TWENTY SEVEN

'Man cannot discover new oceans until he has courage to lose sight of the shore' - Unknown Quote

…"And when you tell others about me... This Jesus that you met with a time traveling Doctor... Tell them that I spoke of love"…

Jay's voice was suddenly right beside him, still gently caressing his ear calmly as Martin's eyes began taking in the microscopic universe he was journeying through.

…"Tell them that I spoke of peace and of oneness with God. Tell them that I told you of Eternal life and shared with you the blissful realization of the oneness of all things"

… Martin continued to move towards the largest sphere, the nucleus and centre of the atom. Every colour in existence seemed to move upon it's 'surface' as Martin's still falling/rising body moved to it's left hand side. As he tumbled past the sphere his 'body' seemed to turn, his eyes remained transfixed on the colossus atom as the texture of it shimmered and blurred into a new existence…

…"Tell them that God's love is infinite... like reality itself"…

… The sphere was no longer an Atom. It was now a planet… Martin recognized it instantly; it was Martin's 'home world'… The planet Earth. The huge blue pearl hung sublimely against a dark, star filled tapestry, rotating gracefully on its axis. Its surface was made of elegant, rich blues and swirling whites and the landmasses were textures of gold and green. It looked like paradise…

…"Tell them that I spoke of peace. Tell them that God does not want them to kill in his name"…

… Martin wondered for a moment if this was the Earth of his time: the early part of the 21st Century. He 'felt' it was and then saw an area of land that he knew to be the Middle East. For a moment he thought of all the 'believers' down on the surface armed with their rifles and grenades, murdering innocents in the name of their 'God'…

… Then he thought of the 'innocents' been slaughtered, their pain and suffering horrific beyond measure and a demonstration of all that has 'gone wrong' with humanity's beliefs. He thought of all the children and families dying of starvation and lack of decent medical aid and then thought of the charity teams that worked miracles every day, saving lives by demonstrating incredible strength of soul and compassion…

… He then looked over to the left and could see the English Isles and America. He thought of all the people living on those islands in almost blissful ignorance, wrapped in comfort with food in their bellies, their lives almost consumed with celebrity gossip, TV shows and the latest fashion, their bodies full of alcohol, drugs and excessive fat. He thought of them throwing enough food away everyday to feed the whole world twice over and then thought of the 'select few' spending millions each day on toys and trinkets whilst desperate, life changing charities went begging for pennies…

… He then thought of all the people who demonstrated and experienced their potential by their compassion for others and their world. He thought of the peace makers, those millions who's spirituality is based on Love and, most importantly, demonstrating that love by bringing around a 'better world' in whatever way they can. He thought of those that inspire and those that 'Be the change they want to see'…

…"Tell them that True love is unconditional…It is the highest form of love… Tell them that this is how God loves them…"

… He then thought about his own family, somewhere down below him on that tiny English island. His partner and daughter: Both angelic and beautiful, a complete and true reflection of his own love. He thought of them at their home, lovingly holding each other whilst kneeling in front of an open fire. Would they be missing him? Would they even know he had 'gone'? He then thought of his Mother who had always shown him perfect, unconditional love. He pictured her now, sat on her own reading a book, smiling within tears…

…"Tell them that only together can mankind save this beautiful world. Tell them that they should stop polluting their planet and start loving it. For the Earth is a gift from God and gifts are there to be treasured"…

… Martin's 'astral body' had now moved directly in front of the huge, blue pearl and was falling away from it at an ever-increasing speed. He took in the beautiful perfection of his home world, how radiant and elegant it looked crowned in a halo of stars, and then gave a thought to all the 6.5 Billion people living down on it's surface. For a moment he felt he could 'feel' of all their individual lives and the full knowledge of all their hopes and fears: Their first kisses and last breaths, their faithfulness and betrayals, their own Angels and demons, their cancers, their miracles, their songs, their tears, their births and deaths… The vast rainbow of the 'Human experience' was happening right now on that small, fragile world. What would become of it?

…"Tell them that the Kingdom of God is brought through them by their acts of love and compassion"…

He gave his last thought to his family and all the other inhabitants of the Earth: a last, hopeful thought that it could all be saved by Humanity itself in a transforming, spiritual evolution and a common desire to 'make a difference'…

…"Tell them that only by treating others as they themselves wish to be treat can mankind truly experience their divine nature and realization of the oneness of all life and, therefore, the true knowledge that all of mankind are created equal"…

…Suddenly the moon was over his left shoulder, it's craggy surface seemed almost close enough to touch. Within a second he had past it and watched as it now hung in it's orbit around the Earth, slowly reducing in size as Martin continued to fall away from the planet's presence…

… Martin felt like now he was moving slowly and yet somehow at incredible speed, through the physical Heavens themselves. The orb of the Sun was far beyond the earth to its right hand side, it shone proud and strong as it had done for millions of years. More planets and spheres came into view and then fell away as the Earth itself became increasingly small and distant. It eventually became just another tiny spec of light within an ocean of limitless lights and colour…

…"Tell them that God is love"…

… Martin continued spiraling through the Earth's solar system at an ever-increasing speed leaving a faint trail of golden, indigo gas in his transcendental wake. The giant planet of Jupiter passed his right field of vision, to his left he could see the rings of Saturn. Within moments he passed a small, blue world he took to be Pluto. And then he continued to fall/rise, further and further out of his own solar system and into the rich tapestry of creation…

…"Tell them that God is life... And life, like God, is Eternal"…

…Martin's eyes could barely take in what he was seeing now. He passed Proxima Centauri and the Pleiades and then, within what seemed like seconds, solar systems and constellations came and went, majestic Nebula formed and then fell away, giant dwarf stars shone and then were consumed by the billions of other forms of light and texture. Countless other galaxies and star systems were all falling away from him as Martin's 'Astral' body continued to fall and yet rise faster and faster on it's transcendental journey…

…How many of those galaxies had life, Martin thought? Somehow he 'knew' that life existed everywhere, life was been experienced by countless beings on countless worlds. The thread of God weaved its tapestry through all of creation…

…Eons and yet seconds passed…The Trapezium, The Cygmus Loop, Omega Centauri, The Quintuplet Cluster, Andromeda, Circinus… All of the galaxies in Heaven rose and fell before him…

…The sight that danced inside Martin's vision was a kaleidoscope of colour and movement. A glimpse of infinity wrapped in a moment of total clarity… He wasn't afraid… not even for a second…

…For now he could see all of creation contained within his vision. He was now almost completely 'out' of the Universe and could see the edge of all reality itself. He was surrounded by total darkness, still falling, and the entire Universe, all of time and space, was literally in front of him…

…As he continued to move away he became aware that the Universe itself was shaped as a sphere. A perfect circle containing All That Is… One giant mass of energy and light… One fragment of existence… One perfect Light…One atom in the body of God…

…One…

…"Tell them that the Kingdom of God is within them... for their soul and God are One. That the God of love is never apart from them... but always a part of them"…

… Martin was still falling/rising away from the ball of light that contained All That Is. It was getting smaller and smaller with every passing moment until it became just a small, pinprick of light inside an infinite darkness…

…"Tell them these things and then ask them… Do these sound like the words of Jesus?"…

And then, just before the light disappeared totally from his vision, Martin felt himself 'stop'. He remained stationary, staring up/down at the tiny spec of light.

Strangely, he felt no fear at all. Just a perfect calm and a sense of completion…

Was he there for seconds? Eons? 'Time' didn't seem to exist any more. But here he hung: surrounded in darkness gazing up/down at the only light in all of creation...

"Jesus?" Martin's own voice emerged from his thoughts. "Jesus?" He tried again, "Jay? Jay, are you there?"

Silence...

"Jay?"

Silence...

"Doctor?"

Still there was nothing but perfect silence.

Then a gentle, female voice suddenly whispered in his ear:

"Do you want to go back?"

Martin instantly recognized the voice "Nan?" He tried to look around but his astral form remained transfixed on the fragment of light. "Nan? Are you with me?" He heard himself say.

"I am always with you… Always. And I always speak with a voice of love" The voice replied gently. "Now, do you want to go back or do you want to travel on through infinity into the higher dimensions?"

Martin could now see more pinpricks of light beginning to form all around him, penetrating the darkness that engulfed him. Within moments he was in a whole new reality of billions of trillions of Universes each represented by a tiny spec of perfect light…

…An infinite Universe of turning, revolving spheres...

…He was back to where he started…

"Life is Eternal," said the voice. "Eternal is forever… And forever never ends"

"I see that now" Martin 'thought' the words and he heard himself speak them.

"Do you want to go on?" The voice asked for the third time.

"No… I want to go back" Martin heard himself say.

"Good..." said the female voice gently "Then be still… And know that God is love"

Suddenly all the pinpricks of light began racing towards the 'original' source. All the 'stars' were been drawn by the 'light/Universe' Martin had just passed through, as if been pulled by some irresistible power. Martin's own 'body' was falling/rising towards it too at an incredible, ever increasing rate. But as he drew closer he realized the 'light' wasn't forming into the Universe he had seen before, it was remaining a solid ball of light. Martin's spiraling form fell into that blissful light…

'Yes'

A euphoric sensation exploded in Martin's center as pure love ran through every fiber of his being. His soul was been bathed in divine light. The same light that ran through the entire universe and every living thing… The same all-inclusive light that penetrated all the higher dimensions and every aspect of creation… The Light that shone in the heart of the Darkness… The One True Light of Existence…The Source of All Things…

… He felt God within him…Burning like a purifying fire…

…Then he was falling away again, out of the light and falling backwards through darkness. The blissful ball of light became just a fragment of colour inside the black, which in turn became just a reflection in Jay's eye…

… Suddenly Martin was 'out' and falling back into his physical body. All at once he felt heavy and 'solid', the euphoric energy slowly dissipating inside his chest.

"Welcome back, Martin" It was Jay's comforting voice Martin heard first as he slowly blinked his way back to reality.

His eyes took a few seconds to adjust to his surroundings. Although at first he felt like he was back in The Doctor's TARDIS, he soon realized he was now in a room made up of almost pure, featureless white. Jay's garments too now shone brightly and hypnotically as Martin squinted and rubbed his eyes to try and 'correct' his vision.

"How is he?" A voice said from behind Jay.

"He seems unharmed" Jay responded "But he needs to sleep now" He leaned forward and stroked Martin's face gently "He needs a good, long rest"

"But… what…?" Martin began struggling to remain conscious, trying to prop himself up on his elbows.

"Sshhhhh…" Jay said softly, his hand still stroking Martin's skin. "Time to be still now, Martin. Your journey is coming to its end. But first, you must sleep and rest your soul"

Martin allowed his body to lie back, his head landing on a soft pillow that had been placed underneath him. As he slowly began to lose consciousness he made one last effort to look behind Jay.

Where The Doctor had once stood there was now a being made up of pure light.

That same light that filled Martin's eyes slowly faded to grey and then to darkness as his waking consciousness slid into oblivion…

'The complex world of the ancient 'Chaldean Oracles' can be summed up in the idea of the ascent of the soul. Trapped in matter, it is the business of the soul to return to its spiritual home with the transcendent deity by rising up through the planetary spheres, shedding as it goes all accretions of impurity both physical and spiritual. As in Zoroastrianism, the deity is symbolized by fire: 'All things are generated by One Fire (Majercik, p.53). The soul rises through the spheres with the help of Angels, 'by making the soul bright with fire' (Majercik, p.95)' –

: 'Secret Wisdom', Ruth Clydesdale