KAJAMA.COM NEWSLETTER

by Paige Pagnucco

The look is instantly recognizable: a slight bit of disarray, a slouched shoulder, and a frantic eye searching for a remedy.

Recently, my son and I were returning home from our first mother-son trip since the twins were born. We couldn't have had a better time. We had arrived at the airport on time and were headed to security with our backpacks. I was gloating because traveling with one child was light-years easier than with three. We were floating along without a care in the world when suddenly a woman just ahead of us caught my attention.

Here eyes were the giveaway - red, swollen, and still teary. I had noticed her earlier, sitting in the terminal next to a man and a baby in a stroller. But here she was in front of us now, without the man. And the baby was fussing. There were bags everywhere - diaper bag, clothing bag, bottles in a bag - all attached to her or the stroller in awkward ways. Her eyes met mine, and I froze. She needed me.

Are you okay? I asked quietly as I put my hand on her shoulder. She looked at me in disbelief. Then relief.

What can I do? She looked baffled. I sprang into action, directing my son to start grabbing bags. You get your baby, and we'll get the rest, I ordered. We functioned as if we were a NASCAR pit crew. We unfolded the stroller and had her back together in no time.

My spirits sank, though, as I watched a female security agent approach and ask to check her bags. The agent began to rifle through her things. Oh, my poor new friend. Could she bear it? My uncertainty quickly receded when I heard the agent say, Oh, honey, let me help you get organized. I knew that I had handed her off to another compassionate mother, and my job was done. I went to her to say good-bye and reassure her that she'd be fine now. She was still tearful, but her smile said enough. We turned and walked away.

As we headed to our gate, my son asked why we had helped her. My answer was simple. We helped her because she needed it. We did it because it is right to recycle the goodness that we receive in our own lives. Whether he understood did not matter to me. What was important was that I felt privileged to have the opportunity to pass the goodness on.

It is sometimes hard to describe, even to myself, what being a mother means, but I'd like to think that it includes the capacity to act unselfishly in an instant. I walk just a little bit straighter now, as if there is starch in my backbone, even with diaper bags on my back and a young one on my hip. It is as if that day in the airport, I reclaimed my own dignity as a woman and mother, knowing that I can make a significant difference to other people in very ordinary ways.

The above is an excerpt from the book Spot of Grace, copyright 2008 by Dawna Markova. It is printed here with permission of the publisher, New World Library, 1-800-972-6657 ext. 50. Inspirational speaker and writer Dawna Markova, Ph.D., is internationally known for her ground breaking work in helping people learn with passion and live with purpose. She is the author of numerous books, including the bestsellers Random Acts of Kindness and I Will Not Die an Unlived Life. A long-term cancer survivor (she was told she had six months to live almost thirty years ago), Dawna has appeared on numerous television programs, and is a frequent guest on National Public Radio and New Dimensions. She offers seminars and workshops and speaks at business and educational conferences internationally. Her website can be found at www.dawnamarkova.com.

The other night I had a vivid dream. My four-year-old daughter was running around on the deck of a cruise ship and fell overboard. Although my six-year-old son was with me, I jumped overboard to save her. What was a calm sea suddenly became very turbulent and my daughter was always just out of my reach. The water swirled around us like a whirlpool, and I could then see large fish in the water circling us. I was so frightened they were sharks! I was pulled under several times but finally managed to grab my daughter and more or less surrendered to fate when we were pulled/pushed to safety by a large angel who appeared in the shape of a dolphin. We suddenly surfaced on a pristine white sandy beach. I immediately knew we were in Heaven or an alternate Universe. There was a McDonald's on the beach with cupcakes all over the roof! The dolphin changed its appearance and stood before me as an angel with dark skin and hair. (This is not what I imagined an angel would look like for some reason.) I felt this overwhelming love for him and wanted him to stay with us but he smiled and said he had to go but would always be around to protect us. My daughter and I explored the beach and I was content to stay but wondered how my son would fare without us. The rest of the dream was like something out of Narnia, but I've described the parts that really mean something to me. What could this all mean? Was that my guardian angel? Thank you.

Shazmin

Though this dream involved your daughter, it was more about your own fears than her well-being. There are multiple aspects to this dream; let's explore them one at a time.

Being surrounded by water indicates that this dream was soul-based, for water represents not only the subconscious but also the spiritual. It could also represent the fact that, as we go through life, there are many dangers we need to be aware of.

The threatening sharks in the water represent the dangers we may encounter in life. The dolphin who saved you and later turned into your guardian angel underscores the fact that even when you find yourself in dangerous situations, you are always protected.

Ending up in heaven or an alternate Universe suggests that you are in the midst of a spiritual transition. (It is interesting to note that what you saw may have been your daughter's idea of heaven: a McDonaldís covered with cupcakes!)

The dolphin turned angel in your dream represents your intellectual idea of what your guardian angel might look like even though he did not fit the description of a typical angel. We are the ones who determine what the spirit guides and guardian angels we can't physically see look like to us.

Itís wonderful to know they can shape-shift into any form that may appeal to us or any creature that may offer us the best protection. As a dolphin, he was able to get you both safely to shore. As an angel, he revealed himself in a form that was identifiable to you.

The general message of the dream is that you are always protected and that, when things seem worst, Spirit will transform them into something positive. Because this dream centered on saving your daughter, it may have been a way to process the normal fears most parents carry about their children. It is also possible that you have been overly worried about your daughter for some reason, for our dreams are often designed to process our greatest fears so that we can work through and resolve them.

Though you may not always be able to protect your children, this dream affirms that all of you have special guardian angels who are always looking after you.

*****

Mata:

There are all sorts of possible interpretations for this wonderful dream. It could be a symbolic representation of a past life experience. Many people don't even know that it is possible for us to dream of past life experiences in a non-literal manner.

For example, if you and your daughter died in a past life when you tried to save her from drowning, it would explain the basic plot of the dream, your intense feelings, and also your arrival in a heavenly realm after being met by the angel. Having dreams like this is one way our inner beings try to help us heal and release past life trauma.

Of course, it's also possible that this dream was you processing some recent concerns about your daughter, or prophetic of problems looming on the horizon. Water often represents our emotional lives, so it may be that you are in some deep emotional water, surrounded by perceived threats to your or your daughter's peace and happiness.

For example, if your daughter recently started preschool and has been having a hard time getting socially acclimated, you may fear that she is in over her head. Here the sharks may be bullies or other kids who are attacking her or tearing her emotionally apart. When my daughter was in the throes of adolescence, I often had water-based dreams that involved threatening sea creatures. My concern was usually how to get her safely from one side of the water to the other without her drowning or being attacked by sharks or other threats.

While the guardian angel could be symbolic of the fact that you are always spiritually watched over, protected and supported, there are a couple of elements that indicate to me that this was an actual meeting with one of your guides. The main evidence for this is your overwhelming feelings of love for this being. The fact that he didn't at all look like your own concept of a guardian angel also suggests that this was a real individual you were blessed to meet in this way.

In any case, the message of this dream is comforting and positive: no matter what happens, there are spiritual forces ever ready to help you and your loved ones remain safe on all levels.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.