CHAPTER III
KNOCK KNOCK, WHO'S THERE?

I'm not dead. Or am I? I can see my body on the pavement. Blood slowly oozes from my face, making Santa's beard match the rest of his outfit. My right arm is folded strangely. I'm sure someone heard the crash and help is on the way. But somehow I'm not concerned with my body anymore. I look up at the night sky and one of the stars seems very bright. It grows in brightness until it fills the sky. I guess I'm about to see for myself what an out-of-body experience is all about. I wait awhile but nothing happens. I wait some more and still nothing but stillness and whiteness. "Hey. Where is everybody?" Silence. "Aren't I supposed to be greeted by a guide or see my life or something?" The stillness continues. "Listen, I've got lots of dead people who really love me and they're not going to like it if you keep me waiting like this. Is this all there is? I just sit here in all this white light while my body grows cold? Don't I get any information? Who's in charge here?"

"What do you expect?" says a voice in the whiteness.

"What do you mean, what do I expect? I expect to be greeted and shown around or something. After all, I'm the King of Israel."

"What I mean is what do you expect? In this realm, you get what you expect. You haven't given us any expectation on which to build. How can we show you what you want to see if you don't want anything?"

"I want to see the truth."

"Which truth?"

"The truth."

"There are many truths, and you don't seem to be holding any of them. You don't even hold the absence of truth as your truth."

"Do I have to believe something before it can be true?" I ask.

"Yes," says the voice.

"What about science?"

"What about it? Science has no truths, only probabilities. Your scientist, Mr. Heisenberg, demonstrated that concept a hundred years ago with his uncertainty principle."

"What lies beyond my beliefs?"

"Nothing you could ever comprehend or understand. Nothing that can be communicated in words, thoughts, visions, emotions, or any other code suitable for your mind."

"What about Jesus Christ?"

"Hello, Ken."

I see a man in a long white robe. He looks just like the pictures of Jesus from Sunday School, except his hair and beard are white, like Santa's.

"Jesus, is that you?"

"Yes, Ken. I'm exactly as you imagine me to be."

"What about the other deities of mankind? What about Allah, the Buddha, the spirit of the Tao, Krishna, Elohim, Jehovah, Voodoo, Thor, Mars, and Ra, the God whose name I have?"

"Which of them would you like to meet?"

"Which of them is true?"

"True for you?"

"No, true for the entire universe. I want to talk with the God of reality."

Silence and blackness.

"Hey. Please come back. I'm sorry. What did I say wrong?"

"Hi, Ken. It's Jesus again. Did you enjoy your conversation with the God of reality?"

"I didn't hear or see anything."

"Exactly."

"Okay, if you're telling me that all the gods I ever heard of are figments of the imagination, then what good are they?"

"Plenty. It is important that truth be allowed into the minds of men. Men need some kind of authority for that truth. Their gods give them that authority so they can act and feel according to their truths. Without a God to tell them so, men might not realize the beauties of love, kindness, charity, mercy and brotherhood. Without the authority of a God, they might not learn to avoid the pitfalls of hate, fear, revenge and ego. They might never learn that it is better to win when there is no loser. They might miss the point that they are all parts of a single whole. Before they can enjoy the benefits of such true feelings and actions, they need a source. We give them the source they imagine."

"Are you going to send me back so I can tell others there is no God?"

"No. You cannot tell them any such thing."

"Why not?"

"Because this conversation is a figment of your imagination."

"Wait a minute," I respond. "Does that mean your claim that the gods of others are figments of their imagination is merely a figment of my own imagination?"

"Yes."

"I am going back, am I not?"

"Yes."

"There was a reason for my being here, wasn't there?" "Your question implies that some higher authority provides reasons. Have you decided which higher authority you want to see?" "You mean which imaginary God I want?"

"Yes."

"No."

"Okay, Ken, here are the ground rules. You are here because Santa heard your Christmas wish. You will return to your body and you will have THE POWER. With it, you will heal your own body and the bodies of others. You will go to Israel and help the world make peace. Through you, we are going to grant Billy's wish. You will be limited only by Santa's rules. Do you have any requests before you go?"

"Yes. First, could you please give me the wisdom of Solomon to go with all that power and to help me keep my ego under control?"

"Done."

"Thank you. Second, could I please meet all the gods of mankind?"

"Yes, as many as possible within the time available."

Suddenly, I am in a giant open hall full of gods. The ceiling is so high I can hear an echo. One by one, the gods introduce themselves and hug me. As they do so, I feel them joining me and adding to my spirit. "Hello again, Jesus, hi Krishna." As I hug each God, I feel their distinct personalities. Some are firm and almost military, while others are more relaxed, like hugging my grandmother. Each is unique, yet they are all the same. I feel the same unconditional love in every hug. "Hi, Buddha, Lao Tse, Santa Claus, Joseph Smith, Black Elk, Mars, Venus, The Easter Bunny, Thor." As I hug and exchange love with each God, I hear the others talking among themselves. It's like a giant Celestial cocktail party. The conversations are lively and often punctuated with loud laughter. I'm reminded of a reception line at a joyous wedding - my wedding - my marriage to the many forms of the one God. "Greetings, Odin, Ra, Jehovah, Lucifer, Elohim (Ha-Shem), the many gods of Voodoo, Moses, Zoroaster, Elijah." I get from each the assurance that they will be available to talk through me whenever I ask. I feel the legends of the centuries passing through my subconscious as I encounter all the gods of history. I realize that all their stories are suddenly available to my mind, as if each were putting a special book on a library shelf in my mind. "Nice to meet you, Eastre, Baal, The Tooth Fairy, Saturn, Mercury, Neptune, Allah, God the Father, Mother, Son, Daughter, Brother, Sister, Husband, Wife." I feel so full. I feel stuffed to the bursting point with spirituality. It's almost too much to bear. Oooh, my head is swimming. So many gods. So many friends. So many stories. So much truth. So much pain - pain in my head - pain in my arm - pain in my back - pain in my legs - pain, pain pain - just swimming in pain.

Chapter IV