Jade Li meets Kuan Yin
Jade’s initiation while helping her friend Haibo do a spiritual quest to a Taoist sacred site
Jade Li finds herself unexpectedly separated from the rest of her group while they are climbing in the Wudangshan, heading towards the Wudang mountain temple site sacred to Taoism. They are doing a pilgrimage to this temple complex revered by Taoism and rumored to be the origin of Tai Chi. One of her circle of friends, Haibo, has been wanting to make this trip since he was a child. Everyone agreed to support him in fulfilling this wish on his bucket list.
In the spirit of the meditative roots of the Tao philosophy, they decided to see if they could avoid any large throngs of tourists and pilgrims. So they located a little-known hiking trail, courtesy of the internet and the new weblogs devoted to revealing all the special, secret little places in the world formerly known only to locals.
She looks up the mountain, then back down from whence they had come, and realizes she is alone. At least for now. Hardly anyone in China is alone for very long.
As she stands there, drinking in the view and the natural beauty of the holy place which is also designated a World Heritage Site, she begins to feel gratitude for her life. Although her childhood has been blessed, like everyone she has also known hardship. On any given day, when you’re running around living your life, you forget the gifts you have. You use your car because you have it. You use your home because it’s there. You use your skills, whatever they may be, without thinking. But sometimes, on special occasions, a mirror is brought to bear, and then you can see what you have as if from the outside, as if from another perspective. On those divinely inspired occasions, a window opens to the full force of the entire picture of the many gifts and blessings in your life, everything from people to pets to objects in your care to particular skills and talents.
She is now feeling deeply moved as she drinks in the many experiences bestowed upon her as if they are a cherished collection of personal valuables. In particular, she smiles as she thinks of the special group of friends that formed during the Model U.N. summer in the San Francisco Bay Area. She feels joy thinking of them and remembering Tara and her gift of the magical field manual, the unique copy meant for Jade and Jade alone, because no one else can read the contents.
Out of the blue, Jade begins to feel dizzy and light-headed. At first she is alarmed for a brief moment, but the concern soon passes. The light-headedness isn’t unpleasant or distressing, but she finds herself a bit unsteady, so she sits down on a sizable boulder. Despite the seclusion of this trail, the rock is devoid of moss and lichen anywhere near the top. It’s smooth and dry on top, as if many travelers over the years have used it as a resting place.
Sitting there, she begins noticing herself moving into an altered state of consciousness. Her awareness is shifting and providing visual and auditory experiences that are unfamiliar.
Jade is somewhat of a naïf in that she has little experience with recreational substances, although some would object at that characterization and call them sacred plants for sacred journeys. Jade’s exposure at this point has only been to young people using these substances casually, thoughtlessly. Jade has never had any real, abiding interest or passion in mind-altering substances or plant medicines. Experimenting without purpose with any kind of drug has just never interested her.
But now, in this state of consciousness, her opinion about plant medicines is changing quickly. She imagines, based on what little she has heard and read, that this is what it could be like.
The landscape around her, to her surprise, begins ever so softly and gently to pulse and undulate. At first the sensation is hardly perceptible, but then the illusion gradually increases until it is clearly noticeable.
The landscape is alive. Jade is convinced of it.
She is of course proficient in many different aspects and nuances of feng shui. Although not quite a master of the art, her rigorous upbringing turned her into an adept. Being fluent in English from a young age as well, she recognized the similarity between the Chinese phrase feng shui and the English word functional. Feng shui, in her view, is the art and study of functionality. In this moment she is seeing for the first time that, until now, her conception of feng shui hasn’t been all that deep. To her amazement, it is also the study of a form of life. Her mind is reeling with this revolutionary new insight. The landscape, the earth, is a living and breathing organism.
In her altered state, Jade begins to see feng shui in a brand new light. As she views the landscape around her, she sees intuitively, if not visually, the dragon lines and the paths and sources of energy and energy flow.
Feng shui is taking on an entirely new meaning.
As she continues to watch, she sees something small in the distance, getting larger as it approaches through the air. [Brian de Flores-style art here] Whatever it is, it seems to be getting closer slowly and elegantly. As the black speck grows and a few details begin to become visible, Jade detects a human-like form. Form only. It’s not a human, because only superheroes can fly, not humans. Not fly, actually. This entity is gliding through the air, effortlessly.
As it gets closer, Jade beholds the most beautiful entity she has ever laid eyes on. Is it an angel? A divine creature? Whoever or whatever this is, it is something of exquisite beauty.
The being lights in front of her, and for awhile, they are just gazing at each other. Jade notices the occasional flash of amusement crossing the face of the being.
Jade: “Who or what are you?”
Being: “You can think of me as Kuan Yin. I am a member of what you call The Academy. Remember?”
Jade: “Of course. We discovered that terminal in the basement of the Old Mansion on the university campus where they held the Model United Nations, and when we activated the terminal, they told us it was an access device for the Academy of Masters. But how were we supposed to know all of that is real?”
Being: “It’s real. It is a cooperative consisting of many spirits and beings and has gone by many names over the millennia. Recent names are Order of the Golden Dawn, and Order of the Phoenix. We are servants to the Earth and to humanity. But you’ve heard all this before. Believe it.”
Jade: “I certainly don’t mean to appear impudent, but before now, I wasn’t sure about any of that. But you are here. Seeing is believing.”
Being: (smiles sweetly and indulgently)
Jade: “Why are you here?”
Being (softly, gently): “For this trip, you were secretly hoping for a mystical rendez-vous, were you not?”
Jade (shocked): “How do you know that? I never breathed a word to anybody! I didn’t even verbalize it to myself!!”
Being (patiently): “We know everything. Nothing is hidden. Every thought, word and deed in this world is visible and accessible. Transparency is fundamental to the nature of things. Life is like a full-access theater play. When you are in human form, you can only watch what happens before you on stage. If an actor goes behind the scenes, they are hidden to you. But the rest of us not in human form can just as easily go behind the set and see everyone off stage and everything taking place behind the scenes, or even follow the actors to their homes and everywhere they go. Privacy does not really exist. It’s just a pleasant and enjoyable illusion for those of us in an animal body.”
Jade: (mumbles something)
Being: “How are you doing?”
Jade: “Well, I am a little shocked and surprised.”
Being: “No doubt. Not everyone is blessed to have a conversation with Kuan Yin. I love you, that’s why I’m here.”
Jade (speechless)
Being: “Our time together is coming to a close. I will be leaving shortly. A few things before I go, Jade Li:
You have been entrusted with a great charge, a great mission. Know it in your heart. Know in your heart that your lessons and training are necessary and are being given to you with very good reason. Sometimes understanding comes much later, that is true. Comprehension unfolds when you are ready, when the time is right. Remember, too, that magic and miracles can come to you at any time. Every human’s idea of how reality actually works is limited by their own beliefs and by their level of development. When you arrive in the place I am at, your comprehension will be quite different from what it is now. Have faith in your lessons and training. Maintain trust in yourself. Treat yourself and others kindly, as you always do, but pay particular attention to being kind when you are experiencing great challenge. Finally, don’t worry about the symptoms you are feeling, they will fade quickly. Changing frequency in order to talk with someone like me can cause minor and temporary adjustment issues.”
Jade (incredulous): “Who are you??”
Being (smiles again): “I am a vision of who you will one day be. Today I am taking the form of a migrating black-necked crane. Next time we meet, perhaps it will be a different form.”
When the group of friends finds Jade, she is slumped unconscious on the ground in front of the boulder. Haibo is the most concerned because Jade, like the others, participated in this trip for his sake. He feels personally responsible for her welfare. When Jade comes to, much to the relief of the group, she allays their concerns. “I am not injured, there’s nothing wrong with me. I’m fine.”
One of the others tells her that, from much higher up the trail, they saw a rare black-necked crane flying low across the valley near where they found her. For the time being, she says nothing. She is in a mild but distinct state of shock. Integrating and processing an experience so unusual can be its own rocky journey, its own bumpy ride.
When they are back at their on-the-road lodging place, she retires to her room, washes up, lies down a bit, and changes clothes before dinner. She waits until they all regroup and sit down to dinner. Then she proceeds to tell them the story of her mystical adventure.