An Unearthing of Goddesses

An Unearthing of Goddesses Part 9

"Ohhhh..."

"Ahhhh," Anya moaned in pain, readjusting her posture in the yoga pose she and Lhamo had been holding for the past forty-five minutes.

"You are out of practice," he scolded. "We need to prepare for our meditation as we look for the star."

Anya nodded grimly as thankfully, the shaved headed attendant Po arrived with tea. They took a break as Lha-sung arrived.

"How are you progressing? He took a cup of tea and sat cross-legged beside them. "Will you be ready by tonight? The moon is full."

"We will be ready," Lhamo snapped. "Leave us. You distract." Lha-sung nodded quietly and rose to leave. He called over his shoulder on his way out.

"Don't try so hard. Let the flow come to you naturally. The yoga poses prepare you for meditation. The meditation prepares your breath and your mind to still. You can go directly to the stillness. It is in front of your always, coming from within, like the steam arising from my tea." With that he winked and blew the steam and sipped, leaving the room.

Lhamo resumed his pose. "Insufferable showoff," he said, closing his eyes and motioning for Anya to join. She sighed and resumed. They had been practicing yogic routines, meditating and breathing exercises for three days. The moon was full this evening and they would trek to the pool to seek the view of the star.

"Lhamo," Anya broke the sacred silence. "Tell me what you know about the star."

Lhamo sighed and unfolded himself slowly from his origami pose. "The universe is approximately 13.8 billion years old. The star – the Methuselah star – is 14.5 billion. It is a riddle of cosmic proportions."

"How do they know its age?" Anya stretched out her sore limbs.

"Astronomers have found that it contains very little iron – it was formed before the element was common in the universe. It could have come from outside the universe. Or, it has been here always. Meaning – the universe has no beginning. It has existed forever."

Anya considered this cryptic possibility before resuming her pose. Hours later, they made their silent pilgrimage to the pool, accompanied by Lha-sung and Po. It was on the outside of the temple grounds, at the base of one of the waterfalls that plunged beneath the temple, but completely isolated. Po helped Lha-sung navigate the rocky descent and Anya held Lhamo's arm, despite his constantly snatching it away. Their vow of silence was the only thing keeping him from scolding her attempts.

At the pool's edge they assumed their positions of meditation. The moon's brilliant beams shone down into the quiet pool reflecting across its still surface. Some time later, Lha-sung motioned that they were ready to start.

"We begin with a prayer." He bowed his head and the others followed.

"We seek to look into the face of the Universe. Let us be worthy. Let our hears be pure and our thoughts full of grace."

Lhamo looked up. "The moon is so bright I cannot see the stars. They are blotted out."

Lha-sung gestured down. "You are looking in the wrong place." He pointed to the pool. The moon was now reflected right into its center, forming a giant orb on the surface. It looked like a stone somehow afloat, like a child had skimmed it over the pool and it had stopped mid-skip to linger in a frozen moment, until the instant passed and it snapped back onto its path to the pond's edge.

Frozen time was on Anya's mind. She had been faithfully emptying her mind to prepare for the moment when Lhamo had the formula in reach. Her powers felt full and she was tingling in anticipation. She had been working with Lha-sung to spark her energy and channel it intentionally, at the same time as emptying her mind and disconnecting from the world.