Sep 20
3
IN THE BEGINNING (12)
TWO – Jeanne Stockwell speaks.
I was totally unprepared for the thunderous applause – the crowd came to their feet; mostly with smiles of anticipation. There was no podium, nothing to hide behind and no microphone; there was no need for a microphone; the acoustics were almost perfect. Emmanuel later told me that the building had been designed so that one could hear a pin drop from clear across the room.
“Well now,” I began, “I wasn’t nervous until just now. What can I possibly say to earn such a warm welcome? Thank you and please take your seats.” I waited for a few moments for the shuffling around of personal items and the scraping noise of the chairs to subside before beginning.
“With a show of hands, how many of you know what caused me to be invited here today?”
Only about a half dozen hands went up. “Okay, just a few, so that means the rest of you were just being super nice with the applause, doesn’t it,” I quipped drily. That caused a ripple of laughter, so I began to relax a bit. “Is Darlene Adams here today?”
“That would be me,” said a tall, woman, simply dressed, with a strikingly pretty face, particularly since it appeared that she had no, or perhaps very little make up on. How I wish I could just get out of bed looking that good, I thought. She had short cropped, light brown hair that fit the chiseled features of her slender face and lovely blue eyes …and a big smile. She was waving her hand at me from the fifth or sixth row in the center of the semi circle. Darlene was sitting next to her husband, Jack, whom I had already met and with whom I now exchanged nods.
“Do you know why I’m here,” I asked her.
Darlene stood, looking totally at ease and self-assured, yet very friendly and open and replied, “Yes …my husband was at lunch with you, Vic Schneider, Emmanuel Patrick and Will Barry – a couple of days ago and, as I understand it, you asked them if I had any idea of the magnitude of what I had spoken during our first meeting upstairs during the afternoon of September 8, …in other words did I know, at the moment I said what I was given to say, that all the events that took place on September 11, 2001 which would happen a little after eight in the morning on the 11th were to begin in less than 72 hours – and Vic suggested that you come and ask the entire group.
Darlene continued, “Before I answer that, Jeanne, and before you begin with whatever you have to say, I want to explain something. You looked a bit startled when we acted so excited to have you here and gave you what amounted to a standing ovation just now. Those of us who have read your interview of Brad have wanted to meet you for many years.
“Jack’s and my introduction, not just to the group, but to ‘life with a capital L’ …began for us with the reading of your interview of Brad which we have all referred to as, The Leapfrog Manuscript. For those of us who have put into practice the exact same thing which gave you your own breakthrough into the I AM experience …and, well …to have you finally be with us is a real treat. I believe you flew here to do some interviews in order to write an article on how the group has developed in our thinking and practice – as a result of the manuscript which was based on your interview of Brad Cullen.
“As most of you are aware,” at this Darlene turned to face different parts of the crowd so that her remarks were directed to everyone, “when Jack and I flew down here to Jacksonville the first time, it was with Vic Schneider and Will and Ann Barry. Just before we boarded the plane in Chicago, Will gave Jack and me each a copy of the Leapfrog manuscript and told us he hoped we would read it in preparation for our visit at Brad’s place down on the coast.
“Jack and I spent the entire flight reading and talking about it – and Jeanne’s rather profound spiritual experience which Brad first coined as “Leapfrog” because, as he expressed it, Jeanne had leapfrogged spiritually over his head, way past where he was. Her experience and what she had written about how it had come about was solidly implanted in our minds.
“Frankly, Jeanne,” Darlene turned back to face me directly, “it wasn’t until several hours after the four commercial jets crashed on 9/11 that any of us connected them to the prophecy that I was referring to upstairs on that Saturday, three days before the fact. This ‘prophecy’ was originally given through our daughter Debbie in an unknown language; our other daughter, Rachel, interpreted Debbie’s words into English. That had happened about three weeks earlier, and it was that ‘unknown tongue and interpretation’ that both Brad and I were referencing.
“At the time of the banquet, when I made the statement, the original twelve of us, which by then included Emmanuel and Elizabeth Patrick, were gathering each evening around nine o’clock for a time of sharing until our bedtime. Jack and I have been trying to remember who brought it up – the only thing of which we’re fairly certain is that it was on the night of 9/11 when it dawned on all of us collectively that the prophecy was referring to 9/11.
“So to answer your question …no, I had no clue just how significant the prophecy was and neither did Brad. It was Brad who actually introduced the topic at the banquet three days earlier, by saying something very important was coming up …and then the words just sort of started coming out of my mouth that we were all to remember that we received the message right here in our first meeting up on the second floor.”
At that, Jack Adams got to his feet alongside Darlene, and placed his arm around her shoulders and said: “I am supposed to interrupt and say something – and since I’m supposed to do it I won’t apologize for interrupting, Jeanne.” Jack said this with a disarming grin.
It was almost unbelievable to me how these two people were at the same time so relaxed and self-assured, yet so obviously filled with humility and love for everyone …there’s just no other way to express it, they exuded love, humility and yet, at the same time, an ultimate confidence that was simply wonderful to behold. I’d had the same impression with all four men at our lunch two days earlier.
Jack continued, “Jeanne, I’m not saying that what we decided at lunch with you, the other day, was a mistake, because it wasn’t …this is perfect, you being here with us all. As you know, one of the hallmarks of this group is that there are no leaders among us, official or otherwise. We have only one Leader and Teacher, whom many of us refer to as our SPIRIT-PARENT. We have been known to attract people from all over the world; this building has the reputation for being a place of miracles.
“Now, for those of you who are here for the first time, as you get to know some of us you will discover that we are not some sort of exclusive club. We fully believe in being inclusive.” He, just as Darlene had done, turned and looked around the room to include everyone with his remarks; Darlene had taken her seat again.
“You are all one with us simply by being here today. Since having lunch with Jeanne the other day, I have been asking for clarity and was told it would come at this gathering. Frankly, I had assumed it would come through one of the others, but I’ve just been instructed to say something right now to all of you:
“By my training and experience I am an interdisciplinary, professional engineer – an applied scientist, if you will, and an applied scientist by definition is exactly what it sounds like …my training and career before joining Brad and Bob in our consulting business, has been to apply scientific knowledge and principles to solve practical problems.
“We have no hierarchical structure in this group, no formal organization whatsoever and almost everyone who comes to these occasional gatherings comes as a result of us getting the word out through e-mail or word of mouth. Our casually connected network of interested people joins with us from time to time at meetings like this and invited you all to come today.
“Darlene, our two daughters and I, along with the rest of our small, core group, have had spiritual experiences that defy scientific explanation, at least as some of us tend to think of science. Science, until just recently, has always been thought of as objective observation. All scientists are trained today to realize and accept the principle that the mere observation of anything, including those things which are on a sub-atomic level, causes changes, unexpected changes – sometimes dramatic …sometimes subtle. The fact is that there is no such thing as objective observation; mere observation creates change.” Jack let those words just hang there for a few seconds as he seemed to wait until he knew what he was supposed to say next.
“Some of you here today came to observe and that is perfectly okay. I am supposed to say to you that you are here for a purpose. That purpose is to deepen your relationship with God,” at this Jack raised his hands demonstrating quotation marks by wiggling two fingers on both hands, around the term ‘God,’ “by whatever other title or name you prefer to use.
“As Emmanuel, who still owns this building, said when he introduced Jeanne a few moments ago, it was the interview she conducted of Brad strictly by means of e-mail, back and forth between them, and then which she compiled as the ‘manuscript’ which started many of us on our science-defying path. Our daughters, when they were still in their teens, Darlene and I all had our breakthroughs into what Darlene earlier described as ‘life with a capital L’ as a result of the manuscript. Normally we don’t talk about our individual experiences …because our experiences are not important.
“Each of us is completely individual yet our collective identity is I AM, because we are all connected to I AM as ONE. We don’t claim to understand it, I certainly don’t try to explain it, but we do experience this oneness, this unity with one another; with and in I AM. Many people, who are still steeped in a religious belief system, as we certainly were, resist this I AM label. We have each had it confirmed to us supernaturally to so label ourselves and we all refuse to argue about it.
“If you want to know more about us, I suggest you start by reading the ‘manuscript’ which Jeanne compiled from her and Brad’s e-mail exchanges. Vic Schneider, Will Barry, Emmanuel Patrick and our other resident Irishman, Colin, will be upstairs with more than enough free copies available for each of you. There are refreshments up there as well …and you’re especially invited to c’mon up and get acquainted.
“Jeanne, what I just heard is that you are not to speak here today, you are to write a second part to the manuscript and you will also be submitting an article to the magazine ‘Destiny’ which has assigned you to write other articles in the past. Can you confirm what I just said?”
“Can I ever! This is rather amazing, Jack, thank you. Please allow me to make just a few remarks that I have just now been given. I spoke on the phone this morning, from my hotel room, to the editor of Destiny at his home in Albuquerque. I agreed to write a series of articles that will span several monthly issues and he offered me a place on the Big Island of Hawaii to stay for the six weeks it would probably take to write them. I am flying out in the morning to Albuquerque to meet with the editor and publisher then onto Los Angeles to a connecting flight to Honolulu and then onto the Big Island of Hawaii. I suppose I’m invited up for refreshments too, Jack?”
“You sure are, please everyone, let’s show our appreciation for Jeanne’s graciousness in being here …under our, per usual, conditions that everyone has to admit are not exactly normal.”
I was overwhelmed again at the standing ovation. What a place, what people!
______
Emmanuel came back to the front, “Well, we are never short of surprises around here – if several men …or women, I’m trying to learn not to be sexist,” he said this with a self-conscious quick laugh, “will please help fold the chairs and stack them in the back storeroom through those double doors,” he said pointing, “we can do it quickly, thank you. Everyone else please come up the stairs at either end of the building so we can get to know one another.”
In Freedom,
Brad