by Jerome Dechant
Nov. 17, 2017
(This is a work of fiction, but it could just as well be true as not true.)
Out of the way, unknown to the masses and not easily accessible to the less determined explorer, is a cave. Its entrance is unremarkable, if you were hiking through the area, you might see it and just pass by without even a thought to enter it. And, this is as it should be, for only those who are drawn there; who are summoned by an inner calling will even attempt to undertake the journey in the first place.
So, what is so remarkable about the cave? Actually, there is nothing remarkable about the cave itself, at least to the casual observer. But to the ones who are called, the ones who heed the call, and endure the difficulties of getting there, what they find within is life changing and remarkable.
Nov. 17, 2017
(This is a work of fiction, but it could just as well be true as not true.)
Out of the way, unknown to the masses and not easily accessible to the less determined explorer, is a cave. Its entrance is unremarkable, if you were hiking through the area, you might see it and just pass by without even a thought to enter it. And, this is as it should be, for only those who are drawn there; who are summoned by an inner calling will even attempt to undertake the journey in the first place.
So, what is so remarkable about the cave? Actually, there is nothing remarkable about the cave itself, at least to the casual observer. But to the ones who are called, the ones who heed the call, and endure the difficulties of getting there, what they find within is life changing and remarkable.
I was one of those who were called. One who, without the slightest idea of what I’d
find there, or why I was drawn to go there in the first place, found myself
embarking upon this journey. I didn’t even
question the fact that I was going to a place to see a cave no one had ever heard
of. It was totally crazy. I assure you, everyone I told about this,
thought I was nuts for dropping everything to embark upon this insanity, to
embark upon an adventure into a region of the world where most thought it wasn’t
safe to go. I can’t tell you how many
times I was warned away from going, how many people said I shouldn’t go, saying
it was too dangerous, that if I did go, I might never return. Well, you are reading this now, because I did
go, I did endure the hardships of following the narrow path which eventually led
me to the entrance of the cave. I did
enter the cave, and I am here now to tell you what I found within.
The journey, the adventure of getting to the cave is a story
in itself, yet I won’t go into that now, just know it wasn’t easy, there were
road blocks and stumbling blocks all along the way, yet somehow, I had the
presence to overcome each road block and stumbling block to bring the journey
to an end at the entrance of the cave.
I had a guide who helped me during the wilderness part of
the journey, up to a point, up to the point where I had to go on alone. I’m grateful for his guidance and help
because without it, I might have perished the first night in the wilderness. Yeah, that’s another story.
I arrived at the cave entrance as the sun was setting behind the mountain ridge above me. I found myself admiring the beautifully colored sky, with wisps of clouds catching the sun’s rays as it set in the western sky. I’m not a seasoned adventurer, not even close, but somehow I felt comfortable being alone so far from civilization, so far off the beaten path. It was mostly quiet, although as the sun was setting, I could hear the night creatures emerging from their burrow and going about their creature lives.
I looked around, there wasn’t really any place big enough to set up my tent and build a fire, so I thought I’d enter the cave and see if I could find shelter there for the night. It had been a long day traveling through rouged territory, and I was tired, ready to lie down and sleep. The cave wasn’t very big at the entrance, I had to hunch over for quite some time as I moved into the cave, but eventually it became bigger and I was easily able to stand upright. If you’ve ever been in a deep cave, you know how totally dark it is, how, when you turn off your light, you can’t even see your hand in front of your face when the palm is touching your nose. Yeah, it was that dark. I’m glad I had plenty of batteries, and my light was ample enough to illuminate the cave enough for me to easily see, yet beyond the beam of light, it was pitch black darkness. Not far past the area where the cave opened up a bit, I found a decent flat space where I decided to throw down my mat and sleeping bag, to finally rest for the night. Once I lay down, it wasn’t long before I fell into a deep sleep.
I don’t know how long I slept, I didn’t think to check my watch to see what time it was when I made camp, or woke up. Whatever time it was, I felt refreshed and ready to go. Before I dug into my backpack for something to eat, I had to find a place to relieve myself, which I did. I had some trail mix and protein bars which provided the nourishment to satiate my hunger. Some fresh cool spring water I’d gotten from a stream near the entrance of the cave washed down the final crumbs of the protein bar.
I looked at my watch, it was 1:11. Was that A.M. or P.M.? It felt like just afternoon. I rolled up the mat and sleeping bag, secured to my backpack then headed off deeper into the cave. It was cool and smelled a bit musty in this part of the cave. Interestingly, the floor of the cave was fairly flat, but had a gradual decline to it. At one point, after a turn or two to the right then left, there was a trickling stream at the edge of the cave floor. It sounded like one of those soothing water fountains you might find in a meditation center or some such place. All the while, it was pitch black darkness except for the beam of light my head mounted light provided for me. I wasn’t in any hurry, so as I moved deeper into the cave I looked around a lot at the cave walls and ceiling. There was nothing remarkable to see except for the things you’d expect to see in a natural cave like this. It was simple yet beautiful in its natural beingness.
There was a glow of light up ahead; it was coming from the right just beyond the bend. I thought it was a bit curious. It was inviting, alluring. My back pack seem much lighter on my back, and the sounds of my footsteps seemed to faint into a whisper of sound, yet the ground hadn’t changed in appearance at all, it was the same texture as the cave floor had been for most of the distance so far. I proceeded on and as I did, the light seemed to become brighter and brighter as I approach the bend in the cave. It didn’t really have a direction, and I had no shadow cast behind me. The light was sufficient that I was able to turn off my headlamp, so I did, to save battery life.
I finally came upon the bend in the cave which revealed a fairly large cavern. I looked around and couldn’t see any torches or other sources of light, yet the whole cavern was pleasantly lite. I entered the cavern and as I did, I noticed a figure seated towards the other end of the cavern. It looked to me, like he was the source of the light. As I approached, the silence was deafening. There was such peace and stillness, it felt out of place to move, yet I was drawn to do so. So, I moved towards the seated figure. As I did, feeling of contentment, joy, laughter, excitement and exhilaration seemed to flow through my entire body. I felt so happy and fulfilled, I’ve never felt this complete before. It was amazing.
I finally was a few feet in front of him. He was sitting cross legged in a full lotus posture, with this hands rest one upon the other in his lap. His eyes were closed and he didn’t move at all. He just sat there in his radiance and beauty. He appeared to be a young man, or maybe an older boy. His complexion was pure and youthful in appearance. His only attire was a simple cloth which served as a loin cloth. As I gazed at him, I noticed he wasn’t touching the ground below him; he was floating just above the mat below him. There were no shadows anywhere.
I arrived at the cave entrance as the sun was setting behind the mountain ridge above me. I found myself admiring the beautifully colored sky, with wisps of clouds catching the sun’s rays as it set in the western sky. I’m not a seasoned adventurer, not even close, but somehow I felt comfortable being alone so far from civilization, so far off the beaten path. It was mostly quiet, although as the sun was setting, I could hear the night creatures emerging from their burrow and going about their creature lives.
I looked around, there wasn’t really any place big enough to set up my tent and build a fire, so I thought I’d enter the cave and see if I could find shelter there for the night. It had been a long day traveling through rouged territory, and I was tired, ready to lie down and sleep. The cave wasn’t very big at the entrance, I had to hunch over for quite some time as I moved into the cave, but eventually it became bigger and I was easily able to stand upright. If you’ve ever been in a deep cave, you know how totally dark it is, how, when you turn off your light, you can’t even see your hand in front of your face when the palm is touching your nose. Yeah, it was that dark. I’m glad I had plenty of batteries, and my light was ample enough to illuminate the cave enough for me to easily see, yet beyond the beam of light, it was pitch black darkness. Not far past the area where the cave opened up a bit, I found a decent flat space where I decided to throw down my mat and sleeping bag, to finally rest for the night. Once I lay down, it wasn’t long before I fell into a deep sleep.
I don’t know how long I slept, I didn’t think to check my watch to see what time it was when I made camp, or woke up. Whatever time it was, I felt refreshed and ready to go. Before I dug into my backpack for something to eat, I had to find a place to relieve myself, which I did. I had some trail mix and protein bars which provided the nourishment to satiate my hunger. Some fresh cool spring water I’d gotten from a stream near the entrance of the cave washed down the final crumbs of the protein bar.
I looked at my watch, it was 1:11. Was that A.M. or P.M.? It felt like just afternoon. I rolled up the mat and sleeping bag, secured to my backpack then headed off deeper into the cave. It was cool and smelled a bit musty in this part of the cave. Interestingly, the floor of the cave was fairly flat, but had a gradual decline to it. At one point, after a turn or two to the right then left, there was a trickling stream at the edge of the cave floor. It sounded like one of those soothing water fountains you might find in a meditation center or some such place. All the while, it was pitch black darkness except for the beam of light my head mounted light provided for me. I wasn’t in any hurry, so as I moved deeper into the cave I looked around a lot at the cave walls and ceiling. There was nothing remarkable to see except for the things you’d expect to see in a natural cave like this. It was simple yet beautiful in its natural beingness.
There was a glow of light up ahead; it was coming from the right just beyond the bend. I thought it was a bit curious. It was inviting, alluring. My back pack seem much lighter on my back, and the sounds of my footsteps seemed to faint into a whisper of sound, yet the ground hadn’t changed in appearance at all, it was the same texture as the cave floor had been for most of the distance so far. I proceeded on and as I did, the light seemed to become brighter and brighter as I approach the bend in the cave. It didn’t really have a direction, and I had no shadow cast behind me. The light was sufficient that I was able to turn off my headlamp, so I did, to save battery life.
I finally came upon the bend in the cave which revealed a fairly large cavern. I looked around and couldn’t see any torches or other sources of light, yet the whole cavern was pleasantly lite. I entered the cavern and as I did, I noticed a figure seated towards the other end of the cavern. It looked to me, like he was the source of the light. As I approached, the silence was deafening. There was such peace and stillness, it felt out of place to move, yet I was drawn to do so. So, I moved towards the seated figure. As I did, feeling of contentment, joy, laughter, excitement and exhilaration seemed to flow through my entire body. I felt so happy and fulfilled, I’ve never felt this complete before. It was amazing.
I finally was a few feet in front of him. He was sitting cross legged in a full lotus posture, with this hands rest one upon the other in his lap. His eyes were closed and he didn’t move at all. He just sat there in his radiance and beauty. He appeared to be a young man, or maybe an older boy. His complexion was pure and youthful in appearance. His only attire was a simple cloth which served as a loin cloth. As I gazed at him, I noticed he wasn’t touching the ground below him; he was floating just above the mat below him. There were no shadows anywhere.
I didn’t say anything; I just sat down there in front of
him. He might as well have been a living
statue and that’s what I thought of as I sat down. I sat there in his beautiful radiance and
closed my eyes. The light was coming
from within me, I could see beyond the cave walls, I could see the surrounding
mountains and streams, the lakes, the birds and wildlife, I could feel it all
as though I was each one of those beings, each one of those rocks and plants. It was overwhelmingly beautiful and the bliss
which manifests it all was gushing through every part of it and me. I have no idea how long I sat there, it could
have been minutes, it could have been centuries, and it didn’t matter because I
found myself in all life expressions. I
forgot that I was sitting in a cave; I forgot I had this body because I was all
bodies and none of them at the same time.
I don’t know how it happened, I don’t know whether it was all just a dream, but when I regained consciousness of my body in this being, I opened my eyes and I was at home, sitting in the middle of my living room on the floor in the lotus posture I’d taken when I sat before the radiant being.
I had entered the cave, I had made the journey and somehow I was home again. I’ll never forget this experience, that light shines brightly within me to this day, and you my dear one, are as much a part of me and this light, as that radiant being who blessed me with his presence. I now bless you with mine, as you, he and I are ONE.
Nameste
I don’t know how it happened, I don’t know whether it was all just a dream, but when I regained consciousness of my body in this being, I opened my eyes and I was at home, sitting in the middle of my living room on the floor in the lotus posture I’d taken when I sat before the radiant being.
I had entered the cave, I had made the journey and somehow I was home again. I’ll never forget this experience, that light shines brightly within me to this day, and you my dear one, are as much a part of me and this light, as that radiant being who blessed me with his presence. I now bless you with mine, as you, he and I are ONE.
Nameste
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