My husband is in India for a few weeks. Last Sunday I flew to Arizona to visit a friend. That morning he called me from Delhi and asked me to change his flight home to a week earlier; Dec 3rd (out of Mumbai/Bombay). He didn't realize I was already on my way to the airport. We had talked about the possibility a couple of days earlier and he was supposed to confirm it with me before I left home. I had spent the day before researching this and knew we had to do it fast as there was only a few options available. I spent over half and hour on the phone at Madison airport trying to change it and had to drop the call after finally being transferrred to the right person. The agent said it would take at least another 15 minutes and I had to board.
My husband called me as I was trying to stick my luggage on the valet rack. I said sorry you are outta luck I gotta go. I was pissed and said I would give him the numbers to do it himself. His last words were "I can't do it from here" (obviously)..and then..."I have to go to sleep because I have chills and a fever". I said I would do it just as soon as I could. I boarded the plane feeling somewhat frustrated and then it turned to concern. I heard a voice in my head that said don't do anything until you hear from him tonight. I remembered he had a fever and started to imagine the worst...getting really sick...coming down with something bad. If that was the case he might have to fly out of Delhi and I didn't want to have to change the flight twice. After a few intense minutes and some vigilant mind training practice I was free of those crazy thoughts. I remembered there is a God and settled in to a happy flight.
In Dallas I bumped up my roaming minutes and was almost tempted to call and change the ticket having released my fear and feeling at peace with it all. Still the voice came back and said don't do anything until you hear from him which I knew wouldn't be for many hours as he had just gone to bed. Just before I boarded the second plane I noticed I had a voicemail message..he had called again before he went to bed sometime after my flight left Madison. The voicemail message said simply don't do anything until you hear from me.
As I started to write this I remembered that one day he called me from the UK just before he left for India and he told me about a dream he had had the night before. In the dream he was shot. I laughed off the idea but had already mentioned earlier in the call that I was feeling sick to the stomach like something really bad was going to happen. If he had changed his ticket he most likely would have gone to Bombay a week before he was due to fly out. He had spent a lot of time in India many years ago especially in Bombay and his favorite hangouts were in the areas targeted in this weeks siege.
Reflecting on this experience my gratitude might appear to lie in the snipping out of a possible nightmare experience. It is actually more for the gift of changing my mind. Being able to release my thoughts and the associated fear those thoughts ignite leading me in a place of perfect peace. If I follow the voice for God I will be guided what to do in every situation. That's the miracle. Having experienced 911 first hand I know that peace can be achieved from any point inside or outside the drama (its all in my mind). I don't need the course for (inner) peace time. I practice during peace time so that when I find myself in that (inner) war I can respond from a place of certainty and love rather than react from doubt and fear.
I watched a video on CNN of an American couple who were trapped in the Oberoi hotel. The woman described the terror she went through as they were escorted down the blood stained hotel stairway. The man with awesome certainty finished with "Don't let fear rule your life". The camera cut off very quickly and flashed back to the drama.
"God did not create this vicious attack in Mumbai so it is not real"
