It's All In the Playing by Shirley Maclaine Read Free Book Online

made a part of my life. He went on to say that I had been around publicly long enough for them to know I wasn’t crazy, so they were in the uncomfortable position of either walking away, insisting on retaining their own prejudices, or opening up to take a look at what I was saying. Either election would contribute to their discomfort until they were ready to recognize and integrate their own spiritual awareness. In other words, the condition of spiritual awareness would be a gradually escalating process which would be ultimately regarded as socially transformative.
    I looked around my living room. Those who had never heard of spiritual channeling before were beginning to look slightly glassy-eyed or defensively suspicious. There were also individuals, fresh to this experience,who were looking for answers to conflicting dilemmas in their own lives. Nearly all of them were grappling with some kind of pain, disappointment, anger, or self-esteem problem. The questions that followed centered around those personal issues. The answers seemed to alleviate some anxiety. Then someone asked about AIDS and what was really causing it. Tom was circumspect.
    “If you want the spiritual reason,” he began, “which is of course at the bottom of all there is, let me begin by saying that it is fairly black and white. This disease preys predominantly upon those individuals who are socially disinvested—those who find themselves isolated from the mainstream of society. AIDS, if you will notice, has become more prevalent and in direct ratio to the homophobia in your social order. It is a social consciousness illness.”
    “What can we do about it?” asked a young man whose friends were afraid.
    “There can be a reversal of the karma here. If all of you citizens were to embrace each other and through that spiritual alignment become more demanding of AIDS research, you would find the karma decreasing. Ask not for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for each of you. Death is not prejudiced. Your administration is involved with foot-dragging on the issue because they regard it as a gay pestilence. But when it begins to cut across all boundaries, they will intensify the research allotment.”
    “Well, are there any positive aspects to this disease?” I asked.
    “Indeed there are,” answered Tom. “You see, this disease is serving to AID the understanding that all disease is a question of human consciousness. Body follows mind. When the spirit is low or unaligned or unhappy or disinvested (as we were saying), the body manifests that spiritual state of mind. Such severe diseasements aid the society in this fundamental understanding. Your doctors and psychiatrists are already beginning to see the roleconsciousness plays in disease. The word dis-ease says it all, does it not?”
    “Are you saying disease, or health, is a question of attitude then?”
    “Yes. Pure energy relating to attitude stimulates the healing process. This disease has appeared, in your social order, to focus on the problems of stress upon the immune system. An immune system which is not spiritually aligned with the positive universal forces will break down. It is difficult for a socially disinvested individual to feel aligned. Eliminate your prejudice. You will decrease the disease.”
    There was silence at the implications of this sweeping statement.
    “I must be going soon,” Tom said finally. “I don’t want to tax the instrument’s energies. I can take one more question.”
    Stan leaned forward.
    “Mr. McPherson,” he began, “there will be a great deal of energy put into this production. My question is: Have any of us shared this creative energy in the past? Are we going to be re-creating an experience we may have already had together in a past life?”
    I never expected the producer of Roots and Thorn Birds to ask such a question. But then, there were producers—and producers. Tom’s answer was even more astounding.
    “Absolutely,” he said. “This entire