Chapter Nine, Reading 1

Flindra walked to the crystal cavern and out of habit bowed her head in reverence as she entered. She knew this was a sacred spot and always entered with a profound sense of veneration. The Presence was easily discerned in this holy place.
Kewero had moved some cushions into the cave to sit upon when they had first started their lessons together. The translucent, crystalline floor was beautiful but it was anything but comfortable to sit upon. Generally, their discussions lasted for hours so it had been a necessity to arrange for seating that was more comfortable.
Flindra kneeled on one of the cushions and bowed her head in reverence. "Beloved Spirit, please hear the request of your humble servant. Be with me today and guide me to the knowledge I need to serve Your Will. Grant me clarity of thought and heart so I may divine Your Truth." She breathed deeply for a moment. "Let it be so," she ended with the ritual parting.
Flindra took her seat in her accustomed place and held out the crystal orb before her. The crystal always felt so alive here. It was now vibrating in the same rhythm as the pulsation of light in the glowing crystals of the cave walls. With a deep breath, she gazed into the depths of the orb and allowed herself to be drawn within its powers.
Her path into the realm of the sphere brought her beyond the familiar color vortex and then through the blinding flash of white light. She was now adrift in a zone of concentric circles, which glowed with a pure and intense gold, in effect, a tunnel of light. As she went deeper and deeper into the tunnel, she developed the sensation of motion without movement. She was suspended in the center of the circles of light, which were rushing by her at an ever-increasing pace. She felt her mind was rushing through the moving circles to places unknown, sensations never before felt, and thoughts never before imagined.
As she looked at the lights around her, Flindra began to notice that the gold was changing. She could make out new and shifting colors. Shapes began to coalesce within the colored aureole. The shapes took the form of people and places and were constantly changing.