Early this morning I had a rather long and vivid dream and then woke up at about 4:00am. Neither the dream or the waking up seemed in any way scary or negative. As Adyashanti would say, it was just what arose. How I dealt with it is the issue.
So in the dream Winnie and I are walking down a gravel road and we see this large two story, stone/brick gutted building. There are no windows, no roof, and no internal structure. We look at it for a bit and somehow it looked beautiful. After a bit we walk off on a different gravel road, first together, but then we get to another intersection and I go off on another path and Winnie keeps going on the first one. It all seemed very natural. We just decided to take different paths, and that was a good thing. There were no disagreements or negative feelings about that. So the road I started on was a gradual climb with some places where I actually had to climb over rocky outcroppings and the like, sometimes slipping back, but always making it up. There were several intersections where I had to choose one or the other paths but that didn’t seem to be a problem. At several points I ran into people and asked directions. They pointed one way or another, and sometimes I took the path they pointed to, but often went off in another direction. I recognized one of the people but didn’t know their name or how I met them. They pointed me in one direction and I started off in that direction, but then took off in a different direction when the path they pointed to seemed to be going downhill. I always wanted to be climbing up. I continued to take different paths upward. I was often unsure if I was on the right path, and sometimes the choices were hard, but I kept going. I had my cell phone and I kept trying to call Winnie, but the phone wouldn’t work. I also tried to use the Maps app, but couldn’t get to that either. Tried both several times, but they never worked. I took that in stride and kept going up. I was not upset at any of this but just kept walking the different paths I chose. Finally I stopped walking, and literally woke up, and thought “what was that about?” I was not upset at all, just curious.
As I lay in bed an interpretation of this story “came to me”. It was a metaphor for my spiritual journey. The gutted building was the church. After I moved away from that I was always striving and climbing, but never really worried about my ultimate destination. I took many different paths that led in many different directions. With a few short exceptions they all ultimately led upward, and I sensed they always led toward my destination. Winnie and I really did take different paths but that was really ok too. My path was difficult, but I kept going and climbing, and it always seemed ok. I took some advice and rejected others. When it became obvious that some paths were no longer the right path, I just took off in on a different path, and there always was one available.
The one thing that was missing was my riling against the guidance I got and the need to take off in a different direction. That said, on a different level, it always seemed to be right to change paths. Really what I riled against was the fact that the paths were not right. They did not provide me with what I needed. The good thing was that I always realized it was the wrong path. Going on a different path was always the right thing to do.
In the end I just woke up from the dream and all was well, and that itself was an “Awakening”.
It reminded me of the book The Road Less Traveled, Timeless Edition: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth by M. Scott Peck. Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0743243153/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_6D0wFbVXZWCJT
It also reminded me of the book A Religion of One's Own: A Guide to Creating a Personal Spirituality in a Secular World by Thomas Moore. Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1592408842/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_8y0wFbH71GBDQ
I really did take the road less traveled, and as a result I really did develop a religion of my own. Both are very positive things. I learned much along each of those different paths, and I am very grateful for both the different paths and for each change along the way. I do wish sometimes that some of those paths had worked better for me. I wish they had taught me more directly what I needed to learn, and thus I could have “Awakened” and found that religion that works for me earlier in my life. That said I am very very grateful for how my current path works for me now! And the truth is that I would not be where I am now without many of those experiences. I am also grateful for the fact this path still is leading upward.