Dream 29 -
The secret pavilion which houses the golden ball
I
have finally included the special dream which seems to culminate the sequence
and brings peace, tranquility and power. I now frequently use this dream as the
basis of directed meditation. Such meditation often occurs while I am about my
daily ordinary business. The dream completed itself a few years ago.
The
dream starts off by my being out in the countryside on a warm sunny day. I find
myself walking down a narrow country road between high banks, beyond which are
woods. As the road turns downhill quite steeply, I find the opening to a short
tunnel in the left hand bank. I enter the tunnel and a little way in find the
way blocked by a door. Over the door are the now familiar four symbols of the
Bull, the Winged Lion, the Man, and the Eagle. For me as well as being symbols
for the four Gospels, they are also symbols for our mentation functions or
Minds, Instinctive-Moving, Feeling, Intellect, and the Fourth which comes when
the three lower are put in proper order and correctly used.
After
a while, the door opens and I find behind it a narrow stone passage which slopes
downwards. I follow it in the darkness until I find myself in a long underground
cavern through which slowly flows a river or canal. Where the passage ends there
is a small jetty and moored to it a small flat bottomed boat like a punt.
I
step into the boat and sit down, laying back. Then it is as if the boat unties
itself and gently floats out into the middle of the canal or river and slowly
moves to the right along with the current, down the long dark passageway of the
cavern. After a while the passageway or cavern seems to open out and the roof
gets much higher. Then I notice that the roof of the cavern begins to glow with
a pale blue light so that I am able to see that I am now floating slowly along
what has become a large underground river. Then as the light grows and turns a
golden colour, I see that I am getting near to an opening at the far end of the
cavern. This opening leads out to the open sea.
The
small boat gently floats out on to the open sea under a beautiful clear blue
sky. It crosses the sea to a tropical island. I become aware that the boat is
scraping on the gently shelving sandy beach of the island, so I step out of it
on to the pale golden sands and walk up the beach to the island. I enter the
wood which covers the island. I follow a narrow path through the woods which get
denser and denser. Then I become aware that there are seven bands of horsemen
circling the centre of the island in concentric paths. I have to elude them as I
try to reach the centre. I succeed in this and then find myself entering a
clearing at the centre of the island. Beautiful green grass covers the clearing
and in the middle stands a pure white pavilion.
There
are seven steps up to the wrought iron door of the pavilion and these are shaded
by a black and white striped awning supported at each end by a black and white
pole. I mount the steps, open the iron grilled door and enter the pavilion. I
find myself in a large pure white marble room which serves as the entrance hall.
In the centre of this a crystal fountain is playing, the water gently falling
into a circular pond.
I
make my way across the room and round the fountain to the rear. Here I find
another iron grilled door approached by three steps. On the wall over this door
are the same four symbols which were at the entrance to the passage leading to
the underground river and the boat which brought me to the island. I mount the
steps and open the door and enter the room beyond. This room also is pure white
marble, but is smaller than the outer room. It is exactly square, and at its
centre is a cubic altar of black stone, about one meter in dimension. Resting
lightly on this alter is a golden ball about two feet in diameter. There is a
comfortable chair near the altar. I move to the chair and sit comfortably in it
and gaze at the golden ball. After a while it rises slowly a little above the
altar and as it floats it begins to glow with a golden light, I am enveloped by
the light and feel myself being re-energized by it as it penetrates through me.
After
a while the glow fades and the ball sinks back on to the altar. I get up and
leave, retracing my steps until I have passed once more through the woods and
reach the shore. The boat is awaiting me. I step into it and it takes me back to
the underground cavern and the jetty, and I eventually find my way back into the
country lane.
In
the above we have in effect the whole process of the union of the outer and the
inner mind. It is a long journey, first in darkness. The journey starts with the
cave in the bank, a symbol of the outer mind. This leads to the tunnel and the
jetty where the little boat is moored. The boat is like a punt, a symbol for the
harmonisation of the outer and inner minds. The journey continues over the water
and the sea to the island. The water and the sea is symbolic of the unconscious
or inner mind. That the journey includes reaching an island is symbolic of the
transformation process itself, the island being the third stage of the process.
Once
the island has been reached, then there is the journey through the wood to the
clearing within, guarded by the seven bands of horsemen. The final part of the
journey through the wood to the clearing is most significant. One has to get
through the wood to the clearing beyond. The wood represents the level of
consciousness at which one is simply the plaything of life, merely an automaton.
Once the clearing has been reached then one has real will and can do. This is
covered by Shakespeare in "A Midsummer Nights Dream". Beryl Pogson
deals with this well in her commentaries under the title of "In the East My
Pleasure Lies.6
Then
we have the pure white pavilion, symbolic of the end stages of the process. The
black and white awning and supporting poles represent the outer and inner minds,
now in relationship.
Finally in the inner room of the pavilion there
is the Golden Ball on the black altar, again symbolic of the beginning of the
process, black, and the completion of the process, the Golden Ball. It is from
the Golden Ball, the Universal Mind, that the special energy which revitalises
me, comes. So all comes from above.
