Rescuing the Infinite

By Drew Lawrence

The fifteen short stories in this book are primarily about endings and new beginnings, death and rebirth, and emancipation of the spirit, from a spiritual perspective

• Language: English
• Publisher: Drew Lawrence
• Release date: Oct 29, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301182282

Drew Lawrence

Drew is a successful author, speaker, Sanskrit scholar and Vedic astrological consultant. He has been a practitioner of Vedic Astrology or Jyotish for over 34 years and has been a featured speaker at the International Symposium on Vedic Astrology held in the United States and the British Association of Vedic Astrology Conference held in London. He has authored two books, The Way of Kings, detailing ancient leadership strategies that he translated from the original Sanskrit and Planetary Gemstones. In 1969, Drew Lawrence set out on a personal journey. His destination — the fulfillment of his life’s purpose. Almost forty years later, he finds himself still firmly treading that same path, significantly closer to the goal and appreciating every step of the adventure. As an experienced traveler on the path, he has been given the fortunate opportunity to help thousands of other wayfarers on their quest for their own Holy Grail. Steeped in the practical mysticism of the Sanskrit Vedas, and intuitively versed in the symbolism of Jungian psychological thought and active imagination, Drew has forged powerful tools with which he has developed his own distinctive methods of insight and transformation. Offering lectures and seminars on a variety of themes around the globe, Drew enjoys the distinction of having spoken on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. With clients throughout the world, Drew is a consultant to Fortune 500 executives, crown princes, heads of state, United Nations envoys, diplomats, Ivy League professors, inventors, cutting-edge entrepreneurs, and entertainment celebrities. Among them, academy award winning director, Oliver Stone, golden globe winning actress, Jennifer Garner, Marsha Mason, Cindy Crawford, Kate Beckinsale, Linda Gray, Joanna Gleason, Chris Sarandon, Robin Wright, Billy Zane, Chris de Burgh, and Miss World Rosanna Davison, to name a few. Drew has pioneered a dynamic method of meditation and personal discovery entitled Guided Healing Meditation which enables people to "heal their past and envision their future." He has been featured in national magazine articles, as well as radio and television interviews in several countries. His consultations and workshops have brought empowerment and transformation into the lives of thousands. Helping individuals find their life purpose, thereby leading them to their personal fulfillment and our society’s greatest benefit, has been one of Drew’s long-time goals.

Book preview

Rescuing the Infinite

And Other Unanticipated Tales

Drew Lawrence

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Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2012 Drew Lawrence

License Notes: This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this ebook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

01 The Fig Leaf - A humorous story about Adam and Eve's discovery of their newfound shame around nakedness

02 A New Lease On Life - A true story about having my shoes stolen outside a temple in India, which was the harbinger for a new beginning in life

03 The Storm - The story of a woman who decides to leave her stormy life behind with the subsiding of a recent storm

04 Gulf of Siam - A funny and poignant insight into what women are looking for in relationship with men through the sizing-up of a regular guy by a gorgeous mermaid

05 Numbness - The left side of an emotionally troubled man's body goes numb like his heart until he faces the truth and decides to leave his lover

06 Waiting - A woman's buried memory of sexual abuse as a child is triggered with painful consequences

07 The Witch - The funny story of a Witch who frees herself from her accursed appearance and finds true love

08 Waters of the Seine - A troubled woman can no longer face the lie she has been living

09 The Dark Night of Pain & Surrender - A true story about the dark night of the soul experienced through six long weeks of excruciating physical pain accompanied by insightful dreams and visions

10 Rescuing the Infinite - The story of a soul caught in limbo who tries his best to avoid taking responsibility for his actions in his recent lifetime

11 The Dolmen - A true story about a mystical experience with a Druid’s Dolmen in Northern Ireland, a portal to another dimension

12 The Boatman - The story of a boatman who unwittingly takes a passenger on a journey to the other side of life

13 The Chick Peas - The story of a woman trying to come to terms with the loss of her husband in a terrorist attack

14 The Old Elephant - The story of an old elephant making his last journey to the elephant graveyard

15 Pallbearer - The story of a man who cannot remember whose casket he is carrying and the catharsis it triggers when he finally does

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The fifteen short stories in this book are primarily about endings and new beginnings, death and rebirth, and emancipation of the spirit, from a spiritual perspective

The Fig Leaf

She had never before looked upon a fig leaf in the way she looked upon it now. In the past, it had always brought to mind the sweet fruit of the fig, its sticky sweet meat and crunchy little seeds. How she loved to feel its sweetness wrapped around her tongue after she’d torn through its tough skin with her teeth.

But now she frantically searched for the largest fig leaf she could find. For now, for the first time ever, she realized she was naked and this realization brought a strange and unfamiliar sense of shame. She was impelled to cover herself. What was this feeling? Where had it come from? It was as foreign to her as the clouds in the sky blocking the sun. And, looking up to the heavens, she saw them for the first time as well. Only hours ago really. They had made the sun completely disappear. This had never happened before. She felt genuine concern — would it ever reappear? Was it gone for good?

But these astronomical concerns would have to wait. She needed to find a fig leaf. She desperately needed to cover her nakedness. She could see him coming. He was making his way down from the mountain. Soon he would arrive. Soon he would be next to her. And she couldn’t let him see her like this — in all her shame and nakedness. She tried many fig leaves — all too small. Finally she found one that covered her womanhood and reasonably hid its joys and its sorrows. And now he had reached her and as she turned to face him, she cleared the last bits of apple from her teeth.

As he looked at her, his eyes fell upon her still naked breasts with their pretty, pink nipples, and, sensing his desire, she blushed. Covering his manhood with his left hand, he turned his face, ashamed and embarrassed. As he looked down at the strange fig leaf she held in front of her tenderness, covering it for the first time in his memory, she asked him,

What did He say? Did we do something wrong?

A New Lease on Life

(A True Story)

India is a land of many illusions. To discover the most precious jewel which timeless India is waiting to offer, one must be able to see beyond its multi-faceted illusions. Since the greatest gift can be had from India, the greatest obstacles to the attainment of that gift appear at every turn, to challenge one's resolve. What is the gift? It is the realization of the eternal, divine nature of all beings.

India cannot be viewed solely through human eyes, for human vision presents many sights which may dishearten the spirit — poverty, beggars, the intentionally maimed, the corrupt caste system, tropical diseases, way too many people and overwhelming heat. From inscrutable suffering and deprivation to bountiful blessings and bliss, every nuance of nature and every shade of life waits with eternal patience to be experienced.

These images are meant to sift out the sight-seers from the sincere seekers. In the eternal concept of life, only spirit is real. All the events we experience in material life are illusions, in the sense that they are temporary and will pass. They fulfill the karma of their participants, but more importantly, they test the faith of all.

Every step of life either winds the mainspring on the wheel of karma, of repeated birth and death, or slows the forward motion of the karmic wheel, thereby releasing one from the jaws of death. But the great gift of freedom from birth and death, known in Sanskrit as moksha, is most difficult to achieve. One must be able to see India with spiritual vision, to see beyond these disturbing illusions, and to glimpse the divine principle which animates all life. Then, India will become the fertile breeding ground it is meant to be for the nurturing and growth of the eternal soul. This is the story of one particular incident that I was faced with on one of my many trips to this enigmatic land.

The bright, colorful façade and statuary of the tiny temple atypically located in a commercial district had previously caught my eye as we passed it in a taxi. It was late afternoon and the sun would soon be setting. I decided to walk to the ornamental shrine since it was not far from my hotel.

I pulled the cheap pair of black, non-leather sneakers over my bare feet. It was too warm for socks, and besides, white socks do not stay white for long in India. I had thought of buying a new pair of Adidas before I left the States, but decided against it. These old sneaks would suffice and besides, I knew I was going to do a lot of walking and I didn't want to have to break in a new pair with the heavy mileage I was planning to put on.

I took a quick breath for an added boost of adrenalin as I stepped into the rush hour traffic on Mohandas Gandhi Road, a major thoroughfare. Crossing a busy street in a typical American city is a much simpler task. Generally, you are faced with cars and trucks and, occasionally, a bicycle or motorcycle. Most of the vehicles are traveling at about the same speed in the designated traffic lanes. With a glance, you can judge three or four lanes and amble across.

A quick look told me I could easily beat the cart piled high with bricks drawn by a dozy water buffalo, as well as the wagon loaded with freshly cut sugar cane pulled by a man whose bare feet seemed to grip the pavement much better than the buffalo's hooves. The constant stream of bicycles offered no intimidation. Even a possible collision wouldn't do much damage. Businessmen and executives in suits and ties riding the vehicle of choice, the motor scooter, have great maneuverability and are generally able to negotiate a near miss from as little as a foot away.

The next major threat in ascending order would have to be the auto-rickshaws. These are three-wheeled vehicles with a steel canopy. The back seat can squeeze two average American bodies, though five or six Indian passengers will often test the vehicle's ability to maintain gravity on fast curves. There are more of these on the road than flies in the hot season. And, like flies, they come at you in swarms. You really need a pair of sneakers to dodge the auto-rickshaws.

Though slightly less numerous but unarguably more dangerous are the cars. Mostly taxis with a smattering of privately owned vehicles. Fortunately, they are not able to travel the speeds of American cars due to the congestion.

Sprinkled among this diverse group are the trucks, invariably overloaded, their suspensions frequently shot causing their loads to teeter dangerously to one side or the other. Though their size is intimidating, they're usually moving too slowly to pose any real threat.

But the stampeding elephants who yield to no one — man, beast, or vehicle — are the overloaded buses with people hanging out the doors. Since no other mode of transportation is foolish enough to challenge them, they rule the road with supreme dominion.

I stepped off the road into the crosswalk, well aware that the First Commandment of American City Traffic, The pedestrian has the right-of-way, has never been preached in India. The only right the pedestrian has here is to try and stay alive.

I made it safely to the middle of the street. Now, all I had to do was to look for traffic coming from the opposite direction, right? Wrong. In India, the solid line down the center of the pavement is merely a point of reference. Crossing it at will for a high speed head-on game of Chicken adds an exciting element of spontaneity. The Indians themselves do not flippantly regard it as a game of Chicken. It is just the way you have to drive when you need to get somewhere quickly. Though this is technically illegal, in this high speed village environment, it is only a technicality. Vehicles cross the line all the time.

But, like the tides, traffic everywhere ebbs and flows. Reaching the opposite curb, I headed up the street. As I walked down the sidewalk, I deftly sidestepped an open manhole. Most of the manholes have covers but some don't. Manufactured items are at a premium in India. In the West, many people collect empty soda cans and sell them for a few pennies at recycling stations. In India, people will find anything of value that isn't nailed down and sell it to anyone who will buy it. Such is the fate of these manhole covers. As an instructional tool, these open manholes are excellent. They teach you to always look where you're going.

After thirty minutes walk, I reached the small temple with its brightly painted, sculpted facade located in the heart of the city. The temple was dedicated to Muneeshvar, which is a manifestation of Shiva who is one of the gods of the Hindu trinity (Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva). Shiva is in charge of the darker elements of the creation. Muneeshvar literally means, the lord of the sages or wise men. Muni actually means silent. The inference is that those who manage to keep their mouths shut will, in time, gain greater realizations about life. No argument there.

Armed with my camera, I was ready to take photos. However, every temple in India is hallowed ground. You cannot walk through its environs with your shoes on. The larger temples typically have someone sitting outside who keeps an eye on everyone's shoes for a few paisa. But this temple was too small. Besides, I'd be in and out in a couple of minutes. When I finished taking pictures of all the deities or statuary representations of the gods, two old men began to thank me profusely. I found this a little strange because my few rupees donation went to the priest who then put it in front of the altar. I hadn't given either of the men a paisa.

Stepping back outside, I was struck with the realization that I was not yet a muni or sage. There were certain things I had not yet learned. In particular, not to leave my shoes unguarded in front of a temple. My trusty old, black sneakers were gone! Someone had rifled them. The priest, the two old men and I searched the area. Nothing.

I thought, That's why the two old guys are thanking me. One of them got a new pair of shoes. Or, one got the left one and the other the right.

Oh well. As I stood there in my bare feet feeling frustrated, I waited for the anger to well up within me. But it did not come. This was India, the land of karma, and a portion of it had just been served to me.

Feeling stupid standing there with no shoes on my feet, I had to make a decision. I wasn't about to walk back to the hotel so I had to hail a taxi or even an auto-rickshaw. But since the hotel was back in the other direction, that meant I had to cross Mohandas Gandhi Road once again, this time in bare feet. Try to imagine the same scenario described above in light of this added inconvenience.

When I reached the other side of the street, I tried hailing cab after cab and innumerable auto-rickshaws. Most all were filled with people traveling home from work. And the ones that weren't wouldn't stop.