The Purpose of Dreams – Sri Harold Klemp

By Sri Harold Klemp    September 1994

   The works of ECK give a balance between the inner and outer teachings. Here is a story from the inner planes. It illustrates the power of dreaming big and working hard, two keys to success in any world.

   One night, on the inner planes, I went to a local college football  game. As usual, the home team lost. And in accord with its dismal win-loss record, the team turned a completely  uninspired effort. So the locker room was a gloomy place after the game, even thought it was full of people – the many friends and family of the coach and players.

   The coach was a strict disciplinarian. He got on well with his players, but they could not win for him. The coach and I had little in common. So I mostly avoided him, because we lived and worked in two different words.

   This evening was to be different, though. The crowd was still thick at a refreshment  table insde the locker room when  he called me over.

   “ I had a dream,” he said. “ Could you tell me its meaning?”

   A dream interpreter must always allow for the chance that his interpretation might be wrong, so he leaves an opening for the dreamer should the news look bad.

   The coach briefly told his dream. For the second time within a few days, he had heard an orchestra play an enchanting piece if music. The musicians did not finish the song either time. Yet the music was of such haunting beauty that he wanted nothing more than to hear its conclusion.

   Unknown to him, the heavenly music was exactly that: the Music Of God. It comes from Divine Spirit, the Voice of God. Its purpose is to call Souls that are ready and show them the way home to the Sugmad-another name for God, or the Ocean of Love and Mercy. As ECK texts puts it: Soul has heard and is yearning to go.

   But from all appearances, the coach did not work on a very high spiritual level, so he would not have understood an interpretation that spoke of this Music of God.

   Yet a dream interpreter has  a duty to speak the truth.  That is not to say that he must be unkind, because it is a kind spirit who leaves an open door  for a dreamer in case the analysis is wrong.

   Before I could say anything, he spoke. “ I think my two dreams are trying to say that I’ve reached the end of my career in this lifetime. “

   Unfortunately, that way my first impression too.

“ I’ll never get to coach at the State level, “ he added, looking more closely at me for confirmation.

Then the ECK let me see the options of possibility. “ Dreams aren’t final, “ I said. “ I can’t tell the times a dream appeared to point out failure to me , but I refused to accept the verdict. A dream about failure usually means that using the same methods as in the past will continue to lead to failure. But if a dreamer can  break old habits and try something new to solve problems, it’s a new ball game. “

   The coach was catching on.

   “You mean my career’s not over?” he stated, half in reply, half in question.

   “ There is a lot of power in the human spirit, “ I replied. “ If you could unlock the spirit of your team, you’d see miracles. There is big power in people who dream big and try hard.”

   Then two young players from the team returned to the locker room, which had cleared of most  people during our conversation. They drew the coach aside to ask a favor. Immediately he went to the metal toolbox and began digging around inside it. I mistook the action. I assumed that he had plans of game strategy inside the box that he could not wait to show his two star players. They just happened to return to the locker room during his excitement.

   In fact, the situation was very different. Their car had a flat tire, and they were late for a post game school dance. So the coach was not trying to dig out and explain next week’s strategy.

   I called to him on my way out. “ By the way, “ I said, “ something else always helps. That’s to listen to the ideas of others when all yours hits the wall. “

   With a quick thumbs up sign, he shouted back, “ You mean, let them   mount the tire! “ His excitement was no longer about his own dreams of aspiration. He had put them aside to help his young players fix the tire and get to the party before it was over. He remembered his youth.

   I knew that he now had the right idea about winning. Go for success in life, but not at the expense of other people’s dreams. Help them meet their dreams, and they will help you meet yours.

   Another student walked with me to my residernce some three or four blocks away. The sidewalk ran up some small hills and down again, like a rising and falling waves of the ocean.

   “ As we get older, “ I said to him, “ these little hills become like mountains. Even though it requires more effort to accomplish our dreams, we must always follow them. “

   That is the purpose of dreams.