The Hidden Path (WINNER OF THE BEAUTY AWARD for Spiritual)

Chanting For Protection

For protection, More protection And infinitely more protection, Each human being Must pray to God.

- Sri Chinmoy

I was deep in thought, slowly walking across a field covered with short, green grass. Sinister looking, dark trees were growing somewhere in the distance.

My gaze on the ground, I was not paying any attention to my surroundings and this was probably the reason why I never saw the big, black wolf approaching.

When I raised my eyes, it was already there. Barely two meters separated me from the deadly beast!

With a jolt, I stopped dead in my tracks. Fear exploded in my stomach and I gulped forcibly, as I took in its huge form and terrifying features.

The black animal's snout was partly open, revealing two rows of very long, sharp teeth and two even sharper fangs, protruding from its upper jaw. But what scared me most, were its deep red, glowing eyes.

The wolf looked ready to pounce, as it was relentlessly staring at me. Its head was level with mine, which immediately crushed any hopes I might have cherished of running away or fighting it. The creature before me was by far superior to me in both, strength and speed.

I stood completely still, paralyzed and mesmerized at the same time.

Ever so slowly, the wolf approached me, until there was literally only a hair's breadth in between our two heads.

With one tiny movement of its powerful jaws, it could easily bite off my whole face. 

Still, for some reason, I did not panic or freak out.

Instead, I had the inspiration to chant 'Supreme' for protection, as I had been doing for months during my late evening runs and whenever I had had to cross some particularly dark parts of the park.

(In the spiritual life, you try to connect yourself to a higher power as often as you can. In order to remain in an as-high-as-possible consciousness, but also to become more and more aware of that power within yourself.)

And for protection.

I think that everybody has already experienced how a day can really go downhill, when one is upset or stressed. On thing leads to another, things fly, china breaks, bruises multiply, people are hurt (physically and emotionally).

Well, we are aiming at completely reversing that process, through consciously opening ourselves to a positive, higher power.

And what higher power is there, than the highest, the 'Supreme' ?

Of course, for it to actually work, you need to have faith. Which, admittedly, is the tricky part. And is the reason why everybody should call on whatever they personally believe in.

Some call it 'Placebo Effect'.

But if it works, I truly don't care what name somebody might attach to it.

Besides: have you ever considered what exactly makes the placebo effect work?

Exactly: the power of the mind. Mind over matter. Well, that's precisely what I am talking about. Only on a much more conscious level.)

When the first 'Supreme' left my mouth the huge animal flinched, surprise and distaste clearly discernible in its movements and the way it briefly averted its red eyes and shook its head. As if trying to dispel some particularly nasty thought. . .

I continued chanting, repeating the sacred word faster and faster, to make it more powerful. The wolf silently considered me, it's stance gradually losing it threatening appearance as it started to getting restless, shifting its weight.

For a few more moments, it stared at me with what I perceived as annoyance, before finally jerking its head to the side and away from me.

A few more "Supremes" and it became clear that the black beast - instead of bracing itself for attacking - was, indeed, turning away to leave.

Still chanting, I watched the creature retreat. When it had already covered quite some distance, it suddenly hit me: I could have died!

The situation I had just been in had really, truly been dangerous!

A bolt of fear surged through my system, turning my limbs weak and my mouth dry.

I stopped chanting.

Immediately, the wolf turned towards me again, its red eyes glowing with renewed interest.

It took a few eager steps into my direction but faltered, when I quickly resumed the chanting.

Somehow, I instinctively knew that it was my fear that had attracted and prompted the beast to approach me again. Therefore, I concentrated intensely on uttering the word 'Supreme', while at the same time pushing the fear away with all my might.

The black creature halted in its steps, visibly losing interest in me once again. After one last, long, considering look, it shook its head. Arrogance oozing from its every movement, it barely glanced at me while turning away for good, sending me a clear message: 'You are not even worth it'.

But I also understood, what it did not want to convey: that the sacred word 'Supreme' had acted as a protective shield, effectively preventing the beast from hurting me.

Watching it disappear into the woods, I finally dared to stop the chanting.

Thank you, Supreme!

With this thought in mind and a feeling of light and happiness in my heart I woke up, marveling at the intensity of it all.

I was absolutely convinced that this had not been a mere dream (it had been far too lucid) and that I had really under attack by some dark forces that night. Fortunately, I had been under some powerful protection, as well...

Ah, well. I know that some of you don't think that those kinds of forces really exist. But I have had too many experiences to the contrary. 

Once this book is finished, I shall probably describe some of those in my new book: 'Spiritual Stories'.

Again: if you don't believe, no harm. :)

But praying for protection cannot possibly be wrong, so why not start?

Hm. There was something else that I wanted to mention. I believe it has to do with my readers and involves an orange star. . . Well, it was probably not that important. ;)

The picture was taken from DeviantArt and was created by Apeldille.