Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-27012445-20160716181703

The vastness of space. The unexplored depths of the ocean. so hostile, so cold, and so dark are these places; yet, such wonders they hold. Countless new discoveries are waiting to shock, surprise and jar our understanding of the world we live in and test the limits of our imagination and to satiate our appetites for knowledge. Instead, we preoccupy ourselves with the afterlife. We obsess over what happens to us when we die. We ponder where do we go once we take our last breath? Is there something more after death? Does our soul merely abandon the constraints of the flesh, still holding onto our memories and experiences of life or do we merely blink out of existence? Then there is the most profound question, "Am I going to Heaven or Hell?”

Tell me, Child of Eden. How deep do these mysteries vex your waking mind? How deep do you long for these answers? Are you willing to brave and travel upon unfamiliar waters for such revelation? Are you one who has lived a life of sin or one who has realized the deity you worship did not come to be by any divine intervention, but from the mere fact that this particular god was the dominant deity in the lands you so happened to be born within. If you had been born across the sea, would you not be praying to another god? So know you wonder if you are praying to the right god. Maybe you have committed sins in such number that it blemishes your soul, and you question the very possibility of forgiveness even if you were to repent with all your might.

What if you have lived a good life, yet never swore allegiance to one god or another. Is that sufficient justification for a loving God to damn your soul to an eternity of torment as some doctrines teach?

Do such questions eat away at the gray matter of your brain? Do they suckle upon your anxieties and fears at the back of your throat? Well, worry not. You are in good hands and good company, for such inquiries are well known to me.

Closer. Come and lean closer, lad. I wish to whisper a secret to you. What you seek is not impossible to find. The answers you desire to possess can be yours. All can be revealed to you—if you are willing to risk all.

What say you? Do you still desire to stay the course? Does a fire still burn in heart to know with assurance if a Heavenly reward awaits you or fire and brimstone? Yes? Good.

It begins with water. Water is the vessel in which will gain you entry into the hidden realm and give you an audience before the one you seek. It is the most mystical of all the elements and the most vital substance for life itself. Such a wondrous thing water is, it exists as liquid and hardens to ice. It falls from the sky and floats on the air as invisible vapors. It gently soothes the burns received from the sun's fiery kiss and powerful enough to carve canyons through the rocks of the mightiest mountains. Such a wondrous thing this water is.

We begin by drawing yourself a bath at a temperature you find soothing and relaxing. To ease your transition into the other realm, baptize the water with the follow items. The essence of rose hip cultivated from the first bulbs of spring. Sea salt from waves that crash under a new moon's shadow. Pedals from the fragile Sun Opener flower, wilted and fermented under the rays of the sun for one full rotation. Lastly, stems and leaves of the Blue Lotus flower, ground and infused with virgin oil blessed by a holy man of any doctrine or belief.

Now, in the days of old many concoctions and elixirs were used of questionable quality and effectiveness with unpredictable and undesirable results. You must alter your mind and your senses dulled and sedated for your consciousness to pass through the portal. Sadly, most attempts ended with an undesirable result—a body, dead and submerged under water. Well, look on the bright side, at least the water had a pleasant smell to it. Who could ask for a better grave?

However, in this modern world, such things are longer a challenge and common pharmaceuticals now exist that allows you to reach such states of mind and perception with ease. Take Ambien for example. Since its arrival, many have I guided into the very place you seek to go. Ah Ambien, such an innovative and glorious creation. Ambien, fast and effective with none of the unpleasantness and grogginess one encounters from the potions of old. Who wants to return from an inter-dimensional realm suffering from a hangover and not be of clear mind? Ummm, pardon me. I do get carried away with my infatuation with this tiny little pill. Now where were we? Ah yes, the Ambien. Take six of the pills and swallow them whole.

Plunge the room in darkness except for one candle in which you are permitted to ignite. Remove all of your clothing. As you entered the world naked, so is it you shall pass through the membranes of reality to reach your destination. Lay down in the water.

Begin the incantation to start your journey. Repeat after me.


 * Now I lay me down to sleep
 * I pray the Lord, my soul to keep
 * If I die before I wake
 * I pray the Lord my soul to take.


 * Now I lay me down to sleep,
 * I pray the Lord, my soul to keep.
 * Hide me from thy angels who watch from the night,
 * And keep me safe from their wicked sight.


 * Lord, I lay me down to sleep,
 * I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
 * If thy angels see me through the night,
 * Please, Please, Please
 * Keep me safe till morning's light


 * I laid myself down to sleep,
 * I prayed to you Lord, my soul to keep.
 * If thy Angels come for me this very night,
 * Please wake me before they can steal my light.

Minutes will feel like seconds. Seconds will stretch on and on. As you speak each verse, time will pass, and the water will cool, slowly lowering your body's  temperature. The darkness will slowly fall upon you and show you many things as you drift in and out of awareness. It is for you to take notice of these vision or not. It is of no consequence and bears no importance. You slowly come to awareness, still laying in the water, but as your mind begins to clear, you realize you are no longer in the small bathroom in which your tub sat. You are in a chamber so large you are unable to see its walls or ceiling tops. The dark waters you stand within are waist deep and stretches far beyond faint light the shine above you. All is deathly still, no ripples or movement can be seen from the water other than from your body's movements. The echoes from dripping water ring out now in the large chamber.

Soon, from within the darkness, you will hear something emerge from the water. The sounds are so distorted here in this chamber you cannot tell from which direction it comes from or if there are more than one body rising from beneath the surface.

Now, one of two things may happen. One, you may hear a deep sigh from out of the darkness. Whatever stands in the darkness will slowly lower itself back under the depths of the water and be gone. You are free to stay here as long as you will, although I would recommend a hasty departure at this point. Begin willing yourself to awaken from your sleep state. Enough time in the real world has passed for the chemicals to work their way out of your system. Awaken so that you may complete the ritual.

The sigh that was heard reveals that your fate is undetermined and your free will is intact to do good or evil. The fate of your soul has not been written. Understand this, no mortal is guaranteed entry into the gates of paradise for such things cannot be known. The Gods can be very picky in granting admission no matter what you choose to call it—Heaven, Shangri La, Valhalla, the Elysium Fields. They are still quite selective on whom they will be spending eternity with.

If no sigh comes out from the distance, there will be a deep silence. Suddenly you will hear violent splashing as something charges toward you. Again, the echoes of the sounds make it impossible to determine in which direction it approaches you and how many bear down on you. The splashing is loud and erratic as if it is running full speed at you and feverishly scrambles to reach you in a blind rage.

It is now your time to will yourself awake. Take command of your senses and your consciousness. You have the answer you sought. It has caught the stench of your rotting soul and has determined that all paths will lead you to damnation. Whether you live another lifetime or die tomorrow, Hell is your destination, so it may as will take you now and save itself the trouble later. If you savor what life you have left to live, rouse yourself from sleep.

If you can pull yourself out of the depths of slumber, you will find yourself in your familiar bathroom in the tub full of water. The water is now cold and frigid. Your body is cramped and weak from sitting in the chilly water for all this time. Use whatever strength your fear has given you and pull yourself out of the water quickly for the portal is still open and you are not free from peril. Remove the drain plug immediately to release the water. This will collapse the doorway. This is why a clear mind and your full mental faculty is imperative. For if you take too much time, you will see movement under the water, do not go near the water or put your hands underneath the surface. It is too late. All that can be done at this point is delay its approach by finishing the incantation and ending the ritual.

Enjoy what few days that remain for you. Appreciate what life has offered you for very soon the beast will return. It will approach you with the stealth of a serpent and rip your soul from your flesh and drag you screaming to stand before the gates of Hell.

The final step, regardless of what you heard and saw is to finish your incantation. Like all prayers, you must end your plea with this single word,
 * "Amen". 