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Reflecting on her words, one portion seemed to jump out at me. I was puzzled by it.

"Just a moment ago," I noted, "you were expressing your hope that I 'embrace this chance in the spirit with which it has been given to' me. I'm not sure I understand what the nature of the spirit is to which you are alluding, nor do I understand who is doing this giving.

"As far as I know ... according to what Jennifer has said ... I was in an accident, and, apparently, I either hit my head, or something hit my head, resulting in a concussion that has caused temporary amnesia. I don't see that anything was given to me by someone."

"There are no accidents David. Everything which takes place is part of a chain of events ... a chain of events that has meaning, significance and value according to the nature of the interpretation one places on such a chain.

"However, not every interpretation of a chain of events is an accurate reflection of the actual character of the themes that bind those events together, anymore than every interpretation of a dream constitutes a correct rendering of the meaning and significance of such a dream. In fact, just as the symbols and similitudes within the language of dreams has to be decoded, so too do the symbols, signs and indications of the events of life have to be decoded.

"Indeed, what we generally refer to as waking consciousness is, for the vast majority of people, nothing but a dream. Most of us sleep walk through life, and we call this condition the waking state since, relative to other kinds of experiences of consciousness that we have had, we believe we are more aware than usual when walking about the corridors of our so-called normal lives.

"We use systems such as science, philosophy, mythology, religion, psychology, and literature to provide us with a framework for engaging and interpreting the chains of events which define our lives. We develop vocabularies with words such as: accident, causation, purpose, goal, utility, and so on in order to assign meaning to the events in those chains.

"Yet, this is precisely where many of our problems begin. Instead of opening our bodies, minds, hearts, souls and spirits to what life is trying to communicate to us ... instead of merging horizons with Being's reality, we insist on imposing and assigning our own meanings, values, significance, and so on, to the events of our lives."

"How," I asked, "can one distinguish between when one is imposing one's own interpretation onto life and when one is genuinely being open to the actual message or messages that the events in our life are trying to relate to us?"

"One cannot do this on one's own," Jamee replied. "The individual needs help."

"Help from whom?" I inquired.

"From someone authorized to undertake such work," she responded.

"And just who or what authorizes such work?" I wondered.

"The same One," she pointed out, "Who arranged your 'accident' and provided you with an opportunity to begin to ask questions about the nature of your true identity free from the distortions of personal history."

"How does one know when one is dealing with someone who has been duly authorized or sanctioned?" I asked.

"Through sincerity," remarked Jamee. "Your sincerity and the sincerity of the teacher or guide. When sincerity meets sincerity, wonderful things are possible."

"Isn't it possible," I countered, "that people on both the teaching and the seeking sides of things believe they are being sincere when they are not?"

"Yes, this is very possible," Jamee answered. "This is why one should exercise discrimination, not only with respect to what one is becoming involved in spiritually, but especially in relation to one's own sincerity.

"One must examine the motivations and intentions underlying one's actions very carefully. If one seeks a spiritual teacher out of a desire for fame, influence, wealth, status, rewards, mystical secrets, magical powers, or non-ordinary experiences, then one's sincerity is being compromised, if not corrupted, by these kinds of desire.

"True sincerity is rooted in love and nothing else. That which seeks anything but love is a sign of insincerity."

"Supposing," I hypothesized, "someone were sincere in the fashion you have suggested. What should this person do?"

"This individual should trust in God," she indicated. "One needs to understand that the quality of Divine mercy is such that God will never allow true sincerity to wander alone in the wilderness, and, in fact, this sort of understanding is at the very heart of trust.

"On the other hand, wandering alone in the wilderness also has an important role to play," Jamee added. "If we didn't wander in the wilderness for awhile, we might not understand the value of guidance and truth.

"All of life is a journey ... a journey of different kinds of experience. The parameters of this journey are characterized by a pairing of opposites.

"For example, through the experience of darkness, we come to appreciate and seek out light. Through the experience of restlessness, we come to value, and long for, the condition of peacefulness.

"By being exposed to falsehood, we come to see the importance of truth. If we are touched by injustice, we know the significance of justice and fairness.

"If you like, I could go on," she assured me. "But, I'm certain you grasp the general nature of the point being made."

"So," I said, "if one is traveling sincerely about in the wilderness, learning from one's journey through the peaks and valleys of these various opposites, and trusting in God to deliver one from all of this, how long does this all go on?"

"Patience is a nice companion to have whenever one goes on a journey," Jamee observed.

"Yet," I responded, "someone could have patience, sincerity and trust, and, nevertheless, becoming stuck in the wilderness, still could prove to be a very trying set of experiences. How does one survive?"

"With courage,"she intimated. "Have the courage of your convictions that your patience, sincerity and trust are correctly placed."

"If one has courage, patience, sincerity and trust, then why does one need a teacher?" I queried.

"This is where humility is of value," she stated. "One needs to understand that one doesn't acquire courage, patience, sincerity, and trust on one's own.

"Even when one is traveling 'alone' in the wilderness, one is being provided with spiritual sustenance. Unfortunately, most of us have a tendency to attribute such qualities to our efforts and character, rather than understanding, as humility enables us to do, that all of these qualities are gifts from the One Who is watching over us while we travel about in the wilderness and from the One Who is providing us with opportunities to learn about such things through the chain of events that are introduced through our lives."

"Doesn't this merely raise the same question as before, but from a slightly different direction?" I asked. "In other words, if God is teaching us in the wilderness, why do we need a guide to help us?"

"Divinity is teaching us all the time," Jamee agreed. "However, we aren't learning all the time - or, at least, we aren't learning what we need to as far as realizing our true identity and essential spiritual capacity are concerned.

"The nature of the human being is such that, initially at least, and up to a certain point of realization, we learn best about spiritual matters, to the extent we learn about them at all, when Divinity teaches us through our relationship with a guide that has a form, whether human or of some other kind, to which we can relate, and with which we can identify, in various ways. Divinity always is the One Who is teaching, whether through a guide, or through our inner selves or through nature, but time and experience is necessary for us to come to understand just what this means and, to some extent, how it works.

"Out of mercy, compassion and love, Divinity brings us into contact with a spiritual teacher. The task and responsibility of this individual ... the fiduciary duty that Divinity has bestowed on this person ... is to help guide us, in accordance with the wisdom which God provides, during the time we must spend journeying in the wilderness and in this way show us how to find our way to the sacred oasis of our true identity and essential spiritual capacity through which we can serve, love, cherish and worship Divinity.

"This is how we work toward fulfilling our spiritual destinies. God willing, if we are prepared to struggle in a sincere fashion, a guide helps us to accomplish what we cannot accomplish on our own due to our waking condition of spiritual sleep.

"While we are in a state of spiritual sleep, we are dreaming we are awake. When spiritual realization comes, we come to know the difference between the dreaming of our 'normal' waking life and the awareness of one who has woken from such a sleep."

"If," I postulated, "someone does not choose to work or struggle in this manner, then what becomes of them?"

"Then, this person realizes a spiritual destiny of a different sort," Jamee indicated. "What happens is up to the individual because God responds to us in accordance with our attitude toward, or opinion of, or feelings about Divinity."

"This all seems to be somewhat circular," I suggested. "We appear to have arrived back where we began."

"The path we have traversed is more helical than circular," Jamee corrected. "You have been exposed to insights and understandings that permits you, if you take advantage of the opportunity being offered, to engage the issues being discussed from a slightly better vantage point than was the case before we began our discussion.

"Generally speaking, one either follows the spiritual helix upward toward awakening or one slides down the helix toward a deeper state of sleep. The inherent nature of the helix does not permit one to remain stationary for very long, and, therefore, one must make an effort to understand in which direction the elevator is moving into which one is entering and entrusting one's life."

After the exchange of words, a silence passed between us. The silence was not empty, even though no words were spoken and even though I cannot say I really understood what was transpiring.

Nonetheless, there was a stirring in my heart. I could feel deep, intense currents of feeling and intuition moving about within me, like a maelstrom whose vortex had an origin of unfathomable depth.

Some time later, Jamee said: "Your relationship with Jennifer, David, is, under the circumstances, like your present relationship with God. Previously, you had professed your love for Jennifer, but, now, you have forgotten what you said to her, or how you felt about her, earlier.

"Before the accident, you were intoxicated by Jennifer's nearness. In addition, you felt the deep pangs of separation whenever you were away from her.

"You found her love for you to be inexplicable and considered that love to be an act of pure grace on her part for which you were thankful from the bottom of your heart. You treated your relationship with Jennifer in a sacred manner in which, if requested, you were prepared to sacrifice your own likes and dislikes in order to honor the duties of care that you felt to be inherent in the love binding you to her and her to you.

"Following the accident, all those feelings, commitments and understandings concerning Jennifer have disappeared. There is virtually no trace of her to be found within your being except the residues that come from your present interaction with her here at the farm.

"Similarly, David, you have forgotten your previous relationship with God. Just as the accident has caused you to forget Jennifer, the process of birth into the physical world has caused you to forget the nature of your love for God that had existed before you assumed, or took on, the form of biological life.

"Prior to your existence in this world, you were intoxicated by your nearness to Divinity. You recognized the sacred character of your relationship with Divinity.

"Prior to this life, you understood God's love for you was an act of pure Grace by Divinity since you had done nothing to deserve or earn such love. Prior to this physical existence, you claimed you were prepared to honor the duties of care entailed by such an act of Grace.

"Now, however, just as you would disclaim all knowledge of your feelings for, and relationship with, Jennifer, you also would disclaim all knowledge of, or involvement with, God. In the former case you have the excuse of a concussion.

"In the latter case there is no comparable excuse. Rather, what has happened, is, like most of the rest of us, you have become caught up in the multiplicity of addictions brought about through biological existence and the socialization process which shapes, colors and orients your existence.

"In relation to Jennifer, you suffer from a lesser amnesia. In relation to God, you suffer from a greater ... a much greater amnesia.

"In both cases, you must struggle to remember what you have promised and what you felt. Your happiness and well-being depend on this, David."

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