Expanding horizons
The months following the discovery of the plane’s wreckage and until I had news of the positive identification of Ronald’s remains, were difficult. I felt as though I was on hold; the needed closure seemed so out of reach. My contractual work with the ILO had ceased but my widow’s pension started monthly payments, so fortunately I did not have added financial worry. Ronald had taken care of many things before his disappearance.
‘Go and Grow’ had been an instruction, his instruction, and I took it to heart.
So, in March 2011, Beth and I had joined a ‘spiritual cruise’ in San Diego and travelled down the coast of Mexico with a large group. I was drawn by the presence of Carl Johan Calleman, a Swedish scientist and expert on the Mayan Calendar, which I had been studying for several years – fascinated with how things were playing out in the world as we led up to the anticipated ‘shift’ in 2012.
Many Japanese were among the participants. On 11 March, when a devastating earthquake struck and a tsunami hit Japan, the world held its breath and we felt the shockwaves in our boat at the edge of the Pacific.
Before this event, however, a group of about 12 of us, had climbed into a rubber dinghy, accompanied by Victoria of Light, a whale whisperer from New Zealand, and we set off. Leaving a cluster of other whale-seeking boats, we headed out into the open sea… and then Victoria began her chanting.
It was otherworldly, a high and pure sound, with no recognisable words. A few of us had singing bowls and other instruments, and our boat began to emit a combination of sounds.
It was not long before we had our first response. We held our breaths as a mother and her calf appeared. The moment was electric as they approached our small craft. By now, the emotion and excitement had built up in each of us and we were all emitting sound, our own ‘language’, calling these wondrous beings.
They were so close, the calf so curious, playful, swimming alongside us. We’d slowed down to a gentle throttle, and I reached out my hand trailing it in the water. If I’d had a 2-metre extension I could have stroked this ‘baby’; its mother close by watching us. The baby was perhaps 4 metres, almost the length of our boat. And I estimated the length of its mother at possibly 10 metres.
The whole experience was formidable. Every so often the mother would disappear into the depths, reemerging with a deep sigh. The water a deep iridescent turquoise, the whites of their underbellies tinted pale green.
We had motored out some 11 km, and they had been with us for at least three quarters of this distance as we sang our love songs to them. The captain was enthralled but indicated that we needed to return.
And then from the deep depths, the rising of the great male presence which had accompanied us the entire way while remaining out of sight. With a body at least 3 metres longer than the female, he emerged about twenty metres away from our little rubber boat which bobbed up and down on the stirring of the waves caused by his arrival.
We turned and made our way back to shore, escorted by this family for perhaps 8 kms. Singing and chanting in joy and appreciation – the captain’s face showing total amazement. He said he’d never had such an experience in any of his outings.
This was also my first experience of the ‘language of light’ – when beautiful sounds and syllables emerge in a stream unlocking a freedom in one’s emotions and sending ripples of vibrations throughout one’s body. It can be a deeply spiritual experience. Perhaps the ‘speaking in tongues’ referred to in biblical times might have had something in common with this?
Soon after this experience we heard about the earthquake in Japan and felt the tsunami. Our Japanese friends disappeared behind their computers and cellphones for the rest of trip as they tried to connect with loved ones.
***
I don’t recall when I first heard of Damanhur and the Temples of Humankind in northern Italy. But I was fascinated by the idea of an intentional community having come together and establishing Damanhur in 1975. Remaining under the radar for several decades, they had evolved an entirely separate system of sustainable living, operating ‘off the grid’ and outside the mainstream. They had their own currency, organic farming methods and a comprehensive research programme in laboratories and had managed to take over a disused and abandoned Pirelli factory which they turned into a vibrant community and commercial centre.
The reason why this community came under the scrutiny of Italian officialdom seemed to be that a disgruntled member of the community had spilled the beans during a leadership struggle within the movement. But what this opened up was another world, underground and hewn by hand out of the rock which the community had been building for decades. A simple farm building housed the secret entrance to the lift which dropped down some 20 metres and then a series of chambers and passageways led to amazing volumes and spaces, housing 7 temples, each decorated with mirrors and mosaics and exquisite artworks. The complex extended for some 75 metres underground – more extensive that a football field and ventilated and lit by a sophisticated system of shafts. Extraordinary.
The Italian authorities insisted that this should be made public, threatening to pour concrete down the lift shaft if they didn’t.
And so, soon after this ‘8th wonder of the world’ was opened to the public I was there; part of a small group privy to these marvels, breathless as I moved from temple to temple, awed as I studied the wisdom teachings portrayed on the walls and the hidden mysteries there for us to scrutinise.
I had driven with my young friend Rebecca through the tunnel de Mont Blanc, passing through Aosta and close to Turin, where in the mountains and steep rural area, the Damanhur Federation had established itself and constructed its alternative reality. We were booked to stay for three days with a guided tour through the temples on Day one.
We met up with several like-minded visitors and shared insights over several delicious organic meals. I had brought copies of Into the Light with me and shared them, playing the CD on several occasions when it seemed appropriate.
On Day 2 we went on a visit to the tree settlement, where a number of families of the community lived, having built walkways and treehouses perhaps 3 metres above ground. The wooden walkways and houses were designed in harmony with the trees which towered above them – walkways wrapping themselves around the trunks which were sometimes integrated into the spaces of the ‘rooms’. I learnt that this proximity to trees enhances our dream state; that trees act as antennae to help us reach the unseen realms and receive our dream messages.
Members of the community had the names of animals or plants. Our guide was called ‘Chameleon’ – a scientist working on research with plants and sound. In a small wooden room, a number of us were squeezed in to see a small pot plant, which looked like an African violet with an electrode fixed to one of its leaves with a wire leading to a small piece of equipment like a synthesiser. Chameleon turned this on and sound filled the room. This was the ‘music’ emanating from the little pot plant, captured in this synthesiser and transmitted through speakers.
I was more than intrigued. Listening to the electronic sound, I was guided to ask Chameleon if he could switch the sound on the synthesiser to that of a ‘piano’, which he did. I connected with this little plant and focused on what I was beginning to hear… quietly. And I listened in amazement as this little pot plant began to sound…. like my piano playing. This was extraordinary, and several of my new friends who had heard the CD, looked at me in amazement. Marilyn, this is your music?
A whole new field was opening up. I felt that I was connected to this plant. We were not separate. The music which was coming through it and playing out into the room, was how I would play… but I was only feeling it…and the source of the music was a little pot plant.
So many more mysteries in store. Where to go with this knowledge and this experience? I shared my CD with Chameleon, purchased a small device similar to what he had used to transmit this miracle to me, and then I left Damanhur hoping that one day I would play a duet with a tree, or a little African violet. Or at least I could find a like-minded soul with whom I could share this experience.