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Pestles on a Pounding Stone

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APT. 19

   In Apt. 19 you find a fat demon sitting in a corner of the room. The more you tell the demon that you don't believe in him, the more it emanates malice. You try to convince it to leave, but it just grunts and shifts a little now and then in its chair. After awhile you begin shouting at it, which for some reason causes it to smile, so you attempt to reason with it. Suddenly you notice that spiders are dangling down from a huge nest in a corner of the ceiling. You hate spiders, so you suspect that the demon had something to do with the nest suddenly appearing. You explain to the demon that a nest of spiders in your room is totally unacceptable, that no human being could ever tolerate such a thing. Suddenly another nest of spiders appears in a different corner of the room, and you see other bugs crawling around on the floor, which makes you terrified that you will not be able to avoid all the bugs in your room. Desperate, you close your eyes and call upon the great Archangels Raphael, Michael, Gabriel, and Auriel to send down angels and elementals to rid your room of the demon and all of the bugs, and in your mind the room fills with numerous brilliant points of light. You feel a profound sense of eternity, and you feel totally cleansed. When you open your eyes the room is clear: the demon and the bugs are gone.

(You realize that you are still on the right path because in a corner of the room you find an old box containing Chapter Ten of Rooms that Dream....)

Poppies and Lupine near Native American Village Site

ROOMS THAT DREAM: 

CHAPTER TEN

   About a week later Cashing received a call.
   "My cancer has unexpectedly gone into remission," the landlord said, "which could possibly be more than mere coincidence, Mr. Cashing. Meet me at my office at ten."
   "Only if you don’t beat the crap out of me this time," Cashing replied as the line went dead.
   Cashing decided to be fashionably late. When he was ushered into the office at fifteen minutes after ten, the landlord motioned for him to have a seat.
   "What do you want from me?" the landlord asked.
   "Personally, I’d like you to treat all people with reverence," Cashing replied. "But for now I’d just like you to stop developing in the foothills, and I’d like you to decrease the rent at the 20th Century Apartments by thirty percent."
   "You’re lucky that we’re friends, Mr. Cashing," the landlord smiled.
   "I’m glad you’re in a better mood," Cashing replied.
   "I want to meet your friend," the landlord stated.
   "I’ll see if I can arrange that, sir," Cashing sneered. "But you see, my friend and his family have been evicted from their apartment. I can’t guarantee that he’ll want to meet with you."
   "Tell him that is no longer a problem. In fact, he and his family can stay there rent free until the crack of doom if he is indeed responsible for the good news, but I will need to meet with him before I decide."
   "There are a couple of other matters that he would like you to address," Cashing said, taking a big chance. "He would like you to make sure that a few people are taken care of, one an old lady who ended up in the hospital, and the other an artist who was arrested for robbery," Cashing was really starting to sweat now.
   "Yes, yes, I’ll take care of it--if he is the miracle worker you say he is. Just leave my secretary with the details. Now, when can I meet the young gentleman?"
   "Tomorrow at noon. But he wants to meet with you on the ridge overlooking Sycamore Creek," Cashing said. "I’ll show you how to get there and where to park. You do have a driver’s license, don’t you?"
   "Oh, I'm pretty sure I know how to get there. I own it, after all!"
   Peter prepared for the healing by touching four gems in the middle pillar of the Tree of Life, concentrating especially on the yellow diamond in the center. When he touched the top diamond, his personality was completely erased. He was simply a point of awareness in a vast ocean of consciousness, the observer, the observed, and the act of observation. But he was also filled with light and a sense of peace and total blessing. Peter mentally brought that light down to the middle gem, a yellow diamond, and he summoned a feeling of compassion, which resonated also from the gem until he was filled with compassion and light. He brought that light down to third gem on the middle pillar, an amethyst, and suddenly in what seemed like the light of the moon, Peter felt more psychic than he ever imagined he could be, as though he could know everything about anyone he came in contact with. Finally he brought the light down to the bottom gemstone. He was ready.
   When Peter and Cashing arrived at the meeting place, the landlord was already waiting, parked in front of the unchained gate. As far as Cashing could tell, no one else was with him.
   "Mr. Cashing, what a pleasant surprise!" the landlord exclaimed.
   "Peter is only fifteen, sir. Someone had to drive, and I promised his parents that I would make sure he was safe at all times."
   "I see. Nice to meet you, Peter. I’m looking forward to learning more about you."
   Peter nodded his head and shook the landlord’s hand. Then Peter opened the gate and motioned for them to walk through.
   They walked along quietly for half a mile. Then Justin said, "Why on earth do you have to develop this area? There are so many other places in town where you can build."
   "Mr. Cashing, why are so you worried about what I do? There are just too many people in this world right now and that is leading to other problems like mass extinctions and global warming and famine and war. We’ve got so many weapons of mass destruction that we can destroy the whole planet hundreds of times over. Really, I’m just small potatoes in the universal scheme of things. Why do you even bother with me?"
   "Maybe because you are so good at adding to the world's misery. Look, you must know by now that Native Americans used to live here. Genocide took place here not very long ago, and now apparently ecocide is soon going to follow. We have got to stop the destruction of the remaining ecosystems, or we might not survive as a species either," Cashing replied.
   "Look, somebody else will develop this land if I don't. That’s the beauty of our system of private property. Don't you know that by now? You might keep one owner from doing what he wants with his land, but chances are, you won’t stop the next. What’s the use, Cashing? You didn’t really bring me out here for a debate, did you?" the landlord asked.
   "No, we didn’t," Peter said.
   They continued walking quietly until they reached the ridge. They followed Peter down the trail to the pounding stone next to the creek. Then they crossed the creek and crawled up the side of the hill to the semicircle of stone.
   "We are here so that we can change our karma," Peter said.
   Both the landlord and Cashing gave Peter a funny look. "What do you mean?" the landlord asked.
   “There is a magic that enables people to heal each other. At first I thought that all I needed to do was drain the negative energy away from a person and then fill that person with light, but then I realized that I need to ask the Archangels to heal and cleanse and bless the person. That is why I had a vision of a golden balanced cross with an angel at each end. The angels are actually the Archangels Raphael, Michael, Gabriel, and Auriel, and they will heal you and cleanse you and bless you with divine love and harmony and light and wholeness and forgiveness and peace and abundance and joy.
   “Many, like Justin,” Peter said, “have been attacked over and over for their goodness until they know the magic of forgiveness. They learn to become the black cross of sacrifice before they give the terrible energy to a higher power for transmutation and redemption. And, believe me, a healer feels the pain of betrayal on top of everything else because the same people he is healing often would just as soon harm him out of ignorance and fear.
   “But you see, our fate is all entangled because we are all connected, not just you and me but the streams and rocks and trees and clouds. They are part of what we are. That is the real magic: We are so connected at the level of the spirit that if I change our karma through forgiveness, the karma of the world changes.
   “Just like you, though, I am afraid. I’m afraid of the pain, afraid that I’ll fail, afraid that I won’t be able to forgive because I won’t be able to see your spiritual essence. I have failed to see that in the people around me often before. We must see through to the essential harmony and magnificence within you and me and Justin and everyone else on this planet. Please forgive me if I have trouble doing that.”
   The landlord looked surprised. “I forgive you,” he stated flatly.
   "Take a deep breath and close your eyes. Try not to think of anything. Just clear your mind. In a few moments you’re going to feel me touch your head. Just relax and keep your eyes closed. I'm going to cleanse you spiritually, mentally, emotionally. I’m going to ask the Archangels to heal you completely."
   The landlord closed his eyes and started breathing deeply. Suddenly Peter touched his head. The landlord shuddered but did not open his eyes. To Justin, the landlord appeared to be in deep concentration.
   "Tell me what you see," Peter commanded.
   "I don't see anything."
   "Clear your mind completely. Go back to your first memory. Then remember when you were here before. Remember when you were here before. Clear your mind," Peter said soothingly.
   Just when Justin wanted to give up, the landlord started groaning. Justin didn't know what the landlord was seeing, but Justin sensed that the landlord had slipped into an altered state, a state that the landlord would have normally considered an illusion. Justin tried to tune his mind to the landlord's reality, but Justin couldn't perceive anything. Suddenly, the landlord opened his eyes and murmured, "I was on this ridge, and I heard gunfire. A lot of people were running around, and soldiers were shooting at them. Oh, god, they were killing women and children. I think I was with the soldiers, but not one of them. I think I saw you. You were about to shoot an arrow. Oh, my god, I think I shot you in the back."
   "Do you know who you were?"
   "I was a rancher. I joined the soldiers because I was pissed about the Indians stealing my cattle. I didn’t know it was going to be that bad. I swear I didn’t!"
   "I want you to know that now in this moment I I forgive you, and together we are cleansed with light. You are totally cleansed. I forgive you."
   The landlord turned around and clung to Peter. "Oh, my God. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry! I didn’t know."
   "It’s all right," Peter murmured. "Everything is all right. We are purified."
   "I feel like a new person. I don't know what you did, but I do feel like a new person," the landlord wept.
   A week later, Justin and Peter met in the courtyard. "You really did a number on the landlord."
   “How is he, by the way? Have you heard?”
   "He called me to let me know that the doctors are astounded. They can't find the cancer anywhere in his body!"
   “The Lord works in mysterious ways,” Peter smiled.
   “The wonders never cease. The landlord has promised to help out our tenants who are in trouble. He says he's going to establish a conservancy for the land at Sycamore Creek. He's going to let you and your family stay in the apartment rent free from now on. He's made a complete turn around, which is almost as hard to believe as your visions and your abilities. You know, Peter,” Justin's tone became serious, "I think you should have the Tree of Life. You can do more good with it than I ever could."
   “I don't think I can, right now,” Peter replied. “I've got other people in my home to contend with. They wouldn't understand. If they found it, they'd probably tear it up and sell all the gems.”
   “Well, maybe the best I can do for you right now is hang on to it until you need it again,” Justin murmured.
   “You mean we'll be partners in crime?” Peter deadpanned.
   “For as long as we can," Justin laughed. "For as long as we can."

Go on a different adventure.