by Brandt Legg
It was just before ten o’clock when Spencer told us that he needed my complete attention for the next twenty hours. A crash course, he called it. The three of us took a walk, leaving Spencer to watch whatever it was he saw out there. None of us liked the idea of splitting up, but he insisted there was too much to go over and so little time. Although still anxious, we believed he could be trusted.
Kyle and Linh would go back to Amber’s beach house and pick me up in the morning. We’d all have to miss a day of school, but they could spend the afternoon studying and I could catch up on the drive back. We walked them to the trail. I gave Kyle my camera. Linh hugged Spencer and then me.
“I don’t want to let you go,” Linh said, tearfully.
“I’ll be fine. We’ll all be fine.” I didn’t want them to go either.
“I want to believe that,” she said.
“Then, do.”
Kyle stepped in. “Promise me you’ll keep calm. Thich Nhat Hahn says, ‘Every time we make a step we are moving with all the cosmos, and all our ancestors move and take steps with us.’ Think about that. I love you, brother.”
24
I turned to Spencer, “So now what?”
“There’s so much more than seeing past lives and hearing things. It’s overwhelming really. Let’s go through this in steps. What you call Outviews are just a window. Imagine being able to actually walk in the door. You can wander through past and future lifetimes, drop into any specific time or place.”
“Not just the deaths?”
“You’ll never have to see a death again if you don’t want to. But you must know by now that death is really just a transformation. It’s like passing through a veil to a new experience, quite marvelous really.”
“Yeah, well, you should have seen some of mine. There wasn’t anything marvelous about them.”
“You’ll see what I mean later.”
“My Aunt Rose mentioned astral traveling.”
“Yes, right now you could watch your mother at work or your brother sleeping, anything, anywhere.”
“Seriously? And you think I can learn to do this?”
“That and so much more. You’ve already been doing it. Outviews are just a form of astral traveling. We just need to show you how to control it.”
“Why do you think I can do all these things?”
“You know everything. That’s what people forget, literally. Everyone already knows everything, it’s just a matter of getting our personalities to remember.”
“How many years of study does it take?”
“There are many levels. There are nuances that can take a lifetime to master, even for you.”
“What do you mean even for me?”
“See, Nate, you’re from a long line of special people. These abilities run in your spiritual DNA.”
“I thought you said everyone could do these things.”
“Everyone can, like everyone can play the piano or hit a baseball, but some people are born with a little extra talent to do it more easily.”
“And I’m one of those people?”
“Yes.”
“And you, too?”
“Yes, but not on your level. Normally I would want to ease you into this, but time is very short. I don’t have the luxury of bringing you along as you become ready.”
“So I’m not ready?” A particularly large wave crashed into one of the giant black monoliths trying to hold the sea back.
“Let’s just say this might not all go as smoothly as it would if you were a little older and we had more time, but you can do this. You weren’t just born with extra talents. Every generation produces tens of thousands of people who have heightened abilities. I call them ‘the wave.’ But of those, there are seven who are born with a channel so open to the universe that they can impact tremendous change, historic change.” The ocean took his attention again. “And while it’s true that even if someone is not one of the wave they can still develop extraordinary abilities, it takes so much discipline that it’s extremely rare. I’m one of the wave, but you are one of the seven.”
“What are the odds?” I asked, trying to make light of something I couldn’t grasp.
“One in a billion.” His answer didn’t help since I couldn’t really fathom a billion. I remember my history teacher saying that a billion hours ago man was living in caves.
“I don’t care about changing the world. I just want to get my brother out of the institution and see my dad’s killer in jail.”
“That’s what your human personality wants, but your soul has a different plan. Once it’s awakened you’ll find it incredibly hard to put the genie back in the bottle, so to speak.”
“You said yourself I’m not really old enough to do all this.”
“I need you to not be sixteen now. I need you to be who you really are.”
“How old am I really?” I asked, repeating the question the Old Man of the Lake didn’t answer.
“We’re all as old as the universe. For now, just try to think like some five-hundred-year-old wizard,” he replied, very seriously.
I thought of my father and me walking quietly in the old growth forest of western Oregon. “I’ll try.”
“Nate, I’m going to show you some extraordinary things that you have forgotten you can do. To any average human they will seem like super powers, and they are. But our souls can do them effortlessly. The most important part is for you to believe they are possible. So I want you to think about this: if the soul exists and it can really survive human death and come back again in another body . . . ”
“We both know it can.”
“Exactly, but are you taking for granted what that means? Simply put, if reincarnation is real, just imagine the power that is required to pull it off . . . a million times, a billion times. And you’re tapped into that.” He looked at me. “Anything is possible.”
“You’re saying some exciting stuff, but these concepts are pretty tough to get my head around.”
“Maybe this will help. Watch that driftwood.” He pointed to a log about two feet long. It began to move, spinning in the sand and then, taking off like a rocket, soaring into the surf.
“Cool! How did you do that?” I asked excited.
“Now, you do it.”
“Just like that, no explanation?”
“What if I told you that I didn’t really make the driftwood fly but that you did because you expected it to?”
I concentrated on another piece, willing it to move, but after a few minutes nothing happened. “I can’t do it.”
“Remember it’s not just Nate doing it. You’re a channel for all the power that has ever existed. Everything is possible.”
I tried again. Nothing.
“Stop concentrating on it. It’s energy; you are energy. You and the wood are connected. The air between you is full of energy. The power moving that ocean is the same. Don’t think about making it move. Just move it. This is easy for you. Make the wood fly.”
It started slowly, moving slightly. It spun. Faster. It shot straight up in the air. I ducked so it wouldn’t hit me on the way down. Spencer didn’t flinch. “I did it! Did you see that? I did it!”
“Now do you believe?”
“Yes. I mean I’m not sure what I believe, but I sure believe something.” I was breathless.
Spencer laughed. “That’s a start. If someone saw you doing that they might call it telekinesis, but you’ll learn it’s more than just your regular ol’ telekinesis. What we’re doing is part of one of the five great powers. Moving things is a form of ‘Gogen.’ It means to manipulate space, in the ancient language.”
“Which ancient language?”
“One you’ve never heard of. A language that predates all known history.”
“Why was it so easy?” I asked.
“Everyone on this planet is capable of doing this if they would just clear themselves of all the junk and practice.”
“What junk?”
“Prescription
drugs, inoculations, chemicals, processed foods, pesticides, possessions, debt. The list is long. But it is simple for you because you’re one of the seven. All you need to do is believe and be shown what you’re capable of, and you can do almost anything.”
“Was my dad one of the seven of your generation?”
“No, he wasn’t, just one of the wave.”
“What happened to those seven?”
“Earth is a minefield for these messengers. The asylums got a couple. Three fell into drugs and alcohol. Another committed suicide, and politics took the last one.”
“Politics?”
“His gift made it easy to rise to power, but sadly corruption crept in on him.”
“What about the other six in my generation?”
“Similar story—Ritalin, illegal drugs, institutions, or death. It’s the same for the tens of thousands in the wave. The vast majority wind up blocked. Our soul may be the most powerful force there is, but in modern civilization we’ve created so many ways to blind us to the universe—cell phones, wireless networks, EMFs, microwave ovens—all weaken our ability to connect. Organized religion, the public education system numbs us to our true selves. The message gets buried. Not to mention this horrible food we’ve had the last fifty or sixty years. It’s killing us.”
“I’ve got a lot to learn,” I sighed.
“It’ll be much easier for you now.” He tossed me a book. I have no idea where it came from. “Hold on to that for a while.”
“Okay,” I said glancing at the title, The History and Origin of the Solar System.
“There are many different ways to handle these gifts. Lee pursued a path trying to integrate his with work in a way he thought was doing good. Your father decided to ignore his to have a regular family life. Rose uses hers to earn a living.”
“What about you?”
“I’ve spent my life in study, contemplation, and practice.”
“Why? What will that do?”
“Maybe it was all for this day, all so I could guide you through the fog and keep you alive to fulfill your destiny. For many decades an increasing number of people have been waiting for the promise of the New Age to transform the human race. And many are questioning if there’s still time. Have we screwed it up beyond saving? I don’t think so. Nate, what is the age of the sun?
“What?”
“Answer the question.”
“Approximately 4.6 billion years old.”
“What is its diameter?”
“About 1,392,000 kilometers.”
“And Nate, where is the sun located?”
“The sun is currently traveling through the local interstellar cloud within the inner rim of the Orion arm of the Milky Way galaxy.”
“How far is that from earth?”
“About 149.6 million kilometers.”
“Good. How much hydrogen does the sun fuse?”
“Stop it!” I shouted. “What the hell?”
“All you need to do is keep your hands on a book for a short time and you will absorb all of its information.”
“No way!”
“There are some nice tradeoffs with this ‘burden,’ yes? You just have to remember that everything written isn’t necessarily true, so just because you know what the books say doesn’t mean it’s accurate. Reading is not the same as understanding.”
“Okay, but this is very cool.”
“Yes it is. Quite the little timesaver.”
“Oh, by the way, the sun fuses 620 million metric tons of hydrogen each second,” I said, handing him the book.
“Very good. Reading a book that way is a form of ‘Vising’, another of the five great powers. This one is a method to transform energy. You’ll learn other uses of it soon enough. But right now, you need to practice Gogen.”
After using Gogen to move objects ranging from piles of sand to decent-sized boulders for several hours, I was ready to go out into the real world and have some fun. I couldn’t wait to show my friends. But I was surprised by how tired it made me.
“I haven’t eaten since breakfast. When can we go and get something to eat?”
“Tomorrow. I’m sure Kyle and Linh will take you for breakfast. You’ll be fine until then.”
“No really, I’m hungry.”
“Food will only get in our way. After what you’ve just done, what’s a twenty-four-hour fast? Think about that. You’ve still got some water, and when you run out, there is a lovely stream in the woods.”
“Great, I’m in psychic boot camp,” I grumbled. “So what’s the biggest thing I can move anyway?”
“How do you think the pyramids were built?”
“Really? So there’s no real limit?”
“There are no real limits to anything we can do, but there are often complications. Moving a building, for example, brings into play many other forces and soul destinies. Therefore, it might be too complex to make it worth attempting.” He was silent until I looked at him. “I’m giving you the keys to the most awesome power there is. These are all just parts of it. Even if you were much older and wiser, it would be an astronomical responsibility. Maybe your youth will prove to be an asset because I’m sure you’ll admit that even the most sophisticated sixteen-year-old doesn’t have the level of maturity to be up to this.”
“You mean, will I use these powers to play tricks on my friends?”
“No, I have to trust you’re beyond that kind of nonsense. What I’m saying is, if you use it for good, for the purpose of spreading love and reminding everyone who they really are, it will grow stronger in you. If you let ego get in the way or turn the other way, it will weaken and your life will sour.”
“I’ll need help to stay on track. I think I could mess this up pretty easily. I mean, I barely passed biology with a D, and chemistry isn’t looking any better.”
“All you need to do is remain open and pure, and the help you need will be there. It’s up to you, Nate.” I tried to let it all sink in but didn’t know if I could. “We should move on,” he warned.
“Wait, I have some questions. Can I move myself?”
“If you mean can you levitate, the answer is yes, but that will come much later. It’s more complicated.”
“How long do I have to hold a book to get the info out of it?”
“I don’t really know. Depends on the size I guess, not too long. You’ll figure it out.”
“This seems like a wild fantasy story.”
“There is no such thing as fantasy. It is all real somewhere. Even the most far out reaches of your imagination are actually happening in some dimension. Now, let’s get into healing. I have a feeling you’re going to need this skill.”
“Another thing to worry about.”
“Rub your hands together,” he said, ignoring my sarcasm. “You’re moving the life force. Remember, it’s there in every living thing.”
“That’s why it’s called life force?”
He smiled. “We all have the ability to heal ourselves and others by using it. This is how it was done before the techniques and knowledge were lost to the ages. This is part of the third great power, ‘Foush’, to enhance the human senses.”
“What are the other two?”
“‘Timbal’, is used to view time. It is how you see Outviews. ‘Solteer’ is the final power, it’s a way to control consciousness, but we’ll get into that another time.”
Spencer showed me how to use visualization, and soon I could feel a slight vibration in my hands as they warmed. But as soon as it happened, he said, “Let’s get to your next lesson.”
“Don’t I need to practice?”
“Yes. Practice is one of the most important things you can do. And it’s the only way you can master anything. But you’ll have plenty of opportunities to work on your healing abilities very soon.” His tone was more serious than I would have liked.
“Should I be afraid?”
“Fear is nothing you should voluntarily enter into. When fear arises naturally, you pay
attention to it as a warning, but never go looking for a reason to be afraid.”
“I think I understand.”
“The next door we open is very useful. Something you’ll need tonight in fact.”
“What’s tonight?”
“Let’s not get into tonight yet. Now, you understand that everything is energy. The patterns of energy, the attraction and exchange of it all leaves a story. It’s always there. What this means is everything can tell you everything. Where something is at a specific time in space, how you make the connections and the distance you’re willing to travel are the only limits on what can be revealed. It’s all energy, one big energy.”
“Fascinating. What does it mean?” A warm salty breeze passed.
“Put your hands on that rock. Now close your eyes and try to look for something in the darkness of your mind.”
After half a minute I started seeing things—a guy running on the beach with a golden retriever; next, a group of teenagers laughing and playing on the sunny beach. One of them passed a joint to the other. A girl declined. The other one accepted. Then, a different day, this time foggy, a young couple walking the beach, another with a small child using driftwood and tarps to build a shelter from the sun. They played and looked for shells. The father took pictures.
“What’s all this I’m seeing?”
“It’s the energy that has moved past this rock.”
“Incredible! How do I know what happened when?”
“That’s the tricky part. You could easily spend the rest of your life exploring this single ability and still not master it, but with time you’ll develop considerable control. As it is now, the images you saw could have been yesterday or a decade ago.”
“What do I do with it?”
“Just work on it as often as you can. It’s another form of Vising. You’ll discover so many uses for this talent that you’ll wonder how anyone survives without it. Survival is actually a useful benefit, as this will literally save your life more than once.” I didn’t need more incentive than that. It was fun in a voyeuristic way, much more exciting than any reality TV show could ever be. I wandered the beach touching rocks, trees, even the sand. I peered into the lives of people like a hidden video camera. My favorite was watching the tide roll in during a long-ago thunderstorm. Then the rock was engulfed by the surf while I remained dry. It was addicting. Spencer finally made me stop.