ANCIENT WISDOM

Everything about my new boss Derrick was appealing. Good looking, confident, smart, successful, and someone who allowed me to be myself. The first project he tossed my way was a military research project that’ll become a blog piece, under the moniker of "The Burlap Sack: Raw, Real, and Rough Around the Edges."

Apparently, there are some rather interesting things being discovered that our government has curiously kept a lid on. So, in the interest of public awareness and transparency, Derrick thought it might be a good idea to explore some more. Hell yes!! I’m down for that. And who knows, maybe I’ll meet some interesting people that will lead me towards discovering what is actually going on in this world. Heck, Derrick had unexpectedly been issued a $20,000 grant for this research, so why not. It’ll be fun.

Long story short, this project led me to the ancient caves of Magdala in Israel. Similar to the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered nearby in Qumran, my team and I were led to a mysterious new discovery of our own. A set of ancient text scrolls that’d be valuable in terms of navigating the chaos of these times. Elated at first, then devastated shortly thereafter when they appeared to have been stolen from our hotel room, to only days later having them reappear as if by magic, I secretly took them in my possession to ponder my next move.

Not knowing what exactly to do next, upon returning home, I brought them down to the water’s edge of my favorite inspiration pond nearby. I also brought with me my small black notebook to record any thoughts or inspirations that might magically transpire.

Just then, a young girl named Grace, who also frequented the shores of this beloved place, noticed me and came over to sit down on the blanket I’d carefully laid out. She asked me why I hadn’t been around lately, then noticed I’d brought something with me other than my notebook, and asked, “What’s that?”

Carefully I took out the scrolls and could see her eyes light up with excitement. Grace asked, “Can I hold them?” One would normally consider this too huge a risk, but I knew intuitively I could trust her—and that she’d treat them with the reverence they deserved.

I could see the intent look in her eyes as she slowly rolled opened the first one with great care and by taking her time. But what she did next, shocked me. She appeared to be reading them. Now, this was quite odd, since they were written in Aramaic. And I’m told not many people, let alone a little girl, can do that now, as it is fast becoming a lost art and language from ancient times.

What the hell?

After a while, she paused to look up at me with tears in her eyes. Not tears of pain, but genuine love.

We were both speechless.

Savoring the moment, I was reluctant to speak until inspiration hit me, “Grace, what do you feel?”

Not what are you doing. Not what do you see. But what do you feel? It seemed like an odd question—even to me. And yet, it was the perfect question for the moment we were sharing. “What do you feel?”

No words were necessary.

It was as if both of us in that moment were feeling a warm sprinkle of gold dust wash over our entire bodies. Like a shower of love that is hard to describe. One look in her eyes confirmed my suspicions. She felt it too.

Much to my surprise, Grace told me she had been taught Aramaic before learning English. Her mother, whose name was Ruet, did not want this ancient language to die out and made it a point to pass this tradition along to her daughter—hoping one day she’d do the same.

This child can read Aramaic!

Can it get any better than this? Here I am, sitting next to my magical pond, in the woodlands I consider to be sacred ground, with this young treasure of a child who can translate the scrolls that have been hidden away for centuries upon centuries!!

“How does it get any better than this?”

I took out my pen and opened my small black notebook to a blank page in anticipation of decoding the secrets embedded within the papyrus of these sacred writings. Grace began the process of revealing what they contained, as I remained in absolute awe at what was taking place.

The first scroll proclaimed;

“True wisdom and true divinity lives within the deepest parts of your soul. This is the abundance of knowledge that all can freely tap into because it is the very breath of God. When you quiet your thoughts and just breathe while simply enjoying the beauty of nature around you, you step into a world where you now are one with God. In this moment, the wisdom of the ages opens up to you. Breathe this in and water the dreams you desire to live in. All is possible when you surrender to this union with the One.”

Holy cow!!

Both of us sat there for several moments in silence, allowing these words to wash over us. I organically began to notice my breathing—then the beauty surrounding us among the trees, and a feeling of deep peace within.

What’s more, I felt the arms of God wrapped around me like never before. All was calm. There was no angst, worry, or fear. All the chatter of the world seemed to fall away, and we were suspended in time. And especially, there was no separation between us—or between us and nature.

I could have stayed in these arms forever.

Seemingly connected by one mind, both Grace and I were content to just sit there by the pond in silence. It was as though time had suspended and I couldn’t tell you if it was minutes or hours later when she picked up the second scroll. My pen stood ready to record whatever her sweet little voice revealed next;

“In pain comes greater awareness by the transformation love brings to all situations. Love is the gift you have to bring you through any sorrow. You will always be lifted by the love you allow your heart to feel in the space between you and your father. For you and your father are truly one. When we go through challenging situations, we can allow that which appears dark to surface so it can be seen. As we hold onto the power of love, we bring about a powerful transformation that allows us to rebirth into a more magnificent self. Born into the wisdom of the God that lives in you.”

Is it any coincidence this message aligned perfectly to the current chaos society faces today? We can think of it this way: love, a true and pure love, is all there really is. It’s why we’re here to share it with others, and it’s all we leave behind in our memories.

Sure, we may mourn the loss of loved ones, or the way things used to be, but we can also through the practice of forgiveness, allow for the gifts of this pain to shine through. We allow that which seems dark or evil to rise to the surface and be seen—and then take steps to heal the wrongs in this world and make it better for everyone.

What this awareness confirmed for me is that we could heal as a society and as a nation, even if it looks broken and beyond repair in the present moment.

This brought me hope.

Anxious to know what more is unveiled within the last scroll, I encouraged Grace to please keep going. She continued with the following;

“Blessed are those who soften the hard challenges of life. Nothing is so rigid even if it at first appears to be. By softening the emotion or fear you feel around something, the strength of the emotion softens into just a simple awareness, and in this awareness new answers and new solutions are born. The earth will never own you, for you shall inherit the earth with a renewed strength from this softening. All things are done whole through loving eyes. In these eyes, once that which was dark becomes light. Now is the time to soften the darkness and step into the light with your light shining brightly so others will find their openings into this brightness. Nothing remains dark when the light of love shines brightly upon it. A flower blooms rising up out of the dark earth, so shall we rise and bloom into the heavens here on earth to live a fuller, richer life, with all your true colors blooming brightly in this freedom, and that this softening of ego and self-doubt brings.”

Another drop of pure divinity.

What all of this is telling us is if we are willing to soften that which is rigid, we can also change our thoughts, perceptions, judgments, and beliefs. Once we let go of our attachments to the ego, pride, and having to be right all the time, we release the need to defend—both ourselves and our positions—which may or may not be accurate anyway.

This is what can restore all things to be in balance with one another. What a revelation this is for all of humanity.

When we string together these three ideas, we begin to heal ourselves, our families and friends—as well as our neighbors and entire societies.

Now, if I’m understanding this right, from the first scroll, which asks us to make our home in the breath, we begin to relax, and safety is restored as we eliminate the “fight or flight” response so clear can guidance emerge.

Next, we allow our emotions to be felt and the deeply hidden pains to surface, as we continue with our breath. We release, forgive, learn, and become more aware, which naturally leads us to the third idea—being willing to soften those dark and rigid parts of ourselves and letting go of perceptions the need for having things be a certain way. This in turn leads to the promise of this third idea, which is about renewed strength and greater confidence.

Well, at least that’s what I got out of this. It was as if at the same time I was writing down what Grace translated from Aramaic to English, I was having an explosion of understandings of this ancient wisdom that had been buried for so long. It was mind-blowing for sure.

I can’t wait to share it this with Derrick.

Basking in the glow of what had just occurred, we again locked eyes with each other—as both of us seemed to be gazing into the depths of our souls.

There was no gender or age in this space, only love. And no words were required to express the gratitude I shared with this innocent, brilliant young girl.

We sat in silence again for some time longer, then got up and hugged, while assuring each other we’d meet again.

Later that evening, I shared all of this with Derrick and his feelings were the same as mine—what a blessing these revelations were as a benefit to the world.

And revolutionary at the same time.

Derrick then updated me in on the latest developments in terms of locating what is believed to be more ancient scrolls of the same, which evidently are hidden high up in the mountains of southern France.

Looks like I’ll be making another overseas trip again.

This time Derrick is coming too…

Can’t wait.