I’m the kind of person who notices patterns. Some people might prefer the term ’signs’ or ‘omens’, but the wording isn’t important - the patterns are. Especially when the motif - whatever it is - starts occurring in threes.

My latest one involves the motif of “not being a monk anymore.” The first time it came up was just after Thanksgiving, when I was travelling around a bit. I had a dream where a friend and I were standing on a bridge, and she told me in some way or another that I didn’t need to be a “monk” anymore, and that that time in my life was drawing rapidly to a close.

This dream meaning site has a halfway decent entry for monk:

Seeing a monk in your dream means devotion, faith, and spiritual enlightenment. Dreaming that you are a monk, symbolizes the introspective aspect of yourself. You need to emotionally withdraw yourself from a situation and regain some control, structure, and order.

I didn’t mention this dream to anyone, but it seemed very important, because I definitely feel like that: that I have been sort of withdrawn on myself for a long time to achieve some sort of inner purpose. And that I’ve just about achieved that now and can move on with my “life” so to speak.

Oddly enough, the same person who delivered me this message in my dream several weeks ago also sent me this very closely related horoscope in the past couple days:

CAPRICORN (Dec 22–Jan 19): You’ve been in a contemplative phase as uncharacteristic fear has prevented you from saying what you’ve been
thinking. This self-imposed monastic phase will last just a short time longer and will give you the chance to gain new spiritual awareness. Don’t be afraid of being alone, but also don’t hesitate to put your thoughts out into the open.

Also, a day before I received the email containing that, I happened across a pretty interesting news article from Cambodia about a popular singer named Heng Bunleap. He has a song called “Leaving the Monkhood for Love,” which the Cambodian government has banned.

Over the past year Heng has earned a sizeable following by matching a traditional Khmer ballad style to gritty modern-day themes.

But his latest hit is just a bit too gritty for the authorities. The lyrics about a monk who prefers love in the arms of a woman to life at the pagoda probably raised some official eyebrows.

And the video of the shaven-headed hero frolicking with his lover in a lake was a step too far.

So anyway, yeah, third times the charm - as they say. Maybe my time in the monastery really is just about to end. Gotta follow the patterns.