And so it was……….
that once upon a time there was a little girl called Sarah.
She was very beautiful, with long golden hair and blue eyes. She was very lovely on the inside as well, which is to say that she had a very loving heart, which is where loveliness really counts.
Sarah was named after the great goddess Shri Saraswati, who was the wife of that great god Brahma. Lord Brahma was responsible for the whole of creation and Saraswati was His creative power. Shri Saraswati was the goddess of music and the arts and it was She who put the loveliness into the whole creation. So it was that Sarah, this truly lovely girl, had been given all the gifts of music, and a lovely heart. And so it was very natural then that she would often be heard playing her little wooden flute. One day Sarah was out for a walk when she came across a pleasant grove of trees. She did not really remember seeing the grove before and yet Sarah was certain that she had walked that way many times.
The grove was really enchanting. It had many many fine trees including orange and lemon trees and tall pines and willows and it had so many beautiful flowers, ferns and shrubs that you could hardly see the Earth. The smell of all these flowers combined was the most irresistible perfume thatyou could imagine and the most beautiful birds were darting here and there. Sarah noticed a little path winding away to her left and wondered where it might lead. She decided to follow it.
Just as Sarah decided to follow the path, the Sun came out from behind a cloud and shone very brightly. Sarah’s heart took a leap and all of a sudden she felt incredibly happy. She set off at a brisk walk but soon felt there was no need to rush and settled into a comfortable stroll as she walked on into the grove. Within a few minutes Sarah realised that this was more than a grove of trees, it was a small forest, and perhaps not quite so small either. ‘How could I have missed this lovely place before?’ she wondered to herself not quite aloud.
“Oh you were just distracted for a while” said a tiny little voice.
Sarah stopped dead. She was startled. She looked about. There was no-one anywhere to be seen and yet she was sure she’d heard a little voice, and quite close by.
“Sorry” said the little voice, “I didn’t mean to startle you. Here. Over here.” Sarah looked hard in the direction of the voice and yet all she could see was a little blue wren. About the size of a willy wagtail and with the most vivid dark blue-green feathers, the blue wren was looking straight back at her. “Yes its me” said the little wren.
Sarah couldn’t believe her ears. Here was a little blue wren, sitting in a lemon tree, and unless she was dreaming; this bird was speaking to her. “Are you speaking to me?” asked Sarah in a very low voice.
First the wren nodded and then said “Yes I am. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Consuela. I’ve been asked to come and greet you, so Welcome.” Sarah noticed that this little wren, Consuela, seemed to be talking without moving her beak. “That’s right” said Consuela “I’m speaking without speaking if you know what I mean” “Yes” said Sarah who realised that she’d had her unspoken thoughts heard by the little wren.
“I really must be dreaming” said Sarah out aloud. “No, not at all” answered Consuela, “in fact your really awake, for the first time.” Consuelaexplained that for a very long time Sarah had visited the forest of beautiful dreams in her sleep. Whenever she awoke after these dreams she had felt like she was very happy, but she hadn’t quite realised why. Now, for the first time she was fully awake and in the forest of beautiful dreams at the very same time. “But how?” Sarah asked the little wren.
Again Consuela explained “Well for most people the forest of beautiful dreams is real only in their dreams. However, for some older beautiful souls, who are especially blessed, they are able to awake to the deepest dream, the dream of the great God, Parabrahma. This dream, which includes you and me and all things that are made, is the dream of the Creation. In this dream some of God’s creatures are awakening and are free to create parts of the creation themselves.,This is the greatest gift of God, that His creatures can awake and create, whatever they want. You have been creating parts of this forest, in your sleep. How do you like it?”
“Well its perfect!” said Sarah, “I couldn’t have wished for a more beautiful place. But tell me, I am still dreaming, aren’t I?”
“In the sense that we are all a part of Life’s dream, we can say that we’re asleep, or that we’ve been waking up and yet the difference for us is that in this moment, now, we know we are. Now the chance is to stay awake, to join in, and perhaps help others to awaken to this dream of Parabrahma.” explained Consuela.
Sarah sat down and thought for a while, then said “So what your saying is that for a long time, I’ve been asleep, and that now I’m becoming fully awake. Yet you say that everything, you and I, and all the creation, everything I’m waking up to, is part of this deeper dream of creation, by that God Brahma?”
“Yes, yes, you’ve got it!’ cried Consuela, dancing backwards and forwards on the branch. “But don’t forget His power, Shri Saraswati!”
“So what is the dream of Brahma, and Saraswati? And what is its purpose? Why are we here and how is it that you can talk, and speak to me without speaking out aloud?” asked Sarah. “I think it was easier when I was asleep, and only thought I was awake.” Consuela laughed and laughed and laughed, her whole body shaking. At last the little blue wren was able to reply.
“Why you are, we are, the dream of Parabrahma and Shri Saraswati! And the greatest joy is to realise this. To awaken fully. Just look around!”
Sarah again gazed at her surroundings, full of the most beautiful flowers, plants, birds, trees, mountains and waterfalls. How lovely, how good was everything she could see. She reached down and picked a white rose from the climbing rose bush nestled at the base of Consuela’s tree. It was extremely delicate, blushed with pink on the edges of the petals. Sarah was lost for a minute as she gazed into the rose. It was infinitely beautiful, lovely and perfect.
“You are like this rose” whispered Consuela. “you are made by Brahma, blessed with beauty by Shri Saraswati, and you are growing in the garden of God’s dream.” They both went into the silence.
“Everything in this Garden is made by, grown by, nourished by, looked after by God’s Divine Love. But the greatest gift we can get from God is our freedom, to choose to do what we like. Yet this freedom can be dangerous. We must learn to use our freedom, our creativity and our power, if we are to be both creature and one with the Creator.” Again Sarah was quiet, for quite a long time. “So I can choose what I want, and my creative power will work it out? Like a magic wand?”
The wren spoke very carefully. “Your freedom is a wand, because you can create whatever you like with it. Yet in some ways its more like a sword than a wand. It has two sides. It can cut both ways. It can remove many bad things, to bring out goodness, love and beauty. Or it can hurt and even break things, including people, their hearts and feelings. Now here’s the secret you’ve been looking for and the truth you are almost awake to. ~ Everything is connected to everything ~ And if you choose to create something, you may just get some of it straight back. You can realise now that you do create things, by expressing them, by wishing for them, by working for them and by giving them away. So you have to be very, very careful what you wish for, and what you work towards, and what you choose to give to others.”
Again Sarah sat for a long time in the silence. “Then, what should I wish for?” she finally asked. Consuela looked very fondly at her young friend, sitting in the grass at the bottom of the little wren’s tree, in the forest of beautiful dreams.
“Well, I feel you could wish, firstly, to be thankful for all your blessings, for you truly are a blessed child.”
Sarah looked up into the beautiful clear sky and felt her heart opening wide. In her growing awakening she rose to her feet, outstretched her arms and spoke out aloud,
“Thankyou, oh great God Shri Parabrahma and thanks be to you Shri Saraswati for this life, this time and these blessings, and for my friend Consuela, and for all the lovely beauty of Thy creation. There is no end to your loveliness~ It goes on forever and forever. I see myself in You and You in all. I know not where I end and You begin. I am lost in You.”
Then, as if for the very first time Sarah heard the Song of her friend Consuela. It seemed to rise from deep within the great Mother Earth, up through the tree and magically out through the little blue wren. It rose and rose in majesty and purity and grew and grew in energy. It was the most marvellous sound, the essence of music, the song of all songs ~ the song of Eternity, and yet, in that moment, it was entirely new.
Sarah reached for her flute and before she knew it, she was playing. Now, as one, the little blue wren and the little girl were joined, as Consuela’s Song was played and played. In one stream of awareness their song flowed and engulfed them. And as one breath they found themselves arising in Spirit. And in a flood their joy now overwhelmed them and all who were awake in that great land of beautiful dreams. “That was truly wonderful” said Sarah, “How did it happen?”
Consuela now was glowing with light. She sat in the silence for a time and then quietly replied. “Sometimes, when we are humble and thankful, Shri Saraswati plays through us. Just as you play on your own flute, a simple thing, so we can become the instruments of that greater Song, the song of eternity, the song of God’s Love. It is then, like just now, when we are surrendered, that we can become wholly one with the power of God’s dream. That’s what happened.
Yet, somehow, I can see that you are just a little tired. So for now, let’s sleep again, and tomorrow I’ll still be here, and we’ll awaken again, and then we will play some more”.
Lord Brahma looked over at his beloved Shri Saraswati and said “Did I hear You playing, my love? You know I cannot resist the joyous creativity of your divine music”
“Shhhh ” She said, “The children were awakening. You and I are dreaming them again”
And so it was, that, “Once upon a time…”
