An awakening

They looked normal.' Denise thought as she looked around the circle of people who had gathered. Her friend Carol, who had talked her into coming to this meditation group sat next to her. She was chatting with one of the men in the group, showing him a crystal. Carol always had some fortune telling cards or wands or whatever she was trying out on me or whoever would let her. 'I'm just going to observe. I can't really get into all this group stuff.' Denise smiled as her mental dialogue continued. I'm sure I have better things to do than sitting here, like scrubbing the kitchen floor or microwave. 
My thoughts were interrupted and the room quieted when the moderator spoke. "I'd like to introduce our guest speaker for tonight. Tonight we welcome well known psychic and channel, Chloe."
'Oh this should be good.' I thought. 'Maybe I can fake a sudden sickness and excuse myself or better yet, just sneak out when everyone's eyes are closed.'
The lights dimmed, everyone's eyes closed and the moderator started the meditation. My window of escape slammed shut with a bang when the people on both sides of me grabbed my hands. Evidently creating a closed circle was part of the ritual.
Although the meditation was quite relaxing and did ease a headache that was turning into a thundering roar, I was ready to be out of there. Again, my great escape was foiled when the so called psychic looked straight at me motivating everyone's eyes to follow.
"How is your headache? Better I hope. Your terra strata series will be very successful. Continue working on it." Our resident guest announced to me and the whole free world now knew that I was working on a series of paintings I called "Terra Strata".
'Really', I thought, 'that wasn't so bad. Not all that personal.' A certain amount of relief spread over me. Little did I know how short lived that relief was because in the next few minutes she let me have it with both barrels. It toppled my world and never again would it be the same.
Chloe held her gaze as she enlightened me with her guidance. "Your guides want me to tell you that it's time to own who you are. Your true work as a channel for universal knowledge is about to begin. They are asking that you listen and write down the messages they are giving you for you will soon be sharing them with the world."
As her last words rang through the room, I felt more exposed and venerable than if I had been striped of all my clothes and forced to belly dance in the middle of the circle. I glanced at a few of the people, only to discover that their eyes were frozen on me and their mouths were gaping.
I looked at my friend, Carol, and she had a smirky smile on her face. 'I wonder how psychics do in prison,' I thought as I was very close to strangling her. Soon the attention toward me waned when our guest psychic turned to someone else, advising her on whether she should sleep with Tom, Dick or Harry.
I sat quietly throughout the rest of the hour with my eyes glued on my shoes, lost in my internal turmoil. As everyone was getting to their feet, I was out the door. "Meet you in the car." I said to Carol over my shoulder. "Take your time."
It wasn't that I was afraid of any of this "woo-woo do-do" as people in Illinois refer to anything even resembling this sort of thing. I knew I had been channeling paintings since art school. I think what disturbed me was the idea that other people would now know that I had been and was still using my strange abilities. Abilities that I came to realize were always there. In grade school my teachers thought I was brilliant. Little did they know that I was telepathically reading their minds as well as the teacher's manual? Later I taught young people these skills in order to give them a leg up in school.
From the day I awakened to the idea that it is safe to be tuned in, as I like to refer to it, my life was never the same. It was better. I hope I live to see the day when these metaphysical skills are as ordinary as brushing your teeth.
In the spirit of John Lennon imagine a world where you can hear other people's thoughts so that there are no secrets. A world where you have a spiritual board of directors, who wisely advise you about everything. A world where you can heal with a touch. A world where you don't need GPS because you know exactly which way to turn. But most importantly, "Imagine a world where we are all one."