Astonishing the Gods by Ben Okri

dreams, in unseen realms. There we have our cities, our castles, our greatest books, our great music, our art, science, our truest love, our fullest sustenance. If you are lucky you will partake of this higher condition, and delight in its power that transcends all boundaries.
    â€˜And sometimes – very rarely – but sometimes nonetheless, our highest creative acts, our highest playfulness, our self-overcoming, our purest art, our ascending songs, by some mysterious grace transcend so many boundaries and enter so many realms that we occasionally astonish even the gods.
    â€˜The best things in the world dwell in the realm of pure light, from where they spread their influence to all corners of the universe, to stones and men and worms, and even to stars and the dead and to angels. We are learning to be masters of the art of transcending all boundaries. We are learning to go beyond the illusion that is behind illusion.
    â€˜And even our way and our discoveries are still young in all their possibilities. We wake every day in a state of absolute humility and joyfulness at all that lies possible before us.
    â€˜Therefore we have no fame. We live quietly, as if within a sacred flame, and no one outside this island knows we exist. In our silence we dedicate ourselves to the perfection of our spirits, consecrated to serving the highest forces in the universe.
    â€˜We do not want to be remembered, or praised. We only want to increase the light, and to spread illumination.’

1
    He listened deeply to the silence speaking, till the silence itself changed. Something else took its place, a mood of expectation. He looked about him. The banners and buntings of the invisible city guild remained still. The trumpets and flutes were silent. A higher glow had entered the hall. He couldn’t explain its source.
    Then he heard his female guide say something to him. She said it three times before he heard. Then there was a long pause before he understood. And when he understood he became confused.
    â€˜You can only receive what you already have. You can only be given what you’ve already got,’ she said, gently.
    Still confused, he was about to speak when she touched him again. The effect of her touch was to make him intensely conscious of the fact that he was the focus of the expectant mood in the hall.
    â€˜Your moment has come,’ she said, sweetly. ‘You are being summoned to the stage.’
    â€˜But what for?’ he asked, when he recovered from his confusion.
    â€˜For having got here,’ she replied kindly. ‘Go, and you will find out.’
    And so, with much trepidation, he rose and climbed the stairs to the stage. When he got on stage he noticed that both sides of the stage wall were composed of glowing mirrors. He was surprised that he hadn’t noticed them before. Then it occurred to him that they weren’t there before.
    Within the mirrors, there were worlds and realms and dazzling existences. The things he glimpsed filled him with a shining terror. He tried not to look into the mirrors again.
    He stood near the table closest to the edge of the stage, and he could feel the illuminated presence of the invisible masters behind him. He could also sense the uplifting effect of the colours and symbols on the banners. He felt the stoic rectitude of the invisible city guild, and the benevolent patience of the master musicians.
    While he stood there a glass of water appeared mysteriously before him. He drank the water, and the glass was retrieved back into invisibility. Something cleared in his head. The clarity within him felt amazing, as if he had been given a new consciousness. The silence became deeper in the hall. It was a silence so clear he felt the doors of a higher realm had been opened. When he looked around he was amazed to see how truly vast the hall was, and he was awestruck by the sheer collective force of the invisible congregation.
    And then, to his horror, he found