The Secret of Shambhala: In Search of the Eleventh Insight by James Redfield

large, jagged boulders. The rocks had attractive streaks of reds and browns running through them. For ten minutes Hanh
     led me through some of the movements I had seen earlier, then offered me a place to sit down on the ground, taking a seat
     to my right. Yin sat down behind us. The morning sun bathed the mountains in the distance in a warm yellow light. I was struck
     by their beauty.
    “The legends say,” Hanh began, “that opening up to a higher energy state is an ability that all humans will eventually acquire.
     It will begin as a general knowledge that such an awareness is possible. Then we will move to an understanding of all the
     factors involved in cultivating and maintaining higher levels of energy.”
    He paused and looked at me. “You already know the basic procedure, but your senses must be expanded. The legends say that
     first you calm yourself and look out on your surroundings. Most of us seldom look closely at the things around us. It’s just
     stuff that takes a backseat to whatever is on our minds to get done. But we must remember that everything in the universe
     is alive with spiritual energy and is a part of God. We must intentionally ask to connect with the divine inside us.
    “As you know, the measure as to whether we are connecting with this energy is our sense of beauty. Always ask yourself this
     question: How beautiful does everything look? No matter how it appears at first we can always see more beauty in it if we
     try. The degree of beauty we can see measures how much divine energy we are receiving within us.”
    Hanh went on to have me spend some time looking, really looking, at everything around me.
    “Once we begin to establish our connection,” he said, “and experience the divine energy within, everything begins to have
     more presence in our perception. Things stand out and we notice their unique shape and color. When this perception occurs,
     we can breathe in even more energy.
    “You see, in reality, the energy doesn’t come so much from the things around us—although we can absorb energy directly from
     some plants and sacred sites. Sacred energy comes from our connection to the divine inside us. Everything around us, both
     natural and man-made—flowers, rocks, grass, mountains, art—is already majestically beautiful and present beyond anything most
     humans can perceive. All we do, when we open up to the divine, is raise our energy vibration and thus our perceptual ability
     so we can view the world the way it already is. Do you understand? Humans already live in a world of immense beauty and color
     and form. Heaven itself is right here. We just haven’t opened up to enough inner energy to see it.”
    I listened with fascination. This was clearer now than ever before.
    “Focus on the beauty,” Hanh instructed, “and begin to breathe in the energy within you.”
    I took a deep breath.
    “Now look for increases in the beauty as you breathe,” Hanh instructed.
    I gazed out again at the rocks and mountains, and to my amazement I noticed that the tallest of the ridges in the distance
     was Mount Everest. For some reason, I hadn’t recognized its shape before.
    “Yes, yes, look at Everest,” Hanh said.
    As I gazed out at the mountain, I noticed that the snow-rippled ridges on its face seemed to make little steps up toward the
     crown-shaped peak. The sight jolted my perception outward, and the world’s tallest mountain instantly seemed closer, somehow
     part of me, as if I might be able to reach out and touch it.
    “Keep breathing,” Hanh said. “Your vibration and ability to perceive will increase even more. Everything will become shiny,
     as though illuminated from within.”
    I took another breath and I began to feel lighter and my back straightened with little effort. Unbelievably I felt exactly
     as I had during the mountain experience in Peru.
    Hanh was nodding. “Your ability to perceive beauty is the primary measure that divine energy is coming into