The Celestine Prophecy: An Adventure by James Redfield Page B

his feet, figuring the bill, and we quickly left. Reneau had been quiet, but as we walked through the door and down the steps, he spoke.
    “Did you see that girl?” he asked, looking at me. “She is a classic example of psychological violence. This is what the human need to control others leads to when taken to the extreme. The old man and woman are dominating the girl totally. Did you see how nervous and stooped she was?”
    “Yes,” I said. “But it appears she’s about fed up.”
    “Exactly! Her parents have never let up. And from her point of view she has no choice but to lash out violently. It is the only way she can gain some control for herself. Unfortunately, when she grows up, because of this early trauma, she will think she has to seize control and dominate others with the same intensity. This characteristic will be deeply ingrained and will make her just as dominating as her parents are now, especially when she is around people who are vulnerable, such as children.
    “In fact, this same trauma no doubt happened to her parents before her. They have to dominate now because of the way their parents dominated them. That’s the means through which psychological violence is passed down from one generation to another.”
    Reneau stopped suddenly. “I need to get my sleeping bag out of the truck,” he said. “I’ll be down is a second.”
    I nodded and Wil and I continued toward the campsite.
    “You and Reneau have been talking a lot,” Wil remarked.
    “Yes, we have,” I said.
    He smiled. “Actually Reneau has been doing most of the talking. You listen and answer direct questions but you don’t offer much.”
    “I’m interested in what he has to say,” I said, defensively.
    Wil ignored my tone. “Did you see the energy moving between the members of that family? The man and woman were sucking the child’s energy into themselves until she was almost dead.”
    “I forgot to watch the energy flow,” I said.
    “Well, don’t you think Reneau would like to see it? What do you make of running into him in the first place?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “Don’t you think it has some meaning? We were driving down the road and you see someone who reminds you of an old friend and when we meet him he happens to also be looking for the Manuscript. Doesn’t that sound beyond coincidence?”
    “Yes.”
    “Perhaps you met so that you could receive some information that will extend your journey here. And doesn’t it follow that perhaps you have some information for him as well?”
    “Yes, I guess so. What do you think I should tell him?”
    Wil again looked at me with his characteristic warmth. “The truth,” he said.
    Before I could say anything else, Reneau came bounding down the path toward us.
    “I brought a flashlight in case we need it later,” he said.
    For the first time I became aware of the twilight and looked west. The sun had already set but the sky was still a bright orange. The few clouds in that direction carried a darker, reddish color. For an instant I thought I saw a whitish field of light around the plants in the foreground, but the image faded.
    “Beautiful sunset,” I said, then noticed Wil had disappeared into his tent and Reneau was pulling his sleeping bag from its case.
    “Yes, it is,” Reneau said distractedly without looking.
    I walked over to where he was working.
    He looked up and said, “I didn’t get to ask you; what insights have you seen?”
    “The first two were only described to me,” I replied. “But we just spent the last two days at the Viciente Lodge, near Satipo. While we were there, one of the people doing research gave me a copy of the Third Insight. It’s pretty amazing.”
    His eyes lit up. “Do you have it with you?”
    “Yes. Do you want to look at it?”
    He jumped at the opportunity and took it into his tent to read. I found some matches and old newspaper and started the fire. After it was burning brightly, Wil crawled out of his