J J Dewey story

I like his writing.


A Point of Tension


After gathering our thoughts and sitting at the table Elizabeth looked at me firmly and said, "There is something you must do to me if you are to have any chance of succeeding at your assignment."

"What's that?" I said, anticipating something unpleasant.

"You've got to tie me up until this ordeal is over. Philo seems to have super strength, even in my frail body, and we've got to stop him from hurting you or, worse yet, stopping you from passing the test. I can sense, even now, that he is gathering his forces to attack again and we do not have much time."

"Are you sure about this?" I asked, my voice shaking.

"Yes, I am sure. There is no other way. Now hurry."

I could see she was right. I cringed at the thought but made the decision to proceed. I went in the garage in search for a rope, but could only find a piece large enough to partially tie her up. We decided to tie her legs first with the rope and then bind her arms with duct tape.

As I was taping her wrists together her body began to shake and her eyes rolled back in her head. I realized I may only have seconds to bind her and hurried up the process. Just as I finished a couple wraps around her wrists I heard a screeching yell as the body violently jerked and fell to the floor. I knew then that Philo was back.

Philo let out an insidious laugh, "You think you're cleaver, don't you?"

"It doesn't take much to be smarter than you," I said.

"What makes you think a couple pieces a tape will hold me?"

"Duct tape is pretty strong stuff," I replied. "I don't think you can break it even with your super strength."

"We'll see," he said as he writhed in Elizabeth's body back and forth with such gyrations that I feared he may not only break the tape but perhaps Elizabeth's wrists. Finally, he seemed exhausted and laid silent for a moment.

I then saw my opportunity to act and grabbed her wrists and quickly applied some more duct tape. Philo quickly came to his senses and screamed, "I was almost free, you know. You've just delayed your fate. My strength is returning and I'll get loose."

"In that case, I'd better apply some more tape." The fact that he said his strength is returning told me that he may not have his full strength at the moment, so I grabbed Elizabeth's wrists again and applied some more tape. Philo resisted but I was able to temporarily overcome him and give a few extra wraps of tape.

"There. That ought to hold you." I said, standing back with satisfaction.

"Hold me? That's the least of your problems," he laughed churlishly. "All I have to do is distract you from your meditation just on the off chance you make some unforeseen breakthrough Tell me How can you possibly concentrate on communing with the universe when I am down here controlling your dear one's body?"

He then banged her head on the floor causing a slight nosebleed. "Oh dear," he laughed, "I seemed to have banged someone's head on the floor."

"You are indeed a sick man," I said feeling hurt myself. I could see I had to confine Philo even further so I picked up Elizabeth's body, placed it in a chair, and wrapped tape around her, binding her to the chair.

"Go ahead," he said. "The main thing I have to do is keep you distracted. It doesn't matter how much tape you put on me, there is no way you will be able to concentrate on anything besides your little sweetie. Oh, and there's one more distraction you will have to worry about. After the three days are up and Elizabeth dies, guess who's going to be blamed for her death? Yeah, you. We'll make sure her body is so appropriately sacrificed that if you do live, you will be charged with her murder." He then let out a blood-curdling laugh and wouldn't shut up. If he was not in Elizabeth's body I would have attacked him, but had to restrain myself.

I spent the next hour with Philo/Elizabeth, enduring the most abusive insults of my life. They are not worthy of writing down here, but they were indeed a distraction. I had the most difficult time pulling myself away to make another attempt at meditation. Finally, I realized that I had to withdraw no matter how difficult the situation, and walked upstairs to my room to meditate. Philo threw verbal insults at me incessantly. Then I shut the door and laid down on the bed.

Suddenly, there was complete silence. Instead of giving me the break I needed to concentrate, it had the opposite effect. All I could think of was that something had happened to Elizabeth or maybe Philo had escaped. After a minute I couldn't stand the suspense any more and ran down the stairs to check on her. As I approached her, the body was completely and eerily still; I wondered if she may be dead. I grabbed her shoulders and tenderly said, "Elizabeth."

Suddenly and abruptly the body came to life. Philo spit in my face and laughed that familiar and hideous laugh again. "You might as well say game over. It doesn't matter if I am quiet or not; there is no way you will be able to concentrate." He continued laughing.

Game over. The phrase stuck in my mind. Maybe the game was over and I should just admit it and go down in a graceful defeat. Then I thought back to Elizabeth's words that her real husband would not give up - that he would find a way. I concluded one more time that I had to fight until the end, that even if we die, I could face her on the other side and tell her I did all I could to save her. I owed her that much.

"The game is not over," I said with determination. "It is just beginning. Now I'm going back up to my room and will find a way to concentrate and pass this test. Then I'd like to see if you laugh."

I said this, not really believing my own words, but as a bluff. Even so, it seemed to have an effect. He squirmed with great effort, attempting to free himself. After about a minute he gave up and fell back still in the chair. "You do not have a chance in hell of succeeding. You hear me? Not a chance. Even if we left you all alone, you wouldn't have a chance."

"Maybe that's your problem," I said. "Maybe your being here is just what I need to succeed. Maybe you're creating the point of tension that is needed for me to make the leap of faith."

For the life of me I didn't know where that came from. On hindsight, I feel I picked it up through the Oneness Principle, and again I could see the words had an effect. He squirmed and made a fierce attempt to free himself. I let him continue for a couple minutes until, he again collapsed into the chair. "I'm going to free myself, and when I do, I'm going to put my hands on your delicious throat and squeeze the life out of your body so you'll never bother any of us again."

He started squirming again and then I noticed that he seemed to be making some progress at loosening the hold of the tape. I hurried, got the roll and began applying some more, but soon discovered the roll was empty. I ran to the drawer and found that there was not another roll.

"Out of tape, are you?" he asked exalting. "It won't be long now and I'll put an end to this." He continued to struggle.

I immediately decided I needed to get some more duct tape and ran to the car and headed to the nearest hardware store. Of course I hit every light wrong and found myself in a line behind a little old lady with lots of questions and lacking change as she was paying. I gave the clerk $5 to make up for the quarter she did not have and told him to keep the change. Rather than being appreciative, the old lady looked at me with a scowl and, for a moment, I thought she was going to refuse to move, but she finally did. I hurriedly paid for four rolls of tape and sped back to the house.

I ran into the house, not knowing what to expect. To my horror, the chair seemed to be missing, but then I noticed it was turned over a few feet from the table. I ran over to it and saw that Philo had made a great effort to free himself. He was very close to it but also had worked Elizabeth's body to the point of exhaustion. Her wrists were scratched and bleeding.

I wanted to pick my sweet wife up and comfort her, but I knew this was not the time. I picked her up and reinforced the tape, binding her tightly to the chair.

Philo came to consciousness again and grinned, "I just about freed myself that time. I'll be reinforcing my strength and will try again. It's just a matter of time, but even if you do keep me bound, I will still be a distraction, so I'll win either way."

"Why don't you just shut up?" I said frustrated. "I should gag you."

"Then why don't you?" he said.

I had thought about it, but I sensed Elizabeth was fighting to return. Her voice was a key to recognizing her presence and Philo probably realized this.

"I'll just ignore you," I said. "Now I have a test to pass." Win or lose, I thought it wouldn't hurt to sound confident. If nothing else, it may disturb Philo for a time.

I went upstairs again to the spare bedroom to meditate, but accomplished nothing for the next ten minutes as Philo spent the whole time laughing his insidious laugh. Then he stopped and the silence was again just as bad. Perhaps he was getting loose. I had to run downstairs and check, but he just laughed at me again, apparently aware of how distracted I was.

Then I went upstairs to try again. After a few moments I heard Elizabeth's voice.

"Joseph, I'm back. Come quick."

I ran down the stairs, faced her and asked, "Elizabeth. Is that really you?"

"Yes, it is me. This tape is way too tight. Please loosen it for me."

"But Philo could come back any time."

"No he can't. He can't come back until he gathers some more strength. Cut off some of this tape. You can reapply it just before he returns again."

"Elizabeth, look at me," I insisted.

She looked at me for an instant, then looked away and started to cry profusely. "I can't stand this any more," she said. "My wrists hurt, my whole body hurts and this tape is way too tight. Please help me get some relief."

I grabbed her shoulders and again, in a commanding voice said, "Look at me."

After a short pause she finally looked me in the eyes. "Now tell me you love me the way we say it when we make up from an argument."

"You know I love you," she said, looking away.

"Look at me and say the words," I stressed.

Again, after a pause she looked at me and said softly, "I love you."

"Good try Philo. Nice to know you love me, but you are no Elizabeth."

"And what makes you think I am not Elizabeth?"

"Several things," I replied, "but mainly, there is no vibration of love as you speak, neither does it radiate from your eyes."

"OK, you got me," he said, returning to his old self, "but I've still accomplished my objective of distracting you. There's no way you'll be able to concentrate between now and Sunday midnight."

"We'll see," I said defiantly. I applied a couple more layers of tape and headed upstairs

During the next four hours or so Philo applied every technique that one could imagine. First, he tried that incessant and insidious laugh of his. This was followed by silence and then screams and shouting as if he were Elizabeth in pain. Then he started laughing again, screaming that he was almost free and coming to get me. Fortunately, this was a ruse, for he was still tightly bound. I have to admit he was a major distraction, for I found myself running back and forth repeatedly to check on him as well as the condition of Elizabeth's body.

Finally, after much frustration, I heard a sweet sound, the sound of my name spoken by the woman I love. "Joseph."

Somehow, I knew this wasn't Philo attempting to trick me, but that Elizabeth had returned. I ran down to see her and as I approached her she said, "Philo's energy has weakened and I was able to come back."

Just to make sure it was her I gave her the test. "Look in my eyes and tell me you love me."

Without hesitation, she looked at me in a way that made me feel like a young fool in love and said, "I love you."

"I love you too," I said. "Glad you're back. Do you have any idea how long you can hold him off?"

"The amount of energy he has ebbs and flows," she said. "I feel that he is now being recharged by his brothers. I might have a hour or so. I do think that one thing that drove him off was my need to go to the bathroom. I've really got to go like you wouldn't believe."

"I'll take a chance and untie you for while, and then tie you up again in a half hour or so."

I untied her. She went to the bathroom and had a drink of water. Then, after a short conversation, I tied her up again with the rope around her legs and the tape securing the rest of her body. "Your poor little body has taken a lot of abuse. It's really difficult for me to restrain you like this."

"It is certainly uncomfortable," she said, "but there's no other way that I can see." Then she looked at my sad face and seemed to want to say something to cheer me up. "Maybe we should look on the bright side."

"What bright side?"

"After midnight Sunday I'll either be completely healed or dead and at peace in the next world. Either way, I will not have to endure suffering through disease or the likes of Philo again."

I noticed that she was ignoring Philo's threat to follow us into the next world to torment us. Hopefully, that was an empty threat like the rest of his words.

"Maybe we should just concentrate on you living and being healed," I said.

"I know you've been extremely distracted, but have you made any progress?"

"Yes and no," I said.

"You're sounding like John here," she replied.

I laughed and said, "Hopefully he is rubbing off on me. The answer is no in the fact that I have been distracted and have made no noticeable progress, but the answer is yes in the fact that I had some inspiration."

"And that would be"

"When I was responding to Philo I made a reply that seemed to come from a source higher than myself, somewhere through the Oneness Principle."

"Was it from John?"

"No. The vibration was a little different."

"So what was it?"

When I was responding to Philo's insults I told him that his being here is just what I need to succeed, that maybe he is creating the point of tension that is needed for me to make the leap of faith."

Elizabeth laughed. "Now that would be funny. Here Philo comes to make sure you do not succeed and then winds up helping you. He would never forgive himself if that were to happen."

"But even if he suspected it, I don't think he could stop himself from attempting to torment us."

"Probably not," she said. "And speaking of the devil, I sense that he has recharged and is attempting to overpower me again."

I embraced her the best I could in that awkward situation until I felt her body tremble and then heard that voice that belonged to Philo. "I didn't know you cared."

I immediately withdrew.

"I have to say this for your wife. She is a fighter. If it was anyone else, I wouldn't have to draw so much energy from my brothers and she wouldn't be able to return at all. But I guess that's the least I could expect from one of my pupils from a past, far away."

"It must hurt you to have lost her," I said.

"You wish," he said defiantly. "No. She's just taken a little detour. She shall soon belong to me again, and I shall take supreme joy in your sorrow." He laughed again.

I will say this, I thought to myself. Philo has a knack of instilling a determination within me to overcome the situation. "Go ahead. Dream on," I said. "I have a test to pass."

I went upstairs and again attempted to work on my test or assignment. He continued doing everything he could to distract me, and again, in a few hours, Elizabeth returned for a short period.

This basic cycle continued for several days until we were about two hours away from midnight Sunday night. Elizabeth had again fought off Philo while his energy was low and had returned to her body.

"I love you," she said to let me know it was indeed her.

"And I love you," I said as I cut the tape from her. "I'm not one who scares easily, but at this late hour I have to face the fact that I may not pass this silly test. I've stared at that toothpick until my eyes turned buggy; and I imagined I saw things and maybe even communicated with them, but it was all wishful thinking. I've got to face the fact that I am no further ahead now than I was three days ago."

"Maybe you're just trying too hard, or maybe you're just trying to open the wrong door."

"If there's another door, then it is indeed well hidden," I replied. "Do you have any ideas?"

"No, but I feel there is something or some approach you have not seen."

"Then where is it?" I said with a voice raised to the skies. "I've got to see that door now or all will be lost."

"We've still got some time. Maybe it still is not too late."

"And maybe we should just admit defeat. I just don't see how I can pass that test at this late hour."

"I want you to promise me something," she said. "Promise me you will not give up until the stroke of midnight. Where there's still time, there's hope."

"How can I deny such a request?" I said. "Even so, I must admit I don't have much hope at this point. In addition, my mind is racing with so many thoughts and fears that meditation is impossible."

"I don't care," she said. "Promise me you will not give up."

It was a difficult promise to make, as I felt ready to concede defeat, but I gave her my word.

Suddenly, her body began to quiver. "Oh no," she said. "Somehow he is coming back early. I think he is tricking us. Tape me up again immediately."

I reached for the tape but it was too late. Philo had quickly taken over her body and grabbed me by the throat and, if his grip was any indication, he had all his strength back. He held me until I passed out. As I came to, I found myself being taped to the chair. As Philo gleefully wound the tape around me he said, "I wish I had three days to keep you bound here so you could know what it feels like. Looks like we are just going to have to increase the intensity of the time we have left to compensate. Oh, I'm going to enjoy this."

What a way for things to end up, I thought to myself. Is there any way they could get worse?

Philo must have read my mind. "You think things are bad now, you just wait," he said, still adding more tape. "There, that ought to hold you. Now let me just scoot your chair over here so you will have a good unobstructed view."

He paused as if waiting for a response and added, "View of what, you say? Let us just say you will be a one-man audience to the passion of your lovely wife, Elizabeth." Then he laughed again.

"What are you going to do - bore me to death?"

"Oh, no. I don't think so," he said grinning. "I assure you, you will not be bored. And, by the way, I think you know by now that you've failed your little test."

"I've still got about an hour," I said in weakening defiance.

"And you're going to do what in the next hour? Meditate?" He laughed again, this time more like a regular human laughing at something funny. Ironically, I also saw the humor and let out a chuckle myself.

He laughed so hard he had to sit down and catch his breath. "Oh," he said. "This is just too good. Even you see the humor in the situation. Well, enjoy yourself because the next drama you see will not be so funny."

Philo moved the table and chairs to the side, pulled up a chair to the middle of the room and sat down. "Less than an hour to go before I awaken from my coma. Ah, it will be sweet to be in my own body again. He then sat back, closed his (Elizabeth's) eyes, raised his arms and spoke some ancient words or mantras into the air. I couldn't understand the words, but I sensed that he was invoking something that I indeed wouldn't find amusing.

To my horror, I saw materializing around Elizabeth's body a similar coven of Dark Brothers that I had confronted in the past. After twelve of them gathered in a circle, they continued to utter mantric phrases until their dark master materialized in the center. Again, he had a sword in his hand and a blackness surrounded him that seemed to suck in the light as if he were a living black hole.

I noticed the sword was a slightly different design than the one that was destroyed in our last confrontation. "New sword?" I ventured from across the room.

One of the disciples walked over to me and slapped me on the face. "You have mocked our master for the last time. We have many swords of ancient date, but this is a special one that will take the life of your wife as a sacrifice and free our brother Philo for service."

"Service, you say. You make a mockery of the word."

"Seal his mouth," commanded the Dark Master.

The disciple took some duct tape and sealed my mouth so I could not speak. "That ought to shut you up," he said. "Elizabeth will remain away from her body during the ceremony this time so you will not be able to merge energies and stop us." He then rejoined his group. They started chanting mantras just as they did during our last encounter; however, things were a little different this time. Last time, Elizabeth was conscious and we were able to merge our energies and create the power of the sword Excalibur. This time they are making sure she is not even in her body, for Philo was occupying it instead. Was there anything I could do at this late hour? All seemed lost.

As I was about to give up in defeat, my memory was jogged by Elizabeth's words. Promise me you will not give up until the stroke of midnight. Even though the situation seemed hopeless, I owed her that much. I looked at the clock. There was only about a half-hour to go. I supposed I could struggle on in some feeble way for that amount of time.

To keep my promise I must continue to make some effort. What could I do? In 30 minutes they will plunge the sword into her body and that will be the end of my wife and the failure of my test. Could it be possible to commune with Elizabeth's soul even though she is not in her body? After all, isn't this test centered on the principle of communion? I thought back to the time that we summoned her higher self. I tried to recall that name. Yes, it was Aluma-EL.

Would it be possible that she could be contacted and may also be of assistance? Logic would dictate that she might be putting focus on this important point in Elizabeth's life. This very moment would indeed be a point of tension in the life of Elizabeth's soul.

I concentrated all the energy I had gathered during the last three days and put it upon the essence of Elizabeth called Aluma-EL. I thought the name to myself over and over. As I did, I sensed a sweet life essence. This gave me a little encouragement which I desperately needed, for I noticed that the Dark Brothers were continuing with their ceremony and the time was short. Then the words that seemed to be given to me to say to Philo came to my mind, that maybe he was creating the point of tension needed for me to make a leap of faith. Perhaps this dire situation is what I need to force my attention into a point of tension. I then gathered all my resources and focussed with an intensity as I had never done before on Elizabeth's higher self, her soul, her essence.

As I continued, a warmth came over my whole being and I sensed a presence near, very near. I knew I had to attempt to commune with it. Aluma-EL, are you here? I thought.

I didn't hear regular words for an answer, but I sensed the thought:

"I am here."

"Can we merge again and bring forth Excalibur to save Elizabeth?"

"There is something more important than saving the physical life of Elizabeth. You must pass the test."

"But it's too late," I said. "There is less than a half hour left. There is not time."

"There is time, more time than you know."

"But what am I to do? I've reached a dead end. I do not have power or the ability to pass the test."

"Then you must call upon He who has the power. You are not expected to apply that which you have not learned, but to apply the highest you know. The highest you know is enough."

At that, the presence withdrew.

Call upon He who has the power Who would that be? Somehow, I sensed it was not to be Christ or his brotherhood, for they had given the assignment, but I had briefly encountered one other, even higher, that was not directly involved in this test. My mind went back to my previous vision of the Ancient of Days during my brief visit to Shamballa. That's it, I thought. Calling on his assistance is my one chance.

Without delay, I sent out a prayer with feeling from every fiber of my being, "Oh God, let my words ascend to the Ancient of Days, your Logos for this earth. Let his heart be touched to stretch forth his hand to assist me, and I in turn will do all in my power to be of service to your sons and daughters."

I could not speak because my mouth was taped, but I sent these words forth as a powerful thought. Instantly, I felt an overwhelming presence that was so powerful it felt like it would consume me body and soul. The last time this happened, my fear caused the appearance of my Dweller on the Threshold. This time I had more incentive to overcome my fear as I looked upon the continuing ceremony of the Dark Brothers. They were Dweller enough to force me over the edge, and I willed myself toward the Presence.

As I did this, I heard a voice in my head, "Joseph. Come through the door and commune with me."

Door? What door? I looked upward and saw a point of light. That must be the door I thought. There is no time to waste. I soon discovered that by the power of thought I could move my consciousness toward the light, and as I moved onward, I seemed to go through the point as if passing through a door as he had said. On the other side I seemed to be in a spiritual body traveling over the Atlantic Ocean toward the east. Finally, I arrived at a large body of water that wasn't on any map. It was like a large sea, hundreds of miles wide with water so clear and clean that it seemed alive. Then, in the midst of this sea, I saw a great city that was either built on an island or just floating on the waters themselves. As I approached, I saw that the buildings seemed to be constructed of a glistening white marble or crystal of some kind, ornamented generously with translucent gold.

The center of the city consisted of seven large buildings, six of which had the appearance of temples. The six made a circle around the greater central seventh, which was a large dome with four major entrances. From above it gave the impression of being a large eye. I felt myself being drawn through one of the entrances and finding myself in a spacious room, seated in a glowing white chair of great beauty, facing another larger chair that was empty.

Actually, it was more like a great throne than a chair. It was made of the purest white one could imagine and was adorned with many inscriptions in gold. From the chair a rainbow of dancing colors seemed to be projected.

From the direction of the chair I heard a voice: "You wanted to see my face. Are you ready to see and commune with me?"

This statement made me think back to my last visit to the Shamballa which was under the earth, when I attempted to see the face of the Ancient of Days, but was not able. I saw part of his body, but not his face. I had been curious why I could not see his face since that time. I reflected on the present question and gave my answer, "Yes, I believe I am ready."

"We shall see," said the voice. "Place your hands on the two crystals on the arms of your chair."

I never noticed them earlier, but there were two large crystals within comfortable reach at the end of each arm. I placed my hands upon them, and as I did so, felt my vibration heighten as I saw a form materialize, sitting on the great chair facing me.


Copyright 2005 By J J Dewey