Dream Nature of the Universe

There is a reason I chose this quote for today.  It has to do with two friends of mine who died last week.

"When a man in the process of dreaming becomes conscious that he is dreaming, he is no longer identified with the phenomena; he is not affected exultantly or dolefully. God consciously dreams His cosmic play and is unaffected by it's dualities. A yogi who perceives his real self as separate from his active senses and their objects never becomes attached to anything. He is aware of the dream nature of the universe and watches it without being entangled in its complex but ephemeral nature."


   ~Paramahansa Yogananda (1893 - 1952)

Last week, two friends of mine died .  It was a horrible murder/suicide committed by one of the friends against the other.  I knew both of them well, one more so than the other one.  The friend that I was closest to committed the murder and suicide.  For a time in her life during a few months last year, I was caught up in her drama and her need for a close friend. I still have a picture of the three of us all having lunch together on a happy occasion, a birthday. But, she became possessive and needy, and I saw a manipulative, narcissistic side to her.   I was afraid to pull back, knowing how depressed and unstable she was.  I thought I could help her at one time, but discovered I was being pulled down with her into a dark place that I did not want to be.  Finally, I knew I had to get away from her and suggested she seek professional help and possibly medication.  Instead, she pulled the other friend into her web more closely and refused to let her go. About five months after I stopped all communications with her, she killed both of them.

I'm more aware of the dream nature of the universe, more unwilling to be entangled in its complex nature, as the quote from Yogananda stated.  Instead, I'm more willing than ever before to live life fully, and to see God consciously dreaming his cosmic play through me and through everyone and everything.