Hopi Wind

The Abyss

.......Or did I jump?

       At the same time, the Shadow jumped after me.  A mere five yards separated us and closing.  The Wind roared in my ears.  The cliff faded away as the Abyss grew.  Before long the only thing I could see was the Shadow.  Falling and getting closer.

       I noticed that, as we were falling, the Wind was dissolving pieces of the Shadow.  As pieces were falling off they turned to Dust, trailing above us and disappearing into the darkness.

       Closer and closer.

       Smaller and smaller. 

       Darker and darker.

       Total Darkness.

       By the time the Shadow reached me, it was only the size of a grain of rice.  I held up my hand and as the Shadow finally touched me, it disappeared.  But, it wasn't gone, it was a part of me now.

       My Shadow.   It was clear to me now.  Everything that was evil or hateful within Me, was my Shadow.  The part of me that I rejected, but still a part of me.  Smaller now, but always there.  "How could I have that kind of evil within me?" I thought out loud.

       "The Principle of Polarity"

       "Who said that?" I said, startled.

       "You did." came the reply.

       Slowly the Wind calmed.  I was no longer falling.  I was floating.   Floating in total darkness.  It felt like I was swimming in a large, black, lake.  I was being supported by a nothingness that moved in waves. Gently ebbing in one direction, flowing back in the other direction, while at the same time being directionless.  Sometimes even up or down. The Principle of Rhythm, slowly relaxing me. I felt secure, safe.

      "Who are you?" I asked.

      "Who are you?" came the slightly sarcastic Voice. 

       "At this point I'm not so sure." I said.  "Explain what you mean by 'The Principle of Polarity'."

       "Simple," said the Voice, "You asked 'How could I have that kind of evil within me?"

       "Yes, I remember."

       "Everyone and everything has both 'Good' and 'Evil' within them.  Opposite ends of the same thing." The soft Voice replied.  " It's necessary,  You can't know 'Good' unless you have something to compare it to, 'Evil'.  It's the same for everything in our lives, Love - Hate,  Hot - Cold, Life - Death, and so on.  Do you understand?"

       "I think so." I said.

       The Voice continued,  "The amount of 'Good' and 'Evil' is just a matter of perception.  What one person calls Evil another calls Good. And Visa versa.  Where does Good start? How about Evil? It all depends on how you look at it."

       "Where am I?" I asked looking around at the darkness that surrounded me.

       "In the Mind." it said.

       Didn't the Lama tell me that before he pushed me? The Mind?  My Mind?  Or the Mind of The Great Spirit? I thought.

      "Both are the same." whispered the Voice, reading my mind.

     "Are you The Great Spirit?.... God?" I asked perplexed.

     "We All Are."

      "What?....WE!?"  

      "All is in THE ALL" the voice stated. "Everything is connected, a part of THE EVERYTHING, the Collective Consciousness. Every living thing is a part of it, and Everything is Living."

      As the voice was saying this I noticed that there was a low humming sound in the background. A humming with musical tones, a beat.  I asked, "What is that sound?"

       "The vibrations of the Universe," said the Voice, "of all the physical rules that apply to all things, this is the simplest.  The Principle of Vibration, all things vibrate.  And what is sound? Simply, vibrations."

       The sound began to mix together, tinkles mixed with flutes, drums with thunder.  All swirling counter-clockwise around me in a tiny vortex.  As the sounds came closer together a spark happened, then grew.  First a dull glow, growing brighter, swirling and coming together.

       "And what is Light? But faster vibrations." 

       I could see the spinning light start to take shape.  A fetus at first melding into a human form, a baby, a child, a teen, then an adult.  I was face to face with a body made of Light,  beautifully shinning.   Wait!  It was ME!  It was like looking into a mirror, only this image moved on it's own and had shimmering  white light spiraling out from within.  The Image began to speak. The Image was the Voice.

       "Light is the fabric of everything, even You."

        I noticed that in one hand the Image held a white staff, in the other, a small triangular stone that looked like it was broken. The stone had a corn husk wrapping.  The Image held this stone close to it's heart. I asked,

        "What is that?"  

       The Image replied, "This old thing?  It is from the past and, in time, will come anew.  Yet it's time has yet to come." 

       As it said this the light that illuminated the Image turned a bright red which, then, slowly faded back to white.

       Then there was Peace.

        We floated with each other for what seemed like hours.  Me looking at shinning me.  A wave of peaceful happiness  flowing between us.  Suddenly, I knew.  A mutual understanding came over us.  I could feel the light within me.  My flesh began to peel away.  I looked at my hand and watched small pieces of Dust break away, dissolve and float off into the darkness.   The same Dust that was cut from the Shadow.  I was becoming Light.  The Image was slowly fading into me. Or was it the other way around?  It didn't matter, We Were One.

       I held the staff in my right hand, but when I looked for the stone, all I beheld was a corn husk covered in Dust.   The Dust sifted between my fingers, floated out about three or four yards then started to form together, collecting more Dust from nowhere.

       I watched from within the nothingness as familiar shapes began to form in the Dust.   First, a small pepper plant.   Then the ground that held the plant, a chair, a human form, another.  I floated down to this ground still in the form of light.   The Dust moved and shifted, sometimes changing colors.   The Hopi Wind began blowing again.  Swirling counter-clockwise, collecting Dust, and depositing it in various places.  Dust started to collect on my skin of Light, slowly dousing the light that still shone brightly within.  I sat down, the garden began to take shape.  Features came back to the human forms.  I recognized the Lama, then Nana.

       Then, as though with a crash, all was back to normal.   I was home.   The Sun was still setting as though I had only been gone a few moments.  A serene Peace filled my Heart.  Slowly, a smile formed on my face.   The Lama returned the smile.  He knew.

       "You're back?" he asked. 

       I smiled, I couldn't help it.  When I looked down into my right hand I was shocked to see that I still had the staff.  It was all real.  I answered, " I guess I am."

       "Good," he said sharply. "I'm getting hungry."

       I was famished.   I stood slowly as though I had sea-legs and made my way into the house to the dinning table and carefully placed the staff on a bench nearby.   I was about to help Nana set the table and bring in the food but she insisted that I sit and rest.  While she and the Lama worked together on dinner, I sat at my spot at the table trying to recall everything that happened to me.  I couldn't stop smiling.  

       When the table was ready, we gave Thanks to the Great Spirit, blessed the food, and started our meal.  At first we ate in silence,  The Lama and Nana both looking at me, waiting for me to speak. To tell all.  I decided to wait until the eating slowed down and everyone, even me, began to relax.  I started at the 'meditation' and it took me a few hours to tell the whole story. The race through the caverns, the abyss, the Shadow, the Light, everything.  We sat, later, on the back deck, overlooking the garden, discussing the events that took place and drinking some chamomile tea.

      "All that happened in just a few seconds?" the Lama asked

      "It felt like hours to me." I said,  looking at the stars, recalling the memories. "And what about the staff?" 

      "Oh," said the Lama, "I noticed that. I'll have to look into that.  I've never brought anything back from my vision quests." He stated with a smile

       We talked some more into the wee hours of the night.  Laughing at times, mellow at others.  After a while Nana excused herself and went to bed.  The Lama and I kept discussing things for only a few hours longer. He told me,

        "The things you learned tonight, the Principles and the philosophies, are lessons you'll carry throughout your life.  You'll teach others these lessons.  Isn't it wonderful?  Your World will become such a better place.  There is so much to do..... But, for now, will you help an old man to stand up?   I think it's time for some sleep."

       I helped him to his feet, gathered my staff, and walked with him to the house.

       I smiled and asked him,  "By the way, what was in that Tea?

      He smiled back and with a wink, said, 

      "Dust."

       I laughed so hard,

       I fell....