Editor's Note: This is the eighteenth of a projected series of 26 articles in which Allen Aslan Heart will pass along the spiritual wisdom found in the stories behind his dream catchers. Like many others, Mr. Heart feels that the time has come when we must get our spiritual and ecological acts together if we are to survive and evolve.

Letter to Jane: Buddha, the Ox, and Soaring

by Allen Aslan Heart/White Eagle Soaring

This is part of a reply to a letter from “Jane:”

Dear Jane,

When you find a window open it is for looking through to get a picture of where you can go next. But climbing through....that's an act of impatience.....ego-mind. Pushing the river. Can't be done! Roll back the tide. Impossible! What to do? Become the river flowing to the sea. Watch the experience come to you and let it go on its way. The pain of a lifetime is in the experiences grabbed and held. Then there is life in the past, not joy in the present. Only the Now MOMENT is alive. Expect NOTHING and be surprised at the JOY!

The obstacles you encounter are the result of expecting, thrashing about, fighting the flow with will and wanting to go...there. You've been a Buddha riding on his ox in search of the Buddha..been there, done that, bought the T-shirt, it didn't fit, and now I'm here, where I began, no path to follow, no books to read, no dogmas or doctrines or mantras or sutras or prayers! Just being me – allen aslan heart – authentic human being without baggage living in the freedom of my natural heritage. Soaring. There are ALWAYS obstacles to the ultimate OUT THERE. That's intentional. Out there is just the illusion and the reality is within. Remember: “The kingdom of God is within you.” Could Jesus be more clear?

Wishes and dreams. You want to make a difference in the world. OK. Start with yourself and totally give up on changing the world. Only when you are clear and discover the richness of the Jane hidden from your knowing, then and only then can you do anything outside yourself. All the rest is the madness of the ego-mind. Let go of the madness of mind and discover the delight of your hidden inner world. When you find yourself the world will automatically be changed immensely for the better. And be a speaker? For what? For whom? More ego-mind talking. Too many motivating speakers are already leading people, persuading, convincing, assuaging, and massaging a message – without finding their true essence and natural wisdom. Cut and paste blarney.

The very best teaching is by example, not in your doing but in your very being. Find your natural voice, discover your original face, and know yourself and all the rest will fall into place naturally.

Perhaps you are beginning to grasp that it is your ego-mind that has you crawling back from the attempt at change. Ego-mind is retreating to the comfort zone of complacency or normalcy. Congratulations on a job well done helping the kids to be successful in an ego-mind society. Truly, you have done very well; you were successful, as you understood success. Your children will be very successful, like yourself, until once again they hit the wall or the obstacles as you have and wonder why there are so many obstacles to their ultimate objective. Why do they always seem to be living inside a box? So many closed doors? Crawling through the windows! Please understand that I am not faulting you for doing what I've done, what billions of other people have done. Just see that it is all illusion after all. Find the book Hope for the Flowers in a bookstore. It's yellow but it's golden. Maybe give each of your kids a copy for Christmas. Elegantly simple and stunningly true. You've been fighting your way to the top of the heap where nothing of value is to be found, whereas the alternative is elegantly simple and the experience is stunningly beautiful.

The blazing power of the Dream Star sends brilliant light to illuminate every corner of your being. Seeing clearly who you truly are, you can acknowledge your greatness and let go of the foolish, unnecessary games you play, for these keep you from realizing your natural right and heritage. Peace can only come from within and your dreams light the path.

Earth Dream Theater

This is for those whose eyes now wish to see
for those whose ears now wish to hear
who faintly recall who they really are
and now would remember another world backstage.
You are more than you seem,
life is the Theater of Dream.
You wrote the part,
choreographed the dance,
selected the set and scene.

You were hung by your heels
and given a jolting swat.
You cried,
bewildered,
gasping at the air searing your lungs,
stunned by the bright lights,
shocked by the coolness of birth water
evaporating from your skin.

You could not remember Who you had been.
You had agreed to not remember
the essence of Who you Are.
Stage sets gave you a sense of place
referencing here from far,
comparing near and there--
undeniably true, of course,
if that is the only Truth we share,
masked by the agreement to play
a part in the Earth-Reality Show,
scripted by the Inner Heart of You
before you walked onstage.
Crafted scene by scene
to pretend of linear sequence
we call "time"
without which the universe
would seem unreal.
Yet there's no such place as far away,
no such time as then,
not a place called here or there
or such a time as never
for we live in the Always and the Now
of the Great, Great Silence of One,
the warmth of the Heart of All,
in the Peace of Father Sun.

So….be light.

©Copyright 2002 Allen Aslan Heart