The Twelfth Insight: The Hour Of Decision Part 15

"Trouble is," Rachel interjected, "the Dome of the Rock, an especially important mosque, already occupies that site."

"Any reason that both the mosque and the temple couldn't fit up there?" I asked.

They all looked at me in silence.

"The problem," Rachel finally said, "is that the two religions both claim t.i.tle to the entire rock."

"That's right," Joseph added. "And many believe an attempt to rebuild the temple would signal the onset of Armageddon and the whole end-times drama would be played out, including the coming of the Messiah figures. For our tradition, it would be the Twelfth Imam who would return."

He glanced at Rachel. "You might argue that it would be the return of the Christ."

"Wait a minute," Coleman remarked. "So you're saying that these events- Jews returning to the Holy Land and the rebuilding of David's temple in Jerusalem-are the primary events in prophecy that would signal the beginning of Armageddon?"

"I would add one more from the Arab side," Joseph said. "One of our prophets said the end times are near when there is chaos and incivility building in society, and a general dishonoring of all people. It is a time when the truth is disregarded for more convenient lies."

"You mean runaway ideology?" Coleman remarked.

Joseph nodded. "Yes."

I perked up. The energy of this conversation had begun to feel numinous, and I knew it was happening for a reason.

"There is also another event," Rachel interjected, "that many believe will occur as the end times approach. In Christianity it is called the Rapture, but other traditions have a similar idea as well. It's the notion that as the Messiah figure begins to come to Earth and Armageddon begins, the true believers' bodies will be lifted into spirit and they will meet the coming G.o.d figure in Heaven, where they will be protected."

She looked at Joseph.

"Yes, that's right," Joseph said. "In our religion, it is thought that as the Twelfth Imam approaches, our true believers will be taken to the side in spirit and also protected."

Coleman looked around at each of us. "This is amazing. I've never put this together before. All the major religions do have almost the same structure for the end times, just with different names."

Our discussion was interrupted as Adjar turned off the main road onto a b.u.mpy gravel track that left a plume of dust swirling up behind us in the fading light. Within minutes, we were stopping at a place where the road widened into a turnaround and proceeded no farther.

"This is where Love of Mountain said to meet," Joseph said.

We waited another ten minutes before we saw the muted headlights of a vehicle approaching.

"That's Love of Mountain's Subaru," Rachel commented.

Seconds behind them came the Volvo. When everyone was out and ready, Tommy prepared us for the route ahead, telling us the first mile would be relatively flat desert, but the second would be very mountainous and would take us up the southeastern side of Mount Sinai. His mother suggested we hike in for a short distance under the cover of darkness, and then sleep before attempting to move up the mountain.

"What about the Egyptian guards you mentioned?" I asked.

"We will come to a guard station," she replied. "Before we can go past it we must open our perception and learn from those in spirit."

Without saying anything else, Tommy and his mother set a rapid pace through the desert. Eventually, we came to an area where the terrain inclined upward and we began to see enormous boulders dotting the landscape. After another hundred yards, we came to a group of the big rocks circled together. Tommy led us through the maze until we came to an open, sandy area completely surrounded by the rocks.

"We can camp here," he said.

Rachel and I pitched our tents beside each other, and I could see Tommy was intentionally laying out the tent he shared with his mother beside Rachel's as well.

When the tents were up, I built a small fire from the dead limbs of some scrub bushes that grew around the edges of the boulders, realizing as I did so that the circle of huge rocks was reflecting back at us in the light of the moon, creating what felt like a curtain of security.

Rachel seemed to be looking out at them as well and glanced at me as she took out a small cooker and began making freeze-dried stew near the fire. I sat down beside her.

"You know," she said, "Native Americans never camp somewhere unless it has high energy. I talked to Tommy's mother, and of all the mountains she has visited, the Sinai group are her favorites."

Rachel shot me a smile. "She said they are the easiest to light up."

The next day, I was first to awaken. As I climbed out of the tent, only a partial light was appearing in the east. Gathering up some more wood, I stoked the fire and sat down. Traces of red sunlight began to highlight the swirls of clouds overhead.

Tommy's mother came out of her tent, walking around as though she was looking for something. She left the circle of rocks and was gone a long time before returning. Several other people were now out of their tents as well.

She finally walked over to me and asked, "Have you seen Tommy? He left sometime during the night."

"What?" I said, jumping up.

She waved her hand as if to calm me down.

"Don't worry. He's done this before. We've been here many times and he knows the area well, so unless you sense something different, I think it is best to just wait for him to return."

I tried to tune in, but I couldn't really concentrate. I didn't know how she could be so calm. We had just been warned that the Apocalyptics were still looking for us, and anything could happen out there. She left to tell the others as Rachel walked up and sat beside me.

"What's going on?" Rachel asked.

I told her that Tommy had left.

"By himself? Shouldn't we go looking for him?"

"His mother doesn't seem that worried. She wants to wait and see if he will return."

Rachel nodded and sat down, and our gazes met. There was no reluctance on my part, and we held the stare until we both smiled. Suddenly, I saw an image of Tommy in my mind's eye. He was higher up in the mountains ... and I was with him!

The vision was clearly an intuition, and I looked back at Rachel, who was now deep in thought herself, appearing slightly sad.

"I think I should go look for Tommy," I said. "What about you?"

She shook her head, still looking away. "I have to stay here."

I gathered my pack, and Rachel walked over to her tent and returned with a feather.

"This is a feather guide that Wolf gave me," she said. "He joked that it was useful to bring two spirits back together, and that I would know what to do with it when the time came."

She handed the feather to me, and I took it and smiled, then turned to go.

"Before you leave, I want to tell you something," she said. "Don't forget where we are in the Integrations. We have to open our perception as quickly as we can." There was still a hint of sadness.

"I saw you tuning in just now," I said. "Did you see something?"

A tear was rolling down her cheek, but she shook it off and put on a happy expression.

"Don't worry, I'll see you when you get back. The feather will see to that."

She gave me a hug and teasingly pushed me on. "You better hurry. We all have a destiny to complete."

As I was walking away, Tommy's mother walked up and seemed to know what I was doing. She described the general route toward the area of the guard station, and wished me well. She added that she was sure everything was all right, and that Tommy would be somewhere in that general location. There seemed to be a good reason in her mind that she was not going herself.

When I pa.s.sed the last of the giant boulders and was starting up the incline, someone else suddenly called from behind me. I turned to see Coleman running up with his pack on.

"I'm supposed to go with you," he said.

I reached out to grab his arm, once again tremendously glad for his company. He gave me a determined look, and we locked in the Agape.

"Has anyone been talking about the Ninth in camp?" I asked.

"Not much, but they're all studying it. Tommy seems to already understand it the most."

I nodded, and we both walked on without talking, heading east toward the rising spires of rock. After about a half mile, we made our way up a steep ridge that jutted out toward the east, so that we could look out on the ascending waves of ridges and crevices rising up before us. At the top was a crown-shaped summit.

"That's Mount Sinai," I said.

"And there's the guard station right there," Coleman replied, pointing directly below us to a cement-block building located in a small, flat area in the ridges. Several large antennas rose from its tile roof, and we could hear the faint hum of a gasoline generator. Two soldiers talked and smoked cigarettes outside. We both sat down on some rocks and looked the place over. The building was large enough to house perhaps twenty soldiers.

Just then we heard someone call out from above us. The voice was barely audible. We surveyed the area until we saw someone waving about two hundred feet up the slope. It was Tommy.

We hurried up the hill and soon were looking at his smiling face. He offered us some water from a metal cup, and we took it. The water was wonderfully cool.

"Where did this water come from?" I asked.

"Right over there," he said. "You can fill up your canteens."

The crystal-clear water came out of the rocks and then rippled down about twenty feet before disappearing into a crevice.

"I thought there was no water in this desert," Coleman said.

"They call it the spring of Moses," Tommy replied.

Coleman and I just looked at each other.

I caught the youth's eye. "You're up here for some reason, Tommy. What are you doing?"

He looked toward the guardhouse. "Several months ago, I met one of the officers of the guard station. I believe he thinks I'm a wanderer or a prophet or something. I had run out of water and he told me about the spring. I have talked to him several times on my trips here. He knows about the Doc.u.ment but he has always been very secretive. I also believe he knows Joseph's brother."

"What?" I said, glancing over at Coleman. "Joseph said his brother was a high-ranking officer here, a commander."

"I have seen a big man who looked highly ranked talking to my friend."

I looked at Coleman. "Where was Joseph this morning?"

"He had already left camp," Coleman replied. "His tent was next to mine and I woke up as he walked off. It was still dark."

"Have you seen Joseph up here today?" I asked Tommy.

He shook his head. "No one has been here, except for the two soldiers down below."

"We could probably sneak past those two," Coleman said.

"It is not time," Tommy admonished. "We won't be allowed up the mountain until we first learn to see."

For a long time, we stayed where we were. Tommy said we must wait until the sun was in the correct position before trying to open up our perception. When the sun was near setting, he explained, it radiated a light of mystery, and extraordinary events could take place.

Coleman and I spent most of the day talking about the old Prophecy and what had occurred in Peru. In the Ninth Insight, the Prophecy had predicted that humanity would slowly increase its energy level and would systematically raise its level of perception. The question was how to practice this ability. We talked about this for a long time, sharing a granola bar for lunch, and waited patiently for the sun to lower in the sky. Finally, the time came, and Tommy told us to gather all our belongings. The sun was barely above the horizen.

"This is the hour that has the most magic," he repeated. "A human can do things at this time of day that can't be done at any other time. Just look out at this light."

Tommy was pointing toward the east where everything was now bathed in a golden-colored aura, and the sky had turned a darker blue. The swirling clouds overhead were now taking on rich browns and streaks of orange. What struck me most was how the light reflected on the rock and sand, bringing out even more rippling highlights.

"Let's walk south down to the desert floor," Tommy said. "We can see better there."

Tommy led us through the rocks along a different route from the one Coleman and I had traveled, winding along the spires and shelves and sheer drop-offs in a much more efficient manner, as though following a hidden trail that Coleman and I could not detect.

When we arrived at a flatter area, he stopped and sat down, looking back at Mount Sinai. Now the sun was hidden completely and the whole scene was cast in an even more mysterious tone. We sat down beside him.

"Look out at Sister Mountain," he instructed, "and focus on it completely. Look at the lines the shadows draw."

This captured my interest, and I began to see the huge range as having a particularly unique form. It came to me that every mountain range of this sort, rocky or wooded, had different lines created by its shadows. Because of this, every mountain system has an entirely unique countenance.

"Now, tune in to its beauty," Tommy said, "and feel Agape in relations.h.i.+p to it."

I was reminded of my experience in Peru at Viciente when attempting to see the auras, or halos, around plants. But I had the feeling Tommy wanted us to see something more fundamental in the landscape.

I focused intensely on the beauty of the mountain and tried to see it as one expressive form. And then a wave of Agape for the mountain gushed forth inside me. Coleman and I looked at each other. He was feeling it, too.

"Now look at the plant right here in front of us," Tommy commanded. "See its uniqueness and beauty in Agape."

He was talking about a short, compact, round bush that looked like a miniature tumbleweed. It was no more than three feet in front of us. I tuned in to the plant and looked for its beauty. As before, my emotions exploded with Agape.

"Now look back at the mountain again," Tommy said, "and see its increased color and form, as if it now has greater majesty in your field of vision."

Just as Tommy said that, the mountain literally jumped out in color and impressiveness. I looked at Coleman, and he shook his head in wonder without turning, showing me he was seeing this as well.

I then noticed that while I was looking at Coleman, I could sense where the mountain was, although I was not looking at it. I was feeling it in the exact same way I could feel my hand behind my back, only with greater intensity.

"Now look back at the plant and feel its impact on your emotions," Tommy instructed. "Everything in our perceptual field has more than an appearance, it has an emotional ident.i.ty as well-what the Ninth calls a Feeling Ident.i.ty."

Instantly, I realized the small plant did have an emotional ident.i.ty, just as with the mountain. I experienced a sudden insight into why we all have favorite furniture, or come back to a familiar vista over and over. Objects have an ident.i.ty that touches us emotionally.

"Now, switch your focus back and forth between the mountain and the plant."

I did just that, focusing on and feeling the mountain far away, and then the plant close to us. At first nothing of note occurred, then suddenly, I could see them both in a new, amazing way-in what I could only describe as being equally in focus at the same time.