ECKANKAR, Author at ECKANKAR Hub site

Dream Message from Dad

By Beverly Dowling

One morning, I awoke later than I’d planned. As I got up, I remembered just a snippet of a dream.

Normally, I write down my dreams. It’s a spiritual discipline I’ve practiced for years and have found very helpful.

But getting a late start, I thought, I barely have time to write this down. It’s almost nonsense, really. It doesn’t mean anything.

I decided to scribble it down anyway before getting ready for work. Then I completely forgot about it.

Shortly after I arrived at work, I got a phone call. It was my sister letting me know our father had passed on earlier that morning.

That call began a busy few days. With the help of the ECK and the Mᴀʜᴀɴᴛᴀ, I got through the more challenging times. But I didn’t even look at my dream journal for three days.

Finally, I realized I needed to get back to my normal routine and start writing down my dreams. I took out my dream journal and set it by the bedside.

What was the last thing I wrote? I wondered.

When I flipped the pages to read the last entry, I was shocked. There was the record of my last dream fragment: Daddy called and left a message on my cell phone. He said, “I’m already home. I’ll wait for you and meet you there.”

My father had sent me a message through a dream to let me know he had passed on.

This experience changed me. The ECK teachings had already taught me that Soul cannot die. Death is only a transition into a new plane of existence.

The dream message from my father was confirmation of his happy new life. This made me happy too. Now I could completely share in his joy.

It also reminded me of how important it is to write down my dreams. Had I not taken the time to write down this dream fragment, I would have forgotten about it and missed the great gift it brought me.

My Dream Led Me to a Precious Gift

Dream Explorations

By Judy Vashti Persad

In my dream I am driving on a reddish-brown dirt road in Trinidad. At a crossroad, I turn left and drive over a single-lane bridge to arrive at my aunt’s home, where Ma, my beloved grandmother, lives. I enter a large room filled with other women—relatives and friends. My aunt, also an ECKist, hugs me. “You made it in the fifth hour,” she breathes. She points to Ma, lying on the far side of the room.

As I approach my grandmother, she sits up to greet me. But her physical body remains lying on the bed. We stand face-to-face in our Soul bodies, only inches apart. Silently her voice speaks to me: “Jude, I am going. It’s time. I love you very much.”

I awoke with a start, feeling as though I was returning from somewhere more real than the sheets around me and deeper than my skin. My heartbeat was all I could hear. I sat up in bed hugging my knees, waiting for the phone call from Trinidad to tell me my grandmother had left, but it never came. I realized the dream was my call to go to Trinidad.

In the morning, I called my Mum. “I’m coming home to see Ma,” I told her.

“She’s very close to death,” Mum replied. “You may just make it for her funeral.”

“I’ll be there!” I said.

Miraculously, I caught a plane at 11:00 that very night. On the flight, I kept talking to my grandmother. “I’m on my way. I so want to see you, but if you need to leave, I don’t want to hold you back.”

As the plane touched Trinidad soil, I looked at my watch. It was 6:43 a.m. My cousin picked me up, reassuring me that Ma was still hanging on.

To avoid the morning traffic, he took an unfamiliar back road through fields of sugar cane. Unfamiliar until I recognized the reddish-brown dirt road from my dream. At a crossroad, we turned left and drove over the same single-lane bridge I had crossed in my dream.

I knew then I would be there in time to say good-bye to Ma.

Arriving at my aunt’s home, I raced upstairs and told her of my dream. “Let’s say a prayer with Ma,” she replied. She lifted my grandmother to a sitting position and held her there while I sang HU, the beautiful prayer song to God. Then I spoke gently to her of my love and of the love of family back in Canada who could not be there.

Although Ma was unable to move, I felt her arms raise up and encircle me. I felt the powerful force of love flowing through me and all around the three of us—my grandmother gave me her final loving hug. Then we laid her back to rest and sat at a respectful distance to allow her an undisturbed and peaceful translation (death).

Suddenly, the sunny and tranquil day was transformed. A wind began to rage around us, whipping the curtains and wind chimes to a frenzy. My mum and aunt ran to close the window louvers against the sudden, driving rain.

Without knowing why, I went to Ma’s bedside, leaned in close to her face, and with my left hand began rubbing her chest as I had done so many times to ease her heart pains. With my right hand, I caressed the soft warm skin of her forehead and inhaled her beloved scent of coconut oil. I kissed her forehead and cheek, whispering, “Ma, if it’s time to go now, it’s easy. Just let go. God is here.”

She took a breath, and then another. And then no more. As she crossed the border between the worlds, I felt I was touching eternity.

“Mum, it’s happening.” I called out. Everyone gathered around Ma’s bed. The wind and rain stopped as suddenly as it had started. The passageway between the worlds was closed again. My precious grandmother had entered another room.

Two days after Ma’s funeral, I realized the significance of my aunt’s words in my dream: “You made it in the fifth hour.” My plane had touched down in Trinidad at exactly 6:43 a.m., and Ma left this world at 11:43 a.m.—precisely five hours later.

The guidance in my dream had led me to a precious gift—an experience of the power of love to connect us, Soul to Soul, even across the barriers between worlds.

My Job or My Life?

Dream Explorations

By Russell Torlage

One day at work, my manager approached me. Because I had strong computer skills, I was asked to consider heading up a special project. Although my expertise did not cover all the project requirements, I accepted. The job turned out to be very demanding.

After a year and a half, I took a mental inventory of the assignment. The stress of the position was having a heavy impact on my personal life. I wasn’t practicing my spiritual exercises regularly. Even though that twenty minutes a day of quiet contemplation was vital to my spiritual health, my attitude now was just to get them over with. I was eating poorly and sleeping poorly. Many of my fun projects had been put on hold indefinitely.

I wanted out of the assignment, but I felt guilty about abandoning the project. I also worried about jeopardizing my chances for any future job promotions. But what’s more important, my job or my life? I asked myself. After three days of mental acrobatics, I still could not decide what to do. I needed help from the ECK, the Holy Spirit.

One night before nodding off for the evening, I asked the Mᴀʜᴀɴᴛᴀ, my spiritual guide, to show me the answer in a dream. I promised to act on the dream no matter what the message.

That night I dreamed I was driving down a road in a car I had recently sold. Although snow covered the ground, the car’s windows were down. It was almost dark. Up ahead a deer was grazing on the road. Seeing this gentle creature brought joy to my heart. Then I caught a glimpse of two pairs of shining eyes in the dark beyond the deer—two wolves. One made a large circle around the deer. It joined the other wolf, and I could see them planning their attack. Then to my horror both wolves charged the deer and ripped it to pieces.

Shocked at what was unfolding in front of me, I feared for my own safety. I managed to roll the windows up. I wanted desperately to accelerate past the wolves while they were attacking the deer, but my tires spun in the snow. I eased my foot off the accelerator, and finally the wheels gained traction. The wolves didn’t notice me. They carried the deer carcass in front of the car and off to the left.

As I motored away, I saw one of the foremen from work walking toward me on the left. He looked confused as I drove past him because of the car I was in and the direction I was going.

When I woke up, I analyzed my dream. My old car represented the job position I held before taking on my new assignment. The deer represented my previous peaceful state of consciousness. The first wolf that scouted out its prey was my immediate boss. The second wolf was my boss’s boss. Both of them were involved in the decision to approach me about the new assignment.

The killing of the deer showed me the destruction of my personal life. To my managers, the corporation’s appetite was all that mattered. My career was unimportant. Later I would find out that there was no future in my new position after all.

Driving past the wolves indicated that my fate would change. The fact that the two wolves were more interested in the carcass than in me showed me that my best interests were not being served. The responsibility to live my life as I deemed fit would be mine and mine alone. Passing my coworker showed me that my peers would be very surprised at my decision to return to my old position.

This dream showed me that if I quit the project, my life would continue in a better direction where I could again find balance in all areas, especially my spiritual life.

First thing the next morning I made an appointment to meet with my boss. I was nervous, but I knew what I had to do. The ECK had showed me in no uncertain terms. It was up to me to trust in the Mᴀʜᴀɴᴛᴀ to stand up and take charge of my life and my future. Two and a half hours later I had resigned.

Since then my life has certainly changed for the better. I have more time to devote to volunteer work. I enrolled in an engineering course that time restrictions and pressure had prevented me from taking. I was able to complete all of the little projects that had been on hold, and start many other new projects.

This dream was a gift of awareness. It brought a deeper insight into my life and showed me that the creative power of Divine Spirit is in each and every one of us. Most important, it convinced me that the Mᴀʜᴀɴᴛᴀ always has my best interests at heart.

Spiritual Dreams

Karma

Spiritual Meaning of Dreaming in History

There is an ancient and universal tradition about the true nature of dreams which has lost favor in modern times. This view holds that dreams are of divine origin, that they are a portal to spiritual worlds, and that they bear messages from heaven and prophetic insights.

The Gilgamesh saga of ancient Mesopotamia shows us that dreamers used various techniques to increase the chances that a deity would appear in their dreams. A god might send a dream message to a single priest or a group of dreamers.

The Egyptians were said to believe that dreams were caused by the soul taking out-of-body journeys during sleep. In the Old Testament, God says, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision, I speak with him in a dream.”

In Jacob’s famous dream at Bethel, he saw a ladder reaching up to heaven, with angels ascending and descending upon it. At the top was the Lord. When Jacob awoke from the dream he exclaimed, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

The Chinese also believed that the soul could separate from the body during sleep and journey into the spiritual worlds, where it could communicate with the departed, then return to the body with memories of the visit. High Chinese officials were expected to seek divine guidance through their dreams so they would obtain the insights needed for wise political judgment.

In ancient India the soul was also thought to leave the body during sleep and visit other places. Indian texts also state that children dream of impressions from past lives and that old people could dream of the world to come.

The Greeks, such as Homer, believed dreams had a divine origin and that the messages were often direct and readily understood. Like nearly all ancient cultures, the Greeks believed that the soul was able to leave the body at night, take trips into other worlds, and visit with the gods.

The list goes on, but these examples show the widespread belief held by our ancestors in the spiritual nature of dreams.

What Is a Spiritual Dream?

It is one of the greatest losses of modern psychology in its pursuit of scientific foundations that this ancient view was discarded. For spiritual dreams are as prevalent today as they were in ancient times.

Thousands of people are reporting out-of-body journeys in the dream state—journeys to distant locations on earth or to higher spiritual dimensions.

They are reporting prophetic dreams, past-life dreams, telepathic dreams, healing dreams, and dreams of illumination and divine love, guidance, and protection. The dreamers having these kinds of adventures are too numerous to ignore.

The dream teachings of Eckankar define the nature of Soul. You are Soul, a particle of God sent into the worlds (including earth) to gain spiritual experience.

The assumption is made right from the start that spiritual dreams are real, that they are a vital part of life, and that they are an essential and key element in one’s spiritual growth.

The goal is spiritual freedom in this lifetime, after which you become a Co-worker with God, both here and in the next world. Karma and reincarnation are primary beliefs.

Do you want to understand the nature and reality of your dreams? And experience the wondrous potential for love and happiness they can bring into your life? Learn more about spiritual dreams.

Harold Klemp, the spiritual leader of Eckankar, is one of the foremost advocates of spiritual dreaming in the world today.

Two Steps Forward—with a Little Help

Gifts of Inner Guidance

By Ted Allen

A representative from a church group called me to get an estimate for rebuilding the steps to the main entrance of their sanctuary. I agreed to meet her and a couple other members of the building committee at the church to view the project.

What I saw was two old, broken stone treads, with iron railings and a stone landing, all closed off with a spiderweb of twine. The steps and landing needed extensive work.

“The bishop is coming soon,” they said, “so we need it done as soon as possible.”

“When’s he coming?” I asked.

“Our bishop is a she,” one of the members replied. “She will arrive in about a month.”

Would you like a quick Band-Aid type of repair, or would you rather it be reconstructed properly?”

“We want the job done right,” they affirmed.

“I’ll send a quote right out to you,” I said. “The job will require extensive demolition as well as time to order custom-cut bluestone treads and risers.”

They said their decision would be forthcoming immediately after they received my estimate.

But a week after I’d sent the estimate, I’d still heard nothing from them. I figured someone else had been chosen to do the work.

I happened to be in that small town a day or two later and drove by the church. I was surprised to see the same twine wrapped between the wrought-iron railings. Nothing had been done! I had more than enough work to do, though, so I put the thought of the church steps aside.

Late the following Sunday afternoon, I received a call from one of the committee members.

“Yes,” he told me. “We want you to proceed ASAP.”

“Well,” I replied, “now there are barely two weeks before your bishop arrives, and my schedule is nearly full.”

“We realize that,” he said. “We’d like you to do the best you can. If you can get it done on time, that would be great. If it takes a little longer, we understand.”

I agreed to see what I could do. After hanging up, I felt a bit chagrined that they had waited so long to approve the job. I wondered if I could really juggle my schedule and fit this project in. But immediately, I felt a distinct nudge that I should accept the job and do my best. It was also an honor for me, as a student of Eᴄᴋᴀɴᴋᴀʀ, to build steps that would allow others the freedom to worship God and Divine Spirit as they wished. With this new attitude, I gathered the materials and decided to really put my heart, love, and attention into the project.

As I worked, I discovered the church also functioned as a preschool each morning. The children took great delight in watching the daily progress as they made their way to and from the preschool. One day as I neared completion, the children were a bit late in being released. Consequently, I had about a dozen parents closely watching as I put finishing touches on the project.

On another occasion, a passing motorist pulled over, rolled down his window, and asked for directions to a bubbling spring where locals once filled their water containers. I replied that I knew of the spring, but it had been removed and was no longer functioning. At that moment, the fellow recognized me. We were both members of AA (Alcoholics Anonymous). He asked me, “Did you know they hold a weekly AA meeting at this church?”

“I had no idea,” I replied, “but I’m glad to be working on the first two steps to make it easier for those members who wish to attend.” That was a double-entendre reference to AA’s twelve-step program.

Once my attitude had changed and I’d set to work following my nudge from the Inner Master (what we in Eᴄᴋᴀɴᴋᴀʀ refer to as the Mᴀʜᴀɴᴛᴀ, and which others may recognize as Divine Spirit), the step building became an almost dreamlike experience. I realized I had been given a unique opportunity to build steps to help others on their spiritual journey.

The work became a living demonstration of the ECK, or Divine Spirit, in action for the parade of preschoolers, parents, church members, and the AA crowd. In addition, the experience furthered my realization that each moment is a gift from God—an opportunity to give back to life with creative action and expression.

And yes, the job was finished in time for the bishop to enjoy it!

All Lives Saved

Gifts of Inner Guidance

By Sri Harold Klemp

This story has to do with a DC-9 emergency over West Africa. Deboee was a pilot on a DC-9 passenger plane. One day the plane was flying out of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, with a full load of passengers, and they had an emergency during takeoff. They were headed for Monrovia, Liberia, which was to the west.

Suddenly there was a violent vibration. The copilot was flying, and Deboee said, “Go ahead with the takeoff.” The other choice would have been to abort. This was how the guidelines read. With the copilot flying, Deboee was very receptive to the Mᴀʜᴀɴᴛᴀ, to the Inner Master, and he listened for any guidance that might come.

Now followed a series of life-or-death decisions. Deboee kept listening, and in some cases he did absolutely the wrong thing by the book. But it saved everybody’s life.

First was the decision to continue with the takeoff or not, and aborting meant they would have ended up in the sea. And he said, “Lives were saved right there.”

Deboee knew there was a tire problem, so he didn’t retract the undercarriage, because that would have damaged the hydraulic system. Later, the Abidjan air traffic control center confirmed that they had left part of a tire on the runway.

Now came the decision to divert to Accra, in Ghana. This was well to the east. With the undercarriage down, the extra drag meant there would be too little fuel to reach the original destination of Monrovia. Fuel consumption would have been twice as much, and they would never have made it.

Then on the way to Accra, the engine on the same side as the burst tire developed an oil leak. The procedure said to shut down the engine. But the plane was overloaded. And with the undercarriage down, there was all this drag.

A DC-9 has two engines. And if he had shut the engine down, one engine alone couldn’t keep the plane airborne. That would have been it. All lives lost.

Deboee brought the throttle back to idle just to see what would happen, and the plane lost altitude. So he had to choose here. He brought the throttle back up, pushed it forward, and they regained altitude. They kept flying in spite of the oil leak. And how did Deboee make these decisions? Well, the Mᴀʜᴀɴᴛᴀ had given him a nudge—had said to do exactly what he’d done.

So now came the question Should he announce to the passengers what kind of a stew they’re in? And he realized, no, they’d panic, and they already have enough problems.

He just said, “We’ve got a tire problem, and we’ll be landing at Accra.” And the people were very calm. Once the DC-9 was over Accra, it had used up enough fuel to be well within a safe landing weight. They shut down the engine with the oil leak, and they made a perfect landing. Everyone was safe. Deboee credited this guidance 100 percent to the Mᴀʜᴀɴᴛᴀ, the Inner Master. Deboee said that just a single wrong decision would have spelled disaster.

Then he added something very interesting. Deboee drew a parallel to other people who listened to the inner voice. He said Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Handel, and Tchaikovsky, to name a few, were all vehicles who listened to this inner guidance and acted. And we are all witness to the result of their listening. We can all hear the results through the music they wrote. Just a beautiful connection.