148 DATE WITH THE GODS"That's it. That's exactly what you should do. You will
be completely aware of sitting in the candle. You're
going to see the light glowing around you, you're going
to see through the fire, you're going to try to see me, see
yourself, and this room will be the universe, the cosmos.
Maybe you11 even see the reflection of your eyes as two
distant stars. You11 see my eyes as two stars, because
you're there, inside that candle, far away in proportion
to what surrounds you."
"Okay, let me practice it, then I1l let you know."
"You must pretend I'm not here. Good luck."
It was a little difficult for me to follow this thread to
the end of the line. Somehow my nervousness, my
distrust, my skepticism were in the way. Rama, sensing
my feelings, came up behind me and put her arms
around me.
"Relax," she said softly, "keep concentrating on the
light. You11 see what happens."
I began imagining I was driving a car and that the road
was the silver cord. Gradually, as Rama sat behind me,
holding me between her legs in the water, I began to feel
more at ease.
Then it happened. I could no longer feel my body. My
whole concentration and energy were inside the flame.
It was as if an irresistible magnetic force pulled some
thing out of me. The only awareness I had was of my
spirit traveling along a smooth, completely illuminated
road, suspended in total darkness. I had no sense of
direction, north or south, up or down. The next thing I
knew, I was sitting on top of the candle's wick which
seemed like a giant cable. I had become a part of the
flame's energy. It seemed as if my awareness had
reached the smallest point in the universe, yet I was
awake, alert, and had absolute clarity of perception.
I looked up and saw the flame tapering to a point, as it
moved slowly away in huge, undulating particles. I