A bright fall afternoon; blue sky, yellow trees, patches of green and red leaves still, the colors are unusually vivid today, everything feels alive. Driving across town there are squirrels dancing in the middle of the street, until the car comes and they reluctantly separate, retiring to opposite sides. Somehow the afternoon feels slightly heightened, dreamlike or, surreal. Later there is front yard with a giant web and several reindeer caught in it, hanging upside down. Across the street more squirrels are playing tag under parked cars.
Have you ever experienced a scene, on afternoon, or even a whole day which seemed different or odd in some way? it might be that your senses are unusually clear. Or there might be some unexpected smells; lavender, jasmine, or something else you can’t quite define. It might be a strange juxtaposition, an animal or person doing something unexpected, or seemingly out of place. For a while you feel you’ve stepped out of ordinary life and into something a little magical, a little spiritual, or just a little strange.
When you walk a spiritual path, which is true for anyone who hass said yes to Spirit in any form, in your inner intent or in a formal initiation or ceremony, it is understood that things in your life might change. Most of us consciously wish for change, we have a spiritual practice because we expect that it will make our life in some sense different or better.
So what happens when something does change? when your awareness begins to shift? or when spirit begins to “speak” to you in new ways? When the changes are small, a tweak here, an amplification there, you might not even notice them. If you do notice they will be easily welcomed, and your mind will feel good about making progress.
When changes are larger, or of a qualitative nature, where you are beginning to experience of life in a new way, the mind may not know how to process it, how to receive it. You find yourself then in the realm of the surreal, where experience might be dreamlike, harder for the mind to grasp, like traveling in a foreign country.
Your mind may have concern about this state, that something is wrong, or out of control. Be assured that nothing is wrong, though it may be a bit out of your ego’s control. Welcome the surreal, the dreamlike, the strangeness that comes with something that’s really new and different. It is not a sign that your sense of reality is askew. It is a sign that your awareness of the world is shifting, which it will do as you grow into Spirit, into your Self. You are dancing closer to Self and Spirit and they are communicating in new ways.
Surreal experiences can be welcomed as a sign of deeper progress, of things significantly shifting in your life rather than just being tweaked. Notice it, appreciate, enjoy it, drop into it, and know that you are moving forward on your path. After a while what is surreal today will become normal and just real tomorrow. And tomorrow what you experience as surreal might be more than you can imagine today.
(© 11/2014)
