Transcription
The Celestine Prophecy. Chapter Nine of Nine. Read by John Devon on social media at John Devon and Tiffany at Spotonspirit. The title of this chapter is the emerging culture. Enjoy.
The road north wound through dense jungle and across several large streams, tributaries. Father Sanchez told me of the Amazon. We had risen early and said a quick goodbye to Julia, then left in a vehicle Father Sanchez had borrowed—a truck with raised oversized tires and four-wheel drive.
As we traveled, the terrain rose slightly, and the trees became more widely spaced and larger. "This looks like the land around Vicente," I told Sanchez. He smiled at me and said, "We've entered a 50-mi stretch of land about 20 m wide that is different, more energized. It runs all the way to the Celestine ruins. On all sides of this area is pure jungle."
Far to the right, at the edge of the jungle, I noticed a patch of cleared land. "What is that?" I asked, pointing. "That," he said, "is the government's idea of agricultural development." A wide stretch of trees had been bulldozed and pushed into piles, some partially burned. A herd of cattle grazed aimlessly amid the wild grasses and eroded topsoil. As we passed, several looked our way, distracted by the sound. I noticed another patch of freshly bulldozed land and realized the development was moving toward the larger trees we were traveling through.
"That looks awful," I said. "It is," Sanchez replied. "Even Cardinal Sebastian is against it." I thought of Phil. Maybe this was the place he was trying to protect. What had happened to him? Suddenly, I thought of Dobson again. Connor had said Dobson intended to come to the inn. Why had Connor been there to tell me that? Where was Dobson now? Deported, imprisoned. It did not escape my notice that I had spontaneously perceived an image of Dobson in connection with Phil.
"How far away is Sebastian's mission?" I asked. "About an hour," Sanchez replied. "How are you feeling?" "What do you mean?" "I mean, how is your energy level?" "I think it's high," I said. "Lots of beauty here. What did you think of the walk we three had last night?" he asked. "I thought it was amazing. Did you understand what was happening?" "You mean the way ideas were bubbling up in each of us at different times?" "Yes. But the greater meaning of that?" "I don't know."
"Well, I've been thinking about it. This way of consciously relating, in which everyone attempts to bring out the best in others rather than to have power over them, is a posture the entire human race will eventually adopt. Think of how everyone's energy level and pace of evolution will increase at that point. Right?"
"I said, I've been wondering how human culture will change as the overall energy level rises." He looked at me as if I had hit on the exact question. "That's what I want to know, too," he said. We looked at each other for an instant, and I knew we were both waiting to see who would have the next idea. Finally, he said, "The answer to that question must be in the ninth insight. It must explain what will happen as the culture evolves forward." "That's what I think," Nice said.
Sanchez slowed the truck. We were approaching a crossroads and he seemed undecided about which route to take. "Do we go anywhere near San Louise?" I asked. He looked directly into my eyes. "Only if we turn left at this intersection." "Why?" "Connor told me Doppson had been planning to come through St. Louis on his way to the inn. I think it was a message." We continued to look at each other. "You were already slowing down at this crossroads," I said. "Why?" He shrugged. "I don't know. The most direct route to Iquidos is straight ahead. I just felt hesitant for some reason." A chill shot through my body. Sanchez raised one eyebrow and grinned. "I guess we had better go through San Louise. Huh?" I nodded and felt a rush of energy. I knew that stopping at the inn and making contact with Connor was taking on more meaning.
As Sanchez turned left and proceeded toward San Louise, I watched the roadside expectantly. 30 or 40 minutes passed and nothing happened. We rode through San Louise and still nothing of note occurred. Then suddenly a horn blew and we turned to see a silver jeep roaring up behind us. The driver was frantically waving. He looked familiar. "That's Phil," I said.
We pulled to the side of the road and Phil jumped out and ran to my side of the truck, grabbing my hand and nodding at Sanchez. "I don't know what you're doing here," he said. "But the road ahead is full of soldiers. You'd better come back and wait with us." "How did you know we were coming?" I asked. "I didn't," he said. "I just looked up and saw you pass by. We're about a half mile back." He looked around for a second, then added, "We better get off this road."
"We'll follow you," Father Sanchez said. We followed as Phil turned his jeep around and headed back the way we'd come. He turned east onto another road and quickly parked. From behind a group of trees, another man walked out to greet the vehicle. I couldn't believe my sight. It was Dobson. I climbed out of the truck and walked toward him. He was equally surprised and hugged me warmly. "It's great to see you," he said. "Same here," I replied. "I thought you were shot." Dobson patted my back and said, "No, I guess I panicked. They simply detained me. Later, some officials sympathetic to the manuscript let me go. I've been running ever since." He paused, smiling at me. "I'm glad you're all right. When Phil told me he had met you at Vente and then was arrested with you later, I didn't know what to think, but I should have known we would run into each other again. Where are you headed?" "To see Cardinal Sebastian. We think he intends to destroy the last insight."
Dobson nodded and was about to say something, but Father Sanchez walked up. I quickly introduced them. "I think I heard your name mentioned in Lima," Dobson said to Sanchez. "In connection with a couple of priests that were being detained." "Father Carl and Father Kostas?" I asked. "I think those were their names." "Yes," Sanchez only shook his head slightly. I watched him for a moment. Then Dobson and I spent several minutes describing our experiences since being separated. He told me he had studied all eight insights and seemed anxious to say something else. But I interrupted to tell him that we had met Connor and that he had returned to Lima. "He'll probably be detained himself." Dobson said, "I regret I couldn't get to the inn in time, but I wanted to come to San Louise first to see another scientist. As it turned out, I couldn't find him. But I did run into Phil. And what is it?" Sanchez asked. "Maybe we ought to sit down," Dobson said. "You won't believe this. Phil found a copy of part of the Ninth Insight." No one moved. "He found a translated copy?" Father Sanchez asked. "Yes."
Phil had been doing something inside his vehicle and was now walking toward us. "You found part of the ninth?" I asked him. "I didn't find it. Really?" "He said it was given to me. After you and I were captured, I was taken to another town. I don't know where. After a while, Cardinal Sebastian showed up. He kept probing me about the work at Vaginte and my efforts to save the forest. I didn't know why until a guard brought me a partial copy of the Ninth Insight. The guard had stolen it from some of Sebastian's people who had apparently just translated it. It talks about the energy of old forests." "What did it say?" N asked Phil. He paused, thinking. So Dobson asked again that we sit down. He led us to a spot where a tarpulin was laid out in the center of a partial clearing. The place was beautiful. A dozen large trees formed a circle about 30 feet in diameter. Within the circle were highly fragrant tropical bushes and long-stemmed ferns of the brightest green I had ever seen. We sat facing each other. Phil looked at Dobson. Then Dobson looked at Sanchez and me and said, "The ninth insight explains how human culture will change in the next millennium as a result of conscious evolution. It describes a significantly different way of life. For instance, the manuscript predicts that we humans will voluntarily decrease our population so that we all may live in the most powerful and beautiful places on the earth. But remarkably, many more of these areas will exist in the future because we will intentionally let the forest go uncut so that they can mature and build energy. According to the ninth insight, by the middle of this next millennium," he continued, "humans will typically live among 500-year-old trees and carefully tended gardens, yet within easytraled distance of an urban area of incredible technological wizardry. By then, the means of survival, food stuffs and clothing and transportation will all be totally automated and at everyone's disposal. Our needs will be completely met without the exchange of any currency, yet also without any overindulgence or laziness. Guided by their intuitions, everyone will know precisely what to do and when to do it. And this will fit harmoniously with the actions of others. No one will consume excessively because we will have let go of the need to possess and to control for security. In the next millennium, life will have become about something else. According to the manuscript," he went on, "Our sense of purpose will be satisfied by the thrill of our own evolution, by the elation of receiving intuitions and then watching closely as our destinies unfold. The ninth depicts a human world where everyone has slowed down and become more alert, ever vigilant for the next meaningful encounter that comes along. We will know that it could occur anywhere on a path that winds through a forest or on a bridge that traverses some canyon. Can you visualize human encounters that have this much meaning and significance? Think how it would be for two people meeting for the first time. Each will first observe the other's energy field, exposing any manipulations. Once clear, they will consciously share life's stories until elatedly messages are discovered. Afterward, each will go forward again on their individual journey, but they will be significantly altered. They will vibrate at a new level and will thereafter touch others in a way not possible before their meeting."
As we gave him energy, Dobson became ever more eloquent and inspired with his description of the new human culture, and what he said rang true. I personally had no doubt that he was describing an achievable future. Yet, I also knew that throughout history, many visionaries had glimpsed such a world. Marx, for example. Yet no way had been found to create such a utopia. Communism had become a tragedy. Even with the knowledge imparted in the first eight insights, I couldn't imagine how the human race could get to the place described by the ninth. Considering human behavior generally, when Dobson paused, I voiced my concern. "The manuscript says our natural pursuit of the truth will lead us there," Doppson explained, smiling directly at me. "But to grasp how this movement will occur, perhaps it is necessary to visualize the next millennium in the same manner you studied the current one with me on the airplane. Remember as though you were living through it in one lifetime." Doppson briefly informed the other men of the process and then continued, "Think about what has occurred already in this millennium. During the Middle Ages, we lived in a simple world of good and evil defined by the churchmen. But during the Renaissance, we broke free. We knew there had to be more to man's situation in the universe than the churchmen knew. And we wanted the full story. We then sent science out to discover our true situation. But when this effort didn't provide the answers we needed right away, we decided to settle in and turned our modern work ethic into a preoccupation that secularized reality and squeezed the mystery out of the world. But now we can see the truth of that preoccupation. We can see that the real reason we spent five centuries creating material supports for human life was to set the stage for something else. A way of life that returns the mystery to existence. That is what the information now returning from the scientific method indicates. Mankind is on this planet to consciously evolve. And as we learn to evolve and pursue our particular path truth by truth, the ninth insight says the overall culture will transform in a very predictable way." He paused, but no one said anything. Obviously, he wanted to hear more.
"Once we reach the critical mass," he continued, "and the insights begin to come in on a global scale. The human race will first experience a period of intense introspection. We'll grasp how beautiful and spiritual the natural world really is. We will see trees and rivers and mountains as temples of great power to be held in reverence and awe. We will demand an end to any economic activity that threatens this treasure. And those closest to this situation will find alternative solutions to this pollution problem because someone will intuit these alternatives as they seek their own evolution. This will be part of the first great shift that will occur," he continued, "which will be a dramatic movement of individuals from one occupation to another. Because when people begin to receive clear intuitions of who they really are and what they're supposed to be doing, they very often discover they're in the wrong job and they have to jump to another type work in order to continue to grow. The manuscript says that during this period, people will sometimes change careers several times during their lifetimes. The next cultural shift will be in automation of the production of goods to the people who are doing the automating. The technicians this will feel like a need to make the economy run more efficiently. But as their intuitions become clearer, they will see that what automation is actually doing is freeing up everyone's time so that we can pursue other endeavors. The rest of us, meanwhile, will be following our own intuitions within our chosen occupation and wishing we had even more of this free time. We will realize that the truth we have to tell and the things we have to do are too unique to fit within a usual job setting. So we will find ways to cut our employment hours to pursue our own truth. Two or three people will hold what used to be one full-time job. This trend will make it easier for those displaced by the automation to find at least part-time jobs."
"But what about money?" Nigh asked. "I can't believe people will voluntarily reduce their incomes." "Oh, we won't have to," Dobson said. "The manuscript says our incomes will remain stable because of the people who are giving us money for the insights we provide." I almost laughed. "What?" He smiled and looked directly at me. "The manuscript says that as we discover more about the energy dynamics of the universe, we will see what really happens when we give someone something. Right now, the only spiritual idea about giving is the narrow concept of religious tithing." He moved his gaze to Father Sanchez. "As you know, the scriptural notion of tithing is interpreted most commonly as an injunction to give 10% of one's income to a church. The idea behind this is that whatever we give will be returned many times. But the ninth insight explains that giving is really a universal principle of support not just for churches but for everyone. When we give we receive in return because of the way energy interacts in the universe. Remember when we project energy into someone this creates a void in ourselves which if we are connected fills up again. Money works exactly the same way. The ninth insight says that once we begin to give constantly we will always have more coming in than we could possibly give away. And our gifts," he went on, "should go to the persons who have given a spiritual truth. When people come into our lives at just the right time to give us the answers we need, we should give them money. This is how we will begin to supplement our incomes and ease out of the occupations which limit us. As more people engage in this spiritual economy, we will begin a real shift into the culture of the next millennium. We will have moved through the stage of evolving into our right occupation and will be entering the stage of getting paid for evolving freely and offering our unique truth to others."
I looked at Sanchez. He was listening intensely and appeared radiant. "Yes," he said to Dobson. "I see that clearly. If everyone were participating, then we would be giving and receiving constantly. And this interaction with others, this exchange of information would become everyone's new work. Our new economic orientation. We'd be paid by the people we touched. This situation would then allow the material supports of life to become fully automated because we would be too busy to own those systems or to operate them. We would want material production automated and run like a utility. We'd own stock in it perhaps, but the situation would free us up to expand what is already the information age. But the important thing for us right now is that we can now understand where we are going. We could not save the environment and democratize the planet and feed the poor before because for so long we could not realize our fear of scarcity and our need to control so that we could give to others. We couldn't realize it because we had no view of life that served as an alternative. Now we do." He looked at Phil. "But wouldn't we need a cheap source of energy, fusion, super conductivity, artificial intelligence?" Phil said the technology to automate is probably not that far away now that we have the knowledge of why to do it. "That's right," Dobson said. "The most important thing is that we see the truth of this way of life. We're here on this planet not to build personal empires of control, but to evolve. Paying others for their insights will begin the transformation. And then as more and more parts of the economy are automated, currency will disappear altogether. We won't need it. If we are correctly following our intuitive guidance, then we will take only what we need and will understand."
Phil interjected that the natural areas of the earth have to be nurtured and protected for the sources of incredible power that they are. As Phil spoke, our full attention went to him. He seemed surprised by the lift it provided. "I haven't studied all of the insights," he said, looking at me. "In fact, after the guard helped me escape, I might not have kept this part of the ninth at all. If I hadn't run into you earlier, I remembered what you said about this manuscript being important. But even though I haven't read the other insights, I do understand the importance of keeping the automation in harmony with the energy dynamics of the earth. My interest has been forests and the part they play in the ecosphere." He continued, "I know now that it always has been ever since I was a child. The ninth insight says that as the human race evolves spiritually, we will voluntarily decrease the population to a point sustainable by the earth. We will be committed to living within the natural energy systems of the planet. Farming will be automated except for the plants one wants to energize personally and then consume. The trees necessary for construction will be grown in special designated areas. This will free the remainder of the earth's trees to grow and age and finally mature into powerful forests. Eventually, these forests will be the rule rather than the exception, and all human beings will live in close proximity to this kind of power. Think what an energy-filled world we will live in."
"That ought to raise everyone's energy level," I said. "Yes, it would," Sanchez said distractedly, as though he were thinking ahead about what the increase in energy would mean. "Everyone waited. It would accelerate," he said. "Finally, the pace of our evolution. The more readily we have energy flowing into us, the more mysteriously the universe responds by bringing people into our lives to answer our questions." He looked thoughtful again. "And every time we follow an intuition and some mysterious encounter leads us forward, our personal vibration increases onward and upward." He continued half to himself. "If history continues, then will continue to achieve higher and higher levels of energy and vibration." Dobson said, finishing his sentence. "Yes," Sanchez said. "That's it. Excuse me for a minute." He got up and walked several yards into the forest and sat down alone.
"What else does the ninth insight say?" I asked Dobson. "We don't know," he said. "That's where the part we have ends. Would you like to see it?" I told him I would. So he walked to his truck and came back with a manila folder. Inside were 20 typed pages. I read the manuscript, impressed with how thoroughly Dobson and Phil had captured its basic points. When I came to the last page, I understood why they said it was only a part of the ninth insight. It ended abruptly in the middle of a concept, having just introduced the idea that the transformation of the planet would create a totally spiritual culture and would raise human beings to higher and higher vibrations. It suggested that this rise would lead to the occurrence of something else, but it didn't say what.
After an hour, Sanchez stood up and walked over to me. I had been content to sit with the plants, observing their incredible energy fields. Doppson and Phil were standing behind their jeep talking. "I think we should go on to Icquidos," he said. "What about those soldiers?" I asked. "I think we should risk it. I've had a clear thought that we can make it through if we leave right now." I agreed to go with his intuition, and we walked over and told Doppson and Phil our plans. Both men supported the idea. Then Doppson said, "We've also been discussing what to do. We're going directly to the Celestine ruins. I think. Maybe we can help save the rest of the Ninth Insight." We bade them goodbye and drove north again.
"What are you thinking about?" Nigh asked. After a period of silence, Father Sanchez slowed the truck and looked at me. "I'm thinking about Cardinal Sebastian, about what you have said that he would stop fighting the manuscript if only he could be made to understand." As Father Sanchez made the statement, my mind wandered into a daydream of actually confronting Sebastian. He was standing in a courtly room looking down at us. At that moment he had the power to destroy the ninth insight, and we were fighting to make him understand before it was too late. When I finished the thought, I noticed Sanchez was smiling at me. "What were you seeing?" he asked. "I was just thinking of Sebastian. What was happening?" "The image of confronting Sebastian was clear. He was about to destroy the last insight. We were trying to talk him out of it." Sanchez took a deep breath. "It looks like whether the rest of the ninth insight becomes known will depend on us." My stomach drew into a knot at the idea. "What should we say to him?" "I don't know. But we must persuade him to see the positive, to understand that the manuscript as a whole doesn't negate but clarifies the truth of the church. I'm sure the rest of the ninth insight does just that."
We rode in silence for an hour, seeing no other traffic of any kind. My thoughts raced through the events which had transpired since I had come to Peru. I knew the manuscript's insights had finally merged into my mind into one consciousness. I was alert to the mysterious way my life evolved as revealed by the first insight. I knew that the whole culture was sensing this mystery again as well. And we were in the process of constructing a new world view as pointed out by the second. The third and fourth had showed me that the universe was in reality, a vast system of energy and that human conflict was a shortage of and a manipulation for this energy. The fifth insight revealed that we could end this conflict by receiving an inpouring of this energy from a higher source. For me, this ability had almost become habit. The sixth that we could clear our old repeated dramas and find our true selves was also permanently etched in my mind. And the seventh had set in motion the evolution of these true selves through question intuition of what to do and answer. Staying in this magic flow was truly the secret of happiness. And the eighth, knowing how to relate in a new way to others, bringing out in them the very best was the key to keeping the mystery operating and the answers coming. All the insights had integrated into a consciousness that felt like a heightened sense of alertness and expectation. What was left, I knew, was the ninth, which revealed where our evolution was taking us. We had discovered some of it. What about the rest?
Father Sanchez pulled the truck to the side of the road. "We're within four miles of Cardinal Sebastian's mission," he said. "I think we should talk." "Okay. I don't know what to expect, but I presume all we can do is drive right in. How large a place is this?" "Large. He has developed this mission for 20 years. He selected this location to serve the rural Indians whom he felt had been neglected. But now students come from all over Peru. He has administrative duties with the church organization in Lima, but this is his special project. He is totally devoted to this mission." He looked directly into my eyes. "Please stay alert. There may come a time when we need to help each other." After saying this, Sanchez drove ahead.
For several miles, we saw nothing. Then we passed two military jeeps parked at the right side of the road. The soldiers inside looked at us intensely as we drove by. "Well," Father Sanchez said, "they know we are here." A mile further, we came to the entrance to the mission. Large iron gates protected the paved drive. Although the gates were open, a jeep and four soldiers blocked our way and signaled us to the top. One of the military men talked into a shortwave radio. Sanchez smiled as a soldier walked up. "I'm Father Sanchez, here to see Cardinal Sebastian." The soldier scrutinized Sanchez, then me. He turned and walked back to the soldier with the radio. They talked without taking their eyes off us. After several minutes, the soldier came back and said, "We should follow them." The jeep led us up the treeline drive for several hundred yards until we came to the mission grounds. The church was built of cut stone and was massive, capable of seating, I guessed, over a thousand people. On both sides of the church were two other buildings which looked like classrooms. Both were four stories high. "This place is impressive," I said. "Yes, but where are the people?" he asked. I noticed the paths and walkways were empty. "Sebastian runs a famous school here," he said. "Why are there no students?"
The soldiers led us to the entrance of the church and asked us politely but firmly to get out and follow them inside. As we walked up the cement steps, I could see several trucks parked behind an adjacent building. 30 or 40 soldiers stood at a tension nearby. Once inside, we were led through the sanctuary and asked to enter a small room. There we were searched thoroughly and told to wait. The soldiers left and the door was locked. "Where is Sebastian's office?" I asked. "Further back toward the rear of the church," he said.
The door suddenly opened. Flanked by several soldiers, stood Sebastian. His posture was tall and erect. "What are you doing here?" Sebastian asked Sanchez. "I want to talk with you," Sanchez said. "About what?" "The ninth insight of the manuscript." "There's nothing to discuss. It will never be found." "We know you've already found it." Sebastian's eyes widened. "I will not allow this insight to be disseminated," he said. "It is not the truth." "How do you know it's not the truth?" Sanchez asked. "You could be wrong. Let me read it."
Sebastian's face softened as he looked at Sanchez. "You used to think I would make the correct decision in a matter of this kind." "I know," Sanchez said. "You were my mentor, my inspiration. I pattern my mission after yours. You respected me until this manuscript was discovered." Sebastian said, "Don't you see how divisive it is? I tried to let you go your own way. I even let you alone after I knew you were teaching the insights. But I will not let this document destroy everything our church has built." Another soldier walked up behind Sebastian and asked to see him. Sebastian glanced at Sanchez, then walked back into the hall. We could still see but could no longer hear the conversation. The message obviously alarmed Sebastian as he turned to walk away. He signaled for all the soldiers to follow him except for one whom he apparently told to wait with us. The soldier walked into the room and leaned against the wall. A disturbed look on his face. He was only about 20 years old. "What is wrong?" Sanchez asked him. The soldier only shook his head. "Is it about the manuscript? The Ninth Insight?" The soldier's face displayed surprise. "What do you know of the Ninth Insight?" he asked timidly. "We're here to save it," Sanchez said. "I too want it saved," the soldier replied. "Have you read it?" I asked. "No," he said. "But I have heard the talk. It brings our religion alive."
Suddenly, from outside the church came the sound of gunfire. "What's going on?" Sanchez asked. The soldier stood motionless. Sanchez gently touched his arm. "Help us." The young soldier walked to the door and checked the hall, then said, "Someone has broken into the church and stolen a copy of the Ninth Insight. They seem to still be here on the ground somewhere." More gunfire broke out. "We must try to help them," Sanchez told the young man. He looked horrified. "We must do what's right," Sanchez stressed. "This is for the whole world." The soldier nodded and said we should move to another area of the church where there would be less activity. That perhaps he could find a way to help. He led us down the hall and up two flights of stairs to a larger corridor which spanned the full width of the church. "Sebastian's office is right below us, two stories down," the young man said.
Suddenly, we could hear a group of people running down an adjacent corridor heading our way. Sanchez and the soldier were ahead of me and ducked into a room to the right. I knew I couldn't reach that room, so I ran into the one next to it and closed the door. I was in a classroom, desks, podium, closet. I ran to the closet, found it unlocked and squeezed in amid boxes and several musty-smelling jackets. I attempted to conceal myself as best I could, but I knew if anyone checked in the closet, I would be discovered. I tried not to move, not even to breathe. The door to the classroom squeaked open, and I could hear several people enter and walk about the room. One seemed to be coming toward the closet, then stopped and headed in the other direction. They were talking loudly in Spanish, then silence. No movement. I waited 10 minutes before I slowly cracked the closet door and looked out. The room was empty. I walked to the door. There was no indication of anyone outside. I quickly walked to the room where Sanchez and the soldier had hidden. To my surprise, I found it was not a room at all, but a hallway. I listened but could hear nothing. I leaned against the wall, feeling anxiety in the pit of my stomach. I quietly called out Sanchez's name. No response. I was alone. I could feel a slight dizziness from the anxiety. I took a deep breath and tried to talk to myself. I had to keep my wits about me and increase my energy. For several minutes, I struggled until the colors and shapes in the hallway had more presence. I tried to project love. Finally, I felt better and thought of Sebastian again. If he was in his office, Sanchez would go there. Ahead. The hallway ended at another stairway, so I walked two flights down to the first level. Through the window of the stairway door, I looked down the corridor. No one in view. I opened the door and walked ahead, not sure where I wanted to go. Then I heard Sanchez's voice coming from a room in front of me. The door was cracked. Sebastian's voice boomed back at him. As I approached the door, a soldier inside opened it suddenly and pointed a rifle at my heart, forcing me inside and against the wall. Sanchez acknowledged me with a glance and put his hand on his solar plexus. Sebastian shook his head in disgust. The young soldier who had helped us was nowhere to be seen. I knew that Sanchez's gesture to his stomach meant something. All I could think of was that he needed energy as he spoke. I focused on his face, trying to see his higher self. His energy field widened.
"You can't stop the truth," Sanchez said. "People have a right to know." Sebastian looked condescendingly at Sanchez. "These insights violate the scriptures. They could not be true." "But do they really violate the scriptures or do they just show us what the scriptures mean?" "We know what they mean," Sebastian said. "We've known for centuries. Have you forgotten your training, your years of study?" "No, I haven't," Sanchez said. "But I also know that the insights expand our spirituality." "They according to whom?" Sebastian shouted. "Who wrote this manuscript anyway? Some pagan Mayan who learned somewhere how to speak Aramaic? What did these people know? They believed in magic places and mysterious energy. They were primitives. The ruins where the ninth was found is called the Celestine temples, the heavenly temples. What could this culture possibly know about heaven? Did their culture endure?" He continued, "No, no one knows what happened to the Mayans. They just disappeared without a trace. And you want us to believe this manuscript? This document makes it sound as though humans are in control, as though we are in charge of change in the world. We are not. God is. The only issue humans face is whether to accept the scriptural teachings and thereby win our own salvation."
"But think about that," Sanchez replied. "What does accepting the teaching and winning salvation really mean? What is the process through which this happens? Doesn't the manuscript show us the exact process of becoming more spiritual, connected, saved, the way it actually feels? And doesn't the eighth and ninth show us what would happen if everyone were acting this way?" Then turned and looked at Sanchez piercingly. "You haven't even seen the ninth insight." "Yes, I have. Part of it. How?" "Part of it was described to me before we arrived here. I read another section a few minutes ago." "What? How?" Sanchez walked closer to the older priest. "Cardinal Sebastian. People everywhere want this last insight revealed. It places the other insights into perspective. It shows us our destiny, what spiritual consciousness really is." "We know what spirituality is, Father Sanchez." "Do we? I think not. We've spent centuries talking about it, visualizing it, professing our belief in it. But we've always characterized this connection as something abstract, something we believe in intellectually. And we've always cast this connection as something an individual must do to avoid something bad happening. Rather than to acquire something good and tremendous, the manuscript describes the inspiration that comes when we are truly loving others and evolving our lives forward." "Evolve. Evolve. Listen to yourself, father. You have always fought against the influence of evolution. What has happened to you?" Sanchez collected himself. "Yes, I fought against the idea of evolution as a replacement for God, as a way to explain the universe without reference to God. But now I see that the truth is a synthesis of the scientific and religious world views. The truth is that evolution is the way God created and is still creating." "But there is no evolution," Sebastian protested. "God created this world and that's it." Sanchez glanced at me, but I had no ideas to express.
"Cardinal Sebastian," he continued, "The manuscript describes the progress of succeeding generations as an evolution of understanding, an evolution toward a higher spirituality and vibration. Each generation incorporates more energy and accumulates more truth and then passes that status onto the people of the next generation who extend it further." "That's nonsense," Sebastian said. "There is only one way to become more spiritual and that's by following the examples in the scriptures." "Exactly," Sanchez said. "But again, what are the examples? Isn't the story of the scriptures a story of people learning to receive God's energy and will within? Isn't that what the early prophets led the people to do in the Old Testament? And isn't that receptivity to God's energy within what culminated in the life of a carpenter's son? To the extent that we say God himself descended to earth. Isn't the story of the New Testament?" He continued, "The story of a group of people being filled with some kind of energy that transformed them. Didn't Jesus himself say that what he did we could do also and more? We've never really taken that idea seriously. Not until now. We're only now grasping what Jesus was talking about, where he was leading us. The manuscript clarifies what he meant, how to do it."
Sebastian looked away, his face red with anger. During the pause in the conversation, a high-ranking officer burst into the room and told Sebastian that the intruders had been seen. "Look," the officer said, pointing out the window. "There they are." Three or 400 yards away, we could see two figures running through an open field headed toward the forest. A number of soldiers at the edge of the clearing seemed ready to open fire. The officer turned from the window and looked at Sebastian, his radio raised. "If they get to the wooded area," he said, "they will be hard to find. Do I have your permission to open fire?" As I watched the two running, I suddenly recognized who they were. "That's Will and Julia," I shouted. Sanchez walked even closer to Sebastian. "In the name of God. You cannot commit murder over this." The officer persisted. "Cardinal Sebastian, if you want this manuscript contained, I must give the order now." I was frozen. "Father, trust me," Sanchez was saying. "The manuscript will not erode all you have built, all you have stood for. You cannot kill these people." Sebastian shook his head. "Trust you." Then he sat down on his desk and looked at the officer. "We will shoot no one. Tell your troops to capture them alive." The officer nodded and walked out of the room. Sanchez said, "Thank you. You made the right choice. Not to kill." "Yes," Sebastian said. "But I will not change my mind. This manuscript is a curse. It would undermine our basic structure of spiritual authority. It would entice people to think they are in control of their spiritual destiny. It would undermine the discipline needed to bring everyone on the planet into the church and people would be caught wanting when the rapture comes." He looked hard at Sanchez. "At this moment, thousands of troops are arriving. It doesn't matter what you or anyone else does. The Ninth Insight will never leave Peru. Now get out of my mission."
As we sped away, we could hear dozens of trucks approaching in the distance. "Why did he let us go?" I asked. "I suppose because he thinks it makes no difference," Sanchez replied. "That there's nothing we can do." I really don't know what to think. His eyes met mine. "We didn't convince him, you know." I too was confused. What did it mean? Perhaps we hadn't been there to convince Sebastian after all. Perhaps we were just supposed to delay him. I glanced back at Sanchez. He was concentrating on driving and searching the roadside for any sign of Will and Julia. We had decided that we would double back in the direction they had been running, but so far we had seen nothing.
As we rode, my mind wandered to the Celestine ruins. I imagined what the site looked like. The teiered excavations, the scientists' tents, the looming pyramidal structures in the background. "They don't seem to be in these woods," Sanchez said. "They must have had a vehicle. We must decide what to do." "I think we should go to the ruins," I said. He looked at me. "We might as well. There's nowhere else to go." Sanchez made a turn to the west.
"What do you know of these ruins?" I asked. "They were built by two different cultures, as Julia said. The first, the Mayans, had a thriving civilization there, though most of their temples were further north in the Yukatan. Mysteriously, all signs of their civilization suddenly vanished about 600 BC without apparent cause. The Incas developed another civilization afterward at the same location." "What do you think happened to the Mayans?" Sanchez glanced at me. "I don't know."
We rode for several minutes in silence. Then I suddenly remembered that Father Sanchez had told Sebastian he had read more of The Ninth Insight. "How did you see more of The Ninth Insight?" I asked. "The young soldier who helped us knew where another part was being hidden. After you and I were separated, he took me to another room and showed it to me. It added only a few more concepts to what Phil and Dobson told us, but it gave me the points I used with Sebastian." "What did it say specifically?" "That the manuscript would clarify many religions and would help them fulfill their promise. All religion, it says, is about humankind finding relationship to one higher source. And all religions speak of a perception of God within. A perception that fills us, makes us more than we were. Religions become corrupted when leaders are assigned to explain God's will to the people instead of showing them how to find this direction within themselves. The manuscript says that sometime in history, one individual would grasp the exact way of connecting with God's source of energy and direction and would thus become a lasting example that this connection is possible." Sanchez looked at me. "Isn't that what Jesus really did? Didn't he increase his energy and vibration until he was light enough to?" Sanchez ended his sentence without finishing it and seemed to be deep in thought. "What are you thinking?" I asked. Sanchez looked perplexed. "I don't know. The soldier's copy ended right there. It said that this individual would blaze a path that the whole human race was destined to follow, but it didn't say where this path led."
For 15 minutes, we wrote in silence. I attempted to receive some indication of what would happen next, but I could think of nothing. I seemed to be trying too hard. "There are the ruins," Sanchez said. Ahead through the forest to the left of the road, I could make out three large pyramidal-shaped structures. After we parked and walked closer, I could tell the pyramids were constructed of cut stone and were spaced an equal distance apart, about 100 ft. Between them was an area paved with a smoother stone. Several excavation sites were dug into the base of the pyramids. "Look there," Sanchez said, pointing toward the more distant pyramid. A lone figure was sitting in front of the structure. As we walked that way, I noticed an increase in my energy level. By the time we reached the center of the paved area, I felt incredibly energized. I looked at Sanchez and he raised an eyebrow. When we got closer, I recognized the person by the pyramid to be Julia. She sat cross-legged and held several papers in her lap.
"Julia," Sanchez called. Julia turned and stood up. Her face seemed iridescent. "Where is Will?" I asked. Julia pointed to her right. There, perhaps a hundred yards away, was Will. He seemed to be glowing in the fading twilight. "What is he doing?" I asked. "The ninth," Julia replied, holding the papers toward us. Sanchez told Julia that we had seen some of the insight, the part which fortold of a human world transformed by conscious evolution. "But where does this evolution take us?" Sanchez asked. Julia didn't answer. She just held up the papers in her hand as though she expected us to read her mind. "What?" I asked. Sanchez reached over and touched my forearm. His look reminded me to stay alert and to wait. "The ninth reveals our ultimate destiny." Julia said, "It makes it all crystal clear. It reiterates that as humans we are the culmination of the whole of evolution. It talks about matter beginning in a weak form and increasing in complexity element by element. Then species by species, always evolving into a higher state of vibration. When primitive humans came along, we continued this evolution unconsciously by conquering others and gaining energy and moving forward a little bit and then being conquered ourselves by someone else and losing our energy. This physical conflict continued until we invented democracy, a system that didn't end the conflict, but shifted it from a physical to a mental level. Now," Julia went on, "we're bringing this whole process into consciousness. We can see that all of human history has prepared us to achieve conscious evolution. Now, we can increase our energy and experience the coincidences consciously. This carries evolution onward at a faster pace, lifting our vibrations even higher." She hesitated for a moment, looking at each of us, then repeated what she had said. "Our destiny is to continue to increase our energy level and as our energy level increases the level of vibration in the atoms of our bodies increases." She hesitated again. "What does that mean?" I asked. "It means," Julia said, "that we are getting lighter, more purely spiritual." I looked at Sanchez. He was focused intensely on Julia. "The ninth insight," Julia continued, "says that as we humans continue to increase our vibration. An amazing thing will begin to happen."
Whole groups of people, once they reach a certain level, will suddenly become invisible to those who are still vibrating at a lower level. It will appear to the people on this lower level that the others just disappeared. But the group themselves will feel as though they are still right here. Only they will feel lighter.
As Julia talked, I noticed her face and body changing somewhat. Her body was taking on the characteristics of her energy field. Her features were still clear and distinct, but it was no longer muscles and skin at which I was looking. She looked as though she were made of pure light glowing from within. I looked at Sanchez. He appeared the same way. To my amazement, everything appeared this way. The pyramids, the stone under our feet, the surrounding forest, my hands. The beauty I was able to perceive had increased beyond anything I had experienced before.
Even when on the ridgetop, when humans begin to raise their vibration to a level where others cannot see them, Julia continued, "It will signal that we are crossing the barrier between this life and the other world from which we came and to which we go after death." This conscious crossing over is the path shown by the Christ. He opened up to the energy until he was so light that he could walk on water. He transcended death right here on earth and was the first to cross over to expand the physical world into the spiritual. His life demonstrated how to do this. And if we connect with the same source, we can head the same way step by step. At some point, everyone will vibrate highly enough so that we can walk into heaven in our same form.
I noticed Will was walking slower toward us. His movement seemed unusually graceful, as though he were gliding. "The insight says," Julia went on, "that most individuals will reach this level of vibration during the third millennium and in groups consisting of the people with whom they are most connected. But some cultures in history have already achieved the vibration. According to the ninth insight, the Mayans crossed over together."
Julia abruptly stopped talking. From behind us, we heard muffled voices in Spanish. Dozens of soldiers were entering the ruins, coming right for us. To my surprise, I was unafraid.
"They can't see us," Sanchez said. "We are vibrating too highly." I looked again at the soldiers. He was right. They were walking 20 or 30 feet to our left, completely ignoring us.
Suddenly, we heard loud shouts in Spanish by the pyramid to our left. The soldiers closest to us stopped and ran in that direction. I strained to see what was happening. Another group of soldiers were emerging from the forest, holding the arms of two other men. Dobson and Phil. The sight of their capture jolted me, and I could feel my energy level plummet. I looked at Sanchez and Julia. Both were staring intently toward the soldiers and appearing equally disturbed.
"Wait!" Will seemed to shout from the opposite direction. "Don't lose your energy." I felt the words as well as heard them. They were slightly garbled. We turned to see Will walking quickly toward us. As we watched, he seemed to say something else. But this time, the words were completely unintelligible. I realized I was having trouble focusing. His image was becoming hazy, distorted. Gradually, as I stared in disbelief, he disappeared altogether.
Julia turned to face Sanchez and me. Her energy level seemed to lower, but she was completely undaunted. "As though whatever just happened clarified something," she said. "We weren't able to maintain the vibration. Fear lowers one's vibration tremendously." She looked toward the spot where Will had faded from view. "The ninth insight says that while some individuals may cross over sporadically, a general rapture will not occur until we have abolished fear, until we can maintain a sufficient vibration in all situations."
Julia's excitement grew. "Don't you see? We can't do it yet, but the role of the ninth insight is to help create that confidence. The ninth insight is the insight of knowing where we are headed. All the other insights create a picture of the world as one of incredible beauty and energy and of ourselves as increasing our connection with and thus seeing this beauty. The more beauty we can see, the more we evolve. The more we evolve, the higher we vibrate. The ninth insight shows us that ultimately our increased perception and vibration will open us up to heaven that is already before us. We just can't see it yet. Whenever we doubt our own path or lose sight of the process, we must remember what we are evolving toward. What the process of living is all about. Reaching heaven on earth is why we are here. And now we know how it can be done, how it will be done."
She paused momentarily. "The ninth mentions that a tenth insight exists. I think it must reveal..."
Before she could finish, a burst of machine gun fire ripped up the stone tiles by our feet. We all dived to the ground, our hands raised. No one spoke as the soldiers came and confiscated the papers and took each of us in a different direction.
The first weeks after my capture were spent in constant terror. My energy level fell dramatically as one military officer after another questioned me threateningly about the manuscript. I played the dumb tourist and claimed ignorance. After all, it was true that I had no idea who among the other priests had copies and how widespread public acceptance of the document had become. Gradually, my tactic worked. Over time, the soldiers seemed to grow tired of me and passed me on to a group of civilian authorities who took a different approach. These officials sought to convince me that my trip to Peru had been crazy from the beginning. Crazy because, according to them, the manuscript never really existed. They argued that the insights had in fact been invented by a small group of priests with the intent to foster rebellion. I had been duped. These officials told me, and I let them talk. After a while, the conversations became almost cordial. Everyone began to treat me as a guiltless victim of this plot, as a gullible Yankee who had read too many adventure tales and found himself lost in a foreign country. And because my energy was so low, I possibly would have become vulnerable to this brainwashing had something else not occurred.
I was suddenly transferred from the military base where I was being held to a governmental compound near the airport in Lima, a compound in which Father Carl was also being detained. The coincidence brought back some of my lost confidence. I was walking in the open courtyard when I first saw him sitting on a bench reading. I strolled over, restraining my exuberance and hoping I wouldn't attract attention from the officials inside the building. When I sat down, he looked up at me and grinned. "I've been expecting you," he said.
"You have?"
He put down his book and I could see the delight in his eyes. "After Father Kostas and I came to Lima," he explained, "we were immediately detained and separated, and I've been here in custody ever since. I couldn't understand why. Nothing seemed to be happening. Then I began to think repeatedly of you." He gave me a knowing look. "So, I figured you would show up, and I'm grateful you're here," I said. "Did anyone tell you what happened at the Celestine ruins?"
"Yes," Father Carl replied. "I spoke briefly with Father Sanchez. He was held here for a day before being taken away."
"Is he all right? Did he know what happened to the others? And what about him? Were they going to imprison him?"
"He had no information about the others. And as for Father Sanchez, I don't know. The government's strategy is to methodically search out and destroy all copies of the manuscript, then to treat the whole affair as a grand hoax. All will be thoroughly discredited, I imagine. But who knows what they will ultimately do with us?"
"What about Dobson's copies?" I said. "The first and second insights he left in the states. They already have them."
"Father Sanchez told me that agents of the government found out where they were hidden and stole them," Father Carl replied. "Apparently, Peruvian agents have been everywhere. They knew about Dobson from the beginning. And about your friend Charlene. And you think when the government is through, no copies will remain?"
"I think it will be a miracle if any survive." I turned away, feeling my newfound energy diminish.
"You know what this means, don't you?" Father Carl asked. I looked at him, but said nothing.
"This means," he continued, "that each of us must remember exactly what the manuscript said. You and Sanchez didn't convince Cardinal Sebastian to release the manuscript, but you delayed him long enough for the Ninth Insight to be understood. Now it has to be communicated. You have to be involved in communicating it."
His statement made me feel pressured, and my aloof drama activated inside me. I leaned against the back of the bench and looked away, which made Father Carl laugh. Then, at just that moment, we both realized several embassy officials were watching us from the office window.
"Listen," Father Carl said quickly.
"What?" I asked.
"From now on, the insights will have to be shared between people. Each person, once they hear the message and realize that the insights are real, must pass on the message to everyone who is ready for it. Connecting with energy is something humans have to be open to and talking about and expecting. Otherwise, the whole human race can go back to pretending that life is about having power over others and exploiting the planet. If we go back to doing this, then we won't survive. Each of us must do what we can to get this message out."
I noticed that the two officials were out of the building, walking toward us.
"One more thing," Father Carl said, speaking lowly.
"What?" I asked.
"Father Sanchez told me Julia had spoken of a tenth insight. It hasn't yet been found, and no one knows where it might be. The officials were almost on us. I've been thinking," Father Carl continued, "that they're going to release you. You may be the only one that can look for it."
The men suddenly interrupted our conversation and escorted me toward the building. Father Carl smiled and waved and said something else. But I could only half pay attention. As soon as Father Carl had mentioned a tenth insight, I had been consumed by a thought of Charlene. Why was I thinking of her? How was she connected to a tenth insight?
The two men insisted that I pack the few things I had left and follow them to the front of the embassy and into a state vehicle. From there, I was taken directly to the airport and up to a boarding concourse where one of them smiled faintly and looked at me from behind thick glasses. His smile faded as he handed me a passport and a ticket for a flight to the United States, then told me in a heavy Peruvian accent to never, never return.
"Well, you're just out and doing things. A lot of people have ideas, but that's where it stops. I do enjoy executing ideas. There are always the ones that say, 'I had that idea. I wanted to do that. I had that idea.' An idea is nothing. An idea is the easiest part. It's the execution of the idea that's so hard, in my opinion. Right. It really, it really is, you know, and then when you, when you're around other creative people and they have an idea, it's so wonderful to say, 'That's a great idea. I've got that in my pocket.' It's hard to complete them. It's, it's sometimes like reading a really good book. You get into a really good book, you kind of don't want to read it. You don't want it to be over. It's hard to to finish, you know, like you start off ideas and then once you finish it, it's over. But you need to know that there's more ideas. So, you need to finish it and and get to your next great idea. Be original and be you."
[Music]