Category Archives: Dreams

Freedom from Fear – The Strong Heart of Aung San Suu Kyi

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“It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it. Most Burmese are familiar with the four a-gati, the four kinds of corruption. Chanda-gati, corruption induced by desire, is deviation from the right path in pursuit of bribes or for the sake of those one loves. Dosa-gati is the taking the wrong path to spite those against whom one bears ill will, and moha-gati is aberrartion due to ignorance. But perhaps the worst of the four is bhaya-gati, for not only does bhaya, fear, stifle and slowly destroy all sense of right and wrong, it so often lies at the root of the other three kinds of corruption.” These are the words of Aung San Suu Kyi, a long time political prisoner and advocate of democracy, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, who was just released from imprisonment in Burma.

Being imprisoned because of her words and her popular leadership, Aung San Suu Kyi has not depended on the powers of this world (see Luke 4:4-6 and John 18:36). Instead she has proclaimed, “Without a revolution of the spirit, the forces which produced the iniquities of the old order would continue to be operative, posing a constant threat to the process of reform and regeneration. … A people who would build a nation in which strong, democratic institutions are firmly established as a guarantee against state-induced power must first learn to liberate their own minds from apathy and fear.”

Enduring imprisonment she has lived out her universal call to overcome “fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of death, fear of losing friends, family, property or means of livelihood, fear of poverty, fear of isolation, fear of failure.” Instead of fearing, she has relied on “the wellspring of courage and endurance in the face of unbridled power … [and] a firm belief in the sanctity of ethical principles … [and] a historical sense that despite all setbacks the condition of man is set on an ultimate course for both spiritual and material advancement.” She believes in a “vision of a world fit for rational, civilized humanity” and in “concepts such as truth, justice and compassion” which empower her “to dare and to suffer to build societies free from want and fear.”

A BBC article, also found under Empower News (see tab above), provides more information on today’s release of Aung San Suu Kyi.

God bless Aung San Suu Kyi and God bless us all!

 

The night before last, I had a dream of a man who was in a barracks building in which he lived. Without warning some uniformed men entered the building and arrested him. They took him to another building and accused him of disturbing the social order because he had asked this question: “If our work with underground oil can suddenly cause such a catastrophe, what can result from our work with bombs?” The interrogators viewed the man as a danger to society and intended to keep him in custody for a long time.

Today, with a much greater appreciation for the scriptures, the Catholic Christian tradition identifies Bible readings for each day. After the dream, I read the Gospel reading of that day. It is very relevant to the Aung San Suu Kyi’s call toward liberation from apathy and fear:

“’As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man; they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; on the day when Lot left Sodom, fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all. So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, a person who is on the housetop and whose belongings are in the house must not go down to get them, and likewise a person in the field must not return to what was left behind. Remember the wife of Lot. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it. I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. And there will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken, the other left.’ They said to him in reply, ‘Where, Lord?’ He said to them, ‘Where the body is, there also the vultures will gather.’” – Luke 17:26-37.

For me, one very convenient source of receiving daily scripture readings by email is The Daily Gospel.

In an earlier post, Make Your Noise, I also quoted Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Time Machine Dream

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Often in the morning, I am blessed by several wonderful ideas that have come from my nighttime mind. These ideas sometimes come from remembered dreams and sometimes from thought processes unremembered. Cultivating a friendship between my nighttime mind and my awake mind seems to spur this on. The nighttime mind brings us many crazy dreams and many useful dreams. Some dreams even flow from our nighttime mind’s deep stirring encounters with God, our All in All. The dream I’m sharing now from 1997 is one such dream.

Jugglin on the Berlin Wall 1989

Jugglin on the Berlin Wall, photographed in November 1989 by Yann Forget.

It was evening. About five or six of us were in a meeting room with a table. Each of us was enthusiastic about the work that we were pursuing. Each of us was deeply involved with building a better future for humanity. We were also realistic about the difficulties involved in fulfilling our dreams.

Our enthusiasm was in part based upon a special opportunity we had that evening. We had a time machine in our building. First, we had to decide who would go. I guess since it was my dream, it was decided that I should go. We discussed the trip and decided that I really did not need to take anything. But as I began to enter the time machine, I realized that it would be really good to have a camera. Quickly someone ran into a nearby room and brought me a high quality camera.

I set the time machine on ready, and immediately I found myself in the future. It did not seem to be a far-off future, something like maybe 7 to 25 years into the future, but that’s just my guess, I really don’t know when it was. In the time machine, I was being transported from one part of the world to another. I was flying about 30 yards above the ground observing a particular day. I went to many places all over the world and everywhere I went there were people of all cultures and backgrounds jubilantly joining together and marching, carrying banners, singing, chanting, swaying together, spinning, and dancing in the streets. The gatherings were spontaneous and free spirited. Something utterly incredible had just been realized or had just happened and the people were celebrating the resultant oneness of humanity and thanking God for this great victory.

All the while I kept taking pictures. Then I was brought back to the present and to the meeting room. Right away I began to tell others what I saw. I was so moved by what I saw that I teared up. Everyone was impressed by my words, but it was not until someone brought in the large developed pictures and placed them on the table that everyone began to really take it in. The others in the room began to speak breathlessly about how these pictures could change the world, because people would see in these pictures a real future that will happen if we work together now. Besides speaking of how others would be affected by the pictures, each spoke of how they were now going to work much harder and in a much more directed and concerted manner to build a better future for humanity. For in these pictures, each of us saw this wonderful future reaching out to us, inviting us to live in the faith that this is not only possible but very realizable.

Two additional themes strike me from this dream. First it points to a great trial and a great victory ahead of us. Second, it points to “vivid pictures” within each of us, gifts, talents, and energy that we can bring forth to build a better humanity.My daughter, Mignon, sent me a link to the positive video on the right. It suggests something of a better world as well. Click it and enjoy it.

 

Our next Future of the Gulf – Community Brainstorm is September 30, 2010 at the Coastal Response Center – 7385 Highway 188 in Coden, Alabama. Our purpose, in light of the ongoing oil disaster, is to share community needs, resources, ideas, and opportunities with other people who care. We will brainstorm and encourage one another to act and move positively together to restore our way of life, health, and community.

 

 Nic Marks and the Happy Planet Index

 

The Rainforest Dream

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You are walking through a beautiful rainforest. The forest is filled with tropical plants, bright vibrantly colored flowers, and huge magnificent trees. Birds are filling the air with their calls and there is the rushing sound of a nearby river. You are walking with a good friend from a far off land and culture, a special person who embodies the inner goodness that is in all people. Together you are thrilled to be in this tropical paradise. Soon you see a huge tree with a curved trunk. Because of the way it is curved, you and your friend can walk right up the trunk. On the trunk, you walk up to a huge branch as wide as two elephants standing side by side. The branch is quite long and goes out over the river. Excitedly you run across the branch taking in all the beauty of the leaves, flowers, birds, and small animals among the branches. Pausing you look below and see the river, a gorgeous, sparkling-clear, large river. You’re about 50 feet above the river, and the river is about 40 feet deep, but it’s so clear you can see its white sandy bottom. You and your friend are taken by the sight and without talking you know just what to do. You jump and when you jump, you and your friend turn into eagles, beating your wings vigorously as you soar straight up above the forest and into the beautiful blue sky. Still together flying high above the immense green forest, you fold your wings and let yourselves fall rapidly though the forest and toward the river. Crashing into the river, you regain your human forms and in a curved motion go deep into the water and turning with tremendous momentum pop up to surface. Thrilled and smiling at one another, you and your friend tread water and begin to notice that the rushing waters of the river have ceased to be rushing. The waters are now gently swirling around you. Looking around in wonder, you feel something mysterious coming. You sense its friendship with the whole rainforest. Without sound, color, or anything else perceptible, but with unmistakable power, a deep message begins to reverberate within the forest: “For a reward this great, you have to work hard! For a reward this great, you have to work hard! For a reward this great, you have to work hard! …” The message impacts you deeply and wakes you from your sleep.

This dream from 1997 still fills me joy. Now it’s your dream too. All is gift but our hard work is needed too. Our communion with the Friend of All requires communion with nature too.

Here are two videos about different kinds of rain forests.

Uncertainty

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Very close to the gulf shoreline, this grand magnolia tree in the Dauphin Island Audubon Bird Sanctuary has stood the test of life’s many uncertainties and storms

Very close to the gulf shoreline, this grand magnolia tree in the Dauphin Island Audubon Bird Sanctuary has stood the test of life’s many uncertainties and storms, photographed July 27, 2010.

To say that we live in uncertain times is an understatement. Did the rapidly decaying oil (see previous two posts) contain recently applied dispersants? People, who know far more than I, say it’s likely, but we don’t know that and perhaps we never will. But right now I want to say something about uncertainty and action.

Life is filled with uncertainties. So what are we to do? If I wait for certainty, I will have procrastinated too long and my gifts, how I can contribute, will be wasted.

Two months ago, I woke up with a very compelling thought, “Just do the basics and progress will follow.” We don’t need to understand everything; we’re not in charge; we just need to show up and do what we can well.

As difficult as uncertainties can be, certainties can be dangerous, “The oil wells are safe.” Uncertainty that leads to inaction can be just as dangerous. In contrast, appreciating how much we don’t know can keep us alert and spur our creativity and action.

Thus uncertainty is ultimately about courage – courage to do what we should do, following the basics of who we are, even when it means not knowing where our actions will lead us. Curiously this kind of uncertainty sounds a lot like living faith.