The vote to reorganize the Security Council did not mark the completion of the effort, but only the beginning of a new phase. Now that the motion had carried, the press from around the world were calling, wanting information about this man who likely would become the new Secretary-General. Decker brought in extra personnel to support the more routine functions of the effort, but he was wary of delegating too much. As he went over a press release for the third time, he realized he had no idea what he was reading. He was just too tired. Closing his eyes, he slumped down in the chair and thought back to his days at the Knoxville Enterprise. It had been a long time since he had worked this hard.
Unnoticed, Jackie Hansen had entered the room and was now standing directly behind his chair. As he sat with his eyes closed, she reached down and placed her long slender fingers on his shoulders. Decker jumped but seeing Jackie's smiling face, relaxed as she began to massage his tired, knotted muscles. 'Oh, that feels good,' he said gratefully. 'I'll give you just twenty minutes to stop it.' It was an old joke but Jackie laughed anyway.
'Your back is one solid knot,' Jackie said, sympathetically. 'I'll bet you're tired.'
Decker started to nod his head but decided it might interrupt the massage and instead answered, 'uh huh.'
'My father really appreciates all the work you're doing. He told me you were working so hard that sometimes he wasn't sure which of you was trying to get elected.' Decker appreciated the compliment. It was nice to know his work was appropriately acknowledged. He smiled up at Jackie, then closed his eyes again to concentrate on the relaxing feel of her hands. Suddenly she stopped. 'You know what you need to really relax?' she asked, rhetorically.
'What's that?' Decker responded.
'Well, whenever I get real tense, I meditate.' Jackie started to rub his shoulders again. 'I may seem pretty relaxed to you most of the time, but I used to be a jumble of nerves. When I first started to work here I was so concerned about doing a good job. I didn't want people thinking that the only reason I had the job was because my father was the ambassador.' Jackie found a knot and began rubbing in circles to work it out. 'That's when I met Lorraine from the French Mission. She invited me to a go to a meditation class at the Lucius Trust.' Jackie stopped again and looked at her watch. 'Oh, my gosh,' she said in surprise, 'speaking of the Lucius Trust: it's 7:55. If I don't hurry I'm going to be late. I've missed the last three weeks because of work; I really don't want to miss tonight.'
'Miss what?' asked Decker.
'My meditation class,' Jackie answered. 'It meets at the Lucius Trust every Wednesday. Tonight Alice Bernley, the director of the Trust, is going to show new members how to reach their inner consciousness, the source of creativity. It's like an inner guide.'
'Oh,' Decker said, making no attempt to hide the fact that he had no idea what Jackie was talking about.
'Come with me.'
'Uh… I don't know, Jackie. I'm not really into this New Age stuff. I'm pretty square, I guess.'
'Oh, come on,' she insisted, as she took his hand and gave it a tug. 'Really, I think you'll enjoy it. When you leave there tonight you'll be more relaxed than you've been in weeks. I find it helps me reach a higher plane of thinking. It frees my creative mental processes.'
Decker sighed. 'Well, I guess I could use some of that, but we'll just have to be a little late. I refuse to run.'
The class had already started when they arrived. Quietly Jackie moved through the crowd of about a hundred and fifty people, pulling Decker along, until they reached two empty chairs. Around them people sat silently with eyes closed, some with their legs crossed, all listening intently to the speaker. They seemed totally unaware that others were around them. Even in the subdued light, Decker recognized nearly two dozen of the attendees as U.N. Delegates. The speaker was Alice Bernley, an attractive woman in her late forties with long flowing red hair. 'Just sit down, close your eyes, and listen,' Jackie whispered.
It was easy enough to relax in the deep comfortable chairs. Decker listened to the speaker and tried to figure out what he was supposed to be doing. 'In the blackness ahead of you,' Bernley was saying, 'is a small point of light just coming into view. As you walk closer to the light, you are beginning to narrow the distance, and the light is growing brighter and warmer.' Decker became aware of a soft, barely audible hum, almost like a cat's purr, coming from those around him. As he closed his eyes, to his amazement, he too, saw a light. It was very distant, but it was clearly visible. He wondered at the sight, and in his mind it did seem as if the light was getting closer, or possibly he was getting closer to it. He was certain it was all just a mental picture painted by the woman, but he was surprised at how open he was to her suggestion. It must be from lack of sleep, he thought briefly. The woman's delicate voice seemed to softly caress his ears. 'Approach the light,' the woman continued, and Decker did. 'Soon you will find that it has led you to a beautiful place: a garden.' In his mind Decker followed her words and soon he saw it.
Bernley went on at some length describing every detail of the garden. It was so clear, so real and precisely described that later, as Decker looked back to this event and thought of all the others in the room, his greatest wonder – though logically he knew better – was that so many could be sharing the same vision so clearly and yet each was totally alone, each in his own garden. Even in his memory the place seemed so real that he expected to see others from the room there with him.
'Just beyond the shining pool of water you see someone approaching.' Decker looked but saw no one. 'It may be a person,' Bernley continued, 'but for many people it will be an animal; perhaps a bird or a rabbit, or perhaps a horse or even a unicorn. What form it takes is unimportant. Do not be afraid; even if it is a lion. It will not hurt you. It is there to help you; to guide you when you have questions.' Still, Decker saw no one. 'When it has come close enough, talk to it, ask it anything you would like to know, and it will answer. You might start by asking its name. As some of you know, my spirit guide is a Tibetan Master who goes by the name Dj'wlij Kajm. For some, your spirit guide may be a bit more shy. You may have to coax it out; not by speaking to it, but by listening. So listen. Listen very closely.' Decker listened. He moved closer to the pool, trying to hear. Bernley's voice had fallen silent, apparently to allow those with 'shy' spirit guides to listen more closely. Still, he saw and heard nothing.
It was not that there was nothing there. If they had spoken any louder, he surely would have heard. 'Why does no one approach him?' one of the voices whispered. 'The Master forbids it,' another voice answered. 'He has special plans for this one.'
Bernley remained silent for another eight or ten minutes. For a while, Decker continued to try to hear or see the guide Bernley said he would find, but when she spoke again he opened his eyes and realized that he had fallen asleep. 'Now say farewell to your new friend but thank him, and let him know you'll return soon.' Decker watched the others in the group as Bernley brought them back from this expedition of the mind. In a moment everyone opened their eyes and looked around. Everyone was smiling. Some hugged those around them. A few wept openly. Decker looked over at Jackie Hansen, who seemed to be nearly floating. From a corner of the room someone began to applaud and soon the whole room was filled with applause. 'Thank you, thank you,' Bernley said graciously, 'but you really should be applauding yourselves for having the courage to open your minds to the unknown. Now, whenever you need guidance on something that you just don't know how to handle, all you have to do is go to a quiet place for a few moments, close your eyes, and open your mind. Seek out your guide at every opportunity and ask it the questions which you can't answer. What you are doing is allowing the creative nature that is within all of us to do what it most wants to do: provide visionary solutions to the problems in your life.'
Some of Bernley's assistants brought in refreshments and everyone began to talk together in small groups about what they had experienced. Decker politely thanked Jackie for the invitation and told her that he had found the experience interesting, but said he really needed to get back to work. She seemed surprised that he was leaving but did not try to stop him.
As soon as Decker left, Alice Bernley called to Jackie, who quickly made her way across the room. Without speaking, Bernley took Jackie's arm and led her to a quiet corner where they would not be overheard. 'Was that Decker Hawthorne with you?' Bernley asked, sounding a little concerned.
'Yes,' Jackie answered. 'I asked him if he'd like to sit in on the class. Did I do the wrong thing?'
'No. It's okay. Actually, it was my fault. I should have told you: The Tibetan has made it very clear that Decker Hawthorne is not to be a part of the Trust. The Master has special plans for Mr. Hawthorne.'
New York, the Israeli Mission
