CosmicSandBox’s Weblog

By Shirley Hart from www.cosmicsandbox.com

You know that jingle:

“Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream.

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily life is but a dream.”

An entire philosophy of life is encapsulated in this little song. Row your boat. It is only your boat, not your partner’s, parents’, friends’, child’s boat. It is only your life on the stream of experience. Only you think the thoughts in your mind. Only you know what those are. No one can make you think a single thing – ever. We might like to think that others make us think or feel a certain way because it gets us off the hook. Then we can blame them if things don’t work out.

Thoughts are oars. They give the boat direction and momentum. We can use them calmly and gently, or erratically and forcefully. But no one else can row for us. We can choose not to row at all, go unconscious and drift. We may end up on the rocks or stuck in an eddy and grounded on the shore. Our choice.

Rowing gently down the stream and not forcefully up the stream is a better choice. Pushing the river is exhausting and never works. Pride is the cause of this plan of action. One could call it “playing God”. It is amazing how many millions of people in the world believe they can actually succeed at this ridiculous endeavor. Much war is caused by this prideful self-righteousness.

Going with the flow, being in the zone, are idioms that describe rowing gently down the stream. Trusting in the Divine, Sacred nature of Life Itself is what enables us to relax into the Present. The oars (thoughts) are moving in sync with the rhythm of the stream and there is clarity to direct our boat to gently bypass the hazards that appear moment to moment. There is no final destination. We are only given a direction – down the stream. The stream is the dream. Gently go down into your deep flowing inner Being.

In this state we are merry or joyful. This state too is a choice, and is a result of how we use our oars (thoughts). To gently flow it is necessary to relax, to be aware of the surroundings and be grateful for all you behold each moment. Remember, you can’t live now and think about tomorrow. If you focus on the future you are not here. You have abandoned yourself in an unknown illusion of “what if” land. You can only know yourself NOW.

If you encounter a boulder in your path, ask yourself what you were just thinking and even what you recently dreamed. Boulders and rapids are signs notifying you that you are rowing down the stream but you’re focusing on your past. It’s not a problem; it’s a reminder to stay present and trust the process. Don’t make mountains out of mole hills, unless you like the drama of mountain climbing!

The ultimate prize of rowing gently down the stream merrily is that you realize that ‘life is but a dream’. We are all flowing in the stream/dream which is always changing. It is a life sustaining substance – water. It supports our boat – physical life. Only a tiny part of us is on the surface and visible to the physical eye.

One man had a dream that he was a butterfly. When he awoke he was perplexed because his dream was so real that he wasn’t sure if he was a butterfly now having a dream of being of man or if he was a man who had a dream of being a butterfly.

Since our dreams come from our subconscious and it is 99% of our consciousness, do you think it may be more real than the 1% we experience in our physical world? Quite a thought to ponder, don’t you think?

Our dreams inform us in symbolic language what is important for us to know to go with the flow gently down the stream. What do the dream events and symbols mean? They hold a treasure trove of wisdom and guidance masked in picture puzzles for us to solve. Our life is but a dream, but we are asleep.