A Day for Dreaming and Healing: My Visit to a Quan Yin Temple

After multiple hours of Reiki self-treatment this morning I remembered my acupuncture appointment, and woke up as if from a dream. In fact I was vividly dreaming the whole time and rushed off to the bus stop. It's the middle of the rainy season here and once I arrived wet from walking in the rain the practitioner was surprised to see me, quickly looked at her book and then turned remorseful because she realized she had double-booked me. I won't lie, I was upset after rushing to get there speedily, somewhat like a mix between a monkey and someone from Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks in my flip flops in the rain. And also, all I could do was laugh. Because sometimes we have days when all we can do is stay alive, and it was clear that this was to be a day meant solely for dreaming and being of no use to the world at all.

So in my sullen but semi-determined state, I decided to walk a little further on to a Quan Yin temple nearby. I walked a little more slowly and carefully as it was starting to rain harder. I tried to avoid the big puddles and made little splashes as I treaded across the thinnest of asphalt streams. Within minutes the temple appeared. It wasn't traditionally temple-like but more like a small wooden Okinawan house situated in the middle of a residential neighborhood. The sliding entrance door was ever so slightly ajar, probably so the rain wouldn't get in and yet it still appeared inviting. 

I placed my flip flops in the shoe box outside, in a careful and dedicated Japanese way with the fronts facing outward, slightly comical in its properness, possibly showing just how long I've been here. I wiped the rain from my legs and feet as best I could, and quietly slipped inside. It was so still within, the only light coming in from the windows and the entrance glass doors. I gently whispered "good afternoon" half-expecting someone to answer me back from behind the shadows somewhere, but no one did. 

I sat down on the tatami mat flooring in the middle of the room behind a little table where I assumed a priest or priestess of ceremonies might sit during services to lead the prayers. It was the only place where I could fully see the wooden Quan Yin statue within the large raised altar box many feet away. It was all very beautiful and quiet and serene -- a real sanctuary and place of shelter. There were framed pictures on the walls, some were of characters or symbols that weren't Japanese, perhaps sanskrit? One caught my gaze and reminded me of the Reiki symbol for emotional and mental clearing. Since I had just come from a long self-treatment that morning it felt like I was led to this temple to receive an extended clearing for my emotions. It all felt very good and warming to my soul. 

When I opened my eyes, I noticed the dragon painted on the ceiling above. It completely contrasted with the serenity and soft muted colors of the space. Its face was huge, animated, and fierce, grasping a ball in one of its claws and looked kind of, well, wild. I noticed it was painted in black and white also and so big it felt very close, unlike the Quan Yin statue that was small and far away and protected, completely out of reach. It was like the space was Quan Yin's holy refuge for our bodies on earth, and the dragon was the party in the sky with its very special medicine for our minds. Caring and compassionate Quan yin was giving me, us, all who are called to her and who enter her boundless abode of care, the help and healing powers of her dragon also. How generous and loving! It felt like a purification was happening, like it was helping to burn away or clear some more layers of feeling dejected, alone, unloved, and even hated throughout the years, so that I may be just a little more free. It was big medicine of both water and fire. 

When it felt like my time there was complete I started to gather my things, and just as I did I heard someone else rustling around by the shoebox outside. A sweet-faced middle aged woman entered, greeted me gently, and then walked straight to a water server I didn't see earlier and started to fill up her cup. I walked back out into the rain even more in the dream world than before. I noticed a wrought iron gate in front of a house with two red hearts, and a sign with an arrow pointing towards the direction I was going. A white cat sat up and looked at me with its sleepy eyes. Everything was rather beautiful in its way. 

Maybe some days are just for dreaming and flying and observing and it's better if it makes no sense at all? It was hard to get on board because I thought I had so much to do! But sometimes, we need to just believe that the world still has goodness and our best interests at heart. No matter how wicked and ornery it appears it's still a loving and supportive place to live and breathe. Today was a day for a long self-Reiki treatment, and dreaming and writing. The medicine of Quan Yin and her dragon alive in my heart, no doubt.