Fletcher the Kangaroo: Life and Death - Chapter Twenty Two
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As soon as Fletcher was on his own again he had a deep yearning to visit his place. He had seen Silkie’s place with all the daffodils, then Martin’s place with the forest, but he wanted to return to his own place with the gum trees. He floated in the corridor of coloured light and, picturing his place in his mind, discovered that he had already arrived.
Accessing his place was quite different to entering his group’s pod. Pods were enclosed spaces surrounded by membranes. This meant that as kangaroos travelled along the corridor of light they were unable to see inside other pods. On the other hand, Fletcher’s place was an open space that simply existed. He didn’t know where his place was in relation to the spiral of pods, but by picturing it in his mind he was immediately there.
Upon arriving, Fletcher hopped straight to the highest rock and looked out over the stream. It was a beautiful view—he could see the crystal clear water with gum trees growing along the water’s edge. From this angle he could see that the trees on the far side of the stream were quite dense but on the near side they were more sparse. He thought he might work on making some more so that the two sides were more evenly balanced.
He scrambled down the rock and hopped across to the stream. He had a gentle current flowing and was pleased with the quality of the water. Back on earth, streams and rivers carried debris but here his water was perfectly clean. He stood in the shallows and could see his feet clearly. They shimmered a little with the water flowing over them but they were easily visible.
He waded in a little deeper and shivered as he felt the chill of the water. He closed his eyes and focused on warming it up. Rather than doubt himself, he decided to trust in his ability, so he imagined a wave of heat spreading out in all directions. He lowered his body into the water and grinned as he noticed that it wasn’t as cold anymore. He floated with the current and was soon in cold water again. His effort at heating the water hadn’t lasted very long but he was delighted that it had worked. “I can do anything,” he whispered to himself. He ducked his head underwater and inwardly laughed, delighting in discovering what he was able to do.
He climbed out the other side of the stream and shook off the excess water droplets. He hopped slowly through the trees, breathing in the smells that were all around—the earthy scent coming up from the ground and the eucalyptus from the leaves above. He stopped for a moment and noticed how much of a calming effect the environment here had on him. He felt a deep connection to his place and he felt grounded and energised. He cast his mind back to many times in the past when he had come in to where the gum trees were the most dense—he had laid on the ground and let his mind drift. This was where he felt the strongest.
He thought of Miles again and sent him some healing. Here, it flowed more easily than it had when he was back in the pod with his other group members. He couldn’t see what Miles was doing but it was enough to form an image of him in his mind and send him love. Fletcher imagined that he was breathing, in the full way like he had on earth. With every out breath he sent love to Miles and he imagined it settling over him like a transparent, shimmering cloud.
When he opened his eyes he gently moved his head back and forth to wake himself up fully. He had drifted off to quite a deep space and he realised that he could do many things with it. By relaxing in that way he could restore his own energy, strengthen his self-belief, send healing to others and no doubt many other things. By going into himself he felt more powerful and he wanted to discover what he could do with that.
He stood up and moved to a space that wasn’t quite as dark. He settled in a place that wasn’t exactly a clearing because it still had gum trees growing, but they weren’t quite so close together. He lay down, closed his eyes and entered that deep space again, not to send healing this time but to contemplate what else he might be able to do.
He noticed how it felt. He seemed to be floating and his body tingled all over. He was fully focused on the calm space inside himself. Except it wasn’t just inside of him—it was everywhere, it included everything. Fletcher didn’t try to understand, he just allowed himself to float with it. From time to time he heard a rustle in the trees which reminded him of where he was, but he found he was able to let go of any stray thoughts and drift back to the deep space inside.
He gently let his mind wander. Not to random thoughts, but wander in a self-directed way. While he was in this state he could send healing, he could create more trees and rocks for his place, he could recover from any left-over pain from his time on earth (he didn’t really have much of that anymore) but what else could he do? Could he explore how to handle grief more effectively when he was in this state? Would being in a deep space like this help his group to learn and progress more quickly?
What else could he do? He thought of Silkie and wondered if she had experienced anything like this before. They’d never talked about it but he would ask her. And if she hadn’t, he would teach her. After a little while, Fletcher stopped concentrating and drifted into a deep sleep.
***
When he returned to his pod he found Silkie resting under a tree. “Hi Silkie,” he said as he approached.
“Oh, hi Fletch.” Silkie sat up and stretched. “Wow, look at you. You’re glowing.”
Fletcher smiled. “Am I? I’ve been in my place and when I was there I had a good rest. Do you want me to tell you about it?”
“Please do.” Silkie’s interest was piqued. Fletcher’s eyes were shining and he was eager to tell her what he had been doing.
“Well, I found a nice spot under the gum trees—not too shady and not too bright—and I closed my eyes. But it was different to a normal rest. This time I tried to go really deep.”
“I think I know what you mean,” Silkie said. “It’s as though you’re asleep even though you’re not.”
“That’s right. I’m actually quite alert. It’s as if I go way down inside myself where nothing can disturb me.”
“Go on. Tell me more.”
“When I’m there, I can do more things. I sent healing to Miles when I was in that space and it felt way more powerful than normal. Have you ever tried anything like that?”
“Sort of,” Silkie replied. “Sometimes when I rest I end up feeling that I’m not quite asleep but I’m not properly awake either.”
“Yeah, it’s like that, and then you go deeply into it.”
“I’d like to try it. It’s a great idea to deliberately go in deeper. Oh look, here comes Ariana. Let’s ask her about it.”
Fletcher described what he had done to Ariana and she smiled. “That’s wonderful and it leads in to what I would like to discuss with both of you. But I strongly encourage you to access that space regularly, Fletcher. It will heighten your ability in many things.”
“Yes!” Fletcher said excitedly. “That’s how I felt. Everything felt intensified. I just told Silkie that I sent Miles some healing and it felt more powerful than usual.”
Ariana nodded. “Of course. Keep exploring that. Now, if you would both like to come over to these rocks, we can sit down together. There is something that I would like to talk to you about.”
Fletcher and Silkie looked at each other and hopped behind Ariana. They didn’t know what she wanted to say but they were keen to find out.
“So,” Ariana smiled, “there comes a time for each of us when we are ready to learn new things. As a group we have worked through beauty and humility, and we are partway through our studies on grief. We will continue to work together for a long time yet but I think you are both ready to start some individual study.”
Fletcher felt a ripple of excitement flow through him.
“As we grow, we are able to learn more and more,” Ariana continued, “and there are specialist classes where you can learn skills that I am not necessarily proficient at.”
“Have you been part of one of these specialist classes?” Silkie asked.
“Yes I have. That’s where I trained to become a guide. And I would like you both to think about what sort of training you would be interested in doing.”
“How do we know what we can pick from?” Fletcher asked.
“I can tell you what’s available and you are also welcome to visit some of these groups to get a better idea.”
“Has anyone else from our group started their specialist training?” Silkie asked.
“Yes, they have. Bonnie is learning to become a healer and Ivan has recently begun his studies in astral design.”
Fletcher sat up straight. “Astral design? What’s that?”
Ariana laughed. “It’s a good name, isn’t it? He’s learning to create things in outer space—stars, asteroids etc.”
“That sounds amazing,” Fletcher said. “There must be a lot of options.”
“There are indeed. The fields of study fall into four divisions: teaching, healing, caretaking and creating. From there, there are many subdivisions. You need to consider your interests and your strengths so that you choose something that you will really enjoy.”
“I want to be a healer,” Silkie said.
Fletcher turned to face her. “You know that already? How can you be sure?”
“I’m quite sure. That’s what I would like to do.”
“Crikey,” Fletcher said, shaking his head. “I don’t have a clue. They all sound great. I could be a guide like Ariana, or a healer—that would be amazing, or a creator or even a caretaker. I’m not even exactly sure what a caretaker is but I don’t doubt that it would be interesting. He looked at Ariana with a hopeful expression on his face. “Can I do all four?”
“Fletcher, your enthusiasm never fails to impress me. But the idea of a specialist class is that you do indeed specialise. You will then be able to develop your new skills in great detail and acquire a level of proficiency that we cannot attain in a large group. Can you imagine how much richer our group will be when each of you learns your new skills? Ivan will be creating heavenly bodies, Bonnie will be healing kangaroos who are still on earth but enduring hard times, Silkie—you may be a healer too if that’s what you choose, and Fletcher—you will bring another skill set to the group as well.”
“We won’t always be together though, will we?” Fletcher asked.
“No, we won’t. You won’t need me forever.”
“Yes we will,” Fletcher insisted. “I can’t imagine not having you.”
Ariana smiled. “At this moment that may be the way you feel, but some time in the distant future you will be doing your own thing. Who knows, maybe you will be leading a group of your own.”
As Ariana said those words, something inside of Fletcher clicked into place. Ariana and Silkie both noticed the expression on his face. Ariana gently placed her paw on his shoulder. “That’s it, isn’t it?”
Fletcher knew what she meant. “Yes, I want to be a teacher. When you just said that I might have a group of my own one day, it felt so right.”
“Then a teacher you shall be. That’s a great start—I’m proud of you both. Silkie, you sound quite sure that you would like to do healing and Fletcher, you have chosen teaching. Next, we need to look at more specific examples so you can fine-tune your choices.”
***
“Let’s start with you, Silkie. The field of healing is very broad, so there are quite a number of classes that you can choose from, but you need to know what type of healing you would like to do so that you choose the most suitable class.
“First, you may focus on healing kangaroos who have just returned from earth. Even though we no longer wear our physical bodies, we can carry pain and trauma for a short time after death. This is when healers step in to help the individuals recover. There is also an emotional element to this healing—in order to fully heal the physical ailments, emotional scars need to be dealt with.”
“Did I have any of that sort of healing when I came back here?” Fletcher asked.
“You would have received it if you needed it, but you healed yourself by swimming in your stream.”
“The stream in my place?”
“Yes, that’s right. Don’t you remember swimming there shortly after you returned?”
Fletcher nodded. “I remember.”
“And do you remember feeling different after that swim?”
“I felt wonderful, I just didn’t know why.”
“Now you do. You washed away any lingering hurt in the water. You didn’t need a specialist healer this time. I was very proud of you.”
Fletcher and Silkie both cast their minds back to times when they had returned home after earlier lifetimes on earth.
“I remember,” Silkie said excitedly. “It was that lifetime when we were brother and sister.”
“Which one?” Fletcher asked.
“The one in the Daintree. You got sick and died when you still had a young family. Our kids used to play together all the time, even after you had passed away. We all missed you so much. I never recovered from losing you.”
Ariana nodded. “And when your life ended Silkie, you needed some help to dissolve the grief that you were still carrying. I took you to your place, you lay down in the grassy field and drifted into a deep sleep.”
“Is that when I was healed?”
“It was indeed. Three healers worked on you, removing the imprint of grief and filling you with energy and vitality.”
“I remember feeling better when I woke up, but I don’t remember the healers.”
“That’s because you were asleep. But think back before that. After your lifetime in the Riverina. You and I sat down with Wally and he removed your pain from that life.”
Silkie smiled. “I remember Wally. He helped me so much—he really understood what I had been through.”
“And that’s part of what healers need to learn—to understand, to empathise and to generate compassion. Healers develop an affinity with the kangaroo they are healing and feel their pain as if it were their own. In that connection, the pain is dissolved and the healing takes place. That’s my understanding, anyway. You will learn all about it in great detail. So, that’s the first option, healing kangaroos who have just returned from earth.”
“What other types of healing can I do?” Silkie asked.
“You may choose to work with kangaroos who are still alive on earth. By now you will both appreciate that no individual is ever alone.”
“Because our guide is always watching over us.”
“That’s right. Each kangaroo is part of a group, just like ours, and their guide—or teacher—watches over them. Other members of the group can also be involved, just like you have both been helping Miles.”
Fletcher and Silkie nodded.
“But there are also designated healers who remain close by, always keeping an eye on the kangaroos they are assigned to while they are on earth and giving assistance when it is needed.”
“Is that during the hard times?” Fletcher asked.
“Yes, particularly during the difficult times but at other times as well. These healers go to earth in a non-physical form. They can return here at any time but there is always more than enough of them to help out any kangaroo in need.”
Fletcher thought about the time when Donovan broke his shoulder. “Do you think healers would have come to Donovan when he hurt his shoulder?”
“Oh yes,” Ariana replied. “There were seven healers with him at that time.”
“Seven?” Fletcher exclaimed.
“That’s correct.”
“It’s a wonder it didn’t heal instantly if he had that much help.”
“Healers always strive to reach the highest good. Looking back, they worked on him to lower the pain to a bearable level but it was important that he take some time out from his heavy exercise regime.”
“I don’t get it,” Fletcher said. “Why not just make him better?”
“Think back. Did any good come out of Donovan’s injury?”
“It did,” Fletcher remembered. “He started to get to know other kangaroos in the mob. He couldn’t exercise so he started introducing himself to everyone.”
“And that was important. If not for the injury, he may not have been able to do that, and those changes were important for some events that need to take place later in his life. There’s always a bigger picture to consider. When we are alive we can’t see it, but healers take all aspects into account.”
Ariana looked at Silkie. “Do you have a preference regarding what type of healing you would like to do?”
Silkie shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. Are there just the two types? Healing kangaroos while they are on earth and healing kangaroos after they have passed over?”
“Basically. Further details will unfold as you begin your training but yes, for now, that’s what you need to decide.”
“And I can visit some of these classes to find out if I really like them?”
“Of course.”
“Then I think I’d like to start looking into healing kangaroos who have recently died. I’d like to find out more about helping them heal from the trauma of their lives. And if I feel that isn’t for me I can look at the other option—healing those that are still living their lives on earth.”
“Wonderful. In a little while I will take you to Oliver’s group and you can see if it is a good fit.”
