Holos/The Enlightenment of Galeo

Blessed is one who reads these words and gains Knowledge.
May this testimony be a sign of great things to come
That bring the immortal race of perfect humanity
Into full being with the Whole.

I, Galeo, who also am your brother,
Sat in repose in my chamber
Contemplating the end of my life.
My mind was troubled
My spirit was shadowed
My body was tired unto death.

As I reached for a dagger to spill my life's blood,
I heard a noise like a great trumpet
Though there was no sound
And my chamber was willed with a blinding Light.

I was afraid, and yet
Behold!

The Light wrapped me in healing Power
And the a mighty Voice spoke to me, saying,
"You are a prisoner wishing to be free.
You have been imprisoned all your life
Never to walk in the true world,
You have been blind
Never to see the Light that is true Light."

I asked the Voice,
"Where is my prison?
And how may I leave it?"
The voice replied,
"Come, and see."

A bright light flashed around me, and then
Behold!

I saw myself in a large cave deep within the earth.
All around me were prisoners
Shackled hand and foot with heavy chains.
Their heads were bound also
So that they could not look from side to side
And they could not see the cave around them;
They could only look
Ahead
At one wall in front of them.

Behind the prisoners a large fire burned
Lighting the cave.
In front of the fire many objects were made to move;
Objects of stone,
Wood,
Metal,
Clay,
Objects that had the shape of men,
Trees,
Animals,
Birds,
So that shadows were cast on the wall
For all of the prisoners to watch.

When one object passed in front of the fire
That had the shape of a horse,
The prisoners said, "It is a horse."
And when another object passed in front of the fire
That had the shape of a crow,
The prisoners said, "It is a crow."
And when one prisoner could correctly guess
Which shape would follow another,
The others would praise his wisdom
And marvel at his understanding of the world.

I asked the Voice,
"Why do they not see that these are only shadows?"
The Voice replied,
"They have been imprisoned here all their lives
And they believe the shadows to be Reality
For the shadows are all that they have ever known."

Suddenly there came a loud crack of breaking metal
And the shackles fell away from one of the prisoners.
He stood up and began to move around the cave.

He came to the place where the objects move
Between the fire and the wall
But he could not recognize the objects that had made the shadows.
He returned to the place where he had been sitting
And went back to watching the shadows.

And the Voice said,
"Here are the ones who find true Knowledge
But do not recognize it.
They will not leave the cave
For they believe the shadows on the wall to be more Real
Than what they see for themselves."

Again there came a loud crack
And the shackles fell away from another prisoner.
He stood up and began to move around the cave.

He came to the place where the fire burns
But when he looked into it,
He was dazzled and blinded by the flames.
He returned to the place where he had been sitting
And went back to watching the shadows.

And the Voice said,
"Here are those who see the true Light
But can not bear the sight of it.
They will not leave the cave
For they would rather watch what they can see clearly
And hold to be Real."

A third time there came a loud crack
And the shackles fell away from another prisoner.
He stood up and began to move around the cave.

He moved around the cave for a long time
Until at last he found a hidden passage in the rock.
He crawled along the passage
And disappeared from my sight.

I asked the Voice,
"Where will this one go?"
The Voice answered,
"Here are those who will find their way to the surface.
They will leave the cave and walk in the sun.
They will be blinded by Light
And burned by heat
And lashed by winds
But soon they will grow used to these.
They will see more and more things around them,
The cause of seasons,
The motions of the stars,
And the nature of all things truly Real."

Now it seemed I heard another Voice
And the second Voice cried,
"Woe to those who are still imprisoned!
Woe to those who have never seen the Light!
One must go and bring them up from their bondage!
But who will go for us?
And who shall we send?"

And I said,
"Here I am. Send me!"

The first Voice spoke again,
"Once you have seen the Light
You will lose sight of the shadows.
You will remember what had passed for wisdom among the prisoners
And you will disdain it.
You will play their game of guessing which shadow will come next
And you will do badly at it.
They will say that your eyes are corrupted
And that it is not worth trying to go up
And if they can get their hands on you
They will kill you."

And I was deeply afraid
But the second Voice called out,
"Fear not!
For you will gather to you those of the immortal race of perfect humanity.
You will share your Knowledge with them
And bring them up beside you.
This is what you are for.
And when you have left the cave
You will never again be imprisoned
But you will return to the Light
To live in perfect Whole
Forever."

Immediately I woke in my chamber
Alone
And began to write all that I have now told.
Let the Whole who is Light be praised
And let all who would Know
Come, and see.