Just another evening....

While asleep one evening, I got an urgent nudge to wake up….Now! My eyes opened slowly and……there was someone standing over me, looking right at me - not 6 inches from my face! I gasped and recoiled, lashing out with fists and nails….into thin air. Damn me! What the fuck was that? I clearly saw a head, eyes peering, mouth pursed. I…..I….what was it? I jumped out of bed and started turning on lights in a frantic rush to illuminate my world. Nothing....no one.... was it a dream? No, I clearly saw intelligence in those eyes, a connection. Fuck!

Out came the sage. I was gonna smudge this house within an inch of its life. For once the smudge stick lit on first try. You know about this don't you? If the stick is hard to light, it means bad juju is afoot. But this thing fired right up. Well, I was gonna use this to my advantage. I placed the smudge stick in a cast iron skillet and placed in the center of the house. Let it burn, burn all the shit away. I sat up for about an hour, huddled on the couch, my stones and animals around me. Watchful, ever watchful…. I went back to bed, but kept a light on. I wanted to see this apparition before it got too close next time.

I woke with a start about 3 hours later. When did I fall asleep? My eyes were clearly open, I had been terrified. How could I have just fallen asleep?! But sleep I did. And in the mean time, that old sage stick had gone psychotic. The whole house was filled to the brim with smoke! I could barely see my hand in front of me. What the fuck? There couldn't have been that much sage to burn! Where did all this smoke come from?

And then I saw it, through the wafting smoke…. it walked in front of a great puff of a cloud, its outline clearly visible. A man…..a man walking around my house….snooping….sneaking. I bet he didn't think I could see him. "Damn it, this is my house, fucker", I shouted. He started, paused, turned. It was the face I saw when I woke up earlier! He was looking directly at me. He tried to speak, but no sound was heard. Oh jesus, jesus, what the heck?! And then he walked over to me, cowering under my covers, coughing from all the sage smoke. And his hand reached out………and went right through me. But at that moment, I was filled with such a great sense of calm. "Silly chit" the thought came to me, "you think the sage would burn if I was evil? Do you think it would burn so brightly?" "Don't you know I amplified the smoke, so you could see me?"

Ahhh, yes, I understood now. This was not a spirit, but an actual person, someone come on a visit. The astral body of a traveling adept. A spirit, a bodiless one, would not be so purposeful. This mystic entity walked about as if really here, spoke, albeit to my mind, as you would standing there. His emotions, thoughts, focus were direct and intelligent. The fact that his shadowy body had so much detail told volumes about his abilities. I was a trembling novice in his presence. He must have been drawn to this house, to me, because of the energy I generate. The fact that he was poking my scattered safeguards told me that he knew what I was about and his nodding showed approval. His aura even improved and shored up some of them - I could feel their increased power glowing. Here was someone who was offering their expertise. Some One in this abysmal universe I could possibly go to for assistance…..yet a total stranger. Fascinating.

He faded away through the glimmer, a soft "see you later" echoing on the smoke. I got up and went to check on the sage. Only half of it had burned! And generated this much smoke? He was right, his abilities had amplified.

The next day, another discovery. I had bought one of those garden gazing globes for my mother as a gift, and had yet to get it to her. I had placed it in the middle of the living room, wanting to enjoy it as long as I could. I was going about my business, cleaning and puttering, when I glanced over at it in passing. I could clearly see movement! But nothing was in the room except me, and I was standing still, not breathing….yet there was movement. This continued throughout the day and into the evening, the cloaked visitor only visible through smoke or mirrors, a constant companion. The next day some friends came over. I was hoping to get confirmation, so I said nothing to them, wanting to get an honest reaction. I settled everyone in the living room, supplying refreshments. I sat down and became perfectly still. I let my friends get comfortable. And then that moment, when everyone relaxes and zones into their surroundings. Then….Oh, the gasps! HA HA! The 'What the fucks?' "There is a man walking around the room!" they cried. Then the heads went to swinging…. Oh yea, we were playing now….