Manipura (Ch. 6)

"Conscious decision. Life without fear. Masterful influence over the mind. This is what the Divine has written for you."

As I meditate with Tilly, she guides me through a journey that leads me to a large triangular lavender door. I walk through it and find myself in the presence of a Shaman. Her voice echoes through the door as if it's crashing in on mountainous waves, "Not everything you see is as true as it appears."

I look around and realize that I am standing in a vast field with a peach-tree grove. The Shaman is a bronze-toned pedagogue, who despite her age, doesn't look a day over 60. She sits with her legs and arms folded, with purpose.

As I try to move, I feel heavy. I apologize to the Shaman, but she reassures me, "You could have spoken with me, Adrien." She stands up and embraces me, making me feel small again, just like when I first met her as a child.

The Shaman takes me back to the day we first met, shortly after my mother's death. She tells me the story of the Republic of Carmita Fellaheen, a nation that once boasted an unusual sense of joy in isolation and allowed the practice of all ideologies freely. However, the country eventually fell under the weight of its own reputation and the reign of terror of A.D. Dillon.

The Shaman's words resonate with me as I realize that the world is not always as it seems and that true freedom comes from understanding and accepting different perspectives. I am reminded to stay true to myself and to always keep an open mind.

"Who’s A.D. Dillon?" I ask Shaman.

"Once a face seen everywhere; a decline in fame and a long life of entitlement led to a natural thirst for power and he had the ability to pull it off," she explains.

"So what happened to him? His reign clearly ended?" I inquire.

"Yes. But only for a worse one to begin. A group of scientists and scholars known only as the Einstein Collective, formed of the world’s most intelligent, hatched a plan to put an end to Dillon. By the time they had seen their plan to fruition, he had nuked three countries; even wiping out an entire village, making it easy for most citizens to easily accept what came next. The Intellects, as they are now referred to, decided it would be best to disband the world’s current governments and restructure based on ‘Quirks’-- an algorithm ran you would be placed in the most peaceful community possible. ‘Quirks’ could be hunting, swimming, science, engineering, law, education, and even history; but it could never be religion, myth, or magic. Any persons found to have an affinity for these quirks were to be immediately executed upon the confirmation of practice."

I remember my mom used to tell me we weren’t a religious family, but her Grammy gave her a cross when she was a little girl. Told her the Divine is always watching. She would stay in her prayer room all day, praying—for my safety. I guess she forgot to ask about her own. They never checked the prayer room. Only set fire to the building.

The shaman was walking by when she says she sensed my energy in the building. “Calm. Focused. Unafraid. I brought you back to my home. A small pocket of space and time inside Adenvale. A void. You disappeared and joined me, and Adenvale forgot about you. Adenvale’s lost son.”

I feel anger rising within me as these memories become more painful. A tear falls down my cheek slowly. “So why did you leave me?” I ask the Shaman.

"A dream—I had a dream," she explains. "A dream—or a prophecy," I inquire. "I watched you die.” My voice shakes with sadness. “I walked into your study. You were being ripped apart by a beastly creature. I didn’t help. I ran. I hid.”

"You couldn’t do anything, my son—”

"It wasn't just once. I had this dream every night for a year. You showed me how to control my dream state when I was ten. I should have been able to do something!” I clear my throat and take a deep breath.

"I never lied to you. Have I?” she asks me.

"You haven’t,” I reply.

"When you started your astral training, I told you I needed you to help me stop a war that was coming. You have always been destined for so many great things. I have never distrusted your instinct. If you needed to go, then you needed to go. You made your decision, don’t let fear cloud you any longer.” Her voice fades along with everything else around me