The Twelfth Insight - James Redfield [33]
Coleman listened and busied himself with picking up some dead mesquite limbs. Several times he paused to tell me he had had similar experiences with the Third Integration, not from losing his food but from being alone and losing his way and seeking help from others. We were both at the same place: in Alignment and beginning to seek the Fourth.
When we arrived, I used some starter wood Wil had placed in my pack to build a small fire, listening at the same time for any sounds that might indicate rangers were approaching.
Coleman was watching me, growing more excited. “Have you seen what the Document says about the Fourth yet?”
“Not yet.”
“We’re seeing all this for a reason! The Document says that during the transition from a material worldview to a more spiritual one, civility is the first thing that goes out the window. Those holding on to the old worldview often begin to cling to their obsessions with ever greater ferocity, until their beliefs become an ideology, a system of ideas that aren’t based on truth any longer. It is based on the perceived idea that there is an enemy out there threatening the world. And in such a dire situation, they feel it is okay to give up on truthful democratic debate and legal procedures.
“The political Left and Right are both moving to the extreme because each thinks the threat is so great from the other side that extreme measures need to be taken. And of course, it’s all self-reinforcing. When people exaggerate the facts, they abandon truth, and then the Law of Karma kicks in, and each side draws in their opposites who are lying as well, and they just fan each other’s flames.
“What’s worse,” he went on, “is that those in the middle—as we just saw—are constantly accused of being extreme by both sides, so gradually everyone tends to be pushed toward the extreme opposite poles.”
He poked the fire with a stick. “The Document says the danger lies in this increasing polarization of political thought, with more people moving to the extremes every day. This is a very dangerous situation. Either side can become violent or despotic. The Document says those in Alignment must find a way to stand up to those in extreme ideologies by creating a new, enlightened center, devoted to the truth. It says this is especially true when confronting religious ideology.”
I just looked at him.
“I was very interested,” he said, “when you were telling me about the group Rachel was with.”
“Why is that?”
“Because the Document says religious ideology will also be increasing in our time. In this period where many people want an open discussion about spirituality so we can build a consensus about our spiritual nature, many in established religions will begin to feel threatened. And in an effort to defend their doctrine, they will move to extremes as well, even to the point of giving up and wishing for the end of the world.”
I remembered what Colonel Peterson had told me.
“You’re talking about the end-times people,” I said. “Those wishing for Armageddon.”
“Yes.”
Just at this moment, the low whine of four-wheelers interrupted our conversation. They were still far away but were bearing down on us at a fast pace. People everywhere were hurrying to break down their tents and gather their belongings.
“We’d better get out of here!” I said, jumping up and loading my pack.
“I’ll get my tent and be right back,” he said, rushing into the darkness.
Just then, I was jolted by a woman’s scream about fifty feet away. Several men with big flashlights had grabbed her and were looking all through her belongings. Several more men were heading my way.
With no other choice, I stuffed everything into my pack and ran into the darkness. All over the area now, I could see men with flashlights searching through people’s campsites, obviously looking for something. I crouched low as one group of men rushed into a camp less than thirty feet from where I was hiding. Beams from their lights