Path of the Righteous
This is Fiction
I didn't much care for a retreat.
There were one or two other things on my mind. Like for one, I was eight thousand dollars in debt on my credit card bill. I had just received a three-hundred-and-fifty-dollar fine for speeding, my license was resting on one final demerit point, and my job was under review because we had just lost a major client. Things were on the down and down, and here I was, weekend away with Amanda, at her insistence, for a retreat I couldn't afford.
"It'll be good for you, Erin," she assured me.
"If you say so," I replied cynically.
"Guru Damon is a true visionary, I've been to see him seven times and each time I come away more and more open...”
Open to what?
She shifted gears as we headed on the I-90 highway.
"He says there are two paths that open up after a seminar. The path of the righteous and the path of the wicked," Amanda continued.
"Hope I don't get the latter," I said.
"Seriously, the perspective you will have will change your life."
"Did it change yours?" I asked.
She nodded and continued driving.
We didn't say much for a fair chunk of the rest of the journey. I took this as an opportunity to check my voice messages and discovered one from my landlord, notifying me that my rent would increase by fifty dollars a fortnight. I killed the message and slammed the phone down on the dashboard.
"I don't think I can do this, Manda, seriously. Things are going from bad to worse."
She wouldn't take my protestations seriously. She drove on, and we sat in silence on the country roads that turned off onto the private ones that led to the farm property that became Seven Seasons Meditation Retreat.
We pulled into the driveway and were greeted by the other gurus, all simply dressed in multiple sarongs.
"They lead a simple life," Amanda said as she spotted my look.
"Are we expected to wear the same?" I asked.
She hesitated. "There is a uniform expectation, but I'm not sure if it's mandatory."
I could tell she was lying.
In our room, there were two queen-sized beds with an ensuite. No TV, no lounges, no desk, no phone, no wall sockets.
"How do we keep our phones charged?" I asked.
"Well, that's kind of the idea, you're supposed to lose the charge to your phone when it runs dry so that you will have no choice but to embrace the program... That's what the Guru recommends anyway," she said as she unloaded her handbag. It was only then that I noticed that she didn't pack much, in the full knowledge that she would submit to the modest clothing requirements.
If only she afforded me the courtesy of letting me know this.
The first session took place in a carpeted room with large windows that looked out onto the valley, which was not evident from the road. I had to admit that the scenery was beautiful, and I convinced myself at that moment that perhaps four days in this environment wouldn't do me any harm. We were encouraged to sit on the floor. There were twenty other participants. A mix of genders and races. All had embraced the bedsheet outfits supplied. I stuck with my jeans and polo, much to Amanda's annoyance.
"My family," the Guru began. "Please sit as we embrace the air in our lungs and contemplate our pulse in silence. It will place us in a state of solace so that we may begin our first session. When you are comfortable, please close your eyes."
I did as instructed. I found my jeans pressed against the skin as I wrapped my legs in a cross formation, the first time I had done so on the carpeted floor with others since kindergarten. Maybe I should have switched over to the sarong. I closed my eyes after observing all the others all doing the same, and began to breathe after finding the rhythm of the room.
You couldn't escape it; they all took a breath in, held it, and breathed out as one. The Guru led the way in his vocalized actions. The room echoed with the sound of the collective lungs in action. I jumped on the tracks and followed.
The breathing continued and didn't stop. One minute became five, which became ten, then twenty. There were no clocks in the room, and my phone was tucked into my bag back in our room. I was hoping this introductory session would allow me to be back before lunch to check any messages. I didn't own a watch, so I had to assume how long we were sitting there, breathing in deeply, holding it, and then exhaling. If I had to guess, I'd say thirty minutes. Then all of a sudden, we were walking amongst the ferns that rose to our knees out in the garden that overlooked the valley. I had no memory of us leaving the room, and yet here we were, walking as a collective. Just as we had been breathing. The Guru led the walk and spoke to us as we navigated the path forward.
"Keep breathing," he said. "We are going to take this session slow, but as long as it needs to be," he said. "Many of you are here with clutter in your minds. What this retreat and what this breathing technique will do is open your mind to the world that exists beyond sight, sound, and experience."
We continued walking, and I looked down to see that my feet weren't even touching the ground; I was floating above the soil. The soles of my feet dangling a fraction off the ground. I was in control of the direction, but used no exertion of the body. I looked around, and all the others were floating too. Amanda was nowhere to be seen.
"You may notice the partner you came with is not here on this particular journey with us," the Guru said. "They are on their own journey right now. This is just for you, my children. The first-timers. The ones with clutter on their mind. Maybe a relationship has broken down or a job has been lost," he said. Then he turned to face me. "Or maybe you're broke and in debt and having financial troubles," he said, looking me straight in the eye as his floating feet continued to lead the way to the edge of the valley.
I opened my mouth to speak, but the words formed in my mind, and the Guru could hear everything. He looked into my soul as I spoke.
"Amanda said something about a good path and a bad path?" I asked. The sky began to change colours in rapid formation, from pinks to neon greens to yellows.
"I can give you a taste now," the Guru said. "But essentially, yes, at the end of your time here with us, you will have faced two paths and it is up to you to decide which one you want to walk."
"Can I choose now?" I wondered.
"Well, it's not normal that we allow our students to make the choice before they are properly trained, but I will give you a taste."
Suddenly, the classmates disappeared as the valley below obliterated like a rapidly melting ice cube. The neon colours that filled the sky extended out beyond the horizon, and we watched as they formed a series of patterns before eventually splitting into two.
"If you take the left side, you will enter wickedness. Your problems will be solved, but at a mighty price," he said before pointing to the right path.
"By taking the right, you take the path of righteousness. Your problems will be solved, but it may take time, and the cost will be insignificant compared to the good faith your heart will maintain," he said.
"Which path will make me happier?" I asked.
"That I cannot answer," he said. "But I find it curious that you do not automatically see the path of good faith as the natural path."
I frowned at him. I didn't feel as if my heart was wicked. I just wanted my problems solved. It wasn't my desire to spread bad faith. I didn't even know what bad faith was. I found myself annoyed at this Guru and his pseudo-wise words and false conviction. He was already judging me when it was his crazy path shown to me in the first place. I didn't invent this bullshit.
"You know I can hear your thoughts," he said to me with a smile. "I realize you just want quick answers to your many problems, but I do have a duty to warn you that with every easy path, a price of heavy weight is to be paid. With every weightier path, the price is a little cheaper."
I wasn't stupid enough to not see he was guiding me to the path of good faith. I looked down at my legs and noticed my soles were placed on the neon green floor again. This time, I was in control of my steps. I walked down the path of righteousness and woke up on the carpeted floor of the meditation room. The twenty or so others all emerged from their collective slumber at the same time.
"As you begin to slowly open your eyes, take a moment to stretch. We have been in a deep state of hypnosis for over fifteen hours, and your limbs will need a moment to adjust," the Guru said.
I began to stretch as my mind turned to the clothing in my closet, which all hung on designer hangers. I realised I didn't require a majority of them and could service my rent on the sale of a bulk of them. I remembered the camera in my drawer, a Canon 5D Mark IV. I remembered the last time I had used it, over eighteen months ago. Maybe it was more? I knew I'd never touch the buttons on the chassis ever again. It didn't interest me. Someone else would get use out of it. I knew it would fetch a pretty dollar on the online marketplace.
Amanda tapped me on the shoulder, and I looked over as she waved to me mid-stretch.
"Didn't feel like fifteen hours, huh?" she said.
I smiled.
"No, it did not."