Dream of a Winged Horse Guide

  

I could not sleep last night, and tossed and turned.  As I finally drifted off into that zone of haziness, I heard a noise.  I looked around and I was standing in a field and a very large, white, winged horse was standing there, pawing at the ground.  She said, “Come fly with me.”  

I wondered how I would sit on her back.  As it turns out, I did not need to worry. I grabbed her mane, and she lifted us both off the ground, and then, magically, I was on her back, behind her magnificent wings. The air felt cool around me, but I felt warm.  It felt like we flew for a long time, and then we landed in a large garden, behind what looked like a Labradorite castle.  My traveling companion shifted me to the ground, and walked over to an alcove, and said, “I have brought the one requested.”

My first thought that something really weird was going on.  And my second thought was that this would make a great story.  I wondered what would happen next.

A very tall woman wearing some hat that looked like a wizard’s hat, wrapped with veils, stood up and walked towards me.  She said, “I have a story to tell you about who you really are.”

“Darina who brought you here, has been guarding you all of your life, and has kept you out of trouble.  Now, we need you to understand.”

At this point, I thought things were quite surreal.  As The Lady, for that seemed to be her name, kept talking, I could not hold the thoughts.  The great horse, Darina, came over and nudged me, and I woke up.

Upon waking, I realized that since I was in that dreamy, hazy state, and now, that about five hours had passed.  And, I could not recall anything that the tall lady had said except the very beginning of the conversation.  The dream felt real.  I felt like I had been riding.  And, I was very tired.

When I am totally rested, I will call the horse and see if we can go back to this place.  I think it will be a great adventure!

Many blessings,

Judy

A Dream Of Turkeys

My dream last night was so very strange.  I dreamed of riding in a car with a big man.  He took me to a farm yard, and told me that the turkeys that I could see were dehydrated, and that they had been in a great fire.  If they did not get water, they would die.  He asked me if I could water them, and I replied yes.

I jumped out of the car while he drove off to get more help.  I found a pail of water in the yard, covered with white feathers.  About 1/4 of mile away, I could see a small lake.  I wondered why the turkeys did not go to the lake.  I checked the water in the pail, and it was clear. I started pushing turkeys to the pail, and soaking their beaks.  Some finally began to drink.  I ran to a shed to get more pails.  I had to look hard for pails that were not cracked.  

As I came back to the turkeys, I saw one turkey fly up on the pail, and tip it over.  The water soaked into the ground.  I carried two pails of water – one for each end of the flock – and shoved turkeys to the pails, and soaked their beaks.  I heard a noise from the other side of the flock, where a bunch of turkeys were trying to drink, and saw one bigger turkey trying to chase the others away from the pail.  He finally flew up on the edge of the pail, and of course, tipped it, and all the water flowed away.  

I carried water until I thought my arms would fall off.  Some turkeys got water, however, they tipped the pails, fought over the pails, and generally wasted more water than they drank.  Some of the turkeys did not get water, and they were falling on the ground, dying.  I was upset!  I finally was so tired I took one of the empty pails, and turned it over and sat and cried.

The man in the car came back, with some help, but it seemed too late.  He patted my shoulder and told me that I had done a good job.  He and the others would burn the dead turkeys and give the turkeys that could drink, some more water.  

At that point, I woke up.  I knew the dream was telling me  a story.  The story felt like a parable about people.  This dream will stay with me a long time!

Many blessings,

Judy

Mind at Ease - A Lesson in Buddhism

As I study Buddhism in its several faces, I am constantly in wonder at how simple the concepts are and how difficult it is to embrace the concept and put it to full practice in one’s life.

This simple story will explain what I mean.  It is called “Mind At Ease”, and talks about how we can put our heart at ease.  Does this seem contrary to the title?  Well, Buddhism is a series of koans.  A koan is a paradoxical anecdote or a riddle that has no solution; used in Zen Buddhism to show the inadequacy of logical reasoning.  This definition comes from wordnetweb.princeton.edu. So, here is the story!

                                                   

Sometimes, trying to understand a koan is like trying to catch the Sun! Picture from Microsoft Clip Art

 

 

 

Mind At Ease

It was a dark, snowy and windy night. Hui Ko, the Second Patriarch of Zen Sect in China, went to see Master Bodhidharma. 

Hui Ko asked, "Could you please teach me the supreme Buddhist Dharma?" 

The Master said, "You can't learn the Dharma from others." 

Hui Ko said, "I have trying to search for Dharma myself, but in vain. My heart is unsettled. My mind is ill-at-ease. Master, please pacify my heart for me." 

The Master replied, "Give me your heart and I'll try to calm it down for you." 

After pondering for a long time, Hui Ko said, "I have been searching for my heart, but I cannot find it." 

Bodhidharma said instantly, "Now, I have comforted your heart already." 

Hui Ko was enlightened all of a sudden. It is impossible to show the heart as its existence is only an illusion. The whole process of the creation and cessation of the heart, or the mind, is also an illusion. 

When we are void of the illusion, the 'heart' is not there at all. Without any attachment, the pure Buddha's nature is revealed. The mind is finally at ease. 

                            *************

What do you learn from this story?  Is is something that you can share with all of us?

Many blessings,

Judy

Badger Away!

 

This is post is a copy of what I wrote in my journal after a trip into the mountains in Kananaskis Country several years ago.  

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As we drove home from the mountains Thursday, we saw a wide variety of animals and birds.  I was surprised to see a big badger run away from us, and across the road and into the grass. 

Badgers are typically dawn and dusk beings as they are very much a loner type animal.  This badger, however, was on a mission, and ran across a busy two lane highway.  The irony of me writing this story is that one of the characteristics of badger in all the legends is that Badger is the Keeper of Stories.  Before the written word was so prominent, all traditions handed down their history by story telling.  In each family was one member who could recite the family lineage right back to the oldest memories.  We lost our tradition of story telling in the 1700’s with the growth of the Industrial Revolution and its need for written instructions to keep the spread of machines growing.

Back to Badger!  Badger is an underground dweller.  It reminds us to stay grounded.  She also reminds us to dig deeper into the issues that are occurring in our lives because the surface problem is not at the root – the root is generally always hidden beneath the layers – of dirt, or of stories, or of self deception.

Badger likes to be by herself because she is very strong and self confident.  Her questions are:

• Are you lacking confidence in something?
• Are you seeing only the surface of a story?  Do you need to dig deeper?
• Are you using your stories to cause harm?  Are someone else’s stories causing you harm?
• Do you need to tell a story to teach something?
• Does your story need to be told so that you can let go of it?

May Badger come to you in your dreams and give you a way to get to your roots!

Many blessings,

Judy

About Cheating

This is a funny time in the world.  When you watch the news, most of what is broadcast talks about people cheating on others, people in power cheating those without power by taking bribes and making decisions that are not for the highest good; and about cheating in sporting events.  

I came across this story in my studies on Buddhism, and thought it was appropriate for the times.

A Man Named Wise 

Once upon a time, the Enlightenment Being was born in a merchants' family in Benares, in northern India. He was given the name Wise. When he grew up he began doing business with a man whose name just happened to be Verywise. 

It came to pass that Wise and Verywise took a caravan of 500 bullock carts into the countryside. After selling all their goods they returned to Benares with their handsome profits. 

When it came time to split their gains between them, Verywise said, "I should get twice as much profit as you." "How come?" asked Wise. "Because you are Wise and I am Verywise. It is obvious that Wise should get only half as much as Verywise." 

Then Wise asked, "Didn't we both invest equal amounts in this caravan trip? Why do you deserve twice as much profit as I?" Verywise replied, "Because of my quality of being Verywise." In this way their quarrel went on with no end in sight. 

Then Verywise thought, "I have a plan to win this argument." So he went to his father and asked him to hide inside a huge hollow tree. He said, "When my partner and I come by and ask how to share our profits, then you should say, 'Verywise deserves a double share."' 

Verywise returned to Wise and said, 'My friend, neither of us wants this quarrel. Let's go to the old sacred tree and ask the tree spirit to settle it." 

When they went to the tree Verywise said solemnly, "My lord tree spirit, we have a problem. Kindly solve it for us." Then his father, hidden inside the hollow tree, disguised his voice and asked, "What is your question?" The man's cheating son said, "My lord tree spirit, this man is Wise and I am Verywise. We have done business together. Tell us how to share the profits." Again disguising his voice, his father responded, "Wise deserves a single share and Verywise deserves a double share." 

Hearing this solution, Wise decided to find out if it really was a tree spirit speaking from inside the tree. So he threw some hay into it and set it on fire. Immediately Verywise's father grabbed onto a branch, jumped out of the flames and fell on the ground. He said in his own voice,, "Although his name is Verywise, my son is just a clever cheater. I'm lucky that the one named Wise really is so. and I've escaped only half toasted!" 

Then Wise and Verywise shared their profits equally. Eventually they both died and were reborn as they deserved.  The lesson, “A cheater may be clever but not wise.”

Blessings,

Judy

Buddha’s Thoughts

At least once a week, I get an email or a phone call from a client that gives me pause to think about “why is that person acting or reacting like that?” I usually have a lot of wonderment around the question, and usually, within a day or two, I get a story or explanation for the behaviour. 

This morning I had a chat with a friend who was telling me that he/she would be fasting for the next ten days to help raise her/his vibration. And further, she/he would be avoiding all sweet things. 

I have learned that each person must do what seems right or best for him or her. However, the thought that sticks with me in all that I do is the vow of MODERATION that all those who take Munay-Ki must agree to. Moderation means that one is balanced in all things. Extreme fasting, or denying oneself, or forcing self to do things that are not for the highest good of the body temple are not in accordance with the Munay-Ki Vow. 

As I was reviewing my lesson in Buddhism, the following teaching story came up, and I received confirmation from Great Spirit that I was on the path of understanding that we need to be balanced in all things. Here is the story.

The Holy Man Who Tried To Be Too Holy (Extremism)

Once upon a time, the Enlightenment Being lived in a world where most religions were very similar. They taught that the way to remove suffering from the mind was to make the body suffer instead. As strange as it seems, most people thought that the holiest of the holy were the ones who tortured their bodies the most! Since everyone seemed to agree with this, the Bodhisatta decided to find out for himself if it was true.

He stopped living as an ordinary everyday person and became a holy man according to the custom of the times. This meant that he gave up everything, even his clothes. He went naked, with his body covered only by dust and dirt.

So he wouldn't be spoiled by the taste of good food, he forced himself to eat only filthy things - dirt, ashes, urine and cow dung.

So he could concentrate without being interrupted by anyone, he went to live in the most dangerous part of the forest. If he did see a human being, he ran away like a timid deer.

In the wintertime he spent his days under the trees and his nights out in the open. So in the daytime he was soaked by the cold water dripping from the icicles hanging from the tree branches. And at night he was covered by the falling snow. In this way, in winter, he made his body suffer the most extreme cold in both day and night.

In the summertime he spent his days out in the open and his nights under the trees. So in the daytime he was burned by the most severe rays of the sun. And at night he was blocked from the few cooling breezes of the open air. In this way, in summer, he made his body suffer the most extreme heat in both day and night.

This was how he struggled, trying to bring peace to his mind. He was so determined that he lived his entire life in this way.

Then, just as he was about to die, he saw a vision of himself reborn in a hell world. The vision struck him like lightning, and instantly he knew that all the ways he had tortured his body were completely useless! They had not brought him peace of mind. Lo and behold, as he gave up his false beliefs and held on to the truth, he died and was reborn in a heaven world!

May you find this helpful in all that you do today, and all days!

Blessings,

Judy

Themes of Humanity

A while ago, I was reading the fascinating book "MYSTICAL TRAVELER: How to Advance to a Higher Level of Spirituality" by Sylvia Browne.  In it she discusses that there are forty-seven themes that classify the human  experience experience.  Themes, remember from high school English, are the major topics or qualities or characteristics of a story.  With that in mind, think of each human then, as a "story", and you will see why this intrigues me.

Shaman are teachers and we teach our protégées that when a person comes to us with a story, and wanting our sympathy and support, that we, the Shaman, should ask the question, "What is really going on here, and what is the story behind the story?"  It seems that the story behind the story is actually another story that that human came to Earth to experience.  We need to look at the “theme” of the individual and reason for coming to Earth.

Ms. Browne has presented the themes in alphabetical order. I am presenting a broad over view of the information. Her first several themes include:

1.  Activator - focuses on achieving a goal that others ahead of her have not completed...

2.  Aesthetic Pursuits - driven by an innate talent, the individual is a slave to the passion that drives them.  An example of an individual that seemed to exemplify this theme would be Beethoven. 

3.  Analyzers - those that pay very close attention to all detail, and need to know why something works the way it does.  Scientists fall under this category.

I could go on about each theme...however, that would spoil the read for you.  

Just to satisfy your curiosity, give the book a read!

Blessings,

Judy

A Student Questions The Teacher

 

A STUDENT QUESTIONS HIS TEACHER

A new student approached the Zen master and asked how he should prepare himself for his training. "Think of me a bell," the master explained. "Give me a soft tap, and you will get a tiny ping. Strike hard, and you'll receive a loud, resounding peal."

Although this is a very short koan (koans are saying, phrases, or questions meant to be contemplated), it is profound in the depth of the teaching message.  

What are your thoughts on this story?

Many blessings,

Judy

Creativity and Beauty

 

The pictures above come from a gallery in Black Diamond Alberta. Pictures by J Hirst.

When most of see old wood on the ground, we think of firewood.  When the artist who created the sculptures above sees old wood, and in this case, petrified wood, he sees an animal or bird.  The gift of getting a vision to create “something” is a fantastic gift.  We may not all be able to see the sculpture or the painting in a setting, but we may “see” something else.  We might see a story, or a way to heal, or an invention.  Everyone has creativity and the wonder of it is that we create beauty.

I believe that when we are given a gift, such as the ability to create art, we are bound to share it.  If we do not share, then the ability withers and our soul shrinks a bit.  We all need to do that “thing” that sings to us in our body, mind, and soul.

Blessings

Judy

I Have Been Busy!

 

I have had a very busy week, and I really have not had time to blog.  I am sorry about that because I enjoy my blogging sessions, and I love getting the emails and comments from everyone.

Thank you to all of you that shared stories with me this past week.  By the way, if you are okay with me sharing your story, please let me know in the email.  Some of you have very special stories that should be told.

So what have I been doing?  Most days, I am doing tasks to make my life easier.  We are selling or giving away things that we no longer need and getting ready to do some painting.  I have packed up four bags for Canadian Diabetes,  We are cleaning out nooks and crannies. As we clean and sort and pare, we feel the energy in the house shift. Subtle changes in balance happen from room to room.  Closets feel lighter.  Everything seems more airy. 

I think I am back on schedule!  Thanks for your patience.

Blessings.

Judy  

Email me at lightstationwisdom@gmail.com

A Story About Patience

I have infinite patience for some things and some people and absolutely no patience for other things and other people.  It is something that I work on constantly.  I was telling a friend about my lack of patience that kicks in from time to time.  She shared this story with me.  In turn, I share it with you.

The Power of Patience

A Long time ago, there was a son who was extraordinarily respectful to his father. On his deathbed the father said: “My son, you honored me in my life time and now you must honor me after my death. I command you, if you should ever be overcome by anger you should hold back your angry until the next morning. 

After his father’s death, the son was forced to embark on a prolonged journey, which took him to distant lands for tens of years. Unbeknownst to him, the wife he left behind was expecting his child. 

After his years of absence, the husband returned home unannounced, hoping to joyously surprise his wife. But as he approached his bedchamber he saw his wife embracing a handsome young man, a stranger. The husband became fiercely jealous and reached for his dagger - when he suddenly remembered the pledge he made to his father: He must hold back his rage overnight. 

The next day he was shocked to discover that the young man in his wife’s embrace was none other than his own son, the child that his wife had borne during his long absence. The man was thus saved from tragically slaughtering his own family. 

Source: “A Letter for the Ages” Mesorah Publications 1989 

The greatest remedy for anger is delay. –Seneca

Many Blessings,

Judy