The Eagle and the Rose

by Rosemary Altea

  I went toward her, holding out my hands, and she took them, over and over saying how sorry she was, that she hoped she had not upset me, concerned now only for me and for my feelings. We talked for a long while, and it was to be the last time that Margery was able to talk to me in this way, for soon after she slipped into a coma. She told me then of another fear. She was scared, she explained, that when she finally escaped her physical body she would get lost, not be able to find her way toward the light.

  “How would you feel if I came with you?” I heard myself say. “I can't promise, but I could try. Would that make you feel easier?”

  “But can you do that?” she replied, her voice full of hope and relief.

  I looked to Grey Eagle, who answered my silent question to him. “Yes,” I said, “I'm pretty sure I can, and if it will help you, then I'll gladly come along with you.”

  Now this was a pretty unusual thing for me to suggest. I had been astral traveling many times and for a variety of reasons. Also, in my rescue work, helping distressed souls to cross the void that separates worlds, I had often experienced exciting journeys to many places and met many wonderful people. And, too, there had been those times when a patient of mine had “died” and I had, in one way or another, been there with them. But this was the first time I had actually spoken with a patient about the possibility of joining her on her final journey into the spirit world.

  Astral travel is something many people experience. Although amazing, it is not unusual, and this was how I intended to join Margery on her journey. Grey Eagle was behind me one hundred percent, knowing that this was what was needed.

  When I left Margery's house that day, she was much brighter, less afraid, feeling that she really was not on her own. A few days later we went together on a journey.

  In the early hours of that particular morning, with my physical body still in my bed, I found myself in a very large room, as large as a good-size ballroom, with two rows of chairs, back to back, placed down the middle. I was seated at one end right at the bottom, and all the other chairs were filled. Lots of people, lots of chatter, lots of noise, as everyone seemed to be waiting excitedly for something to happen.

  As I sat, curious about my surroundings, I became aware that I had caused some considerable interest in a few of the people at the other end of the room, who were whispering to each other and pointing to where I sat. One or two of their faces were familiar to me, but I could not bring to mind where it was that I had seen them before.

  While I was pondering this thought, there was a sudden, expectant hush and then a whispering of excited voices: “She's here, she's coming, she's coming!” I looked to one side of the room, where everyone else was looking, and noticed for the first time a kind of chute sticking out of the wall. Then, before I had time to wonder what this was, I saw a woman appear through the hole in the wall, along the chute, to land gently with her feet safely on the ground.

  I knew her, but for a moment I could not place her, and I watched as the people who had been waiting at the top end of the room went forward with open arms to greet her. Then recognition dawned. It was Margery … but not the Margery I had known. This Margery did not wear a wig, and her hair, healthy and shining, fell about her shoulders. Her face, not yellow and bloated, was full of vitality, and she was vibrant. The difference in her was amazing. I also realized that the people who had been pointing toward me were the very ones I had talked to many times when Margery had been on the earth plane. They were her parents and her family in the spirit world, who I had communicated with so often.

  Sometime later I found myself back in my body, and less than thirty minutes after that the phone rang. It was around six-thirty in the morning, and it was Margery's husband, Tony, calling to tell me that Margery had died less than an hour ago.

  I was able to tell Tony of my experience, and this comforted him greatly. It also helped me to know that when I do foresee death, what I truly see is new life beginning.

  Seeing into the future for others is one thing, seeing for myself is another. I have from time to time, with Grey Eagle, embarked upon a vision quest or have been given a dream vision by Grey Eagle, which will help me greatly to clarify my position, give me guidance as to the path that I am on and on which I must walk. And although these visions are very personal to me, I will recount to you just one, which I experienced in April 1993. In doing so, however, I must point out that a dream vision will sometimes be given in a symbolic way, as you will see.

  I was on a boat, a strange-looking craft, long and tapering to a sharp point at the front end, with a small cabin in which I was seated, along with several others. A good friend of mine, Lynn Picard, an American I had met while working in Hong Kong, was with me, and as we were talking I suddenly noticed, through a porthole on the far side of the cabin, what looked to be a large mountainous hunk of red rock (it reminded me of the great red rocks you see in Arizona), rising out of the water. I got up and went across the cabin to the porthole to have a closer look and was totally awestruck at the sight that met my eyes. I went forward onto the deck, hardly able to grasp the most magnificent sight, for I saw icebergs, masses and masses of gigantic mountains of ice, some of them red, some gray, some white, a great multitude of floating ice for as far out from where we had come as the eye could see. It was a sight of such magnitude that my mind struggled with the fact that we had somehow come through this beautiful but so dangerous sea unharmed.

  I turned toward the front of the boat and gasped as I saw that we were not yet out of danger, for there were icebergs to either side of us. I held my breath as the boat maneuvered its way through the narrow passageway, barely missing the icebergs, which, as we traveled on, seemed to grow smaller and smaller.

  As the ocean became clearer, although the icebergs, behind us now, were still clearly visible, I became aware of yet another danger: as we approached the shore I saw bodies, hundreds and hundreds of bodies, floating facedown in the water. At first I thought they were dead bodies, but as we came closer I saw that these bodies were floundering, trying to stay afloat … but the boat I was on was heading straight toward them, making for the shore. At one point, as the boat speeded up, I thought we were going to hit the body of a young boy (don't ask how I knew that it was a boy, I just knew), but at the last minute a large wave lifted him up and carried him to the side of the boat.

  Then, before I knew it, we came out of the water and safely onto the beach. A little uncertain, I stepped off the boat and onto the shore, surprised to find, not sand beneath my feet, but solid ground. I stood for a moment or two, gazing out at the ocean, marveling at the miracle of navigation that had seen us safely, and without harm to others, through the torrent of icebergs and bodies that I could clearly see. I shook my head, incredulous at the sight of the sea I had left behind. Someone, a man, came and stood to the side of me. “Let me get you a drink,” he said. Taking firm hold of my arm, he steered me toward a bar, and pouring a “special” glass of wine, he said, “This calls for a toast…. You've made it, you're safe.”

  When I came to, I knew immediately the meaning of the dream.

  The icebergs were symbolic of the traumas and difficulties that had been my life's journey thus far. The bodies, floundering and all at sea, were symbolic of the many people I have yet to meet upon my journey into my future, people who will look to me for help, people who may feel that they are drowning and lost.

  The boat indicating my journey, and the sea, telling of other lands.

  The shore, not sand but firm ground, telling me not only of a safe arrival, but of a new land, new beginnings, and solid territory.

  The man, not one special man, perhaps, but again symbolic of the acceptance of mankind for who I am and what I do.

  And I knew also, when “waking” from this vision quest, that something important was about to happen, to change my life forever. Soon, very soon now, in another land, another shore, my work would truly begin.

  It was in November, just seven months later,
that I was introduced to an American literary agency. Shortly after I signed a contract with them, this manuscript was bought by publishers around the world.

  My dream vision told it all!

  PART V

  The Message

  Our Learning

  “Grey Eagle teaches me.”

  I wake in the morning, open my eyes, and see him. He stands waiting, waiting for the day to begin.

  I have used this phrase so many times throughout this book, and you must want to ask the question, “How?”

  Knowing I will not be able to ease your curiosity (for my answers will only serve to make you more curious), I will attempt to give at least some small explanation.

  I wake in the morning, open my eyes, and see him. He stands waiting, waiting for the day to begin.

  My first question must be, What did I dream?

  I can't remember, and so I look to Grey Eagle for the answer. I know he will not give it, but I ask him just the same.

  Patiently he looks at me. The ball, I know, is back in my court.

  And so the day goes, a million questions in my head, but only a handful asked. The results the same, as my guide waits patiently and hands the questions back to me.

  Slowly, with much frustration, I learn. The answers to my questions lie within. There is nothing I can ask that I do not, somewhere within the deep recesses of my soul, know the answer to.

  This is the beginning of my apprenticeship.

  Months pass by.

  I talk more and more with those in the spirit world as my clientele grows.

  At first using signs, symbols, most of which I instantly know the meaning of, not knowing how I know. Without realizing it the speed of my communication with the spirit world increases, my vision, my hearing, my senses, become sharper. The need for symbols lessens, but I am unaware of the change. It is only on reflection that I see this.

  We sit, Grey Eagle and I, and he tells me things. I learn by his example. I learn to be still, to listen to that small quiet voice within me. And as my senses become heightened, I become more sensitive to that energy that permeates time and space, that which we, in simple terms, call “psychic energy.” I become finely tuned, a transmitter, sending out and receiving… sending out and receiving … sending out and receiving….

  This is my everyday reality. And I live my reality every day.

  Years pass.

  I am still a student, still learning. I discover that each moment of time is precious. Nothing, not one thought nor yet one deed is wasted. A casual conversation, never casual. A chance meeting, unavoidable. Coincidence, always planned. And in discovering these things, I discover a great plan. A universal plan. I find, with great delight, that I am part of that plan. That all life form, and even that which seems to have no life, is inescapably part of the plan.

  We sit, Grey Eagle and I, and he tells me things. He takes me on many journeys. We travel by many routes and different means. I learn by his example.

  I am a willing student, thirsting for knowledge but more patient now. And so I grow.

  “And I behold the universe, and all it is, and all it ever has been, and all its power, is yours.”

  I hear Grey Eagle tell me this. Then I reply.

  “And I behold the universe, and all it is, and all it ever has been, and all its power is ours. And yet belongs to no one.”

  I look to my guide, so strong, so powerful and wise.

  His gentle nature calms and soothes me. I strive to be like him.

  There is no magic potion that I or you can take that gives us wisdom. Only our experiences will teach us and then, only if we are truly willing to learn. We can read a million books whose words inspire us, will help to point us in a certain direction. But only the experience can give us true meaning to the written word.

  So many times I am asked, “What is the purpose of our lives here on earth?”

  And if I am to be your teacher, I must answer, “To learn—to grow.”

  And when, in frustration, I hear you ask, “How—and how?”

  Then I must answer, “Look within.”

  What is the purpose of my work as a medium, what can I achieve?

  The main purpose is to help those in the spirit world, to be their voice. In doing this, I know that so many of my clients, so many of those here on earth who have heard me speak, will have been transformed, allowed themselves to open up, have been awakened and have discovered light and enlightenment of the spirit.

  Having made contact with the spirit world, each person has made a discovery and is inevitably transformed by it.

  The voice of the spirit world is unanimous in talking of life as a learning experience, and that means not only life here on the earth plane, but life continuing after death.

  Grey Eagle has taught me, and I have tried to teach others.

  Each of us is born with the light within us, the light that is the light of the soul. If we choose to recognize and to nurture this light, then, when we die, we will go to the light, to be embraced by it.

  If we choose to live in darkness, while on earth or after “death,” if we choose to allow the light to diminish, then we choose a dark place. But always it is our choice.

  I am saying that there are no fires of hell unless we choose it to be so.

  There are those who would then argue, What is the point of being good if we can all embrace the light? And I would say, If we chose the light, we chose to take responsibility for those bad deeds we did on earth.

  We are here first and foremost for the good of, for the growth of, the soul.

  This world of ours, this material world, which we experience for such a short span of “time,” has become a world where anger and frustration know no limits, where violence and aggression rule. A world where DOG EATS DOG.

  And the eyes of the spirit world are sad.

  I look to Grey Eagle and ask, What can we do?

  Does it have to be like this?

  He answers, No. But it is your choice. Yours … and yours … and yours.

  He answers, No. But each man, each woman, each child, must do his or her part. It is for you to choose, and you … and you … and you.

  And the eyes of the spirit world are sad.

  I hear their collective voice …. They ask, Will you listen? Will you learn? Where is the willing student?

  I look to Grey Eagle and ask, What is the key?

  And with much feeling he replies, GENTLENESS. Your world needs GENTLENESS.

  There is a new world waiting to be born—your world—awaiting a rebirth.

  Each individual, man, woman, child, is the mother of the world, will cradle the world and will dictate its destiny.

  And how, I ask my guide, do we nurture this child yet to be born?

  He answers, With gentleness, and only with gentleness.

  So many of us in this DOG EAT DOG world see gentleness and perceive weakness. We use phrases like “If you want to get on in life, get tough.” Be ruthless … and yet to have “ruth” means to have pity or compassion. To be without ruth, to be ruthless, is damaging to the soul, damaging to the world. We see someone as tough, and we perceive strength, and we perceive power.

  And so we live in this DOG EAT DOG world, condoning violence, all the while using harsh words and tough actions, teaching our children the art of ruthlessness.

  And I ask Grey Eagle, How can we learn?

  He answers, With gentleness, only with gentleness.

  The definition of “gentleness” according to the Concise Oxford Dictionary is: “not rough, mild, or kind—especially in temperament, moderate, not severe or drastic, honourable, quiet, requiring patience, generous, courteous.”

  But we are mere mortals, and with our human faults and frailties, how can we hope to achieve the art of gentleness in the fullest sense of the word?

  And as I write I hear Grey Eagle speak:

  “Try, you can but try, and the universe shakes and becomes brighter—and we have hope.”

  I look to
my guide, so strong, so powerful and wise.

  His gentle nature calms and soothes me. I strive to be like him.

  I see his gentleness, and I do not see him weak, I perceive great strength.

  I see gentleness and I perceive power.

  I learn by his example and dare to be gentle, too. First with myself, then with others.

  It is so hard, for I too have been raised in this DOG EAT DOG world, and I am afraid. What when I fail, as I so often do? Then I remember: DOG EAT DOG … SOUL EAT SOUL.

  There is a new world waiting to be born, each individual the mother of this world.

  And, as I try, the universe shakes and becomes brighter—and I have hope.

  And so the day goes, a million questions in my head, but only a handful asked.

  I will share with you in this book just five questions, questions that many have asked. I will ask and give you Grey Eagle's answers. But don't be surprised if the answers he gives create more and more questions looking for answers.

  Question: Grey Eagle, why is it that we mortals can be so cruel to each other sometimes?

  Answer: I will laugh at the naivetÉ of this question, for of course you know the answer. And each child comes to the earth … must stretch, must open wide, must experience, must try many things … will test himself as well as others.

  And what better testing ground than the playground in which your children will run and shout and laugh and cry?

  And what better testing ground than that of the playground?

  And each parent must educate his child and talk of sensitivity and tolerance.

  Must talk of understanding and communication. But there are many Who do not do these things.

  And so the child who will naturally test and stretch himself and others will look to his parents, will look to his teachers, will look to the adult … will not learn by your fine words, but will learn by example only.

  And the parent who talks of tolerance, and yet shows none, will develop an intolerant child.