One night, a young mountain climber's mother woke up from a startling dream. In the dream, she was watching her son climb a steep cliff over the rocks on the side of a high mountain. Suddenly, a rock he was depending on for stability pulled out from the cliff. He tried desperately to grasp something else, but it was too late. She watched in horror as he fell to his death, then she woke up gasping.
This was no ordinary dream. She somehow instinctively knew she had just witnessed the future!
But she was no ordinary mother, either; she knew magic and how to use it. So starting that very morning, and repeated several times each day, she went into meditation and relived the dream in her mind. In this state, at the exact moment he started to fall, she reached out to him and held him there until he could get a grasp on another rock. After that, she'd look inward at her own deeper feelings. Had the situation really changed? No, she could feel it had not; he was still going to fall and die. So later in the day, she'd sit down, go back into meditation, and repeat the entire exercise again, and again, and again at different times, never giving up. She was determined that the dream would end with him living, not just in her imagination but from the fact that in real life, he was not going to fall—he was going to live!
Finally, months later as she reached out to stop his fall during her meditation, she felt it really happen! Deep inside, she knew she had just saved his life. And so that was the last time she did that meditation exercise; she knew then that her son was going to be ok. Her feelings in that moment seemed to be letting her know the work was done.
Perhaps a month later, her son came home exclaiming, "Mother! You won't believe what happened! I was on the side of a cliff and the rock I was holding pulled out of the wall. I tried to grab another but was falling backward too fast and couldn't reach any. But then, it felt like a hand was on my back, pushing me back up against the rocks again so I could grab one, and I did! That was so amazing, Mom, I could hardly believe it myself. But it really happened."
His mother smiled knowingly. It was her secret to keep.
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I know the feeling she experienced the moment her "rescue" succeeded, for I've experienced that also. When praying about the future—via words or other means—there is a noticeable nervous feeling that fills me if my efforts are not successful. But then when I am successful, such a total peace comes over my whole being and I know deep down that my petition has been accepted. It's a totally satisfying feeling that lets me know the work is done and what I asked for in prayer is now becoming the physical reality I had hoped for.