Adventures of Alice Wonderbar Chapter 2
Alice’s wide brimmed hat and sun glasses were already in place as she and Clara emerged from the airport into the unremitting glare of Acapulco. Sunshine and the ensuing heat in the ozone depleted skies of the new millennium were intense in Winter. Clara was clearly dismayed; she tried to squeeze sunblock onto her face while dragging the luggage. “I feel like someone is trying to suffocate me. And you lived here for nearly a year?”
“You must adapt my dear. Relax behind it. I lived here before global warming hit full force. If we are lucky Ricardo will have air con. The love of my life, air con that is, especially when traveling in Asia.” Alice turned and waved as a big bear of a man came towards them. “Neelam! What are you doing here? What a wonderful surprise! They embraced. Neelam kissed Alice on both cheeks, French Quebec style.
“How are you?” Neelam asked in his distinctly India French accent. “And who is this? Is this the beloved Goddaughter I’ve heard so much about? Enchanté!” Neelam smiled broadly at the beleaguered Clara who was hauling both her and Alice’s luggage. He reached out and took one of the bags, signaling the man behind him to take the other. “This is Carlos,” Neelam lowered his voice, “Ricardo’s second in command… Alice, Clara,” he introduced them.
Carlos was a handsome Mexican, radiating a strong animal magnetism. He smiled, nodding his head to both the ladies. “We’d best be going amigos.” He led them towards a waiting car and got in next to the driver. Neelam, Alice and Clara squeezed into the back seat.
“What’s the news?” asked Alice.
“Not now, when we get to the hotel,” responded Neelam nervously.
“Hotel?” inquired Alice.
“Yes, for now…we’ll move you to a safe house in a day or two.” Neelam said under his breath. “We’re being watched” Neelam wiped perspiration off his brow.
Alice turned a piercing look at Neelam as they drove away from the airport. “Ricardo?”
“Tonight,” was his abbreviated answer. Neelam, who did not want to appear unsocial, chatted onward with inconsequential information, “I got here two weeks ago. It’s been tense…more later, eh. How was the trip?”
They drove through downtown Acapulco, a city that hovered along the bay. The city flashed more neon than Alice remembered even though it was daytime. The streets were littered with trash; somehow the trash sparkled in the sunlight. ‘All is beautiful in the big dream’ thought Alice, a bit grimly as she noted the irony of the unfolding situation.
Alice had always been aware of ‘Maya’, the world of illusion. In her eyes, ‘Maya’ was the world, not as solid or real as most people thought. It was a world which presented itself as good or evil in the reality most people lived. She focused her reality in the light of all light, the boundless sea of the beyond from which the world and all form manifested.
Alice’s view, when she spoke of it at all, interwove the essence of many spiritual paths into a brightly colored tapestry. Some called this perspective the many colored robe of Adonai. Alice would sometimes smile and say she was Adonai’s hands and feet. She intoned ‘Adonai, Lord of the light and the darkness too’ as she began her meditations. ‘Adonai’ to Alice was the aspect of God that was the container of everything, larger than either good or evil.
She mused on this and what had been Ricardo perspective as she remembered it. He had always stood up to what he perceived as evil or more literally injustice. Her sense of reality was different. She came from a place some might call ‘enlightenment’.
Alice perceived the world as perfect as seen from the space of beingness. Her attention was focused not on outer appearances but the consciousness which perceives everything and is at all times connected to everything.
Intrigue
The car pulled into the hotel. Their bags were retrieved and the group moved to the reception desk. A wink and a smile, Alice and Clara were registered. The group took the elevator up and then down to the garage. Carlos found a different car and off they went to another hotel.
The petite Alice Edgewalker aka Wonderbar stood tall in her white linen dress as the door of their suite at a new and wondrous hotel closed signalling a time of disclosure. “Neelam, what is all this cloak and dagger mystery? I know Ricardo can be dramatic…where is he?”
“Yes, I’ll tell but you must understand Alice, the situation is serious,” said Neelam, a big bear of a man who towered over Alice who looked him straight in the eye waiting for an answer.
“The government and the counter revolutionary forces are coming down heavy on the Church of Light. One of their churches South of Mexico City was destroyed last week. Apparently these forces are being assisted by extra-terrestrials from one of the dark holes. I don’t know all the explanations, cheri. You will have to ask Ricardo…who is in a safe house. His old place was blown up about six months ago. He was injured. His servants killed.”
“Maria?” she queried.
“I don’t know the names. It’s dangerous. And there’s more to it, involving native peoples worldwide and all those who empathize with them…not to mention the poor in every country. Conspiracy, we’ve talked about it on and off for years, now it has come full circle.” Neelam waved his hands to stop Alice from responding as he knew she would. “I know you don’t believe in this type of conspiracy. You’re too Buddhist in your philosophy.
“Not everything is for us in the relative world, maybe in the personal one. Ah, Alice it is so good to see you.” Neelam again kissed Alice on both cheeks.
“It’s good to see you too. How many years has it been?” The angels crept around Alice’s eyes. There was a depth of light and beauty about her. Neelam was embraced by a beam of heart energy which eased his anxiety as he regarded her. “You’ve been feeling scared,” Alice stated. “Your fear is making it worse.” She shook her head as she gazed affectionately at him.
Clara watched the interaction. She saw Alice’s light embrace Neelam. She saw the color of his aura change from dark red to pink. She was startled by what she saw and also pleased. Clara knew her intuitive abilities were unfolding in the presence of this woman who called herself Alice Edgewalker. Clara felt wonderful and grateful. The air conditioning hummed like a contented cat. All was right with the world for a moment.
Alice and Neelam renewed their friendship. Clara took her suitcase into the bedroom and then refreshed herself with a splash of cold water on her face. Carlos, however, kept an eye on the street below, not saying much, just checking his cell phone.
The light outside began to dim, Neelam, feeling ebullient now, chatted on about his astrological work in Montreal. He told Alice how he and his partner lived out in the country in the small town of Beloeil, Quebec, not far from Mount Helene.
Evening turned into night, both Neelam and Carlos left with warnings. “Tonight, do not go out, order room service”. The handsome Carlos turned and knowingly smiled at Clara as he made his goodbyes. A blush caressed Clara face, her body tightened and then relaxed. Her mind wondered why. The ripple of energy through her body felt intimate, she almost smiled back at Carlos.
Neelam was dropped at a safe house. Carlos drove off into the sunset humming a romantic tune.
Dressed for Romance
Next morning found Clara brushing her shoulder length brown hair. Bending her head forward, she swept her hair into a ponytail which she fastened into a top knot. “Cool,” she said to her mirror image above the painted flowers of the porcelain sink. She regarded herself dressed in as little clothing as possible. She wore a thin sleeveless blouse, no bra and loose fitting shorts. She put on earrings to feel respectable.
The sun shone through the white translucent curtains of the windows overlooking the bay. Alice was writing postcards and laughing. “What’s the joke?” asked Clara as she came into the living room area of their suite.
“Well, you will probably notice when you are on the street if you throw something in the public trash cans in Acapulco, it just drops out the bottom. It’s somewhat true of their mail boxes. I was just remembering a friend getting a letter from me a year after I returned from Acapulco. So here I am writing, wondering when and if these postcards will arrive. Sometimes it’s more about us than the other, if you get my meaning?”
“No, I don’t quite understand.” Clara and picked up a postcard. “I do notice you are writing postcards you bought in Venice Beach before we left L.A. You are mysterious as ever, my dear godmother. You do know these cards will have a Mexican postal stamp? The people you are writing will know you are here….if the postcards arrive anytime soon.
“Getting back to your ‘more about us…do you mean that what we share with others is not about caring for the other, in and of themselves, but simply expressing our own need to connect?”
“Yes, precisely…” There was a knock at the door, Clara checked the peep hole and opened the door to room service. Alice watched and mused, “Ah drama” thinking of the fact she and Clara were settled into the new hotel under assumed names.
Over huevos rancheros, croissant and coffee, Alice casually stated as she spread jam on a croissant “I can see there is energy between you and Carlos.”
Clara blushed remembering the moment she reached for the suitcase Carlos was carrying and a palpable electric current had flowed through her. Her eyes met his and he smiled. She, on the other hand, felt embarrassed. Something beyond her conscious control had transpired.
Alice smirked slightly and her blue eyes twinkled. “And yes, he’s coming by later to pick you up and show you a bit of Acapulco while I visit Ricardo. I had a call from Neelam earlier.”
An hour later, the handsome Carlos rang from reception to see if Clara was ready to go sightseeing. Clara emerged from the elevator in a slightly revised outfit. She still had on her earrings but had decided to yes, wear a bra under her blouse and carry a light sweater as well. Of course, she also put on some perfumed oil and took her sunglasses, the very dark ones, so her expression could not be read. Off they went just as Alice received a telephone call from Neelam saying he would be by shortly to take her to Ricardo’s.
Alice also took special care in what she wore. No longer a young woman, she was still very beautiful, glowing with an inner glow. Alice wore an embroidered white blouse and skirt she had found in Asia and a very charming large woven straw hat to keep the sun off. She placed perfumed lotus oil on her skin, put blush on her cheeks, mascara and eyeliner on her eyes and gloss on her lips. “Ah vanity” she murmured to herself. She also wore a small gold flower of life pendant that Ricardo had once given her and which she had taken with her on all her many travels since.
The trip to Ricardo’s might well have been a sightseeing tour as it took a convoluted path up into the hills of Acapulco. Neelam heralded Alice with the new article he was writing for an on-line website as they were driven there. “It’s called Buddha Meets Christ. They meet on the inner plane in the Tiphareth sphiroth of the Tree of Life. That is the heart center or Christ center in Western mysticism as you know. It’s quite fun. Next I will write one on Christ and Krishna. They both chuckled. Their long history as friends allowed them both to remember their many conversations about the similarities and differences of spiritual icons. They arrived at last at a wrought iron gate that swung open.
The Sanctuary
Both Alice and Neelam walked through a metal detector as they entered the house. Neelam waited in an inner courtyard as Alice opened the ornate wooden doors to Ricardo’s sanctuary.
The room was darkened with heavy purple drapes pulled closed. Pictures of inner plane masters hung on the walls. She approached the figure on the ornate carved bed. “Ricardo?” His face was drawn and thin. Hearing his name his head turned and eyes smiled as he saw Alice, his beloved Alice looked barely older than when he had first met her. She was lithe and agile, only a few more creases in her china doll like face. He, on the other hand, felt ancient as if he carried the burden of his ancestors even while he was lying down.
Ricardo reached an arm out towards Alice and she came to him. The love in her heart bathed him in bright light. “Alice, my dear, I am so pleased to see you.” Ricardo shifted his focus to the guard beside the door. “Miguel, you can go.”
She clasped his hand in both of hers and smiled the smile of angels. “Qué passé, Ricardo?”
“Not so good, Alice. Not well at all. The doctors do not give me long to live.” Ricardo smiled ruefully.
“You don’t have the look of a dying man.”
“That’s because you are not looking at me with physical eyes, as always you’re looking at spirit…and of course that’s immortal….you may not realize it but I am older than you.”
“I remember you telling me that some twenty years ago.” Alice smiled ingenuously, her heart shaped face translucent in the lamp light.
“It will be time to pass over soon, a matter of weeks. I wanted to see you again and give you the spiritual mantle of the Church of Light if you would accept it or at the very least allow me to pass on a portion of my power to you. “
After a few moments Ricardo went on, “You were lucky, you got to travel the path of enlightenment while I held down the fort so speak on the outer planes.”
“You had a choice. You could have come with me or kept me here to help you.”
“No, Alice, you needed to travel your path. This life here would have involved too much karma for you, the consequence of actions you might not really have wanted to take on. Only I needed to be here, besides it is now that we need the gifts you have unfolded in these passing years. My light being…” he whispered hoarsely, “I loved you and love you. Do you know that?”
“I felt it, though you never said it in so many words.” Alice placed a hand tenderly on his cheek.
“And you, Alice, how are you?”
“I’m very well, in this moment, just seeing you, touches me deeply. I have as you say been traveling sometimes in the outer world, sometimes on the inner planes, often under the guidance of Anscar, our UFO friend. I trained in Western healing modalities before I met you plus the experience of working with your shaman and Anscar made it possible for me to travel the World and make money wherever I went. Tomorrow, if you are willing to entertain the possibility of not dying, I will give you a healing session…I feel you are already getting tired. I will come back. She leaned her slender frame towards him, her body touching his. He went to hold her. She moved away, “Manna.”
Sightseeing
Clara and Carlos drove along the sweep of Acapulco Bay. He pointed out the rock cliff where at sunset divers dove to the delight of tourists. “I will bring you here, Clara, at dusk when they dive into the ocean of fire, a ring of flames. I did that when I was very young. Somersault in the air and dive directly into the center of the flames…that was a long time ago.” He smiled almost wistfully.
They went on to see Dolres Olmedo House, noted for its murals by Diego Rivera. Clara loved the Aztec like Quetzalcoal, dragon snake God on the outside wall. Then they went onto other parts of older Acapulco. They visited Nuestra Senora de la Soledad Cathedral with its blue onion shaped domes and Byzantine towers. Carlos explained it had originally been a movie set, later converted into a church. The sky was so blue and the sun so bright it dazzled Clara. It all seemed so heavenly except for the occasional soldier walking by armed with a machine gun.
Carlos caught Clara looking at the soldiers. “Mexico is dangerous.” He guided her to the shady side of Zocalo square and they found a café. After they ordered, Carlos reached across the table and took Clara’s hands in his “I want to get to know you better, perhaps we will find time…to go swimming or for night life.” Clara blushed and whispered “Perhaps.” Her whole body felt riveted by the stunning flow of energy between them. Something in her was not sure but inexplicably she also felt a deep need to be with him.
Clara came back to the hotel feeling all tingly and wound up. Alice looked up from the sofa looking sad and very pensive. Their day had each been so different.
Healing
A driver came the next morning and Alice returned to see Ricardo. Again she came into the darkened room. The room was much the same, the man on the bed… still and fragile. “You know, I have been a ‘healer’ for many, many years.” Alice said as she sat beside Ricardo. “Actually, I do not heal anyone, your body does the healing. I just support your body in that process. At the very least, I can help you feel more comfortable. Shall we try?”
Ricardo nodded.
“Perhaps, if you are willing we could begin by letting in a bit of sunshine, ok?” without waiting for a response Alice drew the long purple curtains aside. Ricardo did not protest instead there was a thin smile.
His somber, hoarse voice belied his words and hopes. “Alice, this would be most wonderful. I have heard about your sessions through my sources throughout the years. So many miraculous recoveries, I am so glad you are here.”
Alice placed her hands on Ricardo’s ankles and seemed to go into trance. She began by grounding herself and opening her own energy to the healing vibrations of the Universe, calling in Reiki and her guides and mentors as well as Ricardo’s guides and inner physician. Alice then began listening deeply to the CranioSacral rhythms of his body and encouraging their co-operation. This core rhythm generated from the depth of the brain affects the well-being of all the cells of the body.
She moved her hands over his body as she mentally checked through his body systems, emotional and spiritual integrity. She lightly touched him on acupuncture points. She energetically re-balanced his system with the help of his CranioSacral rhythm and meridians. Finally, she gently held his head, re-balancing the bones, glands and brain structure. Ricardo was in a stillpoint. The CranioSacral rhythm had stopped as it facilitated an internal re-organization of his brain and body. Ricardo felt a deep sense of peace. His consciousness floated in the space between waking and sleeping. This is the state where healing happens.
Alice quietly left the room. ‘I will return tomorrow,’ she thought, and perhaps in the meantime she could find some healing herbs and tonics before she returned to the hotel. She mentally cautioned herself to go slow during next couple of sessions and not verbally or non-verbally bring up the bombing or the deaths of those nearest him. ‘Best not to stir up the shock and dismay,’ she could see in his aura. ‘Strengthen the physical and then slowly release the traumatic emotions, like letting out the air in a balloon, a very black, red and yellow balloon,’ she thought as she imaged the balloon floating away.
Alice returned on the following days. She had the staff prepare herbal drinks for Ricardo. He seemed stronger and this day he was in the mood to talk. “They bombed the house six months ago. Maria and her children were killed. Manuel had passed on years before. My right side was damaged. I seem to have suffered a minor stroke in the process. When you are seventy-five, I guess one doesn’t live trauma well.”
Alice had a sudden vision of Ricardo carrying a child from the wreckage. She could feel the bonds of connection between the child and Ricardo.
“Maria’s children, they were yours?”
“Yes, it was a relationship of convenience…still…and the children…There was silence in the room filled only by a sense of unexpressed feelings in the face of unacceptable events.
She felt his words as a small hit or shock to her heart. Their love had been so long ago. Still there was this small jealousy. She took a deep breath and let go. ‘So many years, so many loves, so many journeys’ she thought to herself.
Today as she worked on Ricardo, Alice dialoged silently with his body wisdom to help him release the unspoken emotions. She used the CranioSacral Rhythm to unwind the bladder and kidney meridians, water element, which held the emotion of fear and loss. She balanced the heart and pericardium meridians and improved circulation to his brain. Ricardo was gradually coming into greater physical and emotional harmony.
Romance Continues…
The next few days had found Clara having breakfast with Alice and then going to the pool or the beach just beside the hotel. There was always someone nearby looking either like a tourist or a hotel employee, who kept a protective eye on her. She began to have a lush honey brown tan. Late in day she would go off with Carlos for a few hours. They drove and talked; watched the divers dive in the circle of fire; had dinner and returned late, sometimes very late, to the hotel.
On one of those evenings they dined in a large open air restaurant. “So your parents met the famous Alice when they were dancers, concert artists in New York. That’s how you became her god daughter? And you have been in touch ever since?”
“Something like that”, responded Clara. “I do not know if Alice is famous beyond those of us who know her. She is the most delightful, conscious and intriguing person I have ever met. Perhaps that not saying much as I am just 33 years old myself.
“Alice would show up in L.A. every now and again when my parents were teaching dance at Long Beach State University. And when Alice wasn’t teaching at the Smith Dance Department she was traveling the world. Visiting with the gurus, my parents would say. Later she wound up making Montreal her base before she started traveling non-stop.
“When I was young Alice brought me gifts from all over the world or took me shopping and still does.” Clara smiled pleased with thoughts of their shopping sprees. “She encouraged me to follow my dreams. My parents, despite their dancing careers as modern dancers in New York, did not think I should become an artist but Alice was all for it. How about you? How did you meet Ricardo?”
“I met him quite by accident when I was thirteen. I was beginning to hang out with a gang. He was walking down the street. He pointed at me and just said “Hey you” He told me he had a job for me, from there he took me under his wing. I guess he saw potential, as he nurtured it, my point of view shifted. I went to school to become educated but the barrio is still in me.
“So I am Ricardo’s second in command in the sense I get things done.” Carlos said this last part with a grim determined face.
“What kinds of things?” Clara asked innocently, unsure of what he meant.
“I will explain another time. It’s complicated. Let’s say I went from running errands to a partner in the outer business as well as training with his shaman.” They smiled, looking into and falling into each other’s eyes where their souls met and smiled at each other. There was only this very moment for the two them, nothing else mattered.
A Small Escape
Clara was about to go out dancing with Carlos one evening when Alice invited Clara to come with her the next day to meet Ricardo. ”You can help me with the healing and besides it would be good for you to meet him in person. If we are lucky Pablo will be there, though it turns out that he spends most of his time with Neelam. Pedro is being coached in the finer points of esoterica. Neelam is a very fine teacher.
“Carlos as you know is Ricardo’s second in command but Pablo is his heir apparent. They both have needed qualities for the Church of Light. Pablo is a sensitive with extraordinary abilities for working on the inner planes though Carlos too comes out of shamanistic tradition besides being a charismatic, macho strong arm and of course being very attractive…you know you needn’t come back to the hotel tonight.” Alice smiled a smile that made it clear she already knew what was happening between Clara and Carlos.
“I’d like to go with you but what can I do?” Clara asked.
“You’re a graphic artist and have a strong visual sense. You may be able to amplify certain psychic information which will support the healing. Also I still do not understanding entirely what is distressing Ricardo. I hear the information, however I am not in fear, so I am losing the sense of something subtle yet very real to him. Perhaps Neelam is right, I’m too Buddhist. Not a real Buddhist…but I look at things from a non-judgemental perspective for the most part.
“Come by eleven am and we can stop a nice juice bar in our round about journey to Ricardo’s”
“Sounds perfect. Are you having dinner with Neelam tonight with body guards in tow?”
“Yes, that seems to be the way of it,” Alice gave a tight lipped smile, “though I intend for you and I to escape the guards for a while tomorrow.”
The next day Alice and Clara left the coolness of their hotel room and headed into the heat of the day. They stopped along the way to buy presents for Clara’s children, had lunch and within a few hours arrived by taxi in the hills above Acapulco. There they continued on by foot, ducking now and again in doorways, just in case someone might be following. There was someone following, a young tough.
They both sensed a presence almost at the same time. In fact, Clara felt it first, an odd sensation at the back of her head. Alice had once told her there was an internal eye at the back of one’s head, the pineal gland and that there’s even a creature in Australia with a literal external third eye. They turned towards each other and as one slipped into a side alley.
The young tough moved past the alley and then suddenly turned back. Suddenly he was upon them. Fear swept through them momentarily. Spewing a flood of Spanish it became apparent the young man was one of Ricardo’s men, fortunately wearing a tee shirt with a small insignia of the Church of Light which dispelled any doubt. Clara and Alice introduced themselves and were then taken directly to Ricardo’s safe house.
Coming into Ricardo’s room, Alice bent down to kiss Ricardo’s forehead and went, yet again, to open the violet drapes letting in the sunlight. “Have you taken the oils I left for you or have you been staying up all night drinking tequila with your colleagues?” Alice teased as she fussed with Ricardo’s pillows. “We need to get you moving.” The guard at the door smiled at Ricardo’s discomfort. Surely only this woman could take this man in hand. Soon Ricardo was sitting on the veranda drinking an herbal concoction Alice had made from local herbs.
Alice placed her hands lightly on Ricardo’s head, subtly adjusting the bones of is skull to increase circulation to his brain. She showed Clara some movements she could make with Ricardo’s right arm to help restore the function impaired by the stroke he suffered.
“Excellent, I feel better since you’ve started working on me a few days ago. Your touch is marvelous” Ricardo took Alice’s hand in his, “and yours too Clara.”
Visions
“Flattery will get you everywhere Ricardo.” Alice smiled, her eyes twinkling. “I actually brought Clara along today not only to meet you but to help me understand what is happening. I thought perhaps her visual acuity would serve to amplify my own. There is something that is eluding me in all this.
“Why is the government is coming down on the Church of Light just now and why the bombing of your house? You’ve always gone to such lengths to keep everything separate. Your involvement, with the church, few knew of it; the churches involvement with political unrest was also dealt with great care. What happened? And finally, why pursue this further in this manner?” Alice gestured toward Miguel standing guard at the door. She paused and waited for Ricardo to gather his thoughts. The atmosphere of the room felt like a storm clouds.
He began by saying “It would seem that certain aliens, a group running contrary in philosophy and intent to Anscar’s had instigated a governmental inquiry through the person of one man, Jorge Manilla. He became involved with the Church of Light but it was felt he was not worthy to enter into the inner sanctum. He got upset and began working black magic to prove he had power. This was, of course, exactly what we feared, that he would abuse power. We didn’t realize the rejection would set him on his path. We thought we could give him something else to do.
“Machismo and the inadvertent help of aliens from a burnt out quasar put the Church of Light in danger.
“After the attack on my house, Jorge did not last long. Not me!” Ricardo put up his good hand as if to fend off Alice is gaze. “I was unconscious. Roberto and Hector, as you might have imagined put his ‘demise’ in motion. By then the government was alerted, and the dark ‘aliens’ are still creating difficulties.
“As to why, we had this discussion years ago. Here take my hands, you too Clara. Listen, feel and see.”
Clara was flooded with images and feelings. She saw a woman and children shot down. She saw poverty, destitution of the young and old. She saw images of child prostitution. Throughout she felt the helplessness, hopelessness of it all and Ricardo’s ambition to make it better.
She opened her eyes to find Alice, her eyes streaming with tears, saying “I see and feel what you feel Ricardo. Now please let me show you what I experience.”
Another vision opened for Clara as she took one of Alice’s hands. It was a vision which came in waves of feeling and light. Dark clouds rolled in followed by sunlight; sea covered ocean and then the ocean bed lay bare; the ocean became people who came and went with an increase into the sunlight. The light seemed to always be increasing. Tangled threads became weavings of great beauty. It was a sense of all was right as it was and moving according to destiny. Perfection.
“I would like to believe you Alice,” said Ricardo, “and actually, I know your vision is true and also mine is true. We had this discussion so many times the year you lived with me. You would say mine was the path of will and yours was the path of the heart. And you are right, it’s just neither is less valid than the other. I won’t argue which is superior, though Neelam has done that recently for hours in your absence. The fact is I need you to direct this perfection of light you have developed to protect the Church of Light.”
“I wish it worked that way…” Alice almost whispered these pragmatic but sad words.
“Do you remember when we were on the top of the Pyramid of the Sun, just north of Mexico City?” The image of Alice and a younger Ricardo climbing the steep steps of the Pyramid of the Sun came to Clara. She saw them on the upper platform. Both of them sparkled with a special connection. Alice looked out on the horizon and in just that moment a gust of wind pushed the slight woman and she stumbled forward. Ricardo instantly grabbed her and held her in his arms. The fall would have been very far indeed.
“Remember the wind nearly blowing you off the top. I caught you as you tumbled. You owe me your life, Alice Edgewalker.” Ricardo reminded her sternly.
“Ricardo,” she said with a voice filled with compassion, “you know the work we did with Anscar. It modulated and or averted disasters on earth. It couldn’t eradicate or eliminate them. I have realized that the way of things depends on our acting in accordance with the forces behind the cosmos, in creatively advancing the forces of evolution.
“The healing work I do now is much the same. It creates a context for wellness or holds a situation in light. I am, in your eyes, more powerful, but not in mine. I do what I can and let go. ‘Not my will but thine.’ It would seem you want results that may not be possible.
“What I have seen on the inner plane (without being seen on the inner planes, she noted mentally) is that the Church of Light may be no more,” she said gently.
“No!” exclaimed Ricardo.
“Something greater will come in its place my love. That’s all I can say at this time.” Alice bowed her head and looked away. She understood the pain and rage Ricardo was feeling. And also she felt in herself a small flame of desire to please this man and try to do what he wanted. She knew from her wiser self, it was not possible. What she said was “I will do what I can”.
The Debrief
Neelam, Clara and Alice sat in the shade of a cabana on the beachfront drinking club soda and lime. Alice called it a debriefing, Neelam wasn’t so sure. He felt they were discussing a plan of action. Clara was concerned because Alice seemed tense and very contained. It was sadness and caring she heard in Alice’s voice.
“We will meet at midnight and go to the island.” Alice pointed to a bit of rock in the bay. “Ricardo’s key shamans come with us, the ones, hopefully without blood on their hands. We will call Anscar. Nothing I have experienced in meditation tells me this will help though I can’t imagine anything else to do.”
“You’ve seen the destruction of the Church of Light?” Neelam squinted at Alice despite the shade of the cabana.
“Neelam, nothing is clear.” Alice said quietly.
“Yes, but…” Neelam stuttered as he watched Clara reach over and hold Alice’s hand. Alice’s hand trembled.
Island Re-Visit
A full moon hung luminous and large over Acapulco Bay and the lights of the open air restaurants bordering the ocean lit the beach front as well. Five of them, Alice, Clara, Neelam, the old shaman, Jesus and Pablo, Ricardo’s apprentice, stood ready to board a small motor boat. Jesus embraced Alice and then introduced her to Pablo.
“It’s good to finally meet you. Ricardo has said so much about you…as has Neelam, who I understand is tutoring your esoteric studies. This is my god daughter Clara. I have a feeling you two will get along,” Alice said in her most fluent Spanish.
Clara had not understood a word but felt a warm energy flood her body as Pablo shook her hand. This energy was very different from Carlos’ presence. It was warm but impersonal and certainly not sexual. He felt more like a brother than a lover or so she thought just before everyone got into the boat, Jesus, Alice and Neelam leading the way.
Jesus took the helm as Pablo pushed them off and jumped aboard last. Soon they were riding the waves headed for the small rock of an island in the middle of the bay. They scrambled onto the shore and found an open space facing the sea. Alice, as the empowered elder, arranged them in a circle with Pablo and Clara sitting opposite each other. Jesus drummed and the men chanted the names of inner plane masters and took turns reciting the names of their ancestors. The surf and the gulls created their own song while the millennium techno rock from the beachfront hotels added a tinny background.
Alice sat in the center of the circle and went into deep trance. She let her consciousness ride the wave of the sounds and carry her deeper into the rhythm of the Tao, the inner flow of the universe. Just before dawn the space craft arrived surrounded by camouflage clouds. Looked at from the land all that appeared was a triangular shaped cloud faintly luminescent hanging low on the horizon. The space craft hummed and flashed a myriad of colors at the island before lowering a landing ramp.
Alice opened her eyes, fully conscious now, even as her compatriots seemed curiously asleep. She stood up, feeling suddenly free and fully alive. She climbed the inclined ramp as the doors slid open and her old friend Anscar, who she had rarely seen in the flesh came to the door to greet her.
“Beloved Alice, is it not well that we meet? I am as you would say happy if that were a ‘feeling’ I felt. We have something like feelings, we call jkjkj, yet they are different than what you speak of.
“Time… another potential discussion,” here Anscar made a sound that might have been a chuckle, “is short. You have no doubt questions. I am inclined to sense you already have many answers.”
Alice understood all that Anscar spoke telepathically through at the same time she heard the sounds he actually made. She took a moment to take in her new environment even as Anscar led her into the space craft and ushered her into a chair like structure. Anscar sat opposite. His head seemed more elongated, white and velvet textured than he appeared in her inner eye transmissions. His thin limbs were encased this time in a metallic like fabric robe, his feet enclosed in what appeared to be anti-gravity or gravity boots. She blinked even as the multifaceted lights of space craft blinked and flashed. “Yes, many questions,” she refocused her attention, “and it’s an honor to be with you, Anscar.”
“And with you Alice Edgewalker” Anscar placed his finger pads against Alice’s finger tips and listened intently. Alice closed her eyes and subvocaly transmitted her dilemma. How was she to save the Church of Light? How could she save Ricardo? How was she to save the world under attack by aliens of the dark hole? There were many subtleties in this transmission as Alice did not feel she could save anything or anyone let alone the world. Her level of consciousness was such that ‘saving’ wasn’t part of her view of the situation but it was the word that came closest to what seemed to be asked of her. In Alice’s perception, you were one with the ‘Tao’, the harmony or not. One simply supported or intended from a place in oneself that could be supported by the oneness of the cosmos.
Anscar agreed and also pointed out that in the relative world one must find relative solutions even if she as yet did not understand all the nuances of the challenges. Anscar told her through sub-vocal transmission that it was probably best she did not completely understand the vastness of the challenge facing planet earth.
The solution for the Church of Light was simple. Close the churches and dissolve for the moment on the outward plane. Ricardo as she had intuited should be moved to the U.S.A. as soon as possible as he would be targeted once it became clear he was not eminently dying. Alice, should she decide was welcome to travel with Anscar to the far edges of the universe to more fully apprehend the energetic situation experientialy which confronted planet earth. All this was communicated in an earthly moment.
What was new was Anscar sharing possible alternative outcomes, one that included Alice marrying Ricardo. This raised her eyebrows. There was also an image of a stone in a Russian church, kryptonite to dark aliens. There were images of personages who Alice needed to connect to for Ricardo, and yes, an image of Ricardo becoming more Buddhist. Alice’s eyes became saucer like and her eyebrows seemed to meet the hair line of her forehead in disbelief. All she could say telepathically was ‘really?’
Alice bowed her head as Anscar and she disengaged their fingers tips. There were small burn marks on Alice’s finger tips. They ended their meeting as dawn spread across the bay. Alice found herself once again on the island. Pablo and Clara were curled around each other lying on the ground. Neelam and Jesus sat and appeared to be in trance, though Neelam was gently snoring. A light soothing breeze had sprung up. The gulls screamed and a sound like thunder was briefly heard. Alice assumed it was the space craft breaking the sound and light barrier. The participants on the island came awake to ordinary consciousness. After a brief ride in the motor boat they were back on the mainland drinking Mexican coffee at one of the 100% Natural restaurants.
Alice rubbed her finger tips with butter meant for bread and tortillas, as she quietly communicated Anscar’s responses. Pablo still had his arm around Clara. Jesus nodded with the wisdom of his years. Neelam as always said “Yes, but Alice…….”
Alice didn’t respond. She sipped her coffee and simply said “we have much to do” and wondered what she needed to pack for a voyage to the stars.
The Marriage
Ricardo and Alice were married in a small church just outside Acapulco. They decided to have their union honored by God and eventually his green card honored by the U.S. government.
“I should have done this twenty years ago,” Ricardo whispered hoarsely from his wheelchair. Alice delighted in his happiness. She was dressed in a traditional white Mexican wedding dress, a small bouquet of blue, deep violet and white flowers in her hands. It was her first marriage. There was sadness in her eyes. Anscar had told her the probabilities of Ricardo’s survival. She too wished in her heart that they had spent more time together years ago.
Clara and Neelam embraced her. Pablo stood beside Ricardo as did Hector of the Aztec face, Jesus, the master shaman, Carlos and Roberto his ‘pillars.’ The fleeting moment of reflection, happiness and sadness was replaced by guards who hustled then into vans and drove to one of Ricardo’s fortresses in the hills.
