Dorothy's Mystical Adventures in Oz Part 16

"You will in time," replied the Elf, kindly. "Now, regarding your goldfish: as I said before, he did not die. You only a.s.sumed that he did because his body was motionless. He is, in fact, quite alive."

"If he is alive, then where is he?" inquired Dorothy, looking rather puzzled.

"Ah, now, that is a good question," said the Elf. "But, before I can answer it, let me explain about the rock, and about the other living things. All of the atoms which make up the physical world have a counterpart which cannot be seen. This counterpart takes up the same position in s.p.a.ce as the atom, but extends slightly beyond it. The name of this duplicate atom is 'ANIM.' I believe Princess Saari told you about this."

Dorothy nodded.

"Your scientists are as yet unable to observe the ANIM, for their instruments are not sensitive enough. However, they have observed the effects of the ANIM through their study of anti-matter. Anti-matter is exactly as the name implies -- the opposite of matter, and is the substance of which infinite worlds are made, worlds which are normally unseen by people because of the fineness of their vibratory rate. The ultra-high frequencies of the ANIM world are simply un.o.bservable by your scientists, although some of your people who have very sensitive natures have caught glimpses of these hidden worlds from time to time. All people on earth are merely visiting the atom world. Their normal residence is the ANIM world, but they have to enter into the dense atom world for experiences that can only be obtained in such an environment.

"Now, when the atoms of your body began to form into molecules and cells prior to your birth, the counterpart atoms called the ANIMs took their place first to form the various nuclei. These were the blueprints, so to speak. The entire process is extremely delicate and, surprisingly, usually comes out perfect. However, sometimes outside electrical influences are brought into the process, one such example is the ingestion of certain toxic chemicals by the host organism -- the mother.

This can result in electrical interference. Remember, the whole process is electrical to begin with, so it doesn't take too much to upset the apple-cart. You may ask what directs the atoms to the various parts of the body to form the molecules that make up the different cells that will form the heart, the liver, kidneys, ears, eyes, teeth, bones, hair, arms, legs, and so on; and what puts them all in their right places? And how did each cell of the body, as it reproduced, know that it was to be a liver cell, heart cell, et cetera? Scientists refer to this built-in intelligence as genetic and, indeed, this is true. The genes determine the physical makeup, the color of the eyes and hair, skin color, general build, et cetera. But what force controls the overall process - the way in which this genetic information is put together in the first place and then pa.s.sed on from generation to generation? What is the nature of this living energy that appears to have an intelligence all its own? All forms of life are dependent on this life energy. Were it suddenly to withdraw, all life on earth would withdraw and traverse to the ANIM world. The nature of this energy is pure light -- and it is what sustains life on earth. Indeed, it sustains and directs life throughout the entire universe. Another name for this universal energy is 'Love.' Yet another name is 'G.o.d.' For us, here in Oz, it is the Great Wizard."

"My goodness," said Dorothy. "I have never heard G.o.d explained in that way before."

"I'm afraid that the general understanding of the Universal Intelligence is very limited," sighed the Elf. "The American Indians were one people who had a great understanding of this Great Spirit, for they were very close to Him through their deep awareness of the laws of nature. They were also highly evolved spiritually, that is before the white man tried to convert them to a religion which they themselves did not practice.

"However, to continue.... The atoms of your goldfish's body returned to the earth, as you know. But, before that, the counterpart atoms were, in effect, the counterpart body of your goldfish. When it was determined by the soul of your goldfish that the physical body would no longer sustain life, it severed the silver cord. The silver cord is the connecting link between the two, and its primary function (other than to direct the vital life energy to the physical body) is to allow the ANIM body to travel away from the physical during sleep. But, once this cord is broken, the physical body is cut off from its source of life energy and dies immediately. No power in heaven or earth can reconnect this silver cord once it is severed.

"Well, all you knew, of course, was that your goldfish died and you felt a great sadness. Had you known that he was alive and well in another dimension, you would not have been quite so sad. Especially if, during sleep, you could have visited him. Remember, your ANIM body functions on the same level as his does, so, just before going to sleep at night, you could ask your soul to take you to visit him. It takes a little practice at first, especially to entrench the memory of these meetings into the memory region of the physical brain, but it can be done. You can meet with anyone you like this way. It just takes determination and practice and a conscious effort to remember the excursion upon awakening. Once you learn to do this, you will find yourself visiting with people you have never met before. Many beautiful experiences await those who become aware of this other existence during sleep. Sleep is not just all dreams and rest for the body -- although both are very necessary for physical and mental health."

"Are you saying we live two lives simultaneously -- one on earth during the day, and one on the ANIM level at night?"

"That is true," replied the Elf. "There is no limit to what you might be doing at night -- visiting people you love; attending schools, universities, lectures, and concerts; helping people such as the sick or those on lower levels of development. Swimming, horseback riding, or playing any number of sports; as I say, anything you can think of, you can do. There is no awareness of these activities, because they occur during the very deep levels of sleep and, as one approaches the shallower levels of sleep, the activities blend into dreams. So, if anything is remembered, it is only little bits and pieces intermingled with fragments of half-remembered dreams."

"How fascinating," said Dorothy.

"Yes, but also sad," said the Elf. "Mortals are basically mesmerized by the material world. So much so that they have become about ninety-nine percent unconscious of reality. The material world is not true reality, but is a shadow world created by the collective minds of the inhabitants so they could experience a denseness and a harshness not found on the higher levels. Now earth's inhabitants are trapped into an endless cycle of physical rebirth. And, until they can generate a genuine desire for a higher spiritual existence, they are doomed to eternal pain and anguish.

It is so sad."

The Elf shook his head. "Why mortals continue to endure a physical existence is beyond my comprehension. I suppose, because they have lived in the physical realm for so long, they have forgotten about the higher life completely. Even though people from higher levels have endured re-birth to remind them. People like Jesus, Buddha, and Mohammed, just to mention a few. Oh, a few people listened to their words with their hearts and changed their lives, but, for the most part, what was said fell on deaf ears; and then, through the centuries, the message brought by these masters became distorted. And now, very few people really understand what was said. They have twisted the true meaning to fit whatever philosophies please them. Especially philosophies that do not require them to work hard in order to grow spiritually, or to sacrifice their mortal pleasure and greed, or to dedicate their lives to the service of their fellows. Yes, it is sad indeed. Some even believe that all they have to do is to believe certain things and they will be saved from their mortal sins. But then they continue in the same old way, their hearts still filled with envy, resentment, greed, and jealousy.

They use the spoken word in an unkind fas.h.i.+on to their fellow mortals on a daily basis. They are inconsiderate. They harbor dark thoughts. Yet, because they confess their sins and believe in one person as representing G.o.d, they think they are saved. My! How they have blinded themselves to reality. Meanwhile, various members of other religions (or no religion, even) who have made a concentrated effort to improve their mortal ways have earned the right to no longer have to return to the mortal realm.

"You see, /'By your works you shall be known'/ is a true statement. This means far more than is realized. Well, I'm afraid that I am getting far too serious for you, my sweet young lady," said the Elf with a smile.

"Oh, no, that's all right," replied Dorothy. "I like to listen to you."

"Then perhaps one final thought on the subject," continued the Elf. "If your fellow mortals would listen to the wisdom as given by people like the man Jesus, and if they were to follow the directives to do good; to express love and forgiveness; to be kind and gentle and understanding of one another; To serve their fellows with compa.s.sion, and to love their G.o.d (and/or Good) more than themselves, what a different place your world would be!"

The Elf fell silent for a moment as though contemplating all he had said... Suddenly, his face lit up as he focused his attention on Dorothy again. "Would you like to see your little goldfish?"

"Oh, would I!" said Dorothy excitedly.

"Well, follow me, then," the Elf said as he jumped up off the rock. He motioned everyone to be quiet as he parted some branches of a bush. He then indicated them to walk through. They found themselves in a clearing. It was a very busy scene, with lots of little Elves hurrying and scurrying to and fro' between their cute little houses nestled between an a.s.sortment of pretty trees and flowers. A beautiful fish pond occupied the center of the clearing, and a waterfall cascaded down over the rocks. Around the many beautiful lilies floating in the pond swam fish of every description, including, of course, several goldfish. The Elf motioned Dorothy to put one finger into the water. As she did so, a little goldfish swam up to her finger and nibbled gently on it.

"It's my fis.h.!.+ It's my fis.h.!.+" exclaimed Dorothy.

"Ssh, not so loud," hushed the Elf. "You won't scare the fish, for they are not afraid here, but I don't want to attract the other Elves'

attention just yet, or everything will come to a standstill around here."

So far, the other Elves had not noticed them. Everyone was so intent in his occupation.

"We don't want them to get behind with their work, you know," said the Elf. "Your little goldfish did recognized you, didn't he?"

"Oh, yes, he did," said Dorothy. "He certainly did. I will never be sad anymore over him."

"That's good," said the Elf. "You should try not to be so sad if someone you love dies, because they will feel your sadness. Of course, they feel the pain of separation too. But they know that one day you will be together again, and they don't want you to mourn, but to be happy that they've gone on to a better life."

"You see," the elf continued, "all forms of life are in a state of evolution; not only physically, but spiritually, too. Unfortunately, not all evolve as fast spiritually as they do physically. Many of your people have advanced greatly in science and knowledge, but that advancement is not balanced by spiritual knowledge. And so a great deal of unnecessary suffering exists. But, to get back to your little friend the goldfish: he is evolving, too, and no form of life can advance very much in one short lifetime, so, after that quite short, often difficult life spent on the mortal realm, everyone comes to a place like this for a long rest. Well, it's usually long, but can be short, too, depending on the need. Then they must return for another round of experiences.

Finally, one day, if their lessons are learned, they earn the right to live in a place like our world forever, and no longer have to return to that harsh land of yours."

"Oh, that would be wonderful!" cried Dorothy. "May I come to Elfland when I die?"

"Of course," replied the Elf. "But you must try to live as long as you can first, and try to overcome all of the difficulties presented to you, and that overcoming will make you strong and will earn you a place in this beautiful land of ours.

"Some people, unfortunately, cannot bear the difficulties that the mortal life presents, and may, by their own hand, cut their lives short to try to escape. But there is no real escape, for eventually, except in rare instances, they will have to face that which they have sought to avoid. So why prolong the agony? Learn your lessons well -- and accept gracefully all that happens. Be positive through the bad as well as the good. No more than this is expected of you. Now, not to change the subject, exactly. But would you like to look around?"

"Yes, we'd love to," replied Dorothy.

"All right," said the Elf. "But no talking to anyone until his work is done."

"When will that be?" inquired Dorothy.

"Well ... actually ... never, but they'll be having a little break soon," replied the Elf, with a grin. "As you can see, we work very hard here."

"Everyone seems so happy as they work," said Dorothy.

"It wasn't always this way," replied the Elf. "We used to be ruled by a wicked king who used us as slave labor, but we broke away from that wicked king and came here and started a new land. Now that we are free to live as we wish, we pool our labor for the benefit of all."

"Are you the leader?" asked Dorothy.

"We don't have one," answered the Elf. "We do not allow any person or any group of people absolute power over the rest of us."

"How are things decided, then?" asked the Tin Woodman, who had been listening very intently.

"Well, we are not a big country," replied the Elf, "so we don't need a full-time government."

"You do have a government, then?" said the Scarecrow.

"Oh, yes," replied the Elf. "We do, but they don't have the power over the people like other governments. Let me explain: any group of people called a government is only as good as the sum total of all the individuals who make up that group. So, if the majority of these individuals are dedicated to the good of all, then the people will have a good government. If, however, the majority of these individuals are dedicated only to the good of themselves and their own special interests, then the people are short-changed and the country is weakened. When a major decision has to be made which affects all of us, everyone's name is thrown into a hat, then twelve of those names are drawn. These twelve are then given the task of formulating the plan. All of the rest of us vote on this plan. If it pa.s.ses by at least eighty percent of the vote, we a.s.sume that, since eighty or more out of a hundred Elves want it, it will probably be good for all of us. If it doesn't pa.s.s, we urge all who voted 'no' to carefully restudy the proposal; then only these people vote again. Usually it pa.s.ses this time. If it doesn't, we ask those who voted 'no' again to write down their objections; then we rewrite the proposal and everyone votes again.

The proposal very rarely fails this time. If any proposal fails by a very large margin, we just throw it out until a better plan is formulated. Usually everyone joins in with suggestions."

"It sounds quite simple," said Dorothy.

"It is," replied the Elf. "Our government is only in operation for one thing at a time, so they don't try to think up new ways to control the people, and they don't act like an all-knowing parent and treat the rest of us like little children and say /'You can't do this'/ or /'You can't do that'/ or /'You must do this'/ or /'You must do that/.' Since most of us have voted '/yes'/ on everything, we ourselves have chosen to do this or that, so we are happy to abide by the law, for we know it is for the good of all us. We don't have that situation

where the few gain special concessions at the expense of the many."

"Well, it all sounds like a very fine arrangement," said Dorothy. "But I'm afraid our society is far too complex for the same kind of arrangement."