WHEN WE LAST LEFT OUR STORY:

A beauty full soul, who we’ll now call BA~TA ~KA and her beauty full S.E.L.F. were seated at a circular booth at the glorious Beauty Ball Bistro, a spherical, floating, glass restaurant deep in the heart of innerspace.

S.E.L.F. morphs from a firefly back into the likeness of BA~TA~KA, but with the slightest hint of glimmering iridescence.

S.E.L.F.: I’m SO glad we’re finally here together! I’ve been so excited to connect with you!
How’s everything going?

BA~TA~KA: Pretty good but, honestly, I feel a little weird.

S.E.L.F.: Why is that, Hon?

BA~TA~KA: Well, all this posItive energy you’re giving me makes me feel kind of strange because you know me so well, but I feel like I don’t know you as well as I should. I mean, this course I’m doing has been fun, and I’m having some interesting revelations, and it’s helping me understand that you’re sort of like a better version of me who exists without all the toxic crap that I’ve had to experience, but I’m still not sure what it all means. I’m not really sure where I end and where you begin. 

Before S.E.L.F. can answer,  a server appears. She is wearing a flowing tunic made of the most incredible labradorescent silk that appears to reflect every colour of the rainbow. BA~TA~KA  notices a name tag on the server’s chest and wonders if the pin is damaging the delicate silk. The tag says, Beauty, and she truly is the most beautiful woman Ba~TA~KA has ever seen. The server hands them 2 menus. A drink menu and a scenery menu. Both menus consist of a blank page with 3 small words aligned to the centre, saying:

‘ANYTHING YOU LIKE’.

SERVER: Hi Ladies. Welcome to The BEAUTY BALL BISTRO. My name is Sheismebleem and it will be my absolute pleasure to serve you today. Would you like to hear the specials?

BA~TA~KA: Sure, but why are there specials if we can have anything we want? And why does your name tag say Beauty if your name is Sheism- I’m sorry – how do you pronounce it?

SERVER: Sheismebleem, but please, call me Bleem. What great questions! First, most people find it a bit overwhelming to have literally an infinite array of choices, so the specials help narrow it down. Second, this isn’t a name tag, it’s a being tag. We all wear them here at the Bistro. Didn’t you notice you got one when you arrived?

BA~TA~KA looks down and, sure enough, she is also wearing a Beauty tag. Part of her feels strange wearing it, but another part seems to really like it. 

SERVER: For our drink specials we have two glorious options! The first is the Purple Peach Paradise, a combo of freshly squeezed purple peaches from our crown chakra orchard. It comes with a splash of sparking waters from the S.E.A. River Resort spring, and it’s topped with an essence of nutmeg and unicorn giggles. Our second special is water.

BA~TA~KA: Just water? That’s kind of dull for a special.

SERVER: Oh it’s not just any old water. I wish I could describe it to you but it’s impossible because there aren’t words in any language that can even remotely do the job. You’ll just have to trust me.

BA~TA~KA: Well, the peach one sounds amazing, but now I’m too curious about this water.

S.E.L.F.: Why don’t you get the peach and I’ll get the water and we can share? Or get them both if you like! My treat.

BA~TA~KA: Sharing sounds good.

SERVER: Fantabulous!! And now for our scenery specials. First, we have an absolutely mind blowing iridescence gallery, and if you’re feeling a little on the serious side, we’ve got a gallery of nothingness for deep contemplation. 

BA~TA~KA:  Let’s go with the iridescence gallery. How do we see it? Are you going to bring some type of headset?

SERVER: No need! An immersive landscape will show up all around you and the scenes will also play inside of you, so even if you close your eyes, you’ll still see it! After you have a few sips of your drinks the slide show will automatically start.

Bleem floats up 2 feet in the air, but maintains control. The 2 drinks leave her hands and begin to float conveniently near BA~TA~KA and S.E.L.F.’s mouths.

SERVER:  If, at any time you begin to feel too much joy, you can vanish both the drinks and/or the scenery by simply pressing the button.

BA~TA~KA: But I don’t see a button.

SERVER: Don’t worry you’ll see it if you need it! ENJOY!

Bleem floats off in a cloud of labradorescence.

S.E.L.F.: Cheers! To us!

BA~TA~KA: Cheers!

She raises her hand to grab the glass but it floats up and clinks automatically with SELF’s. She takes a sip of her Peach Paradise and its so refreshing she feels slightly dizzy for a moment.

S.E.L.F.: So, back to what you were saying – that you weren’t sure where I end and where you begin.

BA~TA~KA: Right. I guess what I’m trying to say is that – no offense – you’re still sort of a premise to me and beyond that, I’m not really certain  how this relationship works. How do I find you and what are we supposed to do together?

S.E.L.F.: What beauty full questions. I know this can all seem a bit overwhelming. After all, I’ve had the luxury of being tuned in to you forever so it’s natural that it will take you a little while to catch up. You’ve been so busy being a person in the world and I know that can feel like an impossible job sometimes. But this whole thing isn’t all that complicated. In fact, it’s quite simple. In fact, that simplicity is usually the biggest obstacle for people in your shoes.

HOW DO YOU FIND ME? IN YOUR HEART.
WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO TOGETHER? CONNECT!
And don’t worry! It’s all explained in the Manual.

BA~TA~KA: The Manual?

S.E.L.F.: Yes, The S.E.L.F. Appreciation Manual, or the SAMMANUAL for short. Don’t worry. We’ll go slow. Just a little at a time. You’re going to love this first bit. It’s got some great science-based explanations.  We SELFs know how much you humans love scientific evidence. Take it home and read it tonight, and we’ll meet back here tomorrow and get into some practise. For now, what do you say we just sit a while, enjoy our scenery and you can try this water and tell me if it lives up to all the hype. Deal?

BA~TA~KA: Deal!