I kicked off this blog a little more than six months ago with a blog entry on Ekhart Tolle. 

I had first heard of Tolle earlier that same day when I caught a special on him on Public Access Television.  I was surprised at my own interest as I am not or was not generally a "New Age person" but I went ahead and bought his book "A New Earth" anyway and read it. 

It resonated with me.  I went on to buy some of his audio books.  I did not become a devotee but it made sense to me.  It led me back to other areas of interest - varied but all spiritual or metaphysical in scope.  That began this blog.

I still listen to Tolle from time to time and I was listening to him today in my car or rather relistening to Tolle's A New Earth.  In the beginning pages of this volume, Tolle speaks about a spiritual flowering of humanity and he draws a connection between things that at first seem unrelated: flowers, crystals and birds.  Each time I hear or read this passage I am struck by how significant this message is.

Any life-form in any realm - mineral, vegetable, animal or human - can be said to undergo "enlightenment." It is, however, an extremely rare occurrence since in its development, a leap to an entirely different level of Being and, most important, a lessening of materiality.  What could be heavier and more impenetrable than a rock, the densest of all forms?  And yet some rocks undergo a change in their molecular structure, turn into crystals, and so become transparent to the light.  Some carbons, under inconceivable heat and pressure turn into diamonds, and some heavy minerals into other precious stones. 

Most crawling reptilians, the most earthbound of creatures have remain unchanged for millions of years.  Some, however grew feather and wings and turned into birds, thus defying the force of gravity that had held them for so long.  They didn't become better at crawling or walking, but transcended crawling and walking entirely. 

Since time immemorial, flowers, crystals, precious stones, and birds have held special significance for the human spirit.  Like all life-forms, they are, of course, temporary manifestations of the underlying one Life, one Consciousness.  Their special significance and the reason why humans feel such fascination for and affinity with them can be attributed to their ethereal quality...

In the case of a flower, a crystal, precious stone or bird, however, even someone with little or no Presence can occasionally sense that there is more than the mere physical existence of that form, without knowing that this is the reason why he or she is drawn toward it, feels an affinity with it.  Because of its ethereal nature, its form obscures the indwelling spirit at a lesser degree than is the case with other life-forms.  The exception to this are all newborn life-forms...

So when you are alert and contemplate a flower, crystal or bird without naming it mentally, it becomes a window for you into the formless.  There is an inner opening however slight into the realm of spirit.  This why these three "en-lightened' life-forms have played such an important part in the evolution of human consciousness since ancient times; why for example, the jewel in the lotus flower is central symbol of Buddhism and a white, the dove signifies the Holy Spirit in Christianity.  They have been preparing the ground for a more profound shift in planetary consciousness that is destined to take place in the human species.  This is the spiritual awakening that we are beginning to witness now.

What seems to me suddenly significant about this understanding of enlightenment or transformation is the implication that these events, though exceedingly rare, are natural phenomena.  This is not to say that there is not a "super"-natural component to these states of being but it is my contention that this is always the case.  In my conceptualization of reality, multiple dimensions exist and this is not magic or make believe but natural though largely unobserved phenomena.  We consider it "supernatural" only because it is beyond the realm of the five "natural' senses which most people rely upon exclusively.

The question is - is this transformation of which Tolle and others speak, an evolutionary process which will expand our sensory perceptions and therefore our ability to sample to reality?  How interesting it would be to all of humanity expand their sensory perceptions into a universal sixth sense.  An ability, if you will, to directly sample spiritual energy and the divine.

Recommended reading:  Tolle's A New Earth available in print, ebook and audio. 

My new (used) Sacred Rose Tarot deck I love the colors and energy of these cards!   The artwork is vibrant and dynamic with some truly enchanting images.  I have not spent enough time with the deck to review it but wanted to at least get this picture up and say how pleased I am with the deck overall.  I sometimes take pics of readings when I am rushed and want to spend more time thinking about the reading.

The question for this spread was the same question posed in my video reading.  It gave me a Ace of Cups as well - and no Tower.   I never know if I'm going to keep a deck or not until I get it.  I am going to keep this deck and am looking forward to using it.  I do love roses after all - and not just for the Kabbalah reference.  I grow them though not in a type A way and actually know all the sentimental meanings of the colors!  This is a big image btw, click on it to get a nice close up of this beautiful deck.

The Sacred Rose Tarot is the work of Johanna Gargiulo-Sherman and was inspired by the jewel like colors of medieval stained glass.  The five mystic roses appearing through the deck are said to be the Western equivalent of the sacred rose of the Orient.  The red rose stands for sacrifice, the white rose for purity, blue represents the impossible, gold signifies achievement and the cosmic rose suggests time and space.  In addition to the rose motif, this deck features dynamic artwork, clear strong colors, twinkling star bursts and charming woodland themes.

Update:  I recently picked up a second sealed edition of this lovely deck to offer as a set on etsy.  This particular Tarot set includes a new unopened Sacred Rose deck, a cotton scarf with rose motif in reds, blues and purples, a vintage edition of the Sacred Rose Tarot Book by US Games and one of my own hand-made Psychic Rose scented palm wax candles.

Egyptian Democracy Protesters Victorious

I don't write about politics and have to say honestly that I frequently try to avoid the topic entirely.  We are not islands however and I was reminded of the state of the world twice today - a synchronicity which seemed worth noting in my personal hand-written journal.  I'm repeating it here.  

Early this morning I caught a glimpse of CNN.  There is jubilation in the streets of Cairo.   Mubarak has resigned.  The face of the Middle East is changed forever and for better or worse, there is no going back.  And while I support democracy and open government wholeheartedly, I worry about a majority rule position on Israel and the West. 

On a humanitarian level I wonder what will become of the ideal of freedom if a fundamentalist Islamic party is voted in.  Two recent polls  (Pew Research and Pollock & Pechter) report that a majority of Egyptians support traditional biblical law which includes stoning and the death penalty for crimes such as adultery.  Life under Mubarak was brutal with severe curtailment of personal freedom.  Certainly the  future can be better but there are no hard and fast guarantees .

On a personal level, I am glad that the people of Egypt have seized an opportunity to right social wrongs.   I wish them the best and hope it is a step in the direction of free and open society.  This is my position politically.  Now for the synchronicity.  Today I was reading about Babylonia at the same time as I was watching CNN.  The contrast between Middle Eastern culture then and now seemed particularly significant.

The book I was reading, The Mystic Quest by David S. Ariel, talks about the relationship between Islam and Judaism during the golden age of Jewish mysticism.  What is most surprising about this golden age is that it existed under Muslim rule in Babylonia, the land of the Israelites captivity.  From the birth of Islam  in the 7th century until the rise of the Mamluk Empire some 600 years later, a cultured and advanced Persian state made significant advancements in multiple disciplines.  And in that progressive and open society there was an exchange of ideas between Muslims and Jews. 

According to the Zohar there are seven heavens.  And this is case in Persian legend (Cup of Jamshyd) as well and I can't help wondering if this is one of the point where two very different cultures crossed.   It seems that there were areas of agreement then, a possible shared understanding of energies, dimensions, God and the universe. 

There is less agreement now.  But the truth is that it is still the same heaven.  And that even more surprisingly all of us do still exist together beneath it.  As long as this is the case, anything remains possible. 

It was almost three A.M. on a summer night in 2007 and I was wide awake.

So I passed the long sleepless night on the computer, drifting from one website to the next, until I stumbled upon a bible passage I knew by heart. 

The 23rd Psalm.

I remembered how I had committed this psalm to memory as a child and how I used to recite it before bed whenever things seemed dark. So I said the old familiar passage right there over the keyboard and then I set aside my laptop and fell asleep.

I woke up the next morning with a sense of excitement I hadn’t felt in what seemed like forever. 

I didn’t usually remember my dreams, but I remembered this one. It was detailed and magical and absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. 

Heart pounding, I turned on my laptop and captured my journey through the night as quickly as I could.

Aside from the headings and a few minor edits, what follows is the account of the dream, as I typed it out that morning.  

Part I: The Hospital

As the dream opens, I’m approaching a big hospital. I’m working as a nurse again and this is the first day of a new job and I’m not sure where to go (a common problem in many similar dreams). I go to several outside doors and find them locked. Finally, at the last door I find an elderly woman on the ground in severe pain. She tells me that she has had two difficult surgeries and that she will die before she goes back to the hospital again.

I don’t know what to do or say, so I go in through the door. I’m looking for the emergency room and at first I am lost. After asking for (and not understanding) directions (another common work dream problem) I wander onto an elevator. There is a young doctor in a brilliant white coat inside the elevator. I tell him what has happened, and he gets off and goes with me to see the woman and her relatives, who are there with her. He tells them that she doesn’t have to come into the hospital if she doesn’t want to and they take her away.

I am at a brightly lit a nurse’s station. I have the feeling that I’ve been working here for some time. And that there are no bad feelings associated with that (which has never happened to me in dreams about nursing or in my nursing career in general). The young doctor is at the station too, looking at charts. After a moment, he stops and says that he has to move away soon and that he needs to learn the route by traveling it. He suggests that we all need time away from our work and that we should go on an adventure together.

Part II: The Journey

We take two cars. There is an odd assortment of women (presumably nurses). One is very beautiful. Her eyes are a vivid sea-water blue and her face is high-boned and delicate. She wears a layered gown of shimmering blue silk and I find her very exotic. Around her neck hangs a deep blue sapphire necklace and some of the bluest lapis I have ever seen.

There is an older woman, as well. She looks like a woman I know in real life [heavy with short blond-gray hair]. She is sweet and lost and seemingly lonely, just like her real-life counterpart. There are several other women. One is young and withdrawn [pale with long dark hair]; the others have already faded. As it turns out, this is a journey of discovery. There are moments of awkwardness because I don’t know anyone well, but there are other moments that seem almost euphoric.

We are on a train and I spend time alone. I am sitting in a day car with many windows. The car is rushing through a sunny countryside though I am more aware of the streaming sun than I am the scenery. As I sit, an idea for a book overtakes me. The images and characters and dialogue are vivid. And they stream through my mind so quickly it is all I can do to write them down. The story is about a man involved with two women. One is young and beautiful, but she is also married and in the end, he chooses the one who is unencumbered. The manuscript flashes by from beginning to end. Somehow I capture it.

A lot of different things happen. Sometimes we’re on the train and sometimes it seems that we have disembarked along our way. We are in a jewelry store. I see many lovely things. I look at a small locket depicting a traditionally Catholic guardian angel with children, but it’s small and drab - nothing like the beautiful pieces worn by the woman in blue. I sense that it is all that is available to me but I don't buy it. In another scene, the women and I decide to swap clothing. I have a single article of clothing I’m proud of—some sort of gold and red top. I offer it to the woman in blue and she accepts it.

Part III: Our Destination

It seems that we have arrived at university or school. The woman in blue shows me a sort of screen that is not a television but a bright flowing blue flowing into many different shades which appear as if pressed between two panes of clear glass. The screen swivels like an old-fashioned chalkboard and the many shades of blue swirl together in changing breathtaking patterns. It is vividly blue and has a shine to it that is almost metallic. It reminds me of a sand art item I saw once in a variety store but much, much better. Its beauty and the spectrum of blue is unlike [wider] anything I’ve ever seen before.

The women and I are together in a classroom. A book review or lecture is being delivered. A man is showing us pictures from a book he has written. At first the content seems Buddhist and then it’s something else, but I don’t remember clearly just how it is different. We’re all moved by his presentation and find it very inspiring. For some reason, we know all about him and are surprised he’s become so spiritual. It seems that he was famous in some way earlier in life and that he had a bad reputation at that time.

Then I am outside with the young [pale, dark-haired] doctor. He asks me about my parents and I tell him something. briefly, without going into detail. He letters a sort of monument to my father (in cobalt blue). He invites me to letter the one for my mother myself, but his lettering is perfect and I have terrible handwriting (in dreams and in life). So I ask him to do it for me and he does. The monument only has my parents' names. Or I think it does because I don’t recognize the characters or letters. The monument includes no information about who they were or what they did. But it seems complete as is.

My mother’s monument transforms into an ornament made out of clear glass with deep blue lettering. I know that I’m supposed to hang it in a tree at our family homestead and, all at once, I am there. It’s not the big main farmhouse where my mother grew up but something similar to the smaller house that she lived in before my grandfather inherited the farm. There is something about the tree having been cut back in preparation. I hang the ornament on a branch and leave.

Part IV: The Return Trip 

I find myself back on the train and discover an old book. The cover is a work of art—old fashioned, intricate, tooled leather. It is dusty and a bit worse for wear, but still handsome. I’m very impressed with it. I open it and see I have written it. I’m surprised but, at the same time, I remember.

Finally, we’re at the end of our journey. We sit at a big table and talk about how we have changed. I’m wearing a sparkling red [ruby or] garnet bracelet. We decide that we should exchange jewelry as souvenirs of our trip.

I don’t want to give up my bracelet, but I offer it anyway, secretly hoping that the woman in blue will give me some of her lapis. Instead, she gives her jewelry to the older woman (who has nothing to offer her in return). I feel disappointed but understand that this is the right thing to do. Although my desire for the beautiful blue gemstones is strong, there is no associated envy or bitterness. I feel strongly that all is as it should be.

The young doctor thanks us and tells us that he now knows the route he should take to his new home. He does not return to the hospital and I am not sure if the women return either. I have a sense of parting. It is bittersweet, but I know it feels right and I have no regrets.

Part V: Back to the Beginning

Finally, I am back at the hospital. Someone is holding a funeral for the woman who was lying in pain just outside of the door when I first arrived. The funeral is being held on the other side of the large parking lot. It is far away, at the edge of the lot, but I can see a seated effigy draped in red and understand that this effigy represents the woman who has died.

I am now inside the hospital. A patient on the floor where I work has passed and I remember that he was the man who taught us when we were away. I know his history, so I’m not surprised that he died alone. I’m not sad about it either because I remember his lecture and know that he was at peace.

As I am leaving his room, or perhaps the floor, a young girl comes in and asks for the man. She says that she is his granddaughter and I tell her he is gone. Surprisingly, I find the right words. I tell her that it’s alright, that he has changed, and for some reason her tears are cathartic for both of us. We leave the hospital together and I have the feeling that everything has come full circle.

Afterward 

I finished typing out the dream and turned off my laptop.

I was sitting on the same couch I’d slept on, wearing the same sweat pants and t-shirt I’d worn the day before. The room was still small and cluttered, and the stereo from the house next door was already blasting.

But everything had changed.

____________

O you afflicted one,

Tossed with tempest, and not comforted,

Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems,

And lay your foundations with sapphires.

I will make your pinnacles of rubies,

Your gates of crystal,

And all your walls of precious stones. (Isaiah 54:11-13)

_________

This post is excerpted from my upcoming book The Spirit Dream.

© 2024 Barbara Graver. All rights reserved.