Riding in the Divine Flow

A Short Story by Laurie Minsal

Yesterday Ivan and I did our maiden voyage on our new Harley Ultra Classic motorcycle.

I had to get to a place of non-fear in order to agree to be a passenger behind Ivan before we got our motorcycle; a process that took me a couple of years. I noticed while talking with friends that have bikes and do these rides there is this comradery and adventurous spirit that was similar to when Ivan and I used to be involved with our horse club while riding our horses. I really missed that special connection with others that develops while being on a journey.

Our goal was to ride down Sierra Hwy heading west from Palmdale to Castaic, about a 40-mile ride, to meet another couple to ride with. I'm not ready for the freeway yet, so this two-lane highway was a good start. Once we would meet up with them we were going to ride up another canyon road heading east toward Lake Hughes, to a popular biker restaurant called the “Rock Inn.”

I enjoyed the ride with some scary moments, like when Ivan came to stop a mile out from our house, we fell over, this bike is 800 lbs and the most dangerous part is moving too slow or at a stop and losing balance. He said the wind caught him off guard at the stop and he lost his balance, we were fine because we felt it coming and prepped ourselves not fall on the asphalt. It takes two people to get this bike back up. I had to truly practice my beliefs in knowing that we are in the right place at the right time at every moment in our lives. As I nervously got back in my seat knowing that I… We are were in the Divine Flow of life.

We rode heading west to Sierra Hwy. as my heart pounded and trying to maintain some deep breaths I knew the Universe was looking out after us because I have too much to give and do to die that day. Thinking this relaxed me some, and as I looked at the passing scenery I remembered hearing the voices of my friends saying, “Oh, you’re really going to love this… enjoy the scenery… lean back and feel the wind….” I can see their faces as they said these things, so I simply did what they said. I enjoyed. I relaxed.

 Ivan found his rhythm with the road and would occasionally pat my leg to comfort me. I responded by another pat or squeeze around his waist. Life is good. Getting use to his shifting, leaning and speeds I would still find my heart pounding and as I starred into the back of him I kept seeing the letters DOT printed on his helmet. I didn’t know what that stood for so I decided to make up something comforting to remind me this was a good decision and that I wanted to feel more alive. Boy did I.

 I decide that DOT would stand for “Divine Operation Together.” Yes, this was Divine, and Ivan and I are doing a new fun adventure Together. After repeating this about 50 times I became more relaxed and enjoyed passing the country homes, the golden colored grass on the hills and noticing beautiful textured walls built with colorful stone along the roadside. Then I started thinking about how Operation fit into this. This thought came to me.

 “I have to learn to operate from trust in order to experience life from deeper levels.”

 Wooough dude! That was a quick answer that seemed to flow easily into my brain. There is a reason a passenger doesn’t get to see where the driver is going on a bike, I am only able to see to my left or to my right and experience the ride through multi-sensory input.

I can see, smell, hear, and feel.

 I asked Spirit, “How can I enjoy this more and not be afraid?”

 “Learn to be a passenger,” I heard.

 “OK, what does a passenger do?” I thought.

 “Trust the ride without having the need to control,” the answer was. “You must trust where you are going, let go of wanting to control.”

“ Okie-dokie!” I chuckled to myself trying to bring humor into a fearful moment as Ivan shifted awkwardly.

I drew a deep breath into my lungs to bring my awareness to the here and now moment, just as I do if my mind is drifting while in meditation.

I could hear the voice saying, “Feel the seat supporting you.” So I did, I felt the vibration of the bike and bumps in the road and in my mind I saw this rail, like from a rail-road track, but only one that appeared to be floating above the road. It was a track of energy that we were connected to, and when Ivan would find that “flow” this track of energy moved through him and then through me, we were one. He was to drive and I was to follow. In that given moment when I saw this visual I was in this flow too. All was well, smooth and graceful. This gave me great comfort.

As I drifted back and forth from this visual and to being there seated on the bike and watching the scenery I knew this experience was going to assist me in other areas of my life where I lack trust.

 “Thank you.” I said out loud as the wind took my words. I felt more as ease and found myself leaning back into the seat, which expanded my view.

We came into Santa Clarita on Bouquet Canyon. and the throttle lost power, I knew something was wrong, but felt OK, and Ivan effortlessly moved to the right into the Mercedes dealership driveway, a good place to break down. After playing with the throttle and deciding it was broke we called our friends that we were going to ride with and AAA to tow us to the Harley shop, which was only about 5 miles away.

After about an hour our friends came, and another hour the tow-truck came. We left “Big Red,” as a family member calls it, at the shop while we went to eat lunch and to re-hydrate our parched bodies from being in the hot sun for two hours. As we stuffed our faces consuming chips and salsa and 14 glasses of tea and lemonade we started laughing at our friend’s silly stories, we started feeling better and realized that we broke down in the best place and time rather than being stranded on a mountain road. We were definitely in the right place at the right time for right action. We found out that the computer, the brains of the bike, disconnected losing the power to the throttle.

Saying our good-byes to our friends and the Harley guys we rode home tired, but feeling good about our first outing on Big Red and trusting our new found skills.