Dream of Secret Garden and of Unfathomable Recognition

I,
You
He,
She,
We,

in the Garden of Mystic Lovers,

these are not true distinctions.
 

~ Rumi, Coleman Barks ~

1.

For our Sharing of Spiritual Dream series, M. E. B. sharing graciously, writes, "For years I had many dreams of the kind in which one ‘wakes up inside the dream’. I kept a journal and recorded each one as it occurred." This is the 4th dream shared in the series.

I was in an old foreign city, in a great open square teaming with busy people. The air was fresh, the day bright, sunny, clear. A guide appeared who was from this land and was jubilant about showing me his country. Then my teenage niece joined us. We all walked together briskly, almost in a dance, trying to see everything. The square was bordered with colorful shops full of beautiful items and stalls with luscious fruits and vegetables and outdoor cafes. We could not stop to rest for long before our guide swept us away again to show us something else. There were large buildings around the periphery of the square.

We entered one of these buildings that seemed like an ancient castle once we were inside. I raced ahead of the others and found myself alone walking down a long, narrow, cool corridor of thick stone. It was very mysterious, I didn’t know where it was going, but I was too full of wonder to be afraid. There were no windows or exits – until I came upon a heavy old wooden door in the left wall. I immediately opened it to a small musty room, about nine to twelve feet square, of the same stone. It was empty except for another heavy wooden door opposite the first one  - solidly bolted with an ancient lock. I had felt a tinge of forbiddance when I opened the first door, but the second door gave the feeling of imminent danger. There was no key but with my fingers I magically worked the puzzle of the locks, and within seconds, it clicked open.

This door was heavier than the first one. I struggled to pull it open - then froze on the threshold. It was far above the ground with no balcony, only the sheer outside wall of the castle. If I hadn’t stopped I would have been killed from the fall. But something else riveted my attention. When I looked out I saw the most enchanting garden landscape that spread out for at least a hundred yards - though it faded in the distance rather than end. There were many kinds of trees, shrubs, vines, and emerald green lawns. Instead of sunlight there was a luminous inner daylight that these places seem to have. There was a single gardener, dressed in unassuming brown, kneeling at the edge of one of the flowerbeds attending it. Beyond him, in a large arc toward the right behind some trees, was a small serene lake. But the most spellbinding jewels of the garden were the many thousands of flowers that were everywhere, different kinds and sizes - all made of numerous shades of brilliant blue light - the deepest, purest, crystal blue with sunlight deep inside glowing brightly. The blue light filled the garden and sparkled as the flowers swayed in the breezes. It was mesmerizing. I had never imagined anything like it. I stood still and gazed into this hidden masterpiece for a long time.

Then part of me rushed back to find my niece and guide. She appeared, standing next to me on the threshold. She glanced at the danger but was quickly captivated by the garden. As we debated about what to do the guide caught up with us, calm and knowing. When he appeared, so did a system of steps flush against the outside wall leading down into the garden. We descended at once, and as soon as our feet touched the earth a wave of disbelief came over us. We could barely comprehend standing in a place such as this. Quietly we strolled deeper into the garden, our guide proudly showing us each tree, vine, bush. We touched those dazzling blue light flowers, held them in our hands. The closer I looked at them the more I could see how exotic they were. On some were, how to describe - to the left of the blossom was an ethereal lacy structure of delicate ‘stems’ about the size of the flower. It was not physically connected to the flower but was suspended in space next to it and seemed to be an echo of the flower’s inner architecture, an earlier primal phase of its development, a tracery left from its journey through its inner universe.

We passed the gardener and meandered across the lawns looking at each radiant blue light. The breezes swept by us as if to make sure we noticed them too. We came to the lake, a glistening gem anchored by the high hills beyond it to the east. We stopped at the water’s edge to rest. We were outwardly quiet, but inwardly were breathless with excitement to see such beauty and to feel the deep joy and silence in this mystifying place.

Slowly time began to stand still. A delicate whisper spoke which indicated there is something else that is special. I waited. The stillness grew deeper. At the deepest, almost imperceptible point, a consciousness emerged. I knew it was the Consciousness of the Garden, though I had never imagined such a thing before.

The Garden knew we were there and was gazing back at us. I could hear it say that this unfathomable recognition of each other, seeing each other face to face like this, makes the existence of the Garden complete for the first time - for now it can see itself through our eyes - its own eyes. A central part of us also became complete - for the Garden is in our innermost self. This is the only way we can see each other. We stayed here for a long time.

- A dream shared generously by M. E. B. 

may God be pleased with you

Unpublished Work | Copyright © 1995 M. E. B.

2.

Update from April 2010

A larger world opened from our meeting in the Garden – a new awareness and meanings are still unfolding from it even today. And over the years an incomparable richness has resulted from exploring the symbols in the dream in Buddhism, Sufism, Hinduism, Christianity, Jungian psychology…. all among the flowers in a higher Garden. This exploration has also created a somewhat similar place that Rumi expressed so well: “Out beyond ideas about wrong-doing and right-doing there is a field. I’ll meet you there.” And so it is with the Garden - out beyond intellectually limited definitions there is a far deeper living place and consciousness…

- M. E. B.

3.

The body is a sensing instrument of consciousness. Without the body and the mind, the trees couldn't see themselves. Usually we think that we are looking at a tree, but the tree is looking at itself through us. Without this instrument, the tree doesn't get to see itself. 

We are the sensing instruments of the Divine.

- Adyashanti, from Divine is the All Seeing

Allah - al Baseer
The Divine is "the All Seeing".

4.

Sometimes, life steps out of a dream and the heart remembers that what appears to be life is really the dream, and it was You my Beloved One, Who were always with me. It is You who contains us all!

When I dare to open to all that hovers outside of time itself, I am in an ever expanding garden, a meadow, a sea, a sky, a soul, a boundless spirit circling in the truth of the heart, creating new realities, new lands, new ways of seeing, new feelings, new species, new revelations, volcanoes of centuries of longing imploding and exploding that blow the mind into fragments to be swept under the carpet of reverence and devotion and awakening! 

- Naomi

# Sharing of Spiritual Dreams Series:
1) The Beloved's ways are beyond this heart
2) Initiation isn't about suffering, but stepping up
3) Dream of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen and soul's calling out

If you wish to share your spiritual dreams / mystical visions, send to mysticsaint (at) gmail dot com

# Related:
. When Dreams Begin Our Quest | Sohbet with Noor-Malika Chishti
. This life is but a dream like state of a sleeping man
. The Sufi Garden
. Interpretation of dreams in Islamic Wisdom Tradition