Andy’s Woodsy Adventure – Chapter 14

Q: Why did the lifeguard rescue the hippie?
A: Because he was too far out man!!!

Andy’s Woodsy Adventure (Chapters 1 to 13)

Andy’s Woodsy Adventure – Chapter 14

“CHRISTOPHER MICHAEL RILEY, WHERE HAVE THE TWO OF YOU BEEN!!!” said Chris’s mother sounding quite angry.

I thought for a second it might be the perfect moment to pause time and discuss this with Chris, but I didn’t get the chance.

“Andy and I were transported to some other realm where time and space exists quite different from here. In all honesty, we really were only gone for like 15 minutes but somehow that translated into over four hours once we returned.” Chris said without batting an eye.

I couldn’t believe it. He had told them the truth. I at least would have come up with some elaborate lie.

“Young man, do not lie to your mother! We know you somehow snuck outside and went exploring in the woods. Just think what Andy’s parents would have thought if we had called them when we couldn’t find either of you anywhere! You’re grounded starting tomorrow. Andy, I’m sorry but you won’t be able to see Christopher for the next two weeks, as he will be quite busy with a long list of chores I’m going to be preparing for him as his punishment. So you two better enjoy tonight for it’s going to be a little while before you two will be hanging out again. Now I suggest you both come get a few slices of cold pizza, as I’m sure you’re probably starving…”

Mr. and Mrs. Riley then promptly walked out of Chris’s room and headed downstairs.

“What just happened exactly?” I said feeling completely dumbfounded that his telling the truth had actually worked somehow.

“I told the truth. I’m the Guardian remember and I have lot more faith and integrity to uphold and hopefully teach you. Because I know you most likely would have told some ridiculous lie like we were playing the world’s longest game of hide and go seek or something else pretty silly.”

“Come on, give me a little more credit than that!” I said laughing, as the two of us headed out of Chris’s room and downstairs to have dinner, which for us was really at the normal time we would have been having it, if we hadn’t headed into some other dimension that is…

Chris spent the rest of the evening, after we had returned upstairs, talking about my future training plans. Thankfully his parents hadn’t pressed us any further about the missing four hours while we had eaten our cold, but still delicious pizza from Mama Mary’s. Frankly, I was feeling a little overwhelmed by the whole Guardian and Keeper idea. A few months ago, I was just an average kid that had no friends, was constantly picked on, and was about to enter the 7th grade. But now I was supposed to be some hero divinely picked by 12 celestial beings to help protect my planet. Me, a rather tall scrawny 12-year old boy, I mean, what good could I do?

“Are you even paying attention to what I’m saying???” Chris said snapping me abruptly out of my wandering thoughts.

“How I am supposed to be a hero at 12 years old? I think they picked the wrong guy.” I said to Chris somewhat dejectedly.

“I know this all must seem crazy Andy. But look, they picked the two of us for a reason. And I think you are exactly who is meant to be the Keeper, just like I am beginning to fully accept myself as the Guardian. I promise you the training will help you feel a lot more confident. But the first thing we need to do is…”

WHAM!

Chris suddenly hit me in the face with his pillow, which then led to an all out pillow war causing me to completely forget for the moment about the worries I was having. Soon after that we got the “lights out” shout from his father. It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep, as everything that had happened between my visit to the other realm and listening to Chris’s long training lecture, had totally exhausted me.

Unfortunately, the next two weeks dragged by ever so slowly as Chris’s parents had remained true to their word with his punishment. The only time I got to see him was during school. There, I had been tempted on several occasions to pause time again and mess with the biggest school bully, the same one who had tried to trip me in the cafeteria on the first day. His name’s Trevor by the way, but Chris had to continue reminding me of the tagline I had always heard in the Spiderman comics, which was “With great power comes great responsibility.” I knew he was right every time he said that to me, yet it was so frustrating having the ability to do just about anything, but not being able to use it on people like Trevor who really needed to be taught a good lesson.

About the only time I really got to talk with Chris during those two weeks was during lunch. During each he only seemed to ever speak of more training ideas, none of which was actually sounding like very much fun to be perfectly honest. And since we weren’t even able to talk to each other on the phone at night, I had spent every one of them pondering his ideas and even toyed with the notion of trying a new Zodiac symbol completely on my own, but ultimately decided against it. After all I knew now that was supposed to be one of his duties as the Guardian.

When Chris’s punishment finally ended, it was a welcomed relief because I had grown bored of my own company and thoughts, and truly wanted to get this training started. And that was precisely what Chris had planned for that Saturday afternoon. This time he had asked for permission to go into the woods, even though we hadn’t even gone into them the last time his parents thought we had. They said it was ok and had given us a curfew of 5pm, as there was going to be a cookout my family was coming over for at that time. It was just around 1pm as we headed deep into the thick forest behind his house on a trail that appeared as if it had been walked on countless times. It vaguely reminded me of my original woodsy adventure that had led to me finding the crystal and on the path I was now on.

“Come on, hurry up, we don’t have much time!” said Chris who was way ahead of me on the trail.

I picked up my pace and soon emerged into a large field in the middle of the forest that had knee high grass and a relatively clear pond next to it that Chris told me came from some underwater stream.

“You’re first training begins in there by the way…” said Chris pointing towards the water.

“WHAT! No way, it’s like not even 50 degrees outside and I don’t think this water is much warmer than that.” I said as I dipped my hand into it and felt how cold it was to the touch.

“Remember that Zodiac symbol Cancer that you epically failed at using?”

“Yeah…so?”

“Well if my hunch is correct, you’re not going to feel the cold of the water at all.”

“But I don’t even have a bathing suit!”

“I do!” said Chris smiling as he pulled one of his out from the backpack he was carrying.

“Ugh! Of course you do. Just so you know, I think I’m already beginning to hate your training.” I said with a frown as I grabbed the bathing suit and quickly put it on.

“Ok, now what I want you to do is say Cancer and immediately jump into the pond.”

“Really, do we have to practice this one today?” I said shivering.

I was still feeling rather fearful about my choking incident at the end of the summer the first time I had tried to use this symbol.

“You’ll be fine Andy. Ready?”

“No, not really, but whatever! CANCER!”

I quickly took a running jump into the lake half expecting it to feel like icicles were touching every part of my body, yet it was oddly warm and reassuring, like it might feel during a very hot August. As I looked at Chris giving me the thumbs up sign, I tried to take a breath in through my nose and started gasping again.

“Go under the water dummy!” said Chris noticing what was happening all over again.

I immediately dove straight down into the pond and tried to breath again, but this time felt oxygen rush into my body through the sides of my neck. I tried to touch the area with my hands where that was seemingly coming in but couldn’t because my fingers were now all connected together with a strange webbing. I looked down at my feet and noticed the same was true there as well. Overall, my body felt strangely different as well, yet I was unsure of what actually had changed within it. It was then I remembered seeing the Keeper on the black screen behind the Council of the Zodiac racing through the water.

Hmmm, I wonder…

I placed my hands close together, in a streamline position, and began to kick my feet as hard as I could. Immediately I shot forward faster than I had ever swum before, so fast that the bottom of the pond almost became a blur as I raced over it. And within a matter of seconds I found myself already on the other side of the pond.

As I looked back across it underwater with eyesight that seemed enhanced as well, I started to think that maybe this training thing wasn’t going to be so bad after all…

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

Saying Goodbye To Unspiritual TV Shows

I watch a lot of television shows and I mean A LOT. Over the course of a year, there are probably 30 or so that I’ll tune into. Some I’ve been following for a long time, while others I’ve picked up more recently. But I became aware of something lately that precipitated a change in this area of my life and that was to stop following shows that no longer feel like they mesh with my growing spiritual values.

Most of the TV programming I follow nowadays is either science fiction or fantasy based, with two notable exceptions of a recovery from addiction sitcom named “Mom” and a Sherlock Holmes show named “Elementary”. Except for those two, there are a number of others I’ve been watching for awhile now that I no longer have any interest in, mainly because they aren’t generating any good spiritual feelings within me after viewing them.

The last thing I want to do is watch something on TV that promotes unhealthy behaviors like gossip, greed, envy, jealousy, backstabbing, violence, lust, ego, fear and more. I find that when I’m watching programs that glorify these things, I tend to slide back into those behaviors or become more negative in my overall attitude in life.

This is specifically why I stopped watching “The Originals” on the CW recently. The show centered on a vampire named Klaus who was constantly afraid of people taking away his power. Week in and week out his only concern was to protect his perceived power through conniving and killing. I grew quite weary of the unnecessary bloodshed and ego from him and others in the series and finally decided I had enough.

Since removing this show, I’ve felt so much better and gone on to do the same with a few others too. I definitely plan to continue this behavior from now on. After all, following a television show week after week, year after year, hoping it’s going to get better is a lot like staying in a relationship with someone who’s toxic and not working on themselves, all the while living with the hope they’ll eventually get better, but never do.

As for the TV series I’ve chosen to stick with, well, the truth is each of them are about people that are trying to do good in this world, who regularly play a hero that always attempts to save the day and protect the innocent. Shows like The Flash, Arrow, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Forever, and Daredevil are the first ones that come to mind, and while each may carry some violence, their overall theme is about saving the world from the darkness that exists within it and bringing about more light.

The bottom line though is that I don’t want to watch programs on TV anymore that leave me feeling more irritable and frustrated, or anything else that’s not healthy for me. I’d rather spend my time tuning into the ones that help me to feel better about myself, that truly uplift me, and lead me further down the spiritual path I’m doing my best to remain on in life…

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

Meditation 101

So many people tend to shy away from the practice of meditating, even though it can have numerous benefits for oneself. Often the most common reasons I hear from those who do avoid this practice appears to be the lack of time, the inability to sit still, or even just having an outright fear of even trying. Having practiced meditation for over a decade now, as well as having taught many meditation classes, I can safely say each of those reasons are coming from nothing more than the ego’s resistance to doing something unfamiliar.

Unfortunately too many of those who do shy away from ever learning about meditation seem to hold this belief that doing the practice means sitting in some uncomfortable position for long periods of time, being surrounded by candles, and chanting weird things. Sadly, most of them fail to realize that meditating is really just about doing any exercise that attempts to focus the mind. While I’m sure there are those out there who probably do meditate in strange positions surrounding themselves with candles, all the while chanting odd phrases, there are plenty of much simpler ways to do so.

For example, washing the dishes by hand can be a form of meditation if one focuses on doing that task and only that task. In other words, moving a soapy sponge around a plate or a glass or a cup or a bowl and thinking about nothing other than that action is actually a form of meditating. But doing the same action while listening to a television program or talking on a phone isn’t meditating at all, it’s doing what the brain normally does.

The truth is that each of our brains rapidly process thought after thought after thought. In fact, it is estimated that the average human being processes somewhere between 2,500 to 3,330 thoughts per hour. The whole point of meditation is to slow the mind way down to far less thoughts than that, except it’s quite hard to do in a world that’s so sped up with a “go, go, go” attitude.

The image I like to portray when it come to this type of attitude in life is that of a puppy. Have you ever been around one that can sit still for any period of time? I sure haven’t and that’s exactly what our brains are normally like. They run from thing to thing to thing, hardly ever sitting still. But quieting the mind though meditation can tame that puppy within us so to speak. And as the mind becomes more still on a regular basis, the benefits of doing so begin to occur. Here are just 25 of them (but there are so many more):

  1. Increases exercise tolerance.
  2. Leads to a deeper level of physical relaxation.
  3. Reduces anxiety attacks.
  4. It increases blood flow and slows the heart rate.
  5. Decreases muscle tension.
  6. Enhances the immune system.
  7. Enhances energy, strength and vigor.
  8. Improved flow of air to the lungs resulting in easier breathing.
  9. Decreases the aging process.
  10. Builds self-confidence.
  11. Increases serotonin level, influences mood and behavior.
  12. Resolves phobias & fears.
  13. Helps with focus & concentration.
  14. Increases creativity.
  15. Increases productivity.
  16. Increased emotional stability.
  17. Helps in quitting addictions.
  18. Helps to relieve insomnia.
  19. Helps to discover one’s purpose.
  20. Increased compassion.
  21. Brings body, mind, and spirit in harmony.
  22. Increased acceptance of oneself.
  23. Helps living in the present moment.
  24. Creates a widening, deepening capacity for love.
  25. Experience a sense of “Oneness”
and a connection to God.

Now that I’ve explained a little bit about meditation and provided some of its benefits, let me get back to those three most common reasons why a person tends to shy away from ever doing this practice.

Did you know that meditating could be done in as little five minutes each day?

Did you know that a guided meditation could help those who have that inability to focus? (Yes, even people with ADD or ADHD.)

Did you know that fear and resistance of even trying to meditate can cause more stress in the body than actually trying it for a few minutes? (Which instead reduces that stress.)

The point I’m trying to make here is how the ego will consistently find any number of excuses to avoid doing something unfamiliar such as practicing meditation. This is true especially when the benefits of meditation don’t come immediately, as they come over time with consistent effort. Most humans want immediate benefits in that “go, go, go” attitude of life, but meditation is the exact opposite of that.

But don’t let this discourage you ok? I started off living in fear of even trying to meditate, until I gave myself 5 minutes, which turned into 10, then 20, and so on. Today I allocate 40 minutes each day to meditate using various techniques from breathing, to guided, to chanting, to awareness, to a few others.

The important thing is to just try. Try it for a few minutes ok? And know that even in walking along a beach and staring out at the ocean, focusing solely on the water and clearing the mind of everything else is doing a form of meditating. There’s really no need to be scared of it and know that in time, you too will see the numerous benefits that can come from regularly practicing meditation.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson