Copyright © 2008 by William R. Mistele

 

   The Goddess, The Merman, and the Cup

 

 

The Goddess of the Earth: Do you wish to be anointed with my beauty and shine with my light?

 

Woman: Yes

 

Goddess: Then two things I require—establish justice upon the earth and do as I do: make the world new.

 

Woman: How do I do this?

 

Goddess: Establish a religion without priests, temples, or rituals in which love, power, wisdom, and justice are equally honored and pursued.

 

Woman: (I am about to ask Her how, but now a merman touches my hand, probing my heart and penetrating my thoughts.)

 

Merman: It is my skill to reveal the keys to the mysteries of the lakes, the rivers, the streams, and the seas. 

 

There is a peace as vast as the sky, as deep as the sea, as still and clear as a mirror, and flowing like water—it flows like a stream from the dawn of time to the ends of eternity. 

 

Woman: Can you help me find this peace within myself? 

 

Merman: Yes, of course.  

 

Take this cup into your hands.  Now relax, be still.   

 

Feel my hands on your own as we hold the cup.  Take a deep breath.  Exhale. 

 

Now feel you are this cup and this water.  Nothing else is in your mind.  You are free of all distractions.  Take your time.  Feel this cool water inside of you.   

 

The water—this water is now you. 

 

The water vibrates with all the water upon our planet.  This water is calm, serene, still, relaxed, and at peace.  The very depths of the sea are within you.   

 

The flowing streams, the rivers, the icy poles, the waves of all the seas, they are all flowing through and within and are a part of you. 

 

The circle of the earth, the vast expanse of ocean from horizon to and over horizon around the globe: you are this vast body of water and this water is within your soul.

 

See how the water like a mirror reflects clearly all that is near.  Sense that this reflective power of water is your own. The light it reflects sinks into your depths.  The pure essence of the sun, the moon, and the stars is captured in the taste of this substance you hold.   

 

Open your heart.  Feel moonlight flowing down upon you, anointing you.   Open yourself. 

 

Feel the light of dawn and sunset, the birth of light on earth, its spectrum of wonder and color, this light is flowing through you—soft, shining, luminous, cool, soothing, full of dreams and visions. 

 

It guides us in our sleep and it joins us to all that we can ever want.

 

Gaze again upon this cup.  Water is so open and reflective, so deep and at peace, it contains all the feelings of every heart within itself.  It holds the mystery of our opposite--the universe moves around the mysteries of the heart. 

 

Past, present, future—they are all contained and revealed in this moment of pure stillness.  Feel that this water is the purity of your love and that your love embraces the whole world. 

 

In this cup are my love and your love also.  In this cup, the separations of space and time are overcome.  Here is the feeling of what it is like to finally come home. 

 

Within this cup and this water is a love that flows without beginning or end.  The universe has been created with its stars and galaxies to give us a taste of the delight that is hidden within such life. 

 

Within the depths of water, its liquid embrace, is the fulfillment of every desire—the stars and the sky above us, the depths of the sea, and the stillness in this moment is within your own heart—

 

Take this cup now and drink from it--drink into yourself the love that embraces the universe and that makes us all one with each other without separation ….taste the water in your mouth; go with it as it sinks down; stay with it as it is absorbed into every cell in your body.

 

The waters of life flow through you.  The beauty of the universe is within and a part of you.

 

And now do you have what you asked me for?  A peace as deep as the sea, as vast as the sky, as still and clear as a mirror, and flowing like water?  

 

Woman: (I stare into his eyes for several minutes without speaking.)

 

Can you sit with me for a while?  I want to be able to share this beauty with another without speaking.

 

Merman: Of course.