David Narby - Chapter 10 - Special Effects, Distractions, Diversions, Delusions

Annorr said, "Before we begin, I would like to inform you all that I've changed my name to Amisa, pronounced am-ee-sa. I'll still respond to Annorr, but I would prefer if you all called me Amisa."

I asked, "What was wrong with Annorr?"

Amisa said, "I just did not like the sound of it. I thought that it made me sound a bit belligerent."

Will said, “David, there is something bothering you. Are you still upset at Hix’s departure?”

I said, “Yes, what Hix wrote in her letter makes sense. It’s just that I don’t seem to be able to accept it.”

The rest of the gang chimed in with various catch phrases - “She’s put the cat among the pigeons.” “She’s opened a can of worms.” “She’s upset the apple cart.” "She’s opened Pandora's box."

Will said, “OK lads, we get the message.”

I said, “She combines her Catholic Catechism Lesson Six with her quote from the bible to make everything sound so simple and easy.”

Will said, “She accepted that it made it all simple, but I don’t think she was expecting it to be easy. In fact, she left here believing that undoing her belief system was going to be a long and arduous task.”

Darukin said, “David, a word of caution, Hix uses what we call mad-house logic. It’s a gross over-simplification technique that ignores what most people call ‘common sense’. It usually drives ‘ordinary’ people crazy because it ignores all the ingrained rules and regulations that are accepted as normal. Mind you, common sense is a highly overestimated gauge of what is true or false."

Will said, "It is used to hold the status quo and to tell us "that can't be done", or "that won't work." And what is common sense to you is not necessarily common sense to me.”

Charlie asked, “But is it really what Hix said that’s bothering you David?”

I wasn't sure that I wanted to get into the real reason, but since I’d learned to trust these people I decided to be more open with them. I said,

“Hix is only part of the problem. When I gave up my career and started down this awakening path I had expectations of becoming a powerful creator who was completely free. At first I was getting lots of interesting experiences and I have shared most of them with you. Recently these have dried up and now I find myself thinking about the past and questioning the decisions I have made. I’m wondering was my previous existence a complete waste of time. I’m even speculating about going back.”

Charlie said, “Going back to what, your wonderful career as a world-famous journalist. There’s no need to be shocked, David, we all know your little secret. Don't worry, though, we won’t tell anyone and even if we did, who’d believe a bunch of crazies like ourselves. There’s no going back. You can’t go home, they all think you are dead.”

Amisa said, “Of course he can go Home.”

Charlie said, “You made a great decision to leave it all behind you, David. You do not really want to undo that decision, but you still need to undo your attachment to your previous life. You’re holding onto an awful lot of stuff that you need to let go. The Shamans of Ancient Mexico believed that the only way to do this was through ‘recapitulation’, a method of recovering energy from stagnant thoughts, complexes, situations and relationships"
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I asked, “Is this like examining one’s conscience?”

Charlie said, “Yes, recapitulation is like examining one’s conscience in so far as we keep looking at the past, but its purpose is totally different. Recapitulation consists of a systematic scrutiny of one’s life, segment by segment. This examination is made, not in the light of criticism or finding fault, but in an effort to understand one’s life, and to change its course. Once we have viewed our lives in the detached manner that the recapitulation requires, there’s no way of going back to the same life.”

I asked, “Would this be necessary if we lived totally in the present?”

Charlie said, “The whole idea is to get us to live totally in the present, but for the most part we are carrying an awful lot of baggage. The world of everyday life is not real, or out there, as we believe it is. It is only a description. This description has been pounded into us since the moment of our birth.

"Everyone who comes into contact with a child is a teacher who incessantly describes the world, until the moment the child is capable of perceiving the world as it is described. We have no memory of this moment, simply because none of us would possibly have had any point of reference to compare it to anything else. From that moment on, however, we are caught. We know the description of the world, and we are capable of making all the proper perceptual interpretations, which, by confirming to that description, validate it.”

Will said, “We’re ploughing old ground here, we've covered this before. In child psychology, the period from one month to ten months is when most of this programming is done, when we form a ‘dual unity’ with our mothers. When the actual moment of perceiving the description occurs is uncertain. There is more certainty about when we lock into it. Some schools of thought say that it has happened by the time we are three, others say five, and still others say seven."

Charlie said, “Whatever! The reality of our day-to-day life consists of an endless flow of perceptual interpretations. This reality is shared. These perceptions are rarely, if ever, open to question. And that there may be other interpretations could not be taken seriously. We have to learn a new description in a total sense, for the purpose of pitting it against the old one, and in that way break the dogmatic certainty, which we all share.”

I said, “I’m getting the sense that to achieve this we have to engage in struggle, strife, battle, or even all out war”
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Charlie said, “The Shamans of Ancient Mexico believed that things are black or white, good or evil, right or wrong. And the only way to convert from black to white, evil to good, or wrong to right is through removing the black-evil-wrong by severe, cruel methods that, most of time, include killing it."

Amisa said, “And kill the host as well. It does not have to be that way. To ‘relinquish’ our description all we have to do is let go of the past.”

Darukin said, “We all carry much emotional memory and we need to metabolise it. We need to let the past go through the process of being sorted, of keeping what we regard as useful and dumping what is not.”

Will said, “Whatever we call it, recapitulation, relinquishing, or metabolising, the undoing of our present state of mind is a process that takes time and effort. How much time and effort it takes depends on many factors.”

Charlie said, "We have to adopt the mood of a warrior – become an impeccable hunter that hunts power. If we succeed in our hunting we can be called 'a man of knowledge'. The hardest thing in the world is to assume the mood of a warrior, It is of no use to be sad and complain and feel justified in doing so, believing that someone is always doing something to us. Nobody is doing anything to anybody, much less to a warrior.

Will said, "You cannot hunt something you already have. But, before you attack me again, you can hunt what is keeping you out of your natural power."

Charlie said, "Self-pity doesn't jibe with power. The mood of a warrior calls for control over himself and at the same time it calls for abandoning himself. A warrior calculates everything. That’s control. But once his calculations are over, he acts. He lets go. That’s abandon. For a warrior there is nothing offensive about the acts of his fellow men.

"We need the mood of a warrior to cut through all the guff. As warriors, we proceed strategically for we know that the worst thing we can do is to confront human beings bluntly..."

I said, "I guess I have been going about this the wrong way. My tendency has been to be blunt and direct, and not to beat around the bush.

Will said, "No, you have been accused of being blunt, but for the most part you have been gentle, maybe a bit direct in trying to get your message across.

Darukin said, "David, being blunt and direct implies that you know what's best for someone else. It also means that you have judged the other person or their behaviour. And in some cases, you'll be accused of interfering."

Charlie continued, "Fright never injures anyone. What injures the spirit is having someone always on our backs, beating us, telling us what to do and what not to do."

Will said, "Unfortunately, this someone is not always external to us, we have internalised it as the 'superego' or as our conscience."

Clivid had been sitting through all of this without any comment. Now I could see that he was getting very agitated. He stood up and puffed out his chest like he was getting ready to preach.

Clivid said, "We examine our conscience on a daily basis to prepare us for the particular judgment. This judgment happens to all of us immediately after we die..."

Will interrupted, "Here comes the Big Book sermon!"

Clivid continued, "You will stand in front of the Throne of God and God will judge you from what has been written in the book of your lives. Everything is in the book. Everything you have thought, said or done is in there. Everything that you should have thought, said or done is in there. Everything that you omitted to think, say or do is in there.

"And listening to all the blasphemy, sacrilege and heresy that you have been mouthing, you will all rot in the fires of hell forever..."

Amisa interrupted, "Clivid, Clivid, God has only one judgment of us all."

Clivid asked in a very sarcastic tone, "Pray tell, witch, what is that?"

Amisa said, "You are my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased."

Clivid plonked down on his chair and threw his eyes up to heaven in desperation.

Charlie said, "The warrior’s way is to worry and think before we make any decision, but once we make it, be on our way, free from worry or thoughts. There will be a million other decisions still awaiting us. War does not mean acts of individual or collective stupidity or wanton violence. It means the total struggle against that part of ourselves that deprives us of our power."

Amisa said, "I don't like the word warrior. It means a brave or experienced soldier or fighter. I get the sense of how you use it, Charlie, but I wish we could use some other expression."

Charlie said, "Inside all of us there is a gigantic, dark lake of silent knowledge which we can access. It is extremely old, at ease, indifferent, heavy, dark, and connected to everything else. It does not care because it is equal to everything. It enjoys things with no expectation."

Amisa said, "Sorry for interrupting you again. It is seen as dark only from the ego's perspective. In fact, it is only light."

Charlie said, "That's alright. The separate part, ego or foreign installation, is light, new, fluffy, agitated, nervous, and fast. It cares about itself because it is insecure and does not enjoy anything, simply because it lacks the capacity to connect itself to anything. It is alone, on the surface, and vulnerable.

"Ego finds itself so hopelessly removed from the source of everything that all it can do is express its despair in violent and cynical acts of self-destruction. Our lack of connection to our silent source makes us feel that we have no hope of peace, of satisfaction, or of attainment."

I asked, "Is this dark lake you describe our subconscious?"

Clivid said, "God is everywhere!"

Amisa said, "Clivid, that's true, but don't you start repeating that."

Charlie said, "Yes Clivid, it could be equated with God. Using the term God, however, usually gets us mired in the quagmire of religion. We sometimes refer to it as 'the Nagual', a simpler term might be 'Universal Mind' or mind that is everywhere.

Will asked, “David, is this conversation helping you discover what’s really bothering you?”

I said, “To some extent. It has helped me clarify what my real problem is. As I see it, my great experiences are my interpretations of me dipping into the universal mind and my day to day issues are my ego refusing to let go."

Charlie said, "You got it!"

I said, "More specifically, every night before I go to bed I do a meditation on a mantra...”

Clivid interrupted, “What’s a mantra?”

Darukin answered, “It’s like a prayer or an affirmation, it’s something you keep repeating to yourself over and over to calm your mind. As you repeat it you try to say it quieter and quieter. It’s like turning down the volume control on a radio.”

I continued, “When I’m finished I’m usually very calm and relaxed. Then when I get into bed I keep repeating it as I watch the screen and fall asleep. When I wake up in the morning I feel very dense and no matter how hard I try to remember the mantra, I can’t. It’s like Will says, there seems to be a completely different personality in charge.”

Amisa said, “That’s funny, when I was doing A Course in Miracles, I had a similar experience with one of the lessons. The lesson I had to remember was “I will not value what is valueless”. Before I left for work I could remember it no bother. As I drove away from the house I could not remember it and no matter what I did during the day I still could not remember it. As I drove back into the house that evening it popped back into my head.”

Will said, "David, can you give us an example."

I said, "I'd prefer not to get into the details of these waking experiences, but I'll give you one example. Recently, I woke up and got out of bed without turning on the lights. My room looked different. I went to the door and could not find the handle to open it. I was probing with my hands all around where the door should be. Then I realised that it was a bare wall I was up against and that the door was off to my left in the adjacent wall."

Will said, "Maybe you were reliving a past life memory."

Darukin said, "If we accept Charlie's idea of a universal mind that contains everything, everywhere for all time, then past lives do not make any sense."

Will said, "Ok, David's experience was taken from this universal mind rather than his own personal memories."

Amisa said, "We've talked a lot about ego and it's personalities. Let's try and put it in a broader perspective. Charlie's 'Man of Knowledge' has access to the universal mind. I define this access as spirit. Ego is the part of us that believes that it is separated and has no access to spirit. Ego is both the prison that we lock ourselves into and the prison officer that does not allow us to escape. Mind is the decision maker that chooses between staying in ego's hell or reaching for spirit. This choice allows us to become 'knower' as opposed to being a figment of an illusion's imagination."

I asked, "Are you telling me that all my experiences are just a figment of my imagination?"

Amisa answered, "No! Your experiences are real enough, they come from either spirit or ego. They are open to interpretation by the ego. And, basically, all we have been talking about is your interpretation of your experiences, not the experiences themselves."

Clivid asked, "And where does the body fit into all of this?"

Amisa answered, "The body is a wholly neutral thing - to be gently laid aside when its usefulness is done."

Clivid said, "You're all delusional dreamers!"

Amisa said, "Ego learns, dreams are ego temper tantrums, so we can learn from dreams."

Will said, "We are running out of time, again."

I said, "Before you go, I'd like to say thank you. My views on all of this are becoming much clearer. Thank you!"

David Narby - Chapter 1 - Runaway Awakening

On the 26 July 1997, David Narby disappeared. One of the top journalists of all time, he had interviewed more Presidents, Religious Leaders and Heads of State than all other journalists combined. This is because of the interview style and unassuming manner he adopted while researching and interviewing his subjects. His preparation was meticulous and he and his research staff worked on location with his subjects. He absorbed their culture as much as was possible and took weeks to complete his interview. He became familiar with his subjects, but more importantly, he allowed them to become familiar with him. This allowed him to bypass the usual antagonism that journalists experience when trying to extract important information from reluctant informants. His approach is described as "little and often" because he accepted two or three minute slots in his subject's busy schedule.

His textbook "Interviewing Greatness" is still required reading for aspiring journalists at all the best schools worldwide. To use "David Narby said" in conversation is still regarded as the equivalent of quoting from the bible or other holy book. It is regarded as almost miraculous that he interviewed leaders from diametrically opposed parties, sects, or factions. In fact, he knew no frontiers, social, cultural, political, or religious when seeking people to interview. As his reputation grew, he was sought out by leaders and potential leaders. It was rumoured in many circles that getting interviewed by him was regarded as a sure guarantee of becoming the next leader.

There are countless theories as to why he disappeared. These fall into three main categories, Abduction, Abdication, and Wilderness. The abduction theories seem very unlikely since no individual or organisation has claimed responsibility or looked for any reward. The unlikely scenario of alien abduction, while holding lots of followers in the lunatic fringe, is given no creditability. Some credence is placed on abdication because of what he left behind him on that fateful day. Also, all his affairs had been left in order. Before every assignment he had always updated his last will and testament. The Wilderness Theory takes the evidence of the abdication theory and adds the concept of "walkabout". David was aware of the need for some major change in his life and took the opportunity presented to pursue an alternative life. In the light of his most recent report, received today, it looks like the Wilderness freaks got it right.

Let me recap the relevant facts regarding David from 26 July 1997. David's last report, The Vatican Report, was sent from the base of the obelisk in St. Peter's Square. David then returned to the Hotel St. George, Roma. He paid his bill, packed all his gear and left it with the concierge. He gave the concierge a generous tip, as usual, and told him that he would collect it after he had finished his business at the Vatican. What was unusual was that he packed everything, his personal phone, his pens and notebook, his watch, his wallet and credit cards. He literally left the hotel with only the clothes he was wearing. The hotel and staff were examined and re-examined and all of this has been verified. He then took a taxi to the Vatican, which is unusual because he preferred to walk. At the Vatican, he confirmed that they had received his report, met with the Pope and senior cardinals, all very amicably, and left.

He was last seen at the obelisk, talking to an older man. This he confirms in his RA report. The older man has never been identified. All the photographs taken of them talking together have been analysed in depth, but while the image of David is clear, the image of the older man is always fuzzy.

We are publishing this new report out of our high regard for David. We have not seen or heard from him in more than 13 years. We still have no evidence of his whereabouts, his welfare, or even his state of mind. What he talks about is a complete turnaround for him.

Runaway Awakening (RA) Report

As I left the Vatican I bumped into an older man. He was vaguely familiar, but I had never met him before. He took me into the shade of the obelisk; and I'm not sure if he even said hello. He asked me to close my eyes and tell him what I saw. That I did so surprised me, because I don't take kindly to passes from random strangers, usually telling them rather impolitely to get lost. However, his penetrating, totally serene eyes held me rapt. I said I saw nothing. He replied that to see nothing is quite an achievement, maybe even a miracle. He put his hand on my back between my shoulder blades and told me to look again. This time I saw a blank, black screen. After a few moments it began to change and I could see three dots of light, like stars. I watched these, transfixed, and eventually they began to spiral away. I opened my eyes to tell him and get an explanation, but he was not there any more.

So I started searching. A strange calmness had come over me since looking at the three stars. I was not too concerned that I could not find the older man. I started to wander, and allowed myself to be guided, if that is what it could be called. Whenever I came to a junction I would ask myself, left, right or straight ahead. A small voice would repeat the direction three times and I would follow it. So there I was, walking around Rome with a voice in my head going "left, left, left" and "right, right, right". After a few hours I came to a bus. The engine on the bus was running and I climbed on board.

In the back row of the bus sat three of the largest black women I had ever seen. They were so big that I could not imagine how the seat was able to hold them, and I definitely had no idea how they got on the bus. Beside them was an emergency exit and I thought that they would never fit through that door. All of the seats were occupied. One of the three ladies called to me..."Hey, shining little white man, you come down here and sit with us." From the look of the women and the state of the bus I had not been expecting anyone to speak English. As I went down the aisle I wondered where they would squeeze me in. As I got closer, they pointed to the back of the seat in front of the emergency door and said "You sit there, shining little white man and be a good boyo." There on the back of the seat was a pull-down stool like the stewardesses use in aeroplanes.

I sat down. "Oh my God", I said in a patronising tone. "When God said go forth, increase, multiply and fill the universe, he did not mean that you had to do it personally." At this they all laughed uproariously together. I asked them if they were triplets, they looked identical and appeared to be exactly the same weight, size and shape. They said that their appearance was just an act to put me at ease and that they were more like a trinity. They came from totally different backgrounds but had achieved amazing abilities over their bodies and their environment. I asked them what their names were. They replied, "No use for names, but to make your mind easy, you can call us Mi-Li-Sam or Li-Mi-Sam or Sam-Li-Mi or indeed any one or combination of Mi, Li, and Sam that you wish. David Narby, we know all about you. We read you like a book, well, more like an open space. When you entered the bus, it became populated with your past. You carry everything about yourself around with you and we can see it all. You may fool yourself and everybody else, David Narby, but there's no fooling us"

The bus had been moving for some time now and I had no idea where we were going, except that we seemed to be moving in a general easterly direction. I asked Mi-Sam-Li where the bus was going.

"Bus is going to begin your real education" they said. "You have been living in a world populated by phantoms. Nothing you see is real. We are going to change all that."

I asked "And what if I don't want it all changed".

"We've gone way beyond that. When you walked onto the bus you sealed the door on your past. There's no going back. You will have lots of work to do. You have been living your life braced for impact. We are going to prod you and poke you until you learn that you are free, that you are a powerful creator. How much pain and suffering you endure is entirely up to you. What we teach is simple and easy. Your reluctance or resistance to learning it will make it extremely difficult. The world you see has been a very complicated one and you will probably over-complicate the simple lessons we will be giving you."

I began to protest that I had interviewed some of the most powerful people on the planet. I was rudely interrupted. "Those people have no power. They are puppets. They are controlled by their schedules. They all have job descriptions. Not one of them can do a single thing they want. If it is not in the script for their day it does not happen. Even their so-called 'free' time is tightly controlled." The sham Jamaican style of speaking had been completely dropped. They asked "So, world renowned journalist, what did you learn from all those 'powerful' people." I remained silent for quite a while. There was no sense giving these people my usual socially acceptable response. I did not want to lie, but mainly, the question took me by surprise and I had never thought through what I had really learned from all those interviews.

"Now that you ask the question" I said, trying to buy some time, "All of the leaders I interviewed were very similar, like they all came from the same mold. Their thinking was hierarchical. They all saw themselves as being in the top echelon of power. And if they were not the alpha-male, they soon would be. They all used aggression as a means of getting their own way, even though they appeared to be charming and courteous. To stay in control they encouraged conflict in all levels beneath them, and were not averse to using violence to eliminate rivals. Their leadership style was based on the divide and conquer principle. They showed a complete lack of compassion for the people they ruled, seeing them as totally beneath them, almost as if they were animals. And they had an overwhelming need for ritual in everything they did, even down to their ceremonial approach to offering cups of tea or drink at every meeting."

The ladies were not in the slightest put out by what I said and all I got in response were some gentle nods of their heads. They seemed to know what I was talking about. They said,

"You left one thing out. They always see 'attack as the best means of defence'. Their attack usually takes the form of an accusation and this puts their opponents on the defensive, as well as getting them into fear and guilt. So, David, do you think that your description of these leaders might represent your own life so far?"

What a question. My anger flared up instantly. Who did these people think they were to accuse me of being like those tyrants?

They fell around the place laughing. My anger turned to rage. I was getting really mad. That made them laugh even more. "What's so funny?" I bellowed. After a while their laughter died down. "Well, your reaction proves that we hit the nail on the head. You don't have the position to be a real tyrant, so lets call you a petty tyrant." I heard a sharp popping noise and something clicked in my head. My tantrum ended instantly. I looked at the three colossi and realised that they were pushing my buttons. That I reacted so dramatically was witness enough for me to know that they were right. They started laughing again and this time I joined in.

"Anyway," they said, "we are not really interested in these leaders and their position power. We want to teach you about your personal power. But before we do that there are a few things we need to straighten out." At this, Mi-Li-Sam assumed a professorial approach and began to lecture me on 'what it was all about'.

The key points are as follows:

• We are always thinking. Your thinking has been predominately attack-defend. Your life for the last forty years has been spent in the who-where-when cycle of accusation, interrogation, sin confession and penance, action reaction and retribution. You have bought into 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth', hurt and revenge. You have climbed the ladder of fame and success and have reached as far as you can go. You were not born into the right family so you could never have achieved the position you wanted. This period is over. And even though you do not fully realise this yet, deep down you know that it is true. When you stepped on the bus you started your 'great escape'.
• You are now entering the what-why-how period of undoing all that you have learned. This has been referred to as 'a mid-life crisis' and 'the dark night of the soul'. You have woken up to the real purpose of your life. 'Crisis' and 'dark night' imply that we go through these phases quickly, but sorry, the realisation may be quick but the process of undoing is going to take some time, years and decades rather than weeks and months.
• The world of everyday life is not real, or out there, as we believe it is, it is only a description. As children we learn to perceive the world as it is described to us by everyone around us. We have no memory of the moment we accepted the description, because we had no point of reference to compare it to anything else. From then on we make all the proper perceptual interpretations. Our thinking conforms to that description, and so validates it. We identify with it and define ourselves in its terms.
• The reality of our day-to-day life consists of an endless flow of perceptual interpretations. This reality we share with everyone else. We are slaves of our consensus thought system. While we may be able to think outside the box, it is impossible for us to deviate from the prescribed behaviour patterns. Our thoughts and our actions are fixed forever in their terms. Our lifelong habits unavoidably make us stick to our old patterns. We have a habit of making the world conform to our thoughts. When it doesn't, we simply make it conform. Whatever is happening, we are doing it to ourselves.
• We are carrying an awful lot of baggage. We've learned to see things in black and white, right and wrong, good and evil, and that the only way of ridding ourselves of the black-wrong-evil is by severe cruel methods. However, we can simply let all this go. We need to let the past go through the process of being sorted, of keeping what we regard as useful and dumping what is not...

I found myself falling asleep. Everything they were saying made sense, but their continuous drone made it difficult to pay attention. I vaguely remember them saying that I should pay attention as I wake up. I fell into a very deep sleep and have no idea how long I was out of it. When I woke up I kept my eyes closed and looked at what I was seeing. The background was a radiant blue black colour, like the sky behind a full moon. In the foreground was the most beautiful, calm face I had every seen. It looked at me with total acceptance. I opened my eyes, and for a moment I thought that I saw the three as one. I blinked and the three were restored.

I asked who the face was and they said "That is the feminine side of your nature. That is what you will be uncovering for the next period. This is a more gentle, nourishing and compassionate side than you have shown so far. Up till now you have been a 'macho' man, driven, and driving yourself as hard as you drive everyone else. Anyway, let's have a look at you, now that you've had your little snooze."

I stood up and turned around in a mock-model sort of way. The rest of the bus was empty, except for the driver. I reasoned that everyone must have got off while I was asleep. "As we said earlier, you are living your life 'braced for impact'. You hold your head and shoulders as if you are expecting a blow on the back of the head at any moment." I could feel a tightness at the base of my skull and a slight headache coming on. One of them tapped me on the top of the head and I felt better.

"So," I asked. "Where is everyone gone."

They said "Gone off bus, boyo. Stop trying to change the subject. You never liked anyone looking over your shoulder. You get nervous if someone is standing close behind you. You think they are going to discover something about you, something that will expose you."

I could feel myself getting angry again. I have never liked anyone pointing out my faults.

"Now, now, David, no need for that. We are showing you that what you have been afraid to see, or allow others to see about you, is another side of you. A side that you need to develop to become whole. You have developed your intellect at the expense of your emotional life. You have planned your life in a cold, hard, calculated manner and we refer to this as your right-hand path. Now you have to travel the left-hand path - walking gently through the world, enjoying the view, smelling the roses. Rather than being a leader or a follower, you have to learn to walk side-by-side, together. Rather than seeing authority figures as your teacher, you must learn from everyone you meet. Rather than doing what society has dictated to you as your existence, you become the author of your own life."

What they were getting at was difficult to accept. I had always quoted sources, gaining authority for what I said from the important person who had said it. Mi-Li-Sam said, "You have been 'stealing thunder'. You now need to speak from within yourself, develop your own wisdom and say it in your own words."

I asked, "You mean that I have to internalise my message rather than being a delivery man."

They replied, "Yes, David, you must speak from your heart. Speak only what your really believe to be true. Stop 'parroting' what others have said."

"Wow! that's going to take some doing," I said.

"We are coming near the end of road and before we go we have a few last messages for you. Getting you to look at the screen is just a way of getting you into the present. You can just as easily keep your eyes open and look at anything. What you'll see will depend on the ideas you have about what you are looking at. Another way to become present is to take your awareness and scan through your body. Let's give that a try."

"Where do I start?"

They said that it didn't matter, that I could go from my head to my feet or from left to right, anyway I liked as long as I went through my whole body and overlooked nothing.

I scanned through my body, and was surprised that I couldn't feel anything anywhere. I told them that I felt nothing and they said that I was experiencing a state they referred to as 'body neutral.'

"We are helping you and you have released all the blocked energy in your body. This will not last. As you start thinking in your old way again your body will revert to its old patterns. Nearly everything that you have learned has to be looked at and turned around. You will have to do a complete thought reversal of the way you think about the world.

"The world is neutral, your body is neutral, but your thinking is never neutral, and it can never be neutral. It always produces form. But the world and your body can be used as learning devices. What you see happening in the world, what you feel going on in your body are the effects of your thinking. This is the primary cause and effect relationship. You think and what you think causes effects. Through these effects you can see the state of your thinking. Peaceful thoughts and your body will remain neutral, attack thoughts and your emotions will cause effects in your body."

"And now, David, we need to change. So could you leave us alone for a while."

I walked up to the front of the bus. It was completely empty, even the driver was gone. I sat on the steps and waited. I watched the sun set over mountains and really began to enjoy the view.

From the back of the bus Mi-Li-Sam said, "In the past whenever you were waiting you would spend your time reviewing your previous interviews or rehearsing the upcoming one. From now on whenever your are waiting, just become present and enjoy the view. In fact, one of the key things you need to learn, is to do only what you enjoy, and if you think that something is a chore, change your thinking about it, and enjoy what you do."

There was a subtle change in their voice. "Now we are leaving."

I wondered how they were going to get off the bus. Right behind me I heard them say "Excuse us". I stood up to let them past and got the shock of my life. The three huge ladies were gone and in their place were three of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. They bore no resemblance to each other, or to their previous form.

Each of them in turn gave me a great hug.

Mi, now looking European, said, "This is the beginning of your real work."

Li, who looked Asian, said, "You will become like us."

And Sam, who looked Native American, said, "Let your thinking, your talking and your actions be consistent."

And then they walked away. As they moved into the distance I heard them say together, "We are always with you."

And then they were gone.