First Time

We had been waiting excitedly for the past few months to meet out Mentor for the first time. The eight of us were on one of the worlds most breathtaking tropical islands. We had only ever had conversations & meditations over the phone, and conversed over email, but after a year of apprenticeship, she was flying in to meet us at the island resort for a week of light and laughter.

On the first night of the Dharma trip we all gathered on the first floor of her rented house, just meters from the beachfront, waiting to be called up to start the night. We walked single file up the stairs having no idea what to expect, a slightly nervous energy was in the air. We were greeted by a tall woman, dressed perfectly wearing a big grin, holding leis of flowers. We walked passed her one at a time and greeted each other and bowed our heads so she could place the ring of flowers around our neck. She then handed us a copy of the newly re-released Zazen album, Urban Destruction, and we sat on the floor where an area had been cleared for our meditation cushions. The subtle scent of sweet incense filled the air and I couldn’t stop smiling.

The house was beautifully decorated with hand painted Tibetan thankas, and silk hangings of mantras. Enormous arrangements of flowers, the most beautiful I had ever seen, sat atop a pair of speakers and a dragon beared its fangs from the rug on the floor. Most beautiful of all was the photo of our master, Rama, an original print in a gold frame. He stared back, dressed immaculately in his tie and suit. There were a dozen candles surrounding Rama on the meditation table. His photo was the focal point of the room and sometimes he seemed to smile, other times, his look turned very serious and occult.

We sat around the couch, our back to the flowers while our Mentor sat down in half lotus. She spoke to us for an hour or so about Rama and the island and the Guardians that helped protect the area. The whales and dolphins that lived here were old Atlantean souls that watched over the ancient power places.

We turned around to face Rama and the flowers. I did not know it then, but we were in a very high and rarefied world that night that I will never forget. The music started as we all gazed into Rama’s shining eyes and Vangelis’ album ‘Direct’ played loudly as my mind grew stiller. The sparkling white-gold light started to dance and sparkle around Rama’s photo. I had seen a similar effect before around my photo of Rama at home, but here the light kept growing stronger and brighter. Soon there was bright light everywhere, no matter where I looked; shimmering sparkles occupied every space of the room. Then the peak of the song hit. The gentle sounds of the synthesizer seamlessly shifted to hard bursts of 80’s guitar. The energy then transmogrified to a rollercoaster ride! It felt like I was accelerating at a tremendous rate and that I would fall back off my pillow!

Before I knew it the album had finished and we all bowed our heads to the ground, I was in such a blissful state! I now had a small glimpse of what it may have been like to sit with Rama at one of his seminars. Later in the week our Mentor told us we had pulled a very high occult line of Rama’s energy. I will always hold that power night in my heart as one of the highest ever, and I can only pray to Rama that he will open to us again sometime, destroying and renewing our lives in the vast and endless light of his heart.

-- Emmroe