There is a gathering at McGowan House [in Monterey, California]. I am outside in the yard sauntering about, when I find a very distinctive, intact, joint-bone. It is about ten inches in length, and thick. I pick it up, and it is very dense, clearly not human, and not any domestic animal, or any animal of recent epochs. It’s shape is primordial in appearance, indeed, it feels Triassic, and somehow, perhaps, marine. It is striking and otherworldly in its intensely primordial aspect, Pangæan. I try to show it to some friends who I feel have special expertise and might be able to identify the finding, yet it is so vastly extraordinary that it’s hard for me to get anyone to take it seriously or even to recognize it.

Meanwhile, the session gathers—a creative-process experience—and I am shocked by a very large turnout. I was expected six to eight persons, and about sixty show up, with more arriving, including some friends who I did not expect. This is all fine with me, of course, and I proceed, altering my approaches somewhat to account for the size of the group. At one point, I am drawn to show the bone again, to see if anyone has anything to say about it, and I discover that it has turned into a fleshy object of the same mass and density. This fleshy object has been preserved very thoroughly, but it has not been in formaldehyde. I am even more hopeful that someone present, including a couple of friends who are doctors, will be able to identify the specimen. I call out to one of them, “Hey, how up are you on your anatomy these days?” and then call out the same to the other. But I don’t quite get their attention from ongoing conversations. I look at the specimen again, and it becomes very clear to me that it is a human heart. I am stunned. It is apparently ancient, yet It is completely intact. In fact, it also appears red and full as if not long removed from its source. I am amazed and in thrall. Since I can somehow get no one to attend with me, I proceed with efforts to convene the group and get underway. But there is some distracting element that disrupts the setting and dissipates the energy and the group begins to disperse. I walk along and converse with some of the participants who linger.