In Buddhism, we say that man's oneness and environment are reflected in man himself and his life condition or state of being.
State of being means his mood and circumstances, whether momentarily or karmically. If anger is a consistent condition in his life, then anger will be reflected in his environment. If happiness is consistent in his condition, then happiness will also be reflected in his surroundings. The goal of Buddhism is to consistently maintain that higher condition of life to the point where the condition itself or its happiness becomes unshakable, no matter if the momentary circumstances are unfavorable or not. Buddhism says that humans live in a constant state of ten life conditions that can change anytime. These ten worlds are Hell, Hunger, Animality, Anger, Human Beings, Heavenly Beings, Voice Hearers, Cause Awakened Ones, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas. In the tenth realm, the realm of Buddha or Buddahood, the ten worlds also function, but in that realm, the Buddha is wise enough to keep the sphere of unshakable happiness, never being influenced by the nine other realms. In this state, the Buddha realizes that he is not separate from other human beings but is very much human in flesh and composition because life is inpermanent, and because of its transient state, it is also precious. Because of this, the Buddha realizes that he must help his fellow human beings by relieving them of their suffering and lead them to happiness.In which one of these ten worlds does the psychic medium exist? The ones who can perceive spirits and communicate with them clearly? Especially those who channel spirits that wish to or need to communicate with the living? Why are some revered as gods to the point of celebrity while others are laughed at and reviled? Yet, some psychic mediums are the worst people you'll ever meet, while others are beautifully kind and very giving. Some carry a natural light, while others look like hell in a handbasket. Psychic mediums are still flesh and blood human beings like everyone else. This means that they, too, are subject to all that flesh is heir to. They are born, they live, they get sick, they age, and they die like everyone else. But the good ones, the true ones, perceive the impermanence of life and know that while we live it, life is precious.
Her name was Laura, and she lived off Kamoku Street in Mō'ili'ili. For a while, she was the go-to psychic medium. Politicians, attorneys, and trustees went to see her and paid thousands of dollars for her readings. Like Google Maps, Laura guided their careers, personal lives, family, and extracurricular activities. Eventually, Laura was featured on the six 'o'clock news and accurately read one of the news anchors, Kara Meyer.
"Someone promised you a promotion," Laura began. "But it comes with conditions."
"What conditions would those be?" Kara's question mocked Laura, whom she perceived as a fake.
"I think you know what those conditions are," Laura began. "Don't sacrifice your integrity for what you want; in the end, it won't be worth it, and you'll still be sitting in that same chair a year from today."
"What?" Kara squeaked. She was visually repulsed by what Laura said. "Is this a psychic reading or an insinuation?"
"Also, contact your mother, Kara, as soon as this interview is done. It's urgent," Laura insisted.
Kara ended the interview, stormed off the set, and headed straight to the dressing room. The phone rang, and when Kara answered, she heard her brother's voice on the other end. "Eh, I have been calling all damned afternoon; why you neva answer the phone?"
"I'm working, Manford; what do you want?" Kara was exasperated.
"Mom is at Queens ER. We're all here. You better come now," Manford hung up, and Kara sat there stunned until she finally realized it was time to go. A couple of days later, the lead anchor called Kara for an early morning meeting. Not too many people were at the station at that hour, which was disconcerting for Kara since she started later in the day when the news station buzzed with a larger crew. Bill Logan led Kara into one of the smaller dressing rooms, where he pulled out a chair for her while he decided to stand.
"Your promotion comes with conditions, Kara, and I'm sure you know this works. Is that correct?" Bill spoke matter of fact, to the point.
Kara was stunned—first by the news concerning her mother and now by this. Laura, the psychic medium whom she assumed was a fake, was now spot on. "What do you mean, conditions?"
"In exchange for your promotion and a higher pay rate, you'll accommodate me when I want, wherever I want, however I want. That's the condition." Bill gave her a patriarchal look as if he were Kara's father and laid down the law. "You'd do well to keep this to yourself because you're screwed either way. Oh! I get that! I just made a joke without knowing it!"
"I'll have my resignation on your desk by this afternoon," Kara said and huffed. Making her way to the upper parking lot, she didn't cry until she got in her car.
~
Ken Kong was on the scene for most of the night with the young news reporter Justin Lee. He was reporting live from a hostage situation at Hawai'i Loa Ridge. Ken was the only cameraman available on short notice. The offender, a privileged twelve-year-old brat named Kyler, pulled a gun on his parents for disconnection of his Xbox and finally came out of his house with his hands raised. The police entered the residence and found Kyler's parents lying dead in the day room, with a bullet each in their skulls. It was eight forty-five when Ken and Justin returned to the station. Justin went to his desk to start filling out his report. Ken needed to find someplace to take a quick nap, so he ducked into one of the smaller dressing rooms, where he sat behind a clothes rack with his back up against the wall and the news camera sitting in his lap. He shut his eyes and felt the exhaustion taking over when he heard the door open. Hearing Bill Logan's booming baritone, Ken kept quiet for fear of being caught slacking on the job. He was disgusted when he began to hear what Bill was saying, especially when he realized it was Kara that Bill was saying those horrible things. When it was over, and the two left, Ken ensured the coast was clear. Seeing Kara walking to the upper parking lot, Ken followed her and knocked on her driver's side window.
"What?" Kara said while rolling her window down.
"You have to see this," Ken said, holding the news camera up to Kara. "I was behind the clothes rack in the dressing room. I recorded the whole thing!"
Kara got her promotion without having to sacrifice her integrity. Afterwards, Kara did an exclusive report on Laura's abilities as a psychic medium, praising her for saving her mother's life, and her job. As a psychic medium, Laura became the toast of the town. Her clientele list grew exponentially, so Laura had to hire assistants to field customers. One of those assistants was a U.H. student looking for part-time work. So, through a friend who provided weed, Mark Hon was hired to work for Laura and be one of those assistants. Mark loved the job and talked about Laura to all of his friends but most especially to his mother, who would always say to her son, "Well, I'm going to have to meet this Laura one day,"
That one day came when Mark brought Laura home for dinner to meet his mother. Mrs. Cheon Hon was a history teacher at a local private school. She had been widowed for ten years and raised Mark on her own. She found Laura pleasant enough but felt Laura was putting on this air of being a husky-voiced earth mother who spoke in parables. She was dressed in dark-colored gauze material clothing, wearing a separate top and pants. By the way, the porch light illuminated her from behind, Cheon saw that Laura was completely naked under her outfit. She had a thick head of shoulder-length dark hair and pale skin, so she didn't get out in the sun much. Her eyes were grey, and by her looks, she was much older than her twenty-two-year-old son, whom she now held hands with.
"Mom, this is my girlfriend, Laura," Mark gestured. "Laura, this is my mother, Cheon,"
"Good evening, Cheon," Laura demurred. "More like lovers, we are,"
"Call me Mrs. Hon," Cheon insisted. Mark shot her a look, insisting she be nice to his guest. "Oh," Cheon said while looking down at her son's and his guest's feet. "You both came barefooted."
"To connect with the earth," Mark said. "I'm gonna show Laura my room. We'll be right back."
An hour passed before Mark and Laura came out of his room. By then, Cheon was livid because she prepared dinner for everyone. While she began putting the food away in the kitchen, Mark and Laura left without saying a word. A month later, Cheon found her son sitting curled up in her doorway, crying hysterically, exclaiming that his life was over because of Laura. It turned out that he and Laura's other assistants weren't just her assistants but that Laura had been sleeping with all of them. Sometimes one on one, or at different times more than one. Mark was devastated because he assumed that he and Laura were exclusive. However, no one was more devastated and simultaneously pissed off than Cheon Hon, who, along with her late husband Tien, owned the television station where Laura had, had her initial interview with Kara Meyer. It was Kara Myer who broke the story about Laura and her sex parties in her apartment with U.H. students whom she took advantage of by falsely promising exclusive relationship rights. That was the end of Laura's psychic medium dynasty. Eventually, she moved to Vegas and settled in the local community, giving psychic mediumship to whoever would have it. Laura never achieved the same type of celebrity she had in Hawai'i. She was forty-three when Mark Hon met and fell in love with her. At the time of the meeting with Mark's mother, Cheon was forty-three.
As gifted as we may be, as psychic mediums, let us not forget that we still adhere to human enlightenment and frailty. Humility keeps us in the light. Ego, ignorance, and vice fool us into thinking we are in the light when we are actually in the dark.
Loved it
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