A Tale for Tomorrow

Welcome to everyone

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The time of the treasure

Introduction to a Tale for Tomorrow

Here is, presented to each and all, a treasure of truth; neither our nor your truth, but a key to the path yet to be discovered by everyone to a truer and more harmonious world, a world more inclusive, more poised and more united, a world in becoming.

A key which each one can find within oneself.

Do we not worry, then, that, in offering it so freely and without any conditions, this treasure may be sullied, mocked, pillaged, misused and wasted? But it is a true treasure, a conscious treasure, and nothing can alter it, for one can only access it when one is truthful, naked before the fire of the universe. And to each human being is given the capacity to find one‟s truth: one only has to want it and need it enough. No one has exclusive rights upon this treasure, we are but new-borns, fledglings of this new world that is pressing on us all, awaiting; we know neither its language nor its forms, its modes or its expressions, we only feel and know as yet its rough and brute presence, unexplored.

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One can only access it once one is delivered from all ambition and all calculation.

This is why it is safe.

A note of explanation : this tale issued from a convergence: a community of researchers (in all matters of the new consciousness, the consciousness which is to take the lead of evolution replacing the mind and its ego-formation), living a little away from the general agitation, accepted a request from its neighbors to welcome on trial a group of chosen teenagers and provide them with an education more integral and caring than what was provided by nearby public schools, in the times of this latest so-called sanitary crisis. Their experience together developed gradually into a deeper sharing, until they all felt the wish to put up a sort of show, with conscious solidarity as its theme. This in turn allowed each of the adolescents to give expression to a singular experience each of them had so far preferred to keep unspoken, until they could trust their new companions and realize that the same experience was indeed a driving force in their adventure. And so it was decided to work at it two ways: one would be to present their show as planned to a local audience and the other would be this written Tale, which could be shared more widely across borders and physical impediments.

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(There exists a chronicle of the life and progress of this community, titled in French language “Défaire les murs et aller” , Premier et Deuxième Tomes )

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Aum Srimiraaravindaye Namo Namah

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A Tale for Tomorrow

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Preamble

Extreme circumstances, which cannot now be revealed, have led thirteen adults and sixteen teenagers, who did not know one another in any way, to have to live together in a nameless mansion situated on grounds of which the enclosing walls have been (silently) defined to them as impassable, when they each were separately brought in. The nature which is set within its boundaries is generous and diverse, so that only a little labor is required for them to subsist without any deprivation or deficiency. They would thus not reasonably complain and anyway to whom could they complain? They know nothing of what awaits them, nothing of the possible or probable duration of this incarceration, nor of what could have caused or motivated it; neither do they know anything of the persons implicated, nor of their objectives.

They only remember having first been directed to a sort of makeshift camp by volunteers who seemed to be well-intentioned, before they were put to sleep until their arrival here.

***

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First episode

All of them without exception, in the course of the same day have been, still asleep, deposited onto beds ranged in rows in a vast room whose many high windows open onto a park seemingly abandoned, each awaking in turn at various intervals. A woman first sat up; appearing robust and capable, she first shifted to the edge of her cot and looked all around, then stood and walked to the nearest door which she opened; no door was locked. A man then, whose skin is very brown, sat up as well, but remained motionless, gazing at everyone attentively, as if absorbing it all, without a sound. Then a very young girl, rather frail but alert and quick, just raised her head to look at it all and, seeing a door ajar, suddenly stood up and bolted to it and went through. And thus, each one became aware of the place and of the others; sometimes a cry, but no words yet. They were soon able to verify that near their respective beds was laying a large sack of solid cloth containing their personal effects. Then some of them, emboldened, crossed one or the other thresholds and began exploring the manor, which they found to be vast and solidly built, but deserted; they also found a large kitchen equipped with

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several stoves and with considerable stored staples and running water as well. Two or three of them went and opened the big front door and stepped onto the wide porch of pale stone overlooking a garden gone wild and, at a short distance, found a warehouse and a couple of sheds. When daylight began to fade, a few of them tried in vain to activate switches placed near the doors, till a burly man, his gestures measured and precise, located a central main nearer to the large kitchen and they could turn on a few low voltage bulbs. And when night fell they all, as if in tacit agreement, sat back on their beds and looked at one another; no one recognized any of the others. During their earlier impromptu explorations, as if inadvertently words had been uttered, spontaneous exclamations or half-formed questions, not expecting a reply; yet they had thus been able to figure they did speak a common language, even if their accents and their use of the words differed. Then a man with a lean and fine body and a golden skin raised a hand and slowly and distinctly proposed that they shift all the beds in a circle, so that each of them could at any moment see all the others. Without a word, they all stood up again and there was a general movement until a circle was obtained, leaving, after several Once they had all settled, a long silence filled the space.

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adjustments, enough space between the beds to circulate without hindrance.

Upon each bed at one end a blanket and two sheets were folded and at the other end a couple of pillows had been placed. When all had considered this novel situation born of their meeting – and not of some mysterious incomprehensible intervention -, their breaths calmed and their postures eased; a woman with swarthy skin and an abundant black mane of hair, a little corpulent but very swift and light-footed, made a sign with her joined hands, turned away and went out of the room; they all felt that she would bring back something they needed. A few moments passed, during which each one attempted somehow to situate oneself; this woman returned carrying a large oil lamp, perhaps made of bronze, which she placed right in the middle of the inner circle and, after saluting with joined hands every direction, lit up. There was a great unanimous sigh, followed by a natural, reverent in- gathering. Some of them, mostly amongst the teenagers, leaned against their backrest or stretched sideways facing the flame; the night was growing more tangible at the windows; one could just divine a few bird-cries, nothing else.

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A woman with reddish hair and pale skin, and a strong frame, had sat forward onto the edge of her bed and had counted: twenty-nine, there were twenty-nine of them. One could note, in one angle of the room, that several more beds had been piled and fitted one atop the other - should there have been more of them? None of them, however, was inclined to such pondering, for each one of them felt that, whatever its duration or even its external cause, this experience they were living deserved to be, or even demanded to be approached in the silence of the thought and with respect for what it was meant to offer. The same woman then stood at the head of her bed and, with a clear and melodious voice, firm and direct, announced that she had found there was all that was required in the kitchen hall to cook a good nourishing soup for all and, if two or three of them would accompany her and tend to the faggots and start one o the stoves and take up the cutting of the shallots, she believed she could fill up a large pot with a rich and well-seasoned soup of chick-peas and lentils and, if some others would care to collect enough utensils and flatware, one could then elect the best site for their first meals- but in her view it would be more comfortable, this first evening, to bring it all into their common room… It took a moment of surprise to assimilate the practicality of her words and then they all made their contentment known and several of them stood up to follow her.

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Yet two of them hesitated at the door, retraced their steps and placed their bags right atop their beds so they could find them again. (All the bags had in fact diverse aspects, to which they were each familiar.) A woman with an ivory tone of skin and a long heavy tress of silver hair then began to search her own bag and laid next to her a big flat transparent box containing big colour pencils; observing her, two of the teenagers, a squat boy and a girl with jet-black hair, pulled out of their own bags, he a ball of string and she a bundle of light grey cards and all three looked at one another almost laughing: one could each write one‟s name on a card and tie it to the bed frame. Several of the others came closer and sat together on the floor to pierce the cards and thread them with string and, when twenty-nine of them were ready, they tied them up carefully at the foot of each bed; it was agreed then that they would wait for the others to return with the supper. It was not long before one could hear their steps and animated voices and one of the doors opened and two boys appeared in its embrasure, in a diagonal, each holding a handle of the pot with a protective cloth, soon followed by two young girls and the evening cook carrying piles of bowls and trays of plates and spoons, which they laid onto the floor, between the central lamp and the beds. A man with brown hair, seamed features, strong and well-poised, pointed at the cards now well visible and invited everyone to select a colour pencil and each write their name, before they all took

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sustenance with their first common meal; this was accomplished in silence. It is thus once named that they sat in one circle, each one at the foot of one‟s bed facing the flame.

It was like a beginning.

Calmly each ate one‟s fil l; the soup was good and nutritious.

Once they had put everything away, Gomat pulled out of his bag a small tambourine, Tohar a harmonica and L‟Etoile a bamboo flute and, while they tuned them up, Svanil began humming, Dia joining her: the harmony of their first evening.

***

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Commentary

Several days went by, how many or which ones they could not have said; they had no watch, no radio, no telephone and no one had any recollection of the situation in which they had been put to sleep. They had leisurely explored the whole house and its grounds and environs; everything appeared to them as having been long unused and yet not quite neglected, but what to think? They had not attempted to see what lay on the other side of the stone wall that encircled the entire property and had not even neared it. In quiet conversations, they had been able to mutually ascertain and confirm a few things: while they all remembered their past life, they felt no regret or nostalgia; moreover none of them could reminisce either why or how this disappearance had taken place. They all felt an inexplicable need to respect the experience they were living through and to guard its integrity, each one with their own ways and forms of thought and feeling; not one of them had any credible suggestion as to what could be expected of them, to what cause or to whom their abduction could be of any use, nor to the possible or likely location of their current residence; they might as well have been on another planet, although all they had observed, touched, breathed, smelled, heard, felt or divined, whether in the numerous rooms with their mismatched furniture or in the park and the remnants of an

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orchard and vegetable garden, seemed to them to be perfectly terrestrial and natural and exempt of any ambiguity. From the youngest to the eldest, they each and all had a clear sense of a sort of commitment which resonated within them, without any word or any kind of reference and this was acting as a mute guidance.

There was a sort of recognition.

Little by little their various forays became more organized; in relation to precise objectives: to collect firewood, to gather grain and seeds, to inventory edible plants, to set up individual retreats – either within the mansion or in the woods -, but, without ever talking about it, they all chose to return to the common room and sleep in it every night. Each one felt the need to be at once unreservedly given and entirely open and, midst the constant whirl of impressions and perceptions, to learn to orient oneself and to respond as truthfully as one could. And each one thus sensed as a necessity to try and contribute what one was uniquely able to, without any calculation or arrogance, for each one was discovering oneself as the holder of an inestimable treasure, of which one was the sole guardian and keeper, a treasure which yet belonged to all, to everyone‟s future. And in this way certainly many days and nights must have passed, but the tension that had been lodged in their previous existences little by little disappeared or was dissolved and this was a liberation they could not have suspected was possible in their earlier state; that habitual

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harassment they still remembered, the dominating and constantly eroding passage of time, now dissipating, left room for different rhythms, for depths and alternances, breaches of perception and joining through which space and time seemed to fuse or bond and, when one succeeded in remaining very silent in one‟s head, to becoming something else, as if a single element or a single milieu and, in this milieu, a well-anchored gesture, a gesture rising from the heart, could be creative, or revealing of a reality infinitely rich and present. Even the corporeal rhythms seemed to be relieved of a weight of anxiety, to be rid of an external yoke and to attune to a less circumscribed, wider whole. Often, towards evening, one would bring back from one‟s treks or one‟s contemplations a dry root in the shape of a bird, a garland of half- opened pods, disclosing their crimson seeds, or a drawing on a fragment of bark, some sign of one‟s adventures which one would pin on a wall of the common room, and eventually they even had to arrange some shelves and a few rods to accommodate all of their finds. None of their respective, personal experiences of the world was cancelled, but they did feel as if distanced from whatever they had learnt or understood of it; an altogether other kind of apprenticeship and comprehension were now offered to them and they observed, each with a sort of gratitude and much bafflement, that, thus gathered and assembled, of different ages, kind, colour and background, yet conscious of the same awakening, they may well represent the place,

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role and function and perhaps even the destiny of humankind in the universe.

***

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Second episode

Blanche and Le Rai are coming up the path dancing and holding hands; a little further down one sees Zeidr‟s silhouette, a little bent forward by the basket loaded with mushrooms and roots she has fastened onto her back, followed by Sémion‟s balancing on each shoulder a strong reed from which hang tow woven sacks – that is four sacks of vegetables and berries – and it is obvious by the thrust of his chest that each expense of his body reinforces and harmonizes it more. In fact almost everyone else stands on the porch already and those are the last ones to return to the hearth, which is already decorated with streamers of sewn or woven leaves and many small clay lamps. For this is the day, or rather the evening, when they have chosen to try together and put into practice a particular movement they each have now discovered, identified and learnt – a movement supposedly internal, or inward which, although very simple, can only become possible once a minute and thorough cleansing has been effectuated in their consciousnesses. Four of them step forward to take charge of the sacks and basket and take them into the kitchen where four others are already busy at the cooking stoves and others are laying and setting the plates and cutlery: the delicious supper will be ready to be served when they all “return”.

At last the bell rings.

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Each one takes one of the little clay cups filled with aromatic oil and heads to one‟s own place on the central floor where the great lamp is already burning and lights it in its flame before placing it on the ground in front as one sits down. There is now a wide circle of small flames surrounded by a circle of beings and a higher flame in their common centre. When every breath has become even, slowly and softly a voice rises, a bearing voice: first comes the sound of creation, then come the puissant syllables of a forever chant, a chant to the One, to That which exists without form, contains all forms and alone fills and leads them all to plenitude and infinite discovery, a chant to the One Force of diamond which reveals to each being its unique path, its true joy and its self- giving.

***

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The accounts

In fact, while it is the first time they have chosen to make this inner movement all together at once, they each of them had already experienced it, met it, recognized it and practiced it before they were transported in these premises and they often wondered, later on, whether it was not precisely this commonalty of experience – an experience which, in their memories, had seemed so rare and generally incomprehensible that they each had preferred not to mention it to anyone else – that was partly responsible for their as yet unexplained “transfer”. Of course, according to the number of years each had already lived and the singular itinerary each had covered, the description each would make of this inner movement and the reference to its importance would vary, all the more so as there was nothing known to compare it with; even for those among them who had studied and reflected and wandered the most, the only universally acknowledged realization midst the circles of “spiritual” aspirants to which they could be tempted to compare their experience, was that of the current of energy which is coiled like a serpent in the lowest nerve center and, once awakened, can uncoil upwards, activating every other centre on its way till it opens and blooms above the head; but this very comparison had seemed to each of them to be unfortunate for this was not a matter of triggering every centre and their respective powers for any sort of separate ambition, but one of offering oneself to the conscious Truth that reigns

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above and to open to its force one‟s whole being so that union may be established in all of its parts and the ego may be dissolved.

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At the onset of their sharing, for instance, Le Rai , who is the youngest of them all, had narrated that, very simply and never asking himself why or how, since as long as he could recall, whenever he had been a little hurt or saddened or fatigued or vulnerable or in need of an answer, he would move a little apart, be silent and just turn his attention towards the crown of his head, just a little above it, and at once, invariably, would find himself as if covered and calmed, comforted, widened and held and protected, as if by an umbrella of luminous sweetness – and all was well again, but with something acquired, which he could not define. As for Blanche , whom you just saw dancing with Le Rai, she tells thus: “On e day I had a very big upset, a big sorrow, and I just did not know how to bear it, did not know what to do and then I asked myself where it was really coming from, I needed to understand how it came and at that moment I sensed there was another depth behind and I sort of stepped back inside my heart and then something imposed itself, which I don‟t know how to explain, as if my heart itself had become deeper and there was now, it had become, a space filled with love and freedom, there

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was no longer any sorrow but in its place there was something that loved without bonds and there I felt like there was a vertical axis connecting or communicating with something so limitless and so full, filled with a love that sees and knows – and ever since that moment I no longer have any fear, for I know I can at any time return to that state, whatever happens and feel the necessary movement, it is like a guide…” As for Cleïm , who is the eldest, he told them, or rather summed up for them, this accompaniment along the years through all situations: “Already when I was a kid, I used to feel in my body a force that pulled and that watched, a little as if at once a magnet and a drill or a probe, it was familiar and reassuring and it was as if my secret refuge; little by little it became like a silent mass, always present yet never involved in whatever happened in my life, as if a sort of witness above that yet suddenly would make itself felt with a pressure that was like a warning or a necessary rallying call; then, gradually as I better understood the complexity of our nature and the sources of all the conflicts and miseries, I learnt to realign under this mute charge that now presided over my being, without ever forcing itself on me; and then I understood that, there, was consciousness – consciousness and force at the same time – and that this corporeal life was actually a field of progress where one learns true life, with one‟s body, with the consciousness that is everywhere invisible, in our bodies as in everything that is; and this axis has become in my life the proof and the expression of the real, of the true reality – and one must let oneself be worked upon by its action and

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offer to it and open to it all one is and learn to rely more and more upon its presence, physically a nd materially as well…”

Listen to Dia now: “Always in my childhood and my teens I applied myself to do whatever was expected of me; I would see my near ones and all my hard- working kin trudge away and do their utmost so that I could get a good education and enough chances to succeed in the world, a little in their name, and I used to tell myself that they were obeying a sort of collective wisdom which I must try to respect and honor. Yet the feeling of an absurdity was there, all the time, till one day I was sitting on the open stairs of the University, stunned, an explosion above my head: what is all this? And the very next day I was invited to join an organism of research in the field of cognitive sciences. At the very same moment I experienced, I clearly felt two impulses, two urges: one was to accept the offer and the other to henceforth and for all my choices, without calculation or mixture, refer to this sole vibrant presence above – that from then on It would be the sole authority…” Presently, listen to Tocsin : “When I was very small, my fami ly tells me I was rather silent, but constantly observing, watching and, growing up, I realized I was curious of everything, how and why this or that happened, by which mechanism or process, and I would ask questions on everything, why and how does it work, till I saw that my queries were too often embarrassing for the grown-ups and then I began to explore on my own

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and what I could explore without disturbing anyone was my body, how it all functioned, where the energy was coming from, where was the engine, how was it all organized and I would try and follow the operations, to understand them, like where to press so as to obtain or to prevent such or such effect and, one day, I found something that, how to say, reassured me, a simple, small movement inside my head and my heart at the same time, which opened a door at the top and instantly brought me into Contact: everything was lit up and made sense, all became aligned and it was as if the world was revealed and so, this has become my secret, my space, my axis …( emphasis on Contact is Tocsin’s )”. And Kayne , here is what he shares: “My maternal grand -father had been an initiate, he had gifts and these gifts could be passed on; he had been much loved, respected and listened to and, due to that, even though my parents were simple villagers, my family was held in high esteem and, when it became obvious that I had inherited some of these gifts, this collective consideration was heightened, filled with expectations; indeed, when still very young, I used to come out of my body and it never scared me and I would visit here and there and I could see, when someone was in some trouble, what was really happening, what forces were at play and so, people started seeking my advice even before I was pubescent; I was by then attending the school run by the missionaries and little by little, observing, I could step back and realized the complexity of this world; then I began to seek my own way and disengage from the

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others‟ expectations and Impositions, while careful not to alarm anyone, looking out for an opportunity to move away for my studies; when such an occasion presented itself, through the general effervescence that was invading our region with the progress and urbanization of our society, my people did not dare to oppose my choice and I could move away and learn to orient myself without them, in a milieu and situations where I was just a young student midst hundreds; but still, naturally as it were, I went on discovering more invisible spaces and how to move in them; yet I had a doubt, or rather I felt a kind of lack, a need of something more central, more essential, more… true; and the more I met of this world and of the adjacent adjoining worlds, the more the need grew of a truth that would give them meaning, would hold and inhabit them all; I did not know how to formulate this need, this want, but it became ever more pressing and poignant; and one day I found myself at a junction, just between a sort of subtle shift and the perception as if of a door to be opened, a great and profound emotion, a silence filled at last, and the sense, physical sense, of a column of living light, of a light that loves and knows… Since that day I have always known where to return, where to stand, so as to find back this column and this pres ence and it is what guides me…” And here is what Tohar tells us: “From my early childhood I used to play with whatever material was available to create tiny habitats and environments and later to erect little cabins and soon I would reflect upon the meaning of lived, inhabited space, upon what man and nature could achieve together;

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when I started to study all the matters and subjects that were taught in school, it was still thought at the time that humanity truly had only historically existed for some millennia, but this felt to me entirely ridiculous, for I could very well sense that the presence of man upon the earth could not be measured in these mere millennia but in infinitely longer periods and I became passionate for the history of forms, of edifices and of all built spaces, including those animals construct, and the reason of their importance and their role in the evolution of societies and, probably through this passion, I developed a sort of intimacy with something like the progress of consciousness and, naturally, I sought to find a source, I studied the ancient texts, sacred architectures and keys of harmony, but more and more I wanted to find that source directly, without intermediaries, references or concepts, what it is that makes us aspire and progress and evolve and become other than what we were, here upon this earth, in these bodies and, I cannot say when nor how exactly, I became conscious of a live axis that pierced the lid, a free axis, charged with presence, here itself, free of thoughts, sentiments and beliefs, free and present… and this has become my law…” And now listen to Sémion , who has crossed the silence: “ It is only when these two beings stood before me, midst the crowd that was pressing at the doors, that, through their gaze, I could enter this world; it is they who took me away and, later, they told me that my parents had been migrant refugees who had had to leave me in that hosting centre; until the instant of this meeting, I had never uttered a

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single word, perhaps I was then about twelve years old; until then, I would hear and see and understand, but I was busy with growing, perhaps like a plant, so as to have an autonomous body, and be able to choose; they taught me everything, then; I believe now that my childhood took place in a hostile environment where I was often roughed up and jostled around and mocked; I had two older brothers who were trying to protect me but they were not always there; it was a life of poverty, I think, but I was neither happy or unhappy, it was more like a false reality and I was holding within, holding a space that nothing or no one could touch and in that space there was that which held me and knew me and never let go of me, like a ray perhaps, that was there from bottom to top and top to bottom, it was my hold and my link, my single mooring and my treasure; and little by little, with them and along them and the companions, it all fell into place and this is why I can tell you a little bit, it is how I can be with you, one of you, one of us…” And here is what Zeidr can tell us: “Born in a line of midwives and healers, I grew up learning about the body, the human body and the body of the Earth, its seasons, its minerals, its elements, its vegetal and animal creatures; my horizon and my task were to perfect my knowledge and ability, but a heavy shadow was brooding all around: religions, politics and corruption seemed to gain ground and power; we always used to pray, in our own way, it was more a prayer to the great Mother, which we would keep secret and, without any will or effort on my part, I became aware of a silent answer descending into my being, invisible, inexplicable, almost

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immobile, but sure and puissant; in this clarity it soon became evident to me that we must flee, escape from this milieu, and it came with the trust that we would be led to safety; the opportunity presented itself and my mother, my companion, my daughter and I were able to emigrate; later on, the need grew in my heart to walk alone and discover how to serve this sovereign presence, free of all labels, denominations and contracts and I first made sure that my daughter would be able to chose her own path in this world without any debts or obligations; my companion understood, he too was learning to identify his own inner call; and ever since, it is this density of presence above and within that, without words or thoughts, has supported me in my progress and my participation to the opening of this world…” So now here is Martin : “ My family was ordinary, my parents were small shopkeepers who wished to do good and have their three children properly educated; I was the youngest and a dunce: the only thing that interested or motivated me was to learn with my body, and I also liked poetry, sometimes; so I turned to practical fields, tradecrafts, the material inventions I could understand and apply on my own, and there was too this urge to dream and take off, both at once, you see, and thus I was not able to fit into the society and all the reactions of disapproval or well-meaning sermons only pushed me deeper into my shell, what did they all aim at, what was the real sense of all that? And I don‟t know how, but between the dream and the physical activities I had found a kind of position within my body, sheltered from all, where I could

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breathe as if a vertical current which knew me and answered me and even, perhaps, guided me; I never talked about it but, whenever I could without drawing attention, I would withdraw in there and, as I was mostly busy working and fine-tuning or improving some thing or other, some little machine or instrument, everyone left me in peace, someone would bring me their odd bits for repair and improvement, so that, in the end, I had some usefulness which provided me a little space of my own; it is little by little that I learnt that this inner current was actually my anchor in the world, or through the world and, every time one or other necessity of life showed up or tried to impose itself, I would simply gather and collect myself in there, in that vertical silence, so strong and filled with presence, and things were somehow worked out and my path was traced a step at a time and I better and more deeply understood what is our human nature and how one can emerge out of it…” And Yael , here is what he says: “It w as a burst family, as if satellized, it made up like a sort of dispersed, scattered tribe, yet linked and bonded by blood and sentiments; what was nice was that we would move about while remaining in the same milieu, kindly and warm, but it was also trying because one never settled anywhere, never could commit, and we finally stayed amongst us and the larger world seemed far too complex or else too rigid and authoritative and this was all quite disconcerting, something essential seemed to be missing; and since, I think, the end of childhood and the beginning of my teens, perhaps because I had formed the habit of collecting myself within my heart as in a refuge, I

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would sometimes feel, without reason or warning, a kind of pressure on my head, right above it; it was almost like a headache, except that it was inexplicably very deeply pleasant, reassuring and puissant, devoid of any violence or insistence, well, it was all of that and much more, but it did not last, it came and made itself felt and then withdrew, or else my attention was drawn away outside; in fact, it was as if instead of my little habitual „me‟, this was a greater „me‟, free and greater above, ever-smiling yet firm and knowing, and it is only much later, after many episodes, that I realised how these moments of pressure had directed me very practically to what would be meaningful and, for instance, it was due to this sort of soft pressure above my head that I stopped by with some friends and met, at a table in an open café, a musician and composer to whom I paid more attention and through whom a whole field of progress opened to me…” As for Amethyst , here is what she tells us: “Since I was very small, at least what I remember of it all, I have a hard time „forming‟ myself, as they say, to become this or that, to acquire this or that quality, such or such feature or characteristic, like one describes a person one thinks one knows and already, in a physical way, I am quite typical, with strong traits, but it was as if one must also dress up inside oneself and select clothes one could no longer change so as to find a place among the others in the world and there is something in me like a refusal, or a distance and I wondered always, what does all this mean, I felt the need to link up with something greater, something that truly is, and needs no approval and no external appraisal, and bit by bit

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I began to feel as if the traces of a presence where no one could enter and see, like a trickle of gold, which spoke to me without words and pulled me above, where there are no limits and yet everything is in its place… well what I am telling you is not well thought out, but it has become for me, without my realising it, the very movement that always brings me back to what IS, with capital letters, as compared with all these disguises that only harden and imprison and separate us all…” And Le Marin , listen to him: “My parents tell me that, until I was able to walk by myself, I used to cover my ears with my hands, so much so that they had wanted to have me examined, but there was nothing; and when I had to join school, I would always look for a quiet spot, I had this need of a silence in which sounds would have meaning, instead of all this noise and agitation, as if I was remembering another element where everything is expressed in harmony, and so I would try and listen within and, as I grew up, this silence in the center and above has become more concrete, a little as if my true element, a respiration between my body and my true country above; and now, this is how I calm and center myself, as often as I need, but it is also how I discover and it opens for me a path in the world and it provides me with a clear view and, how to say this, I don‟t wish to pretend anything, it is not personal, it as if eyes that see what is true, or I could say as well, what is linked or united, linked to the great Self, not like some idea but here, physically… and this way, one has to learn everything at every moment… and yet it is not visible, one cannot touch it, one cannot prove it is there to

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someone… even if I often think that everything would be so much simpler if everyone knew it…!”

Now it is Svanil who talks to us: “ In order to form and establish their couple, my parents had to transgress a lot; my mother belonged to a line of itinerant musicians, my father was a committed intellectual; they did not wish another child after my birth and wanted for me to acquire my own independence; both their respective milieus had banished and ostracized them, but their common engagement and their bravery earned them many reliable and precious friendships and a number of people took turns and participated in my education, my apprenticeship of the world, its diversity and its contradictions and so I began my journey, stage by stage, with different masters; from my mother I had already acquired a mastery of breath and voice and from my father the lucidity of mind that keeps questioning and seeking some unconditional certitude; yet, once exposed and left as it were to my own resources, I had this need to find again like the internal sensation of a transcendence, something alike to the energy that moves from centre to centre as my mother had taught me when showing how to move the breath and subtly direct it from one station to another, wedding it to the voice, but in another way; something that acted altogether differently, at once outside and in the very center of all that is, a flow and a flux that is immobile and aware of everything, an invisible current that embraces everything and gives meaning to all; and thus, through it all, from one place to another and one situation to another, this has become my invisible force of

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cohesion, my nectar and my path – and I know that it is nothing personal, that it is.. the One…”

And Ruffian , hear him now: “It seems that, even very small, I was a little of a rowdy, the feeling of being too tightly hemmed in, as if tied up, or forced to wear and bear something ill-fitting and heavy and too cumbersome or unwieldy and so I was thrashing about for no reason and yet there were always these moments when, I don‟t know how, suddenly I felt something straight and true, it was a little like a magic sword which automatically created ease and wellness, and this was nobody‟s concern, no need of any words or explaining, I just had to step back a little bit and touch it, touch this, that is infinite and yet right here, and so in this way I learned to calm myself in this life…” And here comes Vrit ‟s turn: “Both my parents were teachers in the elementary school closest to our village and they did not want me to attend it; with an uncle who had become attached to me they arranged that I first learn to read and write in two languages, either at home or with him when he went to the town where he was trying himself at various enterprises, as he was a little adventurous and quite daring and there he had found ways to get me accepted by several different mentors, because I would be interested in everything and quick of understanding and in this way I became aware of different avenues of knowledge and practice and whenever I would return home and note the scarcity and penury of materials at the

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disposal of my parents for their work as educationists, I would feel revolted; this was the beginnings of Internet and I had learnt with one of my mentors to explore it on his new computer and this dream of a vast ever-expanding bank of knowledge information in every domain, ever more detailed and precise, made accessible to each and all, made me enthusiastic; that each willing person could thus have access to all branches of knowledge and develop one‟s own comprehension of the world and one‟s own cond uct accordingly, this seemed to me like a great step forward and I wanted very much to make it concrete at the earliest in my native area; one thing leading to the next, this commitment made me begin to travel until I realized that this great possibility was rapidly being seized on and monopolized by the promoters and profiteers of immediate satisfaction and communication, and the pollution that ensued led me to turn back within; it was no longer a service of the truth and progress of consciousness, but a crude exploitation; and so the need grew in me, I learnt to concentrate, I found again the validity of the call and of the prayer and, I don‟t really know how, found the presence and its action, here itself in my body and my life, like a concrete conduit, independent from people and their desires and wants – like a force of becoming, right here, and this has become my sole certitude…” And here comes Violette : “ Always I feel like I know nothing, I do learn everything I am taught, but it is nothing, I have a white skin and black hair and I am pretty and I love my kin, yet I know that I know nothing and so I go back to my

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station and I listen and I feel, there, inside, where it knows, where it sees, where it flows without moving, without any story and there I am well, no longer separate – and that is what matters to me…”

It is now for Tan to tell us: “I don‟t have bad memories of my childhood; I was what is called an „introvert‟, I would listen and observe, I would feel all kinds of pulsions and urges, I believe I was more at ease in the midst of nature than amongst people, whether kids or grown-ups, but it is only with the intrusion of the mind‟ activity that I began to experience a deeper want, a lack, an absence, as if a split or an alienation and it tormented me; music was what helped me most; adolescence is a difficult place, I felt more reduced, glued down, like a drowning and there was something above that was pressing; and one day the screen or lid at once broke up for just one instant when I felt I was returned to where everything is a single consciousness, there are no words or thoughts to express it here, everything is the same but everything is true and full: when one has emerged there, even for just a second of our time, one can no longer believe in or adhere to the view of the cage, one comprehends differently the reality of the world and one feels a sort of shame at not being able to remain there, right there above, and to be yielding back to the pull and traction of the ordinary three-dimensional condition; so then one starts looking for the thread, the hand, the means of change; and in this way, gradually I became aware, within the body itself, of a passage, as if a bole of light linking the two realities and working for the change, gently but without indulgence, that opens one up and makes

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one move forward; with my spouse and partner we have travelled much, trying with our arts to communicate, met a lot of distress and a lot of hope, of courage and of fear, and always there is this flowing of the presence that gathers and orders and clears the way, step by step...” And L’Archer , listen to him: “I never talked to anyone about it; at first I was not e ven aware that the others did not know the same inner space, but then, through their behaviour in the daily life, it became evident, and also that I would not be understood at all if I tried to refer to it - and what would be the use?; I was considered as a sensitive child, perhaps too sensitive, and it was like all around there was this misunderstanding, from every side, but I learnt that it did not matter, trusting that one day it would certainly be shared, but not now, not as yet; in any case, it was neither noisy nor demonstrative, it was my hearth of tranquil joy, like when one is underwater and moves to be in the path of a sunray, it is direct, concentrated and diffuse at the same time, and also it is like a lift, one can rise in it; one knows to be patient and generous, that the whole world is one, even if this is still a secret... it is only today, here, that I can recognize this same presence in others, and it is a great boon...!” Here is Jul , now: “Quite early on already, in the small school, I ha d that sense of being immersed into a very awkward and unpleasant condition seeing and feeling the hostilities, the nasty games, the cruelty of some of the kids,

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or else the cowardice, the boasting and the little lies, I was like paralysed, what is all this?; particularly when I was witness to the misery such brats could push and corner into those who were a little handicapped or slower or heavier or less well-endowed than the others, and these bodies that were lacking something the others possessed effortlessly, I felt their distress; little by little I chose to apply myself to try and remedy practically to these lacks; there was this need in me to return to each body its innate and rightful dignity, whatever its condition may be; for I felt that each body has the right and the possibility to link up, as if vertically, to a greatness above, a greatness of existence before which all our airs and posturing made me ashamed; and so I went about learning to create aids, instruments, objects that would, according to the needs of each body, allow it to progress, harmonize, strengthen and unify, and always I go back in to a certain position inside my body, which is free of the dimensions and where I receive help, like some current of invisible light, and I do believe that every body, every individual physical person who respects the body, can also find this same position..." And Chardon now: “There I am, rather the feisty type, it is not that I look for quarrels, but there are two things that I find so ugly that one should never allow them to happen and take more room than they already have everywhere; in every place I see them at work, how can one possibly continue to justify them, it is for me incomprehensible: these two things are fear, on one side, and the power that causes it so it can reign; you see, always,

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always I feel and sense, right above, a presence that is intractable, puissant and incorruptible, ever willing and ready to help us rise, but we must get rid of these two gangrenes that are wasting and devouring humanity; each time an occasion presents itself - and these are not big events, only small moments of our so-called normal existence -, whenever I detect one or the other of these curses, I feel vigorous and go to battle; but now, as I grow up, I see that one must be ready to fight them in many ways and at many levels; I learn to receive the peace that makes one stronger; I have no words really to tell of this source, this presence that knows all of me and leads me, even when I do not know anymore wh ere I stand...” So it is now L’Etoile who speaks to us: “For long I just thought everyone must be that way, that each person must have their individual key to go out from within; it is only after being exposed to many more situations and compelled to realize that most people seemed to be deprived or unaware of this access, that I began to understand a little the measure of responsibility: indeed this is not merely for the comfort and support of my little person, it is a seal; yet it is only recently that I could grasp a little the action this conscious presence can have – if and when we are willing to change and to become … truer… with her… I am not at all prepared to put words on this experience, but I do know and feel that here, at last, you understan d…”

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Presently it is Fran ‟s turn to tell us: “My childhood took place in the midst of a large family of hard -working people, each one going to their task without fail or questions; but all of them shared a sense of honor and of priorities and knew to care for one another; yet as I watched all this activity, there was in me a sort of deep reticence: they would say, „life is like that, one does the best one can, helping each other, what more can one ask for, this is our common lot…‟, and there lacked sense , there was the need of meaning to this existence, the urge not to be trapped and sucked into this closed circuit and this ignorance… ; several distant parents were craftspeople, artisans and, in their company I could find a rhythm, a link to the infinite: concentration in the exact movement, care for perfection, precision and harmony, not for the immediate gain or profit, but for the sense of a good, honest labor, of a work faithful to what is greater than us and contains us all; near the stone-cutter, the weaver, the potter or the carpenter I could find this oriented silence I had been missing; but I had no particular talent and life was pulling me elsewhere and I felt that this very sense, I could find it within, inside my physical being, deep, this link and this presence; there has not been for me any particular decisive moment or revelation, it has been more like I was little by little finding back my source and my element and my way, without thoughts or sentiments but with gratitude and, ever since, this is where I lay all my days and all my instants…”

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