"It's hard to imagine that there could be any higher stage of life," Galahad said after a moment, deeply moved by Merlin's description of the seer.

"Be careful with that word higher," cautioned Merlin.  "It's the ego that must have high and low.  The goal of your life is freedom and fulfillment.  Fulfillment isn't achieved until you know God as completely as He knows Himself.  You mortals are always yearning for miracles, and I tell you that the greatest miracle is yourselves, for God has given you this unique ability to identify with His nature.  A perfect rose does not sense that it is a rose; a fulfilled human knows what it means to be divine."

"Can this state be described?" asked Percival.

"It is the seventh and final step of alchemy, pure spirit.  When it dawns the seer finds that what seems to be total joy and fulfillment can still expand.  You see, arriving in the presence of God is not the end of your quest but the beginning.  You began in innocence, and so shall you end.  But this time the innocence is different, because you have gained complete knowledge, whereas a baby has only feeling.

"When you are able to see yourself as spirit, your identification with this body and this mind will cease.  At the same time the concept of birth and death will cease.   You will be a cell in the body of the universe, and this cosmic body will be as intimate to you as our own body is to you now.  That is the closest I can come to how a wizard feels, for wizard is just another word for the seventh stage.

"Understand this; birth for a wizard is merely the idea that 'I have this body,' and death is merely the idea that 'I no longer have this body.'  Since wizards are not subject to the illusion of birth, any body they take on is seen as a pattern of energy, any mind as a pattern of information.  These patterns forever change; they come and go.  But the wizard himself is beyond change.  Mind and body are like rooms one might choose to live in, but not all the time.

"No amount of thinking or feeling can approximate this state or bring it to you.  Spirit is born of pure silence.  Your mind’s internal dialogue must end and never begin again, because what gave rise to the inner dialogue -- fragmentation of the self -- is no longer present.  Your self will be unified, and like the baby that was your beginning, you will feel no doubt, shame, or guilt.  The ego's need for duality resulted in a world of good and bad, right and wrong, light and shadow.  Now you will see that these opposites are fixed.  Such is God's perspective, for everywhere He looks, all He sees is Himself.

"If you feel that this goal is too lofty or too far off, here is a secret.  Although you seem to pass through the seven steps of alchemy, each one was present from the beginning.  In innocence was the totality of God, as it is in the ego or achieving or giving or seeking.  All that truly changed was your focus of attention.  In your being is every aspect of the universe, as complete and eternal as the universe itself.  But still the birth into spirit is a tremendous event.  As unity ripens you will become more and more familiar with the divine, until finally you will experience God as an infinite being moving at infinite speed through infinite dimensions.  When that awesome experience dawns, it will seem as natural and simple as sitting here under the stars, yet each dancing star will be yourself."

As often happens when wizards speak, the two knights felt themselves transported into the very state he was describing.  Galahad looked up at the night sky and suddenly felt as if he could touch the stars.  A sense of truly belonging in the world suffused his heart.  "We are home," Percival whispered to himself.

"Do not be overawed," Merlin murmured.  "These feelings have such intensity because they are new to you.  In truth this is your natural state.  To be unified with the cosmos, to be intimate with life in all its forms, to finally come into oneness with your own Being -- This is your destiny, the end of your quest."

"In the end we shall return to the beginning," Galahad murmured.

"Yes," said Merlin.  "Each of you begins with love, goes through struggle, passion, and suffering, only to end in love again."  Merlin's voice grew softer as the circle of light around them faded almost to nothing.  "You mortals long for miracles, I say, and as privileged children of the universe, you will be denied nothing.  Spirit is the state of the miraculous, which will unfold to you in three stages

"First, you will experience miracles in the state called cosmic consciousness.  Every material event will have a spiritual cause.  Every local happening will also be taking place on the stage of the universe.  Your slightest wish will cause cosmic forces to bring about its fulfillment.  As wonderful as that sounds, it is not such an advanced state, for long before you reach cosmic consciousness you will be used to having your desires spontaneously come true. 

"Second, you will perform miracles in the state called divine consciousness.  This is the state of pure creativity, in which you fuse with God's power, whereby He makes worlds and all that happens in those worlds.  This power comes from nothing God does -- it is the divine awareness shining through everything your eyes behold.  The world becomes illuminated from within, and there is no doubt that matter is simply spirit made manifest.  In divine consciousness you will see yourself as the creator, not the created, the giver of life, not the receiver.

"Third, you will become the miracle, in the state known as unity consciousness.  Now any distinction between creator and created has vanished.  The spirit within you totally merges with the spirit in everything else.  Your return to innocence is all enveloping, because, like the baby who touches the wall or the e crib and feels only himself, you will see every action as spirit pouring into spirit.  You will live in complete knowingness and be only a grain of Being on the shores of the infinite ocean of Being that is yourself."

The two knights had no notion of how long this exposition of Merlin's had taken. They seemed to have been lifted into a space where spheres of Being opened one after another like flower petals.  And as the last opened a nearly transparent diamond could barely be seen rotating in its center.  "What is it?"  Galahad wanted to ask but dared not.

"Behold the Grail," Merlin whispered.  "the unfolding of your quest has led to a vision of the goal -- the point of pure light, the diamond essence that burns within your soul."  The two knights knelt on the cold ground and prayed in their hearts to be worthy of the vision.  "Live in devotion to this moment," said Merlin.  "I have led you here out of your innermost desire, but now you must win the true Grail, not just its vision, for yourself."

"The true Grail?" Percival murmured.  "What should we look for, this same image?"

“Do not expect, do not anticipate,” cautioned Merlin as the vision of the Grain began to disappear.  “Man quests for symbols, and symbols change from age to age.  But what I have shown you is not a symbol but the truth.  The Grail is the crystal speck of Being in your own heart.  It faintly reflects light from its facets and from those faint reflections arise all the faculties of mind and body that you perceive with your senses.  As reflections they are real, but far more real is this transparent diamond of pure Being.”

Unexpectedly Merlin yawned, tilting his head back as if it were the most enjoyable act in the world.  He stretched his arms wide and stood up.  It was nearly pitch black now, all the fire having gone out, but Percival and Galahad could feel Merlin’s eyes fixed upon them.  He said, “One day you will look back upon this night and ask, ‘Who are you, Merlin?’  From beyond the reach of time I answer you this:  I am the one who has no need for miracles.  I am a wizard, and for me to be here is miracle enough.  What could be more miraculous than life itself?”

With the last fading of light, the old one was gone.  Percival and Galahad stood still, without a word.  The spell of  Merlin’s speech still held them, and as it started to fade, they both trembled, regretting their return to earth.  When dawn broke they began to make their way back to the castle.  In the golden birth of the sun, Percival say King Arthur standing at the window of his royal chambers; he was looking directly at them.

“Do you think we should tell him of this?”  Percival asked, gesturing toward the castle.

Galahad shook his head.  “I am certain that the king knows what has happened; it must have happened to him, or why else would he be so reluctant to speak of the Grail?  But I tell you this, Brother Knight.  I would like Arthur to understand that we are with him in this quest of Merlin’s.  Let us agree to call this the night of the crystal cave.  The king will know what we mean.”

And although they had been in no cave but out under the canopy of a spangled sky, Percival instantly agreed.