"The Tip of the Crystal"

Vinkaya

  I decided to drive north to San Francisco to see a friend of mine whom I hadn't seen in five years. Upon arriving at Steve's house, I was told that he was now called Vinkaya. I didn't know what to think about the name change, but repeated the bizarre word to myself a couple of times so that it would sound somewhat natural when I said it. I entered Vinkaya's house and found it buzzing with electrical energy. The living room was empty except for six large metal beams. These beams were made up of pyramids connected horizontally, and one on top of the other. They were each about seven feet tall and were connected to some kind of power generator. Within the pyramids were suspended crystals. I came close to one and held my hands about six inches away. The hair on my arms and head began to rise. This was strange. I wondered how a person could have changed so drastically in three years.

  I spent two days with Vinkaya. He was a wonderful host and wasn't militant about his beliefs. He said that he was now doing rebirthing for a living and offered to rebirth me. I had only heard about rebirthing once in the past and had somehow associated it with alfalfa munching, bearded, toga clad types dunking acolytes into a river and talking about the second coming. There was no river in the immediate vicinity.

  "Where would we do this?" I asked, while simultaneously trying to think of a way to get myself out of the situation. Vinkaya said that he could do the process in his room and that it would only take about an hour. I was hesitant, but I knew Vinkaya from his days as Steve, a creative artist, and with this bond of our past friendship in mind, I decided to give rebirthing a try. Vinkaya took me into his room and had me lie on his bed. The bed was encompassed by a huge copper pyramid. He put on some soft meditative music that sounded like Tibetan bells with people chanting. He then placed a crystal on my chest, one in each hand, and one on my forehead. He asked me to become aware of my breathing and to inhale and exhale solely from my mouth. He coached me to insure that my breathing was rapid and continuous.

  "Isn't this hyperventilation?" I asked. He told me to keep breathing. After what seemed an interminable amount of time my arms and legs started to tingle as if they were falling asleep. Though it was a peculiar sensation that was neither uncomfortable nor enjoyable, my compulsive nature decided to continue with even greater zeal. I kept up the breathing technique and soon every inch of my body was vibrating. The vibrations were pronounced and pulsated at a high frequency. Vinkaya asked me how I was feeling, and if there were any issues or traumas that I wished to discuss. My mouth was extremely numb and I found it difficult to move my lips sufficiently to formulate words. With some effort I replied that I felt great and that I couldn't think of anything specific . He said that at this point many people begin to cry, relive past lives or crises, and often work through some pretty intense stuff. I was almost sorry that I didn't have any turmoil available for examination. I wanted the complete purge but Vinkaya, sensing my constipation of emotion, began to lead me back to the everyday vibrational state.

  I returned from San Francisco in a state of confusion. Part of me felt drawn to explore some of the New Age practices while the rest of me remained skeptical, and preferred to avoid any conflict with my socially ingrained belief systems.
 

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