The Gathering. Carl Read
on a minute,” Renae said, confused. “Who’s Oletha and what’s a Keeper?”
“Oletha is the name other realms of existence give to what we refer to as The Mystery of the True Light,” he explained. “They also have a name for The Mystery of the One Truth: Slegna.”
“Fascinating,” Renae said in amazement. “So what we call a Balanced consciousness, The Mystery of the True Light, they call Oletha,” she said in admiration, “and an Unbalanced awareness, The Mystery of the One Truth, they refer to as Slegna.”
“Correct,” he replied, seeing the wonderment on her face.
“I like that, Nathanial. It has a personal feel to it. So what’s a Keeper?”
He smiled fondly at her and continued. “A Keeper is an overseer of sorts,” he replied, a little unsure. “The journals aren’t terribly clear. It has something to do with maintaining balance between Oletha and Slegna.”
“Okay,” Renae said questioningly. “So do you know what happened to the Keeper?”
“Apparently it was time for the Keeper to transcend to the heavenly realms of Oletha, allowing in the new Keeper.”
“Why is that a problem?” queried Renae as she picked up a sandwich.
“Because,” Nathanial replied, taking a sip of his drink, “Oletha chose this transition period to allow Slegna, and his underlings, free travel between all realms of existence, thus bringing to the attention of the followers of the True Light the extent of Unbalanced spirits upon their world.”
“By Unbalanced you mean riffraff and law breakers?”
“That’s one way to put it, yes,” he agreed putting his drink down and reaching for a sandwich.
“That would explain the escalating violence,” replied Renae with some thought. “What has this to do with Matthew and Terence’s spiritual development?”
“According to Terence,” Nathanial continued, “he and Matthew travelled through a portal in the Woodlands to another world where their spiritual abilities were fully developed. In return they committed not only Phillcon Enterprises, but also their families, to a contractual agreement that would span generations.”
“To what end?” Renae asked, puzzled.
“To the investiture of the new Keeper of the Astral Plane,” he advised her. Renae was about to ask another question when he raised his hand, stopping her. “Hang on, there’s more. Before they died, both Phillips and Conway were adamant that nobody was ever permitted entrance into the Woodlands without a personal invitation from the Keeper.”
Renae leaned back in her chair and looked directly at Nathanial. “Interesting – you can’t get into the Woodlands without an invitation from the Keeper who happens to be missing,” she noted, “but you still haven’t told me what any of this has to do with you and the parchment Mrs Phillips returned.”
“As yet, I don’t have a connection,” he replied, around a mouthful of food.
“All right, let’s work backwards. What happened last night with your secret meeting near the gaslight?”
“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that.” Nathanial gave Renae a full account of the events that had taken place. She didn’t say a word throughout the entire narration.
“That was the parchment that Mrs Phillips returned to you,” Renae said, deep in thought. “The one from last night?”
“Yes.”
Puzzlement was written on her face. “She didn’t tell you how she came by it?”
“No. Like you said, she’s good at evading questions,” he replied, feeling a little frustrated.
“Yes, so I discovered. Nathanial,” Renae remarked, a little concerned, “your aura has been shimmering incessantly ever since you got out of the car. This could be important. I think we should both meditate on this while your energy levels are still high.”
He agreed and followed Renae as she headed out the door. To his surprise she didn’t go to their regular meditation place on the mezzanine. Rather, she placed a rug and two large cushions at the base of the spiral staircase.
“This is the most spiritually charged location in the shop. If you would make yourself comfortable, we can begin.” Sitting on one of the cushions with his back straight, legs crossed and hands resting gently on his knees, he waited for Renae to commence.
“I have told you several times, Nathanial, about the depth of spiritual energy you possess. Being a well-mannered gentleman, you graciously acknowledged my words. You haven’t, however, believed me. There is something occurring around you that is affecting your spiritual essence,” Renae explained while making herself comfortable opposite him. “I’m going to intone a mantra of making.” His eyebrows rose at her statement as she continued. “This melody draws the cosmic flow of energy from the Angelic realms and will reveal what is occurring about you. Let’s get started.”
Nathanial listened carefully as Renae began her mantra of making; he had never heard its like before. Its haunting tune lingered in his mind.
“Ohm Na Ra Ka Taum Na Ba
Ohm Na Ra Ka Taum Na Ba”
Once he understood the rhythm of the chant he joined in. Their voices blended harmoniously and a euphoric sense of peace moved through him. He felt a gentle touch on his hand and opened his eyes to see both of them bathed in coloured lights. This had never happened before and he felt astonishment register on his face.
“Our auras are joined in the grace of life and the intensity of this power is coming from you, Nathanial.”
“What are you talking about?” he asked, surprised, not wanting to accept her evaluation of the situation.”
“You know that everyone has a purpose in life,” Renae began. “Existence is not an accident. Life has motivation, meaning and is full of possibilities. It’s the manner and the way you move through your life that determines the outcome.”
“You’re talking about karmic responsibility,” he commented.
“Life’s not just about reimbursement of karmic debts,” Renae affirmed. “It’s recognising that you’re a spiritual entity incarnated into a material body and it’s the gaining of wisdom in that blending that life is about.”
“You’re implying that people’s spiritual and mental actions are responsible for the life they’re living,” he queried.
“Precisely,” Renae avowed. “Life’s not an accident.”
“Where are you going with this?” he asked, bemused.
“Because everything is resonating at a similar frequency, we believe that what we see and touch is solid. Except that everything we sense, see and feel in the material world is nothing more than harmonising psychic energy.” Nathanial nodded his understanding of what she was saying as she continued. “For whatever reason Nathanial, you have chosen to be a magnet for this energy, because it’s being drawn to you in copious amounts,” Renae passionately explained.
“You’re kidding!” he interrupted, not wanting to believe her but feeling inside that she was correct as she carried on.
“I also believe the woman who appeared under the gaslight you so meticulously described, might be your guide.” she finished.
A strange glow started to emanate from the floor through the mat. It made their auras brighten. “There’s another energy source here that’s affecting our auras,” Renae commented. “I think we should remove ourselves from the mat.”
Moving off the mat, Renae then pulled it along, with the cushions, to reveal a golden glow eight foot in diameter.
“I knew this was the most powerful place in the shop for psychic