Three Wise Men

 

Just before nine o’clock the next morning, Lobo and his group of young warriors secured the group’s gear onto the packhorses. All of the horses would meet them at the far end of the village, giving them an opportunity to say good-bye to the good people who had hosted them. Don Eduardo and the alto mesayoqs joined them as they came through the village. The priests would be accompanying the ylloq’e to protect him from physical harm and to assist the Mission.

Chris and Leah walked in the center of a throng of children who wanted one last chance to be playful with him. He engaged them in their games, the object of which was to bring him and Leah closer together. One game was a great snake that took little steps on an inward spiral until they were all smashed together. He and Leah, who played the head of the snake, towered over the little ones in the center of the spiral, face to face. As the children pressed closer and closer, Chris gave Leah a kiss on the cheek, commenting on how wise the children were in their matchmaking. Leah could not contain her laughter, which made the children clap and crush them even tighter.

“Have you ever had children, Chris?” She asked, sobering up as the snake unwound and they continued walking.

“Not that I know of, mate,” he teased. “Why do you ask?”

“You genuinely have a way with them,” she replied, ignoring the humor.

“The Maori kids taught me how to play. You just get into their group assemblage point and have fun. The rules are not to be in a hurry, not to be stuffy, and to be open to learning from them. Kids are my favorite people,” he added, tossing a tiny boy in the air.

Leah stopped to embrace Doña Felicia and the women shamans who were gathered near the end of the village. Her gratitude for the women was shown with small gifts of beaded necklaces, colorful hair ties and pictures of Lord Sananda, which they greatly loved. Natalie, Ellia and Sonia, who had been guests of the villagers on previous journeys, had also brought gifts to share. They, in turn, received little mesa cloths and beaded hat ties. Doña Felicia presented Leah with a ceremonial neck scarf woven of the finest vicuña. Leah discreetly slipped one hundred soles into Felicia’s hand and kissed her on each cheek. In hesitant Spanish, Felicia told Leah to make an offering to Pachamama when they came to Mistipukara in order to ground her luminous body for what lay ahead on their journey.

Soon the eleven women and three men were mounting horses and waving farewell, as the entourage set off towards the east. Don Eduardo and his priests led the way on foot, followed by three of the women — Doña Felicia, Doña Lucia and Margarita. They would be winding their way through four additional villages of their tribes, crossing mountain passes and camping between Chua Chua and ChaCha Bamba, the last village, before beginning a descent to the valley floor near the edge of the high jungle. The little town of Paucartambo would be part of their journey. There they would restock supplies and continue to some unknown destination. Many of the group rode side by side, visiting with each other on the easiest parts of their journey. Majestic snow-capped mountains rose up around them as they traveled with the Sun and the wind. Men and women from the neighboring villages dotted the hillsides, harvesting the small potatoes of the high mountains. As they passed through the villages the riders dismounted to walk the horses. It was a social interlude since each village contributed alto mesayoqs to their band of paqos, and the Indians could not pass through the villages without numerous greetings and sharing of news.

Chris fell back a number of times to connect with Leah and the women, and the three men had a wonderful time riding with each other. Doubts and worries were put aside for the sake of brotherhood. The strangely discordant melodies of the Indians’ flutes drifted back through the group to enchant Leah, who rode between her women and the young warriors. The young men had a bit of fun galloping back and forth across the infrequent pampas. Softly, she began to sing some of the chanting songs of the village women that were meant to accompany the music. She felt very much at home in these mountains — much as she did at Titicaca Lake and the mountains of Bolivia. It was easy to be at peace.

When they began their descent on the second day, the jungle loomed before them with the billowing rain clouds of mid-afternoon hanging over its canopy. They were headed towards a campsite that was sheltered from the wind in a valley below Mistipukara. From Mistipukara, a power place of the paqos, they would be able to see the town of Paucartambo nestled in the river valley near the edge of the high jungle.

Leah hoped, with all her heart, to see some of the children she had adopted who were attending school in Paucartambo. “Surely,” she thought, “the spectacle of our arrival would bring them all from their homes and schools.” She was madrina (godmother) to many children in this district from the years she had come to these mountains with her friend, Don Carlos. Beyond that spiritual duty, she and her students had sent many bright children from Don Carlos’ mountain community of Pakulmaka to school in Paucartambo. Some of those children were the sons and daughters of Angelica, the young woman shaman of Pakulmaka, who, with her mother, Francesca, had reawakened Leah to the sisterhood.

One of Francesca’s sons was a very special child who connected his heart with Leah the very first time she had come to visit. He was fifteen now and had survived the death of his mother when he was thirteen. Leah remembered the fierce and selfish way in which he had loved her that year, and how she had opened her heart to receive his grief. Her own grief was enormous, for Francesca was a true and beloved sister. Memories flooded Leah’s awareness as she rode.

Camp was set up before dusk, leaving time for the group to sit with the mountains at the Hour of Power — the time before and after sunset. Her groups had always joked about it being cocktail hour – a time for drinking in the intoxicating elixir of the Andes. Joining Leah, Chris sat back to back with her — adding the energy of their combined fields to the magic of Pachamama at dusk. When the darkness gathered force, they began walking back to camp for dinner, he with a warm arm around her shoulders.

“That feels good, Chris,” she sighed.

“I’m more than happy to oblige, Leah,” he replied. “Tell me of your dreams last night. We really haven’t had a quiet moment together today.”

“My dreams — well, I was very focused in a dream with Master Mukda. You were nowhere in sight all night, by the way. Mukda was teaching me to project the power of my entire field further and further out until I could hold an entire city in my consciousness.

“It was a rather wild experience, since I began filtering through all the garbage of the collective consciousness — people’s malicious or negative thoughts, for instance. I was frantically trying to transmute all of this for what seemed like the whole night and exhausting myself in the process. Near the end of the dream, he tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘watch what you could be doing’. He projected his field around the city, including the mountainsides surrounding it, and flooded it with this astounding light force. This he did simply by filling his field with that force. It was munay, of course. The rest of the dream had me exercising the power of my Sacred Heart in that way,” she concluded.

“Quite a night, Leah. I was focused as well, but elsewhere. After becoming conscious of each Dreaming Path and all the aspects of self, which we engage in them, the next exercise is to pull all the aspects together into a single focus. I’ve been at these exercises on and off for a few years now. These dreams don’t necessarily have a point or lesson, since the lesson is contained in the nature of the Dreaming Path.”

Leah agreed with Chris and added, “When I journey with my students to other dimensions, we exercise our consciousness by pulling all of the aspects of Self together in one focal point above the heart. To apply that to the Dreaming Paths sounds like a similar but infinitely more difficult lesson.”

“I’ve certainly had my struggles with it,” he said, thoughtfully. “They are usually isolated exercises, so perhaps we will meet on the Dreaming Paths tonight.”

“I will look forward to it, Chris.”

They had lagged behind the group to remain in the fading light alone. “You asked me about children today. I am guessing correctly that you are a mother?” Chris asked.

“Yes I am a mother, and I have two bright and lively grandchildren. It took me a lot of years to learn to appreciate that time in my life when I raised my son.”

“Did you go it alone?”

“I did. I have a lot of compassion for single parents, especially when they are young. I wasn’t that young and I did give myself wholeheartedly to Nathan’s wellbeing but I wasn’t necessarily awake in the spiritual sense.”

“You seem quite young to me now,” he said, pulling her into his arms, “and your essence has the immortal beauty of a goddess.” He kissed her forehead as she rested her head against his chest. “Did you ever think of remarrying in all those years?” he asked.

Leah laughed, drawing away to look at him. “All the time in the beginning, a little bit in the middle and not at all of late. Of course, I wanted a white knight to ride in and save me from having to be so independent and responsible, even though it was my choice to divorce. Eventually I understood it as the path I had chosen, both for my son and myself. We are self-sufficient. I confess that in all those years I never tried to live with a man again.”

“Now, I expect you are a little far out for most of my gender.”

“To say the least,” she laughed. “I would not expect anyone to deal with my schedule, either. Do you know I was home for only eight weeks last year?”

“Ouch! How does that feel?”

“I love being home – whenever I can be, especially for the grandchildren, but I feel at home anywhere on Mother Earth. I had to stop needing form to ground me a long time ago.”

“Speaking of grounding, would you mind if I ride behind you tomorrow — just to guard your back, Leah?”

“Do you expect danger?” she asked, her face showing concern.

“Always — in these situations. It’s the surest way to avoid it. I find it’s too easy for people to slip into altered states where they lose their focus on the outer world.”

“I did that plenty today, but I know these mountains. There is no harm here, other than the weather and an occasional bold puma. Thank you, Chris. It would be nice to have you back there.”

He kissed her lightly on the lips before they continued towards the stone hut of the way station, looking for dinner.

In the morning, the expedition proceeded to Mistipukara, the sacred place of the shamans. At around thirteen thousand feet, Mistipukara overlooked the jungle and the valley of the Paucartambo River. Gale-force winds blew over the rounded surface, continually deterring all but the dedicated. Dotted with pre-Incan ruins, the landscape was anything but hospitable — a natural place for shamans to leave their power before their passages to the other side. Those seeking that power came to sit upon the land, hoping to be gifted with it.

Chris had ridden behind Leah, moving into the role of guardian. She did not object, but wondered at his motivation. At Mistipukara, he followed her at a distance out among the scattered rocks until she had found the spot where her offering to Pachamama was to be made. They had been told to meditate and take whatever power was offered to them. Chris had come through Mistipukara on his way up to the villages, and Leah had been there many times with her groups. They were less than four hours by horse from the village of Pakulmaka and the hacienda of Don Carlos.

After she had made an offering of coca leaves, white sage and tobacco, Leah reached into her blouse and pulled out a necklace she had worn since her first visit to Peru. It was a golden pendant of an Inca idol that had been given to her by Don Ricardo, a jungle shaman who had worked with Don Carlos. He seemed a good wayki, but he had had a sexual agenda with Leah.

She had seen or experienced this with every shaman she knew who had contacted the outside world, and every mestizo who promoted himself as a famous shaman. When Westerners held them in a place of honor and respect as teachers, boundaries seemed to crumble, especially sexually, but also with money. It was no different than the questionable behavior of many gurus in this age of spiritual voyeurism. Leah saw it all as a wonderful way for women to get clear about their power and support each other, but the dramas were sometimes messy. For this reason, her heart thrilled to every step of Susmo’s ascension to mastery.

Leah took the idol off the chain and set it in a little hole she had dug in the Earth. “It is time for you to rest, My Little Friend,” she said, smoothing the dirt over the idol. “It feels that I am walking into a new place, and you cannot go with me. I let go of you and of all that you have signified, Little One. I hope that someone sits upon you and receives a blessing from my detachment.”

Leah sat cross-legged on the Earth and thought about her dreams the night before. There had been another training dream, this time with the physical body, not unlike Kung Fu. Chris had come to her in a separate dream as a white knight.

“What a sense of humor he has,” she thought, chuckling to herself. Carrying a jewel-studded sword at his side, he had worn the red cross of the Templar crusaders. He did not see her in the dream, but appeared to be focused on his Mission.

In yet another dream, they made love on a beautiful ocean beach. It reminded her of Costa Rica, with the beach backing up to the jungle, a place where the energy shifted from water to Earth in pure salk’a.

She worried about the depth of the love she felt for Chris. Attachments had always come with big lessons – lessons she did not want to experience again. A part of her longed to be with him and a part of her was vigilantly watching her ego for the red flags of attachment.

In fact, her ego was under continual surveillance by her Higher Self to guard against the pitfalls of an important Mission. It was all too easy to sacrifice aspects of the Mission to personal gratification. The Siriun High Council had made it abundantly clear to her that such behavior was unacceptable. “Perhaps the Mission has just become more interesting,” she thought. “I could handle that, and I welcome the support of a spiritual warrior.”

Chris held Leah in his second attention while he had his own thoughts. He did not wonder if Leah was attainable or even compatible with him. He knew who she was, her importance to the Mission, and the need to guard her. She was unaware of her true power because she had subdued her ego considerably — to the point, he felt, that it could jeopardize the Mission.

Leah would be called on to confront the status quo, to meet them face to face and shift their consciousness in the wink of an eye, but along with her ego she had subdued her warrior, and that warrior was going to be needed too. The Dreaming Paths were one way to reawaken her warrior and activate her White Heart; experience would be the other. He knew that she operated primarily out of her heart space — riding the frequency of love, from which space she was fearless. However, even that power would be tested — was it not for everyone speaking the truth? Leah would be best off operating from energy — Sixth Dimension. Obviously Master Mukda agreed on this point.

Thinking back over his own training, Chris laughed to remember surviving it. The physical challenges regularly put him in life-or-death situations, but they forced him to awaken all of his powers of perception to anticipate everything before it occurred. He could, in the split-second before something happened, see all possible outcomes and choose his action accordingly.

That gift had not come to him easily. He learned to value his life by continually seeing the possibility of his death before him. A cushy tenure at the university had been abandoned because he had been challenged — no, forced — into Higher Consciousness. Finding his awareness meant losing his mind. He had left his envied faculty position to become an aikido master, a meditator, and an Outback survivalist and tour guide.

Suddenly, his second attention flooded his consciousness with a kind of etheric adrenaline. His entire focus came to bear on Leah, who had just let go of a powerfully charged attachment. He saw corded filaments fly out of her field into the Universal Matrix.

When they were back at the horses, he observed a number of dark entities hanging around her — powerful thought forms that were trying to penetrate her field. His perception had been accurate, for he had sensed trouble coming towards her last night, perhaps attracted by the intent of that detachment. Luckily she had agreed to let him follow her, providing him a vantage point from which to watch her field. Since his perception was aligned with the Mission, the violation of her boundaries was worth the effort to protect her.

On the last leg of the descent to Paucartambo, Leah was leaning forward in her saddle on a fairly steep incline when he saw the energy coming. It was shaped like a small black hurricane flying through the clear blue sky right towards her. In his experience, complete invisibility would be needed to fend off such an attack of evil energy.

Leah was not conscious of the energy, had no reason to be invisible while riding a horse into Paucartambo, and would never have expected or deserved an attack of that nature. His perception opened wide, stretching time to observe outcomes and interventions. Clearly he needed to get her off the horse, but to do so invisibly to protect his own field.

Invoking a cloak of invisibility, energetically turning his electromagnetic field inside out, Chris pushed his horse hard to overtake hers on the mountainside of the path. As the energy hit the edge of her field, her horse sensed it, as if someone had waved a flag in front of his eyes. He reared up on his hind legs, whinnying loudly enough to get everyone’s attention.

Chris grabbed Leah as she went flying backwards and literally tossed her over his horse onto the gravel on the side of the mountain. Her horse slipped over the edge and slid nearly thirty feet down the switchback to a lower path while struggling to get his footing. Dismounting quickly to restrain his own horse, Chris made his way back to Leah, who had landed sitting up facing the path. She looked stunned, dusty, but physically unharmed. Chris tossed his reins to Susmo, who had been right behind him, and came down on one knee in front of Leah.

“Are you okay, Leah?” he asked, brushing loose hair from her face.

“How did I get here?” she asked in shock. “One minute I am riding a horse and the next I am sitting in the dirt. I don’t know what happened.”

“Leah, I had to throw you about eight feet. Are you sure you are all right?” he asked incredulously.

“Never felt a thing,” she answered with a smile. “It was just like fencing with you in the ashram, Chris.”

“Well, that’s good news. Tell me who would send you energy so wicked it might have killed you?”

“No one! Who would want to do a thing like that?” she demanded, in disbelief.

“Someone. I saw it as clearly as I see you right now. It may have something to do with your time at Mistipukara. I observed a number of entities around you there.”

“Thanks for telling me,” she said, not at all happy with his observations of her. “Were you watching me the entire time?”

“I was. Leah, understand that it’s partly why I am here. I had a clear perception that something would befall you today. I saw a huge cord leave your field at Mistipukara. What was it?”

Leah thought back to her time there, her offering and meditation while resisting the urge to smack him for being so snoopy. “Chris, I buried something that a shaman had given me years ago. I wanted to be done with that part of my life.”

“Who was it?” he demanded.

“You don’t know him. His name was Don Ricardo — a jungle shaman. I may have angered him by rejecting his advances,” she added reluctantly.

“Whatever you buried was a kind of leash that he has had around you all that time.”

“Oh, how appropriate. It was a pendant, and I have worn it most every day since he gave it to me.”

“Why?”

“Why do women wear things, Chris? It was gold, it was fascinating and it was a piece of Peru,” she said, a bit irritated.

“The bloke’s a black magician, Love,” he said firmly, trying to bring her back to her senses. “Your horse is lamed and you could have flown God knows where. The energy he sent has entered your field. We will have to remove it tonight or risk losing you to illness or insanity. Am I impressing you with the seriousness of this?”

“Well, Darling, to tell you the truth, I haven’t been this intimate with anger in a long time. Everything about this is making me angry. Don’t take it personally, but I feel like strangling someone right now.”

“Not surprising! I wouldn’t expect an energy like that to be filled with joy and angel’s harps,” he laughed, trying to ease the mounting tension.

“Help me up, Chris. I think I will walk the rest of the way to town.”

Chris helped her up and dusted her off, using a little more force than she was used to. Walking to the edge of the path, she saw Lobo and one of the warriors leading her horse along the bottom path. The horse was nicked up and bloody on all four legs from the sharp rocks and prickly bushes he had slid through. Susmo, who had dismounted to manage Chris’ horse, held Leah close for a few minutes, giving his support and love. She kissed him on the cheek and started up the hill on foot, feeling regret at having injured an innocent animal. Susmo turned to Chris and shrugged his shoulders, indicating his inability to understand the situation. Chris thanked him, grabbed his shoulder for a second, then mounted his horse and continued behind Leah, watching the fluctuations in her field.

Knowing he was watching her did not ease her emotion. Anger was turning to fury – all of which he was observing in her field. When the group rode into Paucartambo, Leah was still on foot, happy to be grounded and anxious to be alone. The warriors and the men spread out from the plaza to round up supplies, while the women popped into the little stores, wandered over the arched bridge to the market, or stood around talking to each other in the plaza. Leah walked up a cobblestone street lined with shops to the church and slipped inside. It was deserted. She walked up the center aisle to look at the statues in the sanctuary.

“I come here to find solace,” she said aloud, “and find instead bleeding statues, pain and suffering. I’m angry, Jesus — angry that anyone would try to harm me, angry that I need to be watched like a child in order to be safe. Perhaps I have trusted too much the power of love,” she concluded. Then, sitting down in the front pew, she wept. “Perhaps my love has not been pure enough to be worthy of this Mission, whatever it is.”

Chris moved out of the shadows in the rear of the church. “Perhaps it is simply that you have been too innocent,” he said, loud enough for her to hear. “This self-pity, on the other hand, is coming from ego, and is not aligned with the Mission.”

She jumped up, wiping her tears away with her shirtsleeve. “You!” she cried. “Am I to find no solitude, even within a church?”

He walked forward to stand before her. “More likely, you will find the ghosts of the Inquisition in this church,” he replied, glancing around the altars.

Something snapped inside Leah and she threw a punch at Chris. He deflected it with ease and she threw another. They might have been walking the Dreaming Paths as all of her martial arts training came back into a body suddenly supple and incredibly strong. A magus and a priestess sparring up and down the aisles of the village church was a rare sight indeed. Chris was a master and Leah, he concluded, was not bad at all. She was angry, powerful and persistent. Her kicks needed a little work, but she had great potential.

Leah saw no humor in the situation, her anger reaching the level of rage. Chris knew that Leah could not see how her emotions had been commandeered by the black energy, or that the incident had brought her warrior fully to the front from a place of denial. She could not stop reacting until, exhausted, she began beating aimlessly against his chest.

“Who are you and what are you doing in my life?” she wailed.

Gripping her by the shoulders while staring into her eyes, he shouted, “Listen to me. I am Mana Sanar Kumara, Lord of the Ruby, and I command that you, Evil Energy, leave this woman and return to he who sent you, gathering strength one hundred fold as you return. Please deliver this Truth to him from the Ruby Order — whatsoever you soweth in this life, that shall you also reap.” With that he blew into each of Leah’s chakras from the base of her spine to the top of her head, and the black energy left her field, flying out through an open window of the church.

He had a grip on Leah’s shoulders, ready to support her body when she began collapsing from the energetic jolt to her chakras. Chris grabbed her under her arms as she sank and laid her down gently on the smooth stones of the floor. Rolling her to face down on the floor, he began to channel energy into the base of her spine while watching the chakras reactivate. When her nervous system had recovered, she began to stir, but he asked her to wait a few minutes, to take more energy and breathe deeply.

When she was replenished, he helped Leah rise slowly to her feet. Chris walked her over to a church pew, where he sat down with Leah next to him and wrapped his arms around her like a father. The last of her tears flowed unabated as she sank into the security of his embrace.

Feeling balanced, and in her body again, she whispered. “Forgive me, Chris. I doubted you, your motives and your actions. Will you accept my apology? I am so ashamed of my childish projection.”

“Beloved, I would gladly lay down my life for you, but I’d rather avoid that extreme at the moment. There is no need to apologize for the Divine Plan. There is no need to be ashamed of behavior resulting from an attack of black magic. I will share with you that I am secretly pleased that your warrior came out to play with me, and I admit that I provoked her.”

“You reactivated a lot of old training, Chris,” she admitted, brushing her last tears away. “It’s amazing that it doesn’t leave you — like riding a bicycle. Of course, I wasn’t very effective, was I?” she laughed.

“You weren’t bad at all, Leah. We’ll keep training on the Dreaming Paths and spar a little bit when we get the chance in this reality — in every church we come upon if you like, Darling,” he laughed.

She looked around the church again. “There is something quite appropriate about getting dark energy exorcised in a Catholic Church,” she mused.

“Are you ready to walk back to the plaza now?”

“I am. Thank you, Chris — for saving my life.”

“You are welcome, my Love,” he replied kissing her softly on the mouth. “I am glad to be of service,” he added helping her to her feet. “You’re sure you’re all right?”

“I’m fine now,” she said, as they began slowly walking to the doors of the church. “Chris, were you trying to intimidate the energy when you called on the lineage of the Kumaras?” she asked.

“It has been a curse and a blessing to know who I am, Leah. I was using a power to pierce through defensive layers of the energy.”

“So, you are a Kumara? What did you say, Mana Sanar Kumara?” she asked, stopping before the doors to look at him.

“It was necessary to reveal myself on your behalf, Leah. Can we agree that this day stays between us?” he asked, turning to face her.

“Of course,” she assured him. “But Chris, the Kumaras rarely incarnate, right?”

“With one exception, they have not been with us in physicality since ancient times. After leaving this reality though, they would embody advanced humans to lead humanity forward. Those times passed when humanity lost its connection to Spirit. It was not because they weren’t willing to embody and actively help us. We were moving into intellect and ego as part of our evolution and that has distracted us sufficiently to block the possibility of embodiment by these higher beings. The Archangels, as a whole, would gladly descend to help lead us now if our leaders could move out of lower ego into Higher Self. ”

“The exception? Jesus?” she asked.

“Jesus, the man, yes. He hid his wings well, didn’t he?” Chris mused, eyes twinkling. “He is a Kumara so committed to humanity that he has sacrificed himself many times in the higher realms for our evolution. He was the obvious choice to come, and most prepared to embody The Christ, the Son of God, in his thirtieth year. It was a risky, tricky, but beautifully planned and executed rescue of human evolution,” he concluded, his eyes coming to rest on a statue of the Sacred Heart on a side altar.

“You can bet we’ll be revisiting that story when we have more time,” Leah replied. “But now, back to you. Is yours an embodiment?”

“Like the old times, Darling. All of that mind-blowing work with the Aborigines and Maori, followed by some other initiatory experiences, prepared an empty vessel for Mana Sanar’s consciousness. It is important to the Mission and I am a much better person for allowing it. You have to understand, though, that it only comes through me when I will it.”

“Like, just then?” she asked, stepping back to look him squarely in eyes.

“Like then. Can you trust me, Leah?” he challenged, in a whisper.

“I imagine I will have to,” she replied, folding her arms in front of her. “You are Lord of the Ruby as well?” she asked.

“That is correct, Leah.”

“And the Kumaras are from the Archangelic realms?”

“They are. The Kumaras have had a particular Mission with Earth, helping to steer evolution. They committed to this Mission and the base on Venus when we lived in the Fire Mist times of Hyperborea as astral beings. During that time we worked directly with all the Angels supported by the Kumaras.”

“Well I don’t doubt any of this. I have never met or heard of anyone with your skill and perception. Is it appropriate that I love you?” she whispered, leaning towards him, her eyes widening slightly.

“It is all that I have dreamed of,” he whispered back, taking her in his arms. “I am very much a man and very much in love with you.” A passion ignited within each of them that clearly had a life of its own. However, the Divine Plan saved the integrity of the Mission by sending the parish priest from the sacristy into the sanctuary of the church. Clearing his throat as loudly as he could, the priest turned toward the altar, no doubt praying for the salvation of their immortal souls. Leah and Chris burst out the doors onto the church steps, flushed with sexual excitement and laughing hilariously.

Back in the plaza, the group was loosely gathering together again. Leah was greeted by a horde of children — all of her godsons and goddaughters, their siblings and friends. She introduced them to Chris, who became an instant hit again. “How about ice cream?” he suggested, and like a swarm of bees, all of them were off looking for the ice cream cart.

After having cleaned out the ice cream boy’s inventory midway across the arched stone bridge, her children stood clustered around Leah, sharing with her all that had happened in their lives since they had seen her last. She was their spiritual guardian and took the job very seriously. When everyone’s ice cream was finished, they turned to walk back to the plaza. At the end of the bridge, an older boy stood with a pack hitched up over one shoulder, watching them. He was cleaned up, obviously very bright, with soulful dark eyes as big as the Moon. He wore a blue-violet fleece jacket to honor his madrina who had given it to him the year before.

“My Julio,” she whispered to Chris. “He is so precious to me that I grieved the retirement of Don Carlos from teaching, thinking I would not be coming here again. Ridiculous of course, because here I am! Come meet him.”

Leah pressed coins into the hands of all her little ones, who fled off to see what they could buy. She and Chris had walked halfway to Julio when Chris stopped Leah.

“Leah, look at his field. Do you see the White Heart?”

“My God, Chris, I have never noticed it before.”

“Perhaps he was growing into it,” he suggested.

“His light has always been intoxicating to me. I wonder if the death of his mother has moved him into his calling?”

“Quite possibly. He will be coming with us, of course.”

“He will?” she gasped in shock.

“He is a member of the Ruby Order, Leah. He must come with us.”

“No objections from this quarter,” she said, smiling.

Julio greeted Leah formally, with a handshake and kisses on each cheek. At his age, to show affection in public would bring him nothing but grief from his friends, and Leah knew it. Chris knew exactly how to handle the situation and showed Julio a great deal of honor and respect. “Such a small thing for Chris to do, but how meaningful to Julio, how sensitive to his needs,” Leah thought.

Chris was able to bring others into their spiritual power because he knew who he was. He had no need to joust with another man, impress all the women, or be a big winner. Those were character traits of a man who measured himself through the opinions of others. Chris had no use for such behavior. Instead, he measured himself in terms of his own integrity and the purity of his intent. She saw his potential as a strong, positive role model for young men.

On their way to the plaza, Julio asked them to step into a small shop with him. A few words in Quechua sent the old merchant woman bustling into her back room. Julio asked Chris to stand in the doorway then he released all of his emotion, loving Leah, his head resting against her heart. It was a great outpouring of the heart for each of them and when it was finished, it was finished. Julio thanked Chris, picked up his pack and led the way to the plaza.

Chris threw his arm around Leah, laughing. “Well, mate, you two go back a long way together on this planet. Do you think he will share you with me?”

“Perhaps with supervision,” she teased. “I know he loves me in a lot of different ways, but he will sort it out, Chris. He is a fierce warrior of the spirit — a ylloq’e in the making.”

“He’s magnificent, Leah. Thank you for finding him.”

“He found me, Darling. All I did was show up at Pakulmaka. Thanks go to Don Carlos.”

“Why did Carlos quit the work?” Chris asked.

“Many reasons, Chris. His Mission was complete, he was tired, and he wanted to begin writing his memoirs. I think that his health might have been a factor as well, but that is a guess.”

They had crossed the street to join the gathering group in the plaza. Julio knew a number of Leah’s women and was busy giving them the news from Pakulmaka in his version of English. Leah embraced Brit and Genevieve, who were watching the joy-filled scene before them. Soon everyone’s attention was directed to the narrow street they had taken into the town.

“Get a muffler!” Sonia shouted in Spanish, but her words were lost to the noise of the approaching truck. At least twenty-five men, women and children from the mountains piled out of the back of the decrepit blue pickup and hurried off to do their shopping. The windshield was too dirty to see who was inside, but Leah recognized the truck and jumped in the passenger side of the cab.

“Papacito, what a surprise!” she sang, giving Don Carlos a great hug and kiss. “How lucky that you have come to town just now,” she added.

“Aye Chihuahua, my Leah,” he replied. “I had a vision this morning that you were in danger — like arrows shot at you from afar. I have heard that you were in the villages, but my vision told me Mistipukara. So I am here. How can I help you, my great Love?”

“You are too late, Carlos,” she laughed. “A great ylloq’e has already rescued me, but your vision was correct. Do you remember Don Ricardo?”

“Slime of the Earth,” he muttered.

“Slimy black magician is more like it,” she said with fervor. “There was some energy of control and lots of anger connected to the gold idol that he gave me. I have worn it for years, Carlos. At Mistipukara, I freed myself of the idol and provoked an energetic attack.”

“Not surprising. Leah, I did not know about Ricardo when you and I went to Iquitos. I am sorry to have caused you this grief.”

“Forget it, Carlos — no regrets. I have never felt controlled by him, so never suspected anything.”

“Things happen in other dimensions, Leah.”

“What are his connections?”

“Drugs, rare medicinal plants, you name it. Wherever the money lies, there you will find Ricardo — black magic for hire.”

Don Carlos sat against the door and looked at Leah. He was a handsome man of obvious status. Silvering wavy hair framed a weathered countenance and radiant brown eyes. His engaging smile caused Leah to abruptly change the subject.

“Enough of Ricardo,” she said, cutting the energy. “Tell me about Angelica. I saw her son, Favio, just a few minutes ago. I do miss Angelica.”

“She is riding back with me, Leah. I am sure she will be here soon. You can ask her yourself.”

“Oh, how lucky I am today. How are you coming with your memoirs, Papacito?” she asked.

“My memoirs are my pretext, as you well know,” he replied winking. “My passion is to free every mountain village in the Andes from the yoke of Christian suffering. This will easily take me several lifetimes. I was sure you were going to help me,” he smiled.

“I know you were, but my Mission is elsewhere. However, I hold each one of these dear people in the center of my heart, wayki.”

“You look wonderful, Leah. Whatever you are doing, it certainly agrees with you.”

“A door has opened, Carlos. I am very lucky.”

“You’ve always been lucky. Now you feel enchanted, like an awakened queen.”

Leah blushed. “Well, I am just very lucky.”

Chris popped his head through the truck window and thrust his hand across to greet Don Carlos. Soon Carlos was out in the plaza hugging Natalie, Sonia and Ellia, who knew him well. Leah saw Angelica come around the corner from the market. Julio ran to meet his sister taking her bundles to Carlos’ truck.

Like all the women of Pakulmaka, Angelica wore the traditional dress of the region — layers of black, wrapped woven skirt with colorful edging, a white blouse and layers of sweaters in deep pink, yellow and aqua. On her head was the saucer-shaped traditional black wool hat edged in yellow wool fringe and embroidered with flowers. White beaded ties, like those presented to Leah by the women of the high mountains, secured the hat under her chin. Angelica was a beautiful woman, with dark, almond-shaped eyes and long shiny black braids. Her family had descended from the original Lemurian colonists. They were very old upon the land.

She saw Leah as well and the two women came together to embrace in the middle of the street. Angelica was a true Priestess of the Sun, the descendant of the lineage of light in the Andes. She and her mother, Francesca, had opened Leah’s codes of light, when they recognized the Solar Disc in her heart and Third Eye chakras. Leah’s love for Angelica and her deceased mother was profound. Language did not keep them from communicating that love, sisterhood, and joy to each other as they sat together on a park bench until the men returned to the group.

Carlos and Don Eduardo embraced as old friends then wandered away from the group together to speak to each other. Leah knew that Don Eduardo would be asking Carlos to come with the group, out of courtesy and respect, but that Carlos would refuse. He had a pretext — and it was not his calling. She admired him for seeing his own path so clearly, and she admired Don Eduardo for his finesse.

Brian and Susmo appeared on the scene, carrying a box full of icy water and fresh trout. It was not long before Julio dashed over to say good-bye to Angelica, who spoke to him in Quechua.

“Angelica has asked me to take good care of you, Madrina Leah.”

“Then I am sure to be safe. Tell Angelica that I will take good care of you as well, Julio.”

Julio translated Leah’s message for Angelica, who rewarded her with a broad grin. They touched each other’s hearts and put their heads together before hugging goodbye. Leah hugged and kissed Don Carlos as well, then, taking Julio’s offered hand, began the winding walk through the village streets down towards the river.

She remembered a time when he was eight and a walk above the village of Pakulmaka. His eyes had continually scanned the hills and mountains above them looking for pumas and other signs of danger. Carlos had confided to her later that Julio had been told by Francesca to protect Leah as he would a baby llama.

Since that time, he had laid claim to the role of her guardian when they were both at Pakulmaka. Leah had offered to send him to school in Paucartambo that year because he was so bright. He had done well, managing to learn the western way without losing his connection to Pachamama. Now they were hand in hand again, one step further along on the Mission.

Attending to the cooking supplies, Lobo and the young warriors had gone directly to the horses, where many bundles were being tied on the pack animals. Leah had a hunch where they were headed, but could not fathom why they needed all those supplies, unless they were not coming back for some time. Though many of the group may have shared her wonder at the supplies, not a single eyebrow was raised. They had all learned fluidity and trust through the blessings of the path.

Led on foot by the Indians — now over thirty men by hasty count — the group rode along the dusty dirt road towards the jungle. Julio walked at Leah’s side, while Chris rode behind her, continuing to scan her field.

Depending upon the skills of the sender, evil energy could be returned. He was not certain that Don Ricardo was a black magician or if the idol had been passed on to Leah without the intention of harm or control. The idol itself may have been the vehicle for the evil. Chris began to relax his attention as they neared their campsite, for not only had Leah stayed free of the energy, her aura had increased in brilliance as the journey progressed. A suitable campsite was not found until just before dusk, which sent everyone scrambling to get camp set up in the last light of day.

The group was exhausted and thankful for a night in the valley where staying warm was not the primary concern. Lingering out among the stars with her guardians, Leah rededicated herself to the Mission. Don Eduardo had called her to the Indians’ makeshift dwelling thrown up from stones and heavy plastic tarp. She had stood before the ylloq’e to receive a limpia, a cleansing, to insure that sinister energies were not in her field. Out under the stars along the river, she was strengthening her connection to the greater Truth, Chaska and her Mission, as she understood it at that point in time. Chris and Julio were strengthening their connection to each other a short distance away.

“Do you love my madrina?” Julio asked him, getting right to his point of concern.

“With heart and soul, wayki,” Chris replied. “Do you think its possible that we could both love her?” he added, sensitive to Julio’s feelings.

“Maybe. In my dreams I have made love with her many times. I know that is not acceptable in this reality, so I have not told anyone until now,” Julio said, unashamed.

“I understand, Julio. In dreams, it is good — it breaks no codes of integrity. In this reality, it will harm the Mission. I believe, for all of the brothers, that Leah represents the goddess — the feminine. If we can honor her in that way on the dreaming paths, we honor and nurture our own feminine.”

“Does it break your codes of integrity to make love to her in this reality, wayki?” he asked, not willing to give up the topic.

Chris chuckled to himself. “At this time, it is not appropriate. It would interfere with the Mission. However, in the future, it would do no harm for me to make love to Leah. Does that answer your question, wayki?” he asked.

“In part, it does. Why is this so — that you can love her in that way?”

“It is so because Leah and I have written it into our soul work together. You and she wrote a different but beautiful story together — the story of a kind and loving madrina who would nurture you through the loss of your own mother, then set you free to find your destiny. In turn, you would protect her from all harm and do well educating yourself for the fulfillment of your own soul’s purpose.”

“That sounds true, and worthy. How do you know this?” Julio asked.

“Sometimes I can see this written in the records of people I love or wish to assist.”

“Can I do that someday?”

“Perhaps, if you hold those gifts in your luminous body. However, you may have unique gifts of your own, my young friend.”

“May I interrupt?” Leah asked, coming to sit on their rock with them.

She leaned back into Chris’ sheltering arms while reaching her hand out to Julio, in respect for the younger man’s feelings. Leah had felt Julio’s love for her transit through his awakening manhood. She thought it beautiful, but had wisely moved into the full role of a madrina.

“It seems that most of the waykis have gone to bed,” she said.

“Not everyone has your energetic resources, Leah,” Chris replied, squeezing her.

“Even I am winding down, waykis. Anyone care to walk me to my tent?” she asked.

Looking up at Chris, Julio excused himself to go find a sleeping space with Don Eduardo’s men. Leah hugged him good night, and then stood up to go. As she and Chris walked along the river back to the tents, they saw Brian with Natalie at the river’s edge.

“Almost everyone’s exhausted,” she whispered, slipping her arm through Chris’.

“Is this something new?” he inquired.

“They have struggled in relationship in the past. If they were reuniting, it would be nice to see Brian hang in there this time. Natalie’s a powerful woman. He just needs to hold his own and not let her become his mother again.”

“I had a powerful mother.” Chris offered.

“What was she like?” Leah asked, curious to know more about him.

“She was a professor, which is why I was a professor. She saw to it that I was exhaustively educated, that I had every advantage imaginable intellectually, and all it cost me was my emotional freedom.

“She had an expectation that I would solve her problems, bring her love and grow up to be exactly what she had in mind. It was a bit incestuous, though not in the physical. By the time I was eight I was on to her, but caught in her prison. I acquiesced to the education, but tuned a deaf ear to her problems.”

“Where was your father, Chris?” Leah asked.

“Dad was emotionally absent and rarely around in the physical. He couldn’t stand up to her, so he ignored both of us and finally left when I was eleven. I was trapped. He was free. I find it remarkable that any adult would burden a child with problems, their fears, and their grief, but it happens all too often.”

“Did you find a way out while you were still a kid?” she asked.

“Emotionally, yes. I think Mother helped me develop more skills than anyone else and for that, I am grateful. I took my life back when I was thirteen, designing and conducting a mystical initiation ceremony for myself. Being an avid reader of unapproved books, I accessed all manner of magic.

“There was, in the ceremony, some kind of galactic intervention because I came out of it a man, and not only a man — a warrior. That was the day I started making decisions for myself and began a long study of martial arts.

“I was lucky. I have worked with a lot of uninitiated men who took their mother-work into adulthood. So now I work with kids and their parents back home. Young boys need that ritual of separation from the mother, the honoring of their own soul’s purpose and plan, to be balanced and happy. Boys need a strong father figure in their lives. I like it to be their own dad and not me, and I like mom to be ready and willing to let go.”

“It makes me think of Julio – his ritual of separation was so severe.”

“He’s done really well, Leah — with your help.”

Arriving at her tent, Leah turned to Chris to say good night. “I am grateful for today, Chris — all of it. Thank you for being my shadow.”

“I will be there again tomorrow, along with Julio,” he replied, taking her in his arms.

“Chris, I support you on this journey as well. Whatever I can do for you, let me know about it, will you?”

“I don’t think I am going to come out of this journey unscathed, Leah. If I cannot rely on my own resources and you can help me, I will ask you.”

“Fair enough,” she replied, looking up at the stars again. “There’s magic in the air and it is written in the stars, Chris. Can you feel it?”

“It is high magic. We are heading into something unspeakably holy. Please share your dreams with me tomorrow. They may be quite important,” he added, kissing her lightly on the lips.

His kiss reawakened the passion within each of them. Leah wondered where the bliss had hidden itself, for all she felt now was an aching to be united with Chris. It felt to her like a desire to merge on a cellular level — a longing to be part of him. Chris was fighting off an urgency to consummate their relationship and all of the rationalizing that accompanied his desire. “How could a man be more challenged than this?” he thought. “I have found my deepest love and am not permitted to use the instinctive human means to acknowledge and claim her.”

For a long time, they stood before her tent holding each other, catching their breath, and allowing their hearts to still. Then Chris whispered in her ear, “For some reason we are called upon to be heroic, to step beyond our humanity in all ways at this time, darling. It’s the nature of the Mission.”

“It is contrary to my life-style, which advocates being in the now moment, but if we are being tested, I can rally to the cause,” she laughed. “Good night, Love — and thank you once again for returning that energy to whoever created it.”

“See you on the dreaming paths,” he replied, tipping his hat slightly as he walked away.

Leah’s dreams were vivid that night. Her time in the ashram with Master Mukda touched, as usual, on the art of focusing energy. She surprised herself by asking Mukda about the nature of her relationship with Chris. Mukda laughed. “At this time, it is to build the energies of transformation using sexual attraction,” he began. “That is to say, disciplining those energies that they might be used for a powerful step in your ascension. You are human but also Divine. Move those energies into the Divine and you will recover your bliss.”

“How did you know I was concerned about my bliss?” Leah asked him.

“When you ask a question, daughter, you reveal the totality of your mind to me. If I can assist you I will read the writing in your mind and answer your questions — all of them.”

“Because I have shown my openness by asking you, it is a form of permission to read my mind?” she struggled.

“It is so, though not with everyone. At the soul level you have asked me to prepare you for your Mission.”

Leah was grateful for Master Mukda’s wisdom and his skill. Obviously she had been working with him before she had become aware of it. He confirmed as much and moved her through another level of energy training.

Dreaming with Chris was not on the schedule for that night, but an ending dream left her breathless. She was meditating in a cave, somewhere in the Andes she thought, when three men appeared at the door of the cave. The first man looked like a swami, but his apparel was too ornate. He was young and extraordinarily beautiful, with eyes deeply wise. Kneeling, he set before her a sword with a golden handle that was studded with diamonds and rubies.

The second man was much older than the first. He had unruly graying, black hair, olive skin and a fierceness or intensity that startled her. He lay before her a simple golden chalice filled with a luminescent liquid.

The third man was unmistakably a sheik — a Sufi master. A long gray beard framed a kind and beautiful face. “A truly holy man,” she thought. He knelt before her, his turbaned head lowered in respect, and placed a single pearl within her hand.

The three men bowed to Leah and disappeared. She looked at the beautiful gifts asking to know their deepest meaning.

The sword was the Sword of Truth. It was to be wielded by one worthy — a spiritual warrior. The chalice symbolized service to mankind and it held an elixir of immortality — the nectar of the Bodhisattva who comes in service to humanity.

Leah knew well the story of the pearl, a parable of Jesus from the Gospel of Thomas. It was the story of a young prince who was sent from the stars to Earth to steal the pearl away from the dragon. He became lost in the density of the Earth world and forgot whom he was and why he had been sent. His Father sent an eagle bearing a message — a reminder of his origins — and the young man remembered, recovered the pearl and brought glory to his Father’s kingdom. Leah knew the meaning of the pearl. It symbolized the Mission.

Picking up the chalice, she drank every drop of the elixir then energetically moved the chalice into her heart space. The drink was effervescent, deeply refreshing and filled with light energy. She asked Master Saint Germain to help her fashion a golden chain for the pearl that she might position it over her Third Eye. Then she would never lose sight of the Mission and the pathway back to the stars. When this was completed and the pearl was in place, Leah picked up the sword. Placing it in a shimmering sheath that magically appeared around her waist, she left the cave to complete her Mission.

Leah awoke at dawn. While excitedly writing the dreams in her journal, she experienced a growing awareness at her Third Eye and within her heart. Several times she reached up to her Third Eye to brush something away before she realized that the pearl had been placed there in some reality and that it’s presence was bleeding through to Third Dimension. In her awareness, the chalice was clearly lodged within her heart. “It will be a challenge to go through life without getting twisted up in the sword sheath,” she chuckled.

Out of her tent before the young warriors had the tea water ready, Leah was off to find Chris. He had most of his gear packed away already and was organizing his backpack for the day when she arrived at his tent. A look of amazement on her face, she stood there for a few moments before he noticed her.

“You’re up early, mate, and you looking like you’ve seen an apparition? What’s up?”

“Sorry, Chris,” she laughed. “I’m simply amazed and impressed. You know, I don’t think we’re at all compatible. My tent looks like a small tornado swept through it — and in only one night.”

“Exactly the point. We are yin and yang, so you are obliged to have the opposite traits and yet there is a seed of tidiness within you somewhere,” he teased.

“You may be right. What do you do with a toothpaste tube?” she asked, grinning.

“Get in here, crazy Woman,” he laughed, reaching out a hand to her. “What have you brought me — your dreams?”

“Big dream, Darling, big dream. Listen to this,” she said, excitedly while stepping out of her boots to crawl in beside him on his sleeping mat.

Leah repeated the dream to Chris, who asked for details of the men’s dress, their attitudes — everything. He stretched her well beyond her normal memory to bring through the frequency of the dream itself. When she had finished, she felt exhausted, as if she had just sparred with him for several hours.

“Chris,” she protested, “don’t you think we might have overanalyzed a bit?”

“Not at all, Leah. That was another legitimate reality. It should be as clear to you as this one. Great dream, by the way.”

“And you?” she inquired. “What of your dreams?”

A deep light filled his eyes as he looked at Leah. “I was with the same three men. However, the circumstances were different.”

“You’re kidding?” she said in disbelief. “Who are they?”

“Brothers of the Ruby.”

“I didn’t see their White Hearts.”

“You were looking at their faces and their gifts, not at their hearts, Leah.”

“Right you are, Chris. Can you share your dream?”

“Are you sure you want to hear?”

“Of course,” she replied. “Well, I don’t know, do I?” she added, guardedly.

“It won’t hurt you to know, though it might embarrass you,” he offered, smiling.

“Tell me,” she demanded.

“We were all making love to you, Leah.”

Her face flushed slightly, but she recovered her composure quickly. “All together?” she asked, her eyes wide.

Chris laughed loud enough to wake up the entire camp, and then shut the tent flap and wrestled her down on the sleeping mat.

“All at once,” he said, “and there were more than four of us.”

“Oh, My God,” she gasped. “I am not surprised that my consciousness was blocked on that dream. Are you serious?”

“Yes. You need to understand that you are, for all of us, the embodiment of the goddess. I find that curious because you are also one of us, but I reckon one of us volunteers for that duty on behalf of the Mission. You know — balancing the divine feminine.”

“So how did it feel to share me?” she asked as he kissed her.

“I don’t mind if you don’t mind, Darling,” he replied roguishly, while lavishing kisses on her neck, down her throat and in her ears.

“You are a terrible tease, Chris.”

“I am a lot of things, Leah, including your willing servant. In the esoteric sense, I don’t think I fear the possibility that you might consume me. However, you represent more than the goddess to me – and that I will share with no one.”

“What is that, Chris?” she asked, suddenly serious.

“I suggest to you that we are in the process of discovering it together. It would be unwise for me to intellectualize something more powerful than the highest magic,” he whispered in her ear. Leah was suddenly chilled to the bone. A chord of Truth had been struck deep within her.

“Chris, would you just hold me for a few minutes?” she asked, her eyes brimming with tears. He held her until the heat came back into her body, and then sent her off to pack up for the day’s journey.

By ten o’clock that morning, they started uphill on a horse trail that spurred off from the dirt road along the river. The river would eventually join the Madre de Dios as it snaked through the high jungle into the Amazon. Climbing steadily, the group was rising above the level of the jungle canopy riding towards Kañacway Mountain. The trail was not especially steep, but steadily uphill with one welcomed rest for lunch.

After crossing a high pass, they came to a fork in the road. Don Eduardo led them along the left-hand path towards Tres Cruces de Oro. The right-hand path led down into the jungle. They arrived at their campsite before three that afternoon and found a modern shelter where the group could sleep and eat together. Tres Cruces was very cold, with a harsh wind blowing all of the time. A good fire in the clay cooking stove would take the damp chill out of the air and allow everyone to sleep comfortably.

Camping gear was piled at one end of the single room where they would all be sleeping, while the cooking gear and food were piled at the other end next to a neat stack of wood that seemed to have come with the building. In the midst of the organizing, Don Eduardo asked Julio to bring Brian and Susmo to speak with him. When the three men met with the ylloq’e he seemed concerned.

“It is planned that we will meet other people here today, Waykis,” Don Eduardo said. “A part of me is worried that they are lost, perhaps taking the road to the jungle by mistake. It is also possible that they have taken another hiking trail coming up from Paucartambo. The three of you have until sunset to find them. Julio, you take the jungle trail, and run quickly to make it back in time. Susmo and Brian take the walking trails to the west. Hurry now.”

Julio was off running immediately, since everything he owned was strapped on his back most of the time. Susmo warned Brian to bring his pack with water, snacks, matches and warm clothing. There were never any guarantees in these mountains. Brian was continually overriding anxiety as he prepared to leave.

The two men trekked off to the west without so much as a clue about whom they were trying to find or where they might be. Susmo walked towards the mountain, while Brian veered off in the opposite direction. After an hour of downhill trekking, Brian began to worry that he might not make it back before dark. He had a flashlight, but lacked the perspective that daylight would provide. On the other hand, he did not want to fail Don Eduardo or his commitment to the Mission so he walked further shouting, “hermanos, hermanos!”

Susmo happened on the small group of waykis near the mountain. Leading them back to the camp as the night came upon Tres Cruces de Oro, Susmo called out to Brian to return. Brian was well beyond the range of Susmo’s voice, though he was already heading back towards camp.

As night fell upon the mountain, Brian realized that he was lost. He knew he would not find a magical stack of firewood, for there were no trees. However, he remembered the Indians burning dried plants at night because the smell reminded him of marijuana.

Searching with his flashlight, Brian began gathering dried plants from the mountainside. In addition to water and protein bars, he had a lightweight blanket, a parka, gloves and a hat in his pack. He felt reasonably secure after the fire was started. Then the noises of the night began to surround him, and true anxiety set in.

Brian had never been a Boy Scout and had no solo camping experience. Even if he had, imagination runs wild when the night animals come from their dens to hunt. He went out to gather more weeds, knowing that fire would keep away the pumas. At least he thought that it would.

Julio was first to arrive back at the campsite, out of breath and empty-handed. The group was preparing the space to sit in circle that night when Susmo arrived at the door with the lost waykis. Chris and Leah were stacking duffel bags against the wall when the small group entered the building creating a noticeable stir.

“Maybe you’d better pretend I didn’t tell you about my dream, mate,” Chris said to her, wryly, as they glanced towards the commotion at the door.

Leah was flushed, her heart pounding and Third Eye on fire, as the three men from her dream turned their attention to her. “This is beyond bleed-through, Chris,” she whispered. “I find this hard to believe.”

“I admit to being a little surprised myself,” he whispered back while tossing the last heavy duffel against the wall. “I never expected them to arrive as we saw them in the dream.”

“Then you knew they were coming?”

“The Order of the Ruby is meeting for the first time since the great exodus of the Elder Race from the Earth. We’ve been really slow getting our act together,” he added with a wink.

“Are you suggesting you are all Elder Race?” she asked.

“None of us, I reckon. The Elder Race would be overkill for this Mission at this time, darling. We just haven’t had the need to meet up en masse — or the flying ships to get us all together,” he laughed. “We meet regularly on the inner planes. You’ll remember being there one day,” he added, giving her back a rub.

The Sufi Sheik was the first of the brothers to approach them. “I am Leah, Beloved Master,” she said offering her hand. “I am grateful to you for a message sent in the form of a luminous pearl.”

He smiled and replied in perfect English. “It suits you well, Leah. I like what you have done with it,” he said, touching her third eye. “I am Sheik Yebra Fakoum. It is a pleasure to meet you at last and to present you with the pearl’s replica in this reality.” Placing a small golden jewel case in her right hand, he took her left hand in his and bowed to kiss the sapphire ring of the sisterhood. Leah stared at the intricate wrapping of his turban, while holding the case to her heart. She flushed slightly, thankful that he was kissing her ring and not her filthy hands.

Aware that magic was afoot, the room fell silent as the three men greeted Leah, then Chris. Scarcely noticed, three porters set the men’s bags inside the door and left, while their guide waited outside the door to be compensated. The women gathered around, enclosing Leah, Chris, Susmo and the new three men in a circle of light, pleased to be part of a momentous occasion.

When Sheik Fakoum moved next to embrace Chris, the wild-looking brother bowed extravagantly before Leah. “I am Demetri Malkodina, beloved Leah. I see that you have drunk the elixir from the chalice within your heart. Now your true work begins,” he added with a sparkle in his eyes.

Leah was speechless as he bent to kiss her ring and moved on to Chris. She tried to brush the dust from her blouse and pants as the Indian man came towards her. As beautiful as he had been in her dream, he was dressed in the richly woven fabrics of India’s royal palaces with a turban of several vibrantly colored silk and golden cloths wound together. He had the eyes of an adept and the gentle manner of a monk.

Bowing to Leah, he presented her with a small replica of the diamond and ruby-studded golden sword from her dream with an attached golden chain. “Maharajah Ramandi, here to serve you, dearest lady,” he said, as she extended her hand to him. His White Heart was fully opened and glowing with a ruby light.

“Welcome, dear prince,” she said bowing slightly. “Tell me, were you three alone on your journey up to Tres Cruces?” she asked, steadily feeling a little more comfortable in her role within the Order of the Ruby though, admittedly, that was because Chris was there at her side.

“No, Beloved Leah. We had with us a guide who did not know where he was going,” he reported, smiling.

“We bless beloved Susmo who has found you,” she replied, laughing. The three men had a more accurate idea of Leah’s identity and destiny than she did, so honored her in ways she did not yet understand. Her acceptance of their gifts and attention in gracious humility was not at all contrived. She truly felt at a loss to understand what was going on, having yet to integrate all that Chris had revealed in the past several days.

Soon all the women were being greeted as priestesses, and then the paqos, with Susmo making the introductions. “Susmo looks radiant,” Leah thought to herself. “I believe we are all beginning to understand the greater Truth of our Mission.” It warmed her heart. She slipped the jewel case into her medicine pouch and searched the room for Don Eduardo. Both he and Julio were missing. She laid her hand on Chris’ back to get his attention and he bent to listen to her.

“Chris, Brian has not returned and Don Eduardo and Julio are not here either,” she whispered.

Chris scanned the room then closed his eyes to connect with the filaments of Don Eduardo. He saw him separated from his body and immediately retracted his filaments to protect the ylloq’e. “Don Eduardo is fragmented at the moment. I can’t pursue him mentally in that state,” he told her.

“What is the state of fragmentation, if I might ask?”

“He has separated his etheric double from his body and he’s flying. I imagine his body to be close by, likely guarded by Julio, and his double to be searching the mountainside for Brian. He sent him off knowing he would be challenged, but does not wish to lose him.”

“Don Eduardo will find him. He’s quite handy with his double,” she assured him, returning to the social scene.

Chris looked at her, shook his head at her mysterious response and left the building. He found Julio sitting beside the supine ylloq’e against one end of the building. Nodding to the young man, he lay down next to Don Eduardo. Within a few minutes, Julio had the bodies of two flying waykis to look after. Chris followed the filaments of Don Eduardo’s intent and soon found the ylloq’e seated at Brian’s fire. He and the ylloq’e chose to be invisible to Brian, who was making a valiant attempt to get centered. Don Eduardo acknowledged Chris with the wave of his hand, motioning for Chris to stand in the bushes behind Brian to hold space for whatever happened next. Brian kept his eyes closed for the most part, but occasionally opened them to glance around.

When Brian next opened his eyes, the ylloq’e became visible as a serpent — a cobra with head erect, sitting up quite calmly to study Brian. Brian rubbed his eyes to see if he were imagining the serpent. He concluded that the cobra was real, just on the wrong continent. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes again for a few moments, his ears alert for the slightest movement. Opening his eyes after a few moments, he saw a jaguar sitting where the serpent had been. The spotted cat sat perfectly still, and stared at him. Brian kept closing his eyes and breathing and the ylloq’e kept shape shifting. He became a condor, an eagle, a dragon and a hummingbird. Brian held steady through all of it, acknowledging to himself that he was being tested.

Chris realized that Leah was right. Don Eduardo was a master of the double and a master shape-shifter. He fully enjoyed watching the ylloq’e reweave Brian’s filaments into an assemblage point worthy of the magi. When he had finished, he became visible as Don Eduardo, which really gave Brian a start. Don Eduardo couldn’t help slapping his knees and laughing like a fool. Brian was stunned but not fearful when the ylloq’e stood, taking a mesa from his poncho. He walked over to Brian and thrust the mesa into Brian’s heart. That gift of wisdom lodged in his heart appearing as a developing star.

Brian raised his hands to his chest, trying to hold onto the master’s energetic gift while looking at Don Eduardo in disbelief.

Don Eduardo walked towards the path and yelled to Brian. “Are you coming or not, wayki?” Brian jumped up, stuffing everything he had in his pack, and ran after the ylloq’e. Chris materialized at the fire and covered it with loose rocks. He made it back to his body well ahead of Don Eduardo, who had to move at Brian’s human pace. Nodding to Julio as he arose, Chris stood up and reentered the building.

Nonchalantly rejoining Leah, he received her inquiring look. “Everything all right?” she asked.

“You were right. Don Eduardo is magnificent. Brian should be back soon, and with a new assemblage point.”

“Isn’t it interesting that no one has really missed him yet? These brothers have provided Brian with an opportunity to transcend his little boy and his ego all at once.”

Brian returned an hour later, led by the fading image of Don Eduardo. The ylloq’e slipped back into his body unnoticed by all but Julio, then the two of them joined the group for dinner. Brian had assessed the situation in the building and had immediately refocused the emotional energies of his experience on his three newly found brothers. He did manage to thank and embrace Don Eduardo, who claimed to have been in camp the entire time, which, for the most part, was true.

After the cooks had cleaned up the kitchen, Don Eduardo asked everyone to sit in circle to hear from the new waykis. With a good fire blazing, the building was quite comfortable for the group as they settled on top of sleeping mats while leaning against the duffels. Don Eduardo organized the circle, and seated the three new men in front of a makeshift altar, where many beautiful stones had been placed around burning candles.

Sheik Fakoum sat in the center, with the Maharajah to his right and Demetri to his left. Chris and Leah were asked to sit across from the men, with Julio, then Brian, on Leah’s left and Susmo on Chris’ right. Don Eduardo sat next to Demetri with the Indian women, while the paqos sat to the right of the Maharajah. The sisterhood filled in the circle with the young warriors.

Lobo was burning sandalwood on hot coals, and circled the group to cleanse the energies in the room. The ylloq’e brought out the golden skull, and placed it in the center of the circle on a tribal weaving. The three new men were quite taken with the skull as Don Eduardo positioned it to face them.

After a brief hushed discussion amongst the three men, Don Eduardo and the paqos began to chew the coca, signaling their readiness to receive wisdom. Sonia sat at attention to provide translation from English to Spanish, while one of the alto mesayoqs sat behind Don Eduardo and the other paqos to simultaneously translate the Spanish to Quechua.

Sheik Fakoum opened the circle with a moving meditation that set the tone for the evening — reverence. “We are deeply grateful to all our brothers and sisters for supporting the efforts of the Ruby Order of the Brotherhood of Magi. We have gladly traveled to the Andes, because a portal exists here within the Feminine Light Ray. Through this portal we will access and activate the next phase of our Mission.

“I am told that you have already heard the story of the brotherhood as it evolved from the Elder Race through Lemuria. Now you will hear how it evolved in our part of the world. When I have exhausted my esoteric resources, Ramandi will continue. Demetri will add essential parts missing from our stories.

“Twelve brotherhoods emerged from ancient Egypt during the reign of Aman-Ra many thousands of years ago. Aman-Ra and his Twin Ray, Mir-An-Da, those whom you call Osiris and Isis, came from the star Ak-An, Sirius. They were of the Elder Race, true Bodhisattvas, who came many times to serve the Earth’s ascension.

“They were Akhus, Star Beings, Shining Ones. They appeared in human bodies and bore children who were also Akhus. The offspring eventually forgot who they were, coming into the darkness of separation, and their bodies were no longer worthy of the true Akhu soul. Thus began the incarnation of opposites amongst the gods made men.

“Aman-Ra and Mir-An-Da lived for thousands of years and their children were long-lived as well. It was a Golden Age that did not end until the leaders who carried on experienced ‘The Fall’. This reference to ‘The Fall’ is a reference to consciousness, to forget your identity — to fall asleep. Most people now are asleep. Partly, that is because those kings of long ago forgot the greatest gift they had been given — the Grail Codes.

“These are the codes of kingly service. When those descendants of Aman-Ra and Mir-An-Da turned from the Grail Codes to personal power, they lost their Divine connection and fell into humanity’s deep sleep. The Akhus have come since that time to reactivate the Grail Codes, but few have been awake enough to benefit from that gift, that sacrifice, or even to interpret it correctly. Fortunately, whether we are conscious of it or not, the evolutionary correction it facilitated, the greatest gift imaginable to humanity, is in the Earth’s etheric field to assist our return to God when each of us is ready to acknowledge and accept it.

“The first times, Zep Tepi, are a reference to the reign of Aman-Ra and Mir-An-Da. It was the seeding of higher consciousness and new genetics in Egypt. With the exception of their heirs, Amen-Se and Mai-An, the children of Aman-Ra and Mir-An-Da were free to intermarry with the remnant tribes found in Egypt at that time, thus seeding the new genetics into the more primitive human genome.

“Within those new genes were light codes of ascension. Obviously these codes have spread into the genetics of many in this world. Thus it was and still is the Mission of that Starseeding to elevate the consciousness of the Earth. Other Starseedings have similar Missions with fascinating distant histories amongst varied human cultures on the Earth.

“Zep Tepi was a time long before the Great Flood that submerged Atlantis and changed the face of the Earth. At that time, Egypt was not a desert, but a fertile paradise. It was the paradise of our myths where god and man were together. In other words, where men knew their divine origins and the wise Akhus lived side by side with them.

“When that was forgotten, man moved into duality and the myths of good and evil emerged. Closer to our time, the gods of the Greek were portrayed in light and dark. As above so below — for this was just a reflection of the duality made manifest in the galaxy and beyond. To know we are divine is to embrace the dual nature of our unique human intellect and ego. We have all come to live with a shadow self.

“Aman-Ra and Mir-An-Da had twelve boys in addition to their kingly heir, Amen-Se. Each of these twelve sons became the head of a sacred brotherhood. There were the astronomers who mapped the heavens, the stone masons who cut and moved stone with light and sound, the architects who used sacred geometry in form, the prophets who consulted the off-planet Akhus, and many more, including the magi. Of course these orders were not new to the Earth, for the Elder Race had originally instituted them in Atlantis and as far back as the end days of Lemuria. These brotherhoods were entrusted with the knowledge of the stars. Much like the kingly lineage, the wisdom was lost in time. Is it any wonder that we seek out the sacred sites that they built to reawaken memory within us?

“The magi moved into secrecy, and retained the wisdom of alchemy until this day, primarily through the Order of the Ruby. These brotherhoods belonged to a greater brotherhood, that of Annu, the Sun, as represented by Aman-Ra, the Son of the Sun, the one divinely united. At one time, Aman-Ra sent a number of his sons on expeditions to discover the world and spread the Truth of one God and the heavenly hierarchies, the creator gods.

“Like Aman-Ra and Mir-An-Da, these sons were golden-haired tall men of great intelligence. They traveled to Atlantis and the Americas, to the British Isles and Scandinavia, around the Black Sea, to India and to Mesopotamia. Eventually they returned home with information about the spiritual and physical climate of each place and its people. Aman-Ra made the decision to colonize the most promising places, and sent his sons and daughters with volunteers from the young men and women of mixed blood.

“There were many migrations to Atlantis, where a large colony of stone masons was established. Eventually descendents of that brotherhood of masons were directed to return with a large Atlantean migration to settle in Egypt and establish a renewed culture that would withstand the demise of Atlantis. The pyramids were a construction learned from the Atlanteans and spread to many key migration spots in the world.

“The final major colonization by the brotherhoods was in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The brother establishing this colony was head of the artisans. All of the brotherhoods kept strong ties to their Egyptian members until the kings fell into separation many years after the Akhus left the Earth. In addition to the ‘specialty’, if you will, of each settlement, all of the brotherhoods were represented in every colony.

“Aman-Ra and the High Council of the Great Lodge of Light from Ak-An saw this as a safeguard of the Sacred Truth. The Siriun High Council has always been the guidance for this Mission on Earth. The magi and the prophets were as essential to the Mission as the builders and artisans.

“In the sprawling Mesopotamian colony represented by our present Middle-East, the Hebrew lineage, an unrelated remnant Starseed that had mixed with the Akhu descendants of Aman-Ra, emerged within an established monarchy. Adam was one of their kings, but in no way comparable to Aman-Ra. Neither is he a reference to the first man — a tale more ancient than human memory. This Adam was in separation, as our myth reminds us. There was in this settlement, a strong group of magi, as there were in India and in the homeland of Egypt.

“When the kings of Egypt went into separation, well before the flood destroyed Atlantis, the magi left Egypt to live at the Red Sea. Of all the brotherhoods, they have been able to withstand corruption and deterioration. I believe this is due to the nature of their mastery, which partially defines itself through its dedicated opposition to corruption.

“Everything changed with the flood, which destroyed Atlantis. The enemies of our brotherhood — the black magicians, brought it about through the misuse of power. Yet it was the Divine Plan, because the integrity of the Akhus had already disappeared. Civilizations had to begin again, but without the golden glory of enlightenment. The ancient king-making rituals were lost to the new monarchies, but kept safe along with many other treasures of the Akhus, within the Order of the Ruby. The magi never lost their power, just their visibility.”

Sheik Fakoum placed his hands together as if in prayer, and bowed his head to the group. “Prince Ramandi will continue now with a story of great importance,” he concluded. Everyone in the group returned his act of humble reverence, and then looked to the Maharajah, whose serene countenance touched everyone’s hearts.

As the two men exchanged roles, the young warriors jumped up to refresh teacups for those in need, and stoke the cook stove with wood. When everyone was seated again, Don Eduardo nodded to the Maharaja, indicating he had the floor.

“Thank you, Brother Yebra,” he began. “It was of great importance to human evolution that a colony formed in India around the Brotherhood of Astronomers who came, specifically, to our region. The other brotherhoods were represented soon after as the acceptance of the new teachings grew. There were mixed-blood Lemurian descendents scattered across south Asia who welcomed the wisdom teachings. There was also an isolated, true-remnant, Lemurian tribe related to the Australian Aborigines who were well established in India at that time, and who remain there today. Over time, there were many migrations to this region of Nubian black people from Egypt and North Africa who originally immigrated to Africa from Western Lemuria. They were joined in India by migrating red people from Atlantis bringing the wisdom of their Mystery Schools with them.

“One such migration — a very small contingency — was accompanied by a great spiritual leader who had foreseen the demise of the Atlantean continent. His name was Manu and his soul, which was of the Elder Race, incarnated on Atlantis. He spent many years gathering a select group of initiates around him. These gathered more awakened Atlanteans around them until a community was formed that would survive into the next epoch, our present epoch, and bring forth independent thought as the next evolutionary step for humanity. When the proper time came, Manu led them on a new migration path across Northern Europe to India, leaving a trail of awakened people behind them to seed future spiritual movements. A glorious golden age unfolded in this pre-Vedic Indian culture with the convergence of Manu, the seven Holy Rishis, their disciples and initiates. The Rishis, ordinary humans initiated by Manu, were able to embody the consciousness of the Archai, the Time Spirits, whose present home is the seventh stage of consciousness evolution.

“Manu had selected this small group of promising Atlanteans from the Semite sub-race. They were not so-called advanced humans, but uncorrupt and pliable neophytes when it came to thought. As they traveled to the East, he subjected them to intense training over years of migration, bringing them to the point of spiritual adeptship indicated by the time of their arrival in India. They spent a great deal of time in a mountain retreat in the Himalayas making final preparations, until the seven Holy Rishis had fully embodied the higher beings, the Archai, in order to lead the people forward when Manu departed. This particular retreat became an important sanctuary for the Ruby Order. Like Aramu Muru’s secret valley, these were invisible to most, which speaks to the importance of their purpose.

“I do not need to detail to this group the wonders of Vedic Astrology or the great tradition of the masters in India which sprang from the colonies of those most ancient North African and Atlantean origins. We were also deeply touched by the spiritual values of neighboring Tibetan colonies from ancient Lemuria. The Himalayas have been the anchoring point of the masculine light ray on the Earth and that is reflected in the essence of our religious heritage. Now we feel the energy of the masculine to be diminishing and we come looking for the feminine aspect of God here in the Andes.

“I have chosen to tell you a remarkable story that is appropriate to our journey together. We have been fortunate to have a number of strong brotherhoods in India, especially the magi, the prophets and the astronomers. Some of them descended from Aman-Ra and others came from end-stage Lemuria. Like the descendants of Lemuria in the Andes, we have, in secrecy, brought forth the prophecies periodically in our history. We have just completed this five hundred year cycle once again. That is partly why we are here with you. Again we are following the converging of the planets as we did several thousand years ago.”

Leah’s eyes met Don Eduardo’s. They were both stunned at the synchronicity and periodicity of the prophetic events occurring at the masculine and feminine poles of the permanent ray. “It is likely a Lemurian tradition continued in the two cultures,” Leah silently conjectured.

Ramandi continued. “Over two thousand years ago, our prophets spoke of the coming of a King from the Akhus. His knowledge would be vast, cosmic, and his wisdom profound. He would bring to the Earth once again the Grail Codes of kingly service and would be a prophet of great clarity, bringing through truth and lost mysteries. A coded message was hidden within those prophecies, which required the combined efforts of the brotherhoods of astronomy, mathematics, symbols and prophecy to decipher.

“Within the code it was foretold that a most auspicious celestial occasion would mark the birth of the King. Our astronomers charted the heavens through the coming years until they arrived at a most auspicious event. In the spring of the year that you call 7 BC, eight planets of our solar system would align.

“That phenomenon of the heavens is occurring again within a few days, except that it will now include the Sun and Earth. We will not be able to see it as they did. In 7 BC this astrological event did not include the Sun, making it visible in the night sky as the brightest star imaginable — many times brighter than our greatest planet.

“It took these men most of one year to determine the birthplace of this new King. He was not to be born in India, but in a land west of Mesopotamia and east of Egypt — Palestine. These brilliant brothers sought the counsel of the magi who had themselves been expecting the birth of a god-man for many years. If anyone were to survive an expedition into that land of tyrants to greet this god-man, the magi would, for they were true spiritual warriors.

“Word was sent out to the enclaves of the brotherhood who were affiliated with our brothers in India. Our magi assumed that the Egyptian Therapeutae in Heliopolis would have similar evidence of the god-man and neglected to inform those brothers. However, the Divine Plan would bring the god-man to them eventually.

“A magus from each of three colonies and one astronomer were chosen to make the journey of homage to the Akhu child. Each was a prince or king among his people as well as a magician of the Order of the Ruby.

“I am a descendant of Maharajah Ram, Melchior, who led the expedition, if we might call it such. He traveled with an astronomer named Tsekinata, who charted their course upon the Earth. They journeyed within the protection of invisibility to Damascus where they met the second Brother of the Ruby, Valtasassour (Balthazar). He was of the Arabian branch of the Brotherhood, who had traveled far from his origins to be found with a small group of brothers in Gaul. These two magi waited in Damascus to rendezvous with the third Brother of the Ruby, Gaspar, a dark-skinned magus and king from Armenia. Gaspar was descended from Nubian royalty. It should be noted that all of these men had royal blood and two of them were rulers, but first and foremost they were magi of the Order of the Ruby.

“Tsekinata followed the planets until they were in alignment and calculated the place on the Earth where the brilliance of that convergence pointed to the Akhu child. He took the magi beyond Jerusalem, the bastion of the Roman tyrants, to a small village eight kilometers or so from Jerusalem. In this village of Bethlehem, within a royal home, the enlightened magi of the ancient Order of the Ruby bowed down before the King, our beloved Jeshua.

“They brought him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, the gifts of kings to a King. Our dearest Melchior knelt before the child, Jeshua, in his golden robes and drew his magi’s sword. The child’s parents did not flinch, for they could read the impeccability of his intent within his aura.

“Maharajah Ram broke the sword over his knee and lay it before the child, announcing that all authority rested at the feet of the child, Jeshua. He lay prostrate before the child in complete recognition of the Cosmic Being within the babe.

“These three magi told the parents of the child’s destiny as well as his origins, advising them to raise Jeshua in that consciousness — that he would always know who he was. This story has been retold in my family since that time.

“The parents took the child to Heliopolis in Egypt when the magi warned them that, in a jealous rage, Herod, the petty tyrant of Judaea, had commanded that all boy babies be slaughtered. Word of the new King had kindled in him a monstrous paranoia. In Heliopolis, the cosmic babe was recognized and honored by the priests of the Therapeutae.

“When it was once again safe, the parents returned to Judah from Egypt and moved their household to Galilee to raise the child in proximity to the Essenes. The Essenes had a monastery on the outskirts of Nazareth, where Jeshua could partake in esoteric teaching from a young age. This had been the recommendation of the Therapeutae who would receive Jeshua for training at the proper age. The child’s father, Joseph, was the living King in the lineage of David, but without power during that time of Roman occupation. Jeshua, his firstborn male, was a prince of the remnant blood of Aman-Ra. He had been sent, in part, to reawaken and reorganize parts of that blood.

“When Jeshua was a young man, he journeyed to our land to complete a series of initiations. These gateways of consciousness were necessary to fully activate his Mission on Earth. We do not refer to Jeshua simply as a magus, for he was a high master of all the brotherhoods, including those that did and do not exist in this reality. I thank you for your attention,” Ramandi concluded, “but now I ask Demetri to continue the story drawing on the written and oral traditions of his people.”

The circle received the humble blessing of the Maharajah and returned his reverent gesture. Demetri closed his eyes before beginning to ask for the blessing of beloved Lord Sananda, the ascended Jeshua, before speaking of the Master’s secret life. Given the nature of the gathering, the blessing was granted and he opened his eyes to the group.

“Friends,” he began with a thick accent, “I am a Greek Cypriot, hailing from that island were the Gnostics eluded both the Romans and the Christians. I am my own kind of Gnostic, a follower of the True Way that Jeshua exemplified. Deep esoteric mysteries remain within the mortar of our buildings from those days when Master Jeshua walked the Earth.

“What I share with you tonight I have learned from the secret writings of the brotherhood and the Gnostics. These Truths have never been altered by those wishing to control and were never contained in the great library of Alexandria that the tyrants burned to the ground. The library of the Order of the Ruby is contained within the conscious soul memory of its members, incarnate and disincarnate.

“When Jeshua completed his puberty rites with the Essenes, Joseph sent him to the Egyptian Therapeutae in Heliopolis. Heliopolis was the ancient center of the golden age and in the time of Jeshua, the center of the remnant brotherhoods. He went to Heliopolis with his beloved friend, Simon Zebedee. Together they began the initiatory journey of the adept — the ancient Egyptian Mystery School.

“As was the custom, the first initiation occurred within three months. During those three months, they had taken instructions in the rules of the Therapeutae and the basic philosophy of the brotherhoods. Jeshua, Simon, and the other young men were brought, individually, before a panel of elders who questioned them rigorously about this knowledge. They were required to formulate their highest intent with respect to their training and lay it before the panel. This initiation eliminated those boys who were there to fulfill their parents’ expectations and not their own, as well as those who were just not bright enough to pursue the studies.

“After this initiation, the boys were required to spend one month in each of the brotherhoods to know the totality of the Sun wisdom. Again, they were tested on their knowledge, more rigorously than the first initiation. Then they were expected to prepare an argument supporting their choice of a particular path of study.

“Simon had long been interested in the magi, so was relieved to be finished with the preliminaries at the Therapeutae. He was sent to the magi within Heliopolis to begin the study of alchemy.

“Jeshua showed a keen interest in all the brotherhoods but decided to pursue the path of healing, the specialty of the Therapeutae. One year was spent intensely exploring the fundamentals of healing with herbs, energy, and simple surgery. Jeshua had a natural ability to heal and was soon teaching the teachers. He saw healing from a totally new, but really very old, perspective — that all disease was a human perturbation of Divine perfection and harmony.

“Jeshua and Simon took the third initiation together at the end of their third year in Egypt, becoming Priests of Isis. Preparation for this ritual entailed the thorough cleansing of the temple — the human body. Having been raised by the Essenes made the preparation less difficult for Jeshua, but still, the organs and systems of the body were purged of impurities. At the same time, the emotional and mental bodies were purged of impurities as well.

“Ritual baths with sacred oils cleansed the exterior of the body and the aura, preparing them to meet the rising Sun between the paws of the great Sphinx. When the Sun hit Jeshua’s field, he began to vibrate into the Sun’s field — to match its frequency. In that state of bliss, a door opened, which would have taken him back to God, had the high master of the Therapeutae not been there to stop him. He shouted a word of magic at Jeshua — a powerful word. Jeshua’s body re-materialized to continue the Mission here on Earth. The high master knew then that he had found the one they had awaited.

“Simon went on to deeper studies of alchemy and magic after he and Jeshua completed the Fourth Degree of the brotherhood. In Hindu terminology this would be called shaktipat — illumination given through the powers of the high master. Connected to their Higher Self or I AM, they began bringing to Earth the ancient knowledge of their souls. Jeshua was introduced to the most secret of teachings as the remainder of his education continued in mystery. At that same time, Jeshua’s brother James came to study at the Therapeutae.

“Jeshua was regularly teaching younger students and was invited to discussions with the faculty and the priests. Simon had reached his threshold of initiation and concentrated his energies on magic. Jeshua continued to work in the healing center of the Therapeutae where spontaneous cures began to occur. Before long, people came from all of Egypt to receive his healings. His explanation for the healing was the simple act of aligning the individual’s energies with their innate God-Force.

“Throughout his education in Egypt, Jeshua trained his physical body to be the vehicle of a spiritual warrior. Progress was expected on all planes of being. Whereas the lower initiatory degrees could be acquired by intellect alone, the higher degrees of initiation required the seeker to be fully realized.

“When Jeshua received the Fourth Degree, he moved out of the normal world of mind and into the higher world of wisdom and knowingness. This is the first step beyond intellect. Its center is in the heart — in the Now Moment. From the center in the heart, he moved into the mastery of energy — moving energy with intent.

“With this mastery, his physical training became one with the training of the spirit, the mind and the heart. He knew no separation of the three. At that time he regained Divine Essence, which Melchior had seen in him as a newborn babe. For even Jeshua experienced the thin veil of illusion characteristic of this reality. With that awakening, illusion vanished.

“He was put to many tests of physical strength, purity of emotion, absence of fear, and abilities to use energy impeccably before coming to the fifth initiation. The only fifth-degree initiate in the Therapeutae at that time was the high master who trained Jeshua in secrecy as his superior had trained him many years before.

“The trial was severe. To pass the Fifth Degree, the initiate was lowered into a large stone pit filled with poisonous snakes of all kinds. When the rope was removed, the only exit was a pool of water where several hungry crocodiles lived. Of course we know that Jeshua survived this trial because his life beyond is known, but for the initiate it is a death — a death to all but the union of essence and divinity. To achieve that place one must have mastered energy and, at the same time regard the snakes and crocodiles as our brothers and sisters — as much a part of God as we.

“So it was with pure and impeccable Essence that his love subdued the serpents and crocodiles and he emerged a high master. He was entering his sixth year of study at the Therapeutae when he equaled the training of his teacher.

“Because this level of initiation brought mastery of the ego, Jeshua did not threaten the high master. On the contrary, the high master knew his destiny and guided him towards it. From that point forward, the high master could not teach from his own experience for it had not been his calling to go further, but he had access to the written legacy of Aman-Ra. He began preparing Jeshua for the ancient king-making ritual, the final initiation of the ancient brotherhood. Mastery at the level of the sixth initiation was inter-dimensional and cosmic.

“We could say that the third initiation was comparable to light body attainment — the mastery of the astral body initiated by the Sun forces. The fourth initiation, the Flowering of the Heart, was the birth within of Christ Consciousness — the initiation of the Manas the first Spirit body. Mastery of the etheric double, which is the fifth initiation, brought forth mastery of the second Spirit Body, the Buddhi. The final initiation activated the cosmic body, the Atma, and the possibility of Divine Oneness through the perfected phantom. Forgive me for referencing this as an archaic ritual – the initiations have not changed, in theory, to the present.”

“For beloved Jeshua, the Sixth Degree, which opens the portal to the seventh or cosmic dimension, was to pass through the doorway of death and survive. Similar to the near-death experiences reported throughout the ages, the initiate was taken to the light in the Heart of God. The difference between the two was that for the true initiate, the death was intended. It was a ritual death — passing through the doorway of immortality.

“It is exactly the way in which kings were made within the lineage of Aman-Ra. Like the true Incas of this land, the ancient king was a cosmic god-man. To successfully prepare for and complete this initiation, the high master required the assistance of the magi, for it was within the alchemy of the magi that the formula of death was known. The magi prepared the potion from the venom of a certain snake, the holy keeper of wisdom. If the formula were not correct, death was certain. Even so, it was a terrible risk to be taken only by one fully prepared. In truth, the magi of that time had never used the potion but prepared it as part of their esoteric tradition. A true King had not come along for a very long time.

“The ritual took place in the King’s Chamber of the Great Pyramid accessed through secret underground passageways. Jeshua lay within the sarcophagus for three days and nights after drinking the poison given to him by the high master. The initiate was to be left alone in the chamber and was then meant to emerge into daylight without assistance.

“I shudder to think how a modern twenty-year old might approach this ritual, but I like to imagine that Jeshua, a realized man, would have been perfectly content to rejoin God or to bring his god-self back with him – that being the general idea. A true Akhu does not come to the Earth for himself or herself. They have no need to engage the dharma or the karma, for they are here only to serve. Jeshua was on a Mission. He had no attachment to life other than the completion of that Mission.

“The king-making ritual was one of death and resurrection — a theme important to all of the mystery schools. Jeshua rose from that death and walked out into the light of day passing through the thick, stone walls of the pyramid. He had seen God and knew that he was God. He had had an experience during that death with the Siriun High Council that clarified his Mission, and he knew he had no more need to train at the Therapeutae. The high master had hoped that Jeshua would stay, for the mere stimulation of being around him, but that was not to be.

“By that time, Jeshua’s brother James had finished the Third Degree, which marked the end of his studies. James’ path would be one of merchant and philosopher. Jeshua, James and Simon left Heliopolis and spent a year in Alexandria drinking in Greek philosophy at the same time they researched the ancient archives in Alexandria’s great library. Jeshua and Simon poured over the maps of the known world and plotted an expedition to the British Isles. The three men set out on a journey that taught them all about life outside the monastery. It was another kind of initiation, requiring that they use the skills they had acquired or perish. You and I know that all initiation undergoes validation in the world of men. Would we need initiation if the world were not as it is?” Demetri asked with a questioning look on his face.

“Were it not for Jeshua’s healing skills, the three young men would have suffered a dreadful fate at sea. They were robbed by the ship’s crew almost immediately and put to work in the galley, despite the fact that they had paid well for the passage. By an extraordinary stroke of the Divine, their crusty captain became terribly ill and Jeshua was able to cure him. Given the skills of these men, one wonders at the nature of his illness and its relationship to their work in the galleys,” he added, raising his eyebrows slightly. Don Eduardo slapped his knees laughing while Chris’ crooked grin betrayed his love for this new wayki.

“In the south of the British Isles the true identity of the men was immediately discerned by the Druids, who took them under their wings. The Druids and Celts were one of the groups of people touched by Manu as he traveled from Atlantis to India through Europe. They held ancient teachings of the Star Beings in their sacred trust.

“Jeshua had two things in mind when he planned the expedition to Britain, and both were accomplished. They would all receive the full initiations of the Druid priesthood, and they prepared the land for the future. Until the fall of Camelot, the energetic portal which Jeshua and Simon put in place there allowed the merging of realities, from the Kingdom of Fairie to the fifth dimension. It was large-scale sacred geometry — establishing energy fields of the golden cities. To some degree, they still exist there.

“As for the initiations, they were quite different from those in Egypt, for they bound one to all things in nature. Jeshua wanted this shamanic sort of experience to balance all of the knowledge and magical power he had acquired in Egypt. Simon felt deeply connected to the Druid teaching, the warrior archetypes they embodied, and their unity with nature. James was there to connect with the land, for he would return as Joseph of Arimathea to plant his staff and bring the church of The Way to the Isles merging it with the Celtic traditions.

“Jeshua experienced the temptations of the flesh with seductive women, lessened the limited vision of the scholar by discovering the glory of God in every living thing, and faced death once again. Both he and Simon passed their initiations and the three men moved on to Gaul, where they worked again with the geometry and the land.

“In Gaul, the energies were created to protect the sisterhood, the secret teachings and the bloodline of the Akhus. Jeshua saw that the South of Gaul would be a refuge for his future family as well as those who embraced his teachings. There had been a small group of magi in Gaul from the time the southern shores had been settled by the tribe of Benjamin. Jeshua could clearly see that southern Gaul would become a place of persecution in the future but that the truth would survive through secret societies, the bloodline, the sisterhood and brotherhood.

“When they returned to Nazareth, Simon was taken into the West Manasseh Magi and Jeshua returned to Qumran for a short while. His beloved Mary Magdalen had grown from child to a beautiful young woman, but it was not yet time for marriage. He saw even more clearly the power struggles and dysfunction existing within the different groups in the community, and spent time with Joseph, apprenticing as a journeyman, which would become his trade. As any keeper of the mysteries will tell you, we also have to earn a living.” The group’s subdued laughter attested to that fact.

“However, his training was not complete for the greater task that lay before him. After mastering his trade, for which he’d had a good head start from having spent his childhood in his father’s craft space, he joined his uncle’s caravan and traveled to India. I would be a fool to discuss that aspect of his training in the presence of Ramandi. If you would not mind, Maharajah, I should be most pleased to hear more of Jeshua’s time in India.”

The Maharajah acquiesced. “I am truly honored, Demetri,” he began. “I believe it can be said that we are not trying to repeat history with this story, but to reveal the unknown history. I know that you women have heard this story from the perspective of Mary Magdalen and now hear it with a different emphasis,” he continued, nodding to Leah. “It is all good Truth. Jeshua spent eight years in India, embracing Buddhism, Hinduism and Taoist philosophies, working miracles, walking with princes and lepers, curing disease, and teaching love on all levels.

“It was not until the last two years that he felt the call to the Himalayas. There he cleansed himself continually, fasted and sat in meditation by himself, until one day a yogi came to him. He had been asked to bring Jeshua to the region now bordering Tibet to study there.

“He went through the ritual initiations of the great yogis before being taken to a high mountain cave, where he was asked to sit with a very holy man. He recognized this man who had initially called him to India with his intent. Jeshua sat with that holy man for many months before the man so much as blinked at him. Jeshua traveled out with him in his meditations, experiencing God energy and light.

“Then on a momentous day, the holy man lifted his finger, directing Jeshua to kneel before him. He received the highest level of shaktipat from that ancient ageless being, completing his quest in the East.

“We have always revered Jeshua in my country. We were fortunate to experience His Essence without the politics that plagued him in his homeland. Legends of Jeshua abound in India. Many people feel that he died a very old man in Kashmir and is buried there, while many others believe that he ascended with his body. His ashram on the inner planes dwells over the Himalayas near Darjeeling, but, of course, he is everywhere. Demetri, please continue with your story now,” he concluded, bowing his head.

“Thank you, Brother Ramandi. When Jeshua returned to Nazareth, he was confronted by the Essene community, which urged him to be a true King to the people at Qumran. However, he found it beneficial to protect his expanded state of awareness from these suggestions, which did not tempt him in the least. He chose to spend more time at Mird, the monastery referred to as the Wilderness. Before going to Mird, he was betrothed to Mary Magdalen, the only woman he ever loved, whom he later married.

“Now I shift to Simon’s story, for he was a magus and a Brother of the Ruby. He had returned to Qumran with Jeshua and James after their initiatory journeys to Egypt and Britain. Simon did not stay long at Qumran either, though long enough to make the acquaintance of Helena-Solome, one of Mary Magdalen’s dear friends. They were to become lifelong friends and lovers, for neither had the inclination to marry and Simon was something of a rogue – within the accepted limits of the magi, of course,” he added, with a twinkle in his eyes.

This man, like his story, so warmed Leah’s heart that she was beaming through the entire presentation.

“Simon’s training took him to Arabia, where the brothers who had trained Balthazar took him deeper into the alchemy and instilled a great warrior spirit within him. When he returned to Judaea he joined the Zealots, warriors for independence from Rome. Politically radical and completely devoted to the philosophy that Jeshua began developing in Egypt, Simon had to swallow hard when his dearest friend came back from India a Mystic.

“Still, he never left Jeshua’s side through his trials. He used high magic to move Jeshua into the death ritual on the cross, transported the body to the cave-tomb, and guarded the body during the transmutation through the mystery of volatilization that resulted in the resurrection of Christ Jesus in his perfected phantom.

“Simon believed in Jeshua completely. He protected the ascended Christ Jesus until he came fully into the power of his resurrected phantom. He assisted a pregnant Mary and their two young children in their escape to Gaul prior to the destruction of Jerusalem. Simon was the truest of magi, for he protected the sisterhood and the royal blood in ways unimaginable to the ordinary mind.

“He led the Nazarenes from Jerusalem to Mesopotamia, saving them from the scourge of Rome. Always the warrior-rebel, he poisoned Herod-Agrippa to instigate the revolution, and then joined Mary and Helena-Solome in France where they formed the early Gnostic Christian sect. Simon was not one to write gospels or reveal much of anything about himself. He was a warrior for the Truth and a high initiate in the Brotherhoods of the Sun.

“While in Gaul, he became a substitute father to Jeshua and Mary’s children, Tamar, Jesus Justus, and Josephes. Jesus Justus became the crown prince in exile, traveling to Britain with his Uncle James for further studies.

“In Jerusalem, James had been bishop of the Nazarene church of The Way, until his life was threatened and he escaped to Gaul. There he assumed the family title of Joseph of Arimathea and brought the new church to Britain.

“The Gnostics grew in southern France, and even at an early stage were persecuted by the Church of Rome. The Gnostics were as well guided by women as men and held no restrictions on them. Quite the contrary, women were honored in every way and Mary Magdalen was regarded as the embodiment of Sophia, the Holy Spirit. This fostered the devotion to the Black Madonna, which continues to this day. Peter and Paul had a tremendous fear of women and the feminine, as well as deeply held jealousy of Mary’s closeness to the Master. These directly influenced the way they designed the hierarchical Church of Rome to exclude women as unworthy and unclean.

“Because the Gnostics held equality of men and women within their sect, the women were privy to esoteric teachings reserved for the men in the Judeo-Christian traditions. They wrote gospels of their own and were respected teachers in that region. Mary’s ministry was widespread in both France and Italy and her gospel was well known amongst the Christian Gnostics. And, I will point out that the Gnostics of that time and those of our time bear no resemblance to each other.

“The culture in France was rich in many ways, but Simon heard the call to go to Britain himself and took young Josephes for initiatory training with the Druids, just as he and Jeshua had experienced years before. Josephes would be the Grail Child, the male seed of the lineage, for Jesus Justus’ only son, Galains, chose to become a celibate Mystic.

“The firstborn child of Jeshua and Mary, Tamar, was a mysteriously transparent and lovely young woman who died in service to the lepers of southern Gaul. Tamar’s daughter, Gabriella, carried on the female royal line and the magic of her secret father, Simon the Magus.

“In continued service, Simon returned to France after Tamar’s death to help Mary with her own passage. Jesus appeared when he felt her readiness to leave the Earth to assist her ascension and a grand reunion of the three occurred. Simon saw to her burial in an alabaster tomb near St. Baume, and then returned to Britain, where he was supposedly persecuted and crucified for his beliefs.

“Personally, I have a hard time believing that,” he concluded. “I believe he had higher magic than history would ever acknowledge.”

Demetri folded his hands together in a blessing of Simon’s courage. “There are certain points to be made from all of this tradition. One is the Mission of the Brotherhood of Magi, which was twofold. It was to protect the Sisterhood who carried the planetary codes of consciousness that would bring the Christ Mission to its fulfillment. As you can understand from the story, it was also to protect the Akhu bloodline of Jesus as it disseminated over the Earth — both duties were more important to the brotherhood and sisterhood than their lives.

“Another point to be made is about initiation. These men experienced awe-inspiring initiation in a number of so-called mystery schools. These exhausting trials were transformations of body, mind and spirit. At each of these levels they faced fear until they became fearless, ego until they became ego-less, and death until they had transcended their mortality.”

 

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