The spring comes slowly down this way; but the great thing is that the corner has been turned.
There is, of course, this difference, that in the natural spring the crocus cannot choose whether it will respond or not. We can. We have the power either of withstanding the spring, and sinking back into cosmic winter, or of going on into those ‘high mid-summer pomps’ in which our leader, the Son of Man, already dwells, and to which He is calling us.
It remains with us to follow or not, to die in this winter or to go on into that spring and that summer.
I lay on my left side and almost at once he leaned over to touch my forehead with his own, before sitting back calmly to observe the effect. If truth is to be told, with this gesture he opened my mind; this is what transpired:
He had always reminded me of a leopard because he was beautiful and languid in appearance and movement but with the underlying threat of volatile instincts. He also kept a large wooden statue of that creature in his room and, furthermore, had given me a book of the same name.
I sensed his spiritual power but had always attributed it to the animal personality, so when my body began to react to the opening of my mind I was certain that I too was being transformed into a leopard, especially so we could make love as equals of the same ‘species’.
This, of course, was rather an extreme interpretation, and even I, in my burgeoning transcendental state of consciousness, acknowledged the danger of accepting such a course of action with blind faith. Was it wise or safe, I wondered, though only in the back of my head as I was, by then, so fully committed to the action.
I was also, it must be said, tranquilly but determinedly content to have succeeded in reaching this critical point of an initiatory engagement.
Lucas stood up straight. He felt remarkably alert and energised, with no unpleasant symptoms or side-effects whatsoever.
Feeling on top of the world and filled with unusual zeal, he turned swiftly on his heel as if following directions from an all-powerful, albeit benevolent force.
Immediately upon turning, his eyes alit upon an extraordinarily bright and lucid body in the now-clear sky. He instantly reverted back to a trance-like state, with both eyes fixed on the beautiful blue light that was shining like a jewel. It twinkled vigorously and he was compelled to speak loudly and with peculiar emphasis:
“PUL-SAAARRR”
Then Lucas came back down to Earth and headed back up the stairs to his third-floor apartment.
As he turned another corner he spied the fullness of the moon, a perfect circle of such astonishing radiance that its dark-side was easily visible to the naked eye.
At first sight of this orb he ground to a halt like a rabbit stunned by headlights, feeling instantly and unmistakably reflective: “I’m a mirror”, he murmured thoughtfully and then paused as if searching for a reason. “It’s the mooooooon”, he added spookily, with an intonation that implied he’d achieved a fathomless knowledge of spheres.
What a night!
Shortly released from the lunar entity, Lucas bounded up the stairs with child-like glee, having absorbed enough energy to power a small village. Come to think of it, with his broad and extensive range of contacts, both personal and business-related, he had the virtual potential to do such a thing.
He was overjoyed by the thought of the brilliant network of initiates he could create.
So many people to start communicating with!
Once inside the flat, Lucas strode purposefully into the bedroom and lay flat on his back on the bed with his legs pressed tight together and his arms crossed over his chest. Within five seconds he was deep into a lucid dream world where radiant male and female angels in tuxedos and debutante gowns attended to him while he sat under palm trees before a turquoise ocean.
From the eyes of every one of them shone a dazzling and strangely penetrating, silvery white light.
I finally spoke to the girl who had come with me: ‘I’ve been here before’ I said vaguely, trying in vain to jog my memory and frowning as I tried to recall the first day. The atmosphere really had not changed, although this time I was closer to the heart of the city than I had been previously.
I had wandered around that time, partly because of a search for something I could not place, but also because it had been my duty to establish the geometric co-ordinates of the city’s layout.
I had many friends at this place there in those days, people on the inside who were prepared to share some of their knowledge with me, and they had taken me to a situation of repose on the outskirts of the forbidding campus, where discipline was either extreme or non-existent.
By chance, I also recalled that I had once enjoyed rather an elevated social status, thanks to my association with a young man of high rank. I had taken part in a memorable group photograph in the grounds of a private house somewhere in the area, although the precise location of this place was no longer known to me.
The occasion of the photograph had given me the strong impression of a funeral at the time, for everybody was dressed in black and I was aware that at least some of the guests were alive only in spirit. There was, however, an air of suppressed hilarity which detracted from any suggestion of death.
Politeness forbade me from enquiring into the exact state of the other guests, be they alive or dead, but I had enjoyed rather an interesting conversation with one Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who was positioned to my left and who spent at least half an hour imparting to me the secrets of her style, and other invaluable information. Many secrets were shared with me regarding how a woman ought to deal with a powerful husband.
The photograph turned out beautifully.
Aside from visiting dignitaries in the grounds, the rolling garden surrounds of the University were possibly the most enticing grounds I had ever encountered. I spent a very long period there in relaxation.
So pleasurable was that plateau, beyond the burden of time, and yet it was only a staging post for me, a place where I could not permanently reside. The Elysium fields of my friends became dangerously like the spiritual land of Dido transported to a dream, whilst those around me recognized no queen….
The quality of mercy is not strain’d,
