We Shall Overcome

I didn’t know that my bed had an eject button until 3:20 am this morning, when I was suddenly pushed out of it and urged to go sit down to record a vivid dream that woke me out of a sound sleep. Dreams sometimes have a way of confusing and clarifying things all at once. This one assured me beyond a shadow of a doubt that—though the world around us seems absurdly terrifying at the moment—this too shall pass and we will be safe and survive. But in the meantime, we may need to burn away a bit of the dross of the old in order to get from where we are now to the place we’d rather be. That would be the terrifying part.

I was inside the White House in a room filled with people, when we heard a warning that a bomb placed inside a fireplace in the room where we stood would soon detonate. I turned to look for the bomb, and saw it just a split second before it exploded. Its blast rocked the entire house but no one inside the room was harmed or injured in any way. Rather than allowing panic to prevail, others from throughout the house gathered together with those in the room and joined in chorus to sing a  heartfelt song of protection, faith, safety, security, and solidarity. The response to this frightening occurrence struck me as odd; rather than running for our lives, we stood banded together as one in song, drawing strength from one another.

Outside, the fire raged and engulfed the entire exterior of the building, but the inner part of the house was left untouched. The view through the windows was completely obscured by the orange and yellow flames that completely engulfed the building. We could not see anything beyond the walls in which we stood. Inside, we were safe and protected from the effect of the intensity of the burning that threatened our lives.

We stood steady and strong, and eventually the fire burned itself out. From the white ash left behind, there arose an unimaginably glorious new world, shimmering with light and beauty, governed by benevolent leaders focused upon the common good and the welfare of all. In this  glorious new world, we would live in harmony and cooperation with one another and with our leaders, working together to utilize our considerable resources for the benefit our new world and all those within it.

How clever are these dreams. How fitting that this scenario should take place within the house of the President of the United States, the symbolic home of a country that holds the hope of the future of the entire world in its hands. How perfect that it represents the inner sanctuary of security and protection that dwells within each one of us, if we will only choose to nestle gently within the warmth and safety of its embrace. Though that promise appears dim as fires burn around us, we are assured that beyond our awareness there awaits the new world for which we yearn. 

It takes a very strong person to not be affected by these exceptionally difficult and challenging times. It is hard to avoid looking out the window of despair and watch as the world burns. That which threatens the hope within the heart of each one of us will one day pass away, leaving us safe and secure within the depths of our true selves.

Have faith, my friends. Never have the words echoed from the past by Martin Luther King been truer than there are right now, for we are protected by powerful forces greater than the appearance of the flames of destruction. We need only stay centered within the safety of the Soul, and focus on that which will emerge from the ashes of a past that no longer serves. We shall overcome.

Note:  The photo above is courtesy of New Waves of Light, a website designed by anonymous individuals around the world who share the intention of bringing light and love to a world of darkness and chaos. (newwavesoflight.org or NWOL.us)