09-14-2016, 07:43 PM
This was what Noah had been looking forward to see. Jon called the six students together and brought them inside the largest teepee that had been erected. Inside there was room enough for all six to sit in a semicircle on one side with Jon on the other. Noah watched from the entrance.
Jon produced something from his pocket and set it before him. Noah squinted. A black rock of some kind. It was the size of his palm, smooth, without blemish, and all of one piece. One end was a fat circle and the other tapered to a curved point alongside the outer edge. A teardrop, then. Like half of a circle broken along the middle. He stamped the grass flat and placed it on the ground. Point down. It balanced, seemingly impossibly, on the point.
"Each of you, come up here, and touch the stone,"
he said. One by one, they came up and placed a hand upon it. When they were done, Jon picked the stone up again. He beckoned Noah to take it. Noah took it in both hands. It was heavier than expected and to his surprise felt cold as ice.
"Keep that somewhere safe,"
he told Noah, handing him a cloth to use as a wrapping. "I believe it belongs here. I will instruct you on its use."
Noah nodded without word and wrapped it in the cloth and stuck it in his pocket. Jon turned back to the six. "If you will. If the stone felt warm, move to my left. If it felt cold, move to my right."
They split into two groups. The two men from the Lakota nation shuffled to the left, and the three women - and surprisingly the man from Arizona - moved to the right.
"I suspected as much,"
Jon muttered. His voice sounded distant, colder. Flat. He stood before the Hopi man. "Depart from here."
The man sputtered, but Jon held up one hand, which silenced him. Without a word her turned around and exited the teepee.
Jon turned to Noah. "It only works on men, I am afraid. I cannot say anything about these girls. But that one I dismissed does not have the ability. These two men here do."
Noah frowned. "He had the Sickness. His family attested to it."
Jon shook his head. "When you look into it, as I expect you will, I believe you will find a family attesting to nothing more than a young man's imagination."
His eyes drilled into Noah's. By the Great Spirit, the man seemed a mile away from his emotions and yet full of raw strength. You are a changed man from when I found you, Jon Little Bird.
"Now then,"
Jon continued, instructing the remaining youth to sit, "You ladies may stay if you wish. You may gain something from this. But you will need a woman to instruct you. The power of the Great Spirit is much different to them. I could no more teach you than I could send you to the moon."
He sat down cross-legged and held out his hand. Abruptly a blazing light sprung into existence. The men leaned back as if they had suddenly become afraid of Jon. "Wakan Tanka. The One Power of the Great Spirit. It flows through all things and binds all things to each other."
The brilliant light suddenly split into five bands, each faintly tinged of a different color. Red, yellow, green, white and blue, like ropes, each undulating in a slow spiral from his hand to the roof of the teepee. "There are five elemental flows within this power, each one of its own flavor. Fire. Earth. Water. Air. And Spirit."
As he mentioned each name, one of the respective bands pulsated. "These are constructs, representations. I have made them visible for your benefit. You will eventually be able to see the invisible flows of another man, and I assume the women the flows of other women."
Fascinating how much Jon had learned.
The lights blinked out of existence. "The power, now."
He placed his hands on his knees. "You must control it, or it will destroy you. For you men, this means fighting it every moment you are holding it. Wrestling it to your will. And you must blank everything. Every emotion from your mind. Else it will distract you and consume you. I am told that it is different for women, that it is peaceful and calm and that you must open yourself up. But that is not for me to guide you to."
Jon turned toward the men. "Close your eyes and listen. Listen to the sound of my voice. Don't strain. You may hear other sounds. Feel them out. Notice them, acknowledge them and leave them be. Now you will hear another sound. That is silence. Let it wash over you as if it was a blanket. You may start to be noticing emotions and thoughts, random ones. Let them move through your body and leech out into the ground, like the ground was sucking them from you. Don't force it. Just let it happen. And as that happens, pull that silence closer until it envelops you.
"As this happens, you may start to feel an emptiness in the middle of your forehead. There is now a point right in the middle of your forehead. Now imagine that that point is passing through your head, sinking deep into you, as though it is passing through the middle of your forehead. As it sinks deeper into you, imagine it is opening like an eye. As though there is a third eye opening in the middle of your forehead. And look through it. See the tent, see the grass, see me. Don't strain your eyes, and don't look up. Just as though you were looking through the middle of your forehead. As though you were looking through the middle of your forehead..."
Noah watched Jon breathe in and out evenly. His eyes were open as he continued to instruct them. The men appeared to be almost asleep. They were deeply entranced. "Now through your mind's eye you may notice something else. A presence. You may start to feel it calling to you. Resonating. Now I want you to imagine that you have a hand inside your mind. And I want you to take that hand and reach out as though you were stretching a hand through your mind's eye, and snatch it -- No, not like that."
The chief's son popped his eyes open. His hand was fully extended and he had his fist around something. "Um, I'm sorry."
Jon held up a hand. "It's all right. Go ahead and relax, both of you."
He stood up. "You may have to go through this exercise many times before you even can sense the power. And try many more attempts before you can grab it successfully."
Noah held up a hand as Jon walked to the entrance. "What do you say?"
Jon shrugged. "The one on the right was touching it for a moment. Just a bare touch, but still made contact. It will take time. Excuse me one moment though."
He slipped past Noah and walked out into the night.
Jon produced something from his pocket and set it before him. Noah squinted. A black rock of some kind. It was the size of his palm, smooth, without blemish, and all of one piece. One end was a fat circle and the other tapered to a curved point alongside the outer edge. A teardrop, then. Like half of a circle broken along the middle. He stamped the grass flat and placed it on the ground. Point down. It balanced, seemingly impossibly, on the point.
"Each of you, come up here, and touch the stone,"
he said. One by one, they came up and placed a hand upon it. When they were done, Jon picked the stone up again. He beckoned Noah to take it. Noah took it in both hands. It was heavier than expected and to his surprise felt cold as ice.
"Keep that somewhere safe,"
he told Noah, handing him a cloth to use as a wrapping. "I believe it belongs here. I will instruct you on its use."
Noah nodded without word and wrapped it in the cloth and stuck it in his pocket. Jon turned back to the six. "If you will. If the stone felt warm, move to my left. If it felt cold, move to my right."
They split into two groups. The two men from the Lakota nation shuffled to the left, and the three women - and surprisingly the man from Arizona - moved to the right.
"I suspected as much,"
Jon muttered. His voice sounded distant, colder. Flat. He stood before the Hopi man. "Depart from here."
The man sputtered, but Jon held up one hand, which silenced him. Without a word her turned around and exited the teepee.
Jon turned to Noah. "It only works on men, I am afraid. I cannot say anything about these girls. But that one I dismissed does not have the ability. These two men here do."
Noah frowned. "He had the Sickness. His family attested to it."
Jon shook his head. "When you look into it, as I expect you will, I believe you will find a family attesting to nothing more than a young man's imagination."
His eyes drilled into Noah's. By the Great Spirit, the man seemed a mile away from his emotions and yet full of raw strength. You are a changed man from when I found you, Jon Little Bird.
"Now then,"
Jon continued, instructing the remaining youth to sit, "You ladies may stay if you wish. You may gain something from this. But you will need a woman to instruct you. The power of the Great Spirit is much different to them. I could no more teach you than I could send you to the moon."
He sat down cross-legged and held out his hand. Abruptly a blazing light sprung into existence. The men leaned back as if they had suddenly become afraid of Jon. "Wakan Tanka. The One Power of the Great Spirit. It flows through all things and binds all things to each other."
The brilliant light suddenly split into five bands, each faintly tinged of a different color. Red, yellow, green, white and blue, like ropes, each undulating in a slow spiral from his hand to the roof of the teepee. "There are five elemental flows within this power, each one of its own flavor. Fire. Earth. Water. Air. And Spirit."
As he mentioned each name, one of the respective bands pulsated. "These are constructs, representations. I have made them visible for your benefit. You will eventually be able to see the invisible flows of another man, and I assume the women the flows of other women."
Fascinating how much Jon had learned.
The lights blinked out of existence. "The power, now."
He placed his hands on his knees. "You must control it, or it will destroy you. For you men, this means fighting it every moment you are holding it. Wrestling it to your will. And you must blank everything. Every emotion from your mind. Else it will distract you and consume you. I am told that it is different for women, that it is peaceful and calm and that you must open yourself up. But that is not for me to guide you to."
Jon turned toward the men. "Close your eyes and listen. Listen to the sound of my voice. Don't strain. You may hear other sounds. Feel them out. Notice them, acknowledge them and leave them be. Now you will hear another sound. That is silence. Let it wash over you as if it was a blanket. You may start to be noticing emotions and thoughts, random ones. Let them move through your body and leech out into the ground, like the ground was sucking them from you. Don't force it. Just let it happen. And as that happens, pull that silence closer until it envelops you.
"As this happens, you may start to feel an emptiness in the middle of your forehead. There is now a point right in the middle of your forehead. Now imagine that that point is passing through your head, sinking deep into you, as though it is passing through the middle of your forehead. As it sinks deeper into you, imagine it is opening like an eye. As though there is a third eye opening in the middle of your forehead. And look through it. See the tent, see the grass, see me. Don't strain your eyes, and don't look up. Just as though you were looking through the middle of your forehead. As though you were looking through the middle of your forehead..."
Noah watched Jon breathe in and out evenly. His eyes were open as he continued to instruct them. The men appeared to be almost asleep. They were deeply entranced. "Now through your mind's eye you may notice something else. A presence. You may start to feel it calling to you. Resonating. Now I want you to imagine that you have a hand inside your mind. And I want you to take that hand and reach out as though you were stretching a hand through your mind's eye, and snatch it -- No, not like that."
The chief's son popped his eyes open. His hand was fully extended and he had his fist around something. "Um, I'm sorry."
Jon held up a hand. "It's all right. Go ahead and relax, both of you."
He stood up. "You may have to go through this exercise many times before you even can sense the power. And try many more attempts before you can grab it successfully."
Noah held up a hand as Jon walked to the entrance. "What do you say?"
Jon shrugged. "The one on the right was touching it for a moment. Just a bare touch, but still made contact. It will take time. Excuse me one moment though."
He slipped past Noah and walked out into the night.