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The Maze - Nineteen The Maze - Nineteen It was not to be, of course, not with the persistence of Ted’s guides. And to make sure he got the message, they demanded his attention in a powerful way. In the middle of the night, awake but in an altered mental state, he found himself transported to an unknown location, accompanied on either side by two men whose features were unclear to him. When he came to full awareness, Ted was standing between the men in a large room, well-lit without any apparent light source. Across the room stood a long table with a row of empty chairs behind it. A door opened on the left, and five strange men marched out in single file, stepping in unison. The man at the head of the line was Caucasian with light brown hair, the second man had a dark complexion, and the other three were of various races. Each wore a close-fitting shirt with a high collar, remi- niscent of outdated Nehru jackets. Completely disoriented, Ted struggled to recognize them, but no one looked familiar. The men marched up silently behind the table. The leader stopped at the center chair while the others placed them- selves beside him, two on each side. Then they all made a short bow in Ted’s direction and took their seats. Even in his dazed condition, Ted was surprised by the men’s respectful greeting. As if on cue, the two men beside Ted propelled him for- ward until the three of them stood close to the table and the mysterious council. “Listen carefully,” the central figure said, gazing intently into Ted’s eyes. “You must stop trying to please people and to gain their validation of your work. We have brought you here to tell you to cease your concerns, for these feelings are interfering with your proper direction. “You must not concern yourself with what other people think. You are here to do very important work. This over- concern with the opinions of others is holding back your progress.” Ted wanted to respond, but he was unable to move or speak, held firmly in the man’s steady gaze. “Always remember that the people who need to hear your message will hear it,” the leader continued. “Those who Masquerade of Angels 190 do not hear must not concern you. There will never be enough evidence or proof to convince them, at any rate, for they will always find a way to discredit it or justify it away. Do your work, and all will be well, regardless of those and their attitudes.” Ted’s immediate next awareness was of sitting up in his bed, and it was morning. He remembered everything, and for the first time in months he had a feeling of security and relief. Whether the nighttime event had been real or a dream, Ted accepted the message as valid. The spirits knew of his doubts, and they had given him all the reassurance he needed. With such loving, caring forces on his side, he felt confident to carry on with the readings again. Soon after that, just when things had settled down, a dif- ferent sort of disruption came along. At work, there were rumors of coming changes which did not make Ted feel very secure. He started looking for other job possibilities, just in case the rumors turned out to be true. Before anything developed, however, he had another visionary dream, similar to the one he had seen before the move to Amarillo. In this dream, Ted saw himself driving around a different city, looking for a place to set up his mobile home. He found one particular site that looked inviting, but he could not tell exactly where he was. When he awoke and cleared his thoughts, however, he suddenly realized that the city he was shown was Shreveport, Louisiana. “Good Lord!” he thought, appalled by the vision. “TI can’t imagine myself moving to Shreveport! I’d rather go back to New Mexico, or maybe up to Denver, anywhere but Louisiana. What on earth could pull me to Shreveport?” Masquerade of Angels 191