The Plane to Guatemala

The plane to Guatemala stopped for a quick layover in Dallas and a man sat down one seat over from me, and he holds up a book. I think that he is handing me my book that I had left on the empty seat between us. It is The Celestine Prophecy and he points to the book I have with me The Celestine Vision. His name is Ken and I discover that he is going to Tikal to study with the shamans as well. And here we were seated in the same row reading books by the same author. The meaningful coincidences just kept coming.

Ken saw that I had been writing some notes and asked me about what I was writing. I told him it was about the symbolism of the dragon for my book, Slay the Dragon—Not Each Other. Ken tells me of a legend that involves a dragon. It is a legend he heard from a shaman of the Onondaga Indians, one of the seven tribes of the Iroquois Nation.

A dragon was flying through the heavens. After growing tired, it rolls itself into a ball, goes to sleep and becomes the earth. One day the dragon will awaken and resume its journey through the heavens.

Instantly, I am struck by the synchronicity. In addition, it is a beautiful symbol of the idea of the transformation of the Earth at the heart of the Mayan teachings. Suddenly, we hit turbulence and the plane is really shaking for what the pilot cautions us may be for quite a while.
After fifteen minutes of turbulence, I began thinking about my physical separation from the woman I loved. As the thought came to me that although I would love to be with her, I realize that I can handle the physical separation for love continues to exist even when we are not in the physical presence of our beloved.
The turbulence stops immediately as I feel at peace with being apart from my love. Obviously, I can’t say my thought caused the plane to stop shaking but what a message. As I focus on love and not loss, the turbulence within me and around me stops instantly. Then it hits me—there is no separation from love.

As I reflect on how we are never separated from love, I realize that love is the dynamic and enduring energy animating all of life. I then consider that when we are feeling love by being with or even thinking of someone we love, we feel alive all over; and when we are doing something we love, our actions flow effortlessly. (excerpted from the first chapter of A Matter of Love)

• Today, as you go through your day try out the following affirmation. Breathe in, pause, and, as you as you exhale, relax and silently say, “I AM never separated from the expansive energy and peaceful power of love.” Then, breathe in, pause, and, as you exhale, relax and silently say, “For, in the core of my being, my innermost heart, I AM the expansive energy and peaceful power of love.”