Along the east shore, people picnicked in grassy
spots. Kids played along the shore and in the shallow water. Ripples of
relaxation and playfulness rolled across the lake as children jumped through
the water, but waves of turmoil crashed through my mind.
“Let’s find a
spot here in the grass and stick our feet in the water for a few minutes. Do
you mind?” I asked.
“Good idea. This
will be easier if you just ask me some questions.”
We stomped
through the grasses, pressed down an area where so we could sit, and then
slipped out of our socks and shoes. I stuck my feet in the lake and welcomed
the cold that nipped my toes. “Jessica, watching you with Blake was amazing.
Can you explain how you did that?”
She took a deep
breath and smiled. “Lexi, I knew you would believe me, and you wouldn’t laugh
in my face. This whole healing through touch thing seems outrageous. I know.
But for me it’s real, and I’ve been wanting to tell you about it.” She splashed
her feet in the water.
Wrapping my arms
around my knees, I rocked back and forth. “Okay then. How long have you had
this ability?”
“My first
experience with healing came when I was about 10 years old.” She played with a
long blade of grass, bending and twisting it around her finger as she
continued. During the next hour or so, she shared many stories. For the most
part, her healing abilities remained imperceptible to others. Usually the
victim was unconscious and didn’t even know the extent of their injuries.
Bystanders tended to attribute a victim’s recovery to Jessica’s CPR and first
aid training.
In some ways I
didn’t want to believe her. If all these absurdities were true, the existence
of supernatural possibilities in this world were increasing by the second. In
another way, I was eager to believe her. The idea that someone else on this
planet was unique like me – that was consoling. Our abilities placed us
both in a different dimension, one that separated us from the general
population.
“Okay,” I said,
“I have another question for you.”
“Shoot.” She dug
her fingers into the ground, prying loose a rock.
“Why can you heal people?”
“That,” she
grunted as she pulled the rock loose and threw it into the lake, “is the
million dollar question.” Out of the blue, but so characteristic of her
personality, she rolled back into the grass and started giggling. She gazed up
at the sky and stomped her feet on the ground.
“What?” I asked,
lying back. Scratchy grasses poked through my t-shirt, and I wriggled around to
get comfortable. A white plume of airplane exhaust was the only mark on an
otherwise infinite blue sky.
“Now listen,
I’ll try to explain my theory.” She sighed. “But I guarantee that this time,
you’re really gonna think I’ve gone mad.” She glanced at me.
“Jessica, with
you, I’m learning always to take everything in stride. I won’t be
judgmental.”
She pulled out
her ponytail holder and slipped it onto her wrist. “Here goes then,” she said
definitively and turned my way. “I think we’re all born with a good energy – a
life force that is with us at all times. It acts like a booster, rejuvenating
our bodies and keeping us healthy – helping us heal when we get sick. I call
this energy Essence. ”
“Hmm…Essence,” I
repeated. “Kind of like the Chinese concept of Ch’i?”
“Sort of…in a
way, but not really,” she stammered. “Ch’i is considered to be a life force that
flows throughout the entire universe. And there are many types of Ch’i. Essence
is simply the revitalizing energy a person is born with.”
“Okay. But how
does Essence help you heal others? And why don’t we all have that ability?”
She nodded
firmly like I’d asked exactly the right follow-up question. “I think everyone
is born with Essence, but I think people are born with varying degrees of it.
Only a few people are born with a sort of dynamic Essence, more like a gift…if
you
spots. Kids played along the shore and in the shallow water. Ripples of
relaxation and playfulness rolled across the lake as children jumped through
the water, but waves of turmoil crashed through my mind.
“Let’s find a
spot here in the grass and stick our feet in the water for a few minutes. Do
you mind?” I asked.
“Good idea. This
will be easier if you just ask me some questions.”
We stomped
through the grasses, pressed down an area where so we could sit, and then
slipped out of our socks and shoes. I stuck my feet in the lake and welcomed
the cold that nipped my toes. “Jessica, watching you with Blake was amazing.
Can you explain how you did that?”
She took a deep
breath and smiled. “Lexi, I knew you would believe me, and you wouldn’t laugh
in my face. This whole healing through touch thing seems outrageous. I know.
But for me it’s real, and I’ve been wanting to tell you about it.” She splashed
her feet in the water.
Wrapping my arms
around my knees, I rocked back and forth. “Okay then. How long have you had
this ability?”
“My first
experience with healing came when I was about 10 years old.” She played with a
long blade of grass, bending and twisting it around her finger as she
continued. During the next hour or so, she shared many stories. For the most
part, her healing abilities remained imperceptible to others. Usually the
victim was unconscious and didn’t even know the extent of their injuries.
Bystanders tended to attribute a victim’s recovery to Jessica’s CPR and first
aid training.
In some ways I
didn’t want to believe her. If all these absurdities were true, the existence
of supernatural possibilities in this world were increasing by the second. In
another way, I was eager to believe her. The idea that someone else on this
planet was unique like me – that was consoling. Our abilities placed us
both in a different dimension, one that separated us from the general
population.
“Okay,” I said,
“I have another question for you.”
“Shoot.” She dug
her fingers into the ground, prying loose a rock.
“Why can you heal people?”
“That,” she
grunted as she pulled the rock loose and threw it into the lake, “is the
million dollar question.” Out of the blue, but so characteristic of her
personality, she rolled back into the grass and started giggling. She gazed up
at the sky and stomped her feet on the ground.
“What?” I asked,
lying back. Scratchy grasses poked through my t-shirt, and I wriggled around to
get comfortable. A white plume of airplane exhaust was the only mark on an
otherwise infinite blue sky.
“Now listen,
I’ll try to explain my theory.” She sighed. “But I guarantee that this time,
you’re really gonna think I’ve gone mad.” She glanced at me.
“Jessica, with
you, I’m learning always to take everything in stride. I won’t be
judgmental.”
She pulled out
her ponytail holder and slipped it onto her wrist. “Here goes then,” she said
definitively and turned my way. “I think we’re all born with a good energy – a
life force that is with us at all times. It acts like a booster, rejuvenating
our bodies and keeping us healthy – helping us heal when we get sick. I call
this energy Essence. ”
“Hmm…Essence,” I
repeated. “Kind of like the Chinese concept of Ch’i?”
“Sort of…in a
way, but not really,” she stammered. “Ch’i is considered to be a life force that
flows throughout the entire universe. And there are many types of Ch’i. Essence
is simply the revitalizing energy a person is born with.”
“Okay. But how
does Essence help you heal others? And why don’t we all have that ability?”
She nodded
firmly like I’d asked exactly the right follow-up question. “I think everyone
is born with Essence, but I think people are born with varying degrees of it.
Only a few people are born with a sort of dynamic Essence, more like a gift…if
you
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