Sampradayam Synchronicity

Before coming to the tradition that I now belong to, I had a dream.  The dreamscape was entirely blank except for an elephant-headed deity sitting in the lotus posture.  My first instinct was to identify him as Ganesh.  However, this deity had five heads, so I second-guessed this assessment.  I only recently discovered that this is an acknowledged and celebrated manifestation of Lord Ganesha: Panchamukhi Ganesha.  Looking at him, I felt a very strong aura of peace radiating from him and, also, radiating out from me in response.

Panchamukhi Ganesha

After having firmly decided to take a Guru, when I received mantra deeksha (initiation) from my swami teacher, I began to see tiny little lights exploding and disappearing.  It was as if I was witnessing the birth of a microcosmic universe.  At first I thought I was just seeing dust particles that were catching the light just right.  But, in addition to just seeing them floating in the air, I would see them exploding out of the shower wall, I would see them in the dark, and I would see them exploding on peoples' faces.  I started seeing them that day, and have continued seeing them ever since.

The day that I received this initiation, I went to a restaurant in Seattle that I like, called Chaco Canyon.  I had already noticed a lot of number synchronicities with the numbers 1 and 7, just from looking at the clock before and after meditation, getting into and out of the car, etc.  I don't remember the specifics.  But when I got to Chaco Canyon and they gave me a number, I remember that it had been enough to make me stop and admire the patterning when they handed me the number 7 to put on my table.

Chaco Canyon Table #

After that, I went to Pike Place Market in Seattle to buy a mala and some herbs from a cool little shop called Tenzing & Momo.  The total on my receipt was $77.77.  When I left that shop, I went to a little Indian import store and bought a tapestry featuring Lord Ganesha.  I hung it on my wall that day.  Eventually, I noticed light coming out of the thing.  When I examined it more closely, I saw that it had little mirrors stitched into it.  When the sunlight would catch it just right, it would flicker and look a lot like the little explosions that I had just started noticing the day that I bought this thing.

Ganesh Tapestry

One of the mirrors pictured center

Here's another number sync I found out about some time later.  My Guru's birthday turned out to be 3/22/1948.  Mine is 3/2/1984.  Same month, same digits in the day except that my Guru's is multiplied by a factor of 11 (a number corresponding to Shiva and also known as a Master number in numerology), and all the digits in the year are the same.  Clearly this conspiracy runs deep. 

Sadgurunath Maharaj Ki Jay!