And then she grinned like a schoolgirl.
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
WHEN THEY RETURNED TO the living room after dinner, the furniture had been moved away from the fireplace. Kathy Dart was already sitting in an overstuffed chair in front of the windows on the other side of the room. She was wearing a long white gown and had combed out her black hair so that it fanned over her shoulders. Her only piece of jewelry was a gold chain and the crystal that rested between her breasts. It was the same crystal she had worn when Jennifer first saw her in Washington.
Jennifer slipped into a straight-backed chair away from the others, craning her neck to make sure she had a clear view of Kathy. She wanted to be able to see her when she went into her trance. Eileen had produced a small tape recorder from her purse; unable to find a chair close enough, she slipped to the floor at Kathy’s feet.
From her angle against the side wall, Jennifer saw the whole room, and she watched the others as they found seats. Some of the young students who were on work/study programs at the farm came out of the kitchen still wearing aprons over their jeans and slid down as a group against the length of one wall.
Jennifer spotted one young man who looked familiar, and she studied him for a moment, trying to place where she had seen him. He looked like the other students, but with short hair, and the build of an athlete. He looked up at Eileen then and smiled, and Jennifer remembered where she had seen him. He had been the young reporter writing the article about Kathy Dart. They had met briefly outside the meeting room, and he had reminded her of her brother.
Simon stepped into the room, and Jennifer kept herself from looking at him. She was afraid he might walk over and sit beside her, and she did not want him near her, not when Kathy Dart was in her trance and Habasha was speaking.
Simon, however, was busy. He had brought a large pitcher of water and a glass from the kitchen, and he set them down on a small table beside Kathy, who glanced up and smiled briefly at him. When he leaned over and whispered something, she laughed, then he stepped away and took a seat by the fireplace. Kathy turned to the group and asked cheerfully, “Are we all here?”
She glanced around the room, smiling at everyone, and went on. “I’d like to explain to our new people a little of what happens when I do this trance-channel. So everyone who has been with me before please indulge us.” She directed attention initially to the row of young students and then went on.
“I begin with a short prayer, and I ask that you join in with me. This enables us to come together as a group, as one being, so to speak. I’ll lead the group in an African chant— one of Habasha’s chants—that I find pulls Habasha closer to me and, of course, to you as well.”
“After the chant, there will be a moment of meditation as I slip into the trance and allow Habasha to come forward. As many of you know, I am elsewhere during the trance; if it were not for these tape recordings, I wouldn’t know what was actually said by Habasha.”
“Where are you exactly?” someone asked.
“Sleeping, actually,” Kathy responded, and they laughed. “I get a good nap while Habasha does all the work.” Kathy glanced around the room again, caught Jennifer’s eye, and smiled. Then she spoke again to the group. “Usually Habasha has something to say, perhaps a story from his own life, and he’ll be prepared for questions. I know that many of you have things you’d like to ask, so please, don’t be shy.” She looked pointedly at Jennifer. “Oh, you should be aware that Habasha will often use African terms when he speaks,” she added. “Later, if you wish, I will explain to you what he has said.”
Jennifer felt as if her heart were freezing up inside her. She slipped down farther in the chair but did not take her eyes off Kathy.
“Also, I’d like to request that none of you cross your arms. We don’t want to close ourselves off from each other, from the flow of energy in the room.”
She smiled, then turned to Simon, who reached over and dimmed the overhead lights. A dozen blue candles had been lit throughout the room, and their small flames flickered in the darkness. “All right,” Kathy said softly, “let us begin.”
She moved forward to sit on the edge of her chair, lifted her arms, turned the palms of her hands up, and said clearly, “Spirit of light and truth unite us. Inspire our minds and fill our hearts with love. Heal and energize our bodies. Receive our thanks for the many gifts that have come to us. Guide us on the path that we may please and serve thee.”
“Holy art Thou, Lord of the Universe. Holy art Thou, the Vast and the Mighty. Lord of the light and of the dark. O Jehovah! O Yahweh! O Abba! O Jesus! O Allah! O Brahma! Be with us today in our work.”
Kathy bowed her head for a moment, and when she looked up again her eyes were closed and she chanted:
Ommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Ommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Ommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
She fell silent, rocking gently back and forth on the edge of the chair. Then her own sweet voice was given over to the voice of Habasha, the ancient African, a strong, full voice that roared into the silent gathering.
“I am Habasha, the great one! How are my dear friends of America? Tenayistilligan.”
“Tenayistilligan,” a few replied. “Tim no.”
“Ameseghinallehu,” Habasha answered.
Kathy turned her head slowly from left to right. Her eyes were open, and they seemed even larger than usual. So she was not going to channel with her eyes closed, as Phoebe Fisher had done.
“We are very well, Habasha. Ameseghinallehu,” Simon said quickly, and there were a few other soft, mumbled greetings from the students and from Eileen. But most of the audience sat silent, staring up at Kathy Dart.
“I am happy to be with you today,” Habasha went on in his strong bass voice.
“I take pleasure to say that there is amongst you this evening one who has singular spiritual gifts, which, in due time, will manifest themselves to the benefit of your society. We are certain that all of you who have committed yourselves to the path of enlightenment shall know more and more with each day that comes, and you shall soon be in positions to shed much light, from the light which you possess, on where there is great darkness in this world.”
“And, therefore, let us say that by taking care of your own need to know, you sooner will take care of others who need to know, for this light which you acquire for yourself will be the light that shines for others.”
“For when you are illuminated you are like a light that shines. Wherever you go, if there is darkness, your own light will shine.”
“You have come to the light, my dear friends, and you will go to another place. And we congratulate you for doing this goodness in our world.”
“Let the truth be your essence. Let the truth lead you to your higher self. Know yourself and let that truth flow through your consciousness.”
“As for those who will not understand, some prefer the darkness. Remember, my dear friends, that all those who walk in the shadows do so by their own choosing. We ask that you will not be followers. Neither let yourselves be leaders. For if you are a follower you are standing in someone else’s shadow; if you are a leader, you are casting a shadow upon others.”
“We commend to you this work and say: Do not hope for perfection. Do not seek a perfect heaven where all things will lead forever, without fault and without flaw, without need of further thought, or further exercise.”
“All life, my dear friends, is an adventure. It is an adventure! Indeed, to know everything that was ever going to be, to have absolute and total knowledge—if you could have that knowledge, would it not deprive you of a great sense of adventure?”