A shaft goes hundreds of feet down into the earth, through masses of rock beneath the paving stones of a great square. Is this a jail for a very special prisoner? The way down is easy enough; the way up is fiendishly difficult, and there is no obvious way to call for help.
I tell a friend who has died in the ordinary world that it is probably time to leave. Neither or us has been stuck here. We have been exploring together, in a breezy Indiana Jones spirit of adventure.
Hmm. How to get up?
It comes to me in a flash. We need to take the Bhakti Checkout.
I know that in Sanskrit, bhakti means love and devotion, and that bhakti yoga is a way of devotion to a personal deity. recommended by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita.
But I don't tax my brain for references or hand-me-down texts.
Fresh words that may also be ancient flower in my mind:
Blessed One, light giver, let me rise on your wings into your heart of light.
Yes, this does the trick. I am rising now, as if weightless, carried up by wings of light. I will my friend to rise with me.
- from last night's dreams.
Feelings: elation.
Reality check: I know this works. I feel I have been given a
way of release from places of confinement, in any world.
I find these words of Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita (chapter 12, verse 8): "Fix your mind and intelligence on me alone and ultimately you will come to me. Of this there is no doubt."
I find these words of Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita (chapter 12, verse 8): "Fix your mind and intelligence on me alone and ultimately you will come to me. Of this there is no doubt."
My intention for last night's dreams was to
continue to explore ways to help people approach the afterlife. The intention
was clearly answered.
I ask myself: What is a Western song that
carries this spirit? The answer comes at once. It is "Amazing Grace",
the luminous creation of a penitent former slave trader.
I ask again, what is the simplest way to practice the Bhakti Checkout, released from any specific religious language or tradition? It is something I have practiced and taught for many years:
I ask again, what is the simplest way to practice the Bhakti Checkout, released from any specific religious language or tradition? It is something I have practiced and taught for many years:
Open your heart.
Find in your heart, your deep yearning for the beloved of your soul.
Feel that desire rising from your heart as a beam of light.
Feel and see an answering light from the highest reaching down like a finger of gentle fire, to meet the light ascending from your heart.
In the radiant place of encounter between your heart light and the fire from heaven, join in the embrace of the beloved of your soul, the one who never leaves you but seeks you everywhere.
Find in your heart, your deep yearning for the beloved of your soul.
Feel that desire rising from your heart as a beam of light.
Feel and see an answering light from the highest reaching down like a finger of gentle fire, to meet the light ascending from your heart.
In the radiant place of encounter between your heart light and the fire from heaven, join in the embrace of the beloved of your soul, the one who never leaves you but seeks you everywhere.
Art: Marc Chagall, "Au dessus de Paris"
5 comments:
I had a dream maybe 3 years ago where the earth cracked in half and i got swept inside into the deep. I woke up. But since then i would have fun with people and tell them how i was born. The earth cracked in half and out of it a huge flower grew and opened. And there i was inside the flower. Ha. My own creation story.
This was the last thing I read before I went to bed. I woke from a dream this morning singing a song titled Higher Love. In the dream I was at a sports/art center. I had these colorful running shoes and running in a class. One of my shoes fell off and I jump high. When I landed I took off my other shoes and told the class to go on without me. I practiced running and jumping. I found I could control the speed when I came down so I played with twirling and somersaults on the way down.
Feeling: energized beyond jet lag
PS: The comment above is not from Lushman, it is from Patty. I am on my sisters computer.
Fling open the up house doors
For joy, life has risen!
When I found myself torn between multiple desires, unsure of which direction to take, I made the conscious decision to simply focus on my relation with the higher. THEN! everything else I had been so caught up in, tossing and turning and resisting, fell so neatly into my experience and with such speed it was astounding. Thank you for this!
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