The Seventh Direction

PART THREE: Stalking Violet. Episode 86

                                           ["D/A" narrates —A.A.]

Aces (apparently changed) continued: "Moments ago, Dorothy, I would have thought of the 'I' in me as a growing Entity. But the truth is, I never HAVE thought about it before, but if I HAD thought about it before, it would have made the best sense to me to think that way—I the growing Entity—because I learn things, and adopt things, and adapt things, and have emotions and memories and maybe the odd wisdom or two, all of which have grown and developed me over the course of time as I grew up. So that's how I would have thought about it, moments ago. But now when I think about the 'I' that does the REAL decision making in my life, whether it's the 'I' in the baby or the 'I' in the teen or the 'I' in the adult me, it's just like you said, Dorothy—it's the very same 'I', and everything I have ever learned or been exposed to exists round the 'I'. I think the 'I' is very bright, and always has been, and always will be, and maybe it even grows brighter! And what's around the 'I' . . . I don't know . . . oh, it's like a light bulb, maybe, and as I grow, what's around the 'I' grows brighter too!"

"Mmm. Love the light bulb thing," I said, but thought: very interesting, dear. That's one powerful chair you're sitting in, isn't it? But she didn't mention "wattage."

"But . . . could it grow dimmer, too, Dorothy?"

"I think it depends on how many layers there are of what's around the 'I'. Like the onion thing we talked about? Before? I just hope that the layer closest to the 'I' never grows dimmer."

"Me, too," she said.

"But the core 'I' idea isn't exactly your everyday topic, is it, love? The idea, I think so, is typically consigned to the subconscious mind."

"You mean, nobody ever thinks about the 'I' as being constant?

"As being constant? Likely a good guess. I think few think about the 'I' at all! Myself? I never thought much about the 'I' idea before. You too! Not till now, right? And I've never, ever heard anybody else talk about it."

"We ARE spiritual beings having a physical experience. Yes?" Aces kept right on moving, and she was right, we WERE starting to pick apart and "expand" the 'I' idea—different strokes, different tangents. "Spiritual beings should have a constant ring around the 'I' which only grows to be brighter," she said.

Me: "Maybe spiritual beings do. There are higher Grades of Light, you know."

She: "Capital-G, capital-L, right?"

Me: "Only some of these Grades are accessible from Earth. So of course others are not."

She: "—and if we want to access any Higher Grade we certainly can't have an E-G-O that Edges God Out. Can we talk more about Ego?"

----beep------beep------beeeeeep---

"Oh-h!" she said, startled. She looked at her watch (she was actually wearing one). "Just my phone reminding me to call you at 7:00." She laughed. "It's two minutes-to. How come your clock says 5:14?"

"It's stuck there . . . or the electricity in this room is."

"Oh," she said.

"Yeah," I said. "Except for you and Trudy, I seem to be the only one who notices."

"I should call Mom. Let her know I got here safe. I have to take a leak, too. I'll sit and talk to her . . . kill two birds with one stone Then we can talk some more."