Spirit Child was already four years of age, according to Earth years; but unlike so many of his spirit friends, he still remembered his true Self. He was beginning to worry that his mission might be terminated due to incomplete memory loss. One night while he slept, he dreamed that he visited two men who were specialists in teaching ways of the human. With deep gratitude, he approached them, bowed—as student to a master—and assumed a lotus position on the floor. The following is the content of his dream:

***

“We heard that you needed a little help,” said the first man. He and the other man were sitting upon a couch.

“Yes, Master,” replied Spirit Child.

“We don’t go for such formalities, here,” said the man. He tipped back a swig of beer. “You can call me, Sweenie.”

“Sweetie?” said Spirit Child, perplexed.

The second man broke into laughter. “He said, ‘Sweenie,’ little one! You can call me Darryl.”

“I apologize, Mr. Sweenie and Mr. Darryl; I misheard you.”

“It’s all good, kid,” said Sweenie. “Now, we better get on with this—we’ve got another consultation booked an hour from now.

“I understand. I would be eternally grateful if you could teach me how to be a human.”

“Sorry, kid,” said Darryl, with a wave of his hand. “If that’s what you’re looking for we might as well call this session finito right now.”

“Have I offended you in some way?” asked Spirit Child.

“No, Child,” said Sweenie. “It’s purely a glitch in understanding. We can teach you how to think like a human, how to talk like a human, and how to act like a human; but it’s important that you realize you can’t actually be human.”

“Why not?” asked Spirit Child.

Darryl took a draw on his cigarette, hacked a cough into his fist, and then addressed the question.”You see, little one, this so-called place is the Matrix; a world of apparent opposites. We label things good and bad; right or left; up or down. But you have to know this: we can’t literally change your true nature, which is Oneness. Nobody can! Sweenie and I are the best of the best; but even we can’t do that! What you truly are can’t change; it’s actually the backdrop of everything that happens here.

“I see,” said Spirit Child.

Sweenie leaned forward and looked Spirit Child in the eyes. “At this point,” he said, “I think it will save a lot of time if you just close your eyes, relax fully, and let the messages that I’m about to tell you sink deep into your subconscious mind. Let me hypnotize you in the human ways. If all goes well, you’ll feel their full effects in the coming years.”

“Thank you, Mr. Sweenie,” said Spirit Child innocently.

Sweenie rolled his eyes at Darryl, and then said, “Okay, kid, here we go. Listen up.”

***

“To become an apparent human, it’s important that you absolutely believe that you are nothing more than name and form–no ifs, ands, or buts. You can’t question that for a second! When someone calls your name, you gotta stand up and know that you’re human! Anything beyond that has got to seem a pipe dream. Do you hear me?”

“Yesss,” replied Spirit Child softly. His eyes remained closed; his body, still.

Sweenie nodded to Darryl, who took a swig from his beer and then gave the “thumbs up” sign.

“If you want to act like a good human, you’ve got to treat everything as an object with a name—including persons. You have to see according to the dualistic way. There’s none of that Oneness stuff allowed here. Humans see life differently; everybody believes that they’re separate from one another. You’ve also gotta learn how to compete; and the sooner, the better. You have to place a great deal of importance on winning; and after you win, you gotta win some more. You have to chase happiness as though it’s great big ol’ teddy bear, waiting for you in an imaginery place called the future. Oh, and it really helps if you learn how to brag; just do it subtly. Name dropping, financial status, and social position are favored here; so do your best to fit in. You gotta be full of yourself; but the trick is to appear humble. In other words, be proud, but keep it your own little secret.

When life goes wrong (and trust me, it will), you have to blame others for all of your shortcomings and problems. To give this human life the best that you’ve got—indulge in a lot of fear, anger, guilt, shame, and sometimes even hatred; and if you’re expectations aren’t fulfilled and you have an opportunity to get stressed, take it! React, don’t respond; that’s the predominant human way. It’s also vital that you ignore your intuition; override it whenever you get a chance. Instead, try to find your way through the darkness by the light of your own noodle. Leave any thoughts of God and divine assistance completely out of the picture.”

***

Darryl signaled to Sweenie and tapped his watch; it was time for the session to draw to a conclusion. “Okay, Spirit Child, your session is over,” said Sweenie. And with that, Spirit Child blinked his eyes, yawned, and stretched. It was time to get out of bed. His so-called real mom was calling him for breakfast.

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Copyright © – 2021 – R. Arthur Russell

P.S. Please share this article if you enjoyed it. If you’d like to view my latest book (This Taste of Flesh and Bones–released September 8, 2020), press here. May it help you in your spiritual journey. 🙏🙏

“Thank You” & “Note to Publishers”