"The extreme limit of wisdom ... that is what the public calls madness" ... Jean Cocteau
The Wizard Returns
The wizard’s consciousness is a field that exists everywhere.
The streams of knowledge contained in the field are eternal and flow forever.
Centuries of knowledge are compressed in revelatory moments.
We live as ripples of energy in the vast ocean of energy.
When the ego is set aside, you have access to the totality of memory.
One morning Arthur woke up very early, shivering in his straw bed only to find Merlin looking at him from across the cave.
“I was having a bad dream,” Arthur mumbled. “I was the last person left on earth, wandering forests and streets that were empty of anyone but me.”
“Dream?” said Merlin. “That was no dream. You are the last person on earth.”
“How can that be?” Arthur asked.
“Wouldn’t you agree that the only person on earth would also have to be the last person?”
“Yes.”
“Well, from the point of view of your self-image, which people in the future have called the ego, you are the only one.”
“How can you say that? You and I are here together, aren’t we? And we have visited villages and towns that must contain thousands of folk.”
Merlin shook his head. “If you look at yourself truly, what are you? A creature of experience that is constantly turning into memories. When you say ‘I,’ you are indicating this unique bundle of experiences, with all its private history that no one else can share.
“Nothing seems more personal than memory. You and I have walked separate roads, even though we walk together. I cannot look at a flower without having an experience you do not share. Not a single tear or laugh can truly be given to another.”
When Merlin had finished this speech, Arthur looked distressed. “You make it sound as if everyone is utterly alone,” the boy said.
“Not I,” replied Merlin. “The work of the ego is what makes you alone, sealing you into a world no one else can enter.” Seeing how distraught his disciple looked, Merlin softened his voice. “And yet ego can be set aside. Come with me.” He got up and led Arthur out of the cave into the predawn darkness, which was still full of stars.
“How far away is that star, do you suppose?” he asked, pointing to the Dog Star. It being midsummer, Sirius was bright and low on the horizon.
“I don’t know. I suppose it must be farther than I can measure, or possibly imagine,” Arthur replied.
Merlin shook his head. “It is no distance at all. Consider this: for you to see that star, its light must enter your eye, correct? Beams of light flow continuously from here to there, like an invisible bridge. What is a star but light? Therefore, if it is light both here and there and on the bridge in between, there is no separation between you and that star. You are both part of the same seamless field of light.”
“But it appears to be very far away. After all, I can’t pluck it out of the sky,” Arthur objected.
Merlin shrugged. “Separation is only an illusion. You appear to be separate from me and from other people because your ego takes the view that we are all isolated and alone. But I assure you, if you set your ego aside, you would see us all surrounded by one unending field of light, which is awareness. Your every thought is born in a vast ocean of light only to return to it, along with every cell of your body. This field of awareness is everywhere, an invisible bridge to all else that exists.
“So there is nothing about you that isn’t part of everyone else – except as ego sees it. Your work is to go beyond ego and dive into the universal ocean of consciousness.”
Arthur had a thoughtful look on his face. “I’ll have to think about what you’ve said.”
“You do that.” Merlin yawned. “I’m still sleepy.” The wizard turned to reenter the warm, snug cave. “Oh, and by the way, before you come back to bed, will you please hang that thing up again?”
“Thing?” Arthur looked down in surprise to see that the Dog Star had been plucked from the sky and left at his feet.
from ‘The Way of the Wizard’ by Deepak Chopra
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