The Key (A Fairytale) - Chapter 4: Nothing Left To Lose (Part 7)

I thought you were going to the community," a John said, his eyebrows Raised. "Yes, yes, I am on my way," Moosawa stammered, looking surprised.

"But isn't it in the other direction," a John inquired."

"Of course, I should have known that," said Moosawa.

A John tried to ease the key seekers apparent nervousness by laughing and saying, "I know why you are off course; you made the same mistake I have made many times in this part of the forest. In fact, I still must be careful or I will easily get lost around here."

"I can be so stupid at times and I am so glad that I ran into you both again," said Moosawa. "Who knows where I might have ended up?"

"We all become lost at times," a John replied with a slight smile. "All you have to do is join the main trail at the end of this road and after a few miles, turn left. Then you should be able to navigate the rest of the way."

"Thank you so very much again," said Moosawa, reaching in his bag and producing some honey rice cakes. "May I offer you these for your help?"

"No thank you," said a John, "We are on our way to the village for alms and will be eating soon. Would you like to join us?"

"No, no. I am late already and must be on my way."

"Very well then," said a John, "good luck on your journey," and Moosawa hurried down the trail.

I could only shake my head. Moosawa was certainly an inept key seeker. I felt sorry for him. One of the rules of key seekers was not to store food and there he was with cakes in his bag!

Continuing toward the village, a John said, "Shall we talk more about your anger, would that be alright?"

"Sure." I said, but I felt a little annoyed . . . perhaps angry? Can't he leave this alone for a while?

"It will amaze you how anger or other problems that are intensely and honestly observed for a long period, without any attempt to solve them, will offer a solution entirely by themselves," said a John. "You see, whatever you do in life, whether in your castle or in the forest, you are constantly observing, and what do you think it is that you observe? It is the truth or falsity of every situation. This is what you try to sort out. Everybody does this, usually without being aware of it and our success in separating truth from deception depends on how clearly we observe. Why is it we persistently sort things out and try to see clearly? It is because we resent being misled. We despise being deceived and disappointed."

"You're right," I said, "I hate being manipulated. I'm always afraid of being duped. Maybe there actually is a connection between my anger and fear. You know, when the villagers arrived saving me from having to kill those two warriors who were hunting me down like an animal, I was disappointed. I wanted the satisfaction of killing them myself. They deceived me; I am the legal king of Ayatana, whether I'm in the kingdom or not, and their attempts to sneak up and kill me were cowardly.

When I confronted them, my anger came up as a feeling of tension, a desire to compete and win. I was afraid on some level I suppose that they would overpower me. Maybe that is why my strength always doubles in these situations and my reflexes become faster than a snake's. It's a natural ability of mine, increased by my not knowing the meaning of defeat. I was extremely confident when the soldiers confronted us. I pictured every move in my mind that I would make to kill them quickly, and when the villagers arrived, I was disappointed. The sorcerer was right; when will this killing stop? I seem to depend upon it for my identity.

"Yes, and in all of this you were searching for truth," a John continued. "Your entire life could be described as a search for truth, couldn't it? And wouldn't truth be expressed as that which is in this one, precious moment? How can we begin to observe this truth? We can start by facing what it is we are dependent upon. You are dependent upon your anger, but others might rely on the people they cherish or a cause they believe in, something they would terribly miss if they lost it. The question is; is it possible to be free of this dependency no matter how important it seems to be right now? Dependency is always of the past, it is an illusion; not truth, and when it is finally resolved, only then will we come upon the threshold of total freedom." A John then laughed and said, "And dependency starts with this enormous self,' you are so attached to, my dear king."

He seemed so self-assured in everything he said, and in a way, I felt as if I was competing with him. It seemed that I battled with everything.

Struggling to assert myself and win a point, I cleverly inquired, "Can't we become dependant upon the truth?"

"We can become attached to the concept of truth," a John skillfully replied, "which is dead knowledge; but we can never become attached to the actuality of truth, which is always alive and unpredictable. Now, is your consciousness presently refined enough to clearly see? Can you remain in this moment, or is there still work to be done internally to establish a very concentrated, inquiring mind that will pierce through the deceptions? Can you walk through the forest and see a new leaf as if seeing a leaf for the first time in your life, and then see the next leaf as if it is the first leaf you have ever seen? If you can, what more could one ask for than this?"

"I have a lot of work to do, and I'm slowly accepting that fact," I answered, "but I am also determined to discover the key's secret no matter the hardship. I have one question, however; is there any danger of becoming attached to my quest?"

"Of course not, not for now at least, for your quest is all you have. You need this temporary focus in order to develop your mind so that someday it will have the ability to see through itself and understand the secret of the key. After the key is found, then what do you think happens?"

I gave him a blank stare.

"What happens is that a tremendous sensitivity and intelligence develops; the sensitivity and intelligence from whence every virtue arises. Then, when you see the beauty of the forest or the beauty of a human being, there will be no compelling urge to acquire or dominate them. With wisdom prevailing, they will be seen in all their beauty and awe without desire, and your actions will be exquisitely honorable. The unity of the universe will become apparent to you, and everything will be protected within an envelope of immense love and compassion. Soon after this, you will discover your natural abilities and what it is you love to do, tapping into unlimited energy that will be used hand in hand with your natural talents to help raise the consciousness of all beings."

I was bewildered, as usual. And even though I had no idea what he was talking about, I was frankly fascinated. I also felt that the key was getting closer.

Grinning, a John said, "You might have understood some of what was just said with your mind, but none of it has taken root in your heart, and why? It is because your stone-cold heart is closed. Shall we begin to open it with the inner work? It will only take a minute."

It was finally time to refine my mind; a mind that a John cautioned would naturally be fearful of the inner work, for the mind knows that this inner observation will weaken its influence over me. Therefore, he said that very few will ever risk taking this initial, uncomplicated step because they subconsciously fear it. They don't understand that every minute of inner reflection will plant a seed that someday, with certainty, will free them and change their destinies forever. Sadly, taking just one minute out of their frantic, confused routine would be asking too much for these people, as they rush around on their never-ending carousel of illusions, spending entire lifetimes storing up gold that they can only borrow for the short time they are here.

"What I want you to do," a John began, "is close your eye for one minute and slowly repeat and visualize in your mind these words - I AM THAT.' Allow no other thought to intervene as you picture these words, but if thoughts do arise, simply return to I AM THAT and try to keep your mind focused on it. Do you understand? Direct your mind to the words, and then sustain your concentration on them."

Well, that sounded easy, so I closed my eye and did as he instructed. After a minute or so, I opened my eye and when a John asked me how it went, I said, "What does I AM THAT' mean?"

He laughed, "I knew it! I instructed you not to think and the first thing you did was think about what I AM THAT means. See, you are still thinking, you are still looking for answers! A concentrated mind without thought is an important part of the inner work and is where you will make progress toward the key. How will you ever be able to remain in the moment with so many thoughts? When you are able to keep the words I AM THAT in your mind and concentrate on them without trying to guess their meaning, and without thinking about other things, you are in a state of not knowing where the self' that you are so involved with is not present. When you think that you know something, this is your self' storing information in your mind, information that is no longer alive. The key can only be found in this immense moment that's alive and where the self can never tread. It can never be found in the dead past where memories and knowledge are accumulated."

I was well aware of my tendency to analyze everything and could readily see that this practice was not going to be easy with my rigid mind, but I was determined to set myself to the task in order to find the key. A John patted me on the shoulder and said not to fret, and that with sustained effort I would eventually develop a calm mind.

After wandering in this part of the forest for a while, a John asked how my inner work was coming along. I replied that working with I AM THAT had some unexpected results where my mind, that so dominated me in the past, seemed to relax, with things not appearing as threatening as before, although nothing had changed except my focus on I AM THAT. I told him that I worked on the three words diligently, and boasted that I could keep them in my mind for almost two minutes without intervening thoughts. In my opinion, I was ready for the next step and was getting impatient.

A John warned that the next step would require constant attention, not for two minutes but for many years, and that I must be willing to persevere. I said that I was ready to work long and hard, and that I was not afraid of anything. I was a warrior.

He just smiled and promised to continue his instructions on the next full moon night.

I could hardly wait. The key was my goal and nothing would stand in my way. I was going to throw myself into the inner work. ( To be continued)