By Michael Avery
A Prophetic Waking Dream
Some memories follow us throughout our lives. Often it’s because they are waiting for us to realize what they’ve been trying to tell us. In this book, we’ve called these “Waking Dreams in Retrospect.” But butterflies must wait for caterpillars to break through their cocoon, no matter how long the process takes.
Since the late 80’s, one fond memory has kept recurring. After examining it, I lovingly return it to its special place among other potentially valuable treasures from days-gone-by.
Memorializing that sunny fall morning at Swiftwater Park with notes turned out to be unnecessary; the memory is still fresh and clear as if it were yesterday. The rushing current of the North Umpqua River empties into a fairly deep pool at Swiftwater. Salmon gather here to rest before continuing upstream on their remarkable journey to the place of their birth. The abundance of fish at Swiftwater is not lost on the local fishermen in the area, including Gordon, my brother.
On this particular day, ours was the only car in the parking lot at the popular fishing hole. As we were getting out, an older Ford pickup pulled up beside us. “Any fish in the river?” asked the middle-aged man, gathering up his tackle box and pole.
“We’ll see,” returned my brother, with a grin.
Not being a fisherman myself, I had accompanied Gordon on this outing on a whim, or call it an inner nudge. A service bridge crossed the river a few hundred yards downstream from the fishing hole. I headed for the bridge, remembering that a trail meandered along the river on the opposite shore. Winding my way around overgrown scotch broom and climbing over fallen logs, I eventually made my way upstream to roughly fifty yards beyond my brother.
I was feeling a deep appreciation for life that morning as I sat dangling my feet over a large rock cliff, about fifteen feet above the water. Across the river, I could see Gordon casting his line out again and again, albeit without success.
As I recall the scene, I remember that one of the reasons for my contentment stemmed from the fact that my first book on waking dreams had been accepted for publication. My heart was open. I drank in the sanctity of the moment, along with the cool crisp river air, wondering how my life would evolve from that point forward. What challenges might accompany any success I might enjoy? Would I now have to face my greatest fear, public speaking? Not if I could help it.
Directly below me glistened another pool, similar to the one downstream where Gordon was fishing, but casting a line out here was not considered a viable use of a fisherman’s time. As I casually let my attention dip down into the peaceful, green pool, a slight movement caught my eye. Surprisingly, I saw a large salmon just below the surface, and to its left was another, barely flickering its tail to keep balanced in the current.
As my gaze widened, I could see that the entire pool was abundant with salmon. If one had the skill of walking across water, the salmon footpath would make for any easy crossing. I sat transfixed. I lost track of how long I enjoyed the surreal scene before I decided that I had taken in enough details to form an indelible memory. This was the first time in my life I had given so much attention to a single moment. In retrospect, it was a golden moment outside of time.
I believe this must have been the lesson of the day for me. For Gordon, who enjoyed being near the river as much as I did, no doubt his experience was teaching him about patience since the fish weren’t biting that day. They had been called by Spirit to help with a special mission: teaching me the importance of living fully in the moment.
As hindsight is often 20/20, I was finally able to gain more understanding of that day’s significance. While planning this book [Seven Signs from the Universe] with my wife, Oi, we wondered if prophetic waking dreams could support a chapter all their own. But then I remembered that early fall day at Swiftwater.
The abundance of salmon in the pool was really a prophetic waking dream. I was soon to become a published author. I was being shown that waking dreams would become a popular topic. I also took note that the salmon were resting, conserving valuable energy they would need to negotiate the many rapids as they journeyed back to their ancestral home.
This prophetic waking dream was telling me two things: 1) I would receive modest success with The Secret Language of Waking Dreams, and 2) I would need to gather my strength in order to face the difficult challenges that lay ahead in my personal journey through life. As it turned out, both proved to be true.
from Seven Signs from the Universe, by Michael and Pichaya Avery, pp. 171-173
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