Page 26 of Dark Shaman: The Lost Treasure (The Children Of The Gods #98)

"I wouldn't call it studying," Sarah said.

"We don't have teachers here, but I read a lot and understand some.

" She smiled. "When time is not an issue and you are afforded the ability to procure books on every subject imaginable, you can gain a lot of knowledge.

I've been particularly fascinated by how modern science keeps rediscovering ancient wisdom.

It's like the connections you spoke about. I'm thrilled each time I find them."

"Like morphic resonance," Tony said. "A famous biologist proposed that there's a field of collective memory that influences form and behavior.

That sounds a lot like what a famous psychologist referred to as the collective unconscious, which bears a resemblance to what shamans have long described about the spirit world.

It's all the same thing with different names. "

Eluheed hadn't expected such depth from the American, and he wondered if Tula had anything to do with it.

So far, she hadn't said much, seeming preoccupied with something no one else was privy to, but he had a feeling that Tony had learned about those things from her and not the other way around.

From his brief interactions with the guy, he'd gotten the impression that Tony was highly educated, but he was the type who knew a lot about things in his narrow field of study and was not interested in much beyond it.

Sarah's eyes lit up. "Or consider the placebo effect. It's really proof that belief and intention can create physical changes."

"Which brings us back to that book you were reading about manifestation," Rolenna said to Tamira.

Tamira nodded. "The claim is that focused intention can reshape reality. Elias and I were discussing it in the garden earlier."

All eyes turned back to him.

"What are your thoughts on that?" Beulah asked. "As a shaman, you must have opinions on whether we can will things into being." She wiggled her fingers as if performing magic. "Perhaps we can will ourselves out of here. I for one would love to see America."

He was accustomed to the dismissive attitude with which people usually treated his calling, and he wasn't offended by it. They were just ignorant about the multitude of wonders the universe had to offer and sure that science had already discovered everything worth discovering.

It was such arrogance to think that the limited minds of humans could ever uncover all the secrets in the universe.

Eluheed took a sip of wine while preparing his answer.

It required a careful balance between the echoes of common beliefs and knowledge and what he knew that none of those present did and sounding like he had a lot to contribute to the discussion while not delivering anything earth-shattering.

"Every culture has stories about the power of will and word.

In ancient Egypt, they believed names held the essence of things— to know something's true name was to have power over it.

The Aborigines of Australia believe that they sang the world into being.

Hindu and Buddhist traditions speak of maya, the illusion of reality. "

"Do you believe in any of it?" Raviki said. "Can we actually change reality with our thoughts?"

Eluheed smiled. "I think that the separation between thought and reality is superficial. Consciousness is fundamental to the universe, not just the byproduct of our brain chemistry, and our intentions are part of the fabric of reality, not separate from it."

"That's a clever dodge." Liliat nodded with approval. "But you didn't answer the questions about what you believe."

Smart lady. He'd hoped that the big words would do the trick.

"Then let me be more direct. Yes, I believe intention shapes reality, but it's not as simple as thinking really hard about riches or freedom or both and having it become your reality.

It's more subtle than that. Focused intention can rewire the way our brain perceives opportunities and what possibilities we notice or ignore. "

"The observer effect," Sarah murmured. "We collapse probability waves just by looking."

Eluheed nodded, vaguely remembering what he'd read on the subject. "What shamans learn through practice, physicists are discovering through mathematics. Consciousness and the cosmos are inseparable."

That sounded profound enough without really saying anything. Of course, consciousness was not separate from the cosmos because the cosmos contained everything within it, or as some believed, consciousness contained the cosmos.

He waited for someone to call his bluff, but no one did.

"How did you become interested in shamanism?" Tamira asked. "Were you born into the tradition?"

The question required an even more careful navigation. "No one is born a shaman. My people had old traditions." He shifted his gaze to Liliat. "Like your ancestors. They had old ways of seeing, but they were lost, so I had to develop my own."

Liliat's eyes were sharp as she regarded him. "How did they get lost?"

"War. Displacement. The usual tragedies." He kept his tone light, but as he turned to look at Tamira, her expression suggested that she heard the old pain behind his words. "Then again, getting displaced meant that I traveled all over and learned a lot along the way, so it wasn't all bad."

It was terrible, horrific, and he couldn't even think about the fate that befell his people without his heart breaking into a million shards that shredded his insides and made him wish for death to stop the pain.

They had been annihilated, and he'd barely managed to escape with the precious cache he'd been entrusted to save, the treasure that was now buried under tons of rock.

He had to find a way to dig it out, not only to save it but also to honor the sacrifice of those who had made his escape possible.

"Well, whoever taught you along the way did an excellent job," Rolenna said. "Tony claims that your remedies cured his migraines when nothing else would."

Tony nodded. "That's true. And I didn't feel like throwing up after drinking the concoction either. Elias sweetened it with honey. Thank you."

"It was my pleasure," Eluheed said. "My garden may be small, but each plant there was chosen carefully and cultivated with intention."

"Speaking of intention," Liliat said with a mischievous glint, "Tamira claims she manifested you seeking her out in the garden earlier."

She'd told him that, but he wasn't sure how to respond without embarrassing her. "I guess she did because I felt compelled to check out the garden."

"I was practicing what the book suggested," Tamira said. "Focusing on my desire for interesting conversation. And then he appeared."

"After this, therefore, because of this," Tony said. "Classic logical fallacy."

"Or classic manifestation." Raviki turned to face the guy. "How would we tell the difference?"

"You'd need a control group." Tony seemed to warm to the topic. "Double blind studies, multiple trials, statistical analysis?—"

"How romantic," Tula interrupted his flow dryly. "Darling, I manifested you, and I have the data to prove it."

Everyone around the table laughed, and more of the pain in Eluheed's chest eased. Laughter was therapeutic.

"What I find interesting is how often ancient spiritual practices align with cutting-edge science," Sarah said, looking pointedly at Tony.

"Studies show that meditation changes brain structure.

Prayer affects recovery rates. Shamanic drumming induces theta brainwaves associated with deep healing.

You can't poke holes in that because it was proven. "

"Bad science," Tony muttered as dessert was served, delicate pastries that looked too beautiful to eat. "Don't forget remote viewing," he added in a mocking tone. "The CIA spent millions researching it. Turns out shamans have been doing it for millennia."

"You're remarkably open-minded for a scientist," Eluheed said, ignoring the guy's sarcasm.

Tony shrugged. "Given my experience, I guess more is possible than I can conceive of.

I could have never imagined that I would find myself trapped on an island full of immortals.

" He grinned at Tula. "If someone had told me that I would be surrounded by beautiful women and chosen by the most beautiful of them all, I wouldn't have believed it, but I would have surely hoped it was true. "

"Flatterer." Tula leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"I like to imagine that I'm free in some other, parallel universe," Beulah said. "Supposedly, every quantum event splits reality into multiple timelines, and since there are an infinity of events, there are also an infinity of realities. In one of them, I'm not a concubine locked in a harem."

"Or you might be suffering a worse fate," Sarah said. "If multiple universes exist, then I bet that in half of them you suffer and in half of them you enjoy life, so balance is maintained. It's all about balance in the universe."