QUIETLY, QUIETLY THE  little girl fell asleep.

     During the night she had a dream.

     She was somewhere alone on a road. It was getting dark when she realized that she was already far away from home. She had to pass through a vast dark wasteland, in order to reach it, now. It was late and she did not have time to think about anything else. She should start the way back as soon as possible. After a while there was complete darkness and she walked with great difficulty.

     But, in an instant, the whole area was illumined.

     A bright meteor rolled along the sky, unwrapping a wide ribbon with letters behind it.

     Oh, how happy our little girl was that her way was lighted! And those letters! What could they be saying? How fortunate, that she knew how to read; she would read all of them.

     She read them, read them again, but she did not understand anything.

     - It is not the first time that I read something and I do not understand it, she consoled herself. It seems that only those, who write them, are supposed to understand them.  What is left for us, is only to read them.

     But as she read them again and again, not having anything else to do, her heart leaped, her feet got wings, her body lost its weight.

     An invisible means of transportation took her and moved her along lightly.

     Among the letters she was reading she found a rhythm and matched it with her pace, her movements, and gave it life.

     She even found a tune for these words.

     So sometimes she swirled wildly, sometimes she clasped her little hands, moved her head, walked front or back, stood still; she did whatever the rhythm dictated to her.

     And when the letters came to an end, she started from the beginning again. Until she learned them by heart. So she did not notice how she walked the whole way back.When she reached home, day broke.

     But the first rays of the sun that fell on the earth pulled along with them the ribbon with the letters.

     And they were spread all over and embraced all and took the shape of everything.

     And they became houses, trees, people, roads.

     They also became the the big street with the school which is being built in the middle of it. The school, which will embrace the children of the two villages that are at its ends. There, where our little girl longs to go when she grows up.

     To the big new school.

     And the little girl looked at all these in awe.

     - So, this is what the letters were saying!

     Now that they came near her, she recognized them all, she understood them all. She has known them since long ago. She finds them every day in her life.

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AS SOON AS SHE  woke up, she hastened to write down the words she had seen in her dream, so that she does not forget them. How fortunate, that she knew how to write. Reading and writing were enough for her, in order to preserve her dream.

     And she began to write.

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HE KNEW THAT  the arrow was poisonous. It spread death. And he did not ask for anything in life, other than Immortality.

     Where would he find it? How would he find it?

     During all his life, he asked about this.

     And he learned it.

     They showed him a road to take. And they said to him: Never worry for money, we send you everything that you will need.

     And he started with a saddlebag full of food on his shoulder and a bottle of water.

     He traveled to far away lands and entered enchanting palaces. He walked into exotic towers and talked to natives and passers by. He even reached isolated corners, and saw all that every city hides inside. And he learned something surprising, which at first his mind could not contain.

     He learned that, in life, what we see as true and is tangible, is a lie.

     He saw hungry, unhappy people fighting with death alone in some wasteland. He approached them. He opens his saddlebag, takes all the bread that was in there and gives it to them.

     They take it and throw it over the bluff.

     They are not hungry.

     He runs to the others, who die from lack of water. He gives them his last cup of water.

     And they pour it on the ground.

     They are not thirsty.

     They are not unhappy.

     This surprised him. It woke him up from a deep lethargy, it enlightened his mind like lightning. It opened his eyes to see more clearly. It gave him the opportunity to know something. It put something into his mouth for him to say.

     It made him exclaim.

     There is no unhappiness.

     Yes, because he now sees a vivid motion in all that was motionless, and he sees that they show their wrong side as if it were the good one.

     This event triggered thoughts in him.

     He sits down on a stone. He supports his elbows on his knees. He closes his eyes with his hands. He rests his head on his palms and thinks.

     - For what goal have I set out? To find Immortality.

     What is Immortality? A great invincible power.

     Who holds Immortality in his hands?

     And an otherwordly voice answers him.

     - Life.

     - Life? Where is She found? Where is life, so that I can seize Immortality from Her hands.

     - We do not seize what we want from life. Life herself gives them to us when we live her. But do not hurry. Listen to what I will tell you. And I will tell you these things because you are worthy. Until now you have proved yourself competent in your life and you have spent it gallantly. But the road you have been walking up to now ends soon. It must therefore be tied to another one somewhere, in order to be continued. You found yourself at such a tying today and you hesitated. And you were right, because many roads meet here. I waited to see which one you would choose. And you have chosen the proper one for you.

     So, now that you have entered the right road. The short but also difficult one. And you have proved yourself worthy of it, from your very first steps on it. I will tell you a few words that can help you walk through it easily.

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ON THE ROAD  you will walk from now on, only phantoms will always surround you. I want to protect you, so that they do not mislead you. Because, if they do, you are lost. You lost your precious bread and water, but you learned much. The loss was small, as your life is still left to you. Because they will ask for it, too. Not in order to benefit anybody, but in order to throw it over the bluff together with your bread. They will even ask for your soul. Waving a sharp knife they will call you to take it, in order to kill the one who, in front of your eyes, with a word threw the source of your life to slime. And you, thirsty for blood, will seize it. At that moment, remember the thirsty man you met and bury the knife in the earth. Then they will put many other things in your mouth for you to exclaim. Irrational things, like the ones you have said before.

     It was good that I heard you, so that I could stop you. It was good that you stopped, so that I could catch up with you. It was good that you said those things to yourself and nobody heard you.

     It was good that you stopped at three words. It was good that they were caught in your thought and they did not proceed to action.

     If it is so, I thought, then also my words may not be wasted. They may find something solid on which they may be laid to rest.

     And now listen to what I would like to tell you. They are words taken out of the mouth of Life.

     She [Life] has found me worthy of seeing her works and looks. She taught me Her language and I have heard Her speech.  

     I have seen Her working ceaselessly. Running up and down day and night. And spreading about something with Her hands. And always commanding Her children.

     And I have learned Her ultimate goals and I have filled my hands out of what She is spreading, and I have seen the way She watches over those who cooperate with Her.

     She runs and sows Life day and night.

     Her purpose is that we reap Immortality. And She always asks from Her workers and Her people to dig.

     - Where are Her fields? Where are the tools? How can I find myself on Her way and how to hear Her command?

     - Her fields are everywhere. But the area, where the tree of Immortality will grow, is one. The sprout of Immortality will pass through the human heart. It will grow from there, when the sowing has succeeded. When it finds solid earth to hold it.

     Her tools are everywhere, too.

     A word. An action. A circumstance.

     As regards Her voice and looks, you have met them many times on your way.

     Life speaks with emotions.

     And She does not only speak. She appears in front of us with Her whole body, together with Her workers in action.

     They seize us and dig into us. Sometimes lightly, sometimes deep. And sometimes even deeper, until the hoe of the worker finds something hard and stops.

     And Life passes, sows a seed and leaves, goes on.

     All the rest is our own business.

     Did you hear that well? It is our own business, only our own work. Whether we want it or no.  Whether we know it or no. But we must learn it because, otherwise, we do not progress. We will continue to suffer the digging without ever tasting the fruit.

     We are the ones, who will take care of the field. But Life does not leave us totally helpless. She knows that no work can be finished by us. Totally imperceptibly, without causing any damage, She will intervene with Her hand, when it is necessary.

     If only we do not hinder Her. If only we ask for Her. If only we recognize the little plank she throws to us to step on and get the strength to hold on to it. If only we do not hurry.

     The little seed She sows has all these inside. Even the time, when each one of these must appear. If only we do not intervene.

     About this work, we may get some advice from some enlightened farmer. But we are the ones, who will do the work.

     And now, it is about this advice that I want to talk to you; I, who follow Life's footsteps.

     First, a thorough watering from the clear fountains of our eyes, so that the soil settles well. Then, attention.

     Let no one come near. We will stand afar, with our hands and feet withdrawn.

     Let no thought grub it up. Let no word step on it.

     The newly sown seed needs stillness, calmness and silence. We will water it with our joy and we will surround it with the rich nurturing of the calmness of our heart. This is the advice.

     I know that the first try may fail. So also many that will follow. It does not matter. Life is near us.  She always gives us a new opportunity, to start the work from the beginning.

     But, listen. This does not go on forever. We must practice the work of the farmer well, because, in sowing the seed, there is a variety, which must find us perfected in farming.

     This seed comes to each one only once.

     The seed that will grow in the heart.

     And this is the seed, that spreads death or Immortality. But we will speak about this at the end, when you will find me again at the end of your way.

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AND THE OTHERWORDLY  voice became silent.

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- LIFE IS INDEED  so beautiful! And all the people are so good! They care for me wherever they stand and everything around me is created for my own advancement.

     The hand, which always caresses me lightly, as well as the painful thorn, they want to offer something to me. The former, love; the latter, knowledge.

     The little thorn wakes up my thinking, to be careful. It reminds me, the horrible and terrible man, how weak I am. It also wants to show me where I am vulnerable. What I should empower in order to not fear bad weather.

     And the little hand that caresses me heals everything; it gives me strength to go on.

     Thus, with jumps and improvised songs, he went on his way with great optimism. The road led him to a great city.

     Ah! he must stay there for long. There is much for him to see. How much he did like their trades!  So much, that he wanted to learn one. And he learned something. But with a great difficulty. However, his love for it made him not think about the hard work.

     He tried to find a way and a system in his work. To work twice as much as the others in order to achieve everything in the best way possible. And, indeed, he did everything better than his colleagues. But nobody knew how much effort he had made for it.

     All his colleagues appreciated him; and, most of all, his teacher. He advanced in his trade greatly. He reached the level of his teacher. He became one with him. But outside of his circle, he was of no worth at all. Nobody found that he was making any progress. Then he remembered the words of the unworldly voice and kept silence. And as he was silent, people considered him inefficient in even more areas, so they did not care about their words and actions in front of him. But he kept holding the words of the unworldly voice tightly in his heart and walked his way fearlessly through this darkness. And he distinguished two words:  Calmness and silence. When he was alone with his trade, he brightened. He breathed freely.  And when he remembered his teacher and his colleagues, he exulted. And he blessed the unworldly voice, which had helped him enjoy this happiness. To enjoy the freedom of loneliness without the burden of remorse. To enjoy the bliss of a friendly conversation and company of the strict judge, his self, without nightmares to appear and upset him, without any wall standing between hi and his self to separate them.

     With all these, he thought that he lived the life of a flower, which succeeded, without being disturbed by anyone, to come to the light after a short life in the deep darkness of the earth.

     And the time came for him to leave this city, too.

     As he walked far from it, the road became narrow. It became rough. He could not continue alone. The way was long and tiresome. He could only pass through by riding some creature.  The tools of his trade and whatever he was holding seemed to be useless and of no help.

     - People were right in not appreciating them, he thought. I would gladly exchange them for a creature.

     And it did not take him long to find one. He met someone he knew, who had two creatures.  He asks for one and the man gives it to him.

     - Please take what I have with me, he tells the man, and when you come back you can bring them back to me. It is my first time I ride a creature and I feel uncomfortable with them.

     The man takes them. Our traveler takes the creature, says goodbye, thanks the man and starts on his way.

     - Be careful, the man shouts to him, that the creature does not suffer on the way. And if at some point you do not know the way or night comes, hold the creature fast and it knows, it will take you to your destination. And when you arrive at the city, give it to my brother. I will pass by and get it back. His house is the first one you will meet. It stands out. Have a good trip.

     On the way, he kept thinking, how he could care for the creature so that it does not suffer. It was the first time he hand taken full responsibility for a living creature. It was the first time he was alone with a living creature.

     - I wonder, how does one care for a living creature? And he was surprised about the question.

     - I, a living human, not knowing how to care for a living creature!

     And this question stuck in his mind and he waited for the answer.

     He thought that he was guilty and should apologize for his deeds.

     - I, who have known so many people, have been in cities and villages, and set out to find...  But I will not say it, I am ashamed, they will think that I am a fool.

     And his heart kept trembling about the creature. He gave it food to eat, he caressed it, he rode it lightly. He gave it all his attention. He saw to it, that it would not suffer until he would give it back to its master. Finally, behind a turn of the road, the houses of the city appeared.

     He found the person and gave him the creature. And he sat on a stone to rest from his agony. But the same thing kept coming to his mind.

     - I, a living human, not knowing how to care for a living creature!

     And the otherwordly voice answered him:

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- I HAVE FOUND  you again.

     Now that you have cared for Life, I can speak to you about Immortality.

     Now that you have accepted to take Life with you, you can walk the road to Immortality. Now that you have learned that you must take Life with you in order to go on, now you have entered the road to Immortality. Now that you have taken Life with you, you can reach Immortality.  Now that you have shown faith in what I told you, from the beginning, you can be healed from your suffering. Now that you have piled all your belongings before the feet of Life, together with what you have loved so much. Now that you have longed to find Life and you have entrusted Life and committed your whole life to Her. Now whatever you ask from Life,  She will give it to you. Now that you have learned what Life is, you can learn what Immortality is and where She lives.

     Immortality nests in the depths of your being.

     It is the condensation of one word.

     "Thankyou".

     The words that did not get out of your mouth. That you did not throw away to die as soon as they were born, weak, bodiless, naked and defenseless, and they remained alive near their mother. Now that they have reached manhood, they prepare hymns to you, which time cannot destroy.

     The deeds, which you have been polishing with forgiveness for years, and you have presented them bright and shining while you kept the sediment always accompanied by a thankyou, have prepared a strong work for you.

     The sediment is much. For a moment you see the cup overflowing. And there comes more. And much more. You command that all of it must get inside. You press and press until it is all taken in. There is no more.

     By the pressure, the sediment has become a rock-like closed cup and inside it holds the clear live water of the myriads of thanks.

     And it waits for a strong arrow to pierce it, so that it can spring out. And clean the debris of the old cup.

     So now you, who know how to hold Life. You know how to hold the poisonous arrow in your hands.

     - What did you say? The poisonous arrow? So you know and can speak to me about this, too. Speak, I beseech you. I have heard that it will pierce every human being. Tell me, how will I be saved?

     - In the city you have reached, besides the phantoms, also many spirits will embrace you. And you will see Life face to face. Tools and workers are not needed here.

     Delicate work. She undertakes it alone. With the rays of Her eyes She digs the place where She will leave the seed. 

    And when the appropriate time comes.

    She will gather myriads of stars and cool water springs. Volcanoes and thunderstorms. Songs and wild flowers. Whatever, seen and unseen, exists in creation. And She will match them. She will make a ray. She will give it to the eyes. And they will send it to you like an arrow. It will pass through your eyes, then through your brain, in order to sow the sting in the spring of your heart.

     The sting is made of noble, pure metal. From the eyes, it has taken brightness and light. From the brain, coolness. And with these it fell into the furnace of the heart in order to melt down. The blood will take it and carry it to the whole body, to make it strong as steel.

     The body drinks and is fired and is cooled and shines and is illumined. Until it is satisfied and shuts the mouth with a steel door.

     But do not think that, inside there, it has hidden anything else than nothing.

     However, if we look through the door, every one will see what he wants.

     A flower will see a little flower. The child, a doll. And man will see another human being smiling to him.

     The pure metal has become a mirror and has shut inside it the whole of creation, in order to deceive it.

     And you will be drinking heavenly happiness from the clear springs of Life.

     And when the sting will have melted completely and your whole being will have been made strong as steel. Then the arrow, with one movement, will pierce the rock-solid hard layer, which the hoe of the worker had found and had stopped. And thus, the ray that Life had sent you will be held there forever.

     Then slowly, week by week, the spirits will unstick themselves from you. The phantoms will go away and get lost. And then you will have become immortal.

     So, not only what is not born is immortal. But also that, which lives in company with the unborn.

     And this matching will be you, and you will be holding in your heart, in your fists tightly, and in your skull, and with your whole body - oh, joy! - that, which you have passionately asked for: Immortality.

     And now I must give some advice.

     All these will happen as we have described, if the cultivation is successful. And this, as we have already said, is your own business.

    I spoke to you then about this cultivation and you learned and also followed what was said. I now want to add something. Which, if you examine it closely, is the same as what I said before. But in other words. So, this is what you must pay attention to.

     The sting must not touch the flesh, because you will be poisoned. It must, all of it, be diluted in the blood.

     Life knows a way and sends it directly to the spring of the heart, without it touching anything. After that, however, the sting is in your hands. You direct it.

     And the sting is heavy. Do not move, or you will lose your balance. Do not speak, or you will be struck by lightning inside this total silence. Do not ask for help. There is none. Do not ask for anything to support you. Whatever you touch will yield and you will fall into the precipice. You are alone. Believe that. Whatever persons and sweet things surround you, they are shadows. Also the overflown cup, which you hold with your whole body. Do not give away any of its contents. Do not allow the thirsty phantoms, which surround you, to deceive you again and make you give them of your cup. For you, to keep it is your power. Moreover, however thirsty you may be, do not drink of the water they offer you. You will be scalded. Remember the persons you met and pour it away.

     Your thirst must be quenched by the juices of your own body. Your fired blood must be emptied, so that your skull may find some coolness and be refreshed. The fire that is burning you must burn and consume whatever it finds, so that the indestructible may remain and live.  And you, full of brightness, strength and beauty, you will think that you are worthy of everything. You will fly. It will pass from your mind that you reign over everything. But you must show that you are capable of only one thing.

     Of nothing. To be able to stay still and silent.

     - But this is terrible. How will I endure it?

     - It is Immortality that you have asked for, I think. Consider that.

     And when the cultivation succeeds, then a rich spring will emerge from inside of you to cool you. And all the thirsty ones will run to it, to drink and refresh themselves. And the faithful, to be healed.

     And you will exclaim: There is so much misery. What we see as real and is tangible, is not a lie. And when your blood will have fed you and made you strong as steel, it will have finished with you. It will run to others, to give them life.

    The warmth and the beat of your heart are of no need to you anymore. Allow them to travel.  Give then away. Make them hot sweet smelling cookies and distribute them. So that the hungry ones may eat, be satisfied and live. The small piece of bread from your saddlebag does not satisfy the hungry ones. Nor the last cup of water from your bottle can quench the thirst if the thirsty ones. Hunger wants a whole, fresh, hot, tempting loaf of bread in order to be satisfied. And thirst needs the water of a rich spring. To overfill the hands and drink and drink abundantly.

     And when all these will have happily ended, multitudes of people will run to you, to relieve you. You are not alone. They will fully appreciate you and your works and even your trades.

     Then it is time for you to show your power in works.

     Then you can go to your country too.

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AND THE UNWORLDLY  voice stopped.

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AFTER A FEW years.

     A bright meteor passed.

     In a night, when all creation was resting, it lifted up the mask of the earth and put it on, to celebrate carnival.

     At dawn it will take it off and it will leave, quietly, quietly.

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