Einstein's Compass

Forgiveness and love, Albert thought. Yes, forgiveness and love. Albert relaxed even further into his chair. The next thing he knew, his eyes were fluttering open. The auditorium was empty, except for him and Pater Benjamin, who sat contentedly in the next seat. Albert sat bolt upright in his chair. “Wha... what happened?”

“My talk put you to sleep, I fear,” Pater Benjamin said with a smile that lit up his face and his eyes.

“Oh, no... how rude... I—”

Pater Benjamin patted Albert on the arm. “Not at all, Albert. You needed to get some information on the other side. Since you don’t know how to accept that yet, you needed to be taken out for a little while.”

“Out? Out where?” Albert asked in confusion.

“Why, out of your body, of course,” said Pater Benjamin matter-of-factly.

Albert’s eyes grew wide. “What in the world do you mean? Wait, how did you know my name?” Albert was beginning to feel anxious. Something was going on here that he didn’t understand.

Pater Benjamin smiled patiently and with such compassion and love that Albert could not help but relax again. “Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?”

“Uh, yes, let’s do that,” Albert agreed.

“Good. So, let’s see…” Pater Benjamin seemed to go off in his thoughts for a moment. “Ah, got it. Okay.” He turned to Albert. “You’ve been dreaming about your friend Johann lately, and it’s been bothering you, right? And then you also have been dreaming about scientists and philosophers.”

Albert looked at Pater Benjamin dumbly and nodded.

“And these dreams have seemed so vivid that they have disturbed you, and you haven’t been able to eat well or sleep much.”

Albert nodded again. “I...” Albert paused. Pater Benjamin waited patiently. “…I think I am going mad,” Albert said in a small voice, looking down into his lap.

Pater Benjamin put a hand on Albert’s shoulder. “You are far from mad, Albert.”

Albert lifted his gaze to Pater Benjamin’s eyes and felt overcome with the man’s compassion and love. “I am?” Pater Benjamin nodded, and Albert burst into tears. “It seems so real.”

Pater Benjamin handed Albert a handkerchief. “There is a line of spiritual beings, Mystical Travelers, for lack of a better name, who have embodied throughout history. You heard me speak of two of them tonight before you were taken out for some other lessons.”

“Moses and Jesus,” said Albert.

“Yes, but there are many others. You have been receiving instruction from them in your dreams.”

“But why me?”

Pater Benjamin smiled. “You are in possession of something very sacred and powerful, Albert, and because of that, your karma has taken a very... interesting, shall we say... turn.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Your papa gave you something unusual when you were a child, am I correct?”

“A compass.”

“Yes, it is a compass,” Pater Benjamin smiled, “but it is so much more, Albert.”

“I suppose I knew that.” Albert began to reflect. “It revealed clues on a scavenger hunt, and when I was just a boy visiting my friend Johann, it lit up with a number.” Albert’s speech was becoming more and more rapid.

“Thirty-three?” Pater Benjamin asked calmly.

Albert abruptly stopped. “Yes. How did you know?”

A warm light filled Pater Benjamin’s eyes. “Let me ask you a question before I answer that. Albert, do you know the significance of the number thirty-three to you?”

Albert shook his head. “How can numbers have significance to people?” The skepticism was apparent in his voice.

If he was concerned that Albert was skeptical, Pater Benjamin did not show it. Calmly he explained, “Certain numbers can reveal things about a person. One of those is their birth number.”

“What’s a birth number?”

“It’s the sum of the numerals in the person’s birth date. You were born on the fourteenth day of the third month in 1879.”

Albert did a quick calculation in his head. “Three plus one, plus four, plus... The numbers of my birthday add up to thirty-three.”

“Correct,” noted Pater Benjamin.

“So, what does that mean?”

“Ah,” said the master. “That’s the question.” He sat back in his chair. “Well, double numerals like that signify a master path. Those with double numerals, eleven, twenty-two, and so on, tend to be leaders. Thirty-three is a very rare number. Those with this birth path want to lift the loving energy of mankind. In short, they want to do good in the world.”

Pater Benjamin paused to allow Albert to reflect on his words.

“The thirty-three-life path will call you to leadership. People with this plan often achieve recognition through acts of compassion, love, and benevolence that lift up the world’s awareness.”

“This sounds like too great a responsibility,” Albert said. “I just want to learn about light and energy and science.”