Into the Mist

(excerpt from Sacred Vow © C.G. Walters)

“First of all, you are comfortable, are you not, with the idea that everything is made up of energy, and the physical world is an illusion?” Djalma asked.

“Sure,” Ian responded. “In theory, anyway.”

Djalma spoke quietly, his eyes intently focused on Ian’s face. “Though not often experienced as you have recently, it is more than theory. It is so. How are you with the concept of infinite realities?”

Ian defaulted to an attempt at humor. “I like it, but no more than a couple nights a week.”
Djalma’s smile still conveyed seriousness.

“Sorry,” Ian said. “Just what do you mean?”

“There is a single, all-encompassing energy field, call it the Whole or the Absolute. Within this infinitude are a limitless number of overlapping subsets, let’s say segmented fields, that vibrate at unique ranges of frequencies. Each field is a separate reality, which more often than not remains unseen by any of the inhabitants of the other fields because of the frequency differences between them.”

“Everything that appears to be physical within a subset of a specific reality adds a unique energetic signature onto the base resonance of that field, while remaining within the defined range of that field.” Djalma waited to make sure Ian was following.

Ian could see that his confusion was not going to dissipate in the near future. So he nodded once, to suggest that Djalma go on.

“We may have to come back to this wider scope, but for now let’s focus specifically on a single reality-our illusory, ‘physical’ reality. At the very least, those things we perceive as material will resonate according to their molecular makeup,” Djalma continued. “From there, every entity gives off emanations based on what it has experienced, no matter if it is physical or not, sentient or not. In addition to this vibration, those entities, which we recognize as living, stir in their own personality or nature, which can be, for example, predatory, genteel, or whatever. Additionally, the resonance one picks up from self-aware entities is very affected by their individual assessments of their own experience and by their sense of self.”

Ian was glad to drop the implications of those other fields, subsets, or whatever Djalma wanted to call them. Even with limiting his focus to his own reality, what Djalma was presenting was giving Ian a bit of psychological discomfort. Sure, Ian accepted such things as scientific fact, but he had not expected to deal with them in his personal life.

Djalma kept working with the roots and herbs. “Some people are completely unresponsive to these psychic emanations. Almost always, their total imperceptivity indicates a psychology of disassociation, dangerous to the individual and those that share their world, known and unknown. Such a lack of responsiveness should be corrected. Most people have some degree of sensitivity, which varies, depending on the situation and the range of vibrations they are naturally attuned to.

“These vibrations provoke the feeling of otherwise unwarranted pleasure you might experience when you meet certain people, or the sudden weakness that may come over you in a particular environment. When acquiring possessions, we’re sometimes attracted by the resonance of the item, rather than by its more commonly perceptible characteristics. These emanations continue to affect us, and their surrounding environment, after we acquire the piece.”

The implications of what Djalma was saying began to overwhelm Ian. “That would suggest we take on an enormous liability every time we choose a prospective possession!” he burst out.

Djalma looked around the room, and then said casually, “Rarely is there any need to be apprehensive. Most people are engaged in some degree of the same type of choosing based on the emanations that people and things give off. Russian roulette alchemy, if you will. Fortunately, the cylinder of this theoretical revolver has an infinite number of chambers, providing minimal odds for any perceivable alteration within the so-called normal reality, much less any threat to an individual.”

“If that is the case, how do you explain what I have been experiencing?” Ian demanded.
With the equanimity one would expect of a person with his apparent achievements despite his youth, Djalma picked up the distress in Ian’s tone. He smiled as if he knew that Ian was asking to quiet his own fear. “Perhaps it’s just the luck of the draw. Lightning has to hit somewhere every time it strikes.”

Ian stared hard at Djalma. He wanted answers, not just to have Djalma offer vague speculations.

Djalma responded to Ian’s unspoken plea, “Theoretically, if one was able to attune one’s personal resonance to another range, another channel, say, such a person could slip from one reality to another.

“In your case, I’m inclined to believe that some part of your deeper self has been pursuing this kind of access for many years. Perhaps up until now your quest has been exclusively subconscious. It’s possible that the process has taken all the previous energetic mixes in order for these visits to happen. In addition, your conscious mind may have been going through preparation, so to speak, so that it could perceive what has happened.
“
Perhaps your subconscious was always experimenting, armed with no more than a desired result.” Djalma rose and took the pot of root mix over to the stove.
. . .
With his pot of herbs simmering, Djalma came back to sit across from Ian. “Remember back when we were talking about a base range of resonance within a reality or field? Just as everything has its unique energy signature, a grouping of items within a certain space near each other will combine to produce a collective signature. To varying degrees, almost always unintelligibly, these collective signatures affect the reality experienced by anyone within the scope of their influence.

“Most people aren’t sensitive enough to perceive even a fairly wide range of fluctuation from the base emanation of their own field of reality. Those who do sometimes perceive such fluctuations rarely interpret their resulting experience as anything more than a gut feeling, maybe the hair standing up on the back of their neck for no apparent reason. Sometimes a particular area has such a strong collective signature that even the general populace will acknowledge the location as possessing some preternatural influence. The usual extreme end of the spectrum would be widely experienced apparitions in the area.”

“Are you saying Katerina is a ghost?” Ian cut in.

“Not at all,” Djalma responded.
. . .
Djalma slowly shook his head, and waited for Ian to relax enough to take in what he was about to say.
“
Whether by the unlikely accident or subconscious intention,” Djalma said, “I’m content that you have constructed a collective signature within your study that is affecting your perceived reality-or rather, periodically expanding your perception of reality.

“Now remember I said the different fields or realities are almost always invisible to each other because of differing base frequency ranges.” This time Djalma waited as if for a response from Ian, giving him a questioning look.
Concluding that they would not go forward otherwise, Ian offered a cautious “Yes.”
Satisfied, Djalma smiled and continued, “More than just unveiling something from the sensory fringes of our shared reality field, the collective signature of your study seems to have created a vibrational doorway, making it possible for you to move into another reality, an alternate or parallel life.

“There are an inestimable number of realities, overlapping the very space of this room and even our very bodies. We never become aware of them, though these worlds appear just as substantial to their occupants as we believe ours to be. Only the most achieved Masters and Adepts expand their consciousness sufficiently to achieve a glimpse across these boundaries. It requires a very precise balance of vibrational signatures, external and/or internal, to perform such a pass-through.

“It’s almost impossible to stumble across exactly the right combination to produce such an access. Even though you were not consciously aware of it, you did not stumble across this doorway. I believe your visitor is not a result of chance.”

“Expanded perception,” Ian said, “would explain my ability to see her world, to see her there, but how does that explain my own experience of traveling to her world or reality?”
“It’s not traveling, really,” Djalma replied. “That’s a concept of the illusory physical realm-moving your form from one place to another-that your analyzing conscious mind has imposed on the experience, to make what is happening more comfortable, more familiar.”

“Travel seems an apt description,” Ian said. “I am here, and then I perceive myself, although not really solidly, in her reality. She has also traveled to my study.

“I can comprehend that what I see of Katerina could be just a visual projection into my room, a holograph, but my experience in her world is that I have something like a bodily presence there, just as I do right here.”

Djalma smiled. “Well . . . actually you are neither here nor there.”
Semantics are not helping, Ian thought.
Undisturbed by Ian’s stern expression, Djalma smiled and continued, “Technically, we are not here. We are not physical. But we are an illusion of physicality, a manifestation of our consciousness, from energy.

“The energetic doorway in your study is doing more than just expanding your ability to see into this parallel reality. The experience could have been limited there. But your doorway appears to have allowed you at least a partial transfer, or fluctuation, between two separate reality fields . . . what you are referring to as traveling. Your ability to perceive this other reality makes it as real and accessible as the one you and I interact in
right now. After all, what is reality except the ‘perception of choice’ at any given time?
You are manifesting a reference point for your consciousness, a body-even if not conventionally physical-in that place. You are in both places.”

**Disclaimer: For me, truth is personal and the consciousness that created the world before us is so complex that it can and does simultaneously manifest an infinite number of realities that sometimes appear to the human mind to be diametrically opposed to one another.

C.G. Walters primarily writes fiction that focuses on the mystical, metaphysical, and mythical insight that we all possess.  The type of perspective seen in this article is also evident in his novels. He sees fiction not as something less than truth, but something akin to a mantra…a means to induce the reader into comfortably ‘allowing’ their personal truth-a living, ever progressing truth, fit to their need at any given time.

His current novel, Sacred Vow is first and foremost a metaphysical love story, a tale of soul mates-twin  flames-a journey toward our one true love…in its infinite expressions…bringing together two individuals from disparate realities-but one spirit-to heal the rift in the Collective Consciousness.

Request a full length FREE PDF of Sacred Vow by going to www.cgwalters.com/spirit_story.htm   and clicking on the link in the page to send an email request. Purchase a signed paperback copy from http://sacredvow.dragonsbeard.com/ - or buy from your favorite brick and mortar, or online, store.

This copyrighted article may be freely reprinted as long as the entire article and complete by line is included.

It seems that a lot of angst would be spared if the spiritual path—and life, in general—had an undeniable standard pattern that could guarantee we were ‘on track’. There would be an invariable voice of the intuitive, heard by everyone—that you could compare with what your friends heard, just to make sure you were tuned into the right channel. Maps could be acquired in advance of any planned spiritual progression, to do away with all the years of meandering through endless forays.

 So much effort is required to first determine if the mounting need within should be responded to as a worthy motivation or merely (as we are often told) a chance to mature—in the real world a word frequently implying a directive to ‘neglect,’ ‘deny,’ or ‘rationalize’. Once certain we have a true calling to this path, we must next determine from just where the voice of one’s guiding intuitive will emanate. What language will we use to communicate with it—service, art, and dance, even words? What environment will most likely evoke its presence? 

For me, one of my most powerful connections to the Absolute—the Tao, or whatever you may call the unified intelligence—has turned out to be through just the right story: something that takes the form of an extended mantra, imbued with a rhythm and symbolism resonating so personally that it seems surely to be a direct manifestation of my intuitive self. Such a ‘chant’ lures me beyond my imagined limitations, to allow me to unreservedly embrace an otherwise untouchable identity.

That being the case, I guess I should not have been surprised when over time, I became aware that whenever my higher self, spirit guides, or other such familiars have been unable to otherwise get a piece of learning across to me, one of their choice tools is to bring it to me in the form of a story—even if I am the writer of that story. No matter what I have in mind, or am working on, I find my writing activities are suddenly hijacked along a previously unanticipated path. If I am in the midst of a neglectful sabbatical from writing, my mind becomes so inflicted with an unfolding tale that I must write it down to free myself from its clamor. 

These playful friends of mine (my muses) are quite talented. For, as soon as they force me back to the keyboard, or by the moment that I realize that we have taken a “wrong” turn (if I was currently in a writing cycle), my conscious mind has already been seduced into gladly following their whimsy. 

As a rule, once their intended lesson is conveyed via the resulting story, I am amazed that I was not already consciously aware of the information they have presented. Quite often I am such a complete convert that I cannot imagine how I could have been unaware of this particular information previously. Sometimes I suspect that I merely want to have as much as my instruction as possible delivered in this, my most favorite way.   I can’t offer any reasonable excuse for why I have periodically withdrawn from writing when I know that is the fount of so much valuable instruction for me. The most likely justification that I can offer is what flows before me is sometimes more than I was prepared to stand up before: sometimes “the truth may be recognized before the peace to live it is realized.” 

The last time I had the good fortune of a being redirected along a path of instruction, I was making my way to rework a long-neglected bit of writing: doing preparatory exercises of short stories. Without warning, one of the stories—that soon became my novel, Sacred Vow—lay hold to my attention, far exceeding my intentions. I pursued, curious about what passed before me. After hour upon hour of following this new lure, I came out of my little 3×5 writing closet in a deep meditative state. Clearly, this story would be no mere preparation for another.

Shortly afterwards, my job was downsized.

I now had no excuse not to follow with abandon. My writing closet—so small that I must turn the chair away from the desk to be able to stand and open the door to leave—may be an appropriate environment for inducing a meditative state—sitting in the dark for long hours, staring at a single light before me (the computer monitor). But I think there was something more going on. For ten to twelve hours a day, over the next several of weeks, I followed where the experience led. I was enjoying the story unfolding before me, but I was ecstatic from the sensation of extended periods of being connected to my higher self. My wife said that I possessed a radiance when I walked into the house during breaks in the writing. True, I typed in the text, but I did not initially imagine their meanings.  

Weeks later, hiking with a friend, I told him of some of the views of reality unfolding in this new book. After listening attentively, he said: “Do you really believe this is the way it works?”  

We continued deeper into the woods, as I gave his question thought. I was a little amused at the answer I finally had to admit. I said, “Until I saw this information in the story, I can’t say that I had any such ideas. But now, yes, I think this is a truth.”   

“You know how tarot cards unveils truth depending on the way the cards fall?” he asked. “Perhaps just such an auspicious falling of words on your screen is unfolding the same way.”  

For just such moments of clear connection with my higher self as the writing of Sacred Vow, I gladly pay the cost of the once seemingly endless attempts to connect with my unique path and intuitive voice.

 Copyright 2007 CG Walters  

C.G. Walters primarily writes fiction that focuses on the mystical, metaphysical, and mythical insight that we all possess.  He see fiction not as something less than truth, but something akin to a mantra…a means to induce the reader into comfortably ‘allowing’ their personal truth—a living, ever progressing truth, fit to their need at any given time. His current novel, Sacred Vow is first and foremost a metaphysical love story, a tale of soul mates—twin  flames—a journey toward our one true love…in its infinite expressions…bringing together two individuals from disparate realities—but one spirit—to heal the rift in the Collective Consciousness.    

Request a full length FREE PDF of Sacred Vow by going to www.cgwalters.com/spirit_story.htm   and clicking on the link in the page to send an email request. Purchase a signed paperback copy from http://sacredvow.dragonsbeard.com – or buy from your favorite brick and mortar, or online, store.    

For a recent interview with CG, listen to the KarmaCaffe Spiritual Hour archive at

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/karmacaffe/2007/10/18/Karma-Caffe-Spiritual-Hour   This copyrighted article may be freely reprinted as long as the entire article and complete by line is included.

Samhain nears, when the veil between worlds is its most sheer. We are nearing the season of the year where we traditionally enjoy many of our strongest celebrations of giving, of love, and of communion–Thanksgiving, Chanukah, The Hajj, Christmas, Kwanzaa.  

In honor of the upcoming period of time so energetically significant to our culture and our psyche, I have decided to allow anyone interested to get a full length FREE PDF of Sacred Vow by going to www.cgwalters.com/spirit_story.htm   and clicking the link on the link in the page to send an email request. —it’s best that the requests come through this way so that the subject line has an identifier that will keep my email software from dumping it into the junk box.
            The file is 1MB, so may pose a problem for some. If so, I will try to work something out.

From the moment Sacred Vow came into my life it has shown itself to be a spirit story…a living tale in progression that arises not merely from the author, but is a collective, interactive work of everyone that will become involved with it–past, present and future.

In such a story, cause and effect is anything by linear. The readers of the future are even now interacting with me in the past, to develop the avenue that allows Sacred Vow to come forth to the help heal the rift in the Collective Consciousness. As is the nature of spirit stories, it will say what we have the heart to hear…and that will change from time to time.

 “Sacred Vow shares with us the magic of a loving commitment that spans time and the understanding that such a commitment needs to be held sacred. It is a love story, one that shows the journey towards one true love has infinite expressions.”   Monthly Aspectarian, In Print: New Books of Interest                                         http://www.lightworks.com/MonthlyAspectarian/2007/March/inprint.htm

A compelling, thought provoking book.”  –Earth Star Magazine Oracle 20-20 “…you will receive a wonderful gift from this author.” “Sacred Vow is a metaphysical novel about a man who responds to the mysterious call of a woman, opening the way to redefinition of both himself and his understanding of the world around him. He takes his first steps on a journey to accept the world around him as a place to live, not simply a place to survive day-to-day. Sacred Vow is both a narrative and the means for the author to communicate a positive message about life and fully integrating the most into each moment. Highly recommended.”                                    
Small Press Bookwatch, Midwest Book Review            http://www.midwestbookreview.com/sbw/sep_06.htm#fiction 

I was writing short stories as warm up to a project I wished to return when Sacred Vow started flowing and kept growing no matter how many times I cut it, starting later in the action. It would be no short-story!      Acknowledging that fact, I spoke to the spirit of Sacred Vow and agreed to allow it to be a novel, but said, “There’s just one problem…to write a novel I must connect with the story long enough, deeply enough to live it. My current work will not allow me enough time or focus.”     

In two weeks I had been downsized! So I began to write.      

It only took two months to rough draft Sacred Vow. Three weeks of that time I was writing (in my little, 3 foot by 5 foot room) 10-12 hours per day, seven days per week. It was like awakening a memory, a waking dream in a meditative state. My wife, Kathy, said that I seemed to glow–and almost glide over the floor–whenever I came in the house.      

For over twenty years writing had been a spiritual practice for me. Whenever I could or would not learn otherwise, I have been blessed to receive the lessons through story. All I had to do was give myself fully and openly, and a story would flow. For all that time, I learned and then hid the work away…knowing that a time would  come when I had to fulfill a spiritual agreement to bring forth my writing. Though Sacred Vow was unfamiliar to me until the moment the book began, it was evident that this story was the journey I had been anticipating so long.       

Once the book was complete, I tried to learn how to bring its message forward through the complex mechanism of the publishing world. Far more comfortable with solitary walking of the mists on the mountain-top, I did what I could to present the story in a format worthy its spirit. Sacred Vow achieved only critical acclaim, but I have never been comfortable that this standard avenue of publication is the path that Sacred Vow should be committed to–its message is too important for convention.       

Unfortunately, I (and my finances) got so involved with my efforts that I was losing sight of the purpose of Sacred Vow. I knew intuitively that something was wrong, but my obsessive focus would not allow me to see. For some time I have had a rumbling within me. It seems that Sacred Vow let me veer as far off the path as I would, until the very nature of being lost would bring me to my senses–much like a Zen koan.       

I woke the other morning with a fever in body, mind and spirit. I knew that I have had quite the internal conflict going on about this book….and just recently, I think the stress of that conflict may have forced me to override my fears and concerns–and (symbolically) jump off the mountain to use my wings to fly.   Though we continue to get excellent reviews and good readership, the time has come when I must decide which I believe in more–the message of Sacred Vow, or the +$100,000 that I had invested in bringing that message forward so far. Focusing on managing to recover the cash was giving me a fever.   

I have seen numerous examples of “conscious business” being done on the concept of “pay me according to the benefit you receive.” I have also seen many reports on the new nature of publishing. I am moved to make a bold change because of such as these items along with some sense of distress in my own spirit about whether I was restricting the flow of energy that is Sacred Vow by only allowing its presence to come forth via the traditional publishing path.        Samhain nears, the time many say the veil between worlds is its most sheer. Sacred Vow is a story of parallel universes and the multidimensional nature of our loves and our relationships.     

We are nearing the season of the year where we traditionally enjoy many of our celebrations of giving, of love, and of communion–Thanksgiving, Chanukah, The Hajj, Christmas, Kwanzaa. The rift in the Collective Consciousness that is so central in Sacred Vow is occurring because people in the worlds of the characters are dissociating from one another, from the world they live, from other life forms, and from the effect their own thoughts have on their reality. I believe that our world is in much the same state…and that is why Sacred Vow decided it would come now…no matter what my plans might have been.    

For importance of the message of Sacred Vow—and the effect I believe it will have on those called to it–I am choosing to give this full length PDF of Sacred Vow to anyone who sends me an email via the link mentioned above. After that, I offer the future of its the path to Spirit. Note: Anyone can still purchase a signed, personalized paperback copy of Sacred Vow athttp://sacredvow.dragonsbeard.com or get unsigned copies via online or brick and mortar stores. 

“C.G. Walters has written an excellent occult novel about one of the most haunting themes in human experience – the search for one’s ‘twin spirit’ or twin soul.  Sacred Vow kept me up half the night reading it.  I simply couldn’t put it down!  Throughout the book while reading the author’s description of the quantum universe, I had the feeling of ‘This is the way things really are!’”-Peter Calhoun: Author of Soul on Fire 

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Peace and wonder,

CG

No longer confined to material experience, Katerina crossed into the dimly lit room, invisible to its inhabitants. She had never visited this world before, never laid eyes on this person, yet Katerina’s bond to the lean, gray-haired man seated at the wooden table was so intense and immediate that she barely managed to suppress the impulse to reach out and embrace him.

       He rested a forearm on either side of the tattered book at which he stared, completely absorbed. In a few moments, he began to read aloud to himself, in a gentle voice.

       “So long have we been sharing our experience, our becoming, that it no longer makes sense to imagine such a thing as either of us wholly divisible from the other . . . if it ever did make sense.”

       Slowly he sat upright, eyes staring in Katerina’s direction, though completely unaware of her, staring through her formless presence and beyond her. A smile spread over his weathered face.

       Mesmerized, Katerina watched the man’s bright eyes as he began to move his head to the left. The moment his attention came to rest, an undeniable serenity radiated from his face, drawing Katerina to turn and seek out its inspiration.

       He was looking into the face of a woman sitting in a large, upholstered chair, motionless, silent, and eyes closed. Upon first recognition of that face, Katerina’s intimacy with it involuntarily pulled her nearer. It was her own face on which Katerina was gazing, many years older, but indisputably her face. Katerina wanted to linger and rest her spirit, weary from all the traveling today, to just take in the simplicity of their life together in this place. But she knew that would be unwise.

       Though only an observer, Katerina felt herself beginning to fuse into this life, making it her own. And this reality was progressively laying claim to her. Synthesis into the visited environment was a known problem with this manner of searching. She had been cautioned against becoming too tired and being seduced into idling.

       She took one last look at her partner in this alternate life— at the partner of this parallel self. Katerina forced herself to continue the search elsewhere. This man was surely a manifestation of the one she sought, but this was not “him.”

       Then she released her hold on this life. The tangibility of another facet of reality dissolved around her, as it had so many times before that day.

       When letting go of a visited life, Katerina often had a sense of rapid movement—somewhat unnerving. It was similar to the dream sensation of falling when on the brink of sleep. Except this movement went in all directions simultaneously, including inward.

       As Katerina removed herself from this life of hers, she retained traces of it. Though she had visited the place for only moments, that reality had been thoroughly integrated into Katerina’s definition of self, her emotions, and her mind. The same thing had happened with each parallel life that she had visited today. The resulting assimilation of parallel self-definitions was proving to be the hardest part of this task. Katerina could feel something similar to layers of simultaneous lifetime awarenesses building within her consciousness. With each new layer, Katerina’s definition-of-self expanded, but the primary identity receded a little. The more the tether to her prime personality weakened, the more dangerous the next visit became.

       These dangers to the visitant were why this ritual was so rarely performed. Only by forcing acknowledgment of her exceptional skills had Katerina been able to persuade The Nine to consent to, and assist in, her searches. With each passing in and out of these parallel lives, Katerina became progressively more understanding of the Crones’ concerns.
      
       Good fortune and bad awaited Katerina at the next location she tried to visit. For whatever reason, she was blocked from entering the environment. This meant the spirit of the very person she had come to visit denied her access—so she had been taught.

       The barrier was good because of the respite it afforded her, even momentarily. It was bad because this failed attempt was an opportunity lost and she had no time to waste. Katerina could feel her subconscious becoming overwhelmed. She would have to abandon the search very soon.

       As though she had been slammed into a wall, Katerina rebounded. With no time to prepare, she entered into another parallel life. The quickness of the transfer had a severe impact on her already depleted energies.

       Hazy images began to take form before her eyes. As in every other visit today, what Katerina saw and felt was as real to her as the life in the world of her physical form. These people, her lives in parallel realities, always existed right before her eyes. They were as real as any member of her order that she interacted with day in and day out. In this process, Katerina merely opened her awareness to the otherwise unacknowledged doorway between the infinite realities.

       Memories that were hidden from her a moment before—memories belonging exclusively to this parallel life—began to introduce themselves into her consciousness. A flood of previously inaccessible senses, personal to this life, began to send their messages to her brain. Emotions without history for the traveling Katerina of a moment before began to structure in her mind the network of associations that gave them consequence. It was becoming almost impossible to fully open herself to yet another mind, another life, and still retain her distinction from them.

       “Maintain the focus,” she reminded herself. “Where is the Union?”

       Psychically, she searched the structure in which she stood for evidence of his presence. She knew he had been in this room only a moment before. Scanning one room after another with her mind, her senses met him returning up the stairs from a lower floor.

       Perceptive of subtle energies, he stopped, and turned his head as if trying to catch the sound or sight that had fleetingly stirred his attention. Though her presence was centered in another room, Katerina held her mental focus on him, just outside of his range of perception. There was something very special about this one, and she took time to enjoy that uniqueness.

       But he is not the Union, her mind cried out.

       “Suen?” he called.

       “What is it, Yeetar?” his partner replied from a room at the back of the top floor.

       Yeetar looked around, curious. It was obvious that he had perceived an unfamiliar intrusion into his world. He seemed to be reaching out with something more than his five senses, trying to locate her. So Katerina cautiously began to withdraw her presence.

       Significant, she thought. But, still not the Union.

       Katerina heard Yeetar reply, uncertainly, “Nothing, Suen,” as the last of Katerina’s foreign essence departed from his world.

       Katerina knew she could not attempt another visit. Her need to return to the Motherworld was too great. As soon as she pulled herself back into the mortal form that was her own, every member of The Nine instantaneously received her request for termination of the rite. The gurgling song of the streams that surrounded the circle of Crones aided her return.

       Though Katerina felt her spirit fully identify with the body of her home reality, her mind was overwhelmed with the competing identities she had integrated into her awareness during the searches. Still in the seated meditation posture, Katerina slumped forward, reaching her hands to the ground for reconnection, pressing her palms to the soft, living moss that covered the ground below her. Her breathing was deep and slow. With each inhalation, the scent of the evergreen forest strengthened her connection to this place, her primary home.

       Surges of energy began to run through her muscles, making them twitch. Katerina strove to suppress these involuntary movements.

       Undoubtedly, out of need for its own survival, Katerina’s conscious mind was feverishly sweeping through the queue of her recent experiences and vanquishing all contending identities to the subdued recesses of her subconscious.

       Katerina had no way of telling how long the hand had been on her shoulder. Still unable to withdraw her concentration from the processes of recovery, she wasn’t yet able to perceive whose hand it was. A minute later, still unaware of who stood above her, Katerina began to realize that sympathetic energy flowed into her through the supportive hand, assisting Katerina in her efforts to integrate.

       She had not wanted anyone to know how much impact the ceremony had had on her. She had been bold in her claims of being able to handle the process.

       “You have done well, dear heart, and we are glad you are back with us.”

       Katerina knew the voice. Head hanging down, eyes still closed, her sensory perception becoming exclusive to the world of her body, she replied, “I could not find him, Holiness. So many manifestations of him, but none of them were the Union.”

       “That is both auspicious and unfortunate. With so many connections, the bond between you and him is exceptionally strong. It does, however, complicate finding the appropriate manifestation when seeking him without some assistance on his part.

       “You have been remarkable in your effort, Katerina. No one would have asked so much of you. Care for yourself now, my child. This is a demanding task that you have undertaken.”

       “I am certain something is not as we expect this time,” Katerina said.

       “We may not understand why things are proceeding as they are, Katerina, but the Collective Consciousness cannot be wrong. We must carry out our practice as it has been handed down to us. The method has always served the need, and will again . . . in its own time.”

       “Yes, Mother. But when I received the visions, it seemed he was not within an order. Is it possible?”

       “The images you saw must be coincidental, not indicative of his full person, Katerina.”

       “How can he refrain from replying?” Katerina asked, finally regaining enough strength to rise to her feet, though slowly. “Perhaps he cannot, or does not understand the Call.”

       The old Matriarch wrapped an arm around Katerina’s back and helped the younger woman to steady her wobbly legs.

       Katerina looked into the concerned, almost teary eyes of her superior and said, “I truly feel that something is unique to this occurrence of the rift.”

       “I know you do, and I respect that belief. But you must accept that no matter the situation, the situation is perfection, as it has always been.”

       A tear rolled down the wrinkled cheek before the elder continued.

       “I would not have had you suffer this burden, Katerina, if I had such power to decide. And I must accept that this charge is yours to bear, in your own way.”

       Despite the Matriarch’s compassionate tone, Katerina took her words as a reprimand. “I will not fail my duties. Until I find the Union, I will search without cease.”

Rubbing Katerina’s back, the old woman said, “You have always surpassed your duties, dear girl, and are doing so now. You will not fail, cannot fail. It is we who must not fail you.”

copyright 2007 CG Walters

**Disclaimer: For me, truth is personal and the consciousness that created the world before us is so complex that it can and does simultaneously manifest an infinite number of realities that sometimes appear to the human mind to be diametrically opposed to one another.

C.G. Walters primarily writes fiction that focuses on the mystical, metaphysical, and mythical insight that we all possess.  He see fiction not as something less than truth, but something akin to a mantra…a means to induce the reader into comfortably ‘allowing’ their personal truth—a living, ever progressing truth, fit to their need at any given time.
 
His current novel, Sacred Vow is first and foremost a metaphysical love story, a tale of soul mates—twin  flames—a journey toward our one true love…in its infinite expressions…bringing together two individuals from disparate realities—but one spirit—to heal the rift in the Collective Consciousness.

Request a free PDF of the first three chapters by contacting kathmandau at cgwalters.com or read online at http://sacredvow.dragonsbeard.com

This copyrighted article may be freely reprinted as long as the entire article and complete by line is included.