Part 4 (1/2)
”There's a large wilderness called Secret Mountain a few miles north.”
He walked ahead again, then turned and added: ”One aspect of Wolf you should know about-he often knows what's going to happen.”
I had heard of Secret Mountain but knew only of its general location. One thing for sure, the wilderness it was part of was huge. I figured we would have to wait to know what Wolf had meant, and surprisingly, I was content to do so. I should have been apprehensive about our sudden flight into the wild, but the deeper we penetrated into the wilderness, the more energized I felt. And instead of the spooky feeling I had experienced the last time I was in Boynton, I was now feeling the opposite emotion-a sense of being at home somehow, and trusting that whatever might happen here was going to be beneficial.
We were now walking through an area of juniper and mesquite interspersed with huge red boulders and outcroppings. A sky of brilliant stars made the flashlights almost unnecessary.
”Why,” I asked Wil, ”do the Hopis believe this place enhances purification?”
”Because of its impact. It repels anyone who isn't ready for a breakthrough of some kind. But when you are ready, the power of this place helps you.”
”You mean energetically helps?”
”Yes. According to legend, if you go far enough in here, say at least a couple of miles, it inevitably tests your a.s.sumptions about life and inspires a rea.n.a.lysis of how you forge your way in this world. Again, it makes perfect sense that we are being led into this canyon to study the Laws of Spirituality.
”All this is up for people because of the economic downturn. During the material age, we tended to think we were creating our subsistence with our knowledge and reason, the common a.s.sumption being that if you used your head and worked hard, you could prosper in life.
”But in reality, everyone knows there are intangibles at work in determining who has success. You can be equally as logical and hardworking as the next person and not do as well. There's always been an unknown factor concerning who is fortunate and who isn't in this life, and we're about to figure it out.”
He stopped suddenly and gazed out toward a flat area above the trail to the right.
”Let's go up there,” he said, ”and set up camp and sleep for a little while before dawn.”
We made our way up to the location, and in just a few minutes we had both tents up and the food bagged and roped in a tree to protect it. Afterward, another question came to mind.
”So you think the missing factor is this Alignment thing?”
He nodded. ”According to my Hopi friends, the Third Integration says that during a time of transition such as we're in, when economies are faltering and people are acting crazy, we'll all be shown a new way of getting our worldly needs met.”
Wil was already climbing into his tent.
”Let's see what happens tomorrow.”
The next morning, I was awakened by tree limbs breaking outside and Wil yelling. I pulled on my boots and looked through the tent flap. It was barely daylight, and Wil was running toward the tree where our food was tied. When I got there, I could see the limb was broken and the bag containing our provisions was missing.
”Did you see her?” Wil asked, pointing up the slope. ”She was big.”
”I couldn't see,” I responded.
We looked around until we found some large tracks.
”Strange,” I added. ”I didn't think there were many big bears around here anymore.”
Close by were several freeze-dried meals that had fallen out of the sack as the bear had dragged it away.
”We could track her,” I said, picking them up, ”and try to recoup some of the food.”
Wil just looked at me and I knew what he was thinking. Not a good idea. We weren't armed, and that was a very large bear. Perhaps she even had a young cub.
We made our way back to the tents and Wil got out his cooker and began preparing one of the meals. A chill was in the air now, and a light rain was falling.
”The question,” Wil said, ”is what to do? With no food, we have a decision to make. We might have to be in this wilderness for many days. We need provisions. On the other hand, if we go back to get them, we might run into those guys following us.”
”What choice do we have?” I asked.
”We could just keep going. Let this play out.”
I was resisting. ”We can't stay up here without food.”
Wil just looked at me. ”Well, it's a challenge, but isn't the same thing happening out there in the world? Think about it. Millions of people are experiencing this same situation. They go in to work one day and hear they're fired, and suddenly, no more money for food. They're in this same situation we're in now, only worse.”
”But how will we eat? Are some of your Hopi friends up here somewhere?”
”No,” he said. ”They're already looking for the Fourth Integration farther up north. We'll have to rely on getting food from strangers.”
I squinted. ”That might not be easy.”
”No, but again, in reality isn't that what we all have to count on? We're all in business somewhere, aren't we? Even if we work for the government, if others don't buy what we're selling, or no longer need our service, we can't survive. So to some extent we all have to be fortunate. If the Universe doesn't smile on you, if you're not lucky, then you're in big trouble. In times like these, especially, we come to realize we are solely dependent on strangers showing up to, in effect, give us food.”
I'd never had it put that starkly, but I knew Wil was right. Cut to the bone, we're all always at the mercy of others.
”So it figures,” Wil continued, ”that there are some esoteric rules working behind the scenes determining whether people are going to show up or not-rules that we can figure out and get into alignment with. I'm telling you this because it is exactly what the Third Integration says.”
”Okay,” I said, ”then let's see how it plays out.”
Within minutes, we had consumed the stew, put the tents and water in our packs, and headed up the trail. After a while, Wil looked back at me.
”There's something else. Remember that other cultures have awakened in history in the same way we are now. These cultures have always been smaller and somewhat isolated, but they have always discovered the same basic spiritual principles that operate in this Universe.”
I ran up beside him. ”So you are sure the Third is going to tell us what the laws are?”
”Yes, the basic laws are known. The Hopi told me some of these principles have aspects that aren't fully complete yet, and of course, they have to absolutely be proven out in one's own life before they can be believable. But yes, we know what the basic laws are, beginning with the one we've already been using.”
”What is that?”
”The Law of Truth. We used it to keep our Synchronicity going, and it governs the situation when we swap truths in Conscious Conversation. Just remember that it's easy to stay in truth when the Synchronicity is flowing to help you. It's much harder to maintain the habit when the economic stakes get high.”
Suddenly, in the distance, I saw two people walking along the trail in front of us.
”There are some people up there,” I said to Wil.
We sped up until we could see them clearly. Two men were walking together, dressed in hiking gear and floppy hats and bearing large, expensive packs.
I looked over at Wil. ”What do you think?”
He shrugged. ”They look okay to me. I don't think there's anything to worry about.”
”Okay,” I said, feeling for some reason I should handle the matter. ”I'll go ahead and talk to them about buying some food.”
Wil looked slightly surprised that I took the initiative, but smiled and nodded.