26
This is the craft
In the dream I’m playing tennis. My opponent is a huge tennis racket! I watch as it floats about down the other end of the court. I hit the ball to the giant racket & the racket returns it to me. The racket doesn’t seem interested in winning or losing. I then hear the words; ‘It’s not about trying to do anything with me… just keep me in the game.’
I recognise ‘the giant tennis racket’ is the Self.1 The Self is giving me a lesson. My top priority is to keep the Self ‘in the game’ of my life. ‘This is the craft’ I am to practice.
Following the loss of my home and marriage, I continue to interact with my dreams. I also write down the tiny ‘sayings’ I’m being given on the edge of sleep. I meditate on the sayings and dialogue with the Self.2 The Self is very pleased! The ‘sayings’ become a flood. In a valley of disorientation I feel increasingly alive. I’m learning ‘the craft’ which brings me life!
It’s Wimbledon which gives you hope
You smash the ball across the rope
Where grass is green… & sky is blue
You play the game… which keeps you true
The woven cord… of God and man
The life reborn… the master plan
Not busy bee… but who-you-are…
Will lead you to… your inmost star
1 The Self can appear as anything it wants in a dream: including a giant tennis racket!
2 A way of practicing ‘the craft’ is to interact with your dreams and any sayings you may receive. Interaction includes building a relationship with the Dreammaker. For helpful resources see the footnotes of Saying 6: ‘I want you to learn Eucharistic Healing.’
Other ways of practicing ‘the craft’ include meditation & contemplation. For many years I used the word ‘Yes’ as a mantra and intention setter. The word ‘Yes’ signalled my intention to open to the Sacred. In using it I acknowledged the Sacred was bigger & more mysterious than I could imagine. ‘Yes’ became my prayer of surrender; my prayer of invitation; my prayer of yearning.
Another discipline I’ve found helpful is ‘practicing the presence of the Self.’ ‘Practicing the presence’ involves focusing on the presence of the Self in the heart. I sometimes use a centering word to support the practice. I choose words like: ‘grace,’ ‘love’ & ‘Christos’ to help centre me on the presence of Self. ‘Christos’ is the Greek word for the Christ. It means ‘the anointed.’ It was a word used by the very early Christians… including the Gnostic Christians. I choose it because it helps keep the ‘Christ within me’ mysterious & beyond religious systems.
Meditation & ‘practicing the presence’ can be helpful in stilling the mind-stream and opening the heart.
See Saying 76: ‘It happens to you but it couldn’t happen without you’
Saying 86: ‘I span’s two worlds.’
Saying 195: ‘To my friend and partner’
Saying 196: ‘It’s about faith in each other in the end’
Meditation; Try meditating using the word ‘yes’ to open you to the Divine presence. Try ‘practicing the presence’ by focussing on the Sacred Presence within your heart. Reflect on your experience.