Mantras, Movie Dreams and a Trapped Bird

Over the past several weeks, I’ve been somewhat fascinated with the work of Deepak Chopra and certain Vedic perspectives on spirituality. My interest sort of started with this video in particular and just kind of expanded from there.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6165305576181681554

Relatedly, a few days ago, I read some interesting stuff about brainwave coherence through listening to Vedic chants, very similar to what is discussed in this video.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=heQRzysMVbo

...and yesterday, I was giving this phenomenon some serious thought while contemplating taking up yoga. Yoga and transcendental meditation are things I’ve tried on occasion in the past, and for years now, a few people have been suggesting I take them up more seriously ...and lately, I’ve been taking the suggestion more seriously. Anyhow, while pondering all this, on a completely unrelated web search, I came across two websites that had Vedic chants you can download as mp3.

…and when the universe speaks, Chris tries to listen. :)

I already meditate almost daily, and every once and a while, I try incorporating something new into it. So, early last night I figured, "what the heck? Why not?"

(Chopra should really write something about wearing a seatbelt when you meditate.)

After just a few minutes of meditating with these Indian mantras playing through my headphones, I noticed tingling sensations over several parts of my body and my breathing patterns had changed dramatically. Feeling unusually calm, and not a total stranger to unusual phenomena, I just went with it. At some point (couldn’t have been more than an hour) I fell asleep. I fell deeply asleep and had a very unusual dream. The dream was an extremely vivid, linear and coherent dream. It had mountains of symbolism I’ll be mentally working through for days; symbols that included things like misdiagnosed death, fake money, misguided travel, causality, perception of divinity, blocked paths and the costliness of visiting in places like Boston.

Now, much more often than not, my dreams tend to be extremely fragmented, hazy and mostly forgotten when I wake. This one was unusually easy to remember and a very linear narrative that jumped back and forth between first and third person, complete with implied narration. It was almost as if my subconscious made a detailed movie and I was somehow playing it out as an actor well-versed enough to do it on auto-pilot. There was even bad casting, most notably of which was Jerry Stiller as my dad (Don’t get me wrong: I love Jerry Stiller's work, but in real life, my old man is a poster-child for Irish Catholic Baby-boomers). Oh, and a lesser Baldwin was in there too, by the way. Long story short, it was a very atypical dream for me.

Now, most interestingly, as I write this, I realize that the surrealism of my night and morning didn’t end with that oddball dream. I awoke euphoric and not entirely sure I really did wake up. As I looked to the clock on my computer to see the appallingly early hour, my instant messenger blinked with the beckon of a friend in need. This was not just any random friend, of course. It was one of those friends who some how magically knows when you are there, and almost always summons when you are authentically needed.

So, a small pep talk and several minutes of other exchange later, my friend signed off (hopefully the better for wear) and apparently, she’s headed off on a trip to Boston today. Yes, the same Boston from my dream. (On an unrelated topic: I just realized that game 6 for the American League is today at Fenway… Please pray everyone!) Upon pondering this possible synchronicity, as well as the overall oddness of my dream, I recognized that I was not getting back to sleep, no matter how early it was. So I headed out for an early breakfast.

Way too early for Da Kitchen, I ate breakfast by the outdoor section at the Denny’s at Kihei. Like most mornings in Maui, it was (and still is) incredibly beautiful outside. As I pondered my unusually memorable and vivid dream over breakfast, I looked across the way and something caught my eye. At an adjacent resort, I couldn’t help repeatedly noticing there was a guy on the roof doing yoga (hmmm… Yoga). Afterwards, I took a walk on the beach at Camp 2 and simply enjoyed the morning view of Molokini for several minutes.

On the way back to my place, I encountered even more weirdness. A bird was trapped in the display of one of the tourist shops by Denny’s. Not just trapped in the shop, but trapped inside the front window display. Knowing the shopkeeper would open the store and likely let the poor little guy out in a couple of hours, I couldn’t help but stare and chuckle at his dilemma. How the Hell did he get into the closed store to begin with, let alone into the front window display? Then of course I remember that misguided travel and blocked paths were also themes in my dream.

Now I’m back in my place, mentally sorting it as I write this long blog entry. What does it all mean? Being a fan of synchronicity and a disbeliever in coincidence, I guess I’ll have to spend some serious time figuring it all out.

Am I one of those assholes who sees or tries to see deeper meaning in every little thing, looking from hidden messages from God, the universe and my own subconscious in hopes I can create better understanding and higher meaning out of the seemingly chaotic progression and limited procession of perception that is human existence?

You bet I am… because life is more fun that way. ;)


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