February 25, 2024
Today I learned a little more about the process I’m involved in. I guess it’s like an apprenticeship where I’m being slowly but surely trained. Right now, the Woman in White is my sensei but I have had at least one other in the past: Remember the mysterious entity who would sit with me during meditation and place his hand over my left hand? He was a steadying force and intervened on occasion when I was in over my head. There have been others who appeared (Jesus, various angels, etc.) but not on quite the same ongoing basis as the Woman in White.
I realized today that I won’t be her apprentice forever and that made me sad because, as you know, I’ve grown quite fond of her and I appreciate her teaching style. She is the right teacher for me right now. Funny how that works.
Today, I became aware of sapphire waters. I realized I was floating on the edge of a vast sea whose waters were deep blue and beautiful. The waves gently pushed my body onto the shore and I got up, looking around, to discover that I was on an island that seemed familiar. I think it’s the same island I visited when I encountered the entity who led me to a cave where I found the boy who was pretending to be a knight.
The island was windswept and the distant hills were emerald green. It was overcast and chilly. The shore was rocky but there was a sandy beach beyond the rocks and some low dunes. Gulls and terns soared overhead, the air was filled with their raucous calls.
A vaguely human creature with blue skin was standing before me. She–at least I think it was female–was semiaquatic with gills and scaly skin. She was quite ugly and very muscular with one eye in the center of her head and gaping mouth. There were others of her kind in the surf nearby but they ignored me. She took me roughly by the shoulder and dragged me out of the surf and up the beach, crossing the dunes. I don’t think she cared much for me but didn’t have much choice; I was the only one there who could help her.
She led me to a vast temple complex that I assume had been built by her people. Its walls were gorgeous white, shimmering and pearlescent. I was quite taken by the beauty of the place.
In the center of the complex was a large pearl sitting atop a plinth. The pearl’s surface was initially white but it swirled as I approached and became deep black. A black pearl. Of course, I knew what I needed to do: Enter the Black.
I did so, finding myself in a cavelike area. In front of me lay the body of a woman clothed all in white. She wasn’t dead, though, just asleep or unconscious. At first, I thought this was the Woman in White but quickly realized she was most assuredly not. No, this was a human in a physical body who, like me, journeys into the Imaginal realms. I think she was probably meditating like me and got into a situation that was beyond her abilities.
I knelt beside her and lifted her up. She awoke as I did so and I smiled at her. As always happens in these sorts of meetings, our souls sort of merged for a little while as we opened to each other. Though her form was that of a young man, I got the clear sense that her human body was older, probably in her sixties. Her persona was like a yoga teacher, obviously with a developed spiritual practice and skilled in some ways. If she wasn’t, she wouldn’t be here. However, it was also clear that she was a newbie and in need of practice and maturation. I’m a newbie, too, but I could tell I have developed a deeper sense of ground than she has.
It turned out that I was correct and this situation was a learning experience for both of us, probably orchestrated by our teachers. (I’ll get to her teacher in a moment.)
After our coming together, we parted but continued to hold hands. I looked around the cave and saw a small, blue form stuck in a crystalline lattice. It was obviously a child of the same species of semiaquatic creature that had brought me here.
We approached the child. The woman seemed confused about how to proceed so I reached out just as the crystal completely swallowed the child, leaving it frozen in place. I reached into the crystal and pulled the child out, taking it in my arms.
We then left the cave. I led both the woman and child through the Black and back to the seaside realm. As we exited, the blue woman came to us and took the child from my arms. She didn’t say thank you but she did pause after walking a few paces away. Then she and the child looked back at us and the child waved.
I was turning back to the woman when her teacher appeared behind her. He was immense and very black. He looked like an angel of death and I told him he was scary. He didn’t seem to find this amusing and sort of rolled his eyes. He shifted form, though, shrinking down to human size. His skin, I noticed, was pearly black.
I realized that he served as teacher to the woman much like the Woman in White serves as my teacher. I couldn’t help but feel grateful for my teacher; she’s much nicer! As I regarded the unusual pair, I realized that we get the teacher we need. Clearly, this woman requires a stern and humorless teacher. Maybe he provides grounding and sobriety that she needs? I, on the other hand, have a trickster teacher who is light and wry and possesses a wicked sense of humor. She’s also very wise and not afraid to reprimand me when I need it. As I said, we get the teacher we need.
As the pair departed, I understood that this scenario had the fingerprints of the Woman in White all over it. Even though she hadn’t been present during the journey, I could feel her presence permeating everything. There were several teachings involved for both me and the other woman. I needed to understand more of how the apprenticeship works and develop more autonomy. The woman needed to learn not to overstretch her abilities and I think she understands a bit better which skills need work.
I think the teachers we need appear when we need them. There is an overall training process that occurs where we learn how to serve and we practice, hopefully making mistakes along the way. The mistakes are important because we learn from them. This is the cool thing about these journeys: Perfection isn’t required. Indeed, it’s an impediment. We would never learn anything if we did everything perfectly the first time. The situation has to be challenging and we have to screw it up from time to time so we can better see the parts of ourselves that need more work and maturity.
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