Chapter VIII
MY AWAKENING ON ANOTHER PLANET
It was in the late summer of 1953 that the most beautiful and revealing
of all of my experiences with the etheric beings developed. My life had
been a kaleidoscope of new understandings and changing patterns since
the night of my trip in the saucer, but apparently the most profound of
all had to be revealed to my conscious mind in gradual steps of
understanding, because the experience itself actually occurred in
January of 1953 while I was still on the job at Lockheed, but it was not
until six months later that I had any idea of the tremendous experience
that had been mine. During those bewildering intervening six months I
honestly believed that for seven days of my life in January, 1953 I had
been a victim of complete amnesia. I told no one about it, not even
Mabel, for so many confounding things had happened in the recent months
of my life that I feared further complicating matters by relating an
experience for which there seemed to be no explanation.
During those six months I experienced many very strange and disquieting
hours. Vivid dreams of a hauntingly beautiful, half-familiar world
troubled my sleep. Sometimes I would awaken trembling and bathed in
perspiration feeling that I was close to conscious remembrance of an
exquisitely beautiful experience that would explain many things. Also,
frequently during the days, fleeting, tenuous memories drifted into the
borderland of my consciousness.
Even more perplexing were those occasions when, while speaking to groups
of persons at the Hollywood Hotel, I felt as though I were being
somehow overshadowed by another greater personality; a personality who
thought neither in my familiar English or Italian, but in a strange
language which it seemed I once knew but now could no longer remember.
In order to clarify the experience itself, I must go back to that day in
January, 1953 when it began. I did not go to work that afternoon as I
was just recovering from the flu, but I was feeling so much better that I
believed I could go back on the job the following day. Mabel was at
work at the cafe and I was alone. About four o'clock a rather strange,
detached feeling came over me. I was aware of a familiar odd prickling
sensation in my arms and the back of my neck which usually announced the
proximity of space craft.
I discounted the strange symptoms thinking they were only the result of
my illness. Then suddenly I began to feel so drowsy that I could
scarcely keep my eyes open. I remember starting toward the divan to lie
down for a nap, but I later had absolutely no recollection of reaching
that divan.
My next conscious perception was a peculiar "awakening" or regaining
consciousness while on my job in the Plastics Department at Lockheed.
Stupefied and bewildered I looked uncertainly about the factory.
Dazedly, I recognized the familiar faces of my co-workers...and noticed
the tools in my hands. I caught my breath sharply and an icy shiver
quivered over my entire body as quite involuntarily I recoiled with a
shudder from the entire scene. I didn't know why then, but everything
seemed hopelessly wrong, primitive and crude.
In a daze I rubbed a hand across my eyes hoping to eradicate the scene.
Then I was seized with a blinding vertigo and thought I was going to
lose consciousness. Dave Donnegan, my working partners, looked at me
sympathetically, and there was genuine concern in his eyes. He didn't
say anything, but quietly took the tools from my hand and in his quiet,
understanding way went ahead, carrying on alone.
An involuntary outburst of utter disgust came from my lips, disgust with
everything I saw. It seemed like the Dark Ages. I remember hearing Dave
say: "Are you all right, boy?"
I didn't reply; I couldn't! In panic I turned to rush out of the door.
In my bland haste I bumped roughly into Richard Butterfield, the
temporary lead man in my section. I must have looked acutely ill because
I vaguely remember seeing the alarm in his eyes as he grasped me firmly
but gently by the shoulders and exclaimed: "Angie! Angie! What's wrong
with you!"
I was breathing hard. Both emotionally and mentally I was confused and uncertain. My
thoughts were in turmoil. I had only one objective; to get out of that
place! But the presence of Butterfield had a stabilizing, quieting
effect upon me.
He smiled reassuringly while keeping his hands upon my shoulders. "Clam
down, Angie, old boy," he said gently. "Go upstairs and take a break.
You look beat!"
I mumbled my heartfelt thanks and stumbled up the steps, not yet aware of what actually had happened to me.
I got a cup of coffee. Never before had I needed one so badly. My hands
were shaking and every nerve in my body was quivering. As I drank the
hot, aromatic stuff I tried to think back, to remember why I was so
shaken and upset. But my last recollection before my strange, perturbed
"awakening" on the job, was walking toward the divan in my apartment The
intervening period was a total blank.
Noticing a copy of the Los Angeles Times on one of the tables, I
nervously picked it up and glanced at the date. Perspiration broke out
on my forehead: the date of the paper was January 19, 1953. Seven days
had elapsed of which I had absolutely no recollection! But even the date
on the paper couldn't convince me. Trying to keep my voice casual, I
asked a worker at a nearby table. He confirmed the date on the
newspaper.
My body was bathed in cold perspiration. I was on the edge of panic as I
sat there, my hands trembling so that I could hardly take a sip of
coffee. I couldn't believe that seven days and nights had passed,
leaving not a trace of memory in my mind.
Later in the afternoon when I was feeling a little better I went back
downstairs on the job. But it was a real effort to behave in a normal,
rational manner with my thoughts in turmoil. Cautiously and discreetly I
questioned Dave and other fellow workers about those seven previous
days. From their replies I gathered that I had been on the job every day
and had apparently behaved in my usual manner until my
strange"awakening and violent outburst that afternoon.
At home I didn't mention my inexplicable loss of memory to Mabel. And
apparently she had noticed nothing unusual in my behavior during that
entire week. It seemed that in every way I had behaved in my accustomed
manner. I had eaten my meals, slept, gone to and from work and helped
Mabel out at the Snack Bar, as usual. It was fantastically incredible!
I told no one what had happened to me. But in my own mind I was utterly
baffled and deeply troubled about those seven lost days out of my life.
Imagine yourself in my place. Suppose that for an entire week your
waking consciousness had been obliterated so that you could not remember
a single event. Wouldn't you be deeply disturbed? Wouldn't you begin to
wonder if you might not be psychopathic? In all sincerity I can tell
that you would, for those were my own panic-stricken thoughts.
But as the days passed I gradually settled down into the routine of
daily life. Often I tried hard to regain the memory of those seven lost
days, but it seemed hopeless.
Months passed and I had about decided that for those seven days I had
suffered from complete loss of memory. Except for the disquieting
thoughts and vivid dreams, I had no intimation of what was coming until
that memorable night in the first week in September, 1953.
I was feeling unusually restless that evening. Shortly after ten o'clock
I went out for a walk. As always, my feet seemed involuntarily to carry
me toward the Hyperion Avenue Freeway Bridge. In its dark, mysterious
shadows I always found a kind of spiritual peace and comfort, for it was
there I had met and talked with Neptune, the man from another world!
I was thinking of these things as I clambered down the concrete
embankment into the almost dry bed of the Los Angeles River. Walking
over to the spot where Neptune had talked with me, I sat down
disconsolately upon the ground. I rested my head upon the stone where he
had sat, and gazed thoughtfully up into the heavens and thought of the
spiraling, endless wonders of the universe. Lost in reverie, a feeling
of deep inner peace and tranquillity came over me. Noisy, clattering
Earth with all of its troubles, dissensions and animosities seemed
remote and relatively unimportant.
As my thoughts drifted pleasantly, I felt again the odd sensation which
was always my first awareness of space visitors. But I was deeply
puzzled, for Neptune had last told me: "We will return, Orfeo; but not
to you."
Nevertheless the odd tingling in my arms and back of my neck was
unmistakable. hopefully, my eyes scanned the heavens. I saw nothing that
in any way resembled a saucer. The intensity of the vibration
increased, dimming the awareness of my conscious mind much as it had the
night I had first encountered the saucer.
As in a dream my thoughts drifted back to that mysterious Monday
afternoon six months before when, feeling much as I did now, I had
walked toward the divan to take a nap. An astonishing thing was
happening: I was beginning to remember, faintly, hazily, at first, like
the sun's golden rays breaking through black clouds.
As memory flooded back I clearly recalled again that Monday afternoon. I
was walking towards the divan...my eyes were so heavy I could scarcely
keep them open. In a daze I sank down upon the divan and immediately
fell into a deep sleep!
Only now I could remember waking from that sleep! My awakening was in a
strange and wonderful world! I was no longer upon Earth; some fantastic
transition had taken place. I awoke in a huge, fabulously beautiful
room; a room the substance of which glowed ethereally with soft,
exquisite colors. I was lying upon a luxurious couch, or lounge. Half
awake, I glanced down at my body - but it was not familiar! My body was
never so perfectly proportioned or of so fine coloring and texture.
I noticed that I was wearing only a fine white garment, closely fitted
and covering my chest, torso and upper part of my thighs. A finely
wrought gold belt was about my waist. Although the belt appeared to be
made of heavy links of embossed gold, it was without weight. My new body
felt amazingly light and ethereal and vibrant with life.
Full consciousness did not come to me at once. My first thoughts upon
waking in that shining world were nebulous. Somehow the thought
persisted in my mind that I was recovering from a long and serious
illness. Thus I reclined there in a kind of pleasant lethargy as one
does who has been very ill. Random thoughts drifted in my consciousness.
Everything was so new and different and yet it was hauntingly familiar.
My handsome new body was not my body, and yet it was! The exquisite
room with its ethereal, softly glowing colors was like nothing ever
dreamed of upon Earth, and yet somehow it was not strange and alien to
me. Only one thing seemed unfamiliar: far away outside the huge,
windowless room I could hear the continuous rumble of distant thunder.
Oddly enough the thunder did not fill me with apprehension as had always
been the case in the past.
Gradually the dark mists began clearing from my mind. Incredible
memories were coming back to me; memories of another world, a different
people - another life! Lost horizons, deep-buried memories, forgotten
vistas were surfacing to my consciousness.
"I remember this world!" I thought rapturously. "I remember it in the
same way that a condemned prisoner remembers the sunshine, the trees,
the flowers of the outside world after an eternity chained in a dark and
odious prison. This is my real world, my true body. I have been lost in
a dimension called Time and a captive in a forbidding land called
Earth. But now, somehow, I have come home. All is serenity, peace,
harmony and indescribable beauty here. The only disturbing factor is a
troublesome half-memory of an unhappy shadow named Orfeo, a bondsman in a
prison-world of materiality called Earth.
As the disturbing thoughts of this lost Orfeo troubled me, a portion of
one wall noiselessly divided making an imposing doorway, and a woman
entered. She was dazzlingly beautiful. Somehow my mind understood that
she was the one in whose charge I was placed, even as I also understood
that the mysterious door opened and closed automatically by means of
electro-magnetic controls.
She looked down at me and smiled warmly. Her beauty was breath-taking.
She was dressed simply in a kind of Grecian gown of glowing
silvery-white substance; her hair was golden and fell in soft waves
about her shoulders; her eyes were extremely large, expressive and deep
blue. Soft shimmering colors played continuously about her, apparently
varying with every slight change of her thought or mood.
Hauntingly, the thought was in my mind that I remembered her from
somewhere. She seemed to sense my perplexity and reassuringly said that I
was looking very well and would soon be up and about. Then she touched a
control on a crystal cabinet near my bed. In response a large section
of the opposite wall opened revealing a huge mirror. I looked into its
crystal depths, but the man I saw was not Orfeo; nor yet was he a
stranger to me. Paradoxically, I remembered and yet I didn't remember!
"I have gained weight," I remarked, not knowing just why I made such a statement, then added: "Also, I feel much better now."
She smiled and replied: "On the contrary, you have lost weight.
According to all Earthly standards you are now almost weightless."
Her strange words puzzled me. I glanced down at my body which appeared
to be solidly substantial in addition to being much larger and more
finely proportioned
"It's all a matter of the scale of vibration in which you are
functioning," she explained. "The vibratory rate of dense matter which
makes up the planet Earth is extremely low, hence Earthly bodies are
sluggish, dense and cumbersome. Vibratory rates here are quite high and
matter so tenuous that it would seem non-existent were you in a dense
physical body. Because you are now in a body of a corresponding
vibratory rate, the phenomena of this world is as real to you as your
Earth world."
As I listened to her speak, I thought I remembered her name. "You are Lyra?" I said half questioningly.
She nodded her head.
I was about to ask her about herself when I was conscious again of the
continuous, low rumble of thunder from outside. I became curious to go
out of doors and look around. Turning to Lyra, I asked: "May I go
outside now?"
She shook her head. "You are not yet strong enough, but I promise that before the seventh day you shall see all, Neptune."
Her words startled me. Why had she called me Neptune? I wondered. I was
not Neptune; neither was Neptune ill! And what did she mean by the
seventh day?
I was about to ask her these questions when she turned and looked
expectantly toward the far wall. In a moment the mysterious door
appeared and a tall, strikingly handsome man entered. It was Orion! In
some confused way I recognized him at once and felt a surge of affection
for him in my heart. As with Lyra, shimmering waves of translucent
color played about him, seemingly reflecting his thoughts. He smiled
warmly and said: "We have missed you, Neptune."
I brushed my hand across my eyes in a dazed way as I replied: "But I am not Neptune; there is some mistake."
"Are you certain?" he asked gently. "You will recall that Neptune was
the name you gave to our brother who first contacted you upon Earth.
That name has always held a strange, deep significance for you, perhaps
because it was once your own name."
As he spoke the odd realization possessed me that he was indeed speaking
the truth. In their world, I was, or had once been, Neptune! "But the
other Neptune?" I asked. "Who, then, is he?"
Orion glanced at Lyra and a scintillating wave of golden light enfolded
them both. Orion replied slowly: With us names are of little
significance. The brother of whom you speak was in the illusion of the
past known as Astra, but in the higher octaves of light, individualized
aspects such as you know upon Earth are non-existent. Even now as we
manifest in this most tenuous of material states of being, you are not
aware of us in our true eternal aspect. We are, you might say in terms
of Earth, staging a dress-show reception for you, our lost brother.
Before the Destruction our existence was much as you see it now; that is
why you seem to remember all of this. In that phase of the time
dimension you were known as Neptune."
Something was wrong, terribly wrong, somewhere. I thought. If only I
could remember clearly...but everything was so confused. As I gazed at
those two superbly magnificent beings standing side by side enveloped in
shimmering waves of golden light, I felt intuitively that I had known
them well, sometime, somewhere! I had known them on an equal level - I
had been one of them! But now they were like gods to me, and I a
straggler, somehow far, far behind them, my mind deluded by a loathsome
illness. I pressed my hands to my eyes, trying with all of my strength
to remember something important - and terrible - that I had forgotten.
Neither of them spoke. Lyra took a white wafer from the crystal cabinet
while Orion poured a sparkling liquid into a lavender crystal goblet.
These they handed to me. I ate the delicately flavored wafer and drank
the delicious beverage. I felt renewed vitality and strength flow
through my body and with it a dreamy languor of mind. Lyra and Orion
smiled upon me and the scintillating waves of golden light reached out
from them and enfolded me in a warm comforting glow.
"Sleep for a while, Neptune," Lyra murmured softly. Then the mysterious
door appeared and they left arm in arm, leaving me alone. The light in
the room dimmed and waves of soft, exquisite music flowed from the
walls. I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
When I awoke light was streaming brilliantly into the room. One entire
wall had miraculously vanished revealing an outer balcony. I sat up and
looked out beyond the balcony upon an incredibly wonderful and fantastic
world. It was radiant with light and yet there appeared to be a heavy
moving cloud bank overhead. Continuous sheet lightning flashed through
the rainbow-hued clouds and the constant rumble of distant thunder was
slightly louder. Also, I saw brilliant slow-moving fireballs, bollides,
varied-colored flares and showers of brilliant sparks.
I was deeply puzzled, for all of this phenomena did not seem at all
familiar as had so many other things in this world. I jumped up from the
couch and ran out onto the broad balcony, marveling at the wonderful
feeling of lightness and vibrant strength in my body.
What a glorious world I looked upon! A dream world, beyond the wildest
flight of imagination. Ethereal, scintillating color everywhere.
Fantastically beautiful buildings constructed of a kind of
crystal-plastic substance that quivered with continuously changing color
hues. As I watched, windows, doors, balconies and stairs appeared and
just as miraculously disappeared in the shining facades of the
buildings. The grass, trees and flowers sparkled with living colors that
seemed almost to glow with a light of their own.
I caught my breath in awe. And yet, somehow, it was familiar; a world I
had once known, and forgotten! A few statuesque and majestically
beautiful people were walking in the pedestrian lanes. No vehicles of
any type were visible. Then I saw Lyra and Orion conversing with each
other near a large circular flower garden, almost directly below me.
They both looked up and smiled, calling out a friendly greeting. I ran
down and joined them exclaiming: "What a magnificent world!"
"Do you remember it, Neptune? Lyra asked gently.
I hesitated, then replied: "Much is familiar, but other things are not. I
can't recall the lightning and the constant thunder. And the horizon
appears to be only about a mile distant and it should be - I seem to
remember it was almost limitless!"
For a moment there was deep silence. Lyra glanced questioningly at Orion
and a look of deep pain crossed their faces as the golden waves of
iridescent light about them changed to misty purple. I realized
immediately I had said the wrong thing.
Lyra touched a crystal she held in her hand and the sound of the thunder
was muffled until it was barely audible. Then drifts of exquisite
harmony filled the air; the same ethereal music I had heard in my trip
in the saucer - only here in this incredible world each tone also
manifested in the atmosphere as waves of glowing color.
I listened and watched spellbound. Lyra and Orion sat down upon the
grass and motioned for me to join them. When we were seated Lyra laid
her hand tenderly upon mine and Orion put an arm about my shoulders.
Then Orion spoke, saying: "Time is a dimension as your scientists now
correctly surmise. But it is only a dimension when applied to the
various densities of matter. In the absolute, or non-material states of
consciousness, Time is non-existent. So let us say that in one of the
time frames or dimensions, there was once a planet in the solar system
of Earth, called Lucifer. It was of the least material density of any of
the planets. Its orbit lay between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
Among the etheric beings, or heavenly hosts, it was called the Morning
Star. Among all planets it was the most radiant planet in the universe.
"The name of the prince of this shining planet was also Lucifer, a
beloved Son of God." Orion paused and the sadness deepened in his eyes.
Then he continued: "Earth's legends about Lucifer and his hosts are
true. Pride and arrogance grew in the heart of Lucifer and in the hearts
of many Luciferians. They discovered all of the secrets of matter and
also the great secret of the Creative Word. Eventually they sought to
turn this omnipotent force against their brothers who were less selfish.
Also against the etheric beings and the Father, or Source, for it
became their desire to rule the universe. You know the rest of the
legend: how Lucifer and his followers were cast down from their high
estate. In simpler words, the Luciferians who were embodied then in the
most attenuated manifestation of matter "fell" into embodiments in one
of the most dense material evolutions, which is the animalistic
evolution of Earth."
I dared not look at him as his frightening words struck dark chords of
memory in my heart. "Then you mean that I...was one of them?" Shamed
tears of realization blinded my eyes.
"Yes, Neptune," he said gently, as both he and Lyra put their arms around me.
Waves of bitter shame and sorrow flooded over me as I realized the
terrible truth of Orion's words. At last I said haltingly: "But Orion,
you and Lyra and these others walking here in the garden; who are they"
"We were among those who did not join the Luciferians in their revolt
against the etheric hosts, " he explained gently. "Thus although the
Luciferians shattered our radiant planet in the holocaust of their war,
we entered the etheric, non-material worlds in the higher octaves of
light as liberated Sons of God, while the Luciferian hosts fell into the
dream of mind in matter upon the dark planet of sorrows."
"But this world?" I asked in bewilderment. "Isn't it the world I half remember?"
"Yes, Neptune," Lyra said compassionately. "This is a tiny part of what
is left of that world. You mentioned that many things were unfamiliar,
such as the thunder and lightning and the nearness of the horizon. These
conditions are new to you. For we are on one of the larger planetoids
of the shattered planet Lucifer. It is only a few hundred miles in
diameter, hence the nearness of the horizon. The thunder, lightning and
constant play of color phenomena in the atmosphere are the result of
magnetic disturbances because of the vicinity of other asteroids. The
clouds you see above are not clouds as you know them upon Earth, but
they serve to obscure the debris of our wrecked planet. Only rarely do
we leave our etheric state of being and enter our former time frame in
individualized manifestations as you see us now."
I was stunned into utter silence and the deepest sorrow. I bowed my head
as I thought of the magnificent world I had lost, the great heritage I
had cast away to become a bondsman chained in a steel like dungeon of
dense matter with its erroneous manifestations of sin, sickness,
corruption, evil, decay and repeated deaths. Sobs wracked my body as I
thought of my blinded, lost fellows of Earth. At last I murmured
hesitantly: "Then all of the peoples of Earth have fallen from this
former high estate?"
Orion shook his head. "No, not all, Neptune, but vast numbers of
Earthlings are former Luciferians. About the others we will explain to
you later. The revelation when it comes will explain many of the enigmas
of your planet."
Suddenly, a terrible thought came to me, almost causing me to collapse
in horror as I recoiled from it. Stark terror was in my eyes as I looked
first at Lyra and then at Orion. I dared not voice what was in my mind.
Orion, discerning my thought, shook his head and his wonderful eyes
radiated sympathy and understanding as he said: "No, Neptune, have no
fear, you are not in reality Lucifer. In fact you are one of the
Luciferians who least wanted to join the others."
Relief flooded over me leaving me weak and shaken as I heard Orion's
voice continuing: "Lucifer is presently incarnated upon Earth, but we
may not disclose to you his present identity. He had incarnated many
times upon Earth and every name is familiar even to grade school
children. But some of those names would surprise you, for they are not
what you might expect."
I sighed heavily, trying to comprehend all the shattering things which
had been revealed to me by Lyra and Orion. Rather incongruously I
remembered the phenomena of the flying saucers upon Earth, which caused
me to ask: "But if we destroyed your great planet, why are your disks
visiting Earth now? Why did Astra contact me? Why don't you leave us to
the fate we deserve, each one of us buried in his individual grave of
living death?"
Lyra's hand gripped mine and Orion's arm tightened around my shoulders.
"Love is stronger than life and deeper than the boundless depths of time
and space," he said softly. "While our brothers are lost in the hell of
unreality and turn their blinded, imploring eyes to the mute heavens,
we can never forget them. We intercede unceasingly for your peoples'
liberation. Thus today every bondsman upon Earth has within himself the
power through the mystery of the Etheric Christ Spirit to cancel his
captivity.
"Eventually all of mankind deep-drowned in Time and Matter, will surface
to reality when they recognize their basic unity of being. When man is
for man honestly and sincerely and not selfishly arrayed against
himself, the hour of deliverance from the underworld will be close at
hand. We wait now beyond the great, sad river of Time and Sorrows with
open arms and hearts to receive among us our lost and prodigal brothers
in that great day when they rejoin us as liberated Sons of God.
"Our disks, or saucers as Earthmen term them, are in your space-time
frame as harbingers of mankind's coming resurrection from the living
death. Although our disks are essentially etheric; that is,
non-material, they are controlled in such a way that they can almost
instantaneously attract substance to take on any degree of material
density necessary. Various other types of space craft are now permitted
to visit Earth for certain purposes. These are from other worlds and
also space islands of various densities of matter. Some are on the
borderline between materiality and non-materiality. But all are operated
by intelligences highly spiritual in nature. All are on a mission of
love to their brothers of the Dark World, but mankind's understanding of
their ultimate intent and purpose will only become fully apparent
further along in Earth's Time Dimension. We do not say that there are no
negatives in the universe who have not attained primitive modes of
space travel, but at present Earth is fully protected from these by both
cosmic law and the etheric host."
When Orion finished speaking there was silence. I sat with bowed head
and contrite heart as realization of the full import of his words came
to me. As Neptune, fleetingly restored to my lost immortal state, I saw
that we of Earth are in reality in an underworld of illusion where we
mistake false shadows for reality and dream selfish dreams of
separateness from our brothers.
As these thoughts were in my mind the ringing of musical chimes sounded
from the sea-green building. As though this was a signal everyone arose
and entered the building. Orion led us to a large dining hall. Five men
and five women were already there standing at their places at a huge
table. At one end of the table was a cross wing with three vacant
places. Orion indicated that I should take the middle place while he and
Lyra seated themselves on either side of me.
It was an exquisite room and although there appeared to be no direct
source of light the room was brilliantly lighted; the substance and
colors of the room and everything in it seemed to glow with a soft,
radiant light of their own. Vaguely, I seemed to remember the other
persons present and they spoke to me as to an old friend. It was soon
apparent, however, that the conversation was for my sole benefit as it
was obvious that everyone else exchanged thoughts telepathically. As
they did so iridescent clouds of color about them changed swiftly in
shimmering hues and patterns.
No servants waited upon the table. Yet it was laid out exquisitely with
the most delicate plates and shimmering silverware. On each plate were
three portions. A triangle portion of pale amber; a square portion of
varying shades of green; and a round portion of lavender. The beverage
was clear and sparkling in a crystal goblet. These strange delicacies
were the most delicious and delicately flavored foods I had ever tasted.
And the sparkling drink seemed to give immediate renewed strength and
energy.
When the splendid meal was finished and everyone was preparing to leave
the table, I turned and looked at Lyra. Suddenly, I was fully aware for
the first time of all her exquisite feminine beauty and loveliness.
Involuntarily, a wave of desire for her swept over me. She turned away
from me and all conversation in the room ceased. I glanced hastily
about; all of the others were standing silently with bowed heads. On an
opposite wall I saw my reflection in a huge mirror and embarrassment
flooded over me as I saw an ugly mottled red and black cloud enveloping
my head and shoulders.
I felt impure and unworthy to be in that shining assemblage. The others
left quietly, but I had the comforting feeling of their deep sympathy
for me and their understanding for my human weakness. Also, I had the
strong telepathic impression that sexual desire is merely another of the
erroneous manifestations of materiality. Upon Earth it is neither wrong
nor sinful in any of its manifestations except when it is used for
selfish, destructive and cruel purposes. If motivated by love, altruism
and unselfishness the sexual appetite is no more erroneous than any of
mankind's other desires. But in the higher spiritual worlds it is
non-existent.
Orion touched my arm as we were leaving the hall. "We understand," he said kindly. "It is nothing, as you realize now."
I smiled gratefully at him. But I felt tired and very sleepy. He and
Lyra accompanied me to my room where I lay down upon the couch. They sat
beside me until I fell into a deep sleep.
When I awoke I was alone. I walked outside onto the terrace, but the
grounds were deserted. For a long while I stood there alone on the
balcony marveling at that fantastically beautiful world. Apparently it
was a world of eternal youth, eternal spring and eternal day. The
rainbow-hued clouds were always moving overhead shot with soft waves of
sheet lightning, and the far-away echo of thunder never entirely ceased.
The trees, flowers and grass were miracles of color, fire and light
which in comparison made the remembered counterfeits of Earth seem like
gross, dull shadows.
As I stood there marveling, I saw Lyra come out of the adjoining
building. She called a warm greeting. I saw she was holding a small
crystal object in her hand. When she joined me she said mysteriously:
"This is the seventh Earth day and through ourselves we shall take you
back.
Her strange, beautiful eyes were upon me, seeming to look through and
beyond me. She did not address me either as Neptune, or Orfeo. This
saddened me, for it made me realize that I was now a stranger and an
imposter in their shining world.
Understanding my thought, she put her hand gently over mine and I saw a
mist of tears in her eyes. Then she raised the odd crystal in her hand
to her forehead. As though in magic response, a flood of beautiful
melody arose from the sea-green building; not the ethereal music of
their world, but a hauntingly sad and familiar strain. I recognized the
sublime melody of the Bach-Gounod "Ave Maria". Tears flowed
unrestrainedly down my cheeks for a half-remembered, sad people who
dwelt in a strange shadowed region called Earth. Softly she said: "You
will remember this, Orfeo."
That name sounded strange upon her lips; like the name of an utter
stranger. I bowed my head in bitter regret for Neptune who was, and who
now was not - and for the false shadow of Orfeo who is! Confused and
perturbed I turned hastily from her and hurried into my room. Somehow I
had the feeling that the secret of liberation lay in the mysterious
crystal panel near my couch.
But as I reached eagerly for the controls on the panel, I felt a gentle
restraining hand upon my arm. I turned and looked into Lyra's wonderful
eyes shining with sympathy, compassion and purest love.
My own heart swiftly responded. Then suddenly, miraculously we were as
one being, enfolded in an embrace of spirit, shared by all of those in
the light of God's infinite love throughout the entire universe. What a
tragedy, I thought, that I and my lost brothers of Earth know mostly
only the counterfeit embrace of sexual desire and animal passion.
At that moment Orion came in the door and as he stood transfixed, his
vibrant love too enfolded us in its pure, golden unselfish light. All
boundaries of self were lost in a unity of being. "Our lost brother is
home at last," he said softly.
After awhile Orion and Lyra seated themselves near the strange crystal
control panel and I rested upon the lounge. Orion touched a crystal disk
and immediately an entire wall of the room opened up into a huge
three-dimensional void. The room darkened and I saw the void a
magnificent view into outer space. But all of space was shining with
light; the stars and suns glowed with a deep reddish glow and only the
planets appeared of varying degrees of darkness. The scene was focussing
upon an unfamiliar part of the heavens. A sun and a number of
encircling planets came into view.
Then the scene centered upon a single planet in this unknown solar
system. It was a smug, sleek planet and apparently as efficient as a
billiard ball. But it was exceedingly dark in tone and surrounded with
concentric waves of deep gray. A tangible vibration or emanation came
from it; evil, unpleasant and utterly without inspiration or hope.
Approaching this world I saw a glowing red dot with a long, misty tail.
The fiery dot seemed irresistible attracted to the dark world. The two
collided in a spectacular fiery display. I felt Lyra's hand upon mine as
she whispered. "It is an immutable law of the cosmos that too great a
preponderance of evil inevitably results in self-destruction and a new
beginning."
The scene shifted to a different part of the universe. Another dark
misty world came into view, although it was not as dark as the first
world. About this world there was a vibrant feeling of life and hope.
But again I saw a fatalistic fiery red dot approaching and it was
evident that this world too was doomed. I shuddered to think of
conditions upon that planet at the moment of doom. But then I held my
breath as I beheld two tiny dots coming forth from that world apparently
to intercept the fiery comet. Intuitively I realized that the dots were
remotely controlled by intelligence beings upon the planet who were
concentrating the magnetic impulses of the dots upon the comet. Suddenly
the comet exploded leaving the world unscathed. I breathed a sign of
relief.
Once more the scene shifted and focused upon a third world. Obviously,
this was an "in-between" world, neither as dark and hopeless as the
first, nor yet as light and inspired as the second. To the left to this
planet appeared another smaller body -- I recognized it as our moon and
the planet as Earth. From the planet several tiny space ships went out
to the moon and did not return. Then a tiny fleet of space craft went to
the moon, but some of these returned to Earth.
Suddenly, terrifyingly, to the right of the planet Earth, appeared the
red, dot of cosmic doom. Rapidly it increased in size leaving behind it a
fiery tail of flame. It was evident that the comet was being drawn
irresistibly toward Earth. Neither Lyra nor Orion spoke, but a strange
voice said: "In the Time Dimension of Earth it is now the year 1986."
I shuddered and waited anxiously, but the portentous scene slowly faded
from the screen. I turned excitedly to Orion. "But what happens to
Earth?"
Orion and Lyra both looked compassionately at me as Orion gently
replied. "That depends entirely upon your brothers of Earth and their
progress in unity, understanding and brotherly love during the time
period left them between the so-called now and the year 1986. All
spiritual help possible will be given them, not only by ourselves but by
others from all parts of the universe. We believe that they and their
world will be saved, but in no time frame, or dimension, is the future
ever written irrevocably. If they bring upon themselves self-destruction
of their planet through a preponderance of evil there, it will mean
another fall for the entities of Earth into even denser meshes of
materiality and unreality. As you love your brothers of Earth, Orfeo,
fight to your dying breath to help them toward a world of love, light
and unity."
With those awful and awesome words, he got up and slowly walked from the room, leaving me alone with Lyra.
She smiled gently into my eyes ad touched the mysterious crystal panel.
Immediately the incredible, huge, three-dimensional screen became active
again. but no longer were we looking into the boundless depths of space
and time. Instead, I saw the familiar outlines of the Lockheed plant in
Burbank. There was the shop in which I worked. The scene shifted inside
the plant. I saw the radomes and my working companions, Dave Donnegan
and Richard Butterfield. An unpleasant sensation came over me as though I
were fainting, as though I were fading into the huge screen and
becoming an active part of the scene I was viewing. Terrified, I turned
to call to Lyra, but she was no longer there, only a mist. Then I
blacked out!
My next conscious perception was my "awakening" on the job at Lockheed
with all of my incredible experiences of those seven days seemingly
utterly obliterated from my mind.
Thus six months passed with only hazy, trouble-some intimations of what
had happened to me in those seven lost days. But that night as I rested
my head upon the rock down in the Los Angeles River bed, it all came
back to me crystal clear. Also, I remembered my frightening, bewildered
"awakening" upon Earth in the Lockheed plant, my terrible revulsion with
everything I saw upon Earth as compared with the wonder world I had
left, although as yet only my higher consciousness fully understood.
I remembered my fellow workers, Dave Donnegan and Richard Butterfield
and their reactions to my strange behavior and apparently unreasoning
outburst. In the greater scope of my new understanding I realized even
more clearly how nobly they had caught me up and sustained me by their
own strength through those critical moments. It was so clearly evident
to me then that both Dave and Richard had the same basic inherent
qualities of goodness and nobility as those godlike beings of that other
world. They are both simple, humble men, average workers like myself,
yet potential gods! If only they and others like them knew and could
realize their divinity, their kinship with God and the greater world of
true reality! If every man and woman upon Earth could grasp the great
essential basic truth that we are all one and an integral part of God,
then indeed all of mankind's hard trials and bitter tribulations would
be over. Yes, if only in the abstract we could momentarily attain this
illumination, the heavy chains of material bondage would fall from our
burdened bodies and our counterfeit world of shadows would vanish in
true light.
Today, I believe with all my heart, soul and body in my brothers of
Earth. Because of the innate goodness, honesty, nobility and helpful
fellowship of the countless other men and women of good will like Dave
Donnegan and Richard Butterfield, my undying faith in and love for
humanity is forever instilled. Even though our greater brothers of that
shining, lost, wonder world should have to refuse. My lot is forever
with my fellows of Earth! I will fight courageously with them and for
them in the undying belief that the good in our hearts will triumph over
evil. In the conviction that every human being upon Earth, trapped in
eternity and granted only one small awareness of life at a time, will be
liberated from our prison cells of unreality and attain again our high
estate as liberated sons of God.
Note: The language spoken by the beings of that other world was neither
familiar English nor Italian, but another language which I fully
understood and remembered while with them. But today my conscious mind
recalls their language only as a meaningless jumble of strange words,
although I have a full understanding in my own language of all that
passed between us. I can clearly recall only a few words of that other
language. Those words were spoken to me by Lyra when she first came into
the room. I am certain she said, "Un doz e pez lo" (or something very
similar), meaning "No, you have lost weight."
