sky to heaven - the invisible life.

I fell asleep to take a short nap…

…and I found myself sitting in a chair in utter darkness. I didn’t know if I was in a room, a mountain cave, or a thousand miles under the earth - only that it was dark. There was no light at all – except for the light inside my heart that told me I was still alive. I tried to move, but I couldn’t; no ropes, chains, or anything physical held my body in one place. An invisible force was wrapped around me - magical, spiritual, mental, I did not know. But although I couldn’t move my body, I could still move my mind; I could still think whatever thoughts I chose. I still possessed the greatest of human powers – free will.

And with that realization, I felt two presences nearby, and both were of Evil. Devils, I knew. I could not see them, but I could feel them there. And they were communicating with their thoughts, by a form of mental telepathy. And one of the devils thought to the other, He is awake now, my lord.

And I could feel the one who was the lord of the other, examine me, and he thought to the lesser one, He is more holier than the ones you usually bring me. Me? Holy? “Holier” has never been a concept I have used to describe myself. I do not remember ever desiring holiness, so how could I be possessed with it? I did not feel holy. And there have been many things I have done and thought and felt in my life that, at least in this lifetime that I have lived, should bar me from what I thought of as holiness. So I was curious as to what the devil meant by “holy”.

But I was even more curious about the ones you usually bring me. And I realized that it was the duty of the lesser devils to seek out and capture souls on earth and bring them here in front of the greater devils for judgment. Whether the souls were chosen by purpose or by random, I did not know. I only knew that I had been chosen, and even if it were a mistake, it was a mistake that could not be undone, and I was where I was, and I could not go back to my life or my world.

And then, with authority, the one who was greater thought directly to me, You know why you are here. I can give you whatever you want. Your soul for everything you desire. Deny me, and you may remain here forever.

So this was the encounter that others had written of in stories, that I believed had only been stories or metaphors. The offerings of the devil in exchange for one’s soul. But alas, it was too late to prepare; it was too late to change my life or my soul or anything else. It was just the devil and me. I only hoped that how I had lived my life up until then had been good enough preparation for this encounter. I knew then that the way we lived our lives would determine the outcome of these encounters. I didn’t really know what to say, for I was probably like most people in this regard, in that I had never thought these moments existed.

But I did not have to worry about what to say, for my soul answered the devil, You can not give me what I want. Because what I want, you do not have. And you can not give me what you do not have. It was as if the words were not mine, even though they had come from me, and were coming through me. But I knew the words to be true. I could feel their truth inside my soul. It was as if the Truth of My Soul was speaking, and I could not have lied, even if I had so desired. And my Soul was coming to my aid.

And he returned with the question, What is it that I do not have? He was calm, almost tranquil. And slightly curious, too, as if he had not heard an answer like this before. And at first I was a little surprised at how evil could be so calm, but then I realized that the devil appears to different souls in different forms. With some, he uses anger, with others fear, with others pleasure, and still others he uses relief from pain and suffering. The devil employs whatever he believes is advantageous to deal with the particular soul at stake. He uses a soul’s weakness against itself. But all the devil’s forms have the same goal: to bend the soul towards himself. With me, he was using reason.

And again my soul thought to the devil, again without waiting for my mind’s approval, I do not think you wish to know what I desire, for it may be harmful for you to hear. It is enough for you to know that what I want, you cannot give. And even if you did so have the power to give it to me, I do not think you would wish to give it to me. To fulfill my desire would stand against all that you have done before, and all that you are now.

But the devil thought again, I wish to know what you want. I wish to know this thing that you believe is so powerful that I do not have. What is it you desire?

And so I looked inside myself, and saw again reflected in my soul my deepest desire, a desire of which I have thought so many times before in my life, but which has always seemed impossible to fulfill, and perhaps will always be so. But it is a desire I have never put aside, because it is the only desire that I believe will deliver my happiness and the happiness of all I love and do not love, and so once again I express this desire, this time sharing it with the devil, because he wanted to know…

I desire peace in the world. Peace in the hearts of all mankind, and peace in my heart, too. Peace to all, and peace everywhere. This is what I want.

I waited for a reply, but no reply came. I waited and waited for an answer, but I heard nothing. Then I realized that the devils were gone, both the greater one and the lesser one, and I was alone again. I do not know if they had left of their own will, or had been made to disappear by my wish - but the evil presence was no longer there. Only the darkness and my soul remained in this nothingness space. And still, I could not move – I was still bound and unfree.

And in their absence, an afterthought was soon born from the depths of my soul, and I wished upon the departed devils, Peace be with you, too, as well.

I woke up then, and was delivered out of the darkness of my sleep.