DREAM

I was in a dream at one of the local casinos, and I knew Rama was going to be there. As I walked down the stairs, I saw that Rama was surrounded by a small number of students. Rama was sitting on a large black leather chair, and the students were forming a line in front of him. Rama was giving everyone a chance to come up and talk to him individually. When I first saw him, he was talking to a woman.

"I have different part-time jobs now," Rama said "so it's hard to prove to my accountants that I'm still real..." Rama started to laugh.

I was very happy and excited to see Rama again, but when it got to be my turn to talk to him, I totally lost it and started to cry. I came up to Rama and tried to give him a hug, but then I noticed that he was no longer solid, and there was a barrier of energy around him that prevented me from actually touching him.

I asked him, "What happened to you, and is there something I can do to help?" At this point, tears were flowing freely from my eyes.

Without any attachment, Rama said, "I only changed perceptions." Rama paused for a moment, and I pulled myself back. Then Rama said in a strict tone of voice, disapproving of my crying and burst of emotional attachment, "You are my friend. Now be a man. Be a man like you were being with that girl tonight."

Then Rama changed his physical form and turned into something that looked like a three-dimensional golden seal of Lakshmi. He said, "You have come very far in this life, but from my point of view, you are still a beginner. It would be very hard for me to explain to you what happened."

The golden light emanating from Rama was so bright that it woke me up and made me jump out of the bed. I was feeling overloaded from the experience, feeling happy and sad at the same time, but with a new feeling of hope. Seeing Rama again, stronger than ever, made my trip to Europe worthwhile.

EXPLANATIONS

We all know that Rama's favorite spots in Europe were Zurich and London. However, he did mention Amsterdam as a great place to hang out. I spent three days in Amsterdam, and then I headed for Malaga, Spain to participate in the Phowa ceremony with Lama Ole Nydahl. It was right before I left for Spain when I had the dream with Rama.

About the casino in the dream, I was walking down the stairs in the casino, but when I got to the place where Rama was talking to everyone, I was no longer in the casino. It was in a different room. It was like if I had to walk through the casino to get to where he was.

About Rama's comment, "You are my friend. Now be a man. Be a man like you were being with that girl tonight." On Wednesday night, I met a guy from Reno, Nevada. He showed me around the downtown area of Amsterdam and he recommended places to eat, have coffee, and hang out. He even gave a small tour of the touristy areas. He showed me a really nice Cafe where a lot of the locals hang. Now, a note about the Cafe vs. a Coffee Shop. A Cafe is a place where you can get something to eat and have coffee. A Coffee Shop is a place where you can legally buy mind-altering substances. That evening, while we were hanging out in the Cafe, he introduced me to a friend of his. A girl from Greece that lives in Amsterdam. Unfortunately, I have this problem - when I meet someone that I really, really, really, like, I turn shy and can't come up with anything to say. I guess deep down inside, I still fear rejection from someone I like. This is a weird phobia, because usually if I want to talk to someone, whether I know them or not, I can just come up to anyone and start talking. Anyway, other than hello I didn't say that much to her. The next morning, I made up my mind to go back to the Cafe that evening to see if Anna was there. I just wanted to talk to her to overcome my fear. That evening, she was there again. I came up to her and started talking to her, like if she was an old friend. I took charge of the situation, instead of being weak and afraid. We talked for a long time, and I actually came up with a lot of things to talk about. It was a breakthrough for me. I took charge of the situation and had a great time.

So I guess Rama was trying to tell me that in every situation, I should not let my feelings run rampant, instead I should take charge of the situation and have a great time.

About the image of Lakshmi, I had seen Rama in dreams before, but the image of Lakshmi was very powerful, unlike anything I have ever seen or experienced in a dream before. The light emanating from Lakshmi was like if a comet was coming head-on to hit me. That's probably why I woke up and jumped out of the bed.

It was great dream, probably one of the best dreams I've ever had...

Roger