The Celestine Prophecy: An Adventure (22 page)

“Once you become conscious of the questions active in the moment, you always get some kind of intuitive direction of what to do, of where to go. You get a hunch about the next step. Always. The only time this will not occur is when you have the wrong question in mind. You see, the problem in life isn’t in receiving answers. The problem is in identifying your current questions. Once you get the questions right, the answers always come.

“After you get an intuition of what might happen next,” he continued, “then the next step is to become very alert and watchful. Sooner or later coincidences will occur to move you in the direction indicated by the intuition. Do you follow me?”

“I think I do.”

“So,” he continued, “don’t you think those thoughts of Wil and Sebastian and Marjorie are important? Think about why these thoughts are coming now, considering the story of your life. You know that you came out of your family wanting to find out how to make the spiritual life an inwardly self- enhancing adventure, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then, as you grew up, you became interested in mysterious topics, you studied sociology and worked with people, although you didn’t yet know why you were doing these things. Then as you began to wake up, you heard about the Manuscript and came to Peru and found the insights one by one, and each has taught you something about the kind of spirituality you seek. Now that you’ve become clear, you can become super conscious of this evolution by defining your current questions and then watching the answers come.”

I just looked at him.

“What are your current questions?” he asked.

“I guess I want to know about the other insights,” I said. “Especially, I want to know if Wil is going to find the Ninth Insight. I want to know what happened to Marjorie. And I want to know about Sebastian.”

“And what were your intuitions suggesting about these questions?”

“I don’t know. I was thinking of seeing Marjorie again, and of Wil running with troops chasing him. What does it mean?”

“Where was Wil running?”

“In the jungle.”

“Perhaps that indicates where you should go. Iquitos is in the jungle. What about Marjorie?”

“I saw myself seeing her again.”

“And Sebastian?”

“I fantasized that he was against the Manuscript because he misunderstood, that his mind could be changed if one could find out what he was thinking, what exactly he feared about the Manuscript.”

Both men looked at each other in total amazement.

“What does it mean?” I asked.

Father Carl replied with another question, “What do you think?”

For the first time since the ridge top I was beginning to feel fully energized again and confident. I looked at them and said, “I guess it means I should go toward the jungle and try to discover which aspects of the Manuscript the church dislikes.”

Father Carl smiled. “Exactly! You can take my truck.”

I nodded and we walked around to the front of the house where the vehicles were parked. My things, along with a supply of food and water, were already packed in Father Carl’s truck. Father Sanchez’s vehicle was also packed.

“I want to tell you this,” Sanchez said. “Remember to stop as often as necessary to re-connect your energy. Stay full, stay in a state of love. Remember that once you achieve this state of love, nothing nor anyone can pull more energy from you than you can replace. In fact, the energy flowing out of you creates a current that pulls energy into you at the same rate. You can never run out. But you must stay conscious of this process in order for it to work. This is especially important when you interact with people.”

He paused. Simultaneously, as if on cue, Father Carl walked closer and said, “You have read all but two insights: the Seventh and Eighth. Seven deals with the process of consciously evolving yourself, of staying alert to every coincidence, every answer the universe provides for you.”

He handed me a small folder. “This is the Seventh. It is very short and general,” he continued, “but it talks about the way objects jump out at us, the way certain thoughts come as guidance. As for the Eighth, you will find it yourself when the time is right. It explains how we can aid others as they bring us the answers we seek. And further, it describes a whole new ethic governing the way humans should treat each other in order to facilitate everyone’s evolution.”

“Why can’t you give me the Eighth Insight now?” I asked.

Father Carl smiled and put his hand on my shoulder. “Because we don’t feel we should. We must follow our intuitions also. You will get the Eighth Insight as soon as you ask the right question.”

I told him I understood. Then both priests hugged me and wished me well. Father Carl stressed that we would soon meet again and that I would indeed find the answers I was here to receive.

We were all about to board our respective vehicles when Sanchez turned suddenly and faced me. “I have an intuition to tell you something. You will learn more about it later. Let your perception of beauty and iridescence lead your way. Places and people who have answers for you will appear more luminous and attractive.”

I nodded and climbed into Father Carl’s truck, then followed them down the rocky road for several miles until we came to a fork. Sanchez waved out the back window as he and Father Carl headed East. I watched them for a moment then turned the old truck North toward the Amazon basin.

A surge of impatience rose up within me. After making good time for over three hours, I now sat at a crossroads, unable to decide between two particular routes.

To my left was one possibility. Judging from the map, this road bore north along the edge of the mountains for a hundred miles, then turned sharply east toward Iquitos. The other route lead to the right and maintained an eastern angle through the jungle to the same destination.

I took a deep breath and tried to relax, then quickly checked the rear view mirror. No one was in sight. In fact, I hadn’t seen anyone—no traffic, no locals walking—in over an hour. I tried to shake off a rush of anxiety. I knew I had to relax and stay connected if I expected to make the right decision.

I focused on the scene. The jungle route to my right progressed between a group of large trees. Several huge outcroppings of rock punctuated the ground around them. Most were encircled by large tropical bushes. The other route through the mountains seemed comparatively bare. One tree grew in that direction, but the remainder of the landscape was rocky, with very little plant life.

I looked to the right again and tried to induce a love state. The trees and bushes were a rich green. I looked to the left and tried the same procedure. Immediately I noticed a patch of flowering grass that bordered the road. The blades of grass were pale and spotty, but the white flowers, viewed together, created a unique pattern into the distance. I wondered why I hadn’t noticed the flowers earlier. They now seemed to almost glow. I broadened my focus to include everything in that direction. The small rocks and brown patches of gravel seemed extraordinarily colorful and distinct. Hues of amber and violet and even dark red ran through the entire scene.

I glanced back to the right to the trees and bushes. Although beautiful, they now paled in comparison to the other route. But how could that be, I thought. Initially, the road to the right seemed more attractive. Glancing back to the left, my intuition strengthened. The richness of shape and color amazed me.

I was convinced. I started the truck and headed to the left, sure of the correctness of my decision. The road was bumpy with rocks and ruts. As I bounced along, my body felt lighter. My weight was centered on my buttocks, and my back and neck were straight. My arms were holding the steering wheel but were not resting on it.

For two hours I drove without incident, nibbling from the food basket Father Carl had packed and again seeing no one. The road meandered up and down one small foothill after another. At the top of one hill, I observed two older cars parked to my right. They were pulled far off to the side of the road in a stand of small trees. I could see no occupants and assumed the vehicles were abandoned. Ahead the road turned sharply to the left and circled downward into a wide valley. From the peak I could see for several miles.

I stopped the truck abruptly. Half way across the valley three or four military vehicles sat along both sides of the road. A small group of soldiers stood among the trucks. A chill ran through me. That was a roadblock. I backed off the crest and pulled my vehicle behind two large rocks, then got out and walked back to the overlook to again observe the activity in the valley. One vehicle was driving away in the opposite direction.

Suddenly I heard something behind me. I turned around quickly. It was Phil, the ecologist I had met at Viciente.

He was equally shocked. “What are you doing here?” he asked, as he rushed up to me.

“I’m trying to get to Iquitos,” I said.

His face was filled with anxiety. “So are we, but the government’s getting crazy over this Manuscript. We’re trying to decide whether to risk passing through that roadblock. There are four of us.” He nodded to his left. I could see several men through the trees.

“Why are you going to Iquitos?” he asked.

“I’m trying to find Wil. We got separated in Cula. But I heard he might be headed to Iquitos, looking for the rest of the Manuscript.”

He looked horrified. “He shouldn’t be doing that! The military has prohibited anyone having copies. Didn’t you hear what occurred at Viciente?”

“Yeah, some, but what did you hear?”

“I wasn’t there but I understand the authorities rushed in and arrested everyone who had copies. All the guests were detained for questioning. Dale and the other scientists were taken away. No one knows what happened to them.”

“Do you know why the government is so disturbed about this Manuscript?” I asked.

“No, but when I heard how unsafe it was getting, I decided to return to Iquitos for my research data and then to leave the country myself.”

I told him the details of what had happened to Wil and myself after leaving Viciente, especially the shooting on the ridge top.

“Damn,” he said. “And you’re still fooling around with this thing?”

His statement jarred my confidence, but I said, “Look, if we do nothing, the government is going to suppress the Manuscript completely. The world will be denied its knowledge, and I think the insights are important!”

“Important enough to die for?” he asked.

The sound of vehicles attracted our attention. The trucks were driving across the valley toward us.

“Oh shit!” he said. “Here they come.”

Before we could move, we heard the sound of vehicles approaching from the other direction as well.

“They’ve surrounded us!” Phil shouted. He looked panicked.

I ran to the truck and dumped the basket of food into a small pack. I took the folders containing the Manuscript and placed them in the pack as well, then thought better of it and pushed them under the seat instead.

The sounds were growing louder so I ran across the road to my right in the direction Phil had headed. Down the slope I could see him and the other men huddled behind a group of rocks. I hid with them. My hope was that the military trucks would pass and keep going. My truck was out of sight. Hopefully they would think, as I did, that the other cars were abandoned.

The trucks approaching from the south arrived first and to our horror stopped even with the vehicles.

“Don’t move. Police!” a voice shouted. We froze as several soldiers walked up from behind us. All were heavily armed and very cautious. The soldiers searched us thoroughly and took everything, then forced us to walk back to the road. There, dozens of soldiers were searching the vehicles. Phil and his companions were taken and placed in one of the military trucks, which quickly drove away. As he rode past me, I caught sight of him. He looked pale and ghostly.

I was led on foot in the opposite direction and asked to sit near the crest of the hill. Several soldiers stood near me, each carrying an automatic weapon on his shoulder. Finally an officer walked over and tossed the folders containing my copies of the insights on the ground at my feet. On top of them he threw the keys to Father Carl’s truck.

“Are these copies yours?” he asked.

I looked at him without answering.

“These keys were found on you,” he said. “Inside the vehicle we found these copies. I ask you again, are they yours?”

“I don’t think I’ll answer until I see a lawyer,” I stammered. The remark brought a sarcastic smile to the officer’s face. He said something to the other soldiers and walked away. The soldiers directed me to one of the jeeps and into the front seat by the driver. Two other soldiers sat in the back seat, their weapons ready. Behind us, more soldiers climbed aboard a second truck. After a short wait, both vehicles headed north into the valley.

Anxious thoughts filled my mind. Where were they taking me? Why did I put myself into this position? So much for the preparation the priests had given me; I hadn’t lasted a day. Back at the crossroads, I had been so certain I had chosen the correct road. This route was the one most attractive; I was sure of it. Where did I make my mistake?

I took a deep breath and attempted to relax, wondering what would happen now. I would plead ignorance, I thought, and present myself as a misguided tourist meaning no harm. I just got mixed up with the wrong people, I would say. Let me go home.

My hands were resting in my lap; they were shaking slightly. One of the soldiers sitting behind me offered a canteen of water and I took it, though I could not drink. The soldier was young and when I handed the canteen back to him, he smiled without a trace of malice on his face. The image of Phil’s panicked look flashed across my mind. What would they do with him?

The thought occurred to me that meeting Phil on that hilltop had been a coincidence. What was its meaning? What would we have talked about had we not been interrupted? As it was, all I did was stress the Manuscript’s importance, and all he did was warn me about the danger here and counsel me to get out before being captured. Unfortunately, his advice had come too late.