking in your sleep ain't half bad, if someone tells you you muttered nonsense, but words of wisdom? "Anyway, what am I doing talking about karma, reincarnation, and Atlantis? Much of this goes against my upbringing. Yet, what the soul sees with eyes unseen cannot be denied." Our gatherings were full of love and humor. Often the whole group laughed joyously together. The love shared was a beautiful experience to enjoy and to behold. I well remember the warmth of the group -- how we eagerly awaited each Tuesday evening to get back together again, and how we sat enthralled by events. The sharing was far more than just questions and answers. There was constant movement and hand motion as the Vessel demonstrated chakra centers, balls of energy, and the like. [Illustration #4] Most people in the group were novices, with no previous knowledge of the psychic field. The Eternals were always patient with us and our clumsy gropings into these new realms. The Teachings were a holy and precious experience. I suspect if I elaborated on their holiness, I would be accused of being a religious devotee of a ghost guru. So I have carefully tried to keep the tone of this book factual and to present our material as an experiment or a new type of research. But it really was a profound and life changing leap into a new age. For those of us who participated, this chapter represents the beginning of a new adventure. Topics from the Teachings The Teachings covered a wide range of topics. Questions came from many people at many times. In this and the following chapters, the material is arranged not chronologically, but by subject matter, so readers can easily find what interests them. The Eternals began at the beginning. You have your choice of topics to be discussed. At times we shall introduce our own topics, but only if they are overlooked. We shall be careful, if we make indications that would be called prophetic; in that case, when transcribing, do not alter tenses though they may seem to be in need of correction. You have nothing to fear by bringing others, as long as they know to what they are coming. Their questions will be helpful to you. You may travel in this light. Now shall we proceed? Who Is Communicating? We all wondered about the obvious question of who or what was communicating and why. One member of the group asked, "How do you identify yourself? Are you saying that you are just pure energy, or do you have a personality?" We are eternal, we are the force of life itself. We are what has been called the Holy Spirit, the power of God. We are Elohim, Krishna, Yahweh, Christ. We are the total consciousness. We are the supermind of the All Powerful. We exist in you. We exist in the Vessel. We exist in the trees, and in the walls. We come into the Vessel and speak as is befitting. Sometimes we speak and tell the knowledge that we know, and sometimes we come through the Vessel and show pictures, and he speaks from what he sees. Sometimes we speak in audible terms, and it is received and then respoken. Sometimes the vibratory force itself flows through and is then translated. Sometimes we give the view omnipotent; sometimes we give the view of another, around. Sometimes we impress ideas; it is just what is fitting to the situation. Are you saying that spiritual entities are with us during these teachings? Do they come to participate? They come to participate, they come to speak. We are one, all are one. And yet, we are many.... Therefore, we have called ourselves the Eternal, for we were, and we are tomorrow, even as we are today. Is that what you were speaking of when you said that there were others around this gathering? There are others.... There are others in and about you, communicating with you. There are those, a host of those, around each. There are those who are here to watch and oversee, and there are those that are here to speak. And yet all that speak are one, and we are of the Eternal. The Voice of Vishnu There is a famous Eastern religious tract. The subtitle is "The Breath of the Eternals." Is there any connection to your being called the Eternal? The other question is, what is meant by the Breath? Ee-I-a-voice-of-Vishnu, the voice of the most eternal and ancient. If we be the voice of Vishnu, how is it that we are not the breath of the eternal? Does not the breath bring life? Does not the eternal bring life? Does the whole text that you are referring to contain information where it came from, the Voice of Vishnu? Yes, and even so you shall call this that you have placed before yourselves here, when compiled, The Voice of Vishnu. That which you have seen in dreams shall come as the "Visions of Vishnu."(5) What Happens During Channeling? We were all trying to understand what was happening during the channeling. "Do you have any trouble expressing yourself through this Vessel?" a man asked. "Do you have to go through the brain to do it? Can you just come into the body as you are and express yourself any way you want? Is there any problem expressing yourself?" We are in the body. We are in all bodies. We are in everything continually. Now, in effect, expressing oneself plainly, there is trouble at times. We function through the subconscious mind. There is a state at which the subconscious mind reaches a consciousness with all subconscious minds, so to speak. All minds are one, and they come together. But when we speak, we can pull out new words, for they are floating in the other conscious minds. It is simplest to use what is already stored within the Vessel in one sense or another. When you are not speaking through this Vessel, on what level is the "we" of you?" Now you speak of something different. The "we" is eternal. That which was spoken of, I am, we are, that which is, but we are in you. We are in the trees. We are in the walls of this house. We are in the Vessel. We are in everything that exists. Yes, we are in your car. We are in the flea collar on the dog down the road. We are in the shingles, we are in the rain that falls. You are asking what exists in the eternal essence. We are everything. We are the level that you seek. How is it that you, The Eternals, share the Vessel with the physical person, Daniel? How does that work? [The Eternals explained that parts of Daniel's present life and parts of his past lives prepared him for this work. Then:] We share the Vessel with everyone, and in essence, this is what we are speaking of as accepting. You accept this and it grows, and it flows totally through you. This Vessel requires the crutch [hypnosis], ... but this will be removed when the time is proper. And there shall be those of you who will work with the same crutch, and it shall be removed when the time is proper. You are all the chosen, the appointed, the elect, and the ordained. It is your responsibility to choose the path of light. It is your privilege to bring light. And your ability and your divine right, your heritage, to bring good to yourself and to all those around you, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Working Within the Self Gradually we realized that the Teachings encouraged us to work within ourselves. First, you must clean yourself. You must remove your faults. You must accept yourself. You must bring light to yourself or light to your own little corner of the world, or light to the few people you can reach. You must remove the dirt, the speck, the problems, the large massive glob blocking your own willingness to reach the inner self. The eye, so to speak, where the energy flows, the eye. Broadening the Scope of Information As the Teachings progressed, we grew to know each other better and talked about what to ask in the sessions. We wanted to broaden the scope of the information. We asked, "How can we bring more light, more understanding, to humanity?" Now, if you wish to bring light, truly to bring light, there is a great deal that can be done. First, these Teachings, they shall not go on for a great length of time. They will end after what is of value has been covered. Should you bring the fifth chapter, the sixth chapter, the seventh chapter of Matthew, and study it and base the questions from there so that we may work from a spiritual sense, we may quickly cover great ground. There is very much covered in this area. There is also the little book of John. Now this is simple, and it would be an easy way to go. Yet, if you do not desire, if you desire to steer clear of such things, if you desire to use other types of scriptures, say the Vedic or the Talmud, whatever you would please, it is acceptable. Or, you may use none, but base your questions as you will, and then pick and choose as you write that which you must place back together. For you will find yourself with a volume of Teachings that you will then be ready to distribute. This is for the enlightenment of those who will accept it. This is done through every age. This is done through almost every lifetime of man. And a few accept. Many don't. There is usually great ridicule. It has been done with many before. It has been done with Joseph Smith. It has been done with Edgar Cayce. It has been done with Buddha and with Jesus Christ. And it has been done with people whose names have passed to obscurity, and people couldn't care less about them. It really doesn't matter, the greatness, so that you shed light in your little corner. But if you desire to shed light in a great way, or if you are willing to truly help mankind, then we would tell you. Vibratory Forces and Opening Many of us asked questions about our own fields. A psychologist in the group said, "I'd like to talk about the vibratory forces. I've been doing some reading in the new physics and quantum physics, talking about frequency realms. I notice your rhythms are different tonight, and I wonder if that's something you would like to comment on." The Eternals asked, "Different? How be it that they are different? Would you choose to have it worn out?" During this exchange the Vessel rocked back and forth in the recliner chair. He had done so frequently in earlier sessions, but the behavior had become much less frequent. "Have some pity for the chair," a woman said, and we all laughed. The Eternals then went on to talk about vibratory forces. It's an adaptation. You will see the same thing when others open up. You will find that when you first open to the vibratory forces, when your first light strikes, it strikes the body like this [demonstrating by rocking]. And then again, you adjust and you become accustomed. Eventually it accustoms your line and continually comes into better vibration. Each time the vibration is with you, it raises the force of energy around you. The purer and powerful energy that flows about your own body, that of white, of gold, and of the green, raises each and every time. Every time you heal a person, you become a bit purer. Every time you reach a level of consciousness through meditation, you become purer. Each step builds strength. This Vessel was shocked open, and received tremors and shocks and quakes. And by these shocks and quakes, were the eyes opened. Not only was the one [center] opened, but the energy that flows through, flowed down, and removed all clogging that the energy might flow more freely. Therefore, it is possible to see the energy flowing without problem. The energy where you wish it to be. If there is energy about, and it is usable, then make yourself into a magnet and allow it to flow through you. For where the river flows, there is water. And in your belly is a river of water, and it brings life and healing. Therefore it is your heritage to heal, and it is your heritage to prophecy, and to see, and to open, and to look upon all that is. It is your ability and your divine heritage, and your right, in sonship and as of God ... to set yourself free that you might soar. Each and every time that you raise yourself, every molecule, every atom of fat, protein, bone, sinew, blood in your body is raised one vibratory rate higher. Then the vibration coming through is not such a shock. No, this is not something out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie, and this is not a fanatic religious idea. For there is more than one of you in this room right now that can both see and heal. But they say not, for fear of the rest. What chakras of the Vessel were opened? Each and every door opens. To open and to see, you must open every other. Afraid? It's like a line with stoppers in it, and in order to have the fluid flow out of the top of the line, you must remove every stopper in the line. Will these stoppers close back on him? Or will they remain open always? You cannot close that which has been opened. Is there need of protection in this condition? Not as much as one would generally think. But to open the chakras, first you must think pure thoughts. But beware.... For a man of pure evil, meditating, will open his chakras, or his power, and receive this heritage to do all the evil he desires. Therefore, the light and the law of the Lord in meditating [mediating?] his law, day and night, that you might not be among those in the outer darkness. Your philosophical viewpoint will not accept this, and you have no way to believe it. And if you do not believe how can we show you? Is Channeling "Real?" Daniel himself wondered how much information was channeled and how much was a product of his own mind. In other words -- and this is a question that always arises -- are "real" entities speaking? Or are they (at best) a projection from the mind of the vessel or (at worst) a hoax? We pressed for clarity, and were told that the question will always exist and will always remain. There is no way of doing away with the question without doing away with the individual, and this is not a desirable solution. The Eternals told us that all material is pure from source, but is internalized and then projected outward. For instance, someone said, "I have noticed that the Teachings through the Vessel are couched in very religious terms. The books we've been guided to are the great religious works. I've been told that the Vessel is a religious man and comes from a religious background. If -- And you want to know the validity of this. How can it come through without being tainted? I want to know if the Vessel were a molecular biologist, would his words to us be the same? No, but they would have the same meaning and the same truth. Does it matter whether you say God, Vibratory Force, Krishna, Christ, small particle, molecule, atom? Does it matter whether you say Elohim, Joshua, or Yahweh? Or whether you say the god of Truth and the God of Light? Does it really matter what terms you use to describe what you describe? "It was a big, bright, yellow car" is the same thing as saying "It was kind of greenish color, maybe sort of like yellow, and it was a Cadillac." That's still big, and it's still yellow, and it's still a vehicle or a car, an automobile. So what does it matter? Physical Manifestations in the Channeling Not only was the Vessel constantly moving his hands to illustrate his statements, but also he often made movements to align his own energy field so as to be a better receiver. A woman asked, "Tell us of the motion you make with your hand, when you cross [it] from left shoulder to third eye to right shoulder ... and then back again?" There is an energy that needs to be balanced. The energy flows from the chakras downward.By balancing in this way, from right to left, it causes it [the energy] to flow more evenly through the three chakras to the top. By the evener flow of energy, it is possible to allow the Vessel to remain more stable, not to vibrate as much as has been done in the past. As the Vessel becomes more open, this is less needed. ...If the Vessel was completely opened, it would not be needed at all. And yet, so, by some, it is needed even more. Therefore, they open not three but four chakras in this way. That seems to be very much like the sign of the cross by Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholics. What is the similarity, or is there any connection [with] the basic part of that movement? You transfer the energy from side to side, from top to bottom. Even they have realized this innately. I have heard that ... the voice of the spirits ... often come[s] through the left ear of the human. Is there any validity to this, or is this just something someone has said?" When one hears in the audio sense, they hear. But it is not a voice. For if you look to your right or to your left, then you say, "Did you hear that? Did you?" Everyone will look at you as if you were nuts and say, "What? What did you hear?" And you say, "Oh, nothing. I guess I was just imagining things. "But when you hear a clear and audible voice, it comes from within. It comes through the inner ear or even the inner eye. But it is as loud and as audible as any other voice. It is as real, and should be heard and listened to. Not necessarily the left ear or the right ear, it's simply there. Even as, when you receive by sight, it's simply pictures, or shapes, or motions, or outlines, or colors. If you have your eyes closed, they are. If they're open, they may be completely real, and your reality may be temporarily completely blocked out. Or you may see through them and see both at the same time. Or they may only appear as a shadow. Or you may only receive a glimpse. Even so, you feel the same way. Through each of the senses you can receive. You can smell that which is not, and yet to you it is. There are always messages coming. And if you open your eye to see, you will hear and see and feel when you desire. A Parting Thought Each Teaching (and each personal reading) ended with a blessing. Though the actual blessings have been omitted for reasons of space, the following excerpt is similar, and seems a good thought with which to end this chapter. The Eternals said: We have come not to bring evil, death, nor condemnation, but to bring light and life that you might have life abundantly. I am with you always, even so. Knock and it shall be opened, ask and it shall be answered. The door is set before you and that which you have opened, no man can close. If you have ears to hear, hear; and if your eyes will see, see. The seals are broken, one seal, two seals, three seals, four seals, five seals, six seals, and yet there is a crack rent in the seventh. The time is at hand, the time is close at hand. Take not thought for tomorrow, for today is evil -- evil in abundance -- and tomorrow will take care of itself. You have no power to change one thing.Therefore, change what you can -- yourselves, and yourselves only. Notes to Chapter 8 (1) My first experience with this phenomenon occurred in Massachusetts, at The Adventure. Bob, a friend I was guiding into a past life, shook so hard it seemed a real possibility that he would levitate. He seemed able to continue his journey into the past, but his wife, who was present, insisted I take him out of hypnosis. Afterwards, he seemed pleased, high, and exuberant, and talked enthusiastically about the wonderful things he saw in what seemed to be a technically advanced civilization. The next time I encountered the shaking was when my friend George Parker had been participating in a number of psychic gatherings. One night after the session he was overcome with convulsive shaking. Frightened, he left his bedroom and came into the living room, where eventually people in the house gathered round him to be with him in support and prayer. The shaking did not stop for several hours, after which George went back to bed, slept soundly, and awakened feeling fine. During the episode, several people said that his shaking was a psychic unblocking, a spiritual opening of his internal channels. Since these two episodes, I have witnessed what seems to be the same thing with others who were just becoming open to their full psychic potential. It almost always signals the unfolding of greater psychic powers. While it can be frightening to witness a major unblocking and the adjustment to different vibrations of energy, I have not experienced problems during or afterwards, and I rarely intervene. When the shaking began to occur with Daniel Clay, I was concerned, but still confident that I could bring him to a different level of consciousness. As it happened, it was unnecessary; the shaking abated spontaneously. (2) The entire answer is as follows. "The service offered is guidance or counseling. You are counselors. We tell you this inasmuch as it is much safer to be a counselor than to claim yourself to be anything else. "Psychics have not respect. Prophets are looked upon as madmen. Seers are tainted. And oracles are Ouiji Boards. And people who dabble are witches or Satanists, and in the view of all those who are round about. And yet, the same as this is done daily in the name of God. "And for this reason, those who do it in the name of God persecute and destroy everyone else, that they may have full power. Or, because they do not understand the evil and the confusion of the world.... Fools, they destroy that which they are themselves. Yet, therefore, you are counselors, guided by God. Given power by God to see into the deep recesses of your own subconscious minds. "Now, inasmuch as I have told you this, I have not really told you what you seek. For you wish for me to name it as a service, and not tell you what that service is. Therefore, this service is the soul guidance. That is the name of the service itself, not the name you assume of an organization, but the name we are calling what you are doing. What it is known as. You should give guidance. (3) Very little personal information was channeled in the Teachings. Yet the personal readings given by The Eternals were so valuable we wanted to share them. On the advice of The Eternals, we formed an organization, Ageless Expressions, now located in Troutdale, VA. People who join the organization pay a membership fee ($65 at this writing). This fee entitles them to a full reading (physical, mental, and spiritual); the information given usually includes health advice, emotional support, and spiritual guidance. Daniel Clay Pugh, who channels The Eternals, and his wife run the organization (she is also his guide). Most people send their questions in the mail, although some come to Virginia. Readings are scheduled for a time when the questioner is at home and able to relax quietly alone. The Eternals' message is taped and sent to the member. While readings take first priority, Ageless Expressions also is developing publications. One now available is The Visions of Vishnu, written by D. Clay Pugh from his dreams and visions. Much of the material is prophetic in nature. (4) Dates and number of people attending Teachings: Teaching #1 Oct. 18, 1983 10 people Teaching #2 Oct. 25, 1983 12 people Teaching #3 Nov. 1, 1983 12 " Teaching #4 Nov. 15, 1983 10 " Teaching #5 Nov. 22, 1983 9 " Teaching #6 Nov. 29, 1983 9 " Teaching #7 Dec. 14, 1983 13 " Teaching #8 Jan. 10, 1984 15 " Teaching #9 Jan. 17, 1984 19 " Teaching #10 Jan. 24, 1984 13 " (5) This directive is the reason this section of the book is called The Voice of Vishnu. Months before Daniel became the Vessel and began transmitting the Teachings of The Eternals, he had experienced a succession of vivid dreams. Even though he had difficulty understanding them, let alone accepting them, he kept a careful record of the dreams. It was as if The Eternals were trying to speak through Daniel, through whatever channel was available. Once we started our sessions in hypnosis, the dreams suddenly stopped. Chapter 9 PROGRESSIONS, BALANCE AND COUNTERBALANCE So in the soul mind is that which weighs, as it were, the benefits as well as sorrows, also what the entity has gained by soul experience. Edgar Cayce Reading 5125-1 This chapter introduces The Eternals' ideas of progression, balance, and counterbalance. "Progressions" and "balance and counterbalance" are two distinct concepts. As I understand it, "progressions" is used to mean that we progress from one lifetime to the next and the next. I had never known a single word to explain this concept before. Edgar Cayce and Kahlil Gibran (who lived and died within a few years of each other) both used the words "continuity of life." That was the best and most poetic expression I had heard until The Eternals said, "Down through the shadows of millions of yesterdays flow the waters of a life everlasting." With progressions, The Eternals gave us a single, succinct word to explain a major concept. "Reincarnation" is the word generally used, but many people think that reincarnation means returning as an animal also. The Eternals make it very clear that we do not return as animals. So the word may confuse as well as help. Balance and counterbalance was another new term. I understand this phrase to mean the weighing of our actions. I picture in my mind a big scale with our deeds -- both good and bad -- placed on one side. On the other side we put new actions and deeds. The good deeds are like credits or interest in an invisible bankbook. The bad deeds need to be erased by better actions. In Eastern philosophy the word to explain this is karma, meaning "action and reaction." The Christian and Jewish traditions explain the same ideas as "an eye for an eye" and "as you sow, so shall you reap." Daniel's Doubts Daniel, who came from a Christian background, had a hard time accepting the information that was coming through him about lifetimes as steps in soul evolution. Edgar Cayce stumbled at this very same spot on his own path. Neither he, nor later Daniel, could see how the concept of soul evolution fit their beliefs, for modern Christian orthodoxy rejects the idea of reincarnation. As The Eternals observed, Daniel "does not want to accept that life can be a continual thing, not destroyed." However, first Cayce and then Daniel came to accept soul evolution as enhancing and expanding their understanding of Christianity. Cayce objected so strongly to the multiple life information channeled through him that he stopped giving readings when the past lives concept was first mentioned. It took a long time for friends and family to convince him that the readings that contained past life material benefited people. Daniel also had serious doubts about continuing our work. But he was willing to learn and willing to look at new ideas. He delved into Cayce's story and saw that Cayce had resolved the conflict. One of the books that helped him was a biography of Cayce, There Is a River, by Thomas Sugrue. Also, Daniel says, "Believe it or not, my study of the Bible helped. The Bible and `religion' do not say the same thing on all issues. Also, the visions and dreams I had changed my outlook on life. Seeing people helped and healed was positive, and the Bible does say, in Exodus, that only God heals. Last but not least, once you break through and feel the oneness of the universe life changes profoundly. It's a feeling beyond all words or description, but it is unforgettable." Gradually, he became able to accept the statements of The Eternals. "You're getting me," he said once, "more and more to the possibility that there could be something to this." Daniel also wondered why he was doing the work in the first place. Granted, he had asked to do it. But the readings and Teachings took a great deal of time away from his wife and three little boys. Both he and I, we were told, were doing this work to balance the scales of earlier lifetimes, when we could have helped humanity but did not. In Daniel's case, The Eternals said, the circumstances of his upbringing -- five of the 10 men in his grandfather's generation were ministers of the Gospel -- brought about a condition ....where the person was constantly seeking, and seeking again, for the truth, much of which was not to be found where expected, and much of which has not been found. But it brought up the condition of searching.... And with the searching and the accepting of the faults [i.e., self-acceptance], then they can look into themselves. And this is what has been accomplished, although it is not what can be admitted [by Daniel]. You see, if it could be admitted, this [the channeling] could be done at all times, and not just in this state, which is Theta [a very deep hypnotic state]. Now the process of growth can be instantaneous. Because we say that it took time in this Vessel, do not feel that it must always be instant, or that is must always be time consuming. In the progressions past, this Vessel lived in a monastery -- not the Vessel itself, but the energy force -- in the China area. And he was studying in the arts of defense and aggressiveness. At the same time, they studied the recesses of their minds. Then, at birth, there was chosen a point where the continual study might be accepted and progressed upon. And this study has been progressed and progressed to the point that this one has believed dreams that have come through, and has accepted many things in the waking.... And by this being done, just the sheer acceptance is what has allowed it. As we have said, everyone here sits on that threshold. It is the divine right, the privilege, and the heritage of everyone. From the Teachings Progression Some people in the group had no knowledge or experience of the psychic field. But one person had a previous interest. (He was especially curious about ancient Egypt and the pyramids.) It was because of his questions that we first discussed the question of reincarnation. The Eternals called reincarnation "progression," and people questioned and probed to understand the concept. As you progress in this life, you shall certainly progress from here and the way you die. How do you progress afterwards? Birth and rebirth, and birth and birth again. Yet you do not have to have a body to progress. For the body itself is merely physical, and you are more. You are God. You are a spiritual being. You are eternal, and you do not need this body; but you would progress in exactly the same way. The consciousness progresses. There is no better way to describe it, for it cannot be in the physical itself. It must be seen and felt. As people, entities, move through progressions, progression upon progression, do they ever move away from truth and knowledge? In other words, are there downward progressions as well as upward progressions? A blunt answer would be yes. However, a football player on the field must often take several steps backwards to avoid being tackled, and yet he proceeds toward the goal.You must realize that often a step down is simply gaining a sturdier base to step up on. If you see a ladder has a weak rung, you will step down and size the situation up before you step forward two rungs. There is really no such thing as failure, for failure does not exist. You simply are moving about, obtaining that which you obtain, in your own way; which is your way, your good way. Do not fear being set back, because being set back is actually a move forward also. You can perceive this in your own senses of perceiving reality.... There is no such thing except for what you make for yourself. And who would make an evil reality for their own self? One questioner had read that everyone on earth had to pass through seven rings of soul evolution or seven progressions. He asked, "In respect to the seven progressions, where are you now?" The Eternals asked, "Who?" He responded, "Whoever is doing the Teachings now. Whoever is coming through you." You're asking a series of questions. First, we are all one. And I, and you, and we are the same. Now, you speak of seven rings, or progressions, but that is not correct. Seven is a very small number. You do not progress, so to speak, through set floors or levels, or rings, or through seven worlds separate. Your progression is an infinitesimal and minute thing. It continues individually, and yet it continues together. You are the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that shall be placed back together. You have fallen apart. You have been taken away from your original and individual state, your holiness, the one vibration which you were originally. And yet it shall come again, and it shall be many more times apart and together. For there is the creation and the re-creation, and the re-creation, and the re-creation, and always the re- creation. And at another time: We can speak through the Vessel. We can speak and speak. We can speak until one is blue in the face. And yet, we cannot force you to accept a thing. You must learn on your own. Everyone must learn on his own. That is of your own choosing. Now you speak of where everyone here is in their progressions. We shall speak of the Vessel, for that is allowed, and we shall speak of you, for you have brought the question forward. We shall not speak of anyone else, for it is improper for us to do this, or to reveal their inner thoughts. Now, in progression, or in life, there is a circle which is traveled. When you reach the end you have, in essence, reached the beginning. And you must simply start over again.We are not telling you that you are going to pick up this same body again at some later date, and have to travel with it again, and with its same infirmities. This is not what we're saying. We're saying your life ends and starts, ends and starts, and you shall constantly travel this cycle. And again, in another session: Don't look so much to see where another sits, or where you yourself sit. For it has been written that in my Father's house are many mansions. In life, there are many levels of consciousness. It is your choosing, where that you look. Whether you look through the eyes of the physical, or whether you feel with the mind, or look through the eyes of the spiritual. It is of your choosing.And this, in essence, determines where you are, or at what part of your progression you are. You can, relatively well, right now, skip the rest of your progressive cycle and be in the last stages of the final cycle ... or you could set yourself back.You do this by accepting a reality other than that which you have now accepted. Doesn't that just speed you around to the end and then back to the beginning again? Yes. If that's the way you want to look at it, yes. Without life, there is no purpose. It does place you back to where you start again, but you will start at a higher level each time. How do we raise our present vibration to a fuller, more positive, spiritual vibration? [Author's note: "Vibration" means "level of energy flow," "level of consciousness," or "awareness."] In order to bring about a raising of the frequency, or an attunement to, the greater vibration, look deeper into yourself. You must forgive yourself or, as we say, cancel all debts, so that there is no balance nor counterbalance to be imposed on yourself. [Author's note: "Imposed" is an odd word. I think the idea is that no outside force (God) is imposing a punishment, nor is there any inner self-judgment.] Look deep into the recess of your mind -- for within you are all things. You are all that exists and all that exists is within you. You are God and God is you. Therefore, if you will search, and really accept and believe in your own self, then you have all power at your hands. When a child is conceived and comes into the physical being, how does the vibratory force of a previous progression come to be in that special child? Between three months after conception, and one month after birth, a force, so to speak, vibratory, can enter in any empty vessel. A vessel is formed out of need or desire, either on the part of a vibratory force, or on the part or desire of those who create or carry the life, that they might have creation. For there are two ways to create. It can be created externally or internally. You [pointing] can create life, or these sitting over here [pointing] can create the same life within you, if they desire it to be so. Is there a significance in the matching [of vessel and vibratory force]? Balance and counterbalance. That sums it all up. That puts it in a whole. That gives it in a nutshell. Balance, balance, balance and counterbalance. This is set by what your balance is and what the balance is around you, and how that one may counterbalance it, that what that force has done in the past and what must be counterbalanced. And by what the heavenly bodies, themselves, say must come about. And yet, they are of the least influence. For the balance and the counterbalance, and that which is within, the soul drive, that spirit essence, is more powerful. Could you clarify the idea that we progress up to a point and then return to the bottom, yet enter at a higher plane. And also, when we have finished our progressions do we join you as Eternals, or is that something separate? The point of confusion lies in the symbolism that was used. It was not to be explained all at once. Let us explain in full. It was a cycle, as was said before, that you go around and then you come back to the point at which you begin, for your first estate was that estate which was with the force of God, or was with the creative force, and you left that estate, or you left that place of perfection, and you worked again back to that place. Now, this being the case, it would be a cycle, as was said, and each time that cycle is completed, you go higher and higher. But this was not all. You see, this was all that could be absorbed by those that were present. Now it was also mentioned in passing, inasmuch as could be said, that you returned to the one creative force that you have left. Now it was said that this cycle was repeated again and again, and one asks does that mean we simply return to have to repeat the cycle, and the answer given was "yes." And this is true, and this was all that that one who inquired could absorb, but there is yet more. Yes, it is true that you're only going through a cycle, and it is true that you are eternal; but if you were in a perfect state once for a time, then it is possible that you will be in that estate again, even for a time eternal. Therefore, there can be an end to this cycle. When you reach that state of consciousness which is known by some as Christ, or by some as Krishna, or by some as the supersoul or oversoul; when you reach that state, then you are at the level where you may actually stay, seeing all and knowing all. It is a cycle, but that cycle can be broken; and you enter the creative force, for you are of the same force we are of. All things in the beginning were of the same force. You break away, yet you are still the same force. Let us put is like this: If you were a tree, if you were hit by lightning and splintered, the wood that came from that tree, sum total, would still make the same tree; and yet, it is not the tree so you are not the original creative force. But if you bring all of these splinters back together, it is still the original tree. Is the earth the only place for progressions to take place? I think your question is more, "Must you depend only on the solid, that which we are in now?" No. But if your question is, "Should we depend on other worlds such as Mars, for example, or Neptune?" That answer also is no. Extraterrestrial life ... is science fiction, is the best way to put it; is an unreal fantasy, a fairy tale. However, all worlds are not solid. And there is world on top of world here. You may work within the energy flow, so to speak. The next body that is around this body can also do the same toward progression. This seems to have brought more confusion than light. I suppose what I'm wondering is, is the earth the only place where progressions take place; or are there other places in the universe where there are people progressing? Don't look to other places in the universe. It is here, but there is more than one plane of progression. It is here. It is in this same area that you call earth solid, terra firma, solid land. And yet in this same area are sources of energy which exist in what you would consider a non-solid state. When a person's body dies, the energy does not always die. The source does not always return. They can stay and work as they wish to progress. There are others that are progressed to the state already, to the state beyond solid. And from there they work. And yet there are even states that are less solid to that. For they perceive -- should we say,... those in what you would perceive as a non-solid state -- perceive life as a solid to themselves. And yet, they know there is another state higher, which they perceive to be non-solid. And again in turn is so, and again after that. The Astral Plane Is it true that the progressions above physical reality is called the astral plane? [Author's note: This is a wonderful example of The Eternals answering a question literally. The questioner was asking if a dimension outside our physical world was on an "astral plane" (these were words he had read in a book). Because he did not state his question clearly, he was asking what this other dimension was called. In other words, the question should read, "Is the progression above physical reality the astral plane?" and that is the question The Eternals answer.] Astral plane, call it what you will, it is really immaterial. If you choose to call it astral plane, then astral plane it is. You're asking what it is called. This is a question to say in the English language. Those who choose to call it the astral plane will do so. Those who choose to call it specters or ghosts will do so. Those who choose to call it an energy plane may do so. Can living people go back and forth between the spirit plane, or must one be dead? Why do people always want to die to claim their heritage? Look to two of the greatest masters who have lived, to him known as Jesus and to him known as Krishna. (We would say Krishna and Christ, for Jesus and Christ are not interchangeable words.) These two masters had the power, they had the knowledge, the belief, and the faith that they were able to walk through walls. Therefore, death was not death to them. But they were still alive. And therefore they walked on the water. The same is with the prophets of old. It is by this power that they were able to make the iron axes float. It is by this power that they were able to see into the minds of the others.... At least part of you must be able to reach out into that other plane. This is not normal, this is your heritage, this is your right. You are a living god. And you have the right to claim all power. You have the right to create. But you say to youself, "I can't do that! I cannot do that because I am human." You can't do it because you don't allow yourself to. How does one do this? With total belief. But when we say total belief, it must be made clear what belief really is. Belief is powerful, but is must be total; for the least doubt, the least shadow of fear, the least thought of apprehension in the corner of the mind is total disbelief. Therefore, I tell you, we tell you, that the path is straight and narrow and that there is nothing to stop you, but you are stumbling over your own feet. There is nothing in your way. You light a light and you point it in your own eyes and blind yourself. Are the Akashic Records on the astral or energy plane? This is a more important question. This is a question that has been dealt with fairly often. For the prophets themselves have guarded it, and unscrupulously so, quite frequently. What you are referring to -- the permanent records of life, the permanent records that are kept of every act and deed, of all history and of all thought, of all medicine and technology, of all advancements, are kept in your own consciousness. The consciousness of every individual.Therefore, if you look deep within, you will see all that exists, that has existed, and will exist. This is hidden in the recesses of your own mind. You must be willing to accept yourself and to look deep within your own mind, and then you will see and understand and perceive this. Everyone here present is desiring to see, and this group is not brought together by chance; and everyone here is on the threshold and the verge. For it is opening, and opening, and must be opened. Balance and Counterbalance Is there more that you can say [on balance and counterbalance]? I understand the concept, but are there more subtleties to it? Is there a deeper significance that we could understand of this phenomenal concept? Life is a giant scale. And anything that is put in to weight one side shall be directly weighted against the other side. Yet this may be done on an individual or national or even a world basis. And what is counterbalanced by one individual, another individual may be and not counterbalance, but counterbalanced by another. Could you explain the law of karma or balance and counterbalance and how that relates [to the Biblical idea of] the law of grace? You have done the deed and it is weighted. Yet this deed must be un-weighted, or counterbalanced, so that you have balance and counterbalance. If you accept yourself freely and you understand all, and you can look, then you are within the law of grace. For you accept yourself. When you accept yourself, you set yourself above and beyond that which would bind you. And no longer are you bound, but a free being, a free man, freed from all of your past bonds. No need to balance and counterbalance. Looking within, when you accept all that you have done, and hold nothing against yourself, then your conscience does not condemn you. Then you are not condemned. And he who is not condemned is free indeed, for they are free from all and free in all. So our conscience holds our karma? And you set yourself free when you have a clear conscience. Therefore, if you have freed yourself, and you bring not more evil upon yourself, you are free. Do people get sick because of ... karma? This concept -- not everyone knows the division on reincarnation, so to speak, or birth and rebirth. You are not coming back as an animal. You are not coming back because you did not do well, as an earthworm, to get run over by a choo-choo train. You are energy flow. Now, in essence, a karmic reality, having to do with a cripple, if you have taken the light in an evil in your past progression that has done serious harm to another, or if you have caused serious harm and delighted in it, this could cause a karmic result that must be balanced. Now there are several ways to balance this problem. One, it could be balanced in the same lifetime, either by being maimed or injured much in the same way, or by suffering in some other way related; because of this, you commit a sin and then you suffer in the flesh for it. You commit adultery and you are a male, you suffer mentally, you may suffer physically from venereal disease. This might be the counterbalance. And yet there might be no balance in this lifetime, the balance might be in the next lifetime when you're born crippled, or where you're born deformed. And yet this is again not to say that you are stuck there, for you can progress onward to a better state. And even in one lifetime, you may be healed. All you must do is accept the reality that you are whole. [Author's Note: This question and answer show how a seemingly trivial question can trigger a profound response.] Don`t you choose to come into this world crippled, or whatever? Don't you choose your situation? To choose a road, to choose a traveling way, is to know that that path must be balanced; that that path must be counterbalanced; that you or another must travel the other way. So, in other words, it is not cruel that somebody comes into the world crippled, or we should not feel sorry for someone because they are crippled, because they knew that that was the best way for them to balance their debts. This is possible, but you do not have to be balancing a debt to be born crippled. Or not a debt of your own --you may be a good soul balancing the debt of another fool. That doesn't sound fair. If you are so kind as to accept it, then it is fair. What power comes to cause one entity to pay for the debts of another entity? Choice and free will. Of which, the suffering entity or the one who escapes the pain? You sound as if suffering is necessarily evil. This is not the case. First, one person may choose to be evil continually and another choose to be good continually. And one may be good and counterbalance it with evil; and evil, and counterbalance it with good; and evil and evil, and then good and evil, and good and good. So long as it is balanced and counterbalanced, there is no problem, there is no worry. One may choose to be evil and another good, in the same light that one may choose to be whole and another crippled. Now, crippled is not a natural state; full and total health is the natural state. And if you can accept this, and believe in this, then you shall remain in that natural state. You do what you do of your own choosing. If you have a reason to balance or you desire to balance for another soul, should we say another life, or another entity, then you may do so of your own free will; but you are not forced. Yet this is working good for your own growth. The questioner thought that one might have to pay another's debt. Until this exchange, participants thought karma, or balance and counterbalance, was all and only within oneself. But The Eternals say that someone can choose -- by "choice and free will" -- to help pay someone else's debt, out of love, or for any other personal reason -- depositing money in a friend's checking account, in the spiritual sense. To use a simple example, suppose a young man gets a speeding ticket. He has a debt against him, but no money. So his father can choose to pay the fine. The exchange continues with the question of who makes the choice, the suffering entity or the one who escapes the pain? The Eternals immediately answered the bigger, unspoken, question of suffering. The young man gets a ticket for speeding; he is thought by others to be suffering a punishment. But it is not necessarily evil that he got the ticket. He could learn from it; it could be looked upon as a blessing. The Eternals then answer the spoken question. Yes, there are countless combinations of how one may balance for another person. Every person can choose to do good or evil -- or both. Anyone may have a reason to choose to balance for another, but even this is working for his or her own growth as well. Personally, I don't think that a person can make me pay his debt. I believe by even trying to force this he would make more debt. Does the vibratory force that is seeking a body choose a crippled or deformed body on purpose for its progression? It can change the body to make it crippled or deformed for its purpose. But in the same light, it can choose one if it has been created that way by the force of the parents, so to speak, who had to balance their own debts. Yet it must be realized that if you can rise above this, and accept yourself and all of your whims, and your errors, and do everything without malice, that you incur no debt. When all is done in purity, even that which comes to evil by accident, it is not held against you. Therefore, you should strive to be pure. You should strive to balance yourself and not worry about how others are balanced. Or what road they have chosen to walk. What about the idea of helping one another? It is not a question of should I help another. It is a duty to help all those about you whom you can help. Is it interfering with their karma? No, the balance and the counterbalance would be that you are part of. There is no such thing as interference when realities overlap. You would not even be in their reality if you were not to be there. The Possibility of Evil As we look in on ourselves, do we create the risk of opening ourselves to evil forces? If you leave yourself empty, if you cleanse and purify yourself and do not accept the good vibration or what is termed as the Holy Spirit, or do not accept the power of God or the full force to flow back through, then you have an empty vessel and you are in the most dangerous position. You would be better off if you had not started. Is there anyone here tonight where that is a risk? Everyone runs that risk, because you have the option of not accepting. Does evil ever become a permanent reality for any entity? If you choose it to be so. But yet, in time, it must be counterbalanced. If not by that entity, then by another entity choosing permanent good. All things are balanced. There is a balance and a counterbalance; nothing exists except it is leveled. Do people who are extremely evil remain eternally evil or do they eventually come back around and become good entities? ....you may balance your own self by counterbalancing, or it can be overridden. One may choose to be eternally good and one may choose to be eternally evil. And yet there shall come a time when all shall choose to be well and good. For how long would all choose to be evil and bring destruction upon themselves? Contacting Spirit Friends When entities are between progressions, are they aware of the people that were in their past progression? Do they keep track of these people, friends and relatives? It can be done, it does not have to be done. But this does not mean you should go out and start trying to contact your spirit friends. More evil can be conjured in this way than good. For there are also those souls upon the Fifth Heaven. Look at the evil ones on the Fifth Heaven, bound in chains -- yes, we do speak in allegory -- look at those bound in the Fifth Heaven in chains. Would they not love to contact you? Would they not love to own your body and to possess you, mind and spirit? Don't allow the openings for this. Is that what happens with Satanic groups that do conjurings? Do they bring forth those entities? An entity can be brought forth as real as you are, as strong and as potent as all the power of the universe. Yes. Do people who have died keep track of their relatives on earth? You are speaking of "Do they keep track of them, do they incarnate with the same people around them again," etc. They can, but they do not have to. They are free will entities. And being spiritual, as they are in nature, you must remember that all are one to start with anyway. If I were a total spiritual being, then I would be with all of you. And being with all of you, I would naturally keep track of you because I would be you, and yet I would still be myself. Can the dead body be contacted by use of a spirit medium? Beware. You have been warned. We warn you again. It is one thing to contact consciousness, and to look for that which is or has been. Do not seek to contact those who are no longer among you in flesh. For those beings, withered and in chains, those perpetually foul beings would love to take hold of the mind. They would love to find vessels to be within. It has been long since they dwelled upon the earth; even before the days of the deluge. They made the giants and they made those with webs in their fingers. The great men who did great deeds because of their great size -- do not unleash these. Do not give them right, for by this cause comes much insanity -- possession, as you could call it, and evil. This you do not desire. Do not hold a seance. Do not go to a spirit medium. Do not invoke a spirit. There are evil beings, if you would choose to use that term, vibratory forces without physical bodies that would find good expression and can take control. That is not needed. Your answer was yes. Do not go through a spirit medium. Chapter 10 OPENING THE CONSCIOUSNESS You must bring light to yourself. I sometimes felt very strange in my work with Daniel. It was almost like landing on another planet and needing to know all about it. I felt like a person transplanted from the primitive life of the Amazon delta to the middle of a teeming American city; I was in culture shock, spiritually speaking. But the source speaking through Daniel made me and the other participants feel comfortable and answered all our questions patiently. We needed that patience. We phrased and rephrased our questions in order to understand The Eternals' ideas, which were new to most of us. So, of all the topics in the Teachings, the one involving the opening of the consciousness was perhaps the most enlightening, because The Eternals gave us practical steps for achieving it. In my experience, channelers must go through a process of unblocking the psychic energy and opening to the spirit of the universe in order to be receptacles for the messages that come through them. But all of us can benefit. Opening the consciousness brings knowledge, wisdom, peace, and a sense of empathy with the joys and sorrows of others. It can help us heal ourselves and others by helping us unblock, or move energy around. Later in my work, I incorporated information on opening into my hypnotic procedures and this made the process more dynamic; subjects responded far better with specific exercises to open their energy centers and bring new light into their beings. I now use opening procedures when I guide channelers and often when I guide past life regressions too. A spiritual opening, which is what The Eternals are talking about, is not a physical experience or one that can be easily observed by others. It is an inner process at the soul level. Opening the consciousness is the same as opening the "Eye," but the eye is not the physical one we see through. Rather, it is a single invisible eye in about the center of the forehead. It relates to the "third eye" (familiar to us from Eastern thought) or the pineal gland in the brain (in Western science). In Western science, the pineal has been the least understood of the endocrine glands -- also called ductless glands or neuro-hormonal energy centers. In Eastern thought, the third eye is one "center" in what is called the chakra system, corresponding roughly to the endocrine system. Westerners have become familiar with the idea of the chakra system, and while there are variations in the names of the centers and their exact locations, the number (seven) and general locations are agreed on. [Illustration #5] Opening the Consciousness Participants at the Teachings interpreted The Eternals' information on opening the consciousness in individual, personal ways. I myself understand opening to be similar to opening a new door, a new book, or even a new dimension of reality. During the process we get in touch with new learning, understanding, and growth. We open to inner light by unblocking bricks from the dark walls we have built around our consciousness. Here is how The Eternals explained it to us. What is the best way to open up our consciousness? To open up, what specific steps would help this group? See the ball? [Making a motion with his hands, as if holding a ball.] No. What you think exists exists. What you do not believe does not exist. When you allow yourself to actually look inside deep, to simply believe that which you feel, then you shall be open. Look and see the gold ring? [Drawing a ring in the air.] No. You will see it only if you yourself make it. For if I make it, it is my ring; and if you make it, it is your ring. Place your hands upward in the air, and you will feel energy flow. First it will be a slight sensation. Now, some of this will be caused by the blood draining from the arms, so do not count entirely upon the physical. Then you will feel cold or hot, because the heat itself is cold and this is the energy that moves through. This is the energy that comes outward. As we allow this energy to flow outward and in, the energy flows downward through the arms, out through the bottoms of the feet and outward of the palms, and inward of the palms and inward of the feet, and outward of the eye. Now, if you will close your eyes and be in perfect peace, you will feel light. And that light will enter; and as it enters, it will enter into the forehead, over the forehead, and outward. And if you can see and feel this, then you have opened the eye. It is your right and your heritage to open it. It is the divine heritage which you have to see. Do not close yourself in, for you and only you close yourself. Now, at this time, when the eye opens, do not allow yourself to go outward, because this will cause a disorientation that you will not realize what it is. At first you will feel like you are spinning, that your are completely unhooked from your body. And you are. You have set yourself free. This is your right, your divine heritage. From this state we work. From this state we are, for we are eternal. You are eternal. We are you and you are us. Why are some of us afraid to open up? Why do we hold back? Because you must be willing to accept yourself totally: evil, good, fat, thin, tall, short, stupid, or brilliant. You must be able to accept every foible and whim that you have. If you cannot accept yourself in total and complete as you are, it is impossible to look inward. And if you cannot look in, you cannot look out. For if the glass is clear enough to see inward through it, then it is clear enough to see outward through it. Can the process of opening cause physical problems? Can it make you ill for a time, physically, as you adjust to it? It can cause illness if it is not accepted and allowed to flow. If it stagnates within the being, then there is discomfort. For how can energy sit in one place? Energy must move about. It has been said already, once, that the energy itself is powerful enough to knock one out completely unconscious -- an immediate bolt. How be it if you open yourself and allow that energy to flow, and flow freely, then there is not a side effect? Don't worry too much about what will be. Don't desire end results too hard. Allow it, and it will happen. Let go and let yourself -- from your innermost recesses, guide -- that you are not inhibited by the conscious mind. Allow that ball of flame, that ball of fire, allow that ball you have to radiate through your innermost being. For what good is it that one be baptized with fire if they allow the fire to burn down? For a toothpick smoldering will not heat a room. Is there any sort of living, or lifestyle, that helps facilitate the opening of the eye -- that prepares us for what is coming? It depends individually on each individual. It depends on what has been done in life past. For obviously, if you spent much time in the monasteries during the 1600s preparing yourself -- even if you live in the city and are greatly distracted today -- it shall be much easier for you to reach out and grasp the truth than for one who has spent his whole life doing other things. Of all of their lives they have spent in the city, around people, not being allowed to meditate, or concentrate, or think. Peace is of the greatest essence. When you find peace with yourself, and accept yourself fully, it does not matter how you live. It matters that you have inner peace. And when you have inner peace, you shall have all things. For peace does not come without the opening; and neither does the opening come without peace. And yet many who live in peace would not go out and proclaim the opening, nor may they even recognize it at times. And many who are opened do not appreciate the peace that they dwell in. Is this an endocrine process or is this just a spiritual process? Is there movement in the body in this process? The shock can be strong enough to knock the body out. The shock will often lay a body flat. It depends on the openness, it depends on the trauma the shock gives to the body. For the chakras are already partially open; or if one or more of them are already open, then the shock is not as great as it would be otherwise. There are those who cannot receive at all, and those who can receive in part, and those who can receive in full. To receive in full is to open -- to open -- to open -- open -- open -- open -- and open -- and open -- totally and completely, that all might be released. Does it relate to the endocrine system or the chakras? Is its path of opening through the chakras? It must run through in order. Beginning at the lower ones and coming up, or beginning at the higher chakras and coming down? Or does it matter? To unclog -- a total unclogging -- we usually start upward, traveling downward, and back upward, at the same time. Even as you look in, you see out; and as you look out, you see in. So it is that they must be opened from both sides. For the energy flows not one way, but in both directions. Energy Flows and Blocks You speak of the energy around each of us. Are there rays of energy that come from our abdomens? You are a total creative energy force. The energy flows downward over the body, downward from here [motions from the top of the left side of the body.] And down. The energy flows inward into the palms and outward from the palms. Inward to the feet and outward from the feet. You're much like a radiator in a heating system to a house. The energy is constantly flowing around and around and around. But you pick up more and more energy, much as there is a fire in the boiler, so there is a total force of energy for you to tap, to draw upon. Now, you may project yourself forward, upward, and outward. You move upward [motioning with hands], upward, upward, again and again and again [moves over the chakras], and outward [hands held above the head]. This is a way to project. You can project pure and raw energy, or this was also commonly called astral projection, if you wish to do so. The energy is complete, it is constantly circling about you, and yet in the far corner of this room is still energy moving about. There is nowhere there is not an energy flow moving. If there was no energy, there would be no life. What causes chakras to be blocked? Energy is meant to be flowing; it is meant to be a continuous moving thing. To try to hold that energy in is to cause a build-up, like a cork swelling, and then the energy cannot flow properly. In order to remove this, you take one who can heal, one with a green healing aura, and allow them to actually shock. The force will actually drive the force through. Now, in the normal stagnation of only slight bits, the gentle strokes from the crown chakra down is enough to simply bring the energy back to flow. But this is not always the case. If there is truly a stagnation, a stagnation near death, the hand or a part of the body that expells it, a free moving energy circuit must be set up. Take the healing vessel and realize that energy comes through, and out from the eye itself [hands held in front of the forehead]. This is the strongest point of healing. But also the energy flow can come down, you allow it and you allow the energy flow to travel complete this way [moves hands downward over the body]. And when contact is made, even with just the energy field, that close, when you touch the energy field itself, there is a shock and it will flow and the power will move downward through the healing vessel, and will be like ramming and electrical current of 220 volts straight into a fuse and it will blow, and the cork will shatter from the bottle, and the energy will begin to move. Will meditation help one to discover things within himself? Meditation is a doorway. But you cannot proceed through the doorway if you have fear. It is merely a way that you can travel to do this. You must look within yourself -- deep within yourself -- to see all things. And when you look within, all things shall proceed out, and you shall see all. Yet, if you cannot accept what is within you, and if you cannot look at yourself without prejudice, then it is not possible for any doorway that you picked to open, which you need. There are those people who would try to short circuit this by taking drugs that would open the consciousness. In effect, this creates what would be called Pandora's Box. By so doing, you open an awareness which you are not able to accept. You open a reality which you are not prepared for physically, mentally, or spiritually, and which, in essence, could turn upon you and destroy you. But yet, if you prepare yourself, and are ready, then no matter what method you use to open the door, then you shall proceed and learn as you would or come to know and accept. What methods do you recommend for looking deep within oneself? Now in this respect, we would say that the meditations are good. Any form of opening the awareness, the studies of the spiritual nature, looking at yourself in full, the studies of philosophies, any method of relaxation -- that which you call mind control, hypnosis, meditation, yoga -- these are all routes which may be traveled. These are all roads, and all these roads converge at one intersection, so to speak. Yet some of the roads are easier to travel than the others. And life in itself is also this road. For even if you are unaware, and even if you do not try to develop ability, or try to accept, you are still in balance and counterbalance; you are still constantly walking forward -- always walking, always progressing, and always moving. One does not stand still. You must move or you are dead. That which is dead does not move. That which is alive moves. Could hypnosis help open us up? Is that a useful path to look inward? Yes. Hypnosis is a form of meditation; meditation is the key. Hypnosis gives you a talking guide in the full, physical, conscious level which you don't desire to leave. And since you don't desire to leave it, it gives you a guide with both feet on the ground, that you can depend on. And since you're not willing to depend on anything but have a little bit left to the physical world, then you must go the route of hypnosis. So, yes, it is good. And those here shall travel that way. What are the first steps to open yourself up? Look into the dream work. Keep a record. Keep that record over a period of time that it might be compiled together. Look at it and see. Translate and transcribe the meanings to yourself. Write this down when you wake, if you remember your dream, which you shall, then write it while it is there. This is good exercise for the mind and it is a good step for the beginning. When you realize that this same consciousness works through the day as well as through the night, then you are open. It works whether you are relaxed or not. Being in a relaxed state allows people to realize, to slow down and to see the process -- and not to confuse it with the physical world that is around them. How does [this] continue to expand our consciousness? Your consciousness is a mechanism that works 24 hours a day. The subconscious mind -- that which functions and seems to be unreal -- is the real reality. It is what is real to you. It is your inner mind's workings. Now when you are aware that the dreams exist, when you begin a method of relaxation. This has been used in many different ways through the centuries but meditation, in essence, is what it is, no matter what you call it -- whether you call it hypnosis, yoga, or mind control. Now if you find yourself with problems relaxing, first, expend your energy in strenuous exercise. If you do not find the trouble, you may go straight into a relaxed state. There accept every impression -- they come as they will, in pictures, vivid in color; they come in pictures, black and white; and in pictures not quite tangible. They come in sounds -- a voice that will speak to you, loud or soft, roaring as thunder, or as the chirping of a small bird. They come in feelings, and they come in vibrations. When you find that you have reached the point that they come in vibrations, you can simply say what is impressed upon you. The vibrations, themselves, are what you need. When the vibrations begin to flow freely, you will feel what others around you feel -- you can feel their pain, you can feel their sorrow, you can feel their physical pain, and you can feel their joy. You will know what they need, and what they do not need. When they think, their voices will speak to you in your head. When you have reached this state, all things become open. In the state of meditation, or in the state of relaxation -- let's call it relaxation to avoid prejudice -- when you become open to your subconscious, and to the consciousness of all that is around you, the colors of the universe shall flood into your soul. There shall be a bright red energy and it shall lift itself and magnify itself and become intense. It shall center and come together. And after you have seen the colors come together, and after you have seen the colors scrambled and reflected and refracted together into this red, they shall shoot up, forming quickly, quickly through the colors of the scope until they turn an intense blue, and then a white. A blue-white beyond speech, and this shall reach out, and then you are part of that vibration and you see all things. You know, and yet you do not have to know anything to know this. What will be the hardest part in expanding our consciousness? It can't be an easy path. The path is easy. The path is straight. The path is narrow. And few travel it because they are not willing to look within and accept their own faults, to accept their own sins, their own foibles, to accept their own idiosyncrasies, their own unpleasantness, their own evil as well as their own good, their beauty, their wonderfulness, the serenity that lies within them, their greatness, and their power. If a person was willing to accept -- but you must note: very, very few are willing to accept themselves, or anyone else for that matter -- this is the hard part, to overcome your own self. Once you overcome yourself, you have overcome all things. The path is easy, but there is a great stumbling block in front of the path. It is those which travel the path who fall over their own feet. What does that mean, that we stumble over our own feet? You do it to your own self. You create your own doubts; they are of your own making. Without this doubt which you yourself create, there would be no problem. But your feet are attached to your own body and to fall over your own foot is your own fault -- because you stick it in front of the other one, or you're too stupid to pick it up off the ground. In the same way, man is too foolish to believe that he has the power that he has, and he is too stupid to accept his own heritage. He is too ignorant to remove the doubt from the corners of his mind. Therefore, he is falling and stumbling on a smooth, straight road. What about doubts and fears? When these come into your mind, how do you deal with them? Why have a doubt or why have a fear? There is no such thing as that which you should be afraid of or doubt. These are of your own making, they are not external. There is no such thing as fear, there is no such thing as doubt. There is no such thing as unhappiness, it is how you respond to the situation. You can be happy or you can be sad of your own making. There is no such thing as any emotion, so to speak, in this sense, for you make your own reaction. And you can react any way that you condition yourself to. Or shall we say, "If Pavlov would allow it, you could foam at the mouth"? By what process are these doubts removed? Is it just a mental thing where we say, "I believe," and cancel out all doubts; or is there a growth process for belief? The problem is that if you say to yourself, "I believe, I believe and I have cancelled out all doubts" -- you are saying it because you don't believe. That in itself proves that you don't believe, or you would have no need to say it to start with. Belief has to be total, complete. Children have belief. The smallest children have belief because it has not been taken away from them. You have conditioned yourself to believe in the reality that other people have accepted and set -- the unreal reality that they have adopted you have also adopted. If you were as children, if you were as the babes that had come from the womb of the mother, then you would have total belief. You must be able to cancel all doubt and yet do so without having to say, "I cancel that doubt." Because to do so is to admit that you doubt. And to doubt is to have no belief. None. Dreams What can we do to make that final step to open it, if we are all on the threshold? What is the answer to get beyond that threshold? We have told you to keep track of your dreams, to form a log. This is the first step, and the most vital step. Once this has been done for a term of time, progression will then become rapid. Is the next step learning to control your dreams? At night, no. In the day, no. But the next step is learning to accept those impressions of dream quality day, night, morning, evening; awake, asleep, anything -- those feelings come. For if a person stands beside you once you have been open, and they cut off their finger, you shall feel their pain. Therefore, you must be able to open and close at desire. Should we strive to make our dreams more clear? This will happen automatically once you begin to log them. Once you keep track, you will find they become clearer and clearer and clearer. And though there may be a period of six months that will all of a sudden be deleted, for no reason at all, you may remember nothing, there will come a time there again where it will just open and flow. While flowing, it is important that you keep track; and each time it will become clearer. And when you realize and understand what is really happening and can apply it to your waking state, then you have it mastered. People lay down, they let go, and they accept without prejudice when they sleep. And yet when you are willing to do this in a waking state, then you have reached that point where you shall perceive. Is there a dreaming self that can be developed; an awareness that can finally be developed to the point where it can move among what we perceive as the real world now, so that we can in effect be in two places at the same time? You are where you lay when you sleep. If you move the energy upward and it comes together, and you see the lights, and then you will feel yourself, you rise up from this point [motions up from the top of the head]. This is the energy you speak of, it is what some term astral projection. It is what some would call being carried in spirit. You rise from this point [hands held above the head], and at that instant there is a whole disorientation, it is as if the whole world spins. It is because you are not used to that sense of perception. This can be done also in a waking state, but this is what you are speaking of. Of the dreaming self, so to speak, it is real, it is not a false perception and dwells within you. But when it is loose, when it is what you would consider floating, it is an altered state of reality from what you are now accepting. Therefore, your whole world seems to reel, at least for the first few times that you do this. Once that you have realized that it is possible, and that it is acceptable and easy, then you can move out with assuredness, and you can span any distance in an instant, and to any spot at will. Is your instruction to us to record our dreams and to try to improve our dreams an attempt to reduce that chaos, that disorientation at that stage or that point we speak of as astral projection? No. It is to make you aware. Once you are aware, the chaos itself will automatically disappear, because once you realize what you are really perceiving, you will realize it is not really the scrambled mess you thought it was. It is like a person who is looking in a frying pan full of eggs and they are scrambled. A person walks in who has never had anything but a fried egg and he says, "What's that mess?" But to you it is a scrambled egg; it is very intelligible. In the same sense to a person who has never projected before, when he projects he goes: "Ahhh! What is this?" And yet, when it has happened, they can accept and they know what it is and they say, "Oh, I am projecting." Auras One of the benefits of opening the consciousness is to be able to perceive auras. An aura is an energy field that extends beyond the physical body. It can vary in size, shape, or color, though it is not normally seen by the naked eye. Some people in the conscious state can perceive the colors of an aura and some can do so after training. I question how meaningful the aura is, since the colors change with different moods and emotions. But sometimes hotspots in a person's aura give clues to specific areas that need healing; in those cases reading an aura can be valid and important. Could you explain what the various colors of the aura mean? Sometimes I see blues and purples and different colors around things and around people. What do these different colors mean? Sometimes they change.... Yes, it is energy and it is in a constant state of flux. This energy is also what was being asked of that [which] was being termed astral plane. This energy is not a solid to you, yet can be perceived as a solid. But do the different colors have a meaning? For example, do they signify different moods of a person? ....when you see which you would perceive as whites, you are seeing pure, strong, full energy in its true purity. Look at distilled water -- a vibrant, pure white. A person with a very pure mind. Gold, gold-yellow is a reflection of intellect, of joy and extreme happiness, of intelligence. A blue is of happiness, peace, and tranquility. Going deeper into purples, you are mixing red and blue; it's a more energetic peace. Greens are what you shall see around a healer -- one who can reach out and heal, one who can perform miracles, or span time. The same green energy is used for all [of this]. Black is bad, very depressed, if not death. Brown is earthen and depressed. Spots or holes of black in the energy flow is often caused by alcoholism or excessive use of drugs. There are holes eaten into the energy and into the personality. Holes eaten into the mind. Spots are also often seen over cancerous or troublesome areas. Red will often be reflected over any organ that is causing pain, or infection. Red when surrounded by green shows that the pain or the infection is there, but that it is being healed. The brighter, the more intense the green, the stronger the healing. The duller, the weaker, the slower the process. Pine green is a weak system trying to heal itself. Jade green, bright green, is a system healing or healed, or a system that can heal those around it. It is frequent to see these colors mixed, for it is very seldom that one side of a personality shows, but that several at one time will show; that one type of energy flows at a time, and though a person might be a healer at one moment, they might not be at another. You may radiate total green at one minute, and the next minute radiate nothing but a pure gold. But it is not uncommon for a person to radiate two or three colors at the same time and usually there will be a blending of other colors closely knit together in between that. How does one go about sharpening one's ability to perceive these colors? If you were born an excellent [baseball] player, and spent all your time sitting in the locker room, chewing tobacco and throwing darts at Miss January [laughter from the group] -- Hmmm -- [more laughter] -- you would stand very little chance of ever making it to the batter's cage, let alone the batting box. This is the same truth with every gift, whether you be skilled in working with metal or carpentry, or whether it is a gift of the spirit. It is the same. It is 99.9 per cent your effort, your work, and your desire. The best baseball player in the world goes to a coach to have that developed, more perfectly and more quickly. Who can coach us? It is true that you can gain guidance and direction. Now, people gain guidance and direction much in the same way as a ballplayer would. One ballplayer might go to his father and be taught, another might go to another ballplayer, yet a third would go to a coach, and a fourth would work it out on his own, slowly but surely, and yet that fourth would probably be your famous ballplayer in the long run. He will be the one who, after he has overcome all difficulties, really knows what he is doing. Yet the refining from the coach will still help him. In the same way, you may go to another that is so gifted as you would go to another ballplayer. You may go to one who purports to teach such knowledge --remember, this is usually a retired ballplayer or somebody who wasn't good enough to make it to begin with -- or you may go to your father as a young child might, wanting to learn baseball, that original creative essence, or you may dig deep within your own subconscious, much as the player would teach his own self. And then when you have found and built, go to the coach and polish yourself slightly. Chapter 11 FROM THE TEACHINGS It is your heritage to heal, to prophesy, to see, to open, and to look upon all that is. Sometimes during Daniel and The Eternals' channeling we had to stop and take a few deep breaths; the amount of information coming made us feel overwhelmed. Even The Eternals commented on this. The source remarked that the energy was becoming heavy in the room; or, "the energy feels to be turning in on itself." Sometimes a joke or a demonstration from The Eternals relieved the sheer density of the atmosphere. Each session provoked questions and the questions required answers and the answers provoked still more questions. Aside from the questions we asked aloud, we all had underlying questions. My wife Ann and I often discussed these, and she talked about the changes occurring in herself as a result of her wonderings. "When communications purporting to be from a psychic source started happening in my own house, I was interested and intrigued," she said. "At first, I wasn't sure who or what they were, what purpose they served, or more especially, if they would ring true for me. These questions and more were answered. And yet more and more came into my mind to be asked. "Suddenly it occurred to me that the questions were addressed to sources who were not limited by space and time with their knowledge, and this gave me pause. Asking the right questions seemed important because I wasn't sure how long these sessions would last. "Yet, looking back, this seems an all too human response of mine because I can see in retrospect that this was a false fear. "We were not given just knowledge, but wisdom on a much deeper level. My mental concepts definitely broadened, along with my horizons, which I now more clearly perceive has having no end." I believe most participants in the Teachings felt much the same way. Here is a sampling of the questions they asked; you can judge for yourself the wisdom of The Eternals' answers. Free Will You said earlier this evening that everything is predestined. And you have also said that there is total free will. Could you explain this seeming contradiction? Everything is predestined, that is true. If you take control, you set yourself at liberty from all things. If you have liberty, then how can that which you do be predestined? Yet you chose to be born where you are born. Therefore, you have predestined your life and even as much as given yourself the chance for that liberty. So the liberty in itself was predestined, and therefore all the choice you make from it. That was a masterful use of words. It's very difficult, I'm sure, to explain. You're saying that perfect freedom can be preordained or predestined, so that every free choice that is made once the liberty is attained, was predestined just because the liberty was predestined? To have total liberty you cannot have predestination. Because if you have total liberty, you can do anything that you choose. And yet, if you placed yourself in that situation to begin with, you have predestined yourself or prearranged for this to take place, already knowing that you could make either choice. You have arranged to make the choice that you desire to make. Therefore, in essence, it would suffice to say that everything is predestined, that there is no free will in that sense. Extraterrestrials In the entire universe, are there other planets that have life forms similar to our own? No, this is not entirely what was intended, but the person that brought this up seemed to think that they were going to go to another planet to work out their progressions. This is not to say that there is both life terrestrial and extraterrestrial, that there is even glory terrestrial and extraterrestrial, for when you receive your divine heritage, that which you are, that which you have a right to claim, when you receive full power, you have command of the whole universe,and if you had command over all, would you spend your time here? Wouldn't you travel as you wished? Therefore, there is life and there is force and there is energy at this time all about the universe and all about the stars, and each star itself is a life and and an energy and an entity. How come, if it were not so, that the prophet Daniel would say we shine, shine, shine as the stars? This was why it was written, for you yourself have the capability of taking any form you desire. It is only your own mind and the abstracts which you hold yourself into, it is only in the reality which you have desired to perceive, that has bound you to this earth physical. But do not think you're going to go elsewhere to work out that which must be worked out. The slave will not go to the quarters of the king to perform his hygienical tasks. Therefore, how will man go to the heavens and the stars to perform the inner cleansing? If it be that your abode is in heaven, then the spaceships shall be there before you are. If it be that you shall return to the sky, then the birds have heritage over you. If it be that you go to the ocean, if that is where you life is, then the fish go before you. If it is that the kingdon of God is within you, then you shall have all the divine heritage before all else. Does this make this clear? Somewhat, I -- it is clear. It isn't clear. It's not clear. Okay. R2-D2, E.T., and little weird worms with eyeballs are not living on Mars working out progressions. If all is energy forms, even yours, though you perceive yourself as solid, you are bound to this earth only inasmuch as you have bound yourselves.Yet because we have chosen this as the ground to work out, or to purify ourselves, this is the only place it may be done. For those who will accept, there is an eternal heritage, a divine heritage among all energy, among the stars, a glorious and a wonderful heritage, so to speak. But for those who will not accept, they cannot go beyond this realm, and there is no chance of leaving it. They are terrestrial, they are terra firma bound. Men and Women I would like some input on the spiritual roles of men and women. Is woman less than man? Man cannot be born unless he passes through the womb of woman. Christ was carried in the womb of a woman nine, yet ten months, before he was delivered to the world. If God saw fit to give his son to a woman (before he gave his son to the men of the world), then is not that woman placed first? It has been said that there will be no marriage, no giving or taking of husband or wife in the kingdom the kingdom that is within. All are equal and all serve a function. You are the same in spirit, be you male or be you female. You have the same rights and the same power. You have the same chance for glory both terrestrial and extraterrestrial. You have the same rights and the same heritage. Male cannot live without female nor can female live without male. If one cannot live without the other, then one is not superior to the other. What about their roles and symbolism? There is a lot of symbolism in Eastern religion, talking about the Yin and Yang, the female and male principles. Also, in a lot of alchemy, they talk about androgynous persons. Why is that an ideal -- to be androgynous? The Yin and Yang of the Chinese people is the balance and counterbalance, is good and evil, dark and light. They have accepted it as the Yin and Yang to be called female and male. Yet this was not the original intent. But it is the dark and the light, the truth and the nontruth. To be a person who is totally one within one's own self is to be spiritually full. To set yourself aside, to purify yourself, to say, "This will make me holy if I do not have sexual intercourse"; to say, "My hymen is not broken"; or "My semen may not leave my body" does not make one better. For it does not matter if you indulge daily and are thankful for the gift you have been given or if you give praise by not doing. Each, in its own way, is bringing glory and it is the state of mind that you accept this with. Therefore, there is no gain and no loss in the state. [In a book called Secret of the Golden Flower I have read] references to "the secret" being involved in some sexual process. I wonder if you could talk about this. You have two different modes of thought. The thought of the Westerners is that they should take their sexual drive and turn it inward. It gives them no more power, no more potency. If this is what you seek, it is of no benefit. On the other hand, if you are God and your body itself is the living temple, if you yourself are the son of God and the God, then to defile your body is to defile God himself, God herself. To do this is to bring about a defamation of that very God which you would worship. Therefore, out with sexual practice which is harmful to the being, as practiced in the Satanic cults and in some of the freer cults of witchcraft and in some of the cults of the nethergods of the mother Earth and of the moon. This is defiling that which was made in the image of and is of God itself. It was written not to commit adultery. Now, if you commit adultery, you are lying. And all evil evolves from lies and lust. If you take any sexual practice and do it for self-gratification and you care not for the other person, then you do injury to that person. And if you bring a child into the world and that child has been conceived at an ill-conception, he shall suffer the evil also. And yet, this can be overcome by balance and counterbalance. To love, to give of yourself freely to another, to sacrifice yourself in this way, is proper. Buried Cities Have there been entire living cities deep inside the earth not the cliff dwellings of the Southwest, but entire cities deep inside the earth? There are even now entire cities in the very earth itself. You see, the government looks for the nuclear holocaust. They know what is coming. They have set themselves aside and have built entire cities with fountains, streams, lakes, ponds; yet they are buried.....this gives escape routes to our executives in Washington when the time of trouble comes. Oh, they think not of these poor people about here who shall be burned to pieces, but of themselves. In their little secret chambers they think no one knows of their places and where they dwell under the grounds. ....There are those in the desert. There are those on the very edges and outskirts of the metropolitan area of Washington itself -- slightly to the south and slightly to the north. They build these thinking they can escape and leave the rest of the world to be burned to a sizzle. You see, they take this threat very seriously and they know there is no way to make a lasting peace and that the earth shall fry, fry, and die. ....These cities shall be bombarded and destroyed, burnt, crushed. And the remains of these shall look like Hiroshima, the center of Hiroshima. The City of the Spirit ....There is also that city where those that are spiritual dwell. It is not found by man, but by spirit alone. ....The city is open and yet no one can proceed through except that they be in spirit, that they might travel through the earth itself. For the door is open and yet only to that which is spiritual. It is a city where the spirits are indwelling. It is the city where there are many learning centers and the facilities are great. And many go there for rest and seclusion. It is also in the deserts of the West of this country but only to be found in spirit. ....If you can lift yourself out of body, then you can travel to where you wish to go. And if you are out of body, you are in spirit and if you are in spirit, you can walk through the doors of the spiritual city and there attend your schooling, and there enjoy your leisure. What is the name of this city? What is it called? Ala-made Rish-nard, Ala-made Rish-nard, Ala-made Rish-nard, Ala- made Rish-nard [as in a chant]. Can these schools [in the spiritual city] be visited in dreams? They can be and they are, quite frequently, and usually unknowingly. Why is there a physical location for a school, for a city, of spiritual beings? You have an earth. They have an earth. You're in the same place and yet you do not see them. Do you not think they would desire to have a home to live in? And yet, they create what they believe and what they desire so they may have all fullness of beauty as they wish. And among them they have consensus that they should have a place of rest and peace and learning. And this they have made. Do the inhabitants of this city have physical bodies of any nature? This is a physical body [pointing to his own hand]. Yes. This is the body they have [pointing to about two inches beyond his actual hand, as to the aura]. Astronomy and Astrology At the beginning [of the session] you said we had the power within us and the right to override ... [planetary] influences. Wouldn't it be better for us to make the choices rather than for the planet to make the choices for us [i.e., to exercise our own free will without regard to the planets]? Wouldn't astrology then be a diversion, a distraction that shouldn't be emphasized? This is why there have been so many commands and ordinances against it -- even the holy rites of the Jews. These commands have also been taken by the Christians. Should we follow that idea and disregard astrology? Look within. Astrology is nothing to you. If you can see, you have more than you can find in the stars. If you are God and you are the Creator, and you have divine essence, how will you go to the stars and ask them, "What's going to happen on my date tomorrow night?" Are the stars going to tell you more than you can find by searching your own soul? It is impossible. Look within yourself and all things will be clear. But do not think this makes astrology invalid. ....what has validity in astrology, as it is practiced now, and what is merely a product of wishful thinking? Astrology does not tell the future as some would desire it to. Astrology is a guide to personality characteristics or tendencies or traits, and yet can be overridden by the person. Astrology is not binding. It is a trend and a trend only. To put it in scientific terms (terms more acceptable to the scientific community), biorhythms follow a small clock. In turn, astrology is simply a larger form of biorhythms turned out on a greater time cycle, a larger clock. All of the superstitions that have come down with it through the millennia are nonsense. Yet as much good has been lost as has been gained in superstition, for much of the truth of it, at times, has been obscured; and yet there is always the light of hope. Armageddon Without question, The Eternals' view of the future was the most difficult, controversial, and upsetting to everyone in the groups. The Eternals painted a grim picture of the future. There will be cataclysm, devastation, and holocaust affecting the entire planet. Whole continents will disappear. Much of the destruction will be manmade. Great warring armies, led by figures of evil incarnate, will destroy the world; no one nation or people is to blame. Some of the destruction will also come from polar shifts and wavering. Here are a few excerpts. Is this the reason the world won't come together [in peace]? Because one or more of us has greed? One of you has greed? One? One or more. The world is filled with greed. And those among you who say, "I do not have greed, I want nothing," don't think that the ego trip of placing yourself totally without greed is not also a form of lust and greed for its own sort of power. Not one among you has completely defeated greed. It is not something you can totally overcome because there is always the latent possibility. It sits there and because of your free will, it can blow up at any time. It's like a little egg in your skin, just waiting to hatch and infest you with worms. Greed is a rot and a leprosy and a death. And that is the reason for the destruction. The destruction comes quickly. You mean the destruction of the world as we know it? Is that what you are talking about, or the destruction of the individual? The destruction of the world, the end of this age. The time shall come to an end 60,000 years, and yet, 500 do pass. The time is short. [This was one of The Eternals' cryptic answers. We were told that "all time is sealed," meaning that some dates were not to be given.] If we, as individuals or as a group, were to decide that there is to be [peace on earth], is that possible? Yes, but -- and we must stress this strongly -- you speak in terms of "is it possible" in your realm of reality. It is possible in our realm or your realm of reality, or anybody's, so to speak. But you must have a group consensus to bring a "peace" that is to everyone, that is to all. A collective peace must be brought about by collective realities converging together for this. That is not to be reached in the near future. There must first be an unbalancing and a total upheaval. Once everything is scrambled, then it can be placed back together....Things must fall apart. They must be completely destroyed before they can come together. How can we best prepare for this scrambling? The best way to prepare for it would be to be dead. It's going to be very unpleasant for those who are alive ... in the physical form. There will be melting of flesh. There will be horrible times. There will be great droughts caused by the radiation and by the screens or the ionosphere being destroyed. There shall be great heat from the sun scorching because of the atmosphere being in such a disarray.....And yet at the very end of this, at the very collapse of this, is when -- your society -- shall become utopian. Only by being completely destroyed can it be brought back together again. Is all this to occur within our lifetimes? Yes, it will be in the lifetime of some, but not all. Fortunately, some shall escape. But this is not of really great importance, for what is physical is of no importance. It is only a minor speck of reality. Look within yourself, this is important. You say everything will be so destroyed that there's no point in preparing for it physically. Is there? What good is it going to do you to build a bomb shelter if the earth decides to make a great quake and collapse it? What good is it going to do for you to make yourself an undersea getaway, if sombody is going to come along with a torpedo and blow it to pieces? In essence, there is nothing that can be done to prepare. Prepare your innermost self, and don't worry about the physical. Will all the people on earth be destroyed? No.... The things that will be destroyed first will be the large population areas. But there will be people surviving in every area. Some shall survive to rebuild when they have regained their strength. Will they be mutated from what they are now? No, life will be as it is. There shall be surviving and everything shall not be totally destroyed. And after a time of cleansing and purification, it shall all be rebuilt.... Should someone consciously have a child, knowing that this terrible time is coming? If you fear the time, then you should not have a child. If you do not fear the time and you can teach your child not to fear, then there is no cause not to.... Yet if you can alter your consciousness and accept it as truth that you are divine, then you will walk upon the water that is shifting under your feet, you will walk upon the molten rock and you shall thrive. Therefore, there is no evil for those that know and receive of their heritage. And if it be your child that receives his heritage, then there is no evil. But for those who would look after the physical, it is chaos and utter destruction; a place of agony as will not be seen again nor past. How long after all this turmoil will the peaceful times come, and will there be anybody present who will survive into those peaceful times? Yes, there will be some who will live, and the time shall come immediately, because consciousness shall be altered; and once the consciousness is altered, immediately everything changes to that state. There will be no delay. This is the reason that some of the Apostles chose to say that things would happen in the twinkling of an eye, in a moment. For once that consciousness is gained and believed, it is set in motion and it is instantaneous. There will be no gap, but there will be a rebuilding.....[It is as if people say] "Oh, my God, the world's blowing up. There must be something else. Wow! Look at all these horrible things happening. I must search for the truth quickly." With enough people thinking this way instantly, the consciousness shall be altered. With enough people wanting the truth, seeking the truth, it can be altered. The whole thing could be avoided if people would simply change their ways.... It can be, but it won't be. Is there anything that can give people a sense of hope, instead of despair, fear, and anxiety? There comes a new land and a new time.... There will be years of peace, a time of continual hope. And it will take many years to bury the bodies from the destruction at this time of peace. And the peace shall be lasting, and will not leave. There will no more war come about after the peace has been.... For man shall find his place -- his most holy place -- among the lights. Religion People at the Teachings often questioned The Eternals on religious topics. For instance, there were many questions on the meaning of specific passages from the Christian scriptures or on Christian figures like Joan of Arc. There were questions on Mormonism, Judaism, and the Rosacrucians. There were also questions on the writings of Confucius, Castenada, and Gibran, who, while not concerned with sectarian religion, have written on spiritual, ethical, and moral issues. These questions, I believe, reflect two concerns. First, for most at the Teachings, The Eternals' concepts were unfamiliar and new, and the doors to spiritual experience that seemed to be opening puzzled and sometimes troubled them. Second, if they are familiar with a religion (I use the word to mean an organized institution propagating certain beliefs), people seem to want to compare the teachings of The Eternals with those of the churches with which they are familiar. It is almost as if they are saying, "Is this right? Or this?" But The Eternals speak ever of oneness and universality, of balance and counterbalance. Thus, for instance, there was this exchange. You mentioned Christ.... Is that one in particular, or are you centering on that one name? We are many: of Vishnu and of Mohammed, and of Christ and of Elohim, Yaweh, and Yeshua, of those who guided the hands when the Talmud was written, of those who walked along and guided the words as Confucius constructed, of those who sent visions to Mohammed, and those who brought about the visions to Joseph Smith, to those who were among the Shakers.... We are many, and yet we are all. How much of the teaching of Christ have been altered over the years in translation? A great deal. How much of them can we rely on and how do we tell what's proper and what's not?" You can rely on a great deal of them also. The changes have not been in the sections that contain the truth. ....the underlying teachings -- the teachings of truth, the teachings of light, the teachings of self- consciousness, the teachings of love, the teachings of the inner spirit, the teachings about the inner eye, the teachings about the spiritual world itself -- all remain intact. What has been done has been the creation of such things as would allow the churches to take over. The substitution of such things as sabbaths and Easter, the substitutions of ordained priesthoods. The Eternals expand on this idea in other exchanges. The gist of the remarks is that while the teachings of religion are correct in essence, they have been misinterpreted or "manipulated in such a way as to allow for authority figures to come in and take over the willing sheep." The questioning goes on: The vibratory force that was Jesus Christ.... has that same force been on Earth in other progressions? Yes. All forces travel again and again. Has that force ever taught again as it did in the form of Jesus Christ? The consciousness of Krishna, the consciousness of Christ, is not so much so that this deity had to teach. And when we say deity, you also are a deity. When one looks, and when we say the consciousness of Krishna, the consciousness of Christ, when one sees within himself and can reach full and total consciousness or awareness, he has awareness of the past and of the present and of the future. He has a total awareness -- a oneness with the original vibratory force which has become all vibratory forces that are around him. This has been achieved by others throughout the ages also. What has made this sect [Christianity] so powerful is the fact that it was persecuted so strongly. That which is persecuted always rises -- for to be persecuted is to cause friction which must be counterbalanced. And yet, much was lost. If you must look to the teachings, look to the teachings of the Gnostics. Now in Christ Himself, was He alive? Has He walked this plane before He was born to the Essenes? Yes, but it is not important to you where he walked or who he was, for this will not alter one thing, one jot, nor one tittle, not one iota, nor one small speck. A Jewish participant found the references to Jesus as the Christ (i.e., the Messiah) "hard to hear," and asked, "Is the whole Jewish race wrong?" After an answer stressing, again, the universality of the Christ, The Eternals said: The Jewish heritage is correct, the Christian heritage is correct, the Moslem heritage is correct. The Christian heritage has not left the Jewish, they have simply added to it that which is good. The Moslem heritage has not left the Jewish, they have simply led their ways down their own path and added that which is good. Therefore, the Moslems say that their Savior shall return with a shout, and a mighty shout. The Christians say that Christ shall come even from the heavens with a loud shout and a blowing of trumpets by the archangels. And even Krishna shall return in the like manner. How be it that if all of these agree, and even the Jewish scriptures themselves say that the earth shall roll upon its axis, and prophesy a time of peace, that this cannot be accepted? We have not overcome confusion by far. Scriptural Exchanges The Eternals commented at some length on interpretations of various passages from Christian scriptures. Here are three typical exchanges. Could you give us an interpretation of the Beatitudes [the remarks of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount -- Matthew 3:12 and other references]? This was the sole purpose that we are gathered for, in essence -- that we might bring about a knowledge of peace and love. In Matthew 5, they talk about those that mourn being comforted. How shall those that mourn be comforted? How shall those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness be filled? [Two questions; the answer has been combined into one.] There is a balance and a counterbalance. All things are balanced. Therefore, if you are in a state of sorrow, you shall come to a state of happiness. If you are in a state of trouble, you shall come to a state of peace. Second, there is altering of the consciousness; and if it be that the consciousness is altered and that all be set about as it said it would, then there will come a time -- a glorious time -- of peace, when all shall be in good and all shall be in righteousness. If this be so, then how will it be that they should be hungry? How can we, as the salt of the earth, lose our savor; and where shall the salt be cast out? And how shall we be trodden under foot? [The reference is to Matthew 5:13.] You look within and you see the kingdom. You believe it is within and then you turn, and do not believe. Again you have lost your savor. You have lost your divine heritage. You have lost that which you had found. It is written that you can profane God, that you can profane the Father, and that you can profane the Son, but you cannot profane the Holy Ghost or the Holy Spirit and enter into the holy kingdom. For if you deny the power, the vibratory, the creative supreme power, the power, Holy Spirit power, Holy Ghost, or power -- whatever you want to say -- if you deny the power, then you cannot look within and you cannot attain that which is within yourself. If you do not attain that which is within the supreme light, then you are within the outer darkness. Spiritual Experience With the next two exchanges The Eternals invite participants to open a new door to the understanding of spiritual experience. When and what is the kingdom of heaven? The kingdom is now the kingdom within. In my father's house are many states of consciousness. And I go to prepare a state that you might have it for yourself. If it were not so, we would not have told you of the consciousness. Who is your father? Call no man father, for there is none that is holy. We speak of the supreme vibratory force; that which was before that which is come into being. Could you please tell us about the different heavens? You spoke of the Fifth Heaven, what are the other heavens? The Fifth Heaven was an allusion to the Books of Enoch, wherein he spoke of traveling through the heavens. Don't think that your soul shall rest in Heaven. For if you are to go to Heaven, then the birds shall be there before you. And if your soul shall rest in the sea, then the fishes have precedence over you. And if the kingdom of God -- if the kingdom itself -- dwells within your heart, within you, then you are there before all else is there. Is heaven within us, is that what you are saying? Did not Christ himself say the Kingdom of Heaven was within? [Questioner answers yes.] If it is within, howbeit that is is up there in the clouds [that] your little gold harp and your set of wings await? Don't look for the "pie in the sky".... This is not where you belong, you are not "up there." And yet, when you claim your heritage -- your divine heritage -- and have full and total and complete freedom, and release -- liberty of all liberties -- you have total power and soar where you will. As the tree falls, so it lies. And that is to say, in that state of consciousness which you die, that state of consciousness in which you are in. Forgiveness Please speak about forgiveness. You must learn, in essence, to forgive yourself. To forgive yourself is to forgive all others. You cannot actually forgive, for forgiveness is a term that exists only in abstract. For if you truly reach a point to forgive yourself or another, you have reached the point where you realize it is a thing that you should not have held against yourself or against another. Therefore, forgiveness is an abstract. No such thing can exist. And this is why we tell you to forgive yourself. Do not judge yourself from the beginning. Do not judge those around you and, in essence, you have forgiven them because you have never created that which would be forgiven. For all evil lies within yourself, as does all good.It is not what another does to you but what you have perceived and how you have reacted to it. Religious teachings are full of the concept of forgiveness. Is that something man has put in? No, but it is something that has to be spoken of in an abstract term. To truly forgive is to love and to not hold against. But once you have forgiven, you cannot say, "I have forgiven that person," for to truly forgive is to wipe the slate clean and it is no more. I am still interested in the dynamics of forgiveness. Could you speak to us more about it? To forgive is a very powerful thing. In order to forgive, you must totally -- totally -- remove all of the doubt, all of the grudges, that you hold against a person. This has been said before; in as much as to say, "I forgive you," does not mean a person is forgiven. To forgive a person is to return them to the state that they were at before they did it. And in order to do this, you have to love them so completely that you can accept what they did without holding it against them. This has to be total and complete. And with faith, where doubt -- even the least shadow of doubt -- constitutes not a slight lack of faith, but total, total dis-faith, total disbelief; so with forgiveness. The least shadow of resentment, the least shadow in your mind, or even remember the evil, is totally and completely bringing yourself to a point where you have no forgiveness for the person. For you can only do one or the other. You cannot forgive a person halfway. For to do that is not to forgive at all. Soul Mates Could you please clarify the term ... soul mate? Is this a common experience? When one speaks of soul mate, one speaks of people who have what some would term karmic tie, not of any type but of one that is favorable. Now, if you have a favorable tie with another individual, it can actually be not because you have done well in the past, but you have done evil, and then it must be counterbalanced. So therefore, when you say that you have a soul mate and you get along so fabulously, it might do you well to look into the recesses of your mind and to see what evil you have done in the past that makes you do such good now. Soul mate is a misleading term in that it would lead one to believe that you have lived forever and ever happy with this person. That is not true, this does not necessarily mean that you are in a fairy tale with this individual, although it is also possible, if you are progressing and have another individual progressing with you, that you will choose the same planes together again and again. In this [case, the expression] soul mate, in its essence and in its true sense, would be somewhat correct. However, you may be balancing a karmic trend, so to speak, of another individual, so the term itself is not always relevant in the way that it is used. Do entities in these progressions tend to travel together or do they separate once they are out of progression and go their own way totally? They travel together at times, if it is required by balance and counterbalance. If it is not required, then they will travel their own way if they choose to do so. But just as friends might choose even in this physical plane to walk together, so can these spiritual entities choose to walk together. This is of their own making and of free choice. Can that companionship go through several progressions here on this earth? It can go through as many as desired. It can go through one year, a thousand years, or ten thousand years, and it makes no difference. Personality and Spirituality We all see ourselves as people with personalities. Do you have a personality after you make the transition that's called death in this world? Do you keep the personality that you have when you are in the body? You are asking about existence of personality as in continual, onward and onward. That part of your personality which you now reflect you shall maintain. It will not necessarily be the part that will be lighting up the room, so to speak, the next time that you are present in this plane. Your personality is like a diamond and it has many facets cut on it. And it shines and it sparkles according to the way the light hits it. So now you may appear to have one personality, and yet you speak of a different personality in death. You may have a different personality in five minutes from now, or a minute past. A person's personality is a reflection of his own truth, his own knowledge and wisdom, reflecting that which is around him also. So yourself is part of your personality, and all that is around you is part of your personality. It is not something that can be separated nor divided. And yet only one small surface of it may show at a time, or even in a hundred or a thousand years. And that still leaves many sides to shine. But yes, even if that side is not shining, still the rest of your personality is there. For if you're looking at half a diamond, it does mean that the other half of the face or surface is not present. Life Records [Do] we, as humans, have a soul which is a ... form of life energy?" Your soul is your conscious energy, that record which is recorded and not erased, that which is balanced and counterbalanced, that which is remembered of beyond all time.... Your ... body has life-force, but within this body itself you store information that will move out of the body and continue onward. Is there a specific place in our body where this life information is stored? Is that throughout our being or does it have a localized center in the physical? It is not localized in the physical itself, but it is localized in the spiritual. Where is it localized in the spiritual? [The Vessel draws a circle with his hand around the center of his chest.] Is that what would be called the heart chakra, that circle that you are drawing on your chest? It is the door of the heart, the chakra so green. And that's where our life records are stored, in the spiritual? In the fire of the green. In the essence of the being. In the chakra of the heart. For from the heart comes love, and from the heart comes hate. And as you speak with your mouth, you reveal the very feelings that are in your heart. And with your mouth, then, why do you curse man, who is made in the image of God? And yet, bless God Himself? For is not to curse one made in the image of God as great a sin as to curse God Himself? Therefore, if you can bridle the tongue, you have mastered the heart. And to master the heart is to master all things. Past Lives and the Concept of Time In ... Seth Speaks,* and the different Seth books by Jane Roberts, an idea has been presented that all our past lives are happening all at one time. That all our previous lives are, right now, happening all at one time but at different levels. Is this so, or is this just a confusion of concepts? It's immaterial in the spiritual world. Time does not exist to start with. Time is simply a manmade device. Time is created that you might control your life a little better. First you see that the sun sets and rises, and you have night and day. And you say, "Time is a day and a night." Then you divide it, "Well, I'll do this when the sun is in the middle of the sky [pointing], and I'll go to bed when it sets here [pointing] in the evening." And you divide it yet again, "When the sun -- that precious little light -- has come up, just where I can see it over the trees, I'll eat something. Then I'll go out and do some work. And by the time it gets right there, straight up over my head, I'll be hungry so I'll eat more." And it continues, until you no longer control time, but it controls you. "I must do this when the sun rises, and as soon as it gets to the point of noon, I have to have something to eat or my stomach will absolutely collapse." And time doesn't even exist. For what was, still is. And what is to be, has already passed. _______________________________ *Roberts, Jane. Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. [You said earlier that] a few people here present have had lives in the Middle Ages in a monastery.... Is one part of them still [there?] A diamond has many sides. You may only see one side at a time, but the other side is still there, and still where it was, when you walk around it to look at the other side. [Author's note: To put it another way, the past, present, and future form a single crystal. The past is just one facet.] In other words, you are saying that that is a reality at some level? As real as the flesh that you have on your bones. [Author's note: This was a difficult concept for me and the group to comprehend, and our questions reflect our groping for understanding. Even the reply, "As real as the flesh on your bones," was not a fully clear statement, as we were also told that all is an illusion, or "unreal."] If time does not exist, and there are many facets to our being, as there are facets to a diamond, and you have spoken of the facet that is showing, is it possible to go back or to cross from facet to facet or is only one showing at one time? It is not the normal reality to cross from facet to facet, yet this is done quite frequently. Is it a skill that should be developed, or an ability to try and develop? Most would term it a gift. And yet a gift must be worked at hard to develop it to its potential. Sometimes you can jump from facet to facet, or from time to time.... If it is true that all time is nonexistent, can a person be progressed so that he can experience his future life, as he can be regressed so that he can experience his past life? Do you desire a cryptic answer? Then one you shall have. Yes. [Laughter. Earlier in the session, someone had commented that many answers were cryptic.] Chapter 12 READINGS Build the spirit and the soul to last through eternity. When The Eternals spoke to a group, we called the session a Teaching, and the information that came through was general, intended by The Eternals to benefit humanity at large. As our work became known, people also requested personal readings. They wanted The Eternals' counsel on health, finances, relationships, and past life ties with loved ones in the present. Some asked about their soul's purpose and their destiny in this lifetime. One or two even wanted to know, "What question should I be asking that I don't even know to ask?" Often people who request readings are stuck and want a new viewpoint on problems in their lives. Some are in considerable pain. Many have tried other sources of help that have not satisfied their needs. A few who are contented and fulfilled come for readings, but the number is small -- about the same, I imagine, as go to their doctors when they are in good health. This has sometimes presented a problem for Daniel, especially as his work has continued. He says, "The responsibility that goes with doing personal readings is awesome. Most people don't turn to a psychic until they are on their last legs. The majority are depressed, ill or terminally ill, or suicidal. They have been failed by conventional help, and I'm a last resort. It makes me realize my good fortune, but I carry greater sorrow for my fellow man every time I do a reading. "For every person that can accept the unknown there is a person who fears the unknown. It can be hard being rejected for your abilities. [Working with my wife,] I healed an aunt of a serious illness by balancing her energy flow. Jesus gives me the power, but I seldom get to see my cousin now, since I'm the oddball who sees lights about people. "Everything has its price. Half the people I meet look at me as if I'm a hoax. The other half seem to think I'm prying in their minds, seeing deep dark secrets. Of course, I'm not a hoax. I believe in what I do. As to seeing deep dark secrets, I'm too busy tending my own life -- thinking about what I'd like for supper. "What has made me feel best about the readings is the lives we have helped. I guess being able to give urgent and lifesaving information in several important emergency cases has been our crowning achievement. "And I must admit being in the Light and being able to see the Light with the eye is a joy beyond words." I myself have been to some of the top psychics in the country for personal readings and professional discussions. This was always a rewarding experience, and the information was usually very helpful. Even information that did not seem accurate at the time later proved true. But the reading may or may not satisfy the recipient. The questions are always answered, but not everyone can, or will, hear the answer. Some cannot use it. Receiving guidance and counsel and then doing something with the information are two different things; not even Cayce's readings were followed by all recipients. For those who are able to hear, a reading is like going to a much wiser source of information than most of us have available to us (going straight to the top, as it were). Advice comes from a loving but detached source, more objective than a friend and more unbiased than a specialist. What Happens at the Readings The readings were separate from the group work. A few people met with Daniel and me at my home. Most submitted written questions (we had discovered in our early experiments that Daniel and The Eternals could communicate with questioners telepathically). In this case, the questioner stayed at home, resting quietly at a prearranged time, and we did the reading "long distance." The general format of long distance reading was this. After Daniel reached the Hall of Records I would say, "You will have before you the soul, body, and enquiring mind of ________ (name), present at ___________(address). He/she was born ____________ (date and year). Please give a full mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional reading for this entity; giving that information that will be of most benefit to him/her in life. Afterwards answering questions he/she has submitted." Generally, The Eternals began with a full physical, mental, and spiritual evaluation, with personal counsel and guidance. This part was a monologue and usually lasted about half an hour. In the next half hour, The Eternals answered questions (I read them if the subject was not present). Attending the readings and Teachings was not new or startling for me, although each one was most impressive. For some people, attending the readings and teachings was a big step into trust and courage. One woman, a teacher, explains it this way. (She is speaking of the Teachings, but her feelings express common reactions to the personal readings too.) "When my husband and I were invited to witness the readings by Daniel, we were not sure what we were getting into. Neither of us had been exposed to anyone under hypnosis, much less to someone who was speaking for other beings in such an intense and electrifying manner. "We were both unsure of whether we wanted to become involved in such a strange happening. After much thought, we decided that life was too short to miss an opportunity offered at our door step, so we went. "We were hooked at the first meeting. Tuesday nights became the focus of our week for the length of the time that the readings lasted -- two or three months. At times, we were merely interested in what he said, at other times amused, and other times intensely horrified and depressed at his visions of the future. Never had we experienced such a mind opening and thought provoking series of meetings as was offered when Daniel gave his teachings and answered questions by those present. We were glad to be a part of it." The readings and Teachings were serious, but not somber. There was much laughter; there were many funny episodes. The Eternals had great compassion for those who hurt, and, it seemed to me, hard words for others who needed shaking up. I wish I had space for all the readings (I have tapes of more than 100). I have chosen two. The first was given for twins who live in Maine. Their parents owned a health food store there, and the twins proposed to build a healing center in conjunction with it. They asked many questions about bricks, mortar, and land; they wanted to build first and teach later. The Eternals weren't interested. "Start now," The Eternals said, in effect. "Give classes and workshops and healing programs with whatever facilities are there now." I tried to do my job as a guide and stay out of the controversy. The interplay continued for several sessions. "The Wood Cutter," the story I have excerpted from the sessions, seems to me to be wonderful advice to the twins. It seems to hint that they must go deeper to find ways to build their building. This lesson was helpful to me. The story told me to have courage and faith, to go deeper into my search into the mind and soul, and it hinted strongly that I should not be concerned with my early successes, but rather continue to learn for greater gain. THE WOOD CUTTER February 21, 1984 Independence, Virginia There is a man. There is a man. He goes forth. He goes forth. He goes forth to cut wood. There is a man, he goes forth to cut the wood. He is a poor man and he has only been making ends meet. This man has been making his living -- but barely. There is a man. There is a man who goes forth to cut the wood. He labors hard from sunrise to sunset, and he cuts his wood. And he cuts his wood at the edge of the forest. Every day he cuts his wood at the edge of the forest. He cuts his wood and he cuts his wood day in and day out. Calluses and blisters. Rain and sun. One day while he is cutting, this hungry wood cutter -- one day while he is cutting, this hungry wood cutter who has naught, who has not been looked upon by fortune -- one day, he is cutting, cutting at the edge of the woods, and by him passes a man of wisdom who says, "Wood cutter, wood cutter, if you would have wealth, why do you not cut deeper in the forest? Why do you not go deeper?" Now the wood cutter -- the lumberjack, as he would be called -- thinks of this as he is going the next day, and he does walk deeper. Yes, he walks deeper into the forest, and what does he find? There is a tall stand of trees -- sandalwood trees -- and he cuts them. He cuts all that he can cut. He cuts all that he can haul. And he moves them to town. He takes them to market and sells them. Now fortune has looked on this man. He has got quite a gain for going deeper. And the next day, he goes out and he starts to go deeper. And coming again to the sandalwood trees, he says, "Did not the wise man say, `Go deeper'? He did not tell me to stop at the sandalwood trees. He told me to go deeper into the forest." So the man who had cut wood walked deeper, and he walked deeper into the forest. And what did he find? He found an old, abandoned, deserted copper mine, and he filled his pockets. He stuffed his load. He loaded his wagon to the fullest -- all that he could carry, all that he could haul, all that he could move he took to town. And he was rich, rich -- yes, very rich he had much money now. And the next morning he got up and he walked past the sandalwood trees, and he walked past the copper mine, saying yet, "Did not the wise man say there was more to be found? Is this not what he meant when he said, `Go deeper'?" And deeper yet he went -- a day finding a silver mine, then a gold mine, then mines of diamonds and gems, then ruby. And then he was rich, wealthy indeed -- beyond all means of richness. And so it is with the quest, the quest for knowledge and truth and light. And when you go forth -- when you go forth, then you shall find. And if you do not stop, becoming overwhelmed and overjoyed, and full of pride at your first exploits, if you do not stop when you attain a few trifling powers, if you do not stop at the copper mines, then you will find the gold mines. And soon you will find life, overflowing and abundant, through the truth of the knowledge that shall be found. And so it is with the seeker of the truth. The second excerpt is a reading The Eternals gave me. I wanted to gain insight into myself and my reasons for choosing my life's work. I include it because the reading is the first time The Eternals specifically discussed a past life. Before this we had heard about balance and counterbalance -- reincarnation in general -- but not about a particular life. The reading is especially good with the preamble warning about taking past lives in their proper context. READING FOR HENRY BOLDUC September 20, 1983 Independence, Virginia In which endeavors or work would I be of most service to mankind? Of where would I be of most service? First, when a person is alive on this earth, if he lives a good life, he is of service. If you do not do that which you can do, you are not of service. The answer in effect is that you must do all that is in your power to do good do good to yourself and to your fellow man. When you are doing well to all those that are about you, you are of service. It is not a matter of occupation to be of service to your fellow man. Though certainly you might say, "Oh, a doctor, when he heals the man who has been in an auto accident, is of more service than the man who sweeps the street." Yet if there is a man keeping the street clean, then one might not swerve to avoid a piece of litter and crash into the side of a building and have to be repaired by a doctor. Therefore, there is no great job nor little job. Therefore, there is no large event nor small event, but all are equal. And in all that you do, and in every endeavor that you take, if you do it to the best of your abilities, and with the greatest love toward mankind that is possible, if you are consistenly outreaching -- then you have served your purpose and you have done well and moved forward, for this is the progress that one should make. Could I please have some insight into my past progressions on this planet? Have you a time period? Or a highlighted area, or specifics that you would rather explore? This question momentarily disoriented me, as I did not have a specific time in mind. So I stammered, and blurted out, "I would be in questions as the Roman times, as the Roman era," as I knew for sure that was a troubled epoch of my soul's experience. The Eternals answered: For what value the past would be, or for what value the past is, first let us say this much: in progression, though you be progressing, you are not what you were, nor were you what you are. This is not said to be confusing, or to sound as if we cannot give you the answer you are seeking. This is said to make you aware of this much -- you are under a state of constant change, and what I shall relate to you, or we shall relate to you, is of no effect in the present. What you have done in the past, even five minutes ago, is of no effect to your present situation inasmuch as two things. True, there is a balance and counterbalance effect, and you have set, by your past situations, your future situations and present situation. But the past is -- therefore it cannot be corrected and it cannot be relived. And the past is a time that is not. You cannot go back to it and think for guidance, for you are not the same now as you were then. These are the two things that we must make clear. Now we see you, and show you yourself, in a short tunic tied about the waist with a red strap. Yes, and the curly hair and the large, broken nose -- half Jew and half Roman. You died there for your outlook -- preacher of faith -- not a kind death, either. And much of this has been [alleviated], and taken from you out of kindness, for it is not for you to remember how you were taken apart. But what is for you to remember is the goodness that you did. You counterbalanced, or you outweighed by your own upright piety. Were you not the most righteous of the Pharisees? Were you not the most pious and bigoted? This was the reason that the effect was had. And when you became otherwise, were you not just as righteous? And were you not just as pious? And did you not propound yourself in just the same way? If it had not been for the Roman blood, you would have died much sooner. You had their rights. What would you like to know about this time? Is there anything that was set in motion then that has an effect now? I understand that we are not now what we were. Are there any carryovers or any part of my inner psyche that is reliving this in any way? Your trouble is this. Inasmuch as we have already said, piety and bigotry were so strong, the heart was cold and callous. Yes, there is an effect and there is a reason. But it is not what you would suspect. This is the reason for the gentleness. This is the reason for your love of humanity, and this is the reason for your kindness. See, this is the counterbalance, the soft, the easy. This is the reason for the liberal, the easiness. This is the reason, but it is also overplayed, for things have been let slide. Things have often gone too far, and you have let others go their way often too long. But yes, this was the balance and the counterbalance of which we spoke. And it is there, but at least the death shall be more pleasant. You don't need to worry about being scattered. This is the balance that we speak of, and this is all that you need to know of that balance. We tell you not to worry about the trivial. For it matters not of the status of the past, but that which you do in the present. Look to do good and your balances shall be weighed and not found wanting. Life has its interesting moments! And this was one. I was preparing to end this session. In other parts of the session I had been given information about my health and guidance about my work. I was well pleased, and the cassette was nearing its end. But the Vessel was making some unusual faces and was obviously still looking at or working with something. In the months to come I would become familiar with even the tiny signals a channeler sends out -- but in this session I wondered what to do. Trusting my intuition, I turned the tape over and asked the following question. I am certainly glad I did; a whole series of powerful messages of ancient history came through, and I was given great insight about the origins of my work and my reasons for doing it. What other information are you processing, or working on? I'm working through the era and time of Egypt. I'm working through the most holy sanctuaries under the head of that which would look as a pharaoh, sitting upon the body of an animal, entering through the doors to the holiest of temples, into that known as the shrine -- the most holy and the most sacred. I'm looking upon that which you were at that time. I am reliving that which you were at that time, feeling it, that I might tell you the balances of it. This is more of what you sought after, even though you could not tell me what you sought. For in the time of the sun and the moon, and in the time when the stars ruled -- when they sought the guidance and the truth of those stars and the planets when that man was educated beyond that which we will ever have in our libraries, in the time when the mind was expanded greatly, you, Rem-shau- ie-mon-tale-hep-moth, were of the temple. And there you served, and you carried the lamps before all the altars. And you spoke and learned of the holy rites and of the words of the past, and the gates and doorways into the eternal present. This is where you learned the secrets of the mind and that which opens the mind. If you knew now what you had the the past before you changed, you would not believe nor comprehend that which you knew. You would not be able to even understand what you had hidden in the recesses of your own mind. But you had power and it was of no use. And that is why, now -- without power -- you must be of use. This is what we make clear. For you have asked, "Why am I involved in this endeavor?" You had power and were of no use to men. Now you have not power, and shall be of use. Yes, that is how it shall be. For you wore the most holy robes, and burnt the lamps before the altars. You stood at the feet of the most holy men in the land and you shared the bread and the table of the most powerful of the land -- and yet did nothing. Now you have not power, nor the persuasion, and yet that work which you shall do shall be large. Have we told you all that we should, or would you like to know more of this period? I would like to know more, please. Ask in specific, and we shall tell. I don't know what to ask. Well, let us start by telling you this much: there was the Pharaoh and he ruled the land, and he was considered the head deity. But he looked to his religious leaders of that time for guidance. That made you a very strong influence for him -- third most powerful in the kingdom that was ruling the world. And you did nothing for anyone except yourself. You saw to it that the priests were well fed. You saw to it that they had land and cattle. But you did not do anything for anyone who needed your help. We speak to you of a time period when you were dressed in red and green stripes upon white, over the head. Being with a band around the forehead, you are dressed in the most holy and sacred robes of blue. And you were the most influential one who ever bore the lights before the altars of the -- shall we say -- holy shrines. You lived in a time when man was advanced. There were libraries. The language and communication was beyond what is even comprehensible now. The hieroglyphs that you have seen written were not the crude language that some assume, but conveyed many times more than you can ever think of conveying with abstract words. For they were even more abstract, and their formation was even more difficult. You lived in a time when counting was far beyond what it is now, and the calculus and the mathematics of this present time do not even approach -- for a man could work, mentally, what one could now do in the computer age upon the screens. They stored in their minds things that are now stored in storehouses -- and because they looked deep into themselves, they had the power and the strength to do all that they desired to do. There were people -- those few chosen select who were initiated into the temple -- who had the power over their bodies and minds and all that was around them. Even Moses himself was trained as you were, and look at the power that he had. See what we say? You were a great man and did nothing. Shall we go further? Please continue, yes. Then we shall tell you also, you wore bands of gold about your arms and there was a wide band about your neck. And you wore a seal, so that when you spoke -- then you sealed the document with that seal which was upon your ring and upon your cylinder -- and no man could undo that which you did, save the Pharaoh. He himself, and he would not have dared, for you were the holy oracle -- the lamp bearer, the light bearer, the spokesman of those to whom they thought they had access. You saw the armies destroy and oppress the foreign nations. You saw them take them apart and waste them totally, when you could have saved people. You saw them desecrate, when you could have had it kept and used. You lived in a time when things were built in a way not now known. But also, much was done by forced labor; and you did nothing to break this labor. You lived in a time when the great stones were moved on rollers by the backs of slaves. And men were pulled into service, willing or not willing. You lived in a time when the females, the most glorious and wonderful, were considered to be almost of a god-gift. And the males, though they were the rulers and the kings and the powerful, looked to the fertile and knew that the females were the same holy stock. You lived in a time when you were dressed, and dressed well. There was nothing to bind the movements, the belts tied about the waist were wide. The chest was bare when it was permitted. The formal dress draped loosely and comfortably, and your feet were well protected, though not inhibited for they were only covered from underneath. We cannot even convey to you the knowledge that was kept. But you could look upon another man's mind, speech was not all that was known. We do not tell you that speech was any less, nor was there an extreme ability of telepathy -- this is not what we're telling you -- but people were highly observant. They could look upon each other and they knew the needs and desires. They knew the thoughts from that which had been thought: that which a small child knows, but is quickly unlearned, they had learned to keep. This was the time. This was the time. We leave you now from this. We part, and put our blessings upon you. Rasha-he-rashn-ne har-han ish-ar-na ra. Years before, when Patricia and I were traveling around the country, we were sitting on the beach, watching the ocean. Suddenly I had a flash of a different time and place. Here, as nearly as I can recall the words, is what I told Patricia about this flash, which I hardly remembered until The Eternals related it to me in fuller context. I was in Egypt on a hilltop or mountain top, but it was a hill that had a level enough spot on the top for a few chariots and a road (not paved) going to the top. The land was virtually desert, with scrub and some mud walls, but basically flat. There were two opposing armies to the right and left and a major battle was about to begin. But even before the battle I knew for sure that "we" were to win it -- and we did, by day's end. We had done something previously to insure this success, as I had predicted we would. I knew I was in the presence of the Pharaoh and a few other powerful rulers and advisors. We were safely away from any possible fighting and a special bodyguard was at the base of the mountain or a big hill. I deduced that I had a position of power or influence just to be there. There was a strong and cool wind. I did not feel like a warrior or military person in this scene. I was happy to be outdoors and to watch the action. So let the last words be from The Eternals. You would not learn all that you need to know immediately. Some of this will come to you when the time is right. And when the time is right, all of it will come to you. Did Christ speak with stories to make things more clear? Did He tell stories because He wanted people to understand his every word? No. The stories were cryptic, and in them were hidden the messages that were of truth. He told the stories that everyone would be confounded and few find the truth. Even so, this is given to you, and to those without, who would search and can find. Yet all is not given freely. Does this not imply work on your part? Work it implies. And work there must be. For nothing is given freely. For all must come with effort. And yet, everything is free if you will simply expend the effort to receive it. For it cannot be bought with money, only the effort of the spirit. Chapter 13 PRETTY FLOWER MAKES HER APPEARANCE The secrets of the universe are not really secrets; they are simply unrecognized.* A new door was already opening in my life. I was still acting as guide for Daniel Clay as he gave the personal readings requested of us through Ageless Expressions. But Daniel was preparing to guide most of the sessions himself. He had long ago been told that the day would come when he would leave the "crutch" of hypnosis behind and move at will into the Hall of Records. Now, as this book is written, I no longer work regularly with Daniel, although we remain good friends; his wife reads him the questions people submit, and he continues to give personal readings through Ageless Expressions. As Daniel made this transition, another friend was reentering my life. I had met Eileen Rota-Wirtanen years before at The Adventure, my house in Massachusetts. In December of 1984 she was visiting Ann and me and asked for a reading from Daniel. She followed its suggestions, which had to do with certain health problems, and received much benefit. In January 1985, she visited us again. During this visit, she asked me if I would be willing to repeat the Cayce and Daniel procedure with her. I was not looking for new projects. I was busy with two manuscripts and the antiques business. But the question was in my mind: Could the experiment with Daniel be replicated, or was it a rarity? I had no doubt that Daniel and I had duplicated the Cayce experiment. Now I wondered if it could be done regularly with others. Cayce often said that everyone can do this work, but saying and doing are very different. Here was an opportunity to test Cayce's statement. ______________________ *The quotations at the beginning of each chapter are from Pretty Flower. Eileen and I had worked together off and on for 10 years. I had guided her through past life regressions and had made self-hypnosis cassette tapes for her and her family. I felt comfortable with the groundwork we had done. Also, she had conducted many of her own soul development projects like automatic writing, and she occasionally offered psychic readings through palmistry. She was not a novice in soul exploration. So I agreed to try the Cayce procedures with her, and on Jan. 20, 1985, we began. Eileen, my wife, and I retired to my office and the comfort of dim lighting and a recliner chair. We surrounded Eileen, in this and every subsequent session, with protection - - white light and prayer -- so we were confident that no unwanted energy would enter. After Eileen was in a trance and going to the Hall of Records, we all waited to hear what was going to be said. We waited. And we waited. Then, just as I was going to begin the return procedures, Eileen said a few words. Soon she started chanting. Then more release of tears. I closed the session, guiding her back down through the levels and through the wake-up procedure. It was a beginning: Not a session that offered any profound information, but neither did Daniel's early sessions. What was important was that Eileen felt an energy come through her and then leave again. That was important. Differences in the Channeling As each person is unique, so is each person's channeling. I had started the session by doing exactly what I had been doing with Daniel. Right from the start I realized what was happening with Eileen and Pretty Flower was very different from what had occurred with Daniel and The Eternals. Eileen worked at a very different pace from Daniel. I had to go much more slowly. She breathed very deeply and shook, but had little uncontrolled vibrating. There were tears, but tears of release and relief rather than of sadness. The most obvious difference was between the entities coming through. The Eternals are forceful, energetic, even macho. Pretty Flower is gentle, humorous, and nurturing. Her voice is always gentle and sweet and often the meter of her words is poetic. Participants in our groups tend to feel peaceful and at one with themselves in her presence, just as they are stimulated and challenged by The Eternals. Pretty Flower did not make her appearance immediately. Several entities presented themselves at different times during the first two sessions. Finally, one, a male, described himself as the "bridge," and stated that he would not appear again. Then another entity, a woman, came through. Eileen says, "The first time Pretty Flower entered I experienced a shaking within my being. I sobbed aloud, and all the while inside I prayed that I would get out of the way and let the channeling happen." In subsequent sessions I learned or relearned the techniques and procedures that facilitated Eileen's channeling. To do this -- be a facilitator -- my main tool is very careful listening. I am with the vessel as fully as I can be. During a session I note the expressions of voice, body, and vocabulary unique to that vessel and afterwards I study the tapes to become familiar with these expressions. I then use the vessel's own words wherever possible to give suggestions. In Eileen's case, she has told me that some of the words that were most helpful and necessary were suggestions about trust, healing energies, and gentle transference. Pretty Flower herself had suggestions, often strong ones, about how I could modify my procedures. For instance, to enable The Eternals to enter through Daniel, I always took him through the Cayce levels (see Chapter 8). This became unneccessary with Pretty Flower. She said, "This entry has been the easiest thus far and I propose that in the future we might consider eliminating the levels and simply enter." In other sessions she told me fine points of procedure and timing. For instance: "In the future we could spend a little more time with the opening, after the entry of the White Light." Another time she suggested changing a procedure "[so] that the waves of Blue Light may carry the vessel out in an easier manner." She wanted more time to meet the soul energy of Eileen during the process of entering and exiting. She said, "There is upon entry and exiting, a spot or a vibration where we happen to meet. And it is most pleasurable. And we could, if we were not in a hurry, pause at that moment, to embrace. And the trust is built even more, as the embrace increases the expansion of the chakras and allows a healing and alignment to take place." What was happening, Eileen told me, was that she and Pretty Flower met and danced together, faster and faster each time, until it was as if they created a vortex. Then Pretty Flower came in as Eileen stepped aside. By following Pretty Flower's advice, and giving more time during their meetings, I was able to help Eileen let go more easily to let the channeling happen. After about 12 sessions we had fine tuned our method for accessing Pretty Flower. These are the suggestions we used. Suggestions for Accessing Pretty Flower ...in due time, in your own time, a minute, an hour, a day, a week, a month, some time, your subconscious will reveal its gifts to you. In a dream or a daydream, when you are not especially thinking about it, new understanding, new levels of perception, new awareness of yourself and of others, new information that you may process and use to your highest potential. Information to help you achieve the highest ideals you have set and you are actively working toward. And you may, once again now, begin the process of opening yourself to the White Light. Surrounding yourself with healing love, surrounding yourself with trust, begin the process of opening the chakra centers. Begin first by opening the crown chakra and letting in the healing light. Fill the head chakra. Allow the light to move down the body, into the throat chakra, the heart center, the solar plexus area, the cells of Leydig, all the way to the reproductive system, and continuing throughout the body internally. Now surrounding the body externally with the White Light. The White Light fills all the empty places. With trust and belief in the power of love, you begin to feel the love energy flowing. Love fills your being as you begin to go to that inner spot of innocence and trust. And soon the White Light becomes an intense blue- white light. And the waves of blue light carry you out in an easier manner, and allow for the opening of the energy that comes through you. You begin to see the old woman, you beckon to her, you welcome her. At first she is but a small speck, and then she begins to grow larger and larger, until the presence of the spirit of Pretty Flower is in front of you. You begin to step aside, motioning her to come ahead, giving full permission, with love and trust, to use the temple of your spirit. You are now totally immersed in the Light. And now come the wonderful angels and spirit friends, and you realize that you are not alone. You continue to trust and allow the trust to build. And upon entering, there is a spot where the two of you meet, and you pause at this moment to embrace. And the embrace increases the vibration of the trust, and you hold hands and dance together joyfully, and this allows the proper alignment to take place. You have reached that spot of innocence, that holy place. The transition is now completing. Love continues to pulsate and permeate in and around the being. You are in tune with the vibration of the universe. You are in tune with the healing process. Focus only on Pretty Flower at this time. And now the transition is complete. You may use this time for chanting to totally align the energies. You are vibrating in truth. Or you may use this simply as a time of quiet, to align the soul energies. And when you are ready, we may begin communicating. We welcome you to this gathering and this place. The Gatherings Begin At the beginning of a few sessions Pretty Flower said that there were other beings or soul energies besides herself who wished to speak through the vessel. "We are crowded in here," she complained. I responded, "Although there are many energies and entities who have much valid information to be spoken and to be shared ... only one can speak at a time. Therefore it is our choice and our desire that only the spirit of Pretty Flower speak to us now." Eileen told me that at this suggestion a clearing took place. "I felt that I would explode," she said. "But when you said those words, the others left; the exiting was gentle, but swift and clean." Working with Pretty Flower, as working with The Eternals, required a new vocabulary to understand the messages fully. Each session was referred to as a gathering. A group meditation or guided meditation was a communion or a marriage. Pretty Flower usually asked each person, "How are you vibrating?" A translation could be "How are you feeling?" or "How are you?" But a very different use of the word vibration usually referred to a specific lifetime - - that is, "in this vibration" meant "in this lifetime." The process of going to or, more correctly, accessing Pretty Flower was called "the ceremony," although the word was used in other ways too. Once Pretty Flower's presence came through, she moved the recliner into a more upright position. Usually she asked for permission to "make a sound," a chant. As you will see in the transcripts, Pretty Flower chanted often. These chants were remarkable. Each one was different. Some were soft and elongated, some high and piercing, some low and guttural. They were often accompanied by hand and body movements; Eileen says sometimes her whole body vibrated with the sound. The Exiting Process The exiting process is similar to the process of entering, but in reverse. Pretty Flower puts the reclining chair back into a more horizontal position and breathes a deep sigh. Through the many sessions she has explained that in exiting she goes to a different vibration -- one other than Pretty Flower. The exiting is easier in this manner. At the end of many sessions there seemed not to be a full closing of the crown or topmost chakra. Eileen was back, but had not yet fully awakened, and she gestured in a fretful way with her hand to her forehead. This is another kind of situation in which my experience and attention to the vessel are important, for Eileen could not seem to speak to say if something was wrong. Guessing the cause of the trouble, I went to her, placed my hands on her forehead, and said the words, "Closing the crown chakra now -- allowing the crown chakra to close...." This action seemed to be effective in the balancing of energy and in closing. Later on, Pretty Flower herself directed that the crown chakra remain open, and Eileen reports that it does, with a sensation she describes as a continuous, slight, mentholated tingling, a sensation that increases during meditation or during sessions, and descreases during other daily activities. She says, "The Blue Flame sits atop my head always." Other than that there was almost never any physical contact with the vessel throughout the sessions. In fact, I am careful to monitor a group to see that no individual comes even in close proximity to the vessel to disrupt her energy or aura field. Here is the exiting process that I used with Pretty Flower and Eileen. Thank you for this sharing, communion, and marriage of the gathering. Please begin the process for this gathering to be completed. Preparing for the proper entity to return to her physical body in her temple. Surrounded with trust, with the remembrance of surrender, allow this celebration to be completed. We thank you for this time of sharing, this time of learning and growing and fun together. Allow the old woman to become smaller and smaller. Allow the souls on all levels to bid farewell. And as you part, there is a moment of embrace. With trust and with love, the transformation becomes complete. Coming back -- through the light. Bidding farewell to the angels and spirit friends. In the fullness of joy, with permission, with trust, and with full determination. Vibrating in strength and in harmony. Slowly begin the process of closing the chakra centers. Beginning at the reproductive center, gently closing of this center and the cells of Leydig. Closing of the solar plexus, once again the closing of the heart chakra, the throat chakra, and leaving the head chakra, the crown chakra open. Returning to normalization, the chakra centers of the being. A gentle closing, and allowing the soul entity of Eileen to return into her proper temple, her proper vessel. Realigning the soul body with the physical body, and the mental body. And each time we do this work, there is a healing. And each time, the going out and the coming back in, the opening and the closing, become easier and easier. You are fully oriented into the present. Continue the alignment process. This is ____________ (date), in ______________ (city or town), ____________ (state). Are you ready now for the counting up exercise? [Vessel raises a finger to signify agreement.] We will proceed very slowly and carefully. I will count from one to ten. At the count of ten, you can open your eyes, be wide awake, feeling fine. Feeling better than before. I will count now. One, coming back. Two, coming up very slowly. Three, coming out. Four, feel total normalization at every level of your being. Five, feel the life energies returning. Six, feel the circulation returning throughout the being. Seven, coming up to your full potential. Eight, with total equilibrium and lightness. Nine, revitalizing; and ten, energized and wide awake. Just rest for a few minutes. Chapter 14 A TYPICAL GATHERING The love that passes between each other is the greatest work on the vibration of the earth. Although each was different, we soon came to recognize and look forward to typical parts of a Gathering. There were six: introductions, stories, "traditions and ceremonies," meditations, personal messages, and leavetakings. One flowed seamlessly into another, but to give you the flavor of a Gathering, I include samples of each in this chapter. More stories, meditations, and messages follow in later chapters. Introductions Gatherings with Pretty Flower started with introductions. People usually introduced themselves and said a greeting; Pretty Flower recognized newcomers and asked them about themselves. These introductions usually initiated a period of naming. Pretty Flower often gave participants new names, asking for permission first. We came to realize that these new names were often names the person had had in a previous life or lives. She herself usually named the women, often giving them nature names or names pertaining to a beautiful part of the universe. Some of these names were Little Flower, White Lily, Woman of the Star, Sister of the Howling Wolves, Sister of the Moon, Deer (or Dear) Diane, Waterfall, Rose, and Shining Star. Often she told a story or made a comment about the name. If the participant was a man Pretty Flower acknowledged the present name or gave a different name in English. In rare instances she gave a man or a boy a nature name. Names she herself bestowed included Gem Gardener, Dawn of the Mountain, Warrior of the Clouds, The Strength of Ten (With Peace in His Heart), Gentle Warrior, and Shadow of the Pines. In general, however, she did not consider it proper to name men herself. With warriors -- that is, men -- naming was a private, almost secret, matter. It seemed only a warrior could bestow the name of the warrior, and the giving of the name was a teaching of truths connected with that name. Pretty Flower could not teach what she had not experienced. So, in our sessions, when she wished to give a man a name, she often made way for a warrior, who came through to bestow the name. After the introductions and the naming, Pretty Flower would chant -- and as I have said, these chants were wondrous in their variety and expressiveness. In the introductions, Pretty Flower had comments and insights not only for individuals within the gathering but had messages for the gathering itself. Here is an example. This is a wonderful, cozy group this evening. We are small in number in physical form, and I would inform you, not that you might feel crowded, but we are many in spirit form. And we are blessed in the presence of many upright beings, who have decided upon a visitation to this particular vibration this evening. This, my friends, has much to do with the present vibration of this room, of which we all are creating. There is much happening this evening, and it is a pleasure to be partaking of this communion. The Little Stories After the introductions and chants, Pretty Flower usually told a story. If she herself told it, she usually called it a "little story." Pretty Flower's little stories seem simple, but they pack a powerful wallop of truth. Some are short, some are quite detailed. I think this form is valuable as each person perceives the nuggets of truth at his or her own level of comprehension. Pretty Flower cautions us not to compare one's understanding to another person's perception. THE STORY OF THE COYOTE The story begins at the beginning and at the end, both at the same time. That means that it is part of a circle, and that in itself is another story. This story of the Coyote begins with the wonderful, wonderful fuzzy cub. And he is the color of the silver moon. And he is the color of the nip in the winter wind. And he is the color of a cold, black, wet nose. And he is small, and he is, even though he is small, at the very beginning, left to fend for himself. And as he does, and standing on shaky legs, he begins to look around. And the coyote cub knows no fear, for why should he? And as he looks around, he believes that he is the master of his destiny and of his space. And he makes a small sound which he believes is a monumental sound, and he makes it. And then, what happens? Mother returns and she pushes him over with her nose. One simple movement, and he is rolling on the ground. And he is most happy to be in the space with his mother. And here is the father, and the father is the master of the area. He is the master of the great rock. He is the master of the hearth of the cave. And none dare come to that space. And he knows that, even as he stands on the rocks, so strong. And there is the family. As the days continue, and as the weeks continue, and as the moon turns many times, round and round, the cub grows, and grows, and grows. And there are many life experiences that he feels within his vibration. And through the many, there is the mother and the father, who push him over with their nose, even at this age, because he allows that to happen because it is part of his life. And one day, he knows that something is different. He feels this in his body. He feels it in his bones. And in the blood flowing through the veins, he feels something is different. On his journey for the day, he knows something is different. He walks differently. He jumps the river differently. He sniffs the air differently. And as he experiences the newness of the day, he experiences the change that is happening within and without. And he decides that maybe he won't -- but maybe he will return home. And he returns to the cave. And his father is not quite sure that the growing cub belongs in the cave. He is quite different this evening; however, he enters the cave and he goes to his mother. And she knows that she will not push him over with her nose. She does not even rise. She continues with her vibration. And there is a warning that goes through her that says, "Something has changed. Who is this?" And that evening, they all rest on tense legs. And they are all very much aware of each other's movements. And as the evening progresses into the darkness of night, there comes over the horizon, the moon. The moon, in all its splendor, comes over the horizon, and it casts its light upon the earth, and upon the side of the rocks, on the side of the cave, where the three beings are residing. And the father feels the pull of the moon in his very blood. He feels it pulling him. And he stays where he is. He has much wisdom and practice at the energies of the moon. The mother, in her position, is not looking at the father, and is not looking at the son. The mother is keeping her nose under her paws, and her being is in total alert. And as she is in tune with the energies of the moon, she knows as the female, that it is her companion. And there is not a muscle moved in her body. And the change continues. And as the change continues, we see that the only thing that these three beings are doing is being alert. And the change continues and in the veins and in the being of the once-cub is the pull to the moon -- is the pull to the vibrations of what we think is the wild, and what is actually a marriage of the vibrations of the moon and the changing vibrations in the once-cub. As that marriage takes place between the energies, there is more change. And there is release of the tension, as there is knowledge in the father and in the mother of what is taking place in the once-cub. Now, the once-cub does not know what is happening. He does not think about what is happening; he feels different. And he knows that the light around his being is brighter and brighter, and the moon is beckoning. And as the beam comes down to the once-cub, he is alert and he lifts his head, and he stands. And he opens his mouth to allow the energies and vibrations of the moon to enter his being. And, as the elixir pouring into the vessel fills his being, it makes the change possible. And as the elixir of the moon in a vibration and in a circular motion runs through the being of the once-cub, it, like a magnet, attracts any part of the cub remaining, and pulls to itself, and upon exiting requires a sound. And the sound is a wonderful howl. Is a wonderful howl from the coyote that is a marriage like no other, between the coyote and the moon. If we were to think of that story a little, we would see that some of our beliefs are a little different, would we not? Ceremonies and Traditions Sometimes, instead of or in addition to a story, she presented material we called ceremonies or traditions. These involved a change, during the session, to a different entity, often a warrior. The warrior spoke of his own ceremony or tradition, which involved warriors. Pretty Flower spoke of ceremonies and traditions that were her experiences and truths. The warrior's voice was deeper than Pretty Flower's. He sat erect on the chair (she had a tendency to curl into the chair), commanding great energy and force. At one Gathering, a man asked for the teaching of a ceremony. A warrior appeared in full strength of his being and began this great teaching. THE DANCE OF THE BEAR One moment, there would be a change of energies. One moment. We would begin at the beginning, which would be the Dancing Bear. There would be a purpose to the Dancing Bear, which would be at the discretion of that being who would be surrendering to the Dance of the Bear. The purposes are many. And at the base of all the purposes the Fathers of the People would have the recognition that there is deep within their breasts a desire to be one with the universe. And so, the Dance of the Bear -- whether the purpose be to gain possessions, to gain love, to gain that being to be at your side forever, whether it be for riches -- the Dance of the Bear teaches us to relinquish those desires and recognize that in our breasts we have the desire to be one in the universe. Those who are being taught the Dance of the Bear know these facts and they also know that whatever their wishes are, will be fulfilled in the dance. And each comes with a tiny secret in his being as to what that great wish would be. And even though he knows that those wishes will be dispersed, and the one wish in the breast to be one with the universe will remain, he still carries the wish in the hopes that perhaps he might be able [to] carry that wish through the dance to the end. So that the wish might be granted. And some of the wishes are not what we would call "poison wishes," some of the wishes are for the health of the grandmother. There are wishes that we would think of in that term, so there would not be a judgment of any man or being upon any wish that he thinks that his neighbor might have, or upon any wish that he might have, in the back of this being, where secrets are being kept. And so we prepare for the Dance of the Bear. And we would come forward, as the preparation requires a time in thinking, not here [pointing to the head], in thinking in the entire being what those wishes are. And as those wishes come forward, we allow them to be in our presence. And we weed our gardens, and we come to those wishes which we will not allow ourselves to pull from the garden. They will not budge! Those wishes are the truth. Those wishes are the ones we cannot relinquish; try as we may, they remain with us. And we would be truthful beings, and we would know that there would be a wish for something that our being would judge as wrong and we still have that wish, even though we say, "I do not wish that." It is still there in the garden, and will not be budged. And so, we come, after a period of being with ourselves, to a time when we recognize the truth about ourselves, and we recognize most of the wishes that we cannot simply abandon. And then we know what our Dance of the Bear would be. And those Great Fathers and those Teachers who many are present this gathering, would know, they would advise those who are preparing their first time for the Dance of the Bear, that if there are many wishes, there are many purifications through the Dance of the Bear. And then the young warriors would go to their spots where they are with themselves, and they would look again at their wishes. And they would recognize and know deep within their being that they will be purged of those wishes, and they know how they cannot simply abandon those wishes, and they know the intensity of their Dance of the Bear. And, when the time and the courage seem to come together, there would be a cleansing of the being within and without. There would be a beginning, the beginning would be to mix in a spot in the earth the mixture of ground shells from that creature which lives on the water's edge, and some dew, gathered at the time when the moon is hiding from our visions. We would mix without hands that mixture with some water from the falls of life, and then we would make a paste and we would take that paste and cover our beings on every spot. Then we would go to the forest and we would dig with our hands for the roots and the roots would be the color of the sun. And the hot corn sun -- and we would find that root. And we would make a presence to the plant that that energy would allow itself to be with our being, used in the preparation and purification of the being within -- as the coating on our being shows that we are in need of purification, and the plant at the time would relinquish the root. And then we would take the dirt on the root, and rub on our being. Then we would take the root and we would push away the outer layer so that we see the gold, the bright color of the sun. And we would take a twig, a piece of the mint, the refreshing mint, to remind the inner soul that it is a temporary happening, and we put the mint around our teeth, and in our being in the mouth, and then we chew. Nothing this day has gone to the mouth before that mint. And then we would take the most powerful golden root, and we would chew, and we would consume the entire root. The size of the root is what is necessary for the moment. (And when we opened the earth and the root presents itself, we again have an inkling as to the Dance of the Bear by the size of the root, and the awareness of the warriors would see the vibration of the root.) And we would continue to consume that root and we would be grateful to the plant and to the Mother Earth and to the Fathers above and around for this sting on our tongues and for the burning as the throat feels the vibration of the root. Then we would cover the earth, and we would recognize that we are not at this time in a position to bestow blessing on that part of the earth which has been opened and closed, and we would ask the Fathers to bless that spot. We would then go to our private vibration, where we would bring the leaves from the forest and we would curl our bodies to a ball, obey the vibration of the sun, we must be in the vibration of the sun. And we would stay, and the pains that would happen within the beings, we would be most grateful, as the vibration of the root is pulling those poisons from our being and cleansing within. And we would stay in that position until the dawn of the next day. In the dawn of the next day, we would rise and in that spot in the earth we would allow the root to come back from the top and from the bottom. And we would allow that process to continue, we are in most grateful position, the more that happens -- the greater the cleansing. And then we cover our leaves in the spot. Then we would go to the falls of the heavens, and we would take the sand. We would take the sand of the earth and we would take the moss of the earth, and we would carry these vibrations to the falls of heavens, and we would come to the water's edge and in our meditation, we would cleanse the outside of our body. And we would rub the sands with movement, to remove any from our body, and we would stand beneath the falls. We would take the moss and we would put the vibration of green on our bodies. The vibration of green would cover our entire body and we would be clean within and without. And then the Fathers of the tribe would be standing in a circle near that spot and they would open their circle for the warrior. And he would come forward. And he would be on his body placed a skin of the Bear. And the Fathers of the Tribe would be in Holy Ground, and the warrior would be in the skin of the Bear and the Dance of the Bear would begin. The moment the skin of the Bear touched the skin of the warrior. And the energies of the skin of the Bear would be in the skin of the warrior. And the warrior being the first time, would feel the electricity of the movement. And he would be aware that he is in the energy of the Great Bear. [Illustration #6] And his dance would begin. And the dance would begin. As the paws and great claws of the Bear touch the ground -- and the arm of the warrior is the arm of the Bear -- and the warrior dances around around around, and he would dance from here to here to here to here. And in the movement of the Bear, the wishes of the warrior come forward to his being. And shake his head though he may, those wishes will not go away. He feels those wishes pounding in his very being. And they will not go away. And he knows that his body is being pulled this way and that way and there are movements he knows not. There are sounds that come from his being he knows not. And he is in the energies of the Bear and those wishes will not go away. And the Bear dances and dances and dances. And the Bear takes the claws of his being and he pulls at the flesh, that he might remove those wishes. The warrior knows in his being that the Bear, the Holy Bear, is purging his being of those wishes. So that something else might be there. Something else might be there. And that process continues for as long as it may take, for the wishes of the man are great. And there is a moment when the being of the warrior knows that he cannot hold on to those wishes one moment longer. And he throws them away. They are not there! And his being is purged of the wishes of man. And in his breast, a great fire builds and builds and builds. And he feels that the energies of his being, of the warrior, are building and he knows that his spirit is one with the universe. And in that taste of that vibration he knows that nothing will replace that vibration. To be in the presence of the Universal Energies of the Fathers -- nothing will take that place. And when that realization is here [marking drawing of circle, star, and pyramid on the forehead], the energies of the Bear have completed their work and the skin of the Bear simply falls to the earth, and the young warrior is carried by the Fathers to the Holy Grounds. We would not speak of the Holy Grounds at this time. There is much healing to be done in the body of the warrior as there are many spaces on his body where the gouges of the claws have removed his flesh and his wishes. And in the Holy Grounds, there is a revitalization of the body of the warrior. [She chants.] [Illustration #7] The Questions The question period was a time for personal messages. Participants asked for guidance on physical, emotional, or spiritual matters; queried her about herself; raised questions about a past life or lives; and asked for comment or guidance on questions of public interest. Sometimes she answered matter of factly; many times she answered in parable or story form; but she always had a message or reading for each questioner. Once we asked Pretty Flower why she was doing this work. What was the purpose of the Gatherings? It would be the purpose of these vibrations in the earthly plane to be in the works, so to speak, of enlightening and broadening the outlook and vibration of man on the planet of the earth. We are here to assist in the uplifting of the vibration of the planet -- and sometimes the young children are lost -- and we but take their hand and point them in the right direction. Then they can fall down and stand up as they learn the process. But we must, at some time, sometimes, even vibrate them so that they will not stay asleep forever! And we would do it with much joy! Here Pretty Flower talks to the parents of a boy who, when he was about two, was almost electrocuted in an accident involving Christmas tree lights. Paralyzed, he had, through intensive physical therapy, regained limited movement and speech. When Pretty Flower gave this reading for his parents, he was about five. READING FOR DANNY'S PARENTS ....We would find that the wonderful vibration of the boy, Danny, would be trying to make a decision whether to remain on the vibration of the planet Earth or not. And we find that the challenges that he has set upon his soul for the vibration of this time have been many. And there is a decision of the spirit as to whether he would be vibrating or whether he would be moving on to another realm. And we would find that there would be much love surrounding that being. And that he would be working within his being and the lessons of expressing love. And he would but respond to the sounds of love. He would but respond to the tones of the chimes. He would but respond to the sounds of the birds. He would but respond to a cold wet nose of a friend animal upon his being. He would but respond to the leaves of the fall. He would but respond to the elimination of the rules and regulations for a short period only to be able to be -- just to be. And he could but be in the outdoors -- just to be. And there would not be a concern for what he can do or what he cannot do -- how he could perform in one instant what would be almost expected of his brother. In another form, what might be expected of himself. For he is but vacillating between beliefs that are present around him. And if he could be allowed to vibrate as himself. And would be that the mother would be with him and that they could be atop the mountain --and that they could make sounds together with the freedom within. And that the sounds would be whatever would be coming forward. And that the man, the man of sound within his life, the man who loves him with tenderness, the man who caresses his being, would be the greatest channel of love for the child. And there would be, if possible, the environment of the country. Of the mountains, of the waterfalls, of the furry animals -- so that the spirit friends, and the angels, and all those beings could vibrate with him. We would find that in previous times, the boy existed as man in the civilization of Rome and that there was much time on the chariots. And we would find that in another time, in the time of Atlantis, there would be a type of transportation also that he would be involved with. There would be many other times when there would be a type of transportation. Gliding above the earth and rolling upon the earth, with which he would be involved. And we would find that there would [be] many lives and many times where there would be great companions, and they would be amongst the greatest leaders of the earth. And that, in one form or another, that he would be a companion and trusted friend of many. That he would be at times, the secret companion of many. That there have been in many times, and in many parts of the earth, many secrets that he has held within his being. That he has functioned in the vibration of truth, that he has functioned in the vibration of honor. That he has functioned in the vibration of light. Know that the choices are made before we even enter the vibration. And then there is an awareness, and an acceptance of those choices. And we could be speaking to that wonderful vibration of the young boy, and we could be saying, "This [is] what you have chosen, my dear. And you are doing great work. And the vibration of the universe is within you. And all those who come in contact with you are blessed for simply being in your presence. And that we love you. Even beyond ourselves. And that we receive the love that you are radiating to us. And we receive the truths that you are radiating to us. And we receive the honor that you are radiating to us. And we receive the light that you are radiating to us. For you are as you are, a light upon the earthly vibration. And many purposes are being fulfilled, even as we speak." There could be a time when there would be a traveling to the Western states and there the young boy would experience a vibration of memory from a previous time. And there could [be] a vibration together as family. And awarenesses would be opened. There would be, if there would be sent, any type of questions, we would be most happy to be answering, especially questions regarding the care of this wonderful, vibrating being. And to those people living in the vibration to know that they have the blessings of the universe. And that they are fulfilling many balances in caring for the young boy. I would be making a sound for the wonderful young boy. [Chants.] I would say again and again of the wonderful boy, Do not communicate with him as if he does not understand you. He understands more than you know. His understandings are greater than your knowledge. He is a gift and we are aware that you are in that belief yourselves, but that you would be hearing it from the vibrations of those beings who would be surrounding the blessings of the home for the care and protection. Know that the burdens of life are lifted from the very beings. And that you may, if you choose, walk in the light of the universe and vibrate as one. One moment, please. [She chants.] The boy is the bird, and the mother would know the meaning. Guided Meditations Next came a guided group meditation. Almost every gathering included one; each was different. Sometimes we sat in a circle, holding hands. Sometimes we stood. Sometimes she asked us to look into each other's eyes. Sometimes she said each person's name aloud. Each communion was guided by her slow, gentle, loving voice encouraging us to allow the process to unfold. A MEDITATION As we communicate, and as we laugh together, and as we share each other's sorrow and joy and problems and light and darkness, as we share our beings together, we become one. And as we become one, then we are closer to our purpose. For on this earthly plane, there can be one purpose -- of unity. And as we meet together in different gatherings across the universe, we are uniting as one. I would be most pleased to form a union with you all present in physical and spirit form at this gathering (as you must know, and if you do not, the information is given now, that many come to attend these gatherings, many). And we are most happy to be in the presence of many forms. So, I would request if you would simply close your eyes, and be, and allow the energies to flow through you -- through you and to the next being -- and to the next being -- and to the next being -- and as we are united and we experience the energies of the one, there is no complication, there is no need to make any effort at all, except to be. And then we have the great experience of channeling each other's energy and trusting that the energies that flow through us are whole and complete and that we are in union with the White Energy that flows around us, even as we sit here. There is no complications. Please try to let go of thinking. Try to allow the energies to flow without thinking at all. Just be. And I will be most happy to join you at this moment, here. [She chants.] It appears the Wind Spirits are most happy with our union. OPENING TO THE WHITE LIGHT OF THE UNIVERSE You don't have to be in any particular position. It does not matter. Your head could be on your hand on your arm on your elbow on your leg or you could be sitting erect or you could be in the bathroom. It does not matter. Simply to allow the vibration to happen. And there is an opening, and all there needs to be said is "I open myself to the White Light of the Universe." That's the only thought that need be in our minds. And then, when you have said it in your mind, "I open myself to the White Light of the Universe" -- Then, as I continue to speak, you could let that thought drift away to somewhere else. It will be taken care of. You do not need to tend it or any other thought. You can allow the thoughts to come in and out, it does not matter. The most important thing is that we are all here, and that is the work that we've done. We are able to be here and we have opened to the White Light of the Universe. It's as simple as that. And then, we are able to be in this circle, and feel the flow of vibrations around the circle. You do not need to attempt to feel the vibration. You simply are a vessel. And in being a vessel, you allow the energy to flow in and out. It's as simple as that. We are all channelers in this room, and we can practice at the very moment by allowing the energy to flow. Do not expect a stupendous experience. Do not expect anything but a simple vibration that is flowing around. And I would be grateful if while you are allowing this to happen, that I may make a sound. And that, after the sound, you would let the vibration continue for a few moments. And it's not a big deal. It's just a little experience to be able to feel the vibration of each other. And trust that the vibrations flowing through us are whole. We have opened to the White Light of the Universe. MARRIAGE OF BREATH A Standing Meditation I would ask if you would wish to partake of a union on different levels, of the beings present in the circle. What we would suggest would be that instead of holding hands, that we could place our arms about each other. Would that be possible? And in that space, there should be comfort, as this would take a few moments. If you would adjust your feet so that you would stand firmly ... And I would simply suggest that there is a joy in the center of every being, every being. And, because there is a joy in the center of every being, there is a joy in the center of those beings present here. And as we recognize that joy, we can, without wills, determine that there is an opening, and we can say to ourselves, "I open myself," and if you so choose, one might say, "I open myself to the White Light of the Universe." And if we were to decide to say, "I open myself to the White Light of the Universe," then we could let go of trying to open, as the process simply happens. We could even say, "I surrender to the White Light of the Universe in full trust and love." And know that, surrounding your beings on the outside of the circle of your beings, stands another circle. And in that circle are the angels, with their magnificent wings, and with their wonderful blessings. And as they are present around you, they embrace you ever so gently. And as they embrace you ever so gently, you can know in the very depths of your being that you need never be alone. In fact, you can know that you are never alone. The guides around you are here for you. And they have come to present their vibrations for your feelings that their vibrations and your vibrations would encompass a marriage. And as this marriage is taking place, with our wills and without our wills, it is simply a union. It is the type of union that happens as simply as when we open our eyes in the morning, and we know that it's morning. That's all there is to it. And we look at the sky at night and we see the stars, and we know they are the stars. It is as simple as that. And as the union confirms the vibrations within and without, we are most filled with joy that you are trusting of the White Light of the Universe, and the Blessings of the Highest on High have showered and are showering themselves upon you, even as we vibrate together in this room. And the blessings of the Highest on High can fill your beings to the brim so that, when there is breathing, there is breathing in of the blessings that have flowed from one of the others. And the breathing out, is breathing out of your blessings married to those blessings. And as we breathe in, we breathe in the blessings of the Highest on High. And when we breathe out, we breathe out the blessings of the Highest on High married to our own vibration. And we are the Highest on High. And we are the I AM. And if you would remain as you are for one moment, I would make a sound for you, that would be the sound of the marriages that are taking place on many levels, and the blessings that are so bountiful, vibrate and make a sound of their own. One moment please. [She chants.] The Partings Finally, she took her leave with a blessing and a chant. We have done much work here this evening. Our concept of work may change ... as we learn that work itself is a letting go of the conception of work. It is not a nose-to-the-grindstone, it is a letting go, and experiencing the wonders and the vibrations in the simplicity of joy and choosing to focus ourselves on the joy. Often there were individual blessings and parting messages. Here is one for a man. When you put your head down to sleep this evening, that there would be a blessing for you, as you are in the vibration of the spirits of the universe. Sometimes, the vibration is so subtle that we don't recognize it. But it is there. And you would know, even as you are drifting off to sleep, that many hold you in their arms and that there is much love pouring forth to you. And for a woman: Wonderful woman, the knowledge of the universe is within your being and you are well aware that you are vibrating in the Light. That's all there is! It just becomes greater and greater, and the joy becomes greater and greater. We simply allow it to happen. You are most blessed and we would be most happy that you graced this gathering this evening. We would be in proper alignment in stating that the angels of the universe are at your command. Thank you, my dear, for being here. The journey has just begun! Chapter 15 THE STORY OF THE PEOPLE The journey to the stars is but a mirror image of the journey within to the depths of our being. In an early session I had asked, "Do you have a name that we could call you?" And we were told, "I would have to tell you the English, as I don't believe this vessel is prepared to make the throat sounds of my real name. My name is Pretty Flower." Now that we were introduced to her, we wanted to know about her. We wanted to know exactly who or what we were communicating with. We asked her for information, and what she told us is "The Story of the People." Before she tells it, however, I want to include an exchange that took place midway in a session. I mention it now, because it forms one of the fundamental themes of Pretty Flower's message. I asked Pretty Flower, "Can you give us more insight about yourself and about The People?" ....Well, we would clarify one point and that would be that at these gatherings, the energies channeled have been called "Pretty Flower," and we have been most happy to be included in that vibration. And it would be a moot point that the energy of Pretty Flower is in existence only and solely at this gathering at this particular time. And of previous times, there have been a different vibration, and we could continue to call that vibration "Pretty Flower" if you wish, but it is simply a combination of vibrations which occur. In other words, Pretty Flower says, she is Pretty Flower, but she is also a combination of energies. She will return to expand our notion of her, which is often stated in terms of the universality of all energies, many times again. Then she delivers a gentle warning. And as the vibrations in our lifetimes, so to speak, as on this earthly plane, you could continue to view lives as different times. I will try to put the facts according to your beliefs, and I think it would be a difficult situation, so we would have a little bit of changing of the beliefs, so to speak, merely as a way of accommodating the information which would proceed. Would that be too complicated? The key words here are, I think, "you could continue to view lives as different times." As you will realize as you read Pretty Flower's words, in this chapter and the next, there are no different times; all times and all energies are one. We may speak of individual times and energies, but they are all one. For Pretty Flower, these are the facts, and although she will try to phrase them in our language, we may need to change our own beliefs. So she asks, "Would that be too complicated?" I answered: "So far it sounds okay. I hope I can accommodate my new beliefs to the relativity of lives and our understanding of the sequence of lives in the earth. But I am eager to change my beliefs as the awareness is made known. Is that clear?" And she said, "I believe I am in understanding of what you are saying." THE STORY OF THE PEOPLE Can you tell us of the life that you lived? Can you give us some understanding of yourself, of the life of Pretty Flower? Is there anything you could speak to us about? Oh, my, there certainly is much. As it is possibly quite evident, that I had existed many years ... when the tribe of my father -- I was born to a chief, he was young and fiery and my mother loved him very much, and we were holy people, as we all are. That is a lesson in itself. But we were holy people and we were living upon a hill. Now, the hill was not like the hills here. The hill is very broad at the top and there we are situated. The grass was very green. And as I grow, I find that I have many questions, many, many questions. And I ask the medicine man of the questions and he says to me, "Because you are the chief's daughter, I will answer your questions." And I laugh at him. He thinks he is so big. And I see in his mind that he is a kind man and he is of great medicine and he is also fearful of his own death. So I visit him often and I see his mixtures and he begins to teach me. Now you must know that that is a taboo, because I am the chief's daughter. However, I do continue, as it is my place to learn of potions, to learn the tying of the medicine bags, to learn the placements of bones, and to learn the magic of feathers. These all I do learn. Now, you must realize, that many are in awe of that -- [It] takes some time and it is in secret. Now, my mother, my dear mother, has a hint of what is transpiring and she asks me would I not learn to sew? And I say, "Mother, I do not care to learn to sew. I will spend my day with Nmlmchuque [phonetic], the medicine man. And she looks at me with fear in her eyes and knowing that it is as it is. Now, our tribe is a healthy tribe. We have much to living; we are not warring people, we are peaceful. And we do much with the stars. And we do much in the cave of the crystal. The medicine man is not allowed in there, but I am because I am a woman. Only the women are allowed in the crystal cave. And were are there for ceremonies of replenishment. And there is much happening in our tribe. We are communicating on many levels with many of the people who presented themselves in this very physical room in which we sit. This is not the first time, certainly, that all of us here have experienced each other together -- in one form or another. And that, in a sense, was the purpose of the room, the chamber from the crystal cave. There are many stories to be told. Many. Could you please tell us ... in what geographical location was this place that you lived? In Arizona. What tribe were you? The tribe is the Zulie Tribe, and that's not the tribe that many are familiar with us. They have given us many names and some of the Indians themselves purport that we never existed. We were not among them in the forms that they were used to seeing. ....there [are] many ways, as you know, to travel, and so we travelled many times with the use of our spirits. And we took those opportunities to teach those of the tribes surrounding us. We communicated through their medicine men, when their medicine men were of the state that ... could receive our messages. Many times we spoke through the chiefs. There were many powwows and many magical moments, and it appeared that those tribes were able to hear our messages through magical moments, so we used those times to present guidance for their preservation. Yes, we were the people ... on our hill, and we were also not on our hill. We have been able to function in many dimensions. As you know, this is not the only dimension happening at this present time. And that was of teachings. Teaching ... you know, not by books. Teaching and allowing people to love, and to be married to the earth and the mother pulse of the earth to exist in them too. There are many lessons to be had. And what year was this? As relating to your calendar, the moons are many -- could I calculate that? -- Seven hundred and two we have coming to me. I have no idea what that is, as I do not relate so to your years. You said some of us were together ... in the same tribe? Well, we have had many lives, all of us here. It comes down to concepts, you see. As we are here in this very space, we are also elsewhere. In many other spaces, and in some of those we are more together than in others. It is an example of drawing the mandala. As you have a central point and you draw the lines to form the circles upon circles, the lines cross. Many times. And we are the very lines. Is that a story enough? I don't understand. Are we like the spokes of the wheel going out from a mandala? Well, there are many mandalas, you could call it. It happens once again from the center of you. Your love center, and as there are waves coming from you, the waves happen to generate over to this wonderful young man, and his waves happen to generate over to yours, and again and again and again, and as those waves are touching each other, we are together. Now, that is admittedly a very simple answer, but in a sense, that is how it works in the entire universe. It's something to meditate upon, if you desire. If you would meditate upon it, and return again, I would be happy to talk with you about what has come to you in meditation.... Would you speak more of The People? The story of The People has no beginning and has no end. We are simply The People. And as The People, we find that we are vibrating in a purpose. And the purpose requires that we assume a form, and we vibrate the messages of the Truths to those beings who are able to receive the messages of the Truths. We have spoken, in the past, as we have existed The People in many different forms. We have existed in the form of a nation, we have existed in the form of a tribe, which would be the same. And in that tribe we have found that we are able to perceive the many vibrations of what is called "man" and the earthly plane. We have, in the tribes of our people, worked through the many vibrational levels in learning the presentations of the Truths. We have, as we have stated in the past, found many manners of channeling these Truths. And in the past, and also in the present, as these are termed [by] your beliefs, we have been able to present the vibration to those beings who are willing and able to receive. And in the tribes of the Nations, we would find that this information has been presented to many medicine men. And we would be at this time telling that "medicine man" is a term that would be being used for all in that field. There is never one purpose to one action. The dimensions of the vibrations are total and complete of the entire universe. And as we have spoken in the past, a tiny tear from the leaf of the tree, when it drops to the earth, there is a vibration, and a marriage from that tiny drop. And the marriage is experienced throughout the entire universe. We would find that the energies of Pretty Flower and the other energies of The People would have presented theselves at different times, so to speak ... and in different locations, so to speak, for different peoples, in order for the passing on of the stories of the Universe. We as [The] People presented ourself to those tribes entitled the Mayans, and we have presented ourself to those people who are termed Atlanteans, we have presented ourself to those peoples who have been termed the Mongols, we have presented ourself to all peoples, and we mention those names because they are most familiar with this gathering. The purpose of The People is to uplift the vibration of the planet toward the Light of the Universe and to experience the One Vibration of the I AM. What does a young Indian girl or boy do when they wake up on an average day? What is the daily routine? Well, I would be speaking of The People.... those occurrences of what we call The People would not be very similar at all to those occurrences of other tribes. We would find that in the morning of The People, that there is a gathering that occurs. And the gathering occurs before the sun comes to view. And that we would be finding ourselves traveling back to the bodies that would be resting, and that we would find ourselves making connections with those bodies and that we would be moving about, and that we would find ourselves well situated in our own vessels, so to speak, from the evening's journey, and that we would be coming from our home, which would be made from the materials of the wood that is beaten with a stick, and we would take this particular material and we would spread with the sounds and with the vibrations of chant that we would be spreading the material in a circular motion, until it is complete and that it would stand. And through the chant we would give the vibration of home. And as we give the vibration of our home, then we would inhabit. There is much with The People that is done without using the hands, so to speak. Then we would upon the morning gather outside our places of sleep, and we would be gathering in a circle, and we would be moving in a circle around. And as we move around, we would look into each other's eyes and we would look into each other's faces, and we would be beaming love. And we would continue until we had looked into the eyes and looked into the faces of each and every being, including each of the children, who are in the center of the circle surrounded by love. And when we have made those connections, then we would lift our beings to the sky and we would open ourselves to the White Light of the Universe in much joy. And at that moment, if the wonderful sun would be coming into sight, we would be most happy. And then we would embrace each other, as one. We would walk across the circle to that person opposite us and we would embrace. And then we would turn to the next brother or sister, and we would embrace. And with each embrace is the marriage of beings. And we would be carrying a little of ourselves and of those beings with whom we have embraced to the next person. And we would each embrace, until we had embraced all. And we would not begin our day without that part. The rest of the vibration of the day would be depending upon the season of the earth and the situation of the moon. And we would find that we would have many occupations around the gathering. There would be the person, the young warrior, who would be making his way for the hunt. As we would, on each moon that is full, we would ingest the flesh of a creature. Once a month, in your terms, we would eat meat. And it would be with joy and it would be with prayer, and it would be in full knowledge, when the warrior would leave, that he would be going to kill. And we would form around him and we would be happy with that young warrior. We are most conscious of the movements and of the duties of the members of the tribe. Nothing happens by accident and we would be most aware. And that warrior would be off on his way. And we would be finding that there would be a wonderful woman who would be weaving. It is very similar yet very different. [And] she would be weaving the holy blanket. Nothing exists without the blessing, whether we recognize it or not, nothing exists without the blessing. And we are in much awareness in our people. So that the wonderful woman who would be weaving and teaching whoever would be in the next position, that there would be a holy happening, and that does not mean that we are solemn. It means that in our joy, and in our laughter during the day, that we are aware that we are existing in a holy vibration. And we would have the being who would be mixing herbs. And there would be those particular beings who would be bringing the herbs, and we would find that there would be a great rock, and in the rock would be four indentations in the front, of a smaller sense, and two in the next larger, and one at the top, that is large. And as the rock is laying flat, we would find that in each indentation, that there would be an herb that would be placed. And there would be a root that would be placed, after the preparations. And that there would be a blessing and a grinding, and that the temporary unions would be made in the next hollow in the rock. And there would be prayers and then there would be a union that would bring those two indentations together so that the top would contain the herbal mixture that that being would be preparing. Nothing is done with The People without the observance of the holiness of the vibration. That does not mean that we would not be happy in our lives. But we recognize our purpose on the earth. The herbs would be being used for many purposes. Sometimes they would be sprinkled in the wind for the Wind Spirit to carry to the valley. Sometimes they would be carried to another gathering and another tribe. As perhaps the medicine man of that tribe is not aware of the gathering of the potions and not aware of the holiness of the gathering, and he is beginning to be awakened. So we would be carrying those herbal mixtures to that particular medicine man. And that he would distribute them amongst his people. Sometimes we would be spreading the mixtures around the campfire of those tribes that would be deciding whether they would war or peace, in the increased vibration of the whole. We would find our purposes, as you would see, would not be in a regular tribal community of the day. As our purposes lie much beyond ourselves. For we exist in the White Light of the Universe and have very little concern for the state of our being, as we have been being cared for since the beginning of time. We would find that there would be those beings who would be traveling, so to speak, to another vibration. And in that vibration, that being could be studying or teaching about the Secrets of the Universe. The Secrets of the Universe are not secret; they are simply unrecognized. That is why they are unknown. Nothing is keeping them secret from anyone else. When we open ourselves to the Secrets of the Universe and the Truths of the Universe, we simply open. The Truths are simple. They are not complicated at all. And so we would have one being who would be learning and teaching, we would have one being who would be coming to a gathering such as this one, or would be sitting in the gathering and telling stories. Who would be telling stories in a particular form, as in the vibration that would be a marriage with those beings present. And that there would be openings with those beings, and that we would be uplifted from those feelings that keep us bound in fear ... that keep us reacting to whatever is around us. And there are openings that would occur in the communicating of the stories, and there would also be the story, as we have seen, and little messages that would come forward after the story has been told. There are many purposes of the vibrations of The People. We would be standing with you if you would but ask. We are without number. We are unlimited. And we come bearing Light and Love. The People are present on the vibration of the earth, in physical and in spirit form, that we may serve. And there would be a simple request from The People, and we would be present in assistance with anything! The vibration of the earth that is whole, the vibration with which we exist is the most simple form. We are one with the universe, and our life [lives] as they progress, so to speak, is simply to be letting go and letting go, and letting go, until we are in the vibration of the universe. And believe it or not, that is our purpose. And we find it in one time or another, but we vibrate as one. And we vibrate as the I AM. And that we are the I AM. And that we are without limitation. Chapter 16 THE LITTLE STORIES Sometimes even the most simple statement must be surrounded by the flowers of gold so that the eye of man might be attracted to the simple statement. Pretty Flower encourages us to share her stories with everyone, young and old alike. Here she introduces the stories and tells us things we need to know about them. There are many beings in many forms throughout the universe, telling stories to the people. And there are many who hear, and many who seem as though they do not hear -- and have heard. There would be no judgment in any dimension as to those hearing the stories and how they understood them. There would be no comparisons. There would be simply the channeling of the stories to the people, for when we pick up a piece of paper and we read the words, we are doing the same thing as creating the story. We would be telling the stories to the people, the children. We would be finding that innocence within self, and in finding the innocence within self, we would find the greatest strength. And from that innocence, we could read the stories for the people, and then we would be vibrating the story. Strength comes from the innocence within -- not in the fists without. There is no need to fight for anything. As the universe is ours because we ARE the universe. And there could be a beginning of the reading and telling of the stories to any gathering of people. There could be the sharing of the stories as the words passed around the circle, and each being could be in the innocence and reading and vibrating. There are many, many ways of sharing of the stories with the people. The most important factor is to know that we are all the same. Those telling the words, and those hearing the words. We are all the same. Those writing the music and those hearing the music. We are all the same. We ARE the music. It is similar to writing a note on the staff and then transmitting ourselves into the center of the note and residing there for a time. We are the note. We could take the note from the piece of paper and we could hold it above our heads, and we could drop it in our mouth. The music is us. And know that the manifestations and the character of those beings around are the manifestations of ourselves. And as we look around lives, we find that we see a mirror in every face we look. And there would be total love, unconditional love in the innocence -- is trust. And we are, we are the story, we are the teller, we are the listener, we are the piano, we are the keys. We are the dancer, we are the feet on the floor. We are the sound of the Wind Spirit through the trees. We are the sound of the howling wolves. We are the warmth of the sun. We are the sun. We are the moon. Every possible thing that has ever been conceived, directed, talked about, thought about, not thought about -- is within. Everything! Everything -- is the universe. And I AM the universe! THE STORY OF THE CAMPFIRE Well, I believe we could begin. We might begin with a little story. A story that's concerning the campfire itself. The campfire has a center of hot coals, Hot coals there is in the center. And around the hot coals Are the kindle that is not quite burned. And around the kindle that is not quite burning Are the rocks, and they are hot. And then around the rocks Is the hearth, is the earth. It is quite like our hearts, you see. In the center is fire, And then as we come outward Things get a little cooler. We have a choice, you see. We can allow that heat to become greater Without a fear Of burning ourselves. Without the fear Our flames become greater, As our love becomes greater, And it expands and expands. So that our entire beings Are filled With hot flames, The power of love. Now we have a conceptual misconception here. It seems that there is a belief that love is soft, and it is. However, the source of love is that fire within us. The great power of the White Light. And we can trust, and we can let that power grow and envelop us and all around us. Thus we create the world in which we live. It all seems like a simple story and those who hear it might say, "That's a cute little story." However, what might also happen is, those hearing the story might decide to practice the principles of the story. There is much to love in this room, and an expansive meditation would certainly benefit many, and the flowing would be even greater. It is a pleasure to be among you. LITTLE BOY MAKING MARKS IN THE EARTH I believe that I would tell a little story. It has to do with a little boy, who happens to be a small Indian boy. And as he is playing, he happens to realize that there are colors around him. And as he recognizes that there are colors, he sees that there is a vibration in the color of green, the color that many trees seem to wear. And he recognizes that the green happens to be in many spots and different vibrations. (Or, as you may term, in different shades, which are simply vibrations.) And, as the Indian boy tiptoes through the woods, he recognizes different colors. And as he recognizes different colors, he thinks, "There's colors." And then, as he goes along, he finds when he looks back, his feet have made some marks in the earth, and he looks and says, "My feet have made marks in the earth! How about that!" And he sees that there are other marks on the earth. They are different from his. He makes his own marks on the earth, and he says, "Humph! That's interesting." And then he may go along, and he may find a stream. And he may pick up a little rock and throw it in the stream. And the little rock or pebble seems to make a splash and a ripple. And he says, "Humph! That's interesting." And as he goes along, he may see a leaf, floating down the river. And if it happens to be that season, there may be many leaves floating down the river. And he looks and he says, "Hmmm -- That's interesting, isn't it." And he looks and he sees that the trees are green, and part of the earth is green. And he looks back, and lo and behold, the marks are still in the earth as he walks. And if he takes another pebble and throws it into the little stream, the same thing happens. And he says, "That's pretty interesting." And he may continue on, and on, and on. And he may go back to his people and say, "I've had an interesting day today." And they say, "How is your life?" And he says, "It's pretty interesting." And they say, "What is your guidance?" And he says, "What is guidance?" And they say, "What particularly did you learn?" And he says, "As I walk on the earth, my feet make marks in it. And that the pebble sinks to the bottom of the stream, and that the leaf floats on the stream." And they say, "Wonderful! You have learned the secrets of the earth." And he says, "The secrets of the earth! I learned that today?" And they say, "The earth opened wide and revealed her secrets to you. My heavens, I wish that the Mother Earth would do that for me." And he says, "Hmmm -- This is an interesting puzzle." And he turns around and he walks back out, and guess what? His feet make marks in the earth, and the pebble which is thrown into the stream sinks to the bottom, and the leaf floats down, and he continues in his life, and he is in his life. And he is being his life. He is life. He is the pulsebeat. He is the I AM. And those beings who are particularly surprised and wishing that the secrets of the universe and of the earth could be revealed to them have put themselves on hold. And a prayer could be said for them. Just a little prayer, as he continues on. Cute little story, isn't it? THE STORY OF THE STARS "Would there be a topic that someone would care to have a story woven around?" Pretty Flower asked. "What about the stars?" said our astronomer friend. "All right. What a wonderful idea. One moment." [She chants.] There was one time, upon the petals of the flower and the leaves of the trees, and upon the grass, the blades of grass, and upon our green -- little tiny droplets of dew. And in the very early hours of the dawn, there comes the great creative spirit, the Holy of Holies, the Wind Spirit. And as he blows upon the droplets of dew, there is a vortex that is formed from his breath, and it pulls into its center, the droplets of dew. And they are formed within the vibration of the vortex, in the meadows -- in the green there is the vortex. And from the vortex there is a being that emerges. And the being is the wonderful vibration of the Princess of the Dew. And as she emerges, she views the surrounding vibrations on many levels, and she feels the green. And as the dawn approaches, she finds herself walking and in her being, she seeks a vibration similar to hers. And as she finds none at the moment, she continues her travels, and she finds within her hand a flower. And as she looks at her hand and she sees the flower, lo and behold, the petals spring from her very palm. And she sees the flower, and she talks to the flower like her friend. And she carries the flower in her palm as she walks, and she feels the wonderful, refreshing companionship of the vibration in the flower. And when she finds herself near the pond, near the catchbasin of the little trickles that have become bigger and bigger, and when she finds herself at the pond, she is delighted in the vibration of the water. And she holds up her palms, and she blows her breath upon the petals. And the petals, her wonderful friends, fall upon the water. And they stay atop of the water, and she sees them moving around. And then she picks up another wonderful sparkling vibration, and she tosses it upon the water, and it floats. And its its like a cup on the water. And she sees that the contents of the cup upon the water is the wonderful, sparkling dust of the fairies. And she is most happy to be seeing that vibration on the water with her petal friends. And as she is looking, she sees at her feet a tiny piece of wood. And she picks the piece of wood and she sets it on the water, and she gives it a tiny push with her finger. And it glides out in between the petals and near the cup of fairy dust. And she loves the vibration of her friends. And she continues. As she wanders around the pond, she finds a feather, and she puts the feather in her palm, and she blows with her breath, and the feather lifts in the air and floats down to the pond. And she continues, finding wonderful surprises along the banks of the river. And each wonderful surprise, and each vibration is her friend. And she puts them all atop the water. And she watches them move about each other. And then there is a realization within the wonderful dew maiden, the Princess of the Dew, and it is that she must travel on. That it is time to travel to a new vibration. And she is torn, and her heart feels a slight tug as she sees her friends, floating atop the water, and she knows not how to take them with her, and she knows not how to leave them. And she sits aside the pond and she ponders the situation. And she calls to the Wind Spirit for advice. And she hears nothing. And she wonders what she will do. And the words come to her in the wondering, when she says, "What can I do?" And the "I do" reminds her that she has deep within her being the spark of the universe. The Creative Spark. And she allows her being to be in touch with the spark, and she hears the message. And she is whole and she stands, and she raises her arms and extends her being to her full capacity. And then she bends down and she places on hand on the edge of the water, and she places the other hand on the edge of the water, and she grabs hold of the top of the water, and she makes a sound -- that is, a vibration - - and there is a whirling in her being. And lo and behold, she pulls and she lifts the top of the water with her friends, she spins around, and she flings the top of the water upward. And lo and behold, the birth of the stars. And her friends are with her always. And she sees the twinkling in the cup, and knows it is the fairy dust. [She chants.] Now that would seem like a simple little story, and it is. However, we seem to have the rules of creation so well established in our being that we forget that it is as we would like it to be. We simply need to be in touch with the spark of Creation within, and to allow ourselves to be in full vibration. And then we are a star in ourselves. We are Creation. There is a difference between creating and being Creation. Thank you. TRANSPLANTING THE TREE Sometimes, when working with an individual in the gathering, Pretty Flower would weave a story about that person. This story evolved in such a manner. A woman was struggling with the realization she was going to have to leave a man. She asked what she should do. It is a time of transition, is it not? It is very difficult. As we go through changes and transitions, it is like a tree being replanted. First there is the pushing away of the topsoil. And then there is the pushing away of the middle soil. And then we get to the root of the matter. And sometimes the roots surprise us that they are running so deep and long, and we find that in some cases, we can dig away the roots, and we can pull in those pieces to be with us. And there are other times, we find that we may have to clip the root, at the furthest point out, so that we may pull the tree. And we can always gather part of the Mother Earth, and surround those changes with the Mother Earth vibration. We ask for an envelopment around that part of the tree and around those roots, and we have an assistance, and the assistance, those beings lift us, as trees, out of that spot. Have you ever seen a tree walk to a new spot? No. There is total trust. It is beyond us, my dear. We simply let go and allow the energies to pull us along, and lo and behold, here we are as another tree in another place, and what has happened? Loving hands have prepared a place for us. A special place, otherwise the special hands and the loving hands would not have removed us with such care. And so the new place is prepared, and the earth has been pushed aside, on many levels. And there is space for the very long roots to find a home. We find that we, as the tree, are placed in the new space with part of our old space. Remember the Mother Earth has enveloped us. And so we are placed in a new spot with part of our old blessings comforting us. So that we may have some associations with which to feel our vibration. We are beings which require a vibrational acceptance of the spot in which we are. So, as we, as trees, feel the love and the contentment, and the joy, with which the new place has been prepared, we slowly learn that we can trust, and we can let go from holding our roots so tight to us, from fears. And we find that we could possibly release, and we could allow our roots to experience a little of the new soil, a little of the new vibration. Remember, roots do not sprout in seconds, it takes a little time. And remember, that those loving hands who prepared the space, those friends, also prepare those tools that help us to stand so that when the Wind Spirit comes along, sometimes without realizing his own strength, that we have helping hands to keep our position in the new space. We can rely on those tools; we can rely on those friends; we can rely on those beings. So that our trust grows. It is not something that immediately happens, and that is probably very good for us. In the new space, there is wonderful air. There is wonderful food for the pores of our bodies. There is wonderful sights to see. And the Wind Spirit blows through our hair, freeing us from bondage, and allowing our wings to unfold. And lo and behold, a new freedom and a new vibration, greater and more filled with joy and light, than we have ever experienced, and that we could ever conceive to experience, unfolds. And the tears and the mourning that you are feeling is wonderful. And I am most grateful that you are sharing yourself with us. You are very generous to be here. It is most wonderful that you are here. And I weep for joy that you are here, my dear. [She chants.] We will wash away our beings with our tears, my dear. [She weeps.] And we will share in our mourning, for the time of growing, and there could be a realization that in growing, we are not becoming stuffy adults, my dear. In growing we are allowing ourselves to be the children that we are. We are allowing ourselves to let go of the rules and regulations which tell us that we must be this way or we must be that way. We let go of those rules and regulations. [She chants.] Chapter 17 THE FANTASY CALLED REALITY In the innocence of the child is the foundation of the wisdom of the universe. The remainder of most sessions was filled with the many questions the participants had about life.It seemed that Pretty Flower's work during the Gatherings was to free people from the burdens they have chosen to carry upon their backs. She frequently repeats the idea that past, present, and future are meaningless terms: all lives are one. She also reflects (here and in other readings) The Eternal's view that lives balance one another. Sometimes during the questions and answers she would help someone to see what the real question was so that she could work with belief patterns. She would get to the basic question and then, when the truth had been exposed, she would call it all fantasy. Then she would talk about reality and about us as creators of our own realities. At other times she would lean forward in the recliner and look directly (even though the vessel's eyes were closed) at someone and smile her smile of love. Then she would say, "I could answer the questions you have asked, but what is that worry that you are carrying deep within your gut? Let's talk about that." The following exchange summarizes much of Pretty Flower's philosophy. A 15 year old boy says, "I am asking for guidance. I want to know if I should ... try to figure out things, or just to let things go." Pretty Flower responds: When you conceive, a seed is planted in your being. And the seed grows, and grows, and opens. And the thoughts come forward as a great tree. And you can be in the center of the tree, or you can pluck a fruit, eat it, and try to figure out what the center of the tree is by the fruit. Or you can be the tree. Past Lives Many participants in our group were curious about their past lives. One person asked: Was I a healer in past lives, and if so, how far was that developed? Was it developed to a great extent? Once again we have a conceptual misconception here.... I read in your mind that you think this is an evasion of answer, and it is not. I will definitely answer your question. You broadcast your thoughts easily. And that's all right. It's most helpful to me. Now the conceptual misconception arises when we think of past lives and the present life as being distinct and separate spaces of time. Now as we continue, you will be most enlightened to learn that past lives are not past, they are happening as we are here. It is most easily described, I believe, by the terminology of dimensions. Now, in the dimensions that pulse, we have a way of relating to them, and it seems as though you have chosen to call them past lives, which is perfectly all right. As long as the understanding is there that it is not something that is over with. It is almost like an overlay. It is almost like using tracing paper. Now, past lives, other dimensions in healing. You have been, if we will use the term past life, a surgeon, and once again we have the country of France. And in the country of France you have functioned as a surgeon in the early times of surgery. And you performed the surgery of the head. And not much was known at that time of brain surgery. Your loved one [Author's note: in present life, a girlfriend] ... has been your assistant in the time when you were a surgeon in France. You did progress in that time; however, the knowledge was limited. And you believed that there was a greater knowledge to be had and you did not know the key to unlock the secrets at the time. In another time, we have you in the Orient, in the East, and you have studied the art and have been a student, not a master yet, of the art of acupuncture. You could train your vision, so that you view the human body, you would be able to see small green dots on the body. Those happen to be the energy spots, and you could, in this present day, be putting pressure on those spots and relieving tension in the body. There has been a time, you have been mixing in powder form, you have been in the apothecary and you have been serving the physicians by mixing the proper potions to their prescriptions. And that was a good basis. There were other lives, and the other lives happen to be the balance of the lives as a healer. As you know, a balance is taking place as we think of the pendulum, and as the healing is taking place, so has the destruction [been] taking place. And the healing is a balance of those times. So, even though those other times were not as a physician for healing, the extreme balance of the opposite of a healer was taking place, and this would not be viewed as negative. It would be viewed as the balance. You have, in the time of Atlantis, been with the lights and know the color of the lights to heal the parts of the body that have been removed from the body. And in this way, there was a type of regeneration of tissues in order to join the [dis?]membered parts to the body. And in the time of Egypt, in the temple, you performed the services of an embalmer.... I have a question that I would like to ask for the vessel herself. She would like to know of any specific past lives that directly relate to her present life. One moment please. There was a time when this vessel was in the vibration of the Chief. And his people were destroyed, and they were peaceful people, and the Chief was believed to be dead. And, after a time, he found that he was in the vibration of the living. And as he became aware, he found himself at the bottom of a pit, and on top of him were the bodies of his people. And he called to the Spirit of the Eagle to give him assistance to come from beneath the bodies of his people. And through three days' struggle, he found himself on the earth and laying face down, breathing the vibration of the Mother Earth. He struggled to his feet, and the sight around him was most painful. As there were five pits, so to speak, dug, and the bodies of his people were in the pits. And as he walked around, he made the laments, and he called upon the Spirits of the Fathers, as he formed the circle round and round, to release the spirits of the beings and allow them to float upward. And he created in the center a great fire. A great fire, and then, taking part of the fire for each of the five pits, he held a Holy Pyre. And he sang the Songs of the Souls of the Spirits. And then, he turned to the top of the mountain and made the journey. And in his despair, he reached the top of the mountain, and he called to the Spirits, and he allows from the center of his being the sound of anguish. And he lifts his arm and he jumps to the abyss. [She chants.] The balance of that time is in the present vibration. What can the vessel [Eileen] do in this present life to help that balance, to complete that experience? The lesson being learned is one of trust that the happenings that are occurring in the vibration of the present are holy and every vibration in the present is fulfilling the purpose. There need not be concern for the past or the future. There is the vibration of the now, and the gifts of the universe are unfolding and are many. In this particular time of vibration, in this, as you call it, lifetime, there has been an occurrence when the vessel fulfilled the balance of that time.... And there was a union on the spirit and the purpose of the union was to guide those vibrations awaiting the opening of the heavens for them to travel to the Father. And much work was done at that time. And if she would write that story down, after 30 days of meditation, the balance was complete at that time. God's Purpose for Us What is my purpose and how can I assist in it? Well, everything usually proceeds as it should. However, sometimes we choose to sit down and sometimes we choose to walk along, and sometimes we choose to get in our canoes and let the river carry us along. Now, there is much happening in your life and it seems to me that you have collected (not to take this in a negative sense but simply as a statement) -- you have collected some baggage. Now, if you would choose to travel down the river, with this baggage, know that it is quite a job to fit it into the canoe. So it may require a slow trudging along the river bank. It is simply a choice, you see, as you well know, that one could allow the baggage to travel along in its own canoe. Does this baggage have a name? It is called man. It is called any being or any creature or anything about you that is more important to you than spirit and your uniting with spirit.Then there is a choice that that remain the supreme priority and everything else then proceeds as it should. When we sit down to figure out how we can fit all the baggage in one canoe, we forget to leave room for ourselves, and we end up trudging along the riverbank while the baggage floats on the river. What does God want me to do? What do I need to know about this present lifetime? My dear! Know that we all, every being on the vibration of the planet Earth, in spirit form and in physical form, know everything there is to know, have the complete knowledge of the entire vibration of the universe. Because we are the I AM. The only difference would be, my dear, that some are a little more awake than the others to the fact that we are the I AM. And when you ask, my dear, what God would want for you, you are asking yourself what you would want for yourself. As we are the I Am. Let go of the piddly stuff that you surround yourself with. It is time to abandon those chains. There is no need to be bound into the position you place yourself of a lesser being even though your star is shining bright. And we all are the same. There is none better and none lower or higher or any of that stuff that we seem to be reading about in the pages of some of the propaganda. My dear, I cannot say it in a greater degree, that within you is the vibration of the Beloved and that you are the Beloved. And that we all are the Beloved. There is no separation. They are simply beliefs [and] those beliefs are the fantasy world. There is not even the recognition of what the reality of the vibration of the universe would be, as long as we surround ourselves with the fairyland of belief patterns that are bound to chain us to the vibration of slime! We do not need to do those things to our very beings. We are the Light of the Universe and we are the universe. It is time for expansion. It is time for letting go of the little meanderings within the little ways that we might learn how to be a "good" person. Good! My heavens, my dear, there is no such thing. There is no such thing! We are human beings on the vibration of the Earth and our purpose is to vibrate. And our purpose is in the lesssons of the earth, would be that the food for the being comes in spirit form, and that we are the spirit form. That we are the vibration of the universe. We are! We're not just simply vibrating. We are the vibration itself! All the information coming to you about running and hiding ... is part of those words, my dear, that keep you bound to the earthly plane, and keep your light so dim that you hardly see it yourself. I weep for the troubles that you and your friends put yourself in, that you believe that there is a fleeing. That you believe that there are [a] certain few who are so enlightened that they may leave while the others burn to a crisp! My dear, abandon that rubbish! For those who tie themselves to the beliefs are bound to vibrate within of the fires that they have created within their being. And there not be a need to be recreating the past, so to speak. You have seen the doors of what you call your hell, have you not, my dear sister? My dear sister, the light within you is the Light of the Universe. And know that within every being is the Light of the Universe. With every being, every, every being. And those who have the vibration and see it are the same as those who have the vibration and do not see it, for we all are the I AM. All! There would not be one speck in any place and in any vibration ... anywhere that would not be part of the I AM. And all those beliefs, and all those words, and all those fears, are not even large enough to cause your notice if they were under the tiny fingernail of your baby finger. They are nothing! And you are everything! One moment,please. [She chants.] Channeling I would like to try channeling to reach teachers and guides who could be of help in my life. Is this a path I should try? You could use this as a tool. You need to realize that you are a channel, as you speak. As you speak with all those you come in contact [with], all those people in this community -- you are a channel. As your very presence is there, blessings are bestowed upon them. If you desire to take a more active part, and be as you suggested, then I suggest the following: One, daily meditation. Two, a realization that whether one channels or not, one is a holy woman. That is a big step, my dear. Channeling will not make you a holy woman. You are one. If you choose to offer yourself in service for channeling, try and see if it fits. It's like that pair of pants. See if it fits. Try it on for size. Knowing that it will not make you anything you are not already. I am going to be starting some channeling work.... Do you have any suggestions for me? To play. Play. Have fun. That's what this is about. In our joy and in our bubbling, we allow ourselves to be open. As this wonderful little girl who was sitting here in the beginning and being so innocent and wise at the same time. When we play, we open ourselves to the joy of the universe. And we open ourselves to be channels. And then we let go of the rules and regulations that we seem to require in order for our judgments to be satiated. So play! It is fun! Daily Life As the participant, a college student, asked the following question, I thought to myself, "Well, just do less." But Pretty Flower had a different, more holistic, view. I'm trying to balance full-time work with full-time school, and it's putting a tremendous strain on me, and I must reconcile it. And I don't know how to balance it and not run myself into the ground, and I'm looking for an answer. We would be finding that in the dimension of the daily living, that there would be the consideration for the mental, so to speak, and there would be the consideration that would be the studies, and there would be the consideration for the physical. There would be a slight emptiness for the consideration of the spirit. And when you speak of balance, you have absolutely said the correct word. For balance is what is being sought. And that we could be functioning within the mental dimension, and we could be functioning within the physical dimension, but we do not function in any without spirit. For that is the essence of our being, the food and the strength, the nourishment that comes from spirit. For as we are vibrating within the day, we find that on personal strength that we become wary. That we become as you have stated. "How can I be studying when I'm so tired? How can I be working when I should be studying?" Back and forth, back and forth. When there could be a recognition of the center. Even in the busy schedule ... there could be a moment where we could reconnect ourselves, so to speak. Do you hear the words? -- Reconnect ourselves. As we have separated ourselves to the mental and the physical and we are actually one -- with spirit. So that we would find that in the day ... there would be a connection with spirit. And that there would be a connection with the I AM. And that could happen in one moment. That could happen in what you would term five minutes, one long meditation, or just as we are walking up the steps, we could be saying, "I open myself to the awareness I AM." And the strength pours forward, for from the center comes everything. We would be in awareness that we create our own reality. So that if we would have the belief upon rising from a rest that we have received the proper amount of rest and nourishment in physical, mental, and spirit form, [then] we could have that belief carry us through the day. However, if we awaken and we wonder if we have enough rest, and we look at the clock and say, "Oh, no. That was only four hours." And there is a tiredness, and there is a worry. And we would in the remembrance that the strength comes from within. We are the strength. We don't go searching somewhere for it. We are the strength. We are. And the simple connection with that realization will allow the flowing to happen and that you would be filling your being -- filled to the brim -- and overflowing with the excess that would be pouring about you in the blessings. For not only is it untrue that we do not have enough, the truth is that there is great bounty and abundance. So much so that it overflows our very being and spills out as blessings upon the planet. And we but simply open ourselves to the awareness that that is the balance we are seeking. And that at any time, if you would [be] opening yourself, that we would be beside you. And would be knowing within your very being that we do not exist alone. For we are everything. We are everything. We cannot be alone. Violence in the World I am asking about the way the world is going and about the violence. I wonder how that is going to be in the future. Is it going to resolve? Will we blow ourselves up? Are we going to see the other side of it without mangling ourselves? There would be much that we could be stating about that particular topic. And we have in the past been discussing that we are the creators. And ... we could certainly go into that discussion again; however.... we would present some other information. Would you be remembering as we have spoken together in the past, that the future is the present, and that we would be creating from within, what we would term reality, when it, in fact, is fantasy. And that we would be in the cycles, and we would be in the circles together, and that as we have said, that when we realize that we are in the circle, that we have the opportunity to be stepping out of the circle and to be awakening, and to be coming awake, and to be aware that we are creating. And those that travel in the circles and the cycles (balance and counterbalance) are completing the cycles over and over and over again and again. And the balance and counterbalance continues and continues. And the violence balances the peace, balances the violence, balances the peace. And that we have the awareness that that is what is occurring in the fantasy called "reality" on the planet called Earth. And that when we are concerned of the violence, that is a genuine concern, for there is a remembrance of being in the cycles. And the remembrance is part of the concern. There could be statements of who would win what battle. There could be statements of government as have been made by many other peoples. There could be statements of the economy, so to speak. We are feeling that that information brings us to the very edge of continuing in the circles and the cycles. And that when we are angry because someone else is fighting, guess what we are doing? We are dipping our finger back in the cycle. And we are forgetting who we are and what we are. As many, many, many of the teachers of the planet Earth, in many dimensions, have repeated over and over again: that we but remember who we are, and what we are, and we have removed ourselves from the swing of the pendulum. And we have come at full center again. And we have, as we are human beings, the choice. The great choice to recognize what we are and who we are. And that we have a choice. We do not even need to be in the cycle of concernment about the balance upon the planet Earth, for we have been fed this information by the people who have been involved with the violence and the balance and counterbalance of the violence. And they report to us about the violence! And we have been trained to pay attention to it. And that there would be many other happenings in the reality that we call the planet Earth, the fantasy that we look [at] through the looking glass. There would be many many other happenings. We would seek to find the information. And we would be the ones to be broadcasting the information. The information that we are one. That it would not be our purpose at this particular time, to be placing ourselves within violence. For what purpose? For when we read the newspapers, and when we read the reports of the violence happening in the fantasies of the warmongers, when we read those reports, we follow like mice, we follow like robots, for the words entice us. They are masters of control! They are masters of control! And we would but remember that we have a choice. The blessing of the great universe in the human being -- that when we are awake, we recognize that we have a choice. And that we can, once again, drop it like a hot potato. And we can enter our beings, once again, and settle in, so to speak. And vibrate within the one. And there would be perhaps a need to be discovering other gatherings so that the news of becoming one could be part of our broadcast. And could be part of the broadcast which we receive. For becoming one and being one, and coming to full center and vibrating so that we are the vibration, is fulfilling the purpose. And then we are. And then we are as we are to be. And when we are in the center, and when we are in the recognition that we are the I AM, then we can recognize that we are everything. And that when we become aware of the vibrations within our being, and we are getting [to] know self, so to speak, we could be connecting with other parts of our being -- not only the violence. For when we activate the magnets of our being, we attract. We simply open to that information. We would know that everything about us would be but fantasy. We live within the dimensions of the planet Earth and we are multiple beings. And that we are spirit! That which we pay the most attention to would be the smallest part of our being. That which we care the most for, sometimes, would be but the vessel. And that the vibration within and the spirit within is that which we are. The body, as we are well aware, is but passing. For the spirit is and was, and always will be. If violence is one edge of the pendulum, and peace is the other, is the middle neither? The middle is everything. In the middle is everything. In the middle is the I AM. Everything. So we should seek neither the violence nor the peace? We do not need to seek. We simply open. Everything is within. Everything. We have a great struggle to break from the belief pattern that we are seeking. For in that belief there is a type of action that happens away from self. We would but recognize that we are the journey within. We are the very journey. And that we are the creators. And that is, what is about us is our creation. And that we could begin by taking full responsibility for self. That no one "makes me mad." No one makes me sad. "He gets me angry." We all know those feelings and those statements. "You make me cry." "I weep for you." We would find that we could accept the responsibility, each and every one of us, for self. And we could accept the responsibility for being within the spirit. And we could let go of the attachments to the tiny cycles and circles, and bigger cycles and circles. That we could vibrate as one. For it is the purpose that we vibrate as one. When we are in the purpose of uplifting the consciousness of the planet Earth, would one be thinking that we would carry it upon our being as Atlas? No. We would but vibrate within and we would recognize that we are the I AM. That we are -- we are it. That we could be saying, "I'm it. This is it." That we could be saying, "I open myself to the realization deep within my being that I AM." It is not a struggle to learn about it. It is not a matter of will. It is not a matter of study. It is simply asking, simply making the statement, "I open myself that I might recognize deep within my very being that I AM." When we practice that, then there are many, many awarenesses coming forward, for the belief patterns flood in. And we could but watch them flood in and not attach to them, but recognize that they are but belief patterns. And know that, even as we are this very second, that we are perfect, that we are exactly as we would be at this very vibration. That there is full acceptance of self. An opening that "I'm okay." "I am as I am right at this moment. This is me. And deep within my very being I have opened to the recognition that I AM." I am fearful for the violence in the world. And for the violence in myself. This is a great realization. Great progress has been made. It is a great realization when we see and recognize the responsbility for creating our own realities. And that we all are creating our realities. And that, in the reality as we experience it, there happens to be news coming of the violence that is happening elsewhere. It is to recognize that there is a balance. And sometimes the purpose of the news of the violence happening elsewhere is to allow us to purge ourselves of the violence that is happening within: So that we might learn forgiveness of our very selves, so that we might learn understanding of our very selves; and in understanding, then we do not require that we be understood. We simply understand. And in the world of violence and in the world of peace is the central point. And we can choose to experience either, or we can recognize that in the center we are married, and we are in the pulsebeat of the universe. And we can recognize that we are simply responsible for opening ourselves to be channels of love. ....And when I say "we" I say that there is not one person in this room who this does not apply to. We can use the news of the world to stop the flow of love from being channeled. We can use any reason because we are human beings, and we are learning how to open and channel love. So, when we are walking down the street, if we hear people arguing on the same sidewalk, it is quite a challenge to continue to channel love. And that is the challenge that we have all accepted in one form or another, as we are on this path and we are the path. It is not an easy task to let go of the concerns for the violence that is happening in the world. The easier way to let go is to recognize that when we are concerned and overwhelmed with the violence of the earth, we are, in fact, in it. And it is us. And we are it. And we learn to be in touch with the violence within ourselves. So we can choose which vibration we wish to exist in, as we are not responsible for the balance and counterbalance that happens in each and every being's life. We are simply responsible for opening ourselves so that love can flow, and all the anger and stomping of feet of the awareness of what is happening on the sidewalk or in the other part of the worldly vibration, is our human-ness that stops us from being channels of love. As here we are, right at this moment. And we can be here and be channels for the love of the universe. Or we can be on the other side of the earth, having our face blown from our heads, or we could be exploding something within the body of another person. We could be rotting in the ground with maggots coming in and out of us. Or we could be her as we are. I do believe that you deserve to be here. And that you can forgive yourself for being here and not there. Love and Relationships You said earlier to open oneself to love. And I find if one does that, that one can become vulnerable and be hurt. It is something that concerns me. Well, what you have described is certainly what happens when love is flowing. Now the reason that the hurt happens is because of some human traits that we are learning to change. One is that when we love we love with expectations. We love and in loving, we are. And when we care, we want the best. And when we want the best -- you see how it goes? On and on it goes. Now, as we love, we love as channels. We are the vehicle for love, and as we raise our energies from the love center, and we include the eye, then we see love as it is. And as we are bound in this earthly plane, to some extent, we tend to surround our love with our emotions, and we ask as a test of the love, we ask that a little hurt be bestowed so that we can see how great the love is. It is an interesting cycle. And, my dear one, I do suggest you ditch it. You need not test. You are very sensitive, you are loving, you are kind, you would not hurt a flea. Recognize that the source of love is not you. The source lies in the universe. The great love, the great protectorates, the great hearts and eyes, those who see all and know all, and love all -- even the maggots, love even the killers, love even those who hate us, and love even those little children. That's what love is. And do not feel that you are ... lesser for my saying this to you. I say the truth to you because you are about to whirl and change. It is a great love that will be flowing through you. Would you guide me to understand about my soul mate? How will I meet her, etc.? [The questioner is male.] It seems that there could be, within the being, a little bit of expansion of beliefs. There would be a term "relationship" and there would be the term "soul mate." Now, how would you feel if you were to learn that your soul mate, the soul mate of this particular lifetime, would be a man? Now, that changes the idea of the relationship a little. You see, as we are being, there comes from our centers, energies. They radiate from the heart center like a beacon, opening wider and wider. And guess what happens when you sit next to someone? Part of that radiating love flows to the next person. And guess what else happens? Some of the radiating energies of that being come in contact with you. This happens with your will or without your will. It is simply an occurrence. And you know what we call that? We call that a marriage. Not even a "relationship." We call that a marriage! And there is a marriage taking place this very moment with all those energies present in physical form and spirit form within this very gathering. And that there would be what you would term a relationship with every single being and vibration with whom you come in contact. And that is a relationship. Now, it seems as though there is a desire to have a relationship that would be very deep with one particular being. And we have on this planet the time of expansion. (Now, that certainly would not mean that you would gather yourself a harem!) However, there seems to be in each relationship, so to speak, a wondering in the back of your mind, "Would this be the one? Or would this be the one?" Or, "Maybe tomorrow I will meet my soul mate." And that we are simply stating that truthfully, in this lifetime, we would find, if you would term, soul mate in masculine form. We are all soul mates, so to speak. There could be a woman who would be standing at your side, and as an equal, would be partners in life. There are some relationships where one being would be more taking care of the other being, and know that that would be in process a type of balance and counterbalance of what you term other times. And also know that it is time in this particular vibration for you to be standing in partnership which would be affording you the greatest freedom from self. As the beliefs that you have set within your being as to what role you would play with a woman would be needing to be changed before that relationship would evolve. It is a ... process of looking within and recognizing that the fulfillment of needs within lies in the relationship with whatever you might term your God. And then, the fruits of the earth are yours. Belief Patterns I would like to ask how you see the evolution of this planet. Is it indeed speeding up now, as we believe it might be? I would address the belief pattern that seems to exist within you, that there is a speed involved in the evolution. Now it seems as though an evolution is an evolution is an evolution. As it is, it is; and there is no such thing as speed. It seems as though there might be, in your consciousness, a greater awareness of what is happening, but what is happening has been happening and will be happening and is happening. As the statement you are well familiar with [says], I AM. There is no speed involved with I AM. And the work that we are doing here and the work that you are doing here, and the work that we do together here, in physical form and spirit form, is being performed as the statement I AM. So, as we all believe that we are progressing toward something, we can, if we choose, recognize that that is a belief pattern. And when we recognize that it is a belief pattern, then we have the choice of stepping out of the belief pattern and being in the I AM. Believe me when I say that when there is a belief of progression, then that entity must progress -- until when? Until we believe we have progressed far enough? That is possible? And I tell you, that if you are continuing to ferret out all those humanistic qualities in order to progress, that that particular task will continue forever. As we are in human form. It is the acceptance of that fact, and all the residual facts surround[ing] it, that allows us to recognize the belief patterns in the progression -- and that we can accept the fact that we are perfect in our imperfection -- exactly as we are at this moment. The notion I have is that we are individually and perhaps collectively here to accomplish certain things that relate to our development. But then again, the use of the word development wants to deny the very I AM notion that you just put forward. You've got it! So that we have a belief that we are here to accomplish. And as we continue in that belief, we are also continuing the balance and counterbalance. It seems to me that in every realization and in every awareness, and in every time that you have awakened on a new level, that it has been totally different from what you could possibly conceive. And that is the awakening of the being, and awakening of the being to the connection of I AM. And the more that we let go of the conception of purpose, the more we are allowing ourselves to fall away, as there is no need to believe that any of us have a greater purpose than anyone on the planet. We're all in it together. And we all are the I AM. There are many but-but-buts, and it still comes down to the I AM. Meditation and Prayer How do I meditate? We do have a need to acquire the tools so that we might be stepping in the right direction, so to speak. There are many, many, many ways of meditating, as many ways as there are to breathe. And we would find that even one type of opening would be simply with the breath. That we could breathe and when we breathe in, we breathe in the White Light of the Universe. And when we breathe out, guess what we breathe out? The blessings of the universe. That's one simple one. It is practice and it is for the purpose of union and marriage. If [we] were to say, which we all have, so to speak, "I open myself to the White Light of the Universe," and we sit there and we wait for something to happen. And nothing happens in particular. Well, what else would happen? We have opened ourselves, now we get on with our life! It is so that there is a marriage with the White Light of the Universe and with our beings. So that we may function within our lives with the guidance and vibration of those energies. That we could be opening to the guides and spirit friends. We could be opening to almost any assistance, but we still do the working ourselves, so to speak. And it would be for the simple purpose of union, and the simple purpose of marriage. So that we might become aware within and without that we are one. That there is one vibration. And that we are not only vibrating, but that we are the vibration itself. And that is the marriage. And then we go about our lives with the marriage within and without. And then every possible task that we would perform during our day would be with the marriage at the center. And then everything is touched by the marriage. It would not be for a single particular purpose, so to speak. So that we could open ourselves to the White Light of the Universe and then we would not find ourselves trying to do anything better than the previous second, because we have opened ourselves. It is the entire vibration that we are working on. How do you pray for a person? When we decide to pray for a person, we have made a judgment, my dear, that they would be in need of prayer, instead of accepting that everything is exactly the way it is. That when we have the attachment to those beliefs, when we have the attachment to those concerns, when we have the attachment to those worries, and those wants for that person to be whole, then we are outside of ourselves and we are not functioning as spirit. We can come back into our being and be within ourselves, vibrating as one, and knowing that every being on the planet earth is the same. And that what we would find would be our work, so to speak, would be to go within and know that I AM God. And when we are in that one vibration, everything is as it can ever be. That is the way, so to speak; that is the tool, so to speak; that is the work, so to speak. For the healing that happens, happens when we are within one vibration, and we connect our very beings together as one and we say that I am. That is the only thing that is necessary. And the knowledge and the trust that everything is as it is. We have the emotions, as a human being, we have the emotions. And the emotions can pull us because we have learned about them first. And so when we see someone suffering, there would be the emotion of that connection and there would be then the judgment that says, "That person should not be suffering like that! That's not right! How can I fix that? How can I make that go away?" "That" is us. We cannot run away from the manifestation of our very self. We simply love, we simply accept, and we simply vibrate as one, knowing that I AM. Chapter 18 THE DOOR OF TRUST Pretty Flower (laughing): "We would be talking today." Brock: "Would we be walking?" Pretty Flower: "We would be walking and talking." Brock: "You don't know -- well, you probably do know -- what an honor it is to be at this stage of the progression." From a session in July 1986 After Eileen and I worked together in January, 1985, I rested, studying and assimilating the information that had come forward in the Gatherings and savoring the experience itself. Eileen, back in her New Hampshire home, was not just resting. During the six months before I saw her again, two significant things happened: Pretty Flower came through without a guide, and Eileen began to work with a new guide. Pretty Flower's appearance solo, so to speak (to use her characteristic phrase), occurred in a most prosaic way. Eileen was to be one of the subjects of an article about childhood psychic abilities, and she asked a friend to take pictures of her to go with the article. The friend later told me this story. When they finished taking the pictures, Eileen spoke casually about her feeling that Pretty Flower was almost ready to come through unassisted. "I wonder if she would do it now," she said to the friend. "I'd love to have you take pictures of her." "Try," said the friend, poising the camera and fiddling with the exposure settings. Eileen closed her eyes and let it happen. In only a few minutes - - two, perhaps -- her eyes closed. Her face, hands, and body assumed Pretty Flower's characteristic posture. Pretty Flower spoke, introducing herself and telling a charming 20 minute story for the friend before leaving again of her own volition. The friend was flabbergasted (she had had no experience with channeling) and had just enough wit to continue to take pictures. [Illustration #8] Eileen was elated. Pretty Flower had come through on her own --without an induction, without any additional procedure. This meant Eileen could continue to work in New Hampshire without my presence as a guide. This she did, holding one or two sessions a week for groups near her home, working to become an ever clearer, more open channel for Pretty Flower. Eileen's New Guide Meanwhile, another person was beginning to take a role in her development. Brock Hood had known Eileen for some time in other circumstances. Their communication began with hypnosis and continued with past life exploration. When he heard of her work as a channel he was eager to learn more. He attended a few group sessions, but he wanted something different from what the group could offer. He began coming to Eileen's house once a week, every week, asking if she would channel. Brock wanted to work with Pretty Flower directly; later, of course, they realized that he was asking to do the work of a guide. He studied hypnosis techniques and learned to communicate with Pretty Flower, learning her language and way of answering his questions. A strong foundation was built, and they learned much together. Eileen trusted and respected him. Waiting for Pretty Flower In June, Eileen and Brock visited us in Virginia for a week. His purpose was to work on opening, in order to channel; her purpose was clear too, as you will see in a minute. What a week it was! Brock and Eileen told some of their friends about the visit. We told some of our friends. Suddenly, spontaneously, more than a dozen people were there. We worked and we played. European friends, an Austrian and an Italian who were traveling cross country, extended their stay at our house. Helmut led a group in that worked on opening to the energies of the universe by assuming positions he taught while making the sound of runes. To demonstrate the power of the runes, four people picked up our friend, Dan, with two fingers each! They tried it three times and actually carried him around the deck with their fingers. Robert, our Italian friend, who speaks almost no English, wanted me to hypnotize him, and though I normally don't do such stage type work, I did so, and succeeded in spite of the language barrier. Daniel Clay came by one day and I guided him in a group reading on our deck, the first either of us had done outdoors. We had a brainstorming session to percolate ideas for a "school for prophets and guides"; you will read some of the fruits of that session in Chapter 20. I guided Brock through an amazing past life regression and through his first time channeling. The reading was clear and we were all excited for him. He was as ready to channel as to guide. I guided seven or eight major sessions that week; other people guided sessions among themselves. For me, the most incredible sessions were the ones with Eileen. As I said, her purpose in coming to Virgina was clear. Pretty Flower had told her what it was. She -- Pretty Flower -- was ready for a full entry into Eileen's embodiment. Pretty Flower had asked Eileen come to Virginia to work with me on this new and intensive procedure. What it meant was this. Until now, when Pretty Flower came forward, Eileen stayed in the background as much as possible. She was aware of Pretty Flower's entrance; they met, embraced, and danced together. Then Eileen made room for Pretty Flower, becoming part, as she says, of "a Blue Mist at the top of my head." Pretty Flower then made her appearance to the rest of us, the two of them coinhabiting Eileen's body. When Eileen returned fully from her trance, she remembered some, but by no means all, of what Pretty Flower had communicated to us. In other words, until now a part of Eileen's consciousness had monitored the sessions, although there were gaps in which she had no awareness. Now this would change. Pretty Flower had requested Eileen's full body during the sessions. It was time to allow a full entering of Pretty Flower and exiting of the consciousness of Eileen. Eileen was prepared for and accepting of the necessity for a full exiting; indeed, she was eager for it to happen. The First Full Entry and Exit On the afternoon of June 12, Eileen and Brock and my wife and I went alone to a quiet room; we did not ask the others to be present, as we were attempting a major change and wanted as little distraction as possible. Also we were not sure what form the transition would take. Pretty Flower had long ago requested us not to use the Cayce levels when guiding her entry. For this session, however, she had asked us to use them, so I guided Eileen through the chakra system and on through the levels as Cayce had described them. Next I guided the entry to Pretty Flower and requested a full entry. EILEEN June 12, 1986 Independence, Virginia The Entry [After hypnosis.] Please begin with the opening, the gentle opening of the crown chakra. Opening the crown chakra to the white light of the universe and begin allowing the light to come through strong, brilliant, radiant, filling the crown chakra, in perfect harmony, radiating fully. Now allowing the light to come down to the head chakra, to the third eye, the pineal, filling the head chakra with the white light, vibrant white light. And slowly allowing the white light to come in to the throat center -- the thyroids, parathyroids, the entire throat chakra, vibrant, alive white light -- THE white light of healing and protection. Allowing now the light to come into the heart chakra, filling this entire center with pulsating, vibrant light. Pure white light, brighter than it has ever been, full, alive light. And allowing now the light to come to the stomach chakra, the adrenals, filling it with white light. And now into the lower abdomen, the cells of Leydig, bringing the full light to this center, radiating, illuminating, alive. And bringing the white light now to the reproductive chakra, the flame of light, the spark, very exciting, filling the entire area, the full chakra with white light. And slowly the white light becomes a blue-white light, wholly, with trust you surrender to this spot of innocence, deep, deep in the glow of the blue-white light. The entire being is filled with the blue-white light, strong, safe. The being is filled with light. And if this is a good time, nod your head that we will continue. [She nods.] Thank you. [The Cayce levels start here.] The light shines bright in and through the entire being. With full trust, with surrender, and with innocence, you may see yourself as a tiny dot outside of your physical body, which lies inert before you. The tiny dot is alive with energy as an atom in full motion, pulsating, vibrant, alive. The dot of light is the only light, as if in a universe of darkness. The light is oppressed by darkness, and there is a feeling of terrific loneliness. Suddenly you are conscious of a white beam of light. As this tiny dot you move upward following the light, knowing that you must follow it or be lost. Please nod your head or move your finger if you are on this beam of light, traveling on the beam of light. [She moves finger.] Thank you. Now continue traveling on the beam of light, and as you move along the path of light you gradually become conscious of various levels upon which there is movement. Upon the first level there are vague, horrible shapes, grotesque forms such as one sees in nightmares. Passing on, there begin to appear on either side misshapen forms of human beings with some part of the body magnified. Again there is change and you become conscious of grey-hooded forms moving downward. Gradually these become lighter in color. Then the direction changes and these forms move upward and the colors of the robes grow rapidly lighter. There are no diversions but go straight to the light always. Continue straight to the light. Next there begin to appear on either side vague outlines of houses, walls, trees, etc., but everything is motionless. As you pass on there is more light and movement in what appear to be normal cities and towns. Always going straight to the light. With the growth of movement, you become conscious of sounds. At first, indistinct rumblings, then music and laughter, and the singing of birds. There is more and more light. The colors become very beautiful and there is the sound of wonderful music. You continue going directly to the light. The houses are left behind. Ahead there is only a blending of sound and color. There is a full and complete entry of Pretty Flower in her highest essence in the fullness of her being. So far everything had been familiar, even normal. Beyond this, however, I had no idea what to expect or do. It took time and it was like groping in the dark, literally and figuratively. But clearly, my first job was to be sure the complete transfer of energies between Eileen and Pretty Flower was taking place. I said: There is a complete exiting of the body vessel -- Eileen -- as she makes room and parts temporarily for the full entry of Pretty Flower. The vessel spirit, the vessel being, the energy of Pretty Flower makes a complete and full entry. And in the fullness of life, a total and complete entering with no diversions, but always coming straight into the light. There is warrior strength on each side, in front, and in back to protect you, in many dimensions. There is the full protection, the full trust. And when you are ready, please tell me how you are doing and how we may assist this process. [There was no signal, so I repeated myself.] Allow the process to become full and complete. Allow ample time for the full attunement of the energy, the complete use of the temple. If you would like me to continue guiding this process, allow a full trust and a full attunement, a total entering, a total completion, a total fulfillment. Allow the physical energies to balance the soul energies. And if you would like, if the sound attunement of chanting would help to align these energies, use this time for the alignment of sound. The process becomes full. The entering becomes complete. And so it is. Eileen's body vibrated, but Pretty Flower still did not make a sound. So I said: If this is a good time, use the attunement of sound to fully balance the energies. There is warrior strength all around you. There is the protection. There is the healing energy. As the alignment becomes complete, continue to use the sound to fully balance the energy. We welcome you. We are pleased that you are here. Now Pretty Flower did speak, but in a constrained and difficult way. I said: Spirit has fully entered flesh. You are very welcome. The soul body is full. The vessel body is full. The mind body is full. Is this a time that you can speak? Hello, Pretty Flower. [She can scarcely speak.] I have been making this transfer many more times before and would be complete. For the vessel is still in what -- [she cannot speak] transformation which -- a binding effect, so to speak. All the energy about to enter. [Now Pretty Flower actually screeches. Eileen's body shakes and contorts.] She wants out, so to speak, and finds the door closed! And is knocking, knocking on the door to be out! And it would be closed, so to speak! So we find a great deal of tension occurring! I understand. We will work with this. We will make the opening of the door easier, with trust, with proper technique and suggestion, with our fuller understanding, we will make the door open easy, and allow her to depart happily, safely. She would be happy to be leaving at the moment. However, the door is not to be found, sadly to say. Obviously there was trouble. Somehow, Eileen was not able to leave her body totally. Later, she told me, "I was in the Blue Mist at the top of my head, and I was frantic! I couldn't find the door to leave, and I was pounding on the top of my head, screaming, `Let me out! Let me out!'" At the time I couldn't hear her screams, of course, but Pretty Flower's choking and and screeching and the vessel's agitation gave gave me the clues I needed about what was amiss. This is where years of experience pay off. Giving the suggestion for Eileen to "leave" her body was not working. I had to approach this in a different way. Inspiration came; I told Eileen to go deeply within herself. In the next few sessions I perfected the wording, but the concept remained -- to go deeper within, to a safe and comfortable place, rather than go away from herself. (My suggestions are meant for Eileen; I am talking here to Pretty Flower, naturally. In the next few exchanges, the two of us are working to help Eileen.) I said: The door, if I understand correctly, is to be found inside. The door is deep within, and the door is at that place of trust. The door is called trust. And as she finds that place of trust, she sees the door. Would you say that again, please? The door is called trust, and it is at the place of trust, which is deep within. And as she goes to that place of trust, she sees the door. We could be proceeding a little slower. Thank you. The door is called trust. There is a sign on the door with the word trust. And as she searches deep within, she finds the door. Tell me when she finds the door that is marked trust. [Pretty Flower signals by raising her finger.] Okay. Now she places her hand.... Pretty Flower interrupted me. She said, "Now that would be, so to speak, backwards." I puzzled for a moment over this; somehow, then, I knew what she meant: The letters on the door were reversed. I said: We'll find the door where it's spelled correctly. Find the proper door. Bypass the diversions and find the real door where trust is spelled correctly: T - R - U - S - T. Find the real door, and tell me when you have accomplished this. Tell me when she has accomplished this. [She raises her finger.] Thank you. Now she places her hand upon the door, upon the latch. Then she slowly.... It's a very big door. [Huge, Eileen told me later.] She slowly, with full strength, and courage, and determination, opens this door, and realizes that the vessel body is full. That she is not leaving the vessel empty. She realizes that two are occupying the space for one. So she opens the door, carefully, safely, slowly, using her full strength, which is considerable. Now tell me when she has opened the door. [Raises finger.] Okay, thank you. Now with full understanding and awareness, she slowly steps through the door. She allows herself, her will, her strength, her essence, to step through the door, through the threshold, into the place of trust. And tell me when she has accomplished this. [Pretty Flower signals again.] Thank you. Now in the place of trust, there is full safety. The place of trust is simply a place to wait, while the vessel is filled with her friend. She has made room for her friend, Pretty Flower, and she allows the door to close temporarily so that Pretty Flower may use the vessel. And tell me when this is accomplished. [She signals.] Okay. Now in the fullness of light, Pretty Flower uses the vessel body. Her spirit body is attuned to the physical body. You may speak if you would like. There is a fullness of entering, a balance of energy. Welcome. Greetings. Allow the vision to become fully clear. Pretty Flower was now clearly present. I said, "It's nice to see you." "Thank you," she said. "You're very welcome." "Now I'm fine." She made a sound. And then, to our astonishment, she opened her eyes and stood. She looked all around and looked deeply into my eyes. Then she returned to her chair, breathing a deep sigh. Let me tell you why this was such a change. I recognized when Pretty Flower was present because she laced her fingers together and placed her hands in a certain clenched position. In our earliest sessions she clenched her hands so tightly that they turned blue, and she hunched over in a such a tight and rigid position that Eileen's neck and shoulders needed massage after the session. Once, early on, I noted the blueness of the hands and asked Pretty Flower if she wished to change her posture. "Why?" she asked, and I explained. She assented to the change and I gave the appropriate suggestions. Gradually, in subsequent sessions, the tightness passed. (Once she said sassily to me, commenting on the relaxed position, "We`re getting good at this, are we not?"). But her hands and feet were almost always kept in a special way, and her eyes were always closed. Now major changes had occurred. While Pretty Flower could barely speak at this intensive level, she could, and did, open her eyes. She studied the room and the people. When she looked at me I felt very uncomfortable, for I was looking at the eyes and body of Eileen. But it was definitely not Eileen walking around, and it was not Eileen inside her eyes; it was a different person. The change was profound. The closest I can come to describing it is when I remember the birth of my son. In 1969, my wife, Linda, and I were alone and we delivered our son. She had had two previous children of an earlier marriage, and had an easy birth. But the sounds of new life coming forth were similar. And as I think of it, a new life and opening to a new level of life are similar transformational experiences: birth and channeling. This was like the rebirthing of a soul. Perhaps the form we used previously was partly responsible for not having a full entry. Because the answer was not to go "out" or "aside," but rather to go safely and securely deep within. Or perhaps both Eileen and Pretty Flower needed more than a year to become accustomed to the preliminary steps of the channeling adventure. Whatever the reason, we were now embarking on a new dimension in Eileen's channeling. The Exit Procedure Presently, after about 20 minutes, Pretty Flower said, "I want to go." I responded: Okay, I thought so. Please become comfortable. Allow the vessel to become fully comfortable. Go in peace and joy. Thank you. Bless you, dear sweet soul. Thank you for coming and visiting, gentle soul. We will look forward to seeing you many times, and sharing, and communicating, and laughing. Allow the body to become fully comfortable. Allow the body to rest. And slowly, very slowly, allow the door of trust to reopen and allow her to enter through the door of trust, where you are both together. Where you come together, maybe dance together. She enters through the door of trust, and you embrace. And the vessel remains full with the energies of both of you. But soon it is time for Pretty Flower to depart, that she may return as is desired in the fullness of time and place and circumstance, when she is invited to return through this vessel. And the vessel Eileen returns with fullness of strength into her temple. And there is a return going through the levels. Returning through the level with a blending of sound and color. Returning through the level with music, laughter, and the singing of birds. Slowly returning through the level of what appeared to be normal cities and towns. And then the level where everything is motionless. Following the path of light, returning to the level of the grey-hooded forms, moving first upward and downward. And then the level of the misshapen forms of human beings. And the first levels, of grotesque forms, such as one sees in nightmares. And as the tiny dot of light, moving to the level of intense darkness and loneliness, as if it were a universe of darkness. But on the beam of light you safely enter your physical body. And the dot of light grows and fills your being with the life force. The chakra center is ablaze with white light. The entity of the proper vessel, Eileen, enters with fullness of energy, in balance and harmony, in healing. And Eileen seats herself carefully within her vessel of being, within her body vessel. You are very welcome back. And you begin the slow process of gently, gently returning to normalization. Your chakra system, leaving enough open that the physical body may work with the energy and grow through this experience. Leaving enough of the energy open to maintain health, healing balance. Allowing the light to become dimmer so that it is not too bright. Finding the full and total level of balance, that level of normalization, and allowing the centers, the reproductive center, the cells of Leydig, the solar plexus, the heart chakra, the thyroid and parathyroids of the throat, the pineal, the third eye chakra, and the crown chakra, to full normalization. There is the full and complete reentering of Eileen. The full and complete departing and saying thank you to Pretty Flower. Rest for a few moments. Allow the balance of energy. And as you are ready, signal with your hand and we will begin the count-up exercise. [After some time, she signals.] With full trust, and with thankfulness, the return is full. The return is complete. We bid farewell for a time to our friend, Pretty Flower, and welcome joyfully our friend Eileen. In the full energy field, and in the full strength of her being, here, now. It is June 12, 1986, in Independence, Virginia, and she is fully orienting into the present. Aware of the circumstances and the time. It is approximately 4:10 p.m. in the afternoon. You have done very well today. Take your time, take your time. And as you would like, signal me with a finger, that we may proceed. [She signals.] Thank you. We shall go very slowly. In a little while, when you awaken, you will feel better than before, energized, revitalized, recharged. The energy field in and around your body will return to full normalization. Allow the closing of the brilliant light so it may be to a point that it is healthy and beneficial.... I will count now. One, coming back. Two, coming out very slowly. Three, coming out. Four, total normalization at every level of your being. Five, feel the circulation returning to the body and the extremities. Six, revitalize. Seven, coming up to your full potential. Eight, nine, and ten. Slowly open your eyes, wide awake. What Happened Next This session and the subsequent full entry sessions that followed prepared Eileen and Pretty Flower for the next phase of their work. Brock had observed and learned more about guiding. The procedure I initiated in this intensive transitional session and refined in several subsequent ones in Virginia is used by Brock and Eileen today as they work together. They have refined the process still further, but its basic form is the same: Brock guides her to the door of Trust, and through it, that Eileen may exit and Pretty Flower may enter with full body synchronization. Pretty Flower too is learning the uses of Eileen's vessel. Together, Brock and Pretty Flower enjoy walks into a forest, where she works with him in a natural setting, expounding on her concepts of beliefs, creating, and unconditional love. Eileen and Pretty Flower give group sessions on a regular basis. Pretty Flower can guide her own entering and exiting process now, but Brock still guides Eileen through the Door of Trust. The vital need for a guide is always present and Brock continues this important work. Eileen has told me that the process is easier now that she has no recollection of the sessions. She has no emotional involvement and her critical conscious mind is not in the way; by totally detaching she channels more purely and elegantly. In the sessions, Pretty Flower enjoys full body movement. She tells her stories with much animation. Frequently, she asks participants to move around too. In a recent session, for instance, she asked people to change seats about half an hour into the session. Several people had questions about their health. She asked each one in turn to come to the center of the circle, where she walked all around them, placed her hands on their bodies, made motions over them, and chanted, giving tone alignments. At the end, she asked them to stand and gather together in a circle around her. After giving a blessing to each one, she taught them to bestow the Blessings of the Universe on each other by kissing palms. Eileen describes her consciousness as "walking down a path" once she enters the door marked Trust. She enjoys her journey, while Pretty Flower does her work. At the end of the session Eileen hears herself being called and returns through the door and into her own awareness. Eileen and Brock have begun a journey around the country, offering Gatherings for all who wish to share in the blessings and teachings of Pretty Flower. Chapter 19 AN EXERCISE FOR GROUP HYPNOSIS REGRESSION My doctrine is: Live so that thou mayest desire to live again -- that is thy duty -- for in any case thou wilt live again! Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche Eternal Recurrence Now that you have read the stories of some past lives and delved into the wisdom of The Eternals and Pretty Flower, perhaps you are inspired to try your own hand at soul exploration. When I give lectures on hypnosis, audiences always ask me to talk about time travel. People want to know how hypnosis assists in accessing subconscious and past life information. I rarely give demonstrations of individual hypnosis or time travel at public lectures. I do guide group exercises; these and small, private group sessions are helpful in introducing people to time travel. They are also useful in my own research because people willingly share their experiences afterwards. In a group session, it is not possible for a dialogue to take place between the guide and any individual. Nor are group sessions a substitute for professional regression work on a one to one basis. A group excursion is like a field trip into the mind -- an experience in which the students try to confirm laboratory data and/or explore new learning. As such, group sessions are good preparation for individual sessions at a later time and a good introduction to the field of recall and accessing stored memory. What follows is a how-to section for those who wish to try guiding a regression session. The procedure can be used for a group, with a single individual, or as a self-help tape. It is particularly suitable for a group. The exercise begins, as I always begin, with the preliminary foundation steps. The process is a very gentle, slow and careful exploration, looking only for pleasant and comfortable experiences that can be easily understood. It is looking for impressions in a waking dream experience. This is a guided reverie rather than a deep, involved regression. Qualifications of a Past Life Facilitator This reverie is very good for a beginning facilitator. But any work you do - for instance, guiding meditation or yoga sessions -- before you guide a regression will be helpful. You may wish to apprentice with a regressologist or take classes in psychic development before you launch yourself as a guide. If you do not have access to such resources, take your time, carefully study the procedures in this and other books, and practice. A little common sense goes a long way. Start by working with your own tape, build slowly to working with small groups, then to individuals and larger groups. You will gradually develop the experience and knowledge of the levels of the mind you need. It is always wise for the facilitator to monitor the entire group, especially if there are many first timers. I usually guide beginner groups so as to look for pleasant experiences and times. Sometimes a participant will cry, loudly and openly; no intervention is necessary.(1) Equipment and Desirable Conditions for the Session I record the session on a good tape recorder. Although I encourage people to make their own tapes, turning the cassette can distracting, so I offer copies of the master tape afterwards. The session should be as free from distractions as possible: no phone calls, doorbells, or visitors. It is helpful to ask one person to deal with these distractions if they occur (you can head off many of them). A darkened room is not necessary, but enhances the quiet atmosphere. Set up enough chairs for the session; some people will prefer to sit on the floor on rugs or pillows. Sometimes during a session an individual may start to cough and clear his or her throat. In the past this behavior was thought to show resistance to the process. Now we have found that the person is so very relaxed that the nasal passages drip a little; it is a sign that the session is going well for that person. The behavior is likely to stop shortly; if it does not, the individual may wish to leave the group until the coughing stops. Preliminaries When working with a group, whether it is large or small, I first answer questions. There are always good questions -- not usually about the technical aspects of the process, but rather about general concerns. "How do we know if this information is real?" is typical. I suggest participants concentrate on the experience and evaluate the information and feelings later. Almost everyone in a group will participate freely. If someone decides not to, I ask that he remain quiet so as not to distract the others. Those who watch (often other professionals who wish to see how I work) are often as interested as those who take part. Afterwards After the session I give people plenty of time to reorient themselves. This time can be likened to awakening in the morning; folks need a few minutes to gather themselves together. After that I give people a chance to share their experiences. No one ever seems to want to start, but once one person opens up the rest quickly follow. Time limits usually allow only a few people to share, but I encourage everyone to write down or tape record their experiences. Many people find writing or taping their memories, feelings, and impressions brings forward more information and greater clarity of recollection. The sooner notes are written or recorded the better, as some memories fade quickly. Outcomes of the Sessions People tell me they get a lot from group work. Certainly most seem to enjoy themselves. Only rarely does a participant fail to experience something. Once, for example, I asked the audience, "Look down at your feet and see what you are wearing." One man did so -- literally. He opened his eyes to look and became so disoriented he could not continue the session. I suggested he work with tape recordings of the session to see if he could recapture other memories. (I now word the suggestion, "Mentally, look down at your feet....") Using the Regression Exercise You may simply read the material below out loud, or you may tape it for yourself or for a group. If you want to record it, use a 90-minute tape so you will not have to stop in mid-session to turn the cassette (the material takes about 45 minutes). Read slowly and clearly. You may wish to practice first, perfecting your timing and the modulation and pitch of your voice. ACCESSING YOUR SOUL'S MEMORY Start reading or recording here. I'm going to count downward from ten to one, and with every descending number, if you will slowly blink your eyes. Just look forward or upward. Slowly blink your eyes, in slow motion, with every number. [Slowly.] Ten -- nine -- eight -- seven -- six -- five -- four -- three -- two -- and one. And now you can just close your eyes, and you can just keep them closed. And I will explain what that was for. That was just to relax your eyelids. And right now, in your eyelids, there is probably a feeling of relaxation, perhaps a comfortable tired feeling, or a pleasant heavy sensation. Whatever the feeling is, right now, in your eyelids, just allow that feeling to multiply, to magnify, and to become greater. Allow your eyelids now to become totally and pleasantly relaxed. Now, this is something that you do. Nobody else can do this for you. You're the one who does it. So just take your time and completely, and pleasantly, relax your eyelids now. And as you relax your eyelids, you can allow that feeling of relaxation, that is now in your eyelids, to flow outward, in all directions, as in imaginary waves, or ripples. Allow a feeling of relaxation to go outward to the entire face area. Just think about relaxing the face. Enjoy the relaxation going outward to the entire head area, relaxing the head. Feel the relaxation going to the neck and to the shoulders, down the arms and into the hands. Welcome a wonderful feeling of relaxation going down the entire body, to the legs, the feet, all the way out to the toes. Your body may feel heavy, or it may feel light. It may be perfectly still, or you may notice subtle movement. As you completely and pleasantly relaxing your entire body, you can just slow down a little bit. Just allow yourself to slow down a little bit. And later, as we go along, you can slow down a little bit more and a little bit more. And, in a moment, I am going to count downward once again from ten to one. And this time, with every descending number, just allow yourself to slow down a little bit more with every number. And at the number one, you can enter your own natural level of relaxation. I will count very rapidly now: Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. You are now at your own natural level of relaxation. And from this level, you may move to any other level, with complete awareness, and function at will. You are completely aware at every level of your mind. You are in complete control at every level of your mind. You can accept, or reject, anything which is given here today. You are in complete control. This is something that you want. It is here, and it is now. Eager to learn. Eager to explore. And let us begin now, by comparing your mind to the surface of a quiet pond. On the surface, everything looks peaceful and still. But below the surface, there is great depth and much happening. My voice can be as a breeze, whispering in the trees along the shore. Everyone does not realize his or her full capacities, and you have to discover these capacities in whatever way you wish. And, one of the things I would like you to discover is that your own subconsicous mind can listen to me and also deal with something else at the same time. Perhaps you remember doing this as a child, gazing out the window while the teacher was talking. Or talking with a friend, and talking with that friend at the same time. Two separate things, yet happening at the same time. You don't have to think or move about, or make any sort of effort. You don`t even have to bother trying to listen to me, because your subconscious is here and can hear every word. It's okay to let go. You are in a place where you can safely let go and just relax now. You can take a deep breath, and you will note that a drifting can occur. That there is less and less importance to be attached to my voice. In due time, your own time, a minute, an hour, a week, a month, some time, your subconscious will reveal its gifts to you, in a dream, or in a daydream, when you're not especially thinking about it, memories of other times and other places, memories you only thought you had misplaced. Experiences you only thought you had mislaid. And with this new insight, comes new growth and new understanding. And stored deep in your subconscious are wonderful memories. Your subconscious can call upon and access these memories and bring them back with you later. So, looking deeper into the recesses of your own mind -- applying this knowledge to understand yourself and your world. And, in a moment, we will begin a series of exercises into memory and into recall. Can you remember a time in your life when you really felt safe and comfortable? [Pause.] And you may begin now going back to about the time you were 18 years old. Choosing a pleasant, happy memory of about the time that you were 18 years old. You will find that it is very easy for you to do this. Choosing one specific memory or one specific event, and just simply focusing on it, looking at the people around you, then looking at yourself, or looking at the event. I will be quiet and give you ample time to simply enjoy this event. You may hear voices, you may see or feel the people. For some, it may be in vivid color, as in a cinema movie. For others, the images may simply be black and white. For some, there may be vague outlines. Some people may hear memories whispered in their inner ear. Some only sense the memory. Sometimes a certain smell triggers the memory. It really doesn't matter how you perceive your memory, about 18 years old now. What is happening? [Long pause.] Now you may continue back, going back now to about the time that you were 5 or 6 years old. Again, choosing a pleasant, happy memory. An impression, an episode, an experience, of about the time you were 5 or 6. Focus on this memory, look at it clearly. See what you were wearing, sense or feel the people around you, if there were other people in this memory imprint. Look and listen to the information. Reach down deep and feel it, and I will be quiet. [Long pause.] Now continue back, going back now to about the time when you were 4, then 3, then 2, and now 1. And going now to the time of your birth. And going beyond this even. Going to that very warm, very safe, and very secure place, where nothing can harm you. Where you feel loved, and surrounded by warmth, and you recall this time as being a time of forming, a time of growing. A time of movement, and really a time of preparation. And this is a good time, and you can go beyond this even. Going now into the Blue Mist. And the Blue Mist protects you. And you are very safe and comfortable here. The Blue Mist is a time of inner peace, of quiet movement, of gentle sounds, and easy rhythm. The Blue Mist is really the avenue of the heart to the infinite. And you like it very much here. People always say they like the Blue Mist because they experience real peace, total peace, and quiet. And you are very comfortable here, and yet a part of you longs for something more. At first, only a small part of you longs for life and longs for movement. And this longing grows within you, and it becomes a strong desire. And this desire leads you to look outward, and you look out toward the horizon, and you see a light as if you were looking through a long tunnel. And you realize that the light is good. So you begin moving toward the light. Flowing, growing, going toward the light. And the light is very good. The light heals you. The light protects you. And the light surrounds you, as you feel the life energies flowing throughout your being. And as you look down at your feet, mentally look down at your feet, and see what you were wearing on your feet. Without analyzing, just look at your feet and mentally record what you sense. You might wish to say this to yourself internally, quietly to yourself, or simply make a visual recording of it. [Pause.] And now continue looking up the body, at what you have on the bottom half of your body. Some people can feel the texture, if there is fabric or material. Others can see the colors. Continue looking up the body now, and look what you have on the top half, if it's cloth or leather or material. What's it made of? What colors are they? Now look at the entire body and I will be quiet for a moment. [Pause.] Look if there is any jewelry, anything on the head or anything holding in the hands. Focus on a good, sharp, clear image. Process this material and make a record of it. Look at the entire body, and I will be quiet for a moment to give you a chance to do this. [Pause.] Now, in your mind's eye, slowly look around at the place and the setting and make a mental note of what you see. Are there trees or sand, buildings, lakes or streams, the ocean? Look around and record what you perceive. And again, I will be quiet, that you may make a full turn, looking in all directions about you, making note of important things that you see. Encode the message and put it in a language your conscious mind will later understand. Record it to bring back later. [Pause.] Some people may even wish to look into the sky or look down at the ground. You may look in any direction you like. [Pause.] And now, you may look for other people. You may look to a time when you may see yourself near or with other people. And make a note of these people, encode these impressions and feelings. Perhaps there is someone special. Someone with whom you have a close bond, an affinity, or a strong vibration. Look around, perhaps a child, an adult, someone special, someone who has great meaning to you, and record this feeling and impression. If you listen quietly, you may even hear their name being spoken. Record the name. [Pause.] And now you may look at a vehicle of transportation, something that you might have ridden on or in, something that feels comfortable when you sit on it, or in it. Or something that someone else is using for transportation. Make a note of the methods of transportation. [Pause.] And at this time, you may also wish to make a note of something that you are eating. What is it that you eat? Can you smell the food cooking? Are you able to taste it? Make a note and record this information. [Pause.] And now, if you listen quietly, you may hear your own name being spoken by a friend or someone calling out to you. What do they call you? What are you doing? What is your work or profession? What are you learning? [Pause.] And as you look for clues can you tell where this land is? What would you put as a name, what was the land then called? What is the name of this place? Perhaps, you can perceive what century or what year this is. Record this information. Process it, make a note. [Pause.] And now, in a detached way, look at the time of your death. What events led to your death? How did you die? What do you do after you die? Look at the death experience and assimilate its lessons and its message. [Pause.] What is the reason or purpose for this life? What are the soul lessons? How did you grow in this time and place? And how did you lose? Was anything left uncompleted? What made you the happiest in this life? [Pause.] And now that you have this information, bring it together into a vivid symbol or word picture, or an image, wrap it in something that you are familiar with that you may bring it back with you in a little while. Bring it into a symbol, into a word, into a clear vision, and encode it in your mind. Most important of all, now, is to look into your own eyes, and the eyes of the people that you have seen, those that you have loved, that person who was special to you. Look into the eyes of everyone you saw and send love from your eyes into their eyes. And as you do this important step, as you bless them and send them your love, they begin to fade. And as they begin to fade, let them go. Release them, and let them go now. Let the veil slowly drop. Allow the curtain to slowly close. And as you slowly begin coming back, traveling back through time, you can bring back with you all that was positive, and bright, and interesting, and important. Other information you may release now. Simply release and close the door on information that is not necessary for your soul growth at this time. You will retain in your conscious mind only that which is important, helpful, and beneficial for you to retain at this time. Now coming back through the years, through the Blue Mist, once again, coming through the avenue of the heart, where all things are revealed unto you. Through that warm and safe place where nothing can harm you. Returning to the level of the mind, to the deep recesses, to the clear recall of your own mind, and bringing back the information that you have recorded. Bringing that back with you that it may help you to grow and understand yourself even better. Slowly now, slowly coming back through the years of this present life to _______ (date), _______ (state, city, or town). And in a little while, when you awaken, you will feel just wonderful. You will feel better than before. You will be wide awake, clear headed, refreshed, and happy. Have you brought back something that is important, something helpful, something vital? Or have you allowed the door to close and the curtain to fall. It really doesn't matter. Your subconscious mind always protects you and knows what is best for you. I will count from one to 10. At the count of 10, you can open your eyes, be wide awake, clear headed, feeling fine. I will count now. One -- coming back very slowly. Two -- coming out very slowly now. Three -- coming up. Four -- feel the life energies returning throughout your being. Five -- feel total normalization and perfect equalibrium. Six -- reenergized. Seven -- coming up to your full potential. Eight -- reoriented into the present. Nine -- revitalized. And ten. Open your eyes, wide awake. Notes to Chapter 19 (1) I have never had (nor heard of) a reaction more distressing than tears. If one should occur -- if, for instance, a participant became hysterical -- the guide would go directly to that individual and give a personal and direct command: "I am going to put my hand on your right (or left) shoulder. You can hear my voice. You will release the information and experience that you are processing." Personal wake-up and return suggestions would then be given that individual. The other people in the group would be given a suggestion such as, "Continue processing the information and experience at your own level while I work personally with one individual present." Chapter 20 A SCHOOL FOR PROPHETS AND GUIDES I cannot think of permanent enmity between man and man, and believing as I do in the theory of rebirth, I live in the hope that if not in this birth, in some other birth, I shall be able to hug all humanity in friendly embrace. Mahatma Gandhi in Indian periodicals I hope I have inspired you to begin looking deeper into your inner mind. I hope you may even wish to journey within and explore your soul memories, to gain access to your higher mind, and to discover your soul's destiny. But before you do, there are some specific recommendations I wish to make. Psychic development is not an end in itself -- it is just one step toward spiritual growth. There are many other steps and many other paths to self- betterment. The goal is to become a whole person, mentally, physically, and spiritually. When you set your goals and ideals in life, please include steps to help all aspects of your growth. Continue your education. Strengthen your character. Integrate your personality. Volunteer for community work, join a health club or fitness center. Build a healthy mind and a healthy spirit. Age regression and channeling are doors to the New Age just as the ships of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries opened the way to the New World. Then, as now, some people have fears and doubts of the unknown and the unexplored. Today we smile to think of the absurdity of the belief that ships would fall off the edge of the world; we grin at the legends on the old maps that say of the uncharted, unknown seas, "Out here be monsters." But there was a time when both were common fears. Go With Care There are valid concerns about conducting age regression and channeling experiments, or doing any other kind of soul exploration, in safety. Evil exists. I have not found it; I have not looked for it. As you continue the work, as you look deep within yourself, you reach out to light; then you will learn and grow in safety. A few people fear the idea of exploring their inner minds. And that is a valid concern for them, although it reminds me clearly of my youth. The Red Cross offered free swimming lessons near our home. My mother had a great fear of drowning, so she said on numerous occasions, "Don't go swimming until you know how to swim." The only problem with her admonition was that later in life both my brother and I almost drowned because we had never learned to swim. She wouldn't let us go until we knew how, and we never learned how because we never went. Learning is a better solution to ignorance. Just because we don't fully understand something doesn't mean we should reject it. Rather we can learn and grow to understand. Yes, there are cautions and obstacles to soul exploration. The biggest problem, as I see it, is the ego. In regression, a person with a powerful past, for instance, may wish to recapture that time again. But people cannot ride on yesterday's glory, nor are they locked into yesterday's tragedies. The person who boasts, "I am the greatest," is as out of balance as the person who whimpers, "I am less than nothing." The goal of regression work is to balance the extremes and build our humanity. Ego can be a stumbling block in the area of channeling. The goal here is to detach who you are from what you are doing. But even more important is to ask why you want to do it. Do you want to channel to help mankind, to learn and grow, to become a more whole person, or is it just to impress the people at work with your new hobby? To help detach the ego, take neither credit nor blame for information you may channel. The information can be evaluated and weighed by intelligent and neutral people to determine its value. Prophecy of future events can be filed to see if later it proves correct. Not all channeled material is accurate, any more than all news on television or in newspapers and magazines is accurate. Channeling can be as clouded as a news story. The same words, images, and events are usually interpreted differently by different people. There is a need for proper preparation in both regression and channeling experiments. I have previously written of the preparation for regression work. I believe it is mandatory for vessel and guide to work together many times before channeling experiments are conducted, for a number of reasons. First, both people more clearly understand their roles; second, both build trust by working together on easier projects (like age regression); and third, both will have a strong foundation in case something unusual should happen. This lesson was brought home to me as recently as July, 1986, when I worked much too soon with a new student, Roger Hunt. We had worked together only twice before. In our first session we went through the chakra opening process. In the second we went through the Cayce levels but without attempting a reading. In our mutual eagerness we went too fast. Roger was very willing, but still had doubts as to whether he was ready and able to channel. If we had had a stronger foundation, we could have avoided an experience that frightened him. As it was, while he was in a trance I could see he was processing a lot of feeling and emotion. But he did not speak. Then, after a few minutes, he asked for help to come back to familiar reality. I gave appropriate suggestions; he followed them and returned without panicking. Here is what happened, as Roger wrote it himself. AN EXPERIENCE DURING A READING July 5, 1986 Independence, Virginia The induction into the hypnotic state proceeded as it usually does for me (although I did notice that the images during this stage were not as vivid as they sometimes are.) At the point in which I would normally see the opening into the Hall of Records, I instead saw nothing at first; then, at the place where I would expect to see the entrance, there was instead a black cat. He looked like a house cat in size and appearance at this point. At first he seemed to take no notice of me. Then, as I drew closer, he looked at me and made a gesture which was threatening to me in some way (I don't recall, or didn't notice at the time, exactly what he did.) At first I remained where I was, in a state of fear but not wanting to leave. The cat then seemed to become huge, larger than a tiger, though he still resembled a pet cat in appearance. He opened his mouth and snarled at me (silently), and his fangs were large and white. This seemed to go on for some time, and to be repeated a number of times, as in a nightmare. The cat may also have threatened me with his claws -- or at least I was afraid he would do so. (This is not a clear memory.) Finally, I overcame the paralysis of fear that had rooted me to this spot, and I fled. I found myself in a dense wooded area of pine trees. There was no undergrowth, and the light was very dim -- due to the thickness of the trees overhead and also, I think, to the fact that it was getting near twilight. My feeling was that I was lost; it was as though I had gone for a walk down a valley, and returned by mistake up the next alley over, near familiar territory but unable to get there before dark. This was frightening, but there was another emotion present too. This emotion might be described as feeling that I didn't want to leave, and also the feeling that there was a way home, but I was temporarily unable to find it. The feeling was confusing and contradictory. I could hear the guide (Henry) speaking to me, but it was an effort to answer. After a bit I was able to speak, and I prayed to be brought home. I believe my prayer was something like, "Father, take me home." The guide then directed me to see the Light, and I followed the Light out of the realm I was in and back to my body. (This coming out was similar to the normal exiting stages I go through at the end of the readings. When I awoke I related what had happened. My belief is that this incident happened as a way to emphasize that I should be certain I am prepared for the Work I am to do in this way. I had been thinking long and hard about what exactly I should and could do with my abilities in this area; and I think this incident happened so as to underscore the importance of becoming balanced and comfortable with the Work and its unfolding. I am inclined to think that the reading that day,had I been able to give one, would have been "clouded" by the doubts I was having, and thus would have been unhelpful to the subject. The incident then prevented a bad-quality experience for all of us by not letting it go forward to that point; and at the same time, it caused me to focus on this element as the cause, with the idea of then resolving it. A third possible cause would be to help the guide to clarify skills needed to handle unusual or unexpected occurrences during readings, or at least to bring them into conscious awareness. Subconscious Protection The subconscious protects the subject, so I have never had anyone become permanently lost in an altered mind state. Nor have I ever heard of a case in which this happened, but it is only wise to include proper and ample preparatory working and communicating together. Roger's self-doubts projected themselves as frightening visual images. He did not describe them as he was viewing them; if he had I would have given appropriate suggestions. In this case we decided to build a much stronger foundation by working together on easier projects first. Two weeks later we did, in fact, do a regression session. It proved to be one of the most interesting, fact filled sessions I ever conducted. Roger's case is unusual. Neither Daniel nor Eileen experienced anything like it in the beginning sessions. Nevertheless, I could observe strong effects during their first sessions and both of them describe intense experiences. But they persisted in the work and the difficulties lessened. Some people experience unusual reactions as the chakra centers open. For instance, in Eileen's early sessions, the crown chakra remained open, and she found the sensation very uncomfortable. Though not quite "returned" from her hypnotic state, she was able to motion to me that the center was open, and I could relieve her discomfort by putting my hands on her head and giving her suggestions to close the chakra. Other people have strong reactions to the experience of traveling through the levels and layers of the mind. Still others are concerned about the validity of the information they channel, wondering if it is contaminated by their conscious minds. To me, these obstacles are like tests to see if the person really wants to continue with the work. Channeling and Prophets In Biblical times channelers were called prophet or prophetess. Today other words would be vessel or trance psychic. When I work with people to develop their ability to channel I look first to see how strong is their desire to be of service to others; then I gauge their desire to seek and to be open. My "training program" requires inner exploration and spiritual disciplines developed through working alone with hypnosis tapes and with me. Our developing relationship of trust and compatibility is of utmost importance. There is a mutual learning and growing together, as we totally and absolutely trust the process. In a hypnotic state, a vessel opens to a different reality, or an altered consciousness, and like a vessel, a container holds water that can be shared with many who are thirsty. In the same way, a vessel holds spiritual nourishment which flows through and is communicated through this altered consciousness. The information or guidance does not originate with the vessel or myself, but is simply channeled from a higher source. This source has been called higher beings, angelic beings, extraterrestrials, collective unconscious, Akashic Records, ascended masters, etc., but it is all one in accessing the same source. The subjects I work with become able to channel past, present, or future information. The vessel often prays to be guided by God in order that the highest of energy sources be channeled through his or her being. A vessel is a messenger of soul guidance, opening to innermost light and sharing with those who ask. The Guide's Job Other synonyms for the word guide are conductor, facilitator, and anchor. As a guide, my job is to be a spiritual partner, counselor, and stabilizer. My major qualification as a guide is to be an experienced hypnotist. I have undergone years of apprenticeship and study. I am sensitive to the needs of the vessel and the group, and this is balanced with the strength and knowledge to take charge for the entire session. Like a teacher in a classroom, I accept my role of being in charge. As a guide, I find I need to curb a new vessel's enthusiasm to overdo and overwork. The soul needs time to assimilate information, just as the body needs time to digest food. The vessel and I prepare in advance with exercises such as hypnosis, age regression, and chakra attunement exercises. A mutual relationship of trust develops naturally between me and the vessel. During this time, and continuing throughout the actual session, I offer emotional and spiritual support to the vessel. Actually, my job is to be for the vessel the link with earth reality. For each vessel I develop individual approaches to the process. I do not necessarily memorize a specific formula of words, but rather develop a manner of opening to the right words at the right time. The session begins before the channeling itself actually begins. I strive to be responsive to the needs of the vessel; reassuring before, during, and after the session; and to assure the personal physical safety of the vessel and the correctness of the purpose of the session. I see to it beforehand that there will be no startling interruptions like the doorbell or telephone. My real attitude is one of respect for the source and the information. The vessel and myself take neither credit nor blame for information that comes through. I simply support the natural process of what is happening without judgment. The vessel and I work together, and learn more with each session, and refine our techniques and procedures. For example, after each beginning session, I listen carefully to how the vessel describes the experience. Then in subsequent sessions I apply the vessel's own words and images in the accessing process. Guiding in a Group If there is no one else to run the tape recording equipment, I do this work as well. However, in some group sessions, I ask someone else to change the tape at the appropriate time. In addition to working with a vessel, I monitor the entire group when other people are present. In a group session, I ask those present to formulate and/or write their questions beforehand. All questions are valid. During the session, I allow appropriate time for everyone to ask questions. I strive to orchestrate a harmonious group experience. In the event of an animated response to a question, I make sure that the clip-on mike on the vessel's body remains unobstructed through the session. Other than this, I do not make any movements near the physical body of the subject so as not to disrupt the energy flow of the chakra system. When all people have asked their questions, and near the completion of the session, I ask the source for any additional information which may be given at that time. The Dream of a School My vision is to see schools formed specifically to teach people to channel and to be guides. I hope the name, "A School for Prophets and Guides," is not too presumptuous. Perhaps the textbook could be called A Guide for Guides. Perhaps we need to define the role of guide. The time is early yet for an official school to begin. But you can begin now on your own. Find other searching souls and questioning minds to work with you. This is easier than you think. Go to classes in related topics in your area and start talking to the people there. You will discover that there are many, many other people searching for the answers to the secrets of eternity. You are not alone. If there are no yoga or meditation or psychic development classes in your area write to the Edgar Cayce Foundation or a similar national organization. Most of all, you need to begin -- right where you are at. This work is a creative journey into your inner mind. It is an adventure into self-discovery, and no one else can do it for you. Does exploring new dimensions seem like a risk? Then consider taking a risk. Risk like this evokes courage and maturity and can bring healthier self-esteem. However, if your inner guidance says no, then don't try to push the river of your soul; there are no shortcuts to maturity. My quest has been, and still is, unveiling the mysteries of the mind, unlocking the secrets of the ancients. In my search I have gained knowledge and experience. Through persistence and perseverance I have received spiritual guidance. My goal is now to inspire you and encourage you to explore the richness and magnitude of your own mind and soul. Reading about new things gives you knowledge. Working with and applying your knowledge builds wisdom. There is far more depth to the human mind than we can possibly imagine. The best way to learn more is to search, experiment, and explore for yourself. The joy of exploring past lives is not just looking for patterns of problems from the past but in looking for the wonderful gifts of the past, gifts from the soul, those wonderful talents we have deep within us that we may not know about or understand. We have all heard of Mozart, who had a prodigious gift for music before he could talk. Or the brilliant children who enter college at 11 or 12. Where do these things come from? What about my friend who in his subconscious explorations discovered an unsuspected talent for mechanical things; he is now happy in a job he once scorned in his father's garage. How do we explain these things? There are benefits from understanding. This isn't an intellectual study we're doing. It can bring benefit into our lives as we fine tune the gifts we have and use those gifts to help others. The ancients hid the secrets of the universe in men's minds. Now is the time to bring them out of hiding. And please -- write and share some of your discoveries with me.