At night in the midst of my sleep and rest,
I had a dream where Spirit came to me.
In the body, with the voice of my mother,
Spirit spoke to me tenderly through a phone.

Sweating and pacing my house, restlessly wandering my home,
I spoke to my mother Spirit.
She told me all was alive and well.
The dogs, the deceased, my past, my future.

“I don’t understand,” I told her,
“Where are they at? The days gone and those yet to happen; My feelings, my people. Where are they?”
“They’re at home, in the house” she said,
Yet as I roamed the empty rooms, their presence eluded me.

“I can’t see anything, mom.
“I know in my heart what you’re saying is true.
“I feel them alive and well.”
And then I began to sob.

“These rooms are like a house of mirrors!
“I just have thoughts, I just see thoughts.
“My stories bounce off the walls: First I finished school, and then I, and then I,
“And then, and then - and after all the memories paint my awareness, I can’t see the present.”

Mother Spirit listened and compassionately responded,
“All is alive and well. Nothing is gone from you.”
“You’re not hearing me!” I yelled, “I am standing here in this hollow house, and there is nothing!”
Spirit smiled through the phone. Her voice carried a beacon of light.

“They are all right here. There is no other here for them to go.
“The only distance is the assumption there is distance. It is a mirage.
“The only loss is the assumption there is loss. Assumptions are an illusion we conjure.
“The essence of all is present in this moment, unscathed.

And from the light of her words, I knew she spoke my direct experience - truth.
Enlightened by her words, I crumpled to the ground.
I let myself lie on the floor, curled and crying, I embraced my sorrow.
“I’ve wondered about this house for so long. It’s been so painful. And yet, they’re all right here.”

My tears were rivers of release,
Flooding my face, I woke up from my sleep.
Sobbing at 4:00 in the morning, my sorrow echoed into the waking state,
But Spirit’s presence was magnified a thousand fold against the light of waking consciousness.

“There are no links. No connections. No thread binds things together.
“The only assumptions are the ones assumed to be there. We are shackled only by what shackles we are willing to bear.
“There’s no space to maintain. Serenity and grace eternally persist.
“There is no more to do. No self to affirm. Nothing to grasp or hold.

“Nobody to receive, nowhere to be. A perpetual dance where:
“All is alive and well.”

--

Immediately the following morning, I had a Zoom appointment with an enlightened teacher. I explained my spiritual journey, and he simply echoed what I heard in my dream. I can continue with my inquiry until there is nothing left to inquire. There are no links between experiences. The foundation from which belief in mind arises is the assumption there is a foundation from which belief in mind arises.

~David Hemphill