So much for this being a Synchronicity, I thought. Best to leave now.
“Look,” I said, walking away. “Everything you are saying can be debated, but you’re not open to that. There is another side to all these issues.” I set the coffee cup down on a rock.
Robert was laughing now, but some of the others were giving me intimidating looks.
“You better wake up,” one of them yelled. “You people on the Left are ruining this country, and we’re not going to stand for it much longer. We’d rather have the corporations take over than you idiots.”
Walking back to the tent, I could feel my clarity of mind finally coming back to me. I had no idea that the extreme Right would have an interest in this Document, if indeed it was a genuine interest. More likely they were just trying to use it for their own purposes. Most upsetting of all was the fact that my energy had collapsed. I felt I had held on to a more rational view with them, which I considered most truthful, but I had definitely been affected by the verbal onslaught.
Then it dawned on me. These people were controllers, in the same sense that the Old Prophecy had described them in the Fourth Insight. We had come to the Fourth Integration—so of course I would be running into controllers!
As the Prophecy had shown, controllers were not interested in truth, and only marginally motivated by outcomes. What they wanted above all was the feeling of power that comes from dominating others. In order to do this, they make up any facts necessary to throw the other person off balance and undermine his self-confidence. And if the controlling was successful, the victims would eventually lose their centered clarity altogether and begin to defer to the controllers’ opinions—which, of course, would give the controllers a hit of energy and power from the others’ attention. Controlling is obsessive behavior, used to push away insecurity.
This type of controlling is the chief characteristic of those both Left and Right, who have a primarily ideological approach to politics. They don’t want to debate the issues. They want only to shout down the opposition and win. The old Prophecy predicted that this selfish insecurity could be resolved only when one found true security: a spiritual connection inside, where seeking the truth and being of service were more important than winning.
Shaking off the experience, I continued to look around for any sign of Rachel and Wil but saw no one I recognized. I was about to head back to the tent when I heard someone talking in a loud voice in a campsite to my right. I looked around and tried to see through the dim, flickering light. The night was now draped in a slight foglike haze from the smoke of the campfires.
Finally, I spotted four or five people standing in a group, illuminated by a large campfire. Two men were opposing each other in a heated interchange. One of them was shouting, and the other man was… Coleman!
I was so glad to see him that I rushed over and stood just to the right of him for support.
“You’re one of those Right-wingers,” the loud man said, waving a finger at Coleman. “If you weren’t, you wouldn’t be talking like this.”
Coleman shook his head. “I’m only saying that it takes a balance. Some people want big government totally regulating everything and others want big corporate influence and very little regulation. I think the best position is right in the middle, with just enough regulation to provide adequate consumer protection.”
His opponent wasn’t listening, going off on a tirade about how those were just code words for Right-wing intentions to undermine programs for people. He called Coleman a fascist extremist out to control the economies of the world and oppress anyone who wasn’t rich.
At that moment, a lightbulb went off in my head. We were now seeing the reverse of what I’d experienced earlier. When I tried to discuss politics with the Right-wing guy from a more moderate position, he called me a Leftist. And now I was witnessing a man on the extreme Left—because Coleman was also coming from a moderate position—accusing Coleman of being from the extreme Right.
Both extremists were using the same tactic. If someone disagreed with them even slightly, they were simply pushed into the opposite extreme category—so they could be dismissed and dehumanized and not taken seriously. That way, each side—far Left and Right—could justify their own extreme behavior. Each thought of themselves as the good guys having to fight to save civilization from a soulless enemy.
As the other man continued to shout, Coleman gave me an exasperated look and nodded that we should leave.
“Where are you going, Right-winger?” one of the other men shouted. “You aren’t going to win. If we have to install a dictator, we’ll do it. You aren’t going to win!”
Once we were out of sight, Coleman stopped and pulled a copy of the Fourth Integration from his pack.
“We need to talk,” he said.
As we walked back to where I had set up camp, I gushed out everything that had happened, including experiencing the Third Integration, seeing Rachel and the strange group she was with, and listening to the far Right guy acting just as irrational as the guy Coleman was arguing with on the Left.
Coleman listened and busied himself with picking up some dead mesquite limbs. Several times he paused to tell me he had had similar experiences with the Third Integration, not from losing his food but from being alone and losing his way and seeking help from others. We were both at the same place: in Alignment and beginning to seek the Fourth.
When we arrived, I used some starter wood Wil had placed in my pack to build a small fire, listening at the same time for any sounds that might indicate rangers were approaching.
Coleman was watching me, growing more excited. “Have you seen what the Document says about the Fourth yet?”
“Not yet.”
“We’re seeing all this for a reason! The Document says that during the transition from a material worldview to a more spiritual one, civility is the first thing that goes out the window. Those holding on to the old worldview often begin to cling to their obsessions with ever greater ferocity, until their beliefs become an ideology, a system of ideas that aren’t based on truth any longer. It is based on the perceived idea that there is an enemy out there threatening the world. And in such a dire situation, they feel it is okay to give up on truthful democratic debate and legal procedures.
“The political Left and Right are both moving to the extreme because each thinks the threat is so great from the other side that extreme measures need to be taken. And of course, it’s all self-reinforcing. When people exaggerate the facts, they abandon truth, and then the Law of Karma kicks in, and each side draws in their opposites who are lying as well, and they just fan each other’s flames.
“What’s worse,” he went on, “is that those in the middle—as we just saw—are constantly accused of being extreme by both sides, so gradually everyone tends to be pushed toward the extreme opposite poles.”
He poked the fire with a stick. “The Document says the danger lies in this increasing polarization of political thought, with more people moving to the extremes every day. This is a very dangerous situation. Either side can become violent or despotic. The Document says those in Alignment must find a way to stand up to those in extreme ideologies by creating a new, enlightened center, devoted to the truth. It says this is especially true when confronting religious ideology.”
I just looked at him.
“I was very interested,” he said, “when you were telling me about the group Rachel was with.”
“Why is that?”
“Because the Document says religious ideology will also be increasing in our time. In this period where many people want an open discussion about spirituality so we can build a consensus about our spiritual nature, many in established religions will begin to feel threatened. And in an effort to defend their doctrine, they will move to extremes as well, even to the point of giving up and wishing for the end of the world.”
I remembered what Colonel Peterson had told me.
“You’re talking about the end-times people,” I s
aid. “Those wishing for Armageddon.”
“Yes.”
Just at this moment, the low whine of four-wheelers interrupted our conversation. They were still far away but were bearing down on us at a fast pace. People everywhere were hurrying to break down their tents and gather their belongings.
“We’d better get out of here!” I said, jumping up and loading my pack.
“I’ll get my tent and be right back,” he said, rushing into the darkness.
Just then, I was jolted by a woman’s scream about fifty feet away. Several men with big flashlights had grabbed her and were looking all through her belongings. Several more men were heading my way.
With no other choice, I stuffed everything into my pack and ran into the darkness. All over the area now, I could see men with flashlights searching through people’s campsites, obviously looking for something. I crouched low as one group of men rushed into a camp less than thirty feet from where I was hiding. Beams from their lights swept over me.
“Let us have your translations,” one of the men said in an Arabic accent. Another shouted to an associate in what was clearly continental Indian. I recognized one of the men as belonging to the group holding Rachel. He was the tall man with a beard.
Now the four-wheelers were on us, and the men quickly scattered, the flashlights suddenly going dark. I moved away from the rangers, looking around as best I could for any sign of Coleman. Finally, I hid among some rocks about a hundred yards away. Dozens of rangers were herding people into groups and moving them out of the clearing. I headed farther north.
After about an hour, I froze. Someone seemed to be creeping toward me from the left. The sound stopped, and I backed away in the other direction and right into the grasp of a lone figure who pushed a handgun into my ribs. I was wrestled to the ground by another man, and one of the big flashlights popped on in my face.
They pulled me along for about a half mile farther toward the north into an area of thick pines, where more than twenty people met us. A small campfire flickered light over the scene. This was the rest of the group that had Rachel.
A man who seemed to be the leader came over and gazed at me for a long moment. He was thickly built, had dark hair that was graying, and was dressed in military fatigues. He shook his head and turned away. I took a deep breath, trying to keep my wits about me and stay out of panic. After all, I told myself, Rachel had been with these people for a while, and she hadn’t looked too upset earlier.
On the other hand, they had just come into the clearing and had terrified everyone, apparently looking for parts of the Document. I could see folders and loose papers stacked near a lone cactus. One man walked over and began searching through my pack, easily finding my copies.
Suddenly, two other people emerged from the darkness. One was Rachel and the other was an Arab male of about thirty-five who was attired in more formal Arab dress. Rachel moved closer and saw me, our eyes meeting for just an instant before our view was blocked.
The leader then walked over and casually sat down in front of me.
“Where are the rest of your Documents?” he asked. It was the same man I’d heard speaking with a continental Indian accent.
I was determined to stay centered and to be truthful or say nothing. “That’s all I have,” I said.
He gave me what I could only describe as a serene smile. “Okay, my friend, then where might we find the rest of this artifact?”
“I don’t know. One has to be guided to it.”
“And you, are you guided by Colonel Peterson?”
I was stunned, which made the leader’s eyes light up. He was obviously pleased with himself that he knew of the colonel’s existence.
“Oh, yes,” he added, “I know all about his group. And I want you to tell me all you know about him.”
“That’s easy,” I said. “I only met him for the first time earlier today, and I don’t know anything about him, except that he’s interested in what this Document has to say, just as you apparently are.”
“Yes, we’re studying it right now,” the leader said. His eyes tellingly glanced at Rachel, who was sitting beside the stack of papers.
“So what about you?” I asked. “What do you think about this Document?” He seemed to be amused that I would dare to ask a question in this circumstance.
“It has nothing to tell us,” he asserted. “We already have the truth.”
He turned and began talking to the well-dressed man who was with Rachel. He called him Adjar.
At that moment, Rachel looked directly into my eyes, which was so overwhelming I had to shift my gaze. The connection wasn’t romantic—at least I thought it wasn’t. But it was definitely unusual, and I felt it at depths I had no idea how to explain. As I looked at her with my peripheral vision, I realized she was trying to communicate something.
Cooperate, she seemed to be saying with her eyes. Don’t make waves. Which threw me into a quandary. To stay clear, I had to remain centered and aware, and to do that I had to tell the truth as I knew it. I would have to phrase my truthful comments in a way that would keep me out of trouble with this guy.
The leader was walking back toward me.
“This idea of ideology,” he said. “It refers to people who are living lies and know it, yes? Like those who lie and steal for money, like you people in the West.”
He looked closely to see if I was going to defend Modern life, but the thought came to me to go in another direction.
“I think the Document is pointing,” I said, “to those people who have set ideas about reality and aren’t open to any discussion about it. They stop growing and just repeat the past. They aren’t conscious in their conversation.”
“Like Peterson?”
“Well, I don’t know.”
“You know!”
For the first time he looked fully menacing, and I knew I was on tricky ground here.
“Okay,” I said. “I think he is trying to find a way to stop the war over religion before it’s too late.”
He looked as though he was trying to control an inner outrage.
“He only wants power for himself,” he said. “Besides, the war cannot be stopped. It is destined. I think you are trying to deceive me.”
With that he turned away again. Rachel was staring at me, cautioning me to be careful.
The leader looked at Adjar. “Set a guard over them all night.”
Adjar nodded to two other men who lifted me up and had me sit by Rachel, then he said something to the other woman in Hebrew. She moved over to a rock about ten feet away to watch us, an Uzi machine pistol in her lap. He called her Hira.
I leaned over toward Rachel and noticed her rose perfume again, which in this setting made her seem otherworldly, or angel-like.
“Who are these people?” I whispered.
“I’ve been with them a while,” she said quietly, “and I still don’t know much about them. They mostly belong to Arabic sects, but they have Westerners with them, too, Jews and Christians from all over. The only connection I can see is that they are all into end-times Prophecy. The leader’s name is Anish. He’s the one who holds them all together.”
I quickly told her what Peterson had said about religious extremists desiring Armageddon.
She thought for a moment. “I know Anish is planning something. I just don’t know what it is. They call themselves Apocalyptics.”
“And they won’t let you leave?”
“I haven’t pressed the issue. They made me agree to help them understand the Document, although only a few of them are comprehending it.” She glanced over at Adjar who quickly looked away.
I took a breath and then told Rachel about the men terrifying the campers at the clearing.
“I was thinking they might be forcing people to give up their copies,” she said.
She looked at me, trying to find my eyes again. “How far have you gotten with the Integrations?”
“I’m through the Third and some of the Fourth.”
>
“So you get the problem with polarizing ideologies, and the disregard of moderate views?”
“Yes.”
She seemed to light up. “Well, the conclusion of the Fourth is revealing. It says there is only one solution to the problem of people who are lost in ideologies. The Document says those of us in Alignment, holding a central position of truth, have to reach them.”
“What does that mean?”
“It explains that enough of us have to move through the Integrations until we have enough influence to persuade them, before it’s too late, that Alignment is the only way. People can change in the blink of an eye.”
“A race against time,” I said.
She gave me a puzzled look.
“Just something a friend told me when I first heard about the Document.”
At this moment, the leader, Anish, walked up and said something to Adjar. Then he gave me a long look. He seemed to grow irritated that I was returning his stare. He stormed over.
“Who are you to look into my eyes?” he yelled. “Show deference! You are here, alive, both of you, because I allow it. When you no longer serve our cause, I can dispense with you in an instant.” He snapped his fingers to illustrate the point.
Then, strangely, his demeanor became calm again, and he smiled. “Tomorrow, you will tell me everything you know.”
He glared one more time at both of us and walked off.
The threat was convincing, and I felt my energy plummet. Rachel looked at me hard. She glanced at our guard, Hira, who returned her look with concern. Hira jumped down from the rock with amazing athletic ease, ready for whatever was going to happen. Rachel nodded at her.
I realized then that Rachel must have developed a friendship with this woman with the Uzi. In fact, Rachel seemed to have a Connection with both Hira and Adjar. After she was sure he wasn’t coming back, Rachel leaned over again, still searching for my eyes.
“There’s one last thing in the Fourth,” she said. “All of us must admit that we can’t marshal enough influence on our own to stand up to such people. It says we have to break through to a larger part of ourselves… and find our ‘protection.’ ”