Another early influence

A couple of readers have asked for more detail regarding previous posts, but for the time being, my plan is to simply follow and describe the chronological order of the events and influences that molded my religious beliefs. This means that I don't use as much detail as is probably needed by many readers to make the concepts fully understandable or acceptable. My intention has been to introduce the various ideas, explain where they were acquired and present some simple examples to help the reader understand them. Years of living and learning have added depth and understanding to some of those influences and resulted in the abandonment of others. Still, I expect that more questions are being created here than answered, but hopefully future posts will help it all come together. In the meantime, I hope you'll bear with me and keep those questions and comments coming.

So, on with this post.

At the same time I was learning about Christian Science, I was still reading my Wheatley books and anything else I could get my hands on that had anything to do with the occult or spiritual. Some of these readings described the existence of truly evil entities and the dangers of participating in such activities as seances, Ouija boards, or out-of-body travel. One of my good friends knew of my interest in the psychic realm and told me that she had an uncle who could "tell fortunes", and he was coming to visit for a week. She'd set something up so that I could meet him and have a reading.

It was a very hot summer afternoon the day I went to meet "Oncle Raymonde". He was a middle aged man and I noticed as he took my hand that he had long, thin fingers. I listened to what he had to say about me and my life, but I wasn't too impressed with his psychic abilities. I had learned from my various readings that many so-called fortune tellers have no special 'gifts' other than a good ability to read people's reactions to what is said. They also know how to ask questions that are designed to actually draw the answers out of the person being "read". These 'psyhics' do all their speaking in generalities that could apply to just about anyone. I didn't say anything or ask any questions, I just let the man talk. The reading was short and so general that I don't really remember anything specific that he said. In all fairness to him, it is possible that at 16 years of age, there wasn't a lot about my life to relate, or perhaps the future he saw for me was so boring he decided to pass.

As we sat outside in the hot summer sun, we conversed lightly about the occult and religion in general; about good and evil and whether things like demonic possession really existed. He said that he certainly believed in the power of evil and that no one should attempt to travel in the astral or physchic planes without knowing how to protect themself. He asked if I knew about the golden rings of protection. I said that I didn't. He took my hand again and told me to close my eyes and picture a long corridor in my mind. I was uncomfortable and unsure of what was coming, but we were outside in the yard in plain sight and my friend was there with us, so eventually I closed my eyes and relaxed. Soon I could picture a long, dark corridor, which I walked down hesitently in my mind. After a while a wooden door appeared and I stood outside for a bit, then with Raymonde's encouragement, I opened the door and stepped inside.

It was a very small room, a closet really, with rough wooden walls, unpainted and unadorned. The wall in front of me was bare, but when I turned to the right, I could see three shimmering gold rings, two were small, about 6" across, the third was about 12" across, and each ring was hanging over a plain nail on the wall. They were really quite breathtaking, shimmering with golden light in such a plain and ordinary room.

I described them to Raymonde. He seemed surprised that there were three, but told me they were my rings of protection and there for me to use at any time and as often as I wished. I need only reach for one in my mind and it could be stretched or condensed to any size to totally encircle the wearer. I could wrap it about myself, or "throw" it around someone else, but I must always remember that whatever was inside the ring couldn't get out and whatever was outside the ring couldn't get in, until I removed the ring and hung it back on the wall. In other words, if I was inside a ring and I thought or visualized something bad or evil, that evil would be turned back on me, the wearer. By the same token, nothing bad or evil outside the ring could reach the wearer unless invited in. They weren't for fun or to be abused, but tools of protection if I ever found myself or a loved on in a dangerous situation. I stood and looked at them a few moments longer, then left the room, closing the door behind me. I stood a few more moments in the corridor, then reopened the door - the rings were still there, glowing softly in the plain bare room. I closed the door and walked away.

When I opened my eyes again, I was immediately aware of the hot summer sun and the sound of bees droning in the flower beds nearby. Raymonde released my hand and I thanked him for his assistance. I can't explain to you how the knowledge of those rings has impacted me, except to say that there is a deep comfort knowing that throughout this life's journey my rings of protection are shimmering softly on the edges of my consciousness.

A sad aside to this story is that Raymonde was killed in an accident just a few months later. I never saw him again, so he never knew what a profound impact the discovery of the golden rings had on my psyche. I have carried the knowledge of their existence all my life, checking in on the room often, but only ever using them once, and that was to protect a loved one, not myself....