Adrienne, if you’re listening to this, I want you to know that I still love you. I want you to know that you don’t have to do this alone.
Okay, in case you couldn’t tell from that, Adrienne left.
In the days before she left, she spent many sleepless nights on the couch in the living room. When I would ask her what was wrong, she would just say that she was okay and turn away. No matter what I did or said, she seemed to tune me out. I could tell she wanted to deal with these things on her own, so I did my best to respect that.
She left about a week ago. It was during the night while I was asleep. When I woke up alone in the bedroom that morning, I thought I would find her sleeping on the couch as usual, but this time she was gone. All I found was a short note on the coffee table that said:
Adam,
I need to go. I can’t put you at risk anymore. I’ve been having another dream about the future, and I can’t let it come true. Please don’t try to find me or communicate with me. I’m sorry.
—Adrienne
I took that pretty hard. I felt abandoned. I considered us a team, working together toward the common goal of helping the world. I couldn’t imagine ever leaving her in the middle of that, but I know her mind works very differently than mine.
The night before she left, she told me she didn’t think she knew how to be my soulmate. It was hard for me to hear her say that. I know she is trying to sort out a lot of things right now, and working on a relationship isn’t her top priority. I just wish she didn’t always want to confront her demons alone.
She seems to have a built an impenetrable wall around her that prevents anyone from seeing her true self. She used that wall to keep me at a distance. I’m honestly not sure if things will ever change between us. Maybe someday we’ll be able to build a healthy relationship with each other, but maybe not. I guess even soulmates aren’t always meant for each other. Maybe this was the plan all along. Maybe Adrienne and I were only supposed to be together for a short period of time. Maybe we already fulfilled our purpose together in this life, and it’s time to move on. I can’t dwell on what I no longer have with her. I’m grateful we had the time together we did.
Knowing Adrienne, she is probably planning to go solo to try to take down the Corporation. I hope she doesn’t do anything that puts herself at risk, but I have a feeling she isn’t thinking about what is best for herself right now. I feel like she is willing to risk everything just to try to right the wrongs of her past. I wish she didn’t feel like she had to go about that alone, but I think she realizes I would put her wellbeing above all else. And she’s not wrong about that.
I wanted to chase after her, but I knew I had to let her go. It was hard to deal with. I got down on myself. But the next night, I got another letter from Edgar, and my focus shifted back to the mission at hand. Here’s what it said:
Dear Adam,
When Rhona returned from writing the last letter, I was back home, safe and sound. In the world she returned to, I was planning to go back and write you the same letter she had just written. She had to tell me about what happened in her previous version of reality and how she had already written you the letter with the fourth ritual. While my current consciousness experienced each branching reality that occurred after I wrote the previous letters, I did not experience the reality in which I was abducted by the Corporation. That branch of reality ceased to exist after Rhona went back to write you the last letter, and my consciousness did not experience the continuity between the old branch and the new branch like Rhona’s consciousness did. Essentially, my consciousness skipped that branch of reality. Thankfully, Rhona has been able to fill in the gaps for me and provide the details that I missed.
One of the amazing changes in my present reality is that, even though you and I are both well known in this world, I no longer have any need to be in hiding. The Corporation is no longer in existence, at least not in any organized manner. That’s just one more sign we are heading in the right direction with the letters and the podcast.
Another important sign is the work that my organization now does. We no longer study the Awakened Beings I described previously since roughly half the world’s population, myself and my family included, now possess this level of consciousness. I wish I could better describe to you what it is like to be elevated to this state of mind. I feel like I’m always in a flow state that is rooted in compassion and love. I experienced moments like this in past versions of my life, but what was once only fleeting is now a constant state of mind.
It’s worth noting that having a higher level of consciousness does not mean I experience only positive emotions. I still have the complete array of human emotions in this state, but the perception of the meaning of every thought and experience is heightened. I can now see how everything is connected, and I am aware of the deeper meaning that underlies all things. This heightens my experience of both positive and negative events, both in my personal life and in the world around me. When something happens in the world, I feel it. It’s real to me, as if it actually happened to me.
I don’t think this is something I would have been able to handle in my previous consciousness. It takes a deeper understanding of the nature of existence to allow the mind to take in the world at this level. It’s like the filter within my mind has been turned off, and I’m able to take it all in. Just turning off the filter alone without being able to process the influx of information would likely result in mental illness or worse. There is a reason that a mind operating at a lower level filters the world in the way it does. It’s a matter of self-preservation. At a higher state of consciousness, however, the filter becomes an unnecessary hindrance.
I can also tell you that it is undeniable that the five rituals will help you move closer to this state. I can literally feel that connection when I practice the rituals in my daily life. This is particularly true when I am grounded to the earth in the morning sunlight. Every morning I feel a profound sense of connection to the world around me and to what lies ahead.
We have also done extensive research on what effects the rituals have on this higher level of consciousness. It is clear from our work that a higher level of consciousness relies even more heavily on the power of the rituals. The more advanced your consciousness is, the more you need the power of sunlight, water, natural fields, and the earth in your life. Individuals who possess this higher level of consciousness but do not practice the rituals are not able to demonstrate the same cognitive abilities as those who do practice them. In fact, many individuals who have a standard level of consciousness and practice the rituals daily achieve higher scores on our tests than those who possess a higher state of consciousness but do not practice them.
Not only does half the population possess this higher level of consciousness, a small group of the population now possesses an even higher level than that. We call them “Transcendent Beings.” It seems that humanity is climbing a ladder toward higher and higher rungs of consciousness. It is not clear if this new state is the highest rung, or if there is the potential to move even higher still.
Much of my work in this life involves studying these beings of superlative consciousness. I would tell you more about them, but their traits are indescribable through words. These individuals exist on a plane that no one else understands. While they help those around them and participate in our research, they are beyond the world that the rest of us live within. It is clear, however, that they are working toward achieving something great in their own right, but they are unable to communicate what that is in a way that anyone else understands. Despite this divide in our understanding, they still treat everyone with a great deal of patience and compassion.
These beings have expressed deep gratitude for what you and I have done together. They thank us for sharing the rituals with the world, as these beings even more heavily rely on practicing the rituals to activate their minds. They rarely spend time indoors, except when it is necessary to help others. They often insist upon bringing individuals outdoors and sometimes to their communities in the wilderness. Individuals who spend time with these beings are frequently transformed by the experience and report a newfound sense of purpose in their life.
It is difficult for me to imagine what the new version of my life will be like after you share all five rituals. I, with the help of Rhona, have given you four of the five rituals so far. The fifth ritual, however, is not one I can share with you through a letter. The fifth and final ritual is one that you must go and find yourself. Where you must go, I will tell you at the end of this letter.
The four rituals thus far are the rituals of the natural elements. The elements of air, water, earth, and fire are the lifeblood of human consciousness. They awaken and connect the body, mind, and soul. They allow the human mind to reach its full potential, and are the foundation that has allowed human consciousness to evolve into its present state in my world.
Through our work in sharing these rituals, we have given humanity the possibility of continuing its evolution toward a higher state of consciousness. I have seen with my own eyes the progress of this transformation every time I return from writing these letters. It is astounding how a connection with nature, through these rituals, can bring about such profound effects.
The first four rituals are not, however, an end in themselves, but rather a path toward achieving a higher purpose. These four rituals alone do not bring forth the next level of humanity. They only lay the groundwork for that transformation. This does not mean that these rituals are unimportant. Quite the contrary. Without the first four rituals, your ability to practice the fifth will be severely compromised. Only by unlocking the door of consciousness with the first four rituals can you then walk through the doorway of transformation with the fifth.
The inherent nature of the fifth ritual is one of discovery. That is why I cannot give it to you; it must be found. It is through your sharing of your journey in finding this fifth ritual that your listeners will be able to understand the nature of its meaning. It is through the process of discovery that understanding the fifth ritual is possible.
I know that receiving these letters and sharing them with the world has been challenging for you. It has cost you greatly, and you have been attacked in many ways for your efforts. There are those in your world who believe in what you are sharing and those who doubt. However, almost everyone has some degree of doubt no matter how convinced they are of the truth. I know there still even exists some doubt in you, despite your conviction and sacrifice in sharing this message with the world.
For you to discover the fifth ritual, it is important to cast aside all doubt. Proof is the way to overcome doubt, but in this case, proof can only be achieved through faith. The rational mind contests with the supposition of faith beyond reason, but you must take a leap of faith in order to find your proof and dispel all doubt. Only one path will lead you there. That path is death.
When I traveled to the realm between lives, I learned about what you needed to do to discover the fifth ritual. You must die, and visit the realm between lives yourself. There, you will learn the fifth ritual from the beings of light, and you will be granted the ability to return to your life to share the final ritual with the world.
I was not given the details of how you would die to fulfill this purpose. I was only told that your path toward death is part of the process of finding the fifth ritual, and you must journey on this path without me.
I have faith in you to carry out this final phase of the plan. It is the only way for us to complete our mission. You have faced great difficulty in every step of this journey, and I trust in your ability to overcome this last great hurdle.
Godspeed,
Edgar
After reading that letter, my stomach felt like I swallowed a pound of rocks. Not only was I to cast aside all doubt of the truth of these letters, I also had to die. Not only that, I had to die in the correct manner that would allow me to come back to life and share the fifth ritual. Did I need to kill myself, or would death find me first? I had no idea.
The more I thought about it, the more it bothered me. I wasn’t just going to kill myself and hope for the best. It didn’t make sense that to save the world I would have to commit suicide. That seemed like the worst way to do something good for humanity.
I convinced myself that instead something was going to happen that would lead to my death. I spent the rest of the day trying to figure out what that might be. When I couldn’t come up with any obvious answers, I began to wonder if I could follow through with whatever it was. It just didn’t make sense, and I wasn’t going to risk my life for nothing. I tried my best to stay positive, though. I told myself that whatever was going to happen was meant to happen.
Despite my anxieties about my potential death, it was exciting to think about the prospect of visiting the realm between lives, especially if I got to return. How cool would it be to meet the beings who entrusted me with this monumental task?
I also thought about what the fifth ritual might be. It was intriguing to think that the first four rituals all led up to and formed the foundation for the fifth one. It makes sense to me from a health perspective, in that being healthy is not an end in itself but rather a means to an end. Being healthy allows us to be a better version of ourselves, so that we can more effectively do the things in our lives that give it meaning. It sounded like the fifth ritual would help us carve out that path of meaning in our lives.
I woke up the next day with the realization that maybe Edgar didn’t really want me to die. Could it be that the Corporation had somehow forced Edgar to write a fake letter or had broken into the safe house and forged a fake letter calling for my death? The letter seemed real. It was written in the same handwriting, and it sounded like Edgar. I looked at it again to see if I could find any clues or hidden messages.
The part that stood out was the part where Edgar says I must overcome my doubt. The first time I read it, I thought it meant my doubt about whether or not this whole experience was real or if I was losing my mind. Now, I had to confront other doubts about the authenticity of this letter. My gut feeling was that it was real, but like Edgar said, I still had doubt.
It turns out I didn’t have to wait much longer to get an answer. Later that morning, I was startled by a knock on the door of the safe house. It probably wasn’t smart of me to answer it, but I thought it might be Adrienne. When I opened the door, instead of my soulmate, there were three men in black suits who said they needed to speak with me. I didn’t see much of a choice, so I let them in and we sat down in the living room, where they outlined the following demand.
They told me I needed to go on air with my next episode and confess that the podcast was a fictional story, meant merely for entertainment and serving no factual or health-oriented purpose. They told me to say I made everything up and to apologize for misleading my audience. They gave me a written document outlining all their requirements and told me to sign it. I asked them what would happen if I didn’t sign it and one of them said, “You don’t want to go there.”
I told them everything in my podcast was the truth and that I couldn’t deceive my audience or myself by saying otherwise. I told them I would rather face the consequences of not signing the document than to live with the knowledge that I didn’t stand up for the truth.
They then told me I might not have to worry about living at all if I didn’t sign it. Of course, my impending death was all I had been thinking about over the past 24 hours, so I quickly put two and two together and saw that this was how I was going to die. Exactly how, I still didn’t know, but I knew it was going to come at the hands of these goons.
Still, even when you know something is your fate, you wonder if you are doing it right. The littlest details become magnified, especially when your own death is involved. I had a sense of calm knowing that if Edgar was right, this should ultimately play out in my favor, but I also felt very anxious not knowing if things could still go awry.
Trusting in the truth and in fate, I said, “No, there is no way I’m signing this, no matter the consequences.” Then two of the guys grabbed me by the arms and escorted me out to the black SUV in the driveway.
We drove for a couple hours, ending up at an abandoned warehouse in the middle of nowhere. It wasn’t so much my death that I was thinking about, but how I would die in a way that would allow me to still come back to life. I didn’t see any opportunity for someone to resuscitate me out there in the middle of nowhere.
They took me into the warehouse and gave me one last chance to sign the document. I expected them to shoot me after I declined, but instead they held me down and shoved a needle in my arm. I would later wake up with said needle lying next to me in the warehouse, so I guess they were trying to make my death look like a drug overdose. Little did they know…
Which brings me to the main reason for this episode—to tell you about what transpired after my death and before I woke back up in that warehouse. The first thing that happened was a sensation of leaving my body. I could see myself lying on the warehouse floor. Then I saw a bright light and felt my consciousness transition outside of time and space. I could feel a tremendous sense of peace, joy, and love. Then I found myself in the presence of others.
Words cannot describe how these beings and I interacted. It was as if we were united by a collective consciousness, and our thoughts and emotions were shared instantly and simultaneously with each other. It was the most incredible feeling. Their love and compassion toward me was greater than anything I have ever experienced.
Their message to me wasn’t in words, like how I am speaking to you now, but rather like transferring concepts and ideas directly into my consciousness. I will do my best to convey that message to you now.
First, they thanked me, and more importantly thanked you, for all our efforts toward saving humanity. They said they are very pleased with how everything is playing out and that humanity is now on track toward achieving its fullest potential.
They reassured me that I would wake up from this visit with death, that my time with them would be temporary, and that I still have much work to do in this life. They said when my time comes many years from now, I would be reunited with them in that place between lives before being reborn into Edgar’s life.
They told me that before my death, I had just practiced the fifth ritual, which is to live a life of truth. They said that truth is the only path toward higher consciousness. The first four rituals help to develop the capacity to practice the fifth. They cultivate the ability to see the truth, the resolve to live the truth, and the courage to speak the truth.
The truth is a path that is not always clear or easy. That’s why the first four rituals are so important. They help to build the capacity to see, understand, interpret, and live the truth. The best means of building the strength to live and tell the truth is through practice. By speaking only that which is true and by living a life of truth, you will build the courage to stand by truth, even in the face of death.
Truth isn’t just what is true in the objective, materialistic sense, but what is true in purpose and in action. Truth is the best way to act in the world in a meaningful way. Some try to conceptualize truth as being outside and independent of conscious perception. In the realm between lives, there is only consciousness. That is the ultimate reality. As such, the ultimate truth is within our conscious experience, not outside of it.
As we gain new experiences in our lives, we gain a greater understanding of truth. Living a life of truth is a process; it is not static. Our conception of truth will always be incomplete, but we must strive to make the closest approximation possible. We can never fully know the truth, but it is our responsibility to seek it out and do our best to make it manifest in our world.
Some live their lives as if everything worth knowing is already known, while others live as if nothing is truly knowable. To live a life of truth is to stand on the boundary between the known and unknown, always in search of greater truths. The truths of the past are comfortable, they are known. But they are incomplete. One must be open to the truths uncovered through life’s experiences. As Edgar said in his letter, truth is a process of discovery. We must be courageous and step forth into the unknown and seek a deeper understanding of truth in our lives.
This entire journey has been one of uncovering the truth. Each of the first four rituals possess truths that have been hidden by the people and organizations that profit from falsehood. We live in a world were information is abundant but truth is scarce. We have so many conflicting interests—personal, political, occupational—that the actual truth is of minimal importance in our daily lives. Just think of how many lies, however small, you say or act out in a day. Many of those lies are lies to ourselves about who we really are. Some are lies of the mind and some are lies of the heart.
In my own life, I have lived a life of falsehood. I didn’t tell the truth to my patients about what I thought was best for their health. I lied to myself about what was the best option for me. I convinced myself that these falsehoods were the best way to keep my job; however, telling the truth would have been the better route. It would have been the best for my patients, and even if I lost my job, I at least would have maintained my integrity.
In other matters, I lied to myself about my relationship with Adrienne. I knew things weren’t going well between us, but I tried to convince myself otherwise. I wanted to have a solid relationship with my soulmate, but the honest truth was that our relationship wasn’t working. We didn’t want the same things. I wanted an intimate relationship, and she wasn’t ready for that. She needed to work through other things that didn’t involve me.
It’s crazy when you stop to think about all the lies we tell ourselves every day. We create a false narrative about ourselves and the world around us. The little lies we tell ourselves may seem to make everything easier and more tolerable, but over the long run, they just make things worse. Telling the truth, especially to ourselves, is the only option if we want to find real meaning in our lives.
The more you lie, the more you are willing to compromise yourself, and even little white lies can lead to a terrible place, like the world in which Edgar originally found himself. If you commit small lies because they seem to make your life a little more comfortable, what is going to happen when you are in a situation where something greater is at stake? Will you have developed the courage to stand up for the truth and what is right? Or will you continue to just do what is comfortable and convenient by lying to yourself and to the world? We must develop the courage to tell the truth. It starts small, but over time, we can develop the strength to tell the truth even when it is difficult. If we can do that on a large scale, it may prevent us from creating a world in which a weak population allows a totalitarian government to take control.
It is important to restate that practicing the first four rituals will help you to better practice the fifth. The first four rituals help bring about the right state of mind to adequately see the truth in your life. Without the right state of mind, it is much more likely that the truth will be obscured. It is also more likely that you will adopt someone else’s version of the truth rather than your own. You will be more likely to be manipulated and used to further someone else’s agenda. The truth has no agenda. You must set aside your own selfish motives, and perhaps the motives that others have placed upon you, and trust that the truth is the best way forward.
I want you to know that I’ve done my best to share with you a message of truth throughout this podcast. That being said, I don’t want you to just take my word for it. I encourage you to seek out the truth in what I have shared with you. Just as I have been on a journey to uncover the truth, I want you to do the same in your own life. Discover the truth in the rituals yourself, and allow nature to be your guide.
The fifth ritual is to place the truth above all else. It is to live the truth and to speak the truth. Our actions reflect our words and our words our actions. The two are intertwined. Only through truth can we achieve a higher level of consciousness. We must have faith that the truth is always the best option. We must believe that the truth will bring about the best possible outcome, now and into the future.
I’ve been posting additional resources for each of the rituals on my website at awakethefuture.com. I don’t consider myself an expert on living a life of truth, so I don’t know what resources I should post. I’m sure some of you have already developed your practice of this ritual more than I have, so please share with me any resources you think might be useful. You can email me at awakethefuture@gmail.com or submit the contact form on my website.
I still have a long way to go in my personal practice of living a life of truth, but I think I’m making progress. It goes to show that even though I’ve done a pretty good job of practicing the first four rituals, the fifth ritual still requires a focused effort to implement. Just because you’re doing the first four well, doesn’t mean that the fifth will be automatic.
So now we have all five rituals. The fire ritual is to follow the sun. The water ritual is to drink pure water. The air ritual is to avoid artificial fields. The earth ritual is to connect to the earth. And the fifth ritual is to live a life of truth.
Before I left the realm between lives, they told me one more thing. They told me I needed to change the pattern and not repeat the mistakes of the past. They said I still have much work to do after releasing the five rituals, but this would only happen if I changed the pattern and set a new course. I wasn’t sure what they meant by this at first, but I think I know now. I just hope it’s not too late.
Even though I’ve now released all five rituals to the world, I don’t feel like my work with this podcast is over yet. I’m not sure how many more episodes I will make. I don’t know if I’ll receive any more letters from Edgar, but until I figure out what the next steps are, and until I figure out what is happening with Adrienne, I’ll make sure I keep you in the loop on any further developments. Until then, practice the rituals, and let’s make the world a better place. Talk to you soon.