I dreamt that my brother and I were travelling together, and were staying at a hotel. At one point, I found myself lost in the building. I didn’t know how to get back to our room. I knew that my brother knew the way back, but I was too embarrassed to tell him that I was lost. I went into an adjacent room, where I had a better view of the whole building from the window. I could see where our room was, and finally made my way back, where my brother was waiting for me. I felt that he knew that I had been lost, but he didn’t say anything. Anyway, the room was larger than other rooms in the hotel, and I made a mental note to book the same room on our next trip. I then went outside for a walk, and soon was interrupted by an old man, nearly blind and crippled, who asked if I could help him get to his appointment in another building. Although I felt a bit annoyed by his request, I agreed and took his hand and started leading him down the path. The way soon turned quite treacherous, with steep slippery banks, and I held tightly to the old man’s hand so he wouldn’t fall. The path turned very muddy, and at one point the old man’s boots sunk into the mud and he couldn’t move. After quite a struggle, and with me still holding his hand, he finally freed himself. Then the path ran into a bog, with water over our shoes, and I told him that we would get our feet soaked if we continued. The water was even deeper off to the side, and without warning, the old man dove in, with me still holding his hand. His arm stretched like rubber, and I watched in fascination as he moved through the water like a dolphin, fishing with his bare hands. It was like he had sonar. Then I started to feel the presence of a luscious loving soothing sensation around me and in me, I recognized this (I knew I had experienced it before) as the unconditionally loving creative force that is always in us (as us) and around us, but the experience of the presence of which is clouded and sometimes completely hidden by the ego, with all its learned fears, guilt and shame. It felt like the beginning of a long-awaited homecoming, and it brought tears of joy to my eyes. Then I looked off into the distance, and I could see a clear and dry path to our destination.
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AuthorRobert Keith's work focuses on the healing of mental illness, particularly where such illness has been fostered by fundamentalist religion. He and his wife have raised four children. As a family, they were always open about Robert’s own struggles and their individual spiritual journeys. Robert is now semi-retired but continues to offer spiritual counseling. Archives
April 2024
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