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Excerpts From
Messengers
by Julie Gillentine

Chapter 12

Royal Raiment

Alex brought her sleeping bag into the library and spread it out on the floor in front of the love seat where Miguel and Erik sat. They looked like night and day to her. Erik's blond Scandinavian looks and Miguel's dark and mysterious Mayan appearance were a striking contrast.

She threw pillows and a blanket on top of the sleeping bag and procured scarves to cover their eyes. Kicking off her shoes, she removed her jewelry and placed it in a dish on the coffee table.

"I'm ready," she said.

"Please sit down while I explain the technique for reaching the Upper World," don Miguel said. "You went through a pool of water to reach the Lower World, which is the home of the feeling nature where healing occurs.

"To reach the Upper World, you must pierce a barrier which surrounds the outer layer of the earth itself. It is like a membrane which separates the dimensions of the Middle World from the Upper World; the mental realm of thoughts and ideas.

"It is important to state your purpose mentally as you begin this process. Have you selected a place to ascend?" Miguel said, leaning back in his chair.

"Yes," she said.

Alex picked a spot in a national park where she ventured off the footpath one day. Following where her curiosity led, she was rewarded with a primordial grove of elderly pines. The old trees grew in a circle and formed a sacred space whose center was a fragrant carpet of pine needles. Streaks of light danced through evergreen boughs as they swayed in a soft breeze.

Kneeling on the ground, she scooped up a handful of brown needles and watched them float back to earth through her opened fingers. A boulder stood at the heart of the circle like a stone altar in a green cathedral. The large rock was surrounded by a random configuration of smaller stones and pebbles that tumbled down the mountain ages ago, before the trees grew around them. The roots of these ancient trees grew deep inside the earth, finding strength and sustenance. The branches climbed toward the sun in search of illumination.

"Once you can clearly see yourself in the place you've chosen, imagine smoke rising in the air, as if from a fire," don Miguel continued. "Picture yourself rising on a current of air. The smoke, or mist, helps your visualization. Feel yourself weightless. As you lift off the ground, mentally accelerate. Then fly," he said.

Alex and Erik lay next to each other on the sleeping bag and covered with the blanket. They hooked up the ear phones and plugged in the tape player. The final step was to cover their eyes.

"Raise your hand when you want me to begin the tape," Miguel said.

When she felt ready, she squeezed Erik's hand and lifted her fingers to signal don Miguel. She heard the primal, driving beat of the drum pounding in her ears. The sound seemed to come from inside her head and fill the whole world. Her body grew relaxed and heavy. Then her awareness shifted, and she no longer felt her body.

Alex visualized herself walking into her magical green circle. She felt the presence of the trees like conscious beings. She climbed onto the rock altar, spread her arms wide and mentally signaled Dolphin. She appeared in moments.

Dolphin swam through the air, moving downward in graceful measure coming to rest beside her. As she had been taught, Alex imaged smoke which began as a swirling mist. White plumes circled around her. She willed it to spin faster and rise into the sky until she was surrounded by a whirling column of smoke.

She rose into the air, spinning slowly at first. Alexandria raised her arms above her head like a diver. She gained momentum as she felt a release from gravity. Dolphin was beside her. She felt the exhilaration of flight, speed and freedom.

Ahead of her was the membrane don Miguel described that separated the Middle World from the Upper World. Pointing her arms, she aimed at it and pierced the barrier. Suddenly, she moved through space. Blackness, bejeweled with myriad, sparkling stars surrounded her. She looked down and saw the earth, big and blue beneath her. It terrified her, and she nearly panicked.

"Dolphin! I'm going to fall."

She jerked around and was relieved to see Dolphin right beside her. Dolphin swam in a circle and came underneath.

"Ride on me for awhile, Little One."

Alex clung to her like a vise clamp; fingernails dug into her pliant skin. Dolphin made a clicking sound which resembled a chuckle. Relieved to be on Dolphin's back, Alexandria felt drawn in a specific direction.

"That way," Alex said, pointing to the right. Dolphin moved so fast the stars looked like strings of light flowing past them. They traveled so far Alex thought they must be at the edge of the galaxy; perhaps the end of the universe. She fought the rising fear that she might never return to ordinary consciousness.

"Breathe, child!"

Alexandria exhaled like air expelled from a balloon.

"What was your intention, Alexandria?" Dolphin asked telepathically.

"To learn the reason for recent events. To understand my purpose."

Alex tried to calm herself. She imagined her mind as a still mountain lake, perfectly reflecting the image of a snow-capped mountain. She deepened her breathing and willed the desire for knowledge of her purpose to permeate her being. I am safe. All is well.

She saw a green planet about the size of earth. Dolphin slowed her speed and reoriented her position. They closed in on the lovely green and white orb, descending through the planet's atmosphere into clouds. They floated through solid whiteness until Dolphin landed in a snow-covered field.

Crystal flakes fell softly, but the distant skylines were cloudless. An orange sun, three times the size of Earth's, hovered near one horizon looking like an enormous half circle. Fading golden-yellow and pink light illumined the horizon around the sinking solar orb.

Skeletal winter trees looked like black sea fans against the pastel backdrop. Two full moons, one blue, the other starkly white, rose in the sky on the opposite horizon from the mammoth sun.

Alex leaped from Dolphin's back, overcome with the desire to make a snow angel. She fell on her back in the field, arms spread wide. Moving her arms up and down and her legs back and forth, she squealed with delight. Dolphin made a circle around her and pushed a big ball of wet snow with her snout.

Alex shrieked, "Let's build a snow dolphin!"

Dolphin whistled and brought lots of snow. Alex sculpted what she thought was a masterpiece.

Dolphin rolled over in the powdery white snow amidst a cacophony of clicks and whistles. Alex scooped up a handful of snow and took a mouthful. It tasted cold and pure, like ice from a mountain stream.

"I haven't eaten snow in thirty years,"

"A pity, dear. You're too young to be so old," chimed the kind voice in Alex's thoughts.

Alex was startled by movement at a distance. Something advanced toward them across the meadow. She thought she heard tinkling bells. Out of the gathering darkness Alex could barely make out a grand sleigh pulled by the largest white stallion she had ever seen. He appeared to be ten feet tall from head to hoof.

The proud steed and his alabaster sleigh stopped in front of them. The stallion whinnied in a loud voice and tossed his silvery mane. Steam jetted out of his nostrils and filled the air around his head.

Without hesitation, Alex climbed into the sleigh. Dolphin was already in motion, gliding along the top of the frosty surface like an aquatic snow mobile.

Alex covered herself with a thick rose-colored blanket. She brushed her hand across its exquisite softness. Snowflakes felt wet on her face, but the air was not cold.