Chapter Thirty-seven

“You are someone else’s proof that God exists,” Angeline explained to the audience in the recently opened BOS Resort in Los Angeles.

She and Suna spent most of their time traveling the globe, which consisted of midnight flights, early morning meet and greets and all-day lectures. Angeline’s eyes were particularly blurry today, due to the combination of the late night and early morning, but she couldn’t have been happier to see the 2,500 faces that looked back at her. She wished that Suna had been able to join her, but she was hosting a lecture of her own, in Germany.

“If you would only allow your natural consciousness to shine from you, uninterrupted, you would become living proof that the consciousness of God can exist through a human being. I’m talking to you, a regular human being, with regular worries. If you were to transcend all odds and stop engaging in the shit of the world, stop splashing around the gutter of your own subconscious for long enough to let your enlightened consciousness emerge, you would prove once and for all that human beings are made in God’s image. Our whole history would be reframed. You would make history and change our future.”

When Angeline had first arrived at the BOS Resort two years ago, penniless and broken-spirited, she never would have imagined that she would evolve into one of its keynote speakers. Since the airing of the Dateline special, thousands upon thousands of people had flocked to various BOS Resorts in search of healing. But it wasn’t enough. The thought of all of the souls that she had yet to meet, literally, kept her up at night. Her heart ached to free the people of the world from the nightmare that society had created. Enlightenment was a choice. And she was going to educate as many people as she could about that choice.

She took her seat on the chair placed at the center of the stage. “There is nothing to learn, no scripture to memorize. There is nothing to place your faith in, nor is there anything to believe. There is only one thing that will lead you to your enlightenment: the experience of the divinity that already exists within you. You already have it. Raise your hand if you feel that you are worthy of enlightenment at this very moment.”

A few hands rose. Most of the audience looked around to see who had raised their hand, uncomfortable at the prospect of claiming their worthiness. Angeline addressed one of the audience members, a gentleman in the third row.

“Are you absolutely certain that you are worthy, right now, for enlightenment?” she asked.

The man nodded his head in affirmation.

“What makes you worthy?” she asked, curious.

“I’ve spent the last twelve years pursuing it,” he

answered.

“Twelve years?” she whistled. “That is a long time.”

“Yes, it is.” he confirmed.

“Twelve years of pursuit, in all of eternity,” she giggled. “You can work at a company for twenty-five years and all you’ll get is a gold watch.”

He shifted in his chair, seeming less certain of his declaration of worth.

“That’s okay,” she assured him. “It was a trick question to illustrate a point.” Angeline felt the hairs along her body stand on end, and the stench of sulfur filled the room. When the pungent odor engulfed her, her skin burned as if she were standing in front of a sand blaster. She kept talking, despite the cloud of sulfur-

scented sepia-tinted consciousness that threatened to overcome her. She knew, without a doubt, that this unseen force was trying to prevent her from speaking the next words.

“Enlightenment is not about worthiness; it’s about willingness. You could spend eons trying to become worthy, but if you are willing, enlightenment can happen in a blink of an eye.”

She called upon the spirit of Mago for help. She called upon the energy of heaven to engulf the room. Her mind reached in all directions, seeking a spiritual ally to help her clear the ether. Angeline heard the twinkle of Suna’s brass bell. She looked around the auditorium. She heard it again.

“Er,” Angeline paused, having lost focus. It couldn’t have been any other bell, of that Angeline was certain. Suna’s bell had a unique ting, celestial and delicate but also strong and clear. “You are here, which presumably means that you are interested in enlightenment. Fortunately, your quest is not in vain. You can walk out of this room today, fully awakened. The question isn’t how worthy you are, but rather how willing are you to let go of everything that you think you know and learn a new way of being.”

She breathed a sigh of relief when she felt the familiar texture of Suna’s clear consciousness unfold around her. Though she was halfway around the globe, Suna had answered Angeline’s call. Angeline continued the lecture, more determined than ever. “Many people want to become enlightened because they dream of a better job, better relationships, or more confidence.” She looked around the auditorium, feeling every soul in the room. “The answer is, once you are enlightened, you have a better everything. There is no area of your life that this consciousness won’t touch.

“If you have a dream of a better world, the change starts with you. And the change starts now. When you entered this room, your destiny changed. When you walk out of this room, the world will change,” she said.