Before the Altar: The Grass and the Gate

 

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Before the Altar: The Grass and the Gate

By Cheeseburger Buddha

Dedicated to Karen De Cotis, whose voice and presence in a dream long ago still echo across time. After all these years, we’ve reconnected, proving that spirit and friendship never truly fade.

Imagine this: You've been sitting in stillness for six days, held within the silence of the Zendo at 300 Page Street in San Francisco. Seventy to eighty silent seekers breathing as one. Every moment is shaped by discipline, silence, and the ache of meditation. You're drifting at the edge of sleep, but you don’t fall.

Instead, a portal opens.

Not in your mind, but on the white wall before you.

And through it, you find yourself lying gently on the grass of the Museum of Natural History in Golden Gate Park. The sky above is clear. The earth beneath is soft. A red-haired woman sits behind you, gently stroking your hair. Her voice is calm, almost maternal.

“There’s a big international function happening at the museum,” she says. “You should go and see.”

#dreamwork #zenpractice #sanfranciscozencenter #meditationinsight #luciddream #spiritualexperience #reconnection #friendshipacrosstime #cheeseburgerbuddha