My first visit to the SRF Gardens

A week after the dream, I went to the Self-Realization gardens in Encinitas by recommendation of my roomie at the time. She knew I'd be into it. If you haven't been it's worth a trip because it will knock your socks off! So beautiful, serene, and magical.

I knew something was up the moment I arrived. I got this tingling sensation in my legs. My first stop was at the top of the stairs where you are standing on a path that divides left and right. I went right. It was mid-March and the plants were blooming and looking oh-so-happy.

There's a sandy pathway that opens to vista overlooking swami beach and the ocean. There were surfers wearing black wetsuits. So I'm on a cliff, there's the ocean and the surfers that look like little ants. So where's my fish? I kept looking around expectantly, but knew it was dumb to think that a giant monster-fish would appear from the depths of the sea.

It was just a dream. It was just a dream. I repeated this mantra for a little while, but something inside urged me not to give up so quickly.

After a walk back in the opposite direction I came across a small pond with a bubbling spring in the center. There, amongst the lily pads were three koi fish. One was dark orange, another I think was white, red and black. The third was the biggest and brightest. He was golden-yellow. The exact color of the fish in my dream. His scales were huge and very defined.

                                                                         Oh there's my fish!

I knew in that exact moment that I had experienced something very special. I read Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi, and frequented the gardens whenever I could. It wasn't until three years later that I committed to my first retreat at the center.