Chapter 11 - I Am That I Am
Over the next couple of years the old sage and his apprentice travelled all over the countryside stopping every now an again where the sage would heal people or teach children about nature and the Elements.
It was during one of these stays in the village of Te Dang when the old sage asked the young man to begin teaching the children about the inner self. For the old sage knew that to master a subject one needed to teach it to others, to allow the teaching to come from within and be expressed as an aspect of the young man in the outer world.
The young man had been nervous all day. In the years he had spent with the old sage he had always been the student, never the teacher, although from time to time he would aid the old sage in his healing of the sick, but he never led anything; always in support. This would be the first time he would take the lead. It was exciting and yet at the same time daunting. He had watched the old man engage with his audience in a matter of seconds and although he sometimes spoke to hundreds it always looked like he was speaking to each one of them individually.
How could he ever be like that? The old man had a magic about him; the magic of the Initiate. He never put himself above anyone. He never engaged anyone in an argument. He never foisted his opinion on anyone, preferring to only answer questions as they were asked. He always accepted without question what each day would bring. He never asked for anything but his needs were always provided.
He remembered back to the day when his pack and the dragonfly pendant were stolen. It had been a horrible day and yet as he looked back on it, it was one of the best teachings he had ever received. Since that day he had become the observer and like the old sage he was now taking each day as it came.
As he relived that day he tried to remember what the old sage had taught him. What had the old sage said; he was having difficulty remembering. Huo took a deep breath, held it for a moment and in seconds he could feel the calmness and all knowing of the Initiate come around him. In his minds eye he could now see the old sage sitting in a meditation.
All at once he opened his eyes and words fell from his mouth although he still seemed to be in a deep trance. The words that fell from his lips were from a deep part of the old sage, in a voice which was very different from the Sage's normal voice. "It is important that you believe that you are already the Initiate and that you have this power within you. You need to make it a part of the your now and not off in some distance future. You need to create the Initiate within, before it can express itself in the outer world. It is in the mirror worlds of the inner self where all creation takes place. What happens in the outer world is but a mirror to what you have created within. If you want to understand what you are creating with your thoughts and feelings all you have to do is look at what is happening in the outer world. If you do not like what is happening then you need to change what you are feeling and thinking. To be the Initiate you have to be able to believe in a life that you cannot hear, touch or taste, but a life that you will eventually begin to feel. It is strange that by believing and opening yourself up to being the the Initiate and walking the way of the Initiate that something inside you opens up to the possibility.
"As you walk the path you will begin to understand that the love that comes from the Tao or God is impartial. Although this energy does not care what you do with your life, it is possible to direct the energy and create whatever you want in your life. I do not mean that if you have a wishy washy thought that you want something that it will come into your life because it won't. You first have to create the feeling of already having it in the inner worlds and then this energy will be expressed and delivered in the outer world and the godforce will manifest what you already believe is yours."
Huo felt reenergized. The words of the old sage coursed through his entire being and then out into the audience before him. Children who were loud and raucous only minutes before were sitting quietly waiting for the young man to speak. "Let me tell you a story," said the young man and the children hung on his every word. "It is the story of a young boy who was taken in and became an apprentice to an old sage. The old sage taught him about nature and the seasons. He taught him how to connect with the animals and become their friend. He taught him how to sit in the forest and connect with his inner self and to understand that everything in the universe was connected."
As he went deeper into the story and the teachings he received from the old sage he could see the connection he was having with his young students. Their eyes started to bulge as they took in everything he said and even more than that they could take in everything he felt. In many cases they could not understand what he was saying with their logical minds, especially the younger ones, but on some level they all understood.
As Huo was talking a picture began to form in his mind. He continued to teach the children, but a deeper part of himself was focused on the picture which was building in his mind. It was a scene from what looked like the future. As he focused deeper he could see himself as the old sage and following behind him were a number of apprentices, but the landscape was different and this certainly was not China and many of his apprentices were definitely not Chinese. He went deeper into the picture with his feelings and he knew it to be true. Was he creating this future because of his belief in being the initiate or was he growing into a life that was predestined?
Those thoughts and feelings disappeared as he put his attention back on the children before him. He may have had a glimpse of his future but it was what he was doing in the present that would determine what he would become.
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