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When I returned to Domano and Chea's apartment, they had
a sack packed and their coats on, ready to go for a little drive.
"Do not remove your coat," Chea said. "Hurry. We are going to drive up
the coast. But not for long, we will have you back on time. We have no
car, you know, but your van is perfect." They climbed in the back of the
VW bus before I could say a thing, Domano stretching across the bench
behind the driver's seat and Chea sitting opposite him.
So we headed north around the beach and up Highway 1. It was a windy and
sunny day, but not very cold. They opened the windows in the back, and
even though it made it a little cool, I too opened my window. It was
exciting to feel the brisk air rushing against my face and through my
hair. I wondered what this day would bring. I felt enlivened, full of
anticipation, but not quite afraid. I realized that I was in an
adventure. It was as if I had stepped again into an alien world and must
reconcile myself to the unexpected.
"Today marks a good day," Domano said. "Today we help you tune your body
to mingle and merge with the forces of the world."
There was an uncomfortable silence. I was hoping he would clarify what
that meant. I didn't want to say anything and perhaps influence the
direction of the conversation. I wished he would just define what he was
talking about. My agitation became apparent when I tried to look at
Domano but found it difficult to see him or make eye contact with him
because he was sitting directly behind me. I could see only Chea in my
rearview mirror. She looked amused at my frustration.
Domano started to kid me. "Oh, this is a pretty big day for you. It's
going to be a real hot one. Trust me, you are going to really like this
drive." He giggled. He enjoyed teasing me, and it always caught me off
guard. I never could think of anything to say. I tried again to see him
in the mirror, but he kept shifting around to prevent it. It made me
want to pull the car over and stop so that I could turn around and talk
with him face to face. He just chuckled all the more.
"You are running on a dime short today?" he asked. "You are not at all
afraid. Not even a little. Do you forget your beloved elders so fast?"
His reminder sent a wave through my stomach. Why wasn't I afraid? I had
no idea. Logically, I suppose I should have been. I felt as if I had a
passport into adventure, but for some reason, I felt safe, as though
today real injury couldn't touch me.
"Your mood is too lax," he continued. "Too secure in your ability not to
die. You are all curiosity and no alertness. Be curious, yes. But be
watchful of Death, always. Your joy has given you access to your
inheritance, but don't let its pleasantness distract you from all other
possible things. Let it guide you, with alertness that is made of joy
and passion, to the next moment. There is always the possibility of
surprise and even danger.
"Today we take you before our friend, the spirit who is our planet. This
one is going to help you reach out and harmonize with the forces of the
world. This, our benefactor, will be the first to show you the merging
and absorbing–the
dancing of the web. There are other, older ways to tune the body system
for this, but they are slow and lack control, and they no longer hold
working congruencies for the peoples of this time. We give you a quest
that keeps all the control in your hands, with ease and swiftness and
great beauty. Since the sinking of the old lands, long ago, few people
were able to do this because there were almost no congruencies left in
the webs of man for such experiences. But through the centuries the
shamans have added their histories and knowledge to the webs of man,
until now there is so much congruency, it is easy for one to succeed. A
day will come when it will be the way of humans from birth."
"What is it I'll do?" I asked. "What does our planet have to do with
dancing?"
"When the time is set, you will request the living energy from our
Earth's heart eddy to concentrate and merge with your body from
underneath your feet, cleaning open those eddies, those doorways to your
energy path. Then slowly she will move all through the body up into each
whirling place, cleaning out the old, bringing brightness and expansion,
rousing and mixing with your own fiery serpent of the life inside you.
You will feel our Earth and know her, and she will know you. Your hearts
will touch each other and mix. Your minds will merge. And you can learn
to see the universe she knows, and understand her shifting. She can
guide you to know others as well. She is our beloved benefactor. And
this is the beginning of the dance of the web." |
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