May 11, 2023
This morning I first became aware of the outline of a humanlike creature but could only see its outline; its body was black. “He” - I’ll call him male for now - had an outline like a slim, elegant man, kind of a dandy. The setting was strange and it took me a while to figure it out. It was nighttime and I felt like I was in a desert environment. Of course, this is the Symbolic Realm so nothing is quite as it seems. It took me quite a while to figure out what I was looking at. The black figure seemed to be on a rise. The rise seemed to be covered in colorful jewels. Though pretty, there was something unsettling about the scene.
After some concentration, I realized the ground covered in jewels was actually alive. We were on the belly of a giant. The jewels covering his skin seemed almost painful. And they weren’t really jewels. I didn’t determine until later that they were actually crystalized sugar; in other words, they were candy.
The giant, while obviously in some pain, seemed to be asleep. Again, it took me a while to figure out what I had been called here to do until I remembered the blackness. Usually, I’m called to go into blackness. Well, the giant wasn’t black. The only thing that was black was the outline of the creature.
I entered the blackness through the creature, finding myself in the belly of the giant. It was pitch black at first but I brought my own light source, my body. In the dim light, I made out the body of a large man. He appeared to be lying in a pool of amber liquid that I soon realized was syrup. The syrup was covering his body. I understood that he derived great pleasure from eating, especially sweet things. His body showed the effects of this love; he was quite large!
The guy didn’t appear to be in pain specifically. He loved drowning in sweet syrup; however, this was a case of too much of a good thing and there was suffering beneath the pleasure. I wondered what I was supposed to do because he didn’t seem to be inclined to leave. Then I happened to look down at his feet and I saw that he was being devoured (well, more like gummed) by a huge creature. It was pitch black, basically just a huge, toothless mouth that was chomping down on him. So, the guy who was rolling around in syrup was also being ‘eaten’ himself by a demon of sorts.
I should note there wasn’t anything overtly sinister about this. It struck me as both humorous and tragic at the same time. I was struck by a sense of this man’s stuckness; he was trapped by his own desire. And had a ‘demon’ to keep him stuck. Although the relationship between him and the so-called demon appeared to be consensual.
There was nothing for me to do. The light did the work, illuminating the ‘demon’ and showing it to be a giant, furry and cuddly monster. It looked like a huge sheepdog. Something changed as soon as the man and the demon were illuminated and suddenly we were back ‘outside’ only this time we were no longer on the belly of the giant. Instead, we were on a gorgeous, sunny, grassy hillside a la Studio Ghibli. The jewels has transformed into beautiful flowers. Overhead, big, fluffy clouds drifted past as the wind drew patterns in the grass.
The creature who had previously been visible only as an outline was now fully visible. He appeared to me as a very androgynous, long-haired ‘man’ dressed in very fanciful clothing. He had long, blond hair and sapphire blue eyes. His clothing was likewise sapphire. He looked like an anime character. You know the kind, male-female with incredibly idealized features. Because of this, even though he was white-skinned and blond, he felt alien. He most definitely was not human and never had been. He reminded me of the ‘elves’ I’ve met before during these journeys. What was he exactly? I don’t know. Maybe an angel. Maybe something else. Clearly, though, he was benevolent and had brought me here to help the man.
Speaking of the man, he was naked and romping through the flowers with his ‘demon’ which now was a big, furry, white dog. The two were so happy! It was a joy to watch them playing so freely and without any care in the world. I felt happy for them.
The blond-haired man was watching me with a smile on his face. “You humans,” he said, “are always so busy. Why don’t you just lie down with me and enjoy the beauty. There’s nothing to do. Just relax. You’re always rushing around!”
I joined him, lying down in the grass next to him and putting my hands behind my head. We watched the clouds for a while before I felt compelled to ask why he had called me to help this man. Why couldn’t he have done it?
He laughed at me, mostly because he was amused by my inability to simply rest. “He can’t see me,” he explained. “And he can see you. That’s why.”
Why hadn’t I thought of that? It was so simple!
“You can only see what your soul has developed enough to see here in the Imaginal,” he continued, still smiling. “Most of us here are invisible to you humans. That’s why we need you. Now, please, enough of the questions! Just relax and enjoy yourself!”
I tried but it was hard! I’m such a doer that I was restless. I did my best, meditating and breathing. Still, it was difficult. He found my fidgeting funny and couldn’t help laughing at me.
And that was it. After a few minutes, my meditation timer went off and I was done. I left the man and dog and the strange, elegant creature behind on the sunny hillside. Who knows where they went after I left?
***
