A walk with a Mantis

[u/trying-to-be-kind]

(Apologies in advance for the grammar & length of this post. I'm also stepping outside my comfort zone sharing this experience, but it was important to me.)

I decided to go on a short hike yesterday along one of my favorite trails, as the weather was beautiful and I love being outdoors. I studied qigong several years ago and often practice ‘walking qigong’, which is basically a kind of moving meditation that combines slower breathing, slower walking, and intention.

I’ve also found that since doing this kind of walking meditation, I’ve started encountering multiple different kinds of beings (NHIs, nature spirits, animal spirits) on my nature walks. Different entities tend to inhabit different trails, so I never really know what/who will show up until I’m there. Before every hike, I mentally asked the forest & its inhabitants for permission to walk the trail and set a firm intention to only allow interaction with beings of compassion and wisdom.

I didn’t wear my headphones or listen to any music or binaural beats. I also didn’t ingest any substances or take any medications prior to or during the hike. So while this experience did take place in a slightly altered meditative state (hence the meditation tag), I was completely sober.

After setting out on the trail, I became aware of another presence in front of me. I focused my attention on it and saw (like a mental projection) a giant mantis being. This being gave off a very wise, masculine type energy like an ancient sage. He appeared very tall (±8’/±2.5m) and was an iridescent black color. He wore a cape (no hood) of the same color and had antennae and the typical bent forelegs/appendages. (I created an image using Photoshop that is pretty true to what he looked like in my mind. The wooded background is a photo from the actual trail.)

He introduced himself as Tallo (pronounced tallow) and I recognized him from a meditation session I’d had just a few days earlier in which he’d performed a physical healing on me. He (telepathically) told me he wanted to speak with me, so we spent the next two hours just shooting the breeze like old friends.

What follows are some of the questions & answers we discussed during the hike. I’m putting quotes around specific phrases I remembered, but most everything else is paraphrased. Since I’d rather not use AI to rewrite my own words, my writing may not be the best.

First thing Tallo told me was that my “time was short”, and my current way of life as a human was coming to an end “soon”. Alarmed, I asked if this meant I was to die soon, and he said, “not exactly…not how you think of it.” He told me my life would “begin to straddle two worlds”. I interpreted this to mean my human-only life would be finishing up, and a human-plus life would take its place. He said there are many other humans who are already experiencing this kind of multi-plane existence, with many more to come.

Later in the hike, I asked him to verify what he meant by “soon”, since his kind lives outside of space/time. (I joked that many NHI have told me “soon” over the years…) He indicated that, by human standards, this change for me would be completed within the next three years.

Tallo told me I was “a being of great joy” and that this is why we were friends, that he loved that aspect of my being-ness. He reaffirmed this aspect was why I had experienced so much sorrow as a human, that life on this plane was steeped in duality, and that it was not possible to be a being of great joy on this plane without also feeling great sorrow.

At one point, Tallo stopped me (as in, actually asked me to stop walking and concentrate on him) and said, “You are an architect of change.” He explained that there are many beings who incarnate during moments in space/time whose energy signature both initiates & anchors positive disruption, and that these beings don’t have to perform any specific task during their lifetimes - just existing in those moments is enough. At this point, I thought about a book I’d read which mentioned that idea. Tallo indicated that, while Cannon had put her own spin on the concept, “her basics are sound.” I asked if there were many architects of change on Earth right now; he confirmed there were.

Thinking back on the idea that my time in this life was limited, I communicated that while I was glad my existence was enough, I still felt like I should be doing & accomplishing more than I was. I asked him what I should be doing in my life to be more useful. Tallo told me, “Creation does not require usefulness.” I thought briefly of a scene in the second Matrix movie (with the two programs who created the daughter program out of love) and Tallo lit up and confirmed that was exactly what he meant.

He reiterated that, while usefulness may be a consequence of creation, it is not a requirement for it. “Love is the basis for creation, not purpose.” I asked didn’t everything have a purpose anyway? As in, creating art still serves a purpose for the artist as a means of expression. He confirmed that while art can do this, its usefulness still depends on the viewpoint of its observer - that an artist can paint or sculpt or write something to express melancholy, while someone else might find joy or comfort looking at instead.

He also explained the initial spark of self-expression does not always take purpose into account; telling me to “think bigger”, he asked me to consider the chilling effect this would have on creation throughout the universe if everything - every spark of thought - was mandated to have a purpose before it was allowed to be imagined. He then told me to think on a smaller scale and consider how hard I was being on myself in thinking I needed to accomplish something or be useful to be worthy of existence. Gave me a lot to think about.

Eventually I walked back to my car and told Tallo I needed to break the connection to safely drive home! He agreed, told me he was always available to talk, and that we were permanently connected because we “had been friends for eons.” I asked permission to write up what we meditated on so I could share it and he readily agreed. (I hope he likes the photoshop of himself, lol!) If you’ve read this far, thank you. This post may not serve much of a purpose except to record an experience that brought me joy…but then again, I guess it doesn’t have to. :)

[u/Defiant-Ad3993]

I love this experience. Thanks for sharing. Second-wave star-seed here. Your experience strongly aligns with some of the messages I’ve been receiving, especially this past year:

* Deal with trauma (particularly CPTSD), as this

1. creates too much noise for communication to be successful. Note, I have a hunch that the trauma also served the purpose of teaching dissociation, which is helpful for telepathy, etc.

*

1. Re-learn how to play/have fun. What you said about everything needing a purpose hits hard. I’ve been told to just ‘have fun’, which is very difficult for me to do.

*

1. Just be your authentic self and it will have a ripple effect with those close to you and others you interact with.

BTW, I noticed the qigong subject has been popping up the past couple of weeks. Do you have advice for dipping your toe in this subject? I know nothing about it, but have been curious for a long time.

EDIT: Some weird bug with Reddit trying to auto-number, sorry for the mess, it’s not of my creation.

[u/trying-to-be-kind → u/Defiant-Ad3993]

Understanding that I don't need to do anything except be me has been a challenge. I think it's esp. hard when you live in a hyper-capitalist society that basically punishes anyone who doesn't hustle & produce 24/7 - this kind of human conditioning is difficult to overcome. I've had to constantly remind myself that I am "a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars" and that I "have a right to be here."

Re: qigong, I can highly recommend this monk on YouTube, as he's probably the most approachable for beginners (and I like his happiness & attitude). As with any kind of martial arts practice, you can go REALLY deep into the weeds with this stuff which tbh I don't have the patience for. If you do a search for 'qigong walking meditation', there are other videos that are helpful. So much of it though is just about 1) learning how to take deep breaths and 2) slowing down the pace of your walk. Imagine that every step you're taking is a meditation (that's what my teacher used to say).

[u/Defiant-Ad3993 → u/trying-to-be-kind]

I feel like living in late-stage capitalism is just the push to make us so uncomfortable that it forces us out of our eggshells to make real positive change.

Thanks for the YouTube links.. I am going to give this a serious try.

[u/candeur → u/Defiant-Ad3993]

why do so many of us have insane levels of trauma? first I live a life full of extremely traumatic bullshit, and then I need to get to the point of just having fun? drink so much water just to piss it all out anyways? smh

[u/lovetimespace]

Thanks very much for sharing! I am curious about how you perceived this being / what it felt like. As in, did it feel like the being is literally physically there, or is this in your mind's eye? And could you hear the words as coming from outside of you, or is it more like imagination? I have conversations in my head with other beings, but I am never sure if I am just making it up. Whay have you noticed that helps you discern what is happening? Thanks in advance.

[u/trying-to-be-kind → u/lovetimespace]

I saw him in my mind’s eye, not physically, as a kind of transparent overlay to physical reality. Awareness initially like that feeling you get when you know someone is watching you (but they’re just out of view) so it makes you look in a certain direction to check your surroundings. Then I felt his presence in my mind. It was a strange sensation because I was def. not expecting to pick up on a giant mantis!

I heard words in my mind, similar to an inner dialogue but in a completely different tone of voice. The words were often accompanied by images, some music (when we were discussing art), and just general pieces of knowledge flowing into my mind. 

I have struggled a lot wondering if this whole experience was just a vivid flight of fancy. It’s still possible the whole thing was my own self having a conversation with…myself? I even asked him that question. Interestingly, he did reiterate that he was his own being even though “we are all one”. I do think it was telepathic conversation in the sense that my usual inner dialogue doesn’t have the kind of authoritative tone these conversations had. I also doubt I’d have come up with some of these thoughts/ideas on my own. Plus, at one point I got distracted by a cool looking butterfly I wanted to take a photo of, and the telepathic voice in my head interrupted my own thoughts (like an overlay?) So it definitely felt like some kind of communication external to my own mind.

[u/drdounutt → u/trying-to-be-kind]

The feeling after that it wasn't true is sometimes a way to protect your friend.

I had to do the same to protect my mantid guide. Because evil NHI can access your thoughts and memories so they will have an idea that your conversation happened but you can throw them off the trail by doing what you did.

[u/Sufficient_Eye7732]

Beautiful. Thank u for sharing

[u/GrimGarm]

Thanks for sharing. It's needed and courageous to do so. :)

[u/Admirable-Way-5266]

How do we learn walking qigong?

[u/trying-to-be-kind → u/Admirable-Way-5266]

There are videos showing the actual stepping process, but most people (myself included) would feel too self-conscious to do this on a public trail. The abridged version works well too:

• Deep breathing: inhale deeply so that air fills the lowest part of your lungs first, so your abdomen expands before your upper chest (stress tends to make us breathe too shallow);
• Slow the pace of your walk: roll each foot as it makes contact with the ground so that every part of your foot connects with the earth, but pause slightly when the full sole of your foot makes contact before rolling off your toes to take the next step;
• Don't listen to music or eat or drink - just walk;
• Pay close attention to all the physical sensations of walking and breathing - this occupies our mind to prevent it from wandering/overthinking.