A01

Air Temple

Wednesday 20th September 1995 (10:00pm)

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Rob: We stand upon sand a little way from the temple. Behind us runs a river, I can see low featureless hills.

Barry: A sea breeze blows our hair.

Rob: I can see a bright blue sky, there are not many clouds. The temple looks very white.

Barry: There is a stone path leading to the temple. Above the door lintel is the face we know so well carved into white limestone.

Rob: I step into the stairwell. There is a sense of freshness as we ascend. There are 135 steps. The walls of the stairs are white with small slit windows periodically.

Barry: We reach the top. The temple is beyond, through an arched doorway. It is circular and has four windows placed just above eye level. The temple has a domed ceiling open to the air. The floor is made of purple polished marble. In each of the four quarters are candles in silver candlesticks.

Rob: There is an altar in the centre, below the circular hole in the roof. The temple is light and airy.

Barry: The temple walls are richly decorated and depict ethereal elementals in dances. They are joyful scenes, There are wind chimes around the room, each sounds different. To the left I hear a low note, to the right a high jingle. It gives a calming feeling to the temple.

Rob: Sounds are the children of air. The sound of our breathing � life. God breathes the breath of life into his creations. Air is the passage of life, the spoken word etc.

Barry: On the altar stands a flat censer and a small silver bell. The closer I get the more rarefied the air is.

To our left positioned in the wall is a small perch for a bird. Sunlight shines brightly down through the roof. It reflects off the mirror surface of the altar. I can see dust particles in the breeze. Those particles coalesce to form a staircase going in a circular motion to the roof.

Rob: Can we ascend?

Barry: I�m stepping on. It�s not like treading on a surface. Its like being lifted, and blown up at each step. Passing out onto the roof is like going through a layer of cloud, an almost stiff cloying layer, then we are above and gazing out into a vast landscape of deep blue permeated with rolling clouds. In our peripheral vision we can see shimmering figures.

Rob: The air is shimmering, but not with heat. I can see the breeze and transparent figures chasing each other. They lift us into the air. They are strong. They carry us higher.

Barry: The figures seem to blink in and out of our vision, their bodies changing and moving. There touch is electric, ice cold which makes me tingle. Their presence seems oxygen enriched.

Rob: I can hear snatches of speech. To communicate clearly, both parties must understand the same things. I can hear snatches of speech. To communicate clearly, both parties must understand the same things.

Barry: Their speech sounds like a fast sucking whisper. They�re showing us a castle of black marble, vaster than anything I can imagine.

Rob: The oxygen in blood flows to our brain. The more oxygen, the better we think. This is connected with thought � sound � scent � they are all airborne. Vibrations exist at many levels. The ones that we perceive relate to musical notes.

Barry: I can see a figure on the battlement of a large man who looks almost Elvin. He is jet black with golden eyes and golden hair. He plays a lute. The vibrations of his music can be felt in the chest.

Rob: I feel terribly restless. I can�t keep still, and feel disorientated.

Barry: The figures are amused that we can�t match their speed.

Rob: I am returning back to the temple.

Barry: I can hear the sound of the temple chimes and follow them back. I am standing in front of the altar.

AO1