Cloak of Awareness

Linda Heron Wind, Ph.D.

Once there was a woman, a very strong woman, who wanted to know how to be even stronger yet. She knew how to be a warrior as she fought for causes she believed in and with those who did not treat others right. She even fought with herself when she couldn't live up to her own expectations, and she was not afraid of fighting. Even if she was afraid, she would fight anyway because she knew that the world would not get better unless there are those who were willing to stand up for what is right. But she was not happy and did not feel like she was doing a good enough job. People did not want to listen and often fought back, and there were so many who didn't seem to understand.

She decided to go in solitude to a beautiful place in nature and seek spiritual guidance. Perhaps there she could find answers about how to be a better warrior woman. So out she went with a pack on her back, some water, and a few things to eat, into the mountains. She followed a stream up the mountain to where it ran down in a waterfall from the spring above. At the pool below the waterfall, she sat down to seek a vision for herself and the world.

The sound of the water, the birds, the crickets and tree frogs, all seemed to welcome her to this sacred place. Animals came and went - deer, hawk, raven, coyote - and she was feeling very peaceful and at home. She thought she fell asleep and was dreaming, or maybe not, when a woman in an iridescent robe appeared beside her. It was not startling, but like an image emerging from the mist of the waterfall, becoming more solid as it approached her.

"Welcome, Anya!" the woman said.

Startled that this radiant being knew her name, Anya said nothing.

"You called me and so I have come to you," the woman said. "I understand that you have an interest in becoming a more powerful warrior, so I have come to help you acquire more power."

This time Anya found her voice. "Yes, that is so. I do want to become a better warrior for the Earth and for all those who need someone to stand up for them. I am so grateful that you have come."

"Good, then, let us begin. Please stand up for a moment," the woman directed. Anya stood facing the woman. "Now close your eyes and keep them closed until I tell you to open them."

Anya did as she was told. Standing with her eyes closed she could feel a swirling around her body, like when the wind picks up the leaves and spirals them into the air. With her eyes still closed she could begin to see small lights like stars around her. It was almost as if she was wrapped in the Milky Way galaxy. And the feeling was indescribable! It was warm and delicious, expansive and sensual at the same time. She really wanted to open her eyes to see what created this amazing feeling.

"So you feel the cloak around you?" the woman asked.

Suddenly Anya began to feel the heartbeat of the Earth beneath her feet and it expanded to include her own heartbeat and the heartbeat of the woman, the trees, the rocks, and the deer. All this with her eyes closed and she wondered how she knew that it was a heartbeat, but she just knew. "I certainly am feeling something," she said as she struggled to gain control of words.

"You may open your eyes if you like," the woman told her.

Anya was almost afraid to open her eyes, lest the feeling that was now holding her would dissolve. She gradually opened them. The woman was nowhere to be seen and

Anya was wearing her shimmering iridescent cloak.
At first she began to search for the woman, but then she heard her voice.

"Don't look for me outside yourself, for you will no longer find me there. Our hearts beat as one now so you must look inside," the voice said.

Focusing more inward, Anya asked, "So what is this cloak I am wearing that makes me feel so good?"

"Look around you and see what you notice," the voice replied.

Anya looked up at the waterfalls. Again she could not find words for what she felt. Yes, it was the falls, the same as before, but something was different. It was as if the water was playing a melody and Anya was singing along in perfect harmony even though she heard nothing unusual with her ears. Then she turned toward a tree. There was some kind of resonance that seemed to be occurring between the tree and her heart that felt so wonderful. Wherever she looked the same thing happened. It was as if her heart expanded to include whatever she saw.

"Yes," said the voice, " the cloak of awareness has changed your perception. When you wear it you are able to see what is real."

"What is real," Anya repeated, not quite grasping what was being said.

"What is real can only be felt," said the voice, "and you are now feeling the connection that is present all the time, whether you are aware of it or not. You can only experience it, however, when you have awareness."

A question began forming in Anya's mind but before she could speak it, the voice answered. "What does this have to do with being a strong warrior woman? Ah, now we are getting to what is really important. When you are aware of what is real as you are now, what is it that would require you to fight?"

At that instant, Anya saw the people she had been fighting with, and there was a beam of light that connected her heart to theirs. She saw the people that she had been fighting for, and felt their innate wholeness. She saw the Earth and all that was on it already whole and complete, perfect in its essence and perfect in its present expression. Tears came to her eyes as she understood. As she looked at herself from someplace outside, she also was perfect. No need to be anything other than what she was in any moment of time. "Why have I not seen this before?" she cried.

The voice answered with a gentleness that was like a caress, "You have been asleep, my dear one, and now you are awake. When you are asleep there are many battles to be fought for all we can see is how things appear with our physical eyes. When you wake up to awareness, another world appears where you know yourself to be intimately connected to everyone and everything and nothing is "wrong," or "right" for that matter. All is as it is. You are looking through the veil of your soul, the shimmering love light of the heart. True compassion lives here and there is never a need to fight, only to love with all your heart. In the real world nothing is stronger than love."

"Can I keep this cloak of awareness?" Anya wondered out loud, beginning to be afraid that she would fall back asleep, or wake from this dream, and lose what she was experiencing.

"It is yours to use as you wish. Even if you forget and go back to sleep for a time, it is always available to you if you choose it. But remember, it can only be felt through your heart. Stand on the Earth, close your eyes, and wrap yourself in the Milky Way. You will now recognize the feeling of true awareness. Make awareness the ground upon which you walk, the source of your voice, and the place you call home. Love is what will bring us into this new world. No change is required other than that - in you, others, or Earth."

Anya was quiet. She was just feeling the cloak of awareness - spiraling galaxies, the power of the universe, the unmistakable light of love - that permeated her beingness. "How could I ever not remember this feeling?" she asked herself as she drifted into sleep.

Cloak of awareness
Color my vision and thoughts
Seeing through love's veil

Page last modified November 2007 by RMC