Dyana

Last night, I had many dreams: of my mother and her husband, of doing laundry (clearly about cleaning up what I carry from the past), of a dear friend I haven't seen in too many years but whose lovely blog I read regularly (Sassy Suppers). Right before waking this morning, I dreamed of meditating. I was in a large group of people who were given instruction from our teacher that we should sit in meditation for 20 million hours. The teacher left us with a mantra, the only part of which that I remember was the word dyana, which is one of the niyamas (or observances) in the tradition of Ashtanga yoga which I practice and teach. Dyana means meditation. (My subconscious was instructing me to meditate on meditating? Perhaps this is a message that it is time to deepen my practice.)

Instead of using this mantra, though, I used my real mantra, the one my teacher gave me when I formally began a meditation practice. In my dream, I repeated my mantra over and over, while another part of me kept dreaming: of looking for the girl called "Ladybug" (which happens to be a once-used nickname my mother gave me). When I awoke, I was still repeating my mantra, which is such a wonderful way to awaken.

Sitting for my waking-life meditation, I felt calm and content. Lately, I have been working to lengthen my meditation, and the longer period seemed to float by today as I quietly sat. I feel that my dream was auspicious, though I haven't yet fully digested and integrated all of its meaning. I am on the right path.