Petra [Page 16]

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   Petra's first thought was to check in with her guide, Glenda, to get details about the upcoming Gathering.  Of course, you and I know, as well as she did, that the Gathering wasn't the most important thing on her mind, at that moment.  Colleen's comment about being escorted to the gathering had her thinking about finding her perfect mate.
   As she approached the computer, she was amused to find Izzy staring at the screen and impatiently tapping his foot.
   "Oh, did my little buddy get bored, waiting for my return?", she said with a giggle. She scanned the screen and noticed that there were no more possible moves that could be made.  "Better luck next time.", she declared, as she pressed the key to close the game.

  Glenda's face replaced the game of solitaire.  Glenda gave a wink and said, "Girl, you need to change into your white dress. Aaron is on his way to escort you to the Gathering."

 

   "Tell me about this Aaron...", Petra began excitedly, but the screen went blank before she could get the words out.  She recovered quickly enough and again addressed her little companion.  "Well, it looks like we're going on a blind date, Izzy, but from what I've seen of this place, so far, I'm betting it will be a good one.

  Izzy certainly seemed to agree, because he did a little dance and nodded his head, before jumping off the desk and running to the far end of the room.  Petra followed him to the chest of drawers and soon found the very item she needed.  Feeling a little pressed for time, she decided to excercise a little of the same magic that they had worked on Meg, in the courtyard. She closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them again, the transformation was complete.

 

   "Do you think they'll like it?", she asked, not expecting an answer.  To her surprise, Izzy let out the firsts sounds she had ever heard from her unusual pet.

 

   "click-click-wheet-wheel" 

   On hearing this, Petra broke into uncontrolled laughter, a relief from the tension that had been building up in her since her conversation with Colleen.

  She was still laughing when she heard a knocking at her door. As she turned in that direction, the double doors opened on their own, revealing the man that she had sensed through the wall.  As he stepped into the room, Petra thought she could hear a majestic fanfare playing and whether it came from the pipe organ or her own imagination mattered little, as she felt completely mesmerized by the moment.

 

   "I believe I was expected, my name is Aaron.", he said as he extended his hand in greeting.

   "More than I ever expected.", she sighed softly, as she stepped in a little too close for a handshake. 

   Their eyes met and time stood still. Heaven knows, how long they might have stood there, but Izzy decided it was time to get rolling and let them know it with yet another new sound.

 "Toot-toot-chick-chicka-chicka"

, the sound of a miniature train, pulling out of the station, made Petra and Aaron smile as they followed Izzy out through the door.

  "We could just get there in a flash", Aaron explained, "but knowing how you like to hike, I thought we'd take the scenic route.  Besides, it will give us some time to get acquainted."

 

  It was hardly neccessary to ask if this was agreeable to Petra.  Although our intrepid explorer would normally be found blazing her own trails, it was quite clear that she was enjoying hanging on the arm of her handsome escort. They made their way through the majestic halls and soon pass through an archway leading outside.  Petra was stunned by the seemingly endless vista that greeted them.

  "It's so big!", she gasped.  "It can't possibly all fit inside the structure I entered. Are we still in New Jerusalem?"

 

   " Oh yes", Aaron reasured her, "but time and space don't work quite the same here, as they do on the physical earth we came up from."

 

   " Wait a second", she said, pulling him to a halt.  "Glenda said I came here physically, but the others got here by meditating.  Does that mean you aren't real? You certainly look and feel pretty physical to me", she said, adding a wink.

   " In time", Aaron began, "you will begin to see that the people you meet here, as well as the place itself, are much more REAL than the physical body that I left sitting on the floor of my bedroom, back on earth."

 

  As they walked, Petra noticed that many of the trees along the path had golden leaves. At first, she reasoned that , here in New Jerusalem, it could be all seasons at once. When they passed closer to one, she discovered that the leaves actually were made of pure gold. Now, realizing how much she was enjoying Aarons voice, Petra thought she would toss him a nice hypothetical, philosophical question, to keep him talking.

 

   " I have heard some people say," she began, while using her fingers to dance out the words, on his forearm, "that we are in the physical because we have, in some way, fallen from grace and they think it desirable to leave the physical for good."

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" The physical is really a much better place to be, than what many think of it", Aaron began.  "The Higher beings desire it and unfold it for us.  In the physical, evolving consciousness reaches it's greatest point of separate individualism and gathering the individuals creates love."
   They came up on the crest of a hill and stopped.  Aaron directed her attention to a grassy area in the valley below.  Petra could see a group of people, all dressed in white, just beginning to form themselves into a circle. Izzy took advantage of the incline and took off on a roll.

    Petra leaned back on Aaron, making the observation, "Looks like it's a couples only Gathering."

   "There are many ways to gather," he said as he began to gently stroke her cheek.  "Today, our couples will represent atoms forming a molecule. The male is the nucleus of the atom and the female the electrons.  Would you like to form an atom with me?"

   "Ooooh, you've got me spinning about you already!", she cooed. "So be it, we are an atom. Looks like they are holding a space open for us. We better join them. "

 As they took their place in the circle, the group identified themselves, by name, in clockwise order.

Everyone joined hands and Joe led them in the song of the 144,000

The Song of 144,000 

We thank you, Father, that you have revealed to us your protective universal light; 

that within this light is complete protection from all destructive forces; 

that the Holy Spirit of Your Presence permeates us in this light, 

and wherever we will the light to descend.

We thank you, Father, that you fill us with your protective fires of Love; 

that within this love is complete protection from all destructive thoughts and feelings; 

that the consciousness of Christ is lifted up in us in this love, 

and wherever we will the love to be enflamed.

We thank you, Father, that you are in us and we are in you; 

that through us Your Will is sent forth on wings of power; 

that Your Purpose is accomplished on earth as it is in heaven; 

that through us Your Light and Love and Power is manifest to all

 the Sons and Daughters of Mankind. 

 

   As the circle continued their ceremony, they all could sense an interplay of light and energy. Each perceived it in a slightly different way, but all had the same elements. The following illustration can only represent these elements symbolically. 

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   Petra and Aaron also were part of a tree planting ceremony, which is talked about in the New Jerusalem Meditation that Petra read about in her room.  When the circle broke up, Aaron wanted to show her a nearby lake, that some of them liked to frequent.  In a short time, they found themselves on the shore of a beautiful blue lake.  Without hesitation, Izzy marched right into the water, flipped over on his back and began gesturing for them to,  "Come on in, the water's fine", with one front leg.

  Petra applauded the idea and in a wink  both now had on swim wear.  Now, clothing isn't actually required, at this particular lake, but our two adventurers were well aware that Dixon Knight would be sure to include this in his chronicles and they wanted to save him the editing decision.

 

   "Is this the same as the water I landed in on the island below?", Petra asked.

 

   "Yes, but a lot more potent", he began.  "Our Father provides this unending supply of Living Water, to refresh our spirits.  It overflows, giving it's energies to the waters below."

   This was all the invitation Petra needed to dive right in.  Checking for obstacles, as any good diver should, she spotted a swimmer, just surfacing about ten yards out.

 

   "Bon jour, mon ami", hailed the swimmer. 

   "Hi Zah-Vee-Ay", returned Aaron. "Practicing, without me?" This lake was a favorite retreat for the boys.  They spent many hours together, working on plans to help the world, but always reserved some fun time for themselves, for a dip in the ol' swimmin'  hole.

  With that, Petra and Aaron both dove in and swam, side by side, to meet their company.  They kept breaking into laughter, as Izzy performed a variety of underwater stunts, along the way.

When they joined company, Petra, master of several languages, couldn't help but ask what Zah-Vee-Ay meant.  Their companion took this opportunity to clarify a misunderstanding on Aaron's part.  Aaron had never seen his name in print and since most Americans usually mispronounce it, he had sounded it out. 

   "My name is Xavier, X-A-V-I-E-R.", he explained. But, whatever he may have wished to be called, Petra just called him "Zah", from then on. 

   The last time Aaron and Zah had been to the lake, they had practiced the baptism rites, taught to their group by Joe.  "Did Aaron bring you here to get baptized?", Zah asked Petra. 

   "Uh, gee, I did not know I would have to join any religion.", she began, feeling a bit uncomfortable.  "I've always been into spiritual things, but I've never felt the need to join any religions. " 

   The boys were both quick to point out that, to them, baptism wasn't a part of a religion, but rather, something friends did for each other, often, to help give each other a fresh start.

  "Oh, that's different then, go ahead.", she responded.  It seemed the perfect way to mark the transition in her current life when she was accepted into the community of New Jerusalem.  From this day on, her life would be officially devoted to teaching the world about the things she found here. 

  The boys positioned themselves on either side of her and as they immersed her Aaron proclaimed, "I baptize you in the name of the Father , and in the name of the Son and in the name of the Holy Ghost... AUMAN."

   When the boys returned her to an upright position, Petra was quite pleased to find that the effect was indeed much more potent than what she had felt after her splash down on the island below.  It seemed, to her, that her whole being was so clean that it glowed, if only in her mind.  She wasn't the only one that noticed.  Aaron and Zah could see the glow and were somewhat awed by it. They had only recently learned the practice and this was the most favorable reaction they had yet seen.

   Zah was the sort of person that didn't buy into miracles and magic.  There is a science behind every miracle and it's only magic if you don't know how the trick is done.  With that tack, he directed the conversation to the hypothesis he had been working on, before they arrived at the lake.  Having read that Christ's followers would one day do everything He did and more, Zah was practicing changing the relative density of matter, using a certain frequency of thought waves.  Then, he got the funniest look on his face and began to raise up out of the water.  In a matter of a few seconds, he had risen to where he was now standing on the surface, his feet pressing somewhat into it, as if it were like mud or gelatin.  He began making his way, cautiously, to the shore. 

   "I have to get back to work.", he said, waving farewell.  "I'll bet you two could walk on water too! Try it."

  They asked about the frequency of thought, needed to do the trick, but Zah just laughed at them and said to ask Peter Pan.  The clue must have worked, because Aaron and Petra took each others hands and began laughing, as they too rose to the surface.  By the time they were standing on the surface, their bodies were dry and their swimsuits were replaced by the clothes they had worn here.

   Aaron's light hearted mood was further enhanced when the words to a song, written by his friend Richard, came to mind.

"Don't need fancy wheels or clothes, 

To get myself a date, 

Just take her for a quiet stroll 

On top of any lake."

  And so, they strolled and the bond grew stronger between them.  After all, how many people have ever done this together?

  Aaron thought she might be interested in seeing the point where the lake overflowed and so they headed across to the far side.

Petra [Page 19]

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    As they walked, Petra noted that walking on water was nothing like she had imagined it would be.  This only helped to confirm, to them, that the feat was no mere illusion.  In fact, Aaron and Petra were both able to duplicate the experience, any time and on terrestrial waters, from this day on.

   The first surprise was that the surface of the water was not slippery.  At the relative densities needed to walk on water, the surface now seemed much more viscous and somewhat tacky, more like walking on a thick piece of foam rubber.  It takes a bit more effort to walk on water, kind of like going up stairs.

   What really took some getting used to was the action of the waves and ripples.  The waves were like an undulating floor, requiring one to keep their knees slightly bent to avoid being toppled like a bowling pin.  The ripples felt like a low frequency vibration, which Petra found to be very ticklish on the souls of her feet.

   As they approached the spillway, the rapidly moving water reminded Aaron of something else that his friend, Richard, wrote.  The thoughts gave rise to some possible sport the two of them might try.  He directed Petra's attention to a landmark on the opposite shore and asked her to see if see could walk a straight line to it.

   Petra responded, playfully, by taking a giant step in the right direction.  Her mood shifted abruptly when the current caught her foot and propelled her downstream.  She almost lost her footing, but managed to spin around and make a dash back to the starting point.

  When she reached Aaron, she veered off on a course towards the center of the lake, running at full speed.  Aaron, who already had planned on the same direction, joined in the chase.  The pair ran, diagonally upstream and this took them straight across to the other side.

  As they reached the shore, Petra noticed that their landmark had now sprouted an archway, that hadn't been there when they began.

   She had seen arches like this, in her room, and asked, "Where do you supose this leads to?"

   "Oh,", he replied.  "That's probably my doing.  I sometimes use a short cut between here and my room.  I was thinking of inviting you to see my room.  The arch must have known I would want to skip the long walk back."

 As they stood before the arch, a view of the interior of Aarons room flickered within.

Petra [Page 20]

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    Petra and Aaron stepped through the portal together.  From the inside, the door appeared to be much like the one in her room, but his room was distinctly different. But, as her eyes took in more of the detail, she got the impression that, like hers, this room inspired worship of higher things.
  "I get the feeling that you have modeled it after some ancient temple" she said, approvingly.

  "Yes, indeed. In fact, the floor plan is scaled down from that of the Temple at Jerusalem.", he explained. "It's lines and geometry tell a story, to one versed in their language. It is a constant, visual reminder of the universal, ordered energies that I choose to sympathetically attune myself to."

   "At the head of the room, where one looks up to it, is a relief carving that I call, "The God of My Understanding". It's an ongoing art project that will take me the rest of time. I don't give explanations of the various symbols, within it, because all of the visitors here already understand them at different levels.", Aaron offered reverently.

   Petra set off exploring and soon stopped before a monitor on the wall. As she turned her head back to Aaron, he anticipated her question, telling her that it was just like the computer system in her room, except he had done away with the mouse and keyboard, in favor of voice control. A large book, on the bench below, could display the text and illustrations of anything he wanted to read. With the infinite technology, available here, he still liked the hands on feeling of reading a good book.

  Aaron led the way to the end of the room and sat down in the chair.  He was flanked by two columns. Although they were the only columns in the room, one could clearly see embossed circles on the floor and ceiling, in rows extending out from them. These represented other columns in the temple, which were not included in Aaron's room, allowing an unobstructed view.

 

   "The two columns are called Boaz and Jachin, the King and the Priest, supporting Salem, Heavenly Peace, and connect the earth with it.  This is my power chair.  When I sit here, I feel recharged with energies that help me to see ahead, initiate and lead.", he proclaimed.

 

   Touching his shoulder, Petra could feel the power and sensed that, with it, one could easily command the attention of a large gathering.

  Aaron rose and led her to a small raised circle, near the center of the room. He sat down on the floor, in a lotus position, and gestured for her to join him.

 

   "This spot represents the Holy of Holies.  It's the best spot I have ever found for meditation and soul contact.", he offered.

 

   Petra had not  found time to meditate, since her adventure had begun and welcomed the opportunity to join another in doing so.

  They both closed their eyes and began to chant "AUM", in unison.  The session was very fulfilling for both, but the peace, each experienced in past meditations, was replaced by a swelling of energy, which both perceived as a bright swirling light.

   As the light grew, each became aware from a standpoint that included both of them.  From this new perspective, their individual bodies were like two limbs of the same body.  Each had full access to the others thoughts and experiences, could see through their partner's eyes.  The senses extended out into the room and it felt like every atom present was sharing in the experience.

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    The brilliant, swirling light receded, but the feeling of Oneness remained, accompanied by an almost overpowering feeling of receiving great joy.  If you put all of your Christmas and birthday surprises, from an entire life, together, it would only be like a single second of what they were now feeling.

   They rose, as one, and moved to the couch.  There were plans to be made.

They still thought as one. For either to speak, would break the spell, but they also knew it was a time to speak.  Petra initiated the moment with a feather touch to Aaron's cheek.

 

   "The two of us, together, form a single stone in an arch that will bridge this world with the earth below", she proclaimed, timidly, full well knowing the work ahead would call on more courage than the two of them combined had yet to produce.

   "I know", he assured her, "the first question that enters the disciple's mind, is whether he is worthy of the work he is permitted.  I am assured, by many of my companions, that the true merits are earned by doing your best.  I, for one, find the work to be a reward on it's own.  I am honored to be allowed the serve in assisting to link the Lights of the world together."

  "Well", Petra replied, "we have certainly taken a step in the right direction, by teaming up."

 

   "True," he continued for her, " the combination of the male radiant  and the female magnetic energies must first be brought into balance, before either can be added to a molecule.

  "I'll bet you've already planned some tutoring for me about atoms and molecules", she ventured.

 

   "Of course," he returned, "we will go talk to someone very knowledgeable on that subject, shortly, but first, I'm sensing it's time for a short trip back to the physical earth.

 

   "Oh! Do I need to go get my two stones, to fly back with you?"

  "No need for them, this time", he said.  "Remember, only you are here physically.  I am still in meditation, back on earth. I am staying the night at the house of my friends, Richard and Deb. While we were at the Gathering, he suggested that now that you and I had linked up, our combined powers might enable me to join you here in the flesh. Let your mind stay with mine, as I return to my body and we'll see if, together we can retrieve it." 

   As he said this, she relaxed and felt the room disolve around them.

  In a moment, they found themselves flying through swirling clouds of energy, with the New City diminishing to a point of light behind them. 

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    As the scene began to reassemble itself, Petra found herself by Aaron's side.  He appeared to have just completed a greeting to the other occupant of the room and was already making his way to an object of interest, on top of the desk.

  She felt herself to be the odd-man-out in this scene, owing to the fact that her feet were still floating behind, instead of resting on the floor AND she could see right through herself.  Just as she was beginning to question whether the two men could also see her, their host looked her right in the eye and smiled.

   "Howdy Petra", he beamed.  "Welcome to my earthly abode. I'm Richard, we just met, at the Gathering."

   "Yes, I remember.", she said. "Weren't you coupled up with a lady named Rebecca?"  Petra had already accepted that she was indeed present in the room and quickly forgot her ghostlike qualities.

 

   "That's right", Richard assured her.  "We teamed up for that ceremony, because my 'soul mate' was unable to make that meeting."  As he was talking, a lady entered the room, sided up to Richard and entwined her fingers in his.

 

   Richard began the introduction with, "This is Deb, my mate. We're going to be an atom too. She has agreed to assist us in our teleportation experiment, today."

"Hi", Deb began. "We'll be assisted by a fifth person, who is meditating in New Jerusalem.  Our five minds will form a pyramid which is harmonically tuned to the one in New Jerusalem.  That will create a portal, through which Aaron's etheric body will travel."

 

   "Beam me up Scottie", Petra quipped.

 

   "Well, sort of like that", Deb continued. "But we'll be sending him in one piece, minus his collection of denser physical atoms.  Once there, his etheric body will attract new atoms from the surrounding environment. "

 

   "That sounds a lot different from the way I flew there", Petra said.

 

   "Yes", Richard responded, "In your case, you took your whole physical body and, after being exposed to the elements there, shed your denser atoms".

Richard reached over and set the electronic piano to play a sustained F chord and then the four gathered head to head and began chanting aum in tune with it.  Within moments, Aaron and Petra found themselves being propelled up through the ceiling.  Aaron seemed to be unsure of what to make of having been turned into a human comet.  As they flew, he gave off a trail of dust as his dense physical atoms were left behind.  Petra, who by this time was getting used to the unusual modes of travel since her adventure began, was thoroughly entertained by it.

When their flight ended, they found themselves inside the New City, in what appeared to be the reception area of a science lab. Recognizing the location and the person behind the desk, Aaron quickly recovered from the bewildering flight and resumed his role as Petra's guide.

 

  "This lab is actually a part of Richard's room, here in New Jerusalem.", he began. "His room has expanded to also include areas devoted to creative arts and philosophy and the complex is open to many of his Seeker friends.  He maintains one section as his private inner sanctum, but is most often found out here, studying among friends."

 As they came around to the front of the reception desk, Petra was a little startled by the appearance of the person that rose to meet them.  When they had first entered the room, she had noticed, from the back, that he appeared to just be stirring from a nap or meditation, but now, standing in front of her, it was quite clear that she was about to meet her first extraterrestrial.

 

   "Petra", Aaron began, "I'd like to introduce the fifth element of our teleportation meditation. This is Master Moses, from the planet Klarion, of the Sirius system. "

 

   Petra could only stand there smiling. A funny thought crossed her mind, that he didn't look Jewish, but she kept a check on herself, not wanting to make an intergalactic faux pas of diplomacy.

 

  "Shalom." greeted Moses. "No, Moses is not my real name. These guys can't seem to pronounce my name, so they call me Moses, because of the work I did on my home world, that led to my becoming a Master."

 

Actually, it was a little of both. Although his name cannot be spelled with earth alphabets, it sounds like one is singing the words "I Moses am" while simultaneously gargling and in the complete tale of his lives, he more closely resembles Hermes Trismegistus.  However, once they had started calling him Moses, he seemed to like it and it stuck.

 

   Petra was already feeling more comfortable and let out a giggle.  "You're a long way from home, Master."

 

   "It is closer than you think", he replied.  "There are some of us that can use the portal, at the top of this city, to pass freely between galaxies."

  "You mean that big eye, at the top of the pyramid?", she asked.

 

   "Exactly", he replied. "It's a kind of first ray wiring system, that interconnects workers.  I'm here as a kind of foriegn exchange student. It is a thrill to learn how your minds handle certain situations and I hope to share some of my experiences here.  We have a little study group, that meets here in the lab to study molecular relationships and ways to incorporate them into the human kingdom." 

   At this point, Aaron signaled for her to take a seat, where Moses could show her more, then he ventured to the other side of the lab to check on an experiment that he had begun the last time he was here.

  As she took her seat, beside Moses, she picked up a flask of water from the desk top, wondering if it was some of the "Living Water" .  With a flick of the wrist and nod of his head, he made it clear that it was indeed and that it had been put there for her refreshment.  He then waved his hand over the computer screen and brought up an image.

 

  "The little life forms, that make up the mineral kingdom, know time on a different scale than humans do.", he began.  "They have long since discovered the needs and benefits of joining together to form molecules.  In uniting, the atoms do not loose their individuality, while becoming a part of a new, higher life form. The new life form has powers that are greater than the sum of their individual powers. Every single bit of matter, in all of the universe, mirrors the desire of the One Mind that created it, to have endless experiences that raise the collective consciousness of All.  There is actually only one soul for the entire universe, but it sends out an infinite number of reflections of itself, each capable of it's own unique individual experiences.  These individualized souls are divided into seven basic types or classes.  When an individual has reached a level of relative perfection, within it's own class, it is qualified to move up to the next class, but it will have to wait for a certain number of it's fellow classmates to make the jump at the same time. "

 

   "If souls get such a thrill out of having new experiences, wouldn't this wait get a bit boring?", Petra inquired.  It made sense to her, that if souls had a natural impetus from God to grow, then waiting around, with nothing new to learn, would be very painful.

  "It would indeed be boring.", Moses assured her.  "And", he continued, "you are correct in your thinking that this would be a bad thing.  Fortunately, there are additional avenues, open to them, for continued experiences. The individual souls can gather together with others, to form a synthesized life form, which has a power to act, experience and learn, far greater than that of any of the individual souls that compose it."

 

   "That sounds like the sort of thing that happens when atoms of oxygen and hydrogen combine to form a molecule of water", Petra volunteered.

Moses clicked to a new chart on the computer and continued, "One eye may see a thing clearly, but two eyes, working together, gain a new power, the power to see distance.  A new dimension is added, where two act in unison. This is the way consciousness expands, in every kingdom. The next step, in the evolution of consciousness, is for the human kingdom to learn the lessons of cooperation, which will usher them into the God Kingdom."