Chapter 122

Josh pulled the van off the highway and down a half mile of dirt road to the parking area near the grove where he and Susan had been not long ago. As he shut of the engine he spoke to the group.

"I appreciate the openness that each of you has in your meditations to this point. There is something going on, something bigger than just us, just here. I don't yet know what it is. When we go into the grove today we are to walk into the grove letting go of society, of the beliefs about being loved and loving, about the way our relationship with God has been up until now. I know that at the center of this grove God is in perfect harmony. As we walk in, relax, hold hands, walk arm in arm, touch. Observe how the grove welcomes us, welcomes you. Feel the love." Josh opened the door of the van and got out. He opened the back door, handed the day-packs to their owners and closed up the van. Susan took John by the hand and led the group into the grove. Miles put his hand out to Marilynn but Bette stepped up and took it and they walked off behind Susan and John. Arnold smiled and took Marilynn by the hand and followed a few yards behind them. Josh gave Rita a hug and with his arm around her they followed the rest into the grove. As they stepped out of the dusty parking area Josh noticed three deer standing just inside the trees watching them. He smiled.

As soon as John stepped past the first trees and into the shade of the grove he felt something. His skin felt it first then he noticed that he was warm all over, and that his energy was growing. He felt a tingling in his hand, where his skin touched Susan's. He looked over at her and she looked even more beautiful than before. There was something new, something powerful about her.

He did not speak.

When Miles entered the shade he expected to feel cold. He was a bit surprised when he didn't. It was just a little cooler in the shade, not cold. As he got deeper in the grove he noticed the smells. He noticed the odors of trees, that he recognized, and the smells of flowers that he couldn't see. He noticed the slight breeze, and the sun as it penetrated the grove between the trees. A hundred yards into the grove he saw the three deer and he stopped. Bette stopped and stood next to him as they watched the deer walking towards them. The other couples had also stopped and were watching the deer too.

The buck led. He walked right up to Miles and licked his hand. Miles was aware that wild deer didn't approach humans, but he knew these deer were in no danger from them, and that these deer knew it. After licking Miles' hand the buck moved on and the large doe followed, brushing gently against Miles as she passed. The smaller doe walked up, looked up at Miles' face and took two steps more then licked Bette's hand. Bette didn't think, she just reached slowly out and stroked the deer from right behind the head down the back of her neck to her shoulders. When she lifted her hand the doe walked off, following the other two deer. Miles looked at Bette's face. Tears were streaming down from her eyes and dropping to her shirt front. Miles was aware that tears were on his face too. He took Bette in his arms and they stood for about a minute holding each other, feeling more than thinking about what had just happened. The other couples watched until the hug ended and then they all resumed their walk into the grove.

A little deeper into the grove John saw three butterflies ahead. They were moving in and out of the bands of sunlight, being illuminated almost like it would have been a strobe light. He and Susan walked closer and the three didn't fly away, they landed on John. One on each shoulder and the third circled his head once then landed on Susan's head. They fluttered their wings a few times as they sat on John and Susan, then John began walking again. The butterflies remained on them as they walked.

Rita heard the rush of wings and turned to see a blue jay flying toward her. She held out her arm and the jay landed. The bird looked at Rita and Josh then walked up her arm and perched on her shoulder. Another jay flew to Josh's shoulder and landed. A moment later both Rita and Josh knew they should resume walking into the grove. They turned and noticed three raccoons on the trail between them and Arnold and Marilynn. It seemed like the animals of the grove wanted to go with them, and were doing just that. The raccoons followed a few feet behind Arnold and Marilynn.

When Susan reached the center of the grove she saw the large flat rock where she and Josh had meditated before. She stopped near it and the butterflies flew off their shoulders. She and John watched them as they flew away. Miles and Bette walked up to Susan and John and stopped but did not speak. They watched Marilynn and Arnold as they arrived with raccoons behind them. As the raccoons got near they turned off the path and went into the shrubs and bushes seeming to disappear as they did so. When Josh and Rita were fifty yards from the group the two jays left their shoulders and flew around the group twice then flew up and out of the grove through the top. All eyes watched them go.

Susan looked at John, and squeezed his hand gently. He looked at her and was instantly aware that she wanted to be kissed. He slowly took her in his arms and kissed her, ever so gently. He felt an energy exchange, so powerfully that he knew that he could not breathe, and did not care. Susan felt energy flowing up from the ground into them both, illuminating them from the inside. She knew that Spirit was pleased that they were here.

Josh was still holding Rita around the waist and guided her to a spot at the edge of the small clearing by the rock. He let her go and took off his day-pack. When he opened it he removed two round pillows about a foot in diameter and eight inches thick. He then removed a small ground cloth from the pack and hung the pack from a branch nearby. He opened the ground cloth and spread it on the ground by two trees and Rita put the two pillows on the cloth. Then they hugged and Josh kissed Rita. The energy flowed up from the ground through them as it did with Susan and John. When the kiss ended they sat on the pillows and took off their boots and socks. They assumed the lotus position with legs folded and hands on their knees except his right knee was touching her left knee and they held hands at that junction.

Directly across from Josh and Rita, John and Susan set their ground cloth and cushions and sat in like fashion. To Josh's left Marilynn and Arnold sat and filling the pattern directly across from Marilynn and Arnold were Miles and Bette. Without a compass Josh knew that they were sitting at the North, South, East and West points. Josh knew that he and Rita were at the South. As he closed his eyes Josh was aware that every person was sitting in full shade.

John's thoughts wandered after he closed his eyes. What did the deer mean by their actions? Why three deer? Why three butterflies? Why raccoons? What strangeness was this place? What would his mother, the shaman of her tribe, think of this? Then his inner vision crowded out the thoughts with sights he had never seen in a grove. He saw the animals of the grove gathering to watch the humans in their midst. He felt them all around their little clearing, felt them loving each other, and felt them loving him. As he let the love in he was amazed at how powerful he felt. Each breath seemed to invigorate him. He felt energy coming from all around him, from the ground, from the animals and the trees and the air itself. He felt the energy of Susan flowing from her hand and knee into him. Then he felt her energy flowing across the air between them into him, filling him, warming him.

Susan felt the animals as she was shutting her eyes. There was a temptation not to close her eyes, to look for the animals, but she knew that if she was to see them she would. She closed her eyes and felt the energy flowing to her from everywhere. With her eyes closed she saw patterns of energy before her and felt the energy from beside and behind her. Across the clearing she could see and feel Josh and Rita. His green aura was pulsing slowly and had enveloped Rita's aura. The soft difference between their aura colors was meshing and hers growing stronger and stronger as Susan watched. She saw the glow of a white, gold energy to her right, where Arnold and Marilynn were sitting. Moments later she could also see the glow of pale green energy from her left. Relaxing, Susan could then see the outline of the energy of the trees, and soon the animals within the grove just outside the clearing.

Bette sat holding Miles' hand, her eyes closed. She felt energy flowing into her from every direction. She was warming, it was as though the sun were shining on her and heating her. She noticed that some of the energy flowing into her from Miles' hand seemed to flow into her hand, from her hand into the knee her hand was resting on and directly up her leg and into her genitals. Bette knew she was too young for hot flashes but realized she was starting to sweat and that she was wet, and getting wetter.