The Secret of the Ancient Alchemist (2 page)

It was after
much searching, self-speak and debate that he found an answer in
nature. Higher consciousness would come from nowhere other than an
interaction of mind and matter. The universe was there to appease
the mind and his challenge was to show how.

His mission was
a personal one for he was a seeker of truth and as he sat his
thoughts hovered around the path that connected the immaterial mind
to the physical universe.

“
All
matter exists in a dimensional realm of light,” he said, staring at
the empty chairs in the room.

His knowledge
of Quantum Physics allowed him to say that. Matter had visible and
invisible forms like vibrating waves that couldn’t be seen by
eyes.

The realm was
an amazing aspect of nature. It was a platform of possibility,
something humans could connect to, allowing them to have it all.
More than that, it mirrored the universe.

“
Everything we see is in the realm. People don’t know
they’re in a realm, do they? It’s a higher expression of them. What
a pity,” he lamented now.

He straightened
up remembering his task was far from over. He still had to prove
the realm was in humans, not to mention finding a supernatural
force in it. It was going to be a long journey for Hart but it did
nothing to break his spirit. He was sure about his approach to
higher consciousness. It wasn’t going to be so easy to convince
anyone, he knew. The world was a die-hard one. His friend, Julius
Olsen, was no exception. Three months ago they had met at a
Starbucks on Greenidge Street in New York. Olsen lived in
California. An astrophysicist by profession, he was a big guy at
six feet four with a tremendous zest for life. Hart wasn’t as tall
as he was, shorter by two inches and slimmer. While Hart wore
jackets, Olsen wore shorts.

“
The
universe has a dual nature,” Hart had said to him over coffee,
“and, it’s in you.”

“
You mean
there’s another one of me in me? You’re kidding?”

“
I’m not.
You’re here and in an inner realm at the same time.”

Olsen wasn’t
going to swallow anything. “Why would nature design us that way,
Tom?”

Hart’s response
was prompt. “To allow us connect to the supernatural. We have a
natural ability to enhance our mental and physical states. D’you
know how many people know something’ll happen before it does? The
information must arise from somewhere. There’s a realm in us. We
just don’t know it.”

“
You’re
not suggesting it sends thoughts, are you?”

“
I am!
Meditation, for example, exposes humans to that realm.”

“
Meditation can relax the mind, Tom.”

“
I
suppose it can.”

“
And,
that may be the reason for peoples’ mental state
improving.”

“
People
have seen traces of light during meditation.”

“
Light?”

“
Yes.
It’s transcendence from normal consciousness to realm
consciousness. I know it is.”

Olsen had
stared at the fervour on Hart’s face. He had a compelling desire to
improve the human psyche, sure it was all connected to the
universe. “Can you find this realm, Tom?” he had asked, wondering
how far Hart would get with his mission but not at all doubting his
capability. He was the Cupid of Science and a man with an aptitude
for striking at the heart of nature’s forces. More than that, Hart
had a super-analytical mind like none he had ever seen. He would
sit and ponder the mathematical theorems of the past, sure that
most of them were wrong. Then, calmly taking pen and paper, he
would rewrite them all. Like him, Hart was reserved in manner and
had few friends. He was more than happy to be one of them.

“
I can,”
Hart had said ignoring the hint of hesitance in Olsen’s eyes, the
same hesitance he had seen in others so many times.

“
I may
not be here when you do,” Olsen’s reluctance continued. “CERN took
fifty years to find the Higgs-Boson.”

“
Right!
The particle that gives mass to objects so people can see them.
Don’t you see, Olsen? Don’t you see? There’s a realm. Everything we
see exists as images. The universe isn’t three but
five-dimensional. There’s a two dimensional realm of
light.”

Olsen sighed.
“Sorry, Tom, but you still don’t have any real evidence of it, far
less prove we’re connected to it.”

Hart leaned
back and stretched his legs. He placed his hands behind his head.
His eyes scanned the room coming to rest on Olsen again. His voice
resonated with a mixture of anger and certitude when he came
forward and spoke.

“
We’re in
a supernatural realm and you know it! Stop pretending, Olsen. The
light seen in meditation comes from it and,” Hart’s hand banged the
table, “there’re particles in it that transmit information to
us.”

“
Like
radio waves, you mean?”

“
Waves
that are converted to thoughts. Thoughts are powerful
tools.”

“
And,
what drives it? What’s behind it all?”

“
A mind,
a great, big universal mind.”

Olsen took a
sip of his coffee, quite bemused by Hart’s undertaking.

“
So, how
on earth ar’you going to find a mind in the realm?” he
asked.

“
That’s a
big challenge I agree, but, credible proof of a mind bound to
matter exists. The ancient alchemists called it Prima
Materia.”

“
Prima
Materia?”

“
Yes, the
source of all things.”

“
You’re
saying the physical world is inert in a quantum sense and the realm
is dynamic. It creates things for us.”

“
Not just
what we see, but how we think and feel.”

A quick glance
outside his classroom reminded him it was June. The hall was quiet
with a just few students milling about ending their semester. He
got up and looked through a window, staring in the distance at the
tall pine trees that were bleaching under a hot sun. A smile
crossed his face as he recalled Olsen’s parting comment to him
about his over-sized ambition. He respected the Dane’s honesty but
nothing would deter him from his mission.

He brushed back
strands of his long blonde hair from his face and spoke.

“
Thoughts
can be read. Needs, wants and desires can be heard. There must be a
supernatural force. There has to be. Thoughts move faster than the
speed of light. Now, that’s really fast.” Hart’s blue eyes shifted
as he reasoned further. “The one thing that can process the human
mind is a bigger mind. It must be somewhere and that somewhere is a
realm, a realm of our matter!”

Hart truly
believed a supernatural mind was bound to matter. He knew a lot of
the quantum components of matter, particles like mesons, ions,
charges, quarks and spins but, as hard as he tried, he could find
no evidence of a supernatural force.

He had looked
at mountains of nanoscopic structures, eyeing every wave-like
pattern of matter hoping to find a semblance of it, possibly an
energy field or something, but had found nothing.

He recalled Dr.
Franklin Palksy of the National Particle Accelerator Laboratory
standing over him and saying as he had been gaping at photos of
colliding particles, “I don’t think you’ll find anything that’s
unusual in there, Hart. You seem determined to go beyond Science
and what’s humanly possible.”

Julius Olsen
didn’t forget to remind him of that either in a phone conversation
they had had after their rendezvous in New York City.

“
Tom,
you’re still looking for proof of a universal force in
matter?”

“
I guess
I am,” he had said.

“
But,
even if you bombard matter with the new super Hadron accelerator,
you won’t find it.”

“
I’m well
aware of that, Olsen.”

“
Well
then, quit looking!”

Palksy and
Olsen were right, he conceded. Finding evidence of a supernatural
force in matter, a force that lifted the mind to unprecedented
levels of consciousness wasn’t possible. Still, a flicker of hope
crossed his face as he sat down again. Hart would not be daunted.
Credible proof existed somewhere. Someone came upon earth to
explain it all. Matter harboured a supernatural mind in a realm of
light, a realm humans could connect to.

9.10AM. His
passion for unveiling the mystery of life was slowly melting into
the grind of another workday. Hart was young at twenty-five. At his
age, he felt apart, alone, as if destiny had chosen him for a
purpose. He fought hard to clear his mind of his doubts and fears
and turned to his notes.

His moment of
quiet reconciliation didn’t last long. A buzz in his ear made him
turn.

“
What is
this?” he muttered.

He was taking
on too much, he thought and needed to relax, a rare occurrence for
him. He pressed his ears hoping to clear the sound but it
persisted. He stuck his fingers in them now. It still didn’t go
away. The buzz was low in tone but audible enough for him to
discern that something was trying to make contact with him. He knew
of telepathy and people hearing voices but he didn’t think he was
that way. He decided to wait, sitting still for a moment. The sound
turned to a voice, a clear male voice.

“
Hey, Hart
,” he
heard.

His face
tightened. He looked around sure it was all a prank. His students
had invented a type of sound-piercing device and decided to test it
out on him. Communication technology has soared to a new level. He
felt relieved as the sound disappeared and he turned back to his
notes.

He hadn’t
gotten further than page two when the voice called again.

“
Hart? Hey, Hart?
”

“
Stop
your crap, guys!” he shouted out in the air.

The silence
that followed was eerie. Nothing stirred. He could hear his breath
as he breathed in and straightened up to compose himself. He needed
to be strong for the road ahead was going to be a long and winding
one for him. He had settled down again when the sound returned.

“
Dammit!”
he banged his desk.

“
You need me, Dr. Hart. Don’t be alarmed by my
presence
,” he heard this
time.

Hart shot up
confused, wondering if to answer or not. He looked around but there
was no one, except a voice that came from within.

“
You’re attempting an impossible mission. Listen to
me
.”

“
Who the
hell are you?” he found himself saying.

“
I’ve come from far to help you. I know you want to find the
universal mind. I could’ve come in your dreams but you’re such a
stubborn man, you would’ve ignored them
.”

“
Wh…what’s this? Where’re you from?”

“
Oh, I hop around the heavens
.”

“
You’re a
time traveller?”

“
I’ve been doing it for some time. It was easy to hone your
frequency. I’ve come to help you find the base of creation. You’ve
been struggling for years, haven’t you?
”

“
How
d’you know that?”

“
I know a lot of things about you. I also know you’re on the
right track
.”

“
I
am?”

“
Yes, by suggesting humans have an inner realm. Please try
and get accustomed to me. I’m here to guide you. You’re not really
listening, are you? People need to know the truth, Hart. Don’t you
think so?
”

“
My
problem is a universal force.”

The voice
sighed. “
It
has been a problem for ages and for everybody, hasn’t
it?
”

“
But,
it’s in our realm of matter. It has to be.”

“
Of course it is. The realm empowers the human mind. I
know.
”

“
So, how
do I find it?”

“
Be patient! You will
.”

“
I
will?”

“
Yes, and don’t be alarmed by my presence again. I’ll be
back soon. So, bye for now
.”

The voice
disappeared. He felt as if he’d been thrust into space as time
stood still. It was like drama in a fantasy novel, he thought. Yet,
it wasn’t. It was real, as real as the sun and it left him with an
unexpected sense of calm. He didn’t need to run or hide. Someone
from another time and place spoke to him. In his usual fashion,
Hart decided to be blasé about it. Paranormal events weren’t that
uncommon. Ghandi, Newton, Descartes and Beethoven all had them. It
was a natural ability that was eroded by Man’s evolution. Humans
had no concept of their realm and its capabilities.

He thought of
the power of human potential witnessed over the years. Edgar Cayce
had prophesied for forty-three years and predicted the collapse of
communism among his many prophecies. Cayce had said a lot of things
while in a trance, as if his sub-conscience was accessing
information from the realm. Hundreds of years ago, devout
alchemists had healed people. The mystical hermits of Egypt drew
water from rocks. They too had meditated for long periods, tapping
into the realm to achieve their goals.