When the Spirit Bear Catches the Eagle

Lex is forced to leave school for a short time and the boys head off with Uncle Jeff to find the truth regarding the fate of an old friend.

The journey surpasses the destination when they find some truths that challenge their own perceptions of reality and what it means to experience the spiritual realm.

A peek behind the curtain between this world and the next that will stay with them forever.

"...(t)he more you become aware that it is your brain that runs those little scenes of fear and guilt in your head, the more you will see it to be true. You needed that brain to run your body so you gave it all the power. However, the brain is not who you are, it is just a tool, like your hand or your heart. But the brain will not give up control easily, so the first step is simply to be aware that it is there and wants to be in control. The spirit is outside of space and time, as we understand it. I was about your age when my dad explained it to me this way. When the power supply runs down in your radio, do you say the signal is dead or the radio is dead?"
“Well, the radio is dead, of course. The signal is still being broadcasted,” Lex knew this to be true.
“So when the body dies, what happens to the signal?” Jeff asked plainly.

While Lex and Ricky pursue the truth in the death of an old friend of Uncle Jeff's they begin to realize there is more to life itself than the tangible realm experienced by their five senses. But great danger lurks ahead and the question remains as to who will be the one taking the Long Walk and who will be the guide.

"...he was dreaming until he woke up covered in sweat and filled with dread. It felt like he was seeing it all through someone else’s eyes, but it went deeper than that. It would have been more accurate to describe it as someone else’s dream or vision. Lying there he recalled how he was in a cold dark place where he couldn’t breath floating up toward a light. It seemed to take forever to reach that light and when he broke the surface he saw the Spirit Bear on shore just staring at him. After a moment he made out the eagle on the ground and thought he could hear the great bird shriek, as the bear placed one of it’s huge paws on it. But now as he stood there rubbing his head from where he banged it on the cupboard as he jumped up from the settee he realized, that the shriek must have been his and he was wet with cold sweat."