Account of a Dream: No. 3

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-

faintglow

Ammachi

Sunday, October 19, 2003 3:28 AM

Account of a Dream: No. 3

Namaste, fg and all,

 

Your dreams delight me so please continue to post them.

I do have to admit, tho, that your last one brought me some odd outcomes!

 

I typically chat to Mother all the way to work every morning and, in a fit of

pique, demanded that she enter my dreams, too-reminding her, of course, that I

have asked for this more times than seem"fair" (I'm probably lucky She didn't

force me right off the side of the mountain for such a childish foot-stamping!).

 

I didn't dream of Mother that night - I dreamed of something that moved like a

human trying to emulate an enormous black panther or some type of massive wild

cat. The thing was monstrous and coming in thru the basement window of the

house I grew up in and right into the area I always played in. I was terrified

and still rattled when I got up the next day.

 

My best friend, following a different but quite similar path, called that day

and I recounted the dream; she laughed right outloud and said that is a reminder

that I am "in the tiger's mouth" - ie, captured on this path with no way to

retreat until I reach its end.

 

By the time I hit the road for school that day, I was a tad ticked with both

Mother and my friend and launched into my annoyance with Mother again:

"Paramanhansa Yogananda says that if the child cries loudly and long enough, the

Mother must come to her aid. I don't know what that mess was in my dream, but

it sure wasn't you!"

At that point, my monkey mind shifted to my friend's comment about the path,

apparently "selected" in my childhood, having to be followed after beginning it.

Outloud, in my annoyance, I repsonded that I could certainly do things

differently if I wanted to....and clearly "felt" Mother's soft giggle inside me,

then her words:

"And that would be part of the path, too."

 

Needless to say, my ego was flatter than the proverbial flitter for the rest

of the day!

 

Love,

Dixie

 

 

This dream occurred on 21 June 03 in the course of my afternoon nap.

I went to sleep at 2.30pm and awoke at 4.30pm. This was my probably

my best Amma dream till that date. It had all the important elements -

a good & long darshan, answers to my FAQs (frequently asked

questions), explicit reassurance and comfort.

 

The dream begins in a conventional setting. I am waiting in line for

darshan. Rather oddly, for one who is not Arab by any stretch of the

imagination, I am wearing a big handkerchief over my head and eyes.

It is not clear why I am wearing this unusual (for me) headdress. It

could have been due to a headache or it may have been some kind of

effort to cut out external stimuli and improve concentration. So

there I am, standing in queue wearing a turban cum blindfold. It

seems ridiculous in hindsight but felt quite normal within the dream.

At some point, I push the blindfold up over my eyes to see what is

going on and to measure the progress of the line.

 

I see that I am at the penultimate spot. Before me is a young girl,

about the same age as my child but 'normal'. My child has medical

issues. Seeing that my turn is near at hand, I leave my eyes

uncovered so I can monitor the situation closely. I watch the little

girl get her darshan. Amma has the little girl on Her lap and is

playing with her. Without thinking, I join in the fun and games and

stretch my right palm out to receive a high-five, the way I often do

with my own child. The little girl in Amma's lap responds with a

smile and strikes my palm, completing the high-five but Amma was not

amused. She gave me a stern glance and slapped my hand away. Perhaps

it was bad form to interrupt another darshan, even in a friendly

manner as I thought I was doing. Perhaps it was disrupting the flow

of energy, information or grace from Amma to that little girl.

Whatever the reason, I did not doubt Amma's judgement in the matter

but felt contrite at my unwitting transgression. I might mention, in

passing, that the sort of gesture I have described here is quite out

of character with my real-life nature. I am actually rather reserved

and would probably never slap a random kid on the back or do the high-

five as I did in this dream. But then, weird things happen in dreams,

raisins turn into grapes and grapes become pineapples.

 

Then comes my turn. Amma takes me into Her embrace. She holds me for

a long time. Cuddles me a lot. I have thoughts in my head but no

words in my mouth. But She responds to my thoughts in real-time as

though She is reading them effortlessly. I get a little emotional and

overwhelmed that She is showering so much love and affection on me.

This is the dream darshan I have always wanted. I am overcome with

the thought that my desire has been granted even though I do not

deserve it in the least. My gratitude and reverence for Amma increase.

 

A point on the cuddling. She holds me close for a long time. Contrary

to normal practice, I also hug Her. The embrace begins in the usual

darshan position but later She pulls me closer in, so that I am lying

in Her lap with my head a little behind Her and Her head resting on

my shoulders/back. She has me in a kind of wrestling grip, firm but

feathery light. As my love for Her bubbles over, I press the flesh of

Her left hand with my own right hand, as a gesture of affection. I

note mentally that the pleasant feeling I have is very similar to

what I experience when I do the same thing to my biological mother

sometimes.

 

Then Amma assures me that my child will be OK. She says that not once

but twice even though I did not make any verbal reference to Her on

the subject, in the course of this dream. I cannot see Her when She

says this as my head is tucked under Her hands, but I parse the words

very carefully to determine whether the ordinary intelligible meaning

of Her declaration is what I think it is. I am checking to make sure

there is no escape clause in the form of some esoteric spiritual

interpretation of Her words. My check returns an OK. She seems to be

speaking in plain Malayalam and there is no apparent ambiguity. I

cannot remember Her exact words now but I do know that they were

distinct and clear within the dream.

 

She goes on to acknowledge, in explicit terms, that my prayers,

devotions and oblations are getting through and registering with Her.

I have often entertained doubts about my prayers. From time to time,

I wonder if they are getting through. In more extreme moments, I have

even wondered if there is anybody at the other end of the line. Such

doubts have cropped up time and again, in the course of my sadhana

and now Amma answers them explicitly and categorically. All this was

in response to the thought that arose in my mind, which I could not

even verbalize. Again, I am overwhelmed.

 

As an aside, it was probably a good thing that Amma was able to pick

my thoughts in the dream and I did not have to rely on words to get

my message across. Being the kind of fellow who requires 2000 words

just to say 'Hello', it is unlikely I would have managed to

communicate anything meaningful in the limited time available if I

had to rely on my language abilities.

 

At some point towards the end of the darshan, I think, Amma starts to

rub my forehead between the eyes. I am not sure whether this is a

spiritual thing ('shaktipat'? healing?) or just an affectionate

gesture to alleviate my headache and mildly feverish feeling. It was

only at about this point that I even became aware that I had these

symptoms. After She is done with the forehead rub, She asks me to lie

down nearby. She goes off to get me a pillow and a sheet for me to

use as a blanket.

 

I am not very clear about what is happening. At first I think that

She imagines I am sick and need to rest. Then I figure that She has

put me into some kind of trance and wants me to sleep it off. Amma

tells me to sleep upto 5.30pm and that She will come down to wake me

up at that time. I am not feeling all that sleepy but follow Her

instructions. (It may sound a trifle contradictory for me to say that

I did not feel very sleepy since I was already fast asleep and

dreaming to boot. My observations are obviously with reference to the

context of the dream. Being awake, going to sleep and then waking up

later: all of these actions were performed within the dream).

 

At about 5pm Amma comes around to check on me. I am awake by now

(still within the dream) but feign continued sleep as She arrives.

Perhaps I want to secretly enjoy Her ministry or maybe it was a

childish reflex. At any rate, I am unable to keep up the pretence for

long. I sit up and tell Amma that I am OK and that is really time for

me to go. She takes in the situation and allows me to leave.

 

Upon my release, I rush home to meet my family and tell them all

about the extraordinary darshan I have just had. When I get home, I

spot my parents sipping tea in the dining room. I am eager to spill

the beans but notice that there are others around the table - a

couple of cousins and other relatives. I myself am not seated but am

pacing up and down. I hold my story back, preferring to talk only to

my parents and not have a general darshan tea party. At this point I

wake up, finally and for real, my story still untold but mostly fresh

in my mind.

 

Om Amriteshwaryai Namah

 

fg

 

 

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Aum Amriteswarayai Namaha!

Ammachi

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I wonder how Freud would have interpreted your dream

 

I have rarely been able to recall dreams. I don't

bother to analyze or decipher the contents of the few

dreams I do remember - unless, of course, I were to

have such a vivid dream about Amma! IMHO dreams are to

the mind what urine and s*** are to the body. i.e.

mental excrement that the thought process is unable to

handle during the waking day, or the mental equivalent

of toxins that would cause damage if retained in the

body.

 

 

Keval

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Ammachi, Mike Brooker <patria1818> wrote:

> I wonder how Freud would have interpreted your dream

>

>

> I have rarely been able to recall dreams. I don't

> bother to analyze or decipher the contents of the few

> dreams I do remember - unless, of course, I were to

> have such a vivid dream about Amma! IMHO dreams are to

> the mind what urine and s*** are to the body. i.e.

 

 

 

Keval, there are different kinds of dreams; the one that you describe

is a subconscious cleansing dream- the most common kind are for

people who pretend outwardly to be celibate/restrained but have a lot

of hidden fantasies. then there are dreams that just repeat what you

see in waking life- a common technique to be dream conscious is to

look at your watch every half and hour and affirm with emotion that

this is not a dream !!! chances are that you will end up doing that

in your dream!!!

 

then there are superconscious dreams, dreams that are a clear message

from deities, guru etc; when this kind of dream occurs(as with most

Amma dreams), one has a feeling of thrill, joy and happiness and will

be thoroughly refreshed even though sleep has been for very little

time.

 

Dream analysis is today the topic of active research and "Lucid

Dreaming"(search on amazon.com) is the term that they use for being

conscious in the dream state.

 

-yogaman

 

 

> mental excrement that the thought process is unable to

> handle during the waking day, or the mental equivalent

> of toxins that would cause damage if retained in the

> body.

>

>

> Keval

>

>

>

> The New with improved product search

>

[Guest guest]

Dear Faintglow,

thank you for sharing your dream with us.

 

I just want to ask you if you have before been in question line,

asking Amma about the situation with your child?

If you have not, have you ever thought about doing so?

 

I only write this out of caring for you and your family.You home

life must be challenging, difficult, and requiring a lot of patience.

I have seen many people in question line get answers and advice

from Amma that dramatically helped their situation, and I can give

examples if that would be of any asistance to you. I must also add

here, that I have also seen devotees get answers from Amma that they

do not want to get,( like myself) and then have to deal with that.

But as for myself, I would rather have Amma's words on a matter, no

mater how hard that may be to take.

 

In Amma's Love,

Sara

 

 

-- In Ammachi, "faintglow" <faintglow> wrote:

> This dream occurred on 21 June 03 in the course of my afternoon

nap. > I went to sleep at 2.30pm and awoke at 4.30pm. This was my

probably > my best Amma dream till that date. It had all the

important elements -> a good & long darshan, answers to my FAQs

(frequently asked > questions), explicit reassurance and comfort.

eyes.

>

> I see that I am at the penultimate spot. Before me is a young

girl,

> about the same age as my child but 'normal'. My child has medical

> issues. Seeing that my turn is near at hand, I leave my eyes

> uncovered so I can monitor the situation closely. I watch the

little girl get her darshan. Amma has the little girl on Her lap

and is playing with her. Without thinking, I join in the fun and

games and stretch my right palm out to receive a high-five, the way

I often do with my own child. The little girl in Amma's lap

responds with a smile and strikes my palm, completing the high-five

but Amma was not amused. She gave me a stern glance and slapped my

hand away. Perhaps it was bad form to interrupt another darshan,

even in a friendly manner as I thought I was doing. Perhaps it was

disrupting the flow of energy, information or grace from Amma to

that little girl.

> Then Amma assures me that my child will be OK. She says that not

once > but twice even though I did not make any verbal reference to

Her on > the subject, in the course of this dream. . I

> cannot remember Her exact words now but I do know that they were

> distinct and clear within the dream.

>

> Om Amriteshwaryai Namah

>

> fg

[Guest guest]

Brother Keval,

 

You make a valid point about dreams constituting the excrement of the

mind. Certainly, there are dreams that fall in that odious category.

However, I would submit, most humbly, that there might be other kinds

of dreams as well. If there are 'good' thoughts in the mind, they

could be reflected too.

 

Despite the obvious unpleasantness, even the 'reflected crap' type of

dreams may, on analysis, yield useful information to the sadhaka. To

extend your analogy with the bodily effluents, there is a place for

pathology in modern medicine. The lowly stool sample can reveal the

tenacious tape-worm, living inside.

 

The analysis of dreams as pioneered by Freud and extended by others

might help to a limited extent when used as a diagnostic aid to

identify internal pathogens. But IMHO, the theory and practice of

psychoanalysis is typically vitiated by at least two flaws:

(a) Overreach - The attempt to explain all phenomena in terms of

sexuality is excessively reductionistic. While it cannot be denied

that sex is the king cobra of all spiritual predators (anger, greed,

envy and pride being some of the others), some of the explanations

that get thrown up by the tendency to overextend the psychoanalytic

discipline are only slightly less ludicrous than the idea, for

instance, that current is produced in a battery by electrons rushing

to complete an oedipal embrace with the oppositely charged electrode.

(b) Misspecification - The discipline assumes that happiness will

result from merely moving garbage around from the unconscious to the

conscious. Flowing from this, is the idea that expression is good and

repression is bad. The deeper spiritual view, of course, recognizes

that repression and expression are but two sides of the same coin.

All too often, psychoanalysis is not content with putting the

specimen on a slide, analysing and cataloguing it but must go on to

place the unsavory item in a showcase in the living room and claim

that this is therapeutic.

 

Finally, there might be dreams that go beyond the scientific, those

that involve supernatural transmissions. As I recall from Amma's

pronouncements on the subject, She has said that dreams about Her

might occur when the devotee thinks about Her or when She thinks

about the devotee, among other possibilities. In other words, my

dreams involving Her might be my imagination, or they might be Her

imagination. In the absence of supporting evidence, I am reluctant to

make the heroic assumption that She is transmitting to me. It is more

likely, in my view, that my dreams represent a simple re-ordering of

the thoughts in my head, wish-fulfillment etc.

 

Om Amriteshwaryai Namah

 

fg

 

Ammachi, Mike Brooker <patria1818> wrote:

> I wonder how Freud would have interpreted your dream

>

>

> I have rarely been able to recall dreams. I don't

> bother to analyze or decipher the contents of the few

> dreams I do remember - unless, of course, I were to

> have such a vivid dream about Amma! IMHO dreams are to

> the mind what urine and s*** are to the body. i.e.

> mental excrement that the thought process is unable to

> handle during the waking day, or the mental equivalent

> of toxins that would cause damage if retained in the

> body.

>

>

> Keval

[Guest guest]

Om Amritheshwaryai namaha

 

 

Dear FaintGlow,

 

No no .. Amma's love is incredible and we are all divine in essence.. So

saying that Amma is coming into your dream is not so 'heroic' an assumption as

you put it- it may very well be true.. we are all Her children and if She has

chosen to come into our lives in our ' waking state' , why can't she similarly

choose to come into our lives in the 'dream state'? after all for Amma, both

states are equally a ' dream'.

 

bala

 

 

 

 

 

.. In the absence of supporting evidence, I am reluctant to

make the heroic assumption that She is transmitting to me. It is more

likely, in my view, that my dreams represent a simple re-ordering of

the thoughts in my head, wish-fulfillment etc.

 

Om Amriteshwaryai Namah

 

fg

 

Ammachi, Mike Brooker <patria1818> wrote:

> I wonder how Freud would have interpreted your dream

>

>

> I have rarely been able to recall dreams. I don't

> bother to analyze or decipher the contents of the few

> dreams I do remember - unless, of course, I were to

> have such a vivid dream about Amma! IMHO dreams are to

> the mind what urine and s*** are to the body. i.e.

> mental excrement that the thought process is unable to

> handle during the waking day, or the mental equivalent

> of toxins that would cause damage if retained in the

> body.

>

>

> Keval

 

Aum Amriteswarayai Namaha!

 

Ammachi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

-

balakrishnan Shankar

Ammachi

Sunday, October 26, 2003 11:50 AM

Re: Re: Account of a Dream: No. 3

Namaste,

Beautifully said, Bala.

 

Love, at Amma's feet,

Snehalata

 

 

Om Amritheshwaryai namaha

 

 

Dear FaintGlow,

 

No no .. Amma's love is incredible and we are all divine in essence.. So

saying that Amma is coming into your dream is not so 'heroic' an assumption as

you put it- it may very well be true.. we are all Her children and if She has

chosen to come into our lives in our ' waking state' , why can't she similarly

choose to come into our lives in the 'dream state'? after all for Amma, both

states are equally a ' dream'.

 

bala

 

 

 

 

 

. In the absence of supporting evidence, I am reluctant to

make the heroic assumption that She is transmitting to me. It is more

likely, in my view, that my dreams represent a simple re-ordering of

the thoughts in my head, wish-fulfillment etc.

 

Om Amriteshwaryai Namah

 

fg

 

Ammachi, Mike Brooker <patria1818> wrote:

> I wonder how Freud would have interpreted your dream

>

>

> I have rarely been able to recall dreams. I don't

> bother to analyze or decipher the contents of the few

> dreams I do remember - unless, of course, I were to

> have such a vivid dream about Amma! IMHO dreams are to

> the mind what urine and s*** are to the body. i.e.

> mental excrement that the thought process is unable to

> handle during the waking day, or the mental equivalent

> of toxins that would cause damage if retained in the

> body.

>

>

> Keval

 

 

Sponsor

 

Aum Amriteswarayai Namaha!

Ammachi

 

 

 

 

Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears

 

 

 

Sponsor

 

 

 

 

Aum Amriteswarayai Namaha!

Ammachi