The Journey to Serenity

Are you unable to find serenity in your mind?
Feel no shame in asking yourself this question. Trouble in recent times has grown to such heights that achieving serenity is near impossible. 
What if I told you that's not the case? If you are willing to go through the trouble, this may be worth your while. Before you go on, I must warn you this is for those who wish and desire to make such a journey to find peace in their chaotic lives. I would never recommend this to anyone who would be unfit for the journey. If you desire to find serenity, then prepare yourself for the journey ahead. Serenity is a delight to have, but it comes with a price.
To start the journey, you will need to have met certain conditions:
1. You must be alone when you begin.
2. This decision will need to be meditated on for at least three days. Three days is long enough to evaluate yourself to see if you are fit for what you are about to go through.
3. You will need at least one candle. Also, a lighter to light it.
4. A forest or area of trees. You can also do this in other places where it is calm, but forests are recommended for emptying out your mind.
5. A timer. Your phone will work as one, but silence any notifications you may receive.
6. It is best if you do this at night. You can do it during the day, but it will make things difficult. I would also recommend making sure the weather is fair that day.
7. You must be sure about your decision.
Once you meet these conditions, head out to your chosen area. 
When you reach the place, set the timer to two minutes. Before you start it, you will want to walk in a circle clockwise three times. When you do, say the following:
"My restless mind devours my peace."
Say this phrase for each lap you complete. After you finish, you will then want to walk counterclockwise and repeat the phrase as you did clockwise. When you finish three laps, stand and look around for a moment, and allow yourself to feel your burdens and your worries to channel through your body.
When you feel like you can no longer hold it in, shout this phrase:
"Will no one rid me of this grievance?"
Two things will happen after you shout. Either nearby noises will be audible, or silence will greet you. If you hear anything move or make a sound, then abort the ritual and try again another day. If you only hear silence, you can move on to the next step.
Go find a good place to sit and pull out your timer. Go ahead and light the candle and sit it in front of you and gaze upon the flame for a little while. 
When you feel ready to begin, start the timer. Once you do, close your eyes and count to sixty. With each count, focus again on your restless spirit while you do. After counting to sixty, use the last minute to imagine what is around you without opening your eyes. The smell of fresh air. The rustling of the leaves. The dirt underneath you and all the living creatures inhabiting the forest. Quite much to think about, isn't it? So much to think about, in fact, that while doing so, you fail to notice that your timer has yet to go off.
When you remember your timer and feel like it's already been two minutes, open your eyes. Do not be startled, but you will find you are no longer in your own world.
You will find yourself amongst the abyss of swirling stars far away in the night sky. You will also find that the ground you were sitting on has been replaced with a field of lapis lazuli blue flowers. Why start here? Those who went through the journey are yet to understand, but they all agree on one thing. Its purpose is to calm your nerves and to prepare you for what you are about to go through.
Take a moment to embrace your surroundings. Allow the tranquility of this realm to flood your eyes with wonder. Once you are ready, get up and move down the pathway set before you. Up ahead, you will see a door standing up on its own. It will be a large, dark ebony door with an iron lion door knocker.
When you feel ready, use the knocker to knock three times. Once you do, the door will open slowly to reveal a black void where no life is present. Your goal throughout this journey is to walk through the abyss with your composure intact. You will have a pathway under your feet, but it will only be visible for such a short distance.
Along this pathway, there will be five bus stops. The events at these bus stops will vary, but each one eases you into the next stop. You can take comfort in this, but it won’t help much.
At the first bus stop, you will find a stranger sitting, waiting to greet you. I would recommend approaching this one with caution. This stranger is built to look like your perfectly built soulmate. However, you will feel a tiny hint of awfulness reek from them. This creature is known as The Mingler.
This creature will be present at every stop, and will ask you questions as you sit with them. These questions will sound friendly and welcoming, but they will be unsettling. This creature will be as friendly as they can be, to an intrusive and flirtatious extent. Thus, as to why they call this creature The Mingler. To proceed on, you must sit with this creature and watch the events that will unfold in front of you.
I cannot guarantee exactly what you will see. Whatever it is, it was never meant to be seen by mortal eyes. The first stop’s events will be the tamest of other four. Each stop does have a similar theme. Each one shows the different horrors that have taken place in human history. You won’t be watching them on an old video clip though. You will witness them as if you were among those who suffered through these awful atrocities.
You will feel how they feel, you will smell what they can smell, and you will experience their last moments spent struggling in vain.
As I said earlier, you must remain composed for each stop. After the event ends, The Mingler will ask you five questions about the events you witnessed. You must reply with a yes or a no, and you must answer as sternly and calmly as you can. You do not want to show weakness to this creature.
The next three will play out the same way, with the only exception being that each stop ramps up the horrors you will see. The Mingler will also ask five yes or no questions for the events for those three. At this point, you begin to wonder whether you have truly suffered the way they suffered. The events you saw will have you questioning your life choices, and will certainly leave you disturbed.
After you go through the fourth stop, take the time before you reach the fifth to process what you saw. You will need to if you wish to make it through your last stop. If you wish to leave at this point, then I’m afraid there is nothing much you can do but to keep pressing forward. Which brings us to our last stop.
At the fifth and final bus stop, you will find that the creature is nowhere to be seen. Go ahead and sit down to begin the stop. The Mingler will be there shortly, so make yourself comfortable. You will find that no events have unfolded for you to witness yet.
As I have said earlier, be sure to make yourself comfortable. You are going to need it. What you are about to witness will not just be any events, but these events will unfold from your deepest and darkest insecurities, and these events will display your worst fears. These fears, however, will not be in your mind, but like the others, they will unfold before your eyes.
Unlike the other stops, however, you will continue to experience the horror until you notice that the figures you are watching will be looking right back at you. They will then stop what they are doing and slowly and surely approach you. It won’t be at regular pace, but they will be approaching. You must keep your composure, no matter how unsettled you are. Losing at this stage will render your whole journey pointless.
At one point, you will make eye contact with The Mingler. The Mingler will be standing behind these figures, but you will notice that its eyes are now dark, cold, and piercing into your soul. You will then notice that the figures have the same exact eyes. If you must, feel free to look up into the onyx sky, but keep your composure.
The figures at this point will have surrounded you. The Mingler will be present amongst these figures. When you sense the creature, look for The Mingler and look at it directly in the eye. It will then ask you one question.
“How do you feel?”
You must be honest with this question. You must also keep your spirit strong in answering this question, and you must also keep eye contact while answering this question. Any obvious sign of weakness, as I have said earlier, will render your journey hopeless.
After you do, and if you manage to keep yourself firm after answering, you will suddenly be spinning as you hear voices surrounding you. You will feel them pierce your soul as your bench begins to spin uncontrollably. You will have the uncontrollable urge to scream and beg for its mercy as you see the eyes gazing upon you. This will last for at least twenty-four seconds, but it will feel like you spent the rest of your life in agony.
After this, the bench will suddenly disappear from underneath you, and you will find yourself back in the area you have chosen to start the ritual.
Congratulations! You managed to make the journey! However, at first you will find that nothing was given to you when you find yourself back where you started. It’s true at first that you will regret having gone through the journey, but with time, you will notice that your experience has hardened your nerves. It has hardened your nerves in such a way that you will find your state of mind at peace.
Your troubles will seem like nothing to you, and you can go about life with a renewed appreciation for life. Even better? You can now find quiet places in nature and be able to experience in your mind the field of flowers among the stars. In other words, to experience true serenity.
You are probably wondering at this point if this is what you get when you win, then what happens if you lose?
As much as I would love to answer that question, I’m afraid I don’t have an answer. For those who lose, I haven’t really heard back from. In fact, I can’t quite remember them. I will leave you with this.
Is it worth knowing? Is it really? After all, you wanted to find serenity, don’t you? So why must you ponder this? Would pondering this thought keep you from completing the journey? Is this journey worth it to you? 
In that case, I would hope, and pray, that during your journey...
It doesn’t smell your fear.
Category:Ritual