I came to wakefulness rather smoothly, I had the impression that every journey made the next one somewhat easier. I was in the Ancient Cave once again and Aaraak, his two silent companions, and Tor were waiting on the stage.

“ Greetings.” Aaraak welcomed me.

“ Greetings to you all,” I replied, “I am happy to be here!”

Aaraak ‘smiled.’ “This is Keeto,” he said with an introductory sweep of his billowing sleeve, “K-e-e-t-o, Keeto.”

“ Keeto,” I repeated with careful extra emphasis on the “ee.” I was still a bit off kilter from having assumed Keeto was Tor. Their dress, that is to say, robes, looked exactly the same to me, white with a reddish strip of trim about two inches wide around the large floppy sleeves, the hood, and down the front of the robe, amid laces. “Pleased to meet you, Keeto.”

“ And I you.” He had a normal voice with a careful way of speaking. Now it was easy to completely separate him from my memories of Tor.

“ Keeto is here to talk to you about the kinds of human beings that inhabit planet Earth. If you were to regard life on Earth as a kind of school for the souls that incarnate here, you would be largely correct. I am going to shut up and let him begin.”

Keeto looked briefly toward Aaraak and then turned his attention to me and began “All people have the qualities of all other people. That having been said, it is also true that there is usually a dominant type for every being. As beings mature these distinctions blur and blend. We are going to describe ‘being’ types one through nine.

“ If you look at historical spiritual texts and teachings, you might limit yourself or your understanding of yourself. This would be a natural mistake, but clearly a mistake. When we look behind as far as we can see, as far as we can remember, we see rocks, plants, and then animals, all of which we can still relate to. Looking at ourselves right now, we see a body, a mind, and an energy sometimes well organized into our somewhat private House-of-Personality and sometimes a confusing pile of these same aspects. Looking as far ahead as we can, we see a being that disappears into light, awareness, and the divine. But why assume either end of this spectrum of our consciousness is the boundary for our potential? Where we came from and where we are going to is beyond our grasp…so leave it open…”

“ Being #1 is very body identified. They go to great lengths to pursue pleasure and avoid pain. Agony and Orgasm are the moments of pause and reevaluation at the outer limit of each swing of the pendulum. Even the thought of suicide is anathema unless the body is in un-compromised pain on an unending timeline. This person is not just an athlete or a farmer, it is anyone who is sure that who they are is directly related to the needs of the body.

“ Being #2 is very energy identified. They protect hopes and banish fears insofar as possible. Their pendulum takes them from bliss to despair; as they arrive at the extreme of each swing, they pause and reflect before the return journey back through the full spectrum of human emotions. As long as they are happy or suffering they know they are alive.

“ Being #3 is very mind identified. Cogito, ergo sum. I think therefore I am. Life is an unending compilation, conceptualization, and analyses. What does each letter mean? Each word? Each sentence? Each page? Each book? Each pile of concepts? The intellectual never runs out of material to apply his fluctuating mind to. Organizing in agreement or disagreement the ideas that have gone before is fodder enough to run the Thinker’s clock until his/her final breath.

“ All humans on this earth demonstrably have these three aspects: body, energy, and mind. They are the three essential table legs upon which our tabletop rests. Our tabletop holds our three aspects together, and additionally is the launching pad for our journey into our higher self. Are you having any difficulty following me so far?”

“ Not at all.” I replied tersely.

“ Good,” Keeto continued, “Because as obvious as what I just said might be, it is essential to observe it and know it to be true before we continue. My wish is to be certain that you have grasped these insights both intuitively and intellectually. If you have questions about anything relating to this, now is an excellent time to ask them. Further, I wish to reinforce another aspect of your educational process; do not be afraid to compose questions or ask for clarification. This whole process is about actually increasing your understanding. What it is not about is having you simply repeat information that you learn as though you were in an American high school. Repeating the answers of others is a sign of limited abilities, or an inadequate system. It is a kind of training, it most certainly is not education!”

“ Hrrrgh.” Aaraak cleared his throat in an artificial way and I understood that he was reminding Keeto to return to the subject at hand.

“ Everything that you said about the three common or basic types of human beings certainly seems correct to me, but it is not something I had thought about before.” I spoke up, “Therefore I can only say that I intuitively concur but will have to take these insights back with me to the ‘normal’ world and observe in order to add depth to my understanding…”

“ Relax!” Aaraak broke in. “The two of you are taking me back to my high school days…the days of careful statements, wrinkled clothes, and raging hormones! Remember the zits!” he chuckled and his insightful lightheartedness dissolved a seriousness that I was caught up in.

Keeto turned toward Aaraak and paused for a moment before turning back to me and continuing. My intuitive understanding was that Keeto, the academic, had received a gentle reprimand from Aaraak, the master. My understanding of that reprimand was that 1) Keeto needed to refrain from pounding the pulpit of his private causes, and 2) the Dennis was Aaraak’s student to be guided and instructed as Aaraak saw fit.

“ Being #4 is the tabletop,” Keeto continued, “ #4 is a mature being who understands intuitively or consciously the qualities of Beings 1,2,3 and is capable of acting as an individual rather than being pushed about by a whimsical or karmic universe. People who accomplish much ‘in the world’, who are forceful and successful are often #4s. Many scientists, artists, philosophers, and teachers in the material world are found at this level. This is the ceiling for most humans, it is as far upward as they imagine the spectrum of life experience to extend; the visible hierarchy of western civilization stops here. Actually it is just the floor for the flowering of the higher self, the reference point from which the journey to ‘all that one can be’ begins.”

“ Leaving here happens in a great leap and can only be poorly described with these words. There is nothing mundane about the leap and so all descriptions are certain to fall short. It can be as violent as a Near Death Experience or as gentle as a cosmic expansion that takes off from meditation or some other spiritual practice or simply looking at a perfect sunset or an incredible flower, but by its very nature it is unexpected. Totally unexpected. Completely and totally unexpected.”

I smiled at Keeto’s emphasis.

“ Being #5 has taken the bridge across troubled waters,” he continued, “has traveled from the left brain (which has organized and perceived the ‘normal’ world quite rationally), across the corpus callosum, to the mysterious world of the right brain (dreams, visions, memories of ancient wisdom) and enriched the host in ways that defy description. #5 has had one or more full blown mystical experiences and successfully integrated them into who [s]he is. The essential mystical experience that all higher beings share is that of having a profound death experience in a fully awakened state. In the brilliant unlimited light of awareness the House of Personality falls away and the newborn one discovers that instead of being less, as feared, that [s]he is alive and free and full of light! Full of truth, love, and peace!”

“ Wow!” I shot in, high on Keeto’s description and the accuracy of it in relationship to my own experience which had taken place five years earlier. “I certainly have some questions about this experience, about my experience really, and how to integrate it…”

“ That is for us to work on,” Aaraak interrupted, “I am glad that you are excited about it, but for now let Keeto carry on.”

Again Keeto turned his hood and face toward Aaraak and then back toward me. This time I sensed that another unspoken exchange had occurred but I had no clue as to the substance of it. Keeto continued, “Other mystical experiences may happen (every single one is exhilarating and revitalizing) but they are more limited in scope. At this point the Transformed One usually succumbs to the Messianic Impulse and rushes out to set him/herself up as the latest greatest guru, often with a tag like ‘avatar’. The good news is that their intentions are usually good, the bad news is that they usually have a lot more ‘work’ on themselves that needs to be done. In most cases the world would be better served if they waited awhile before unveiling their newfound capacities. In the scriptures it is recommended that one refuse many times when being asked to teach, as many times as possible, but minimally, one must say no three times. One is only allowed to say yes when no is no longer an option. Unfortunately we live in times where the attention span of most can only be measured in seconds.” And here I perceived Keeto to catch himself, to refrain from a parenthetic lecture on unworthy students.

“ These cautions, having been noted, do not mean that the student cannot learn from this largest and most accessible group of spiritual teachers. Often they have useful guidance for the students, it is only themselves that rate to be damaged. This group of teachers usually loves song, music, talking, rhythms, and rhymes. The danger for this group is in discovering their own power, both directly (with siddhis, which Westerners would equate to magical or miraculous powers) and indirectly (with money, gifts, and influence flowing in), which reinforces their ‘specialness’ and seems like a fair exchange for spiritual guidance. But once you accept money and/or favors for the teachings you have set foot on a slippery slope.”

“ You will notice more than a coincidental parallel in this typology,” Aaraak broke in, “to the chakra map. As the Being grows, the chakras open. Or, as the chakras open, the Being develops. I am not referencing a ‘chicken or the egg?’ question here as both happen at the same time. A proper referencing relates to the individual’s practice, karma, and exposure to meaningful teachings.”

“ Being #6 has become stable in all the advances that #5 was given without developing a spiritual ego,” Keeto continued, “without abusing his/her status as a master of this world. A being that, while understanding the magical nature of the universe, does not manipulate it for personal gain. A being that has many siddhis but seldom chooses to use them. A being that has become one with awareness, that is no longer restricted by time and space. You can go to this master and say. ‘My big purple dog ate my polka-dot icebox and now I don’t know how I am ever going to get another cold beer!’ and the response is likely to be ‘That’s great! Stay with your awareness!’ [as this, or any, drama unfolds]. In the scriptures, this being is described as ‘person that becomes god’. The implication is that this is the absolute peak of human endeavor. It is not. One does not have to be of divine birthright to become divine. Do not allow anyone to place artificial restrictions on you. Arriving here is important, and quite wonderful, but it is just a point on the Great Journey, it is not the endpoint. Each and every level of achievement finds seekers and aspirants who decide to stay there, to stake out their ‘territory’, to rest on their laurels, to be happy and satisfied with their accomplishments. Do not fall into this trap. Press on until all that you are is gone!”

“ Being #7 is described as “God that becomes person”. Obviously we should all pay attention when an avatar shows up, but just how are we supposed to recognize such a great being? The Divine Irony here is that we are much more likely to line up to access and listen to a #5, after all we can relate to this being, they grew like a great wonderful flower out of the muck we live in. It is amazing to see a great teacher give a free talk to twenty people and then soon thereafter, in the same city, his student, a nice lake beside a mighty ocean, be greeted by 500 students, all clamoring to pay. This is where the left-brain is transcended, where the thoughts are all liberated, where distinctions are dissolved. All that was, all that is, all that will be disappears into an ocean of compassion. This is the solar half of enlightenment, the completion of masculinity in the cosmos, the complete realization of LOVE. Equates to Nirmanakaya in the Buddhist tradition.”
“ Being #8 is the energetic completion of the human cycle. The full and complete experience of Kundalini takes us to this level. This is where the right brain is transcended, where visions and memories are liberated, where the magical universe dissolves. This is the lunar half of enlightenment, the completion of the feminine energies of the cosmos, the complete realization of PEACE. In the past the qualities of #8 and #9 were lumped together with/as #7, as our upward perception was not refined enough to make these subtle distinctions. This has been elaborated on in a talk about chakras as transcendental chains. #8 equates to Sambhogakaya in the Buddhist tradition.”

“ Being #9 is the formless formless. All space that includes all space, with or without distinctions. The Oneness beyond the many, the Oneness beyond the one. You will hear the description ‘the center is everywhere, the periphery nowhere’ which is a direct reference to omniscience. This is the actual completion of the human form, the final dissolving of all traces of individuality. We have traveled through the realms of all embodied existence, we have traversed the ‘god loop’, we have returned to our home from which we never left. Here one is all verb and no noun. Here one is the completed realization of TRUTH. Here one dissolves all traces of the five elements rubbing across the three gunas. One, in fact, dissolves into pure light. Equates to Dharmakaya in the Buddhist tradition.”

Keeto paused here and Aaraak brought his great sleeve up in front of his face as though looking at a watch, a movement I had never seen him make before.

“ Methinks we will stop here for tonight,” said Aaraak, apparently focusing on me “of course we will expand this topic in the future as it becomes more appropriate. In the meanwhile you have two important assignments. One, to observe human behavior, and see how it falls into the pattern of typology described tonight; and two, to continue the breath exercises.”

Our gazes seemed to lock and I “got high” in a moment. And then I was fading away…