My Life In Dreams

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The other day, my desktop, hard drive crashed.  No problem. I thought.  Don’t worry.  Everything is backed up on my brand new, external hard drive.  What a great feeling it is to know that my pro-active computer disaster investments have paid off!

 NO!!!

You see, the brand new, external hard drive that I thought I had purchased turned out to be a rickety, old and cranky, refurbished one, bringing back memories of youthful dating when a friend returned from a luncheon date where she finally had the opportunity to meet the fantasy man of her dreams and announced: “My Italian stallion turned out to be a bald eagle.”

Yup!  I had the same sinking feeling -- you know that stomach-churning feeling when reality starts to sink in -- Whoa! Yikes! and then @#$%!!!, realizing I had been taken for a ride in the big City, when I purchased my external hard drive, and, consequently, all of my beautiful dreams that I had faithfully recorded over the past eight years were now lost in the endless loop of the now click, click, clicking of my new old drive.  

I listened in disbelief. What? How could this be? How could two hard drives crash within a day of each other? What is going on? What to do??

First, panic set in until I thought of the English sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor whose intuitive and conservationist art is created under the sea.  Taylor creates societies and cities under the sea that depicts everyday life and the everyday emotions that life encompasses, i.e. hope,  love, fear; and, at the same time, eventually become natural sea reefs.  You literally have to swim and dive to see his artwork.

One of Taylor’s underwater installations, in particular, came to mind because its title adequately described my new role: El Collectionista de los Suenos Perdidos (The Collector of Lost Dreams).

Ah.  Taylor’s work reminded me that dreams do not have an expiration date.  And as an Active Dreamer, I can always dive back into the depths of the dreamscape to experience my dreams again and even more deeply than my shallow everyday conscious memory permits. 

Feeling better about the whole incident, I calmly hired a computer expert who luckily was able to assist me in my role as Collector of Lost Dreams!

The moral of the story, as a friend just recently wrote me: “You have a computer you have a problem.”  Make sure your external hard drive is a new one – buyer  beware.  Make sure that if you purchase an external hard drive, you buy one with a dual hard drive.  Overprotect with an on-line storage service, and record your dreams the old fashioned way!

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Experienced dreamers know that everything in a dream, animate and inanimate alike, is conscious ~~ alive with information.   In our waking, everyday lives, however, we often forget to remember that everything possesses consciousness.

I was reminded of these facts, when I received a lesson in consciousness the other day when noodling (swimming with pool noodles) around the pool.

As I “noodled” around, minding my own business, soaking up the hot summer sun, I came across a bee struggling to survive an apparent nose dive into the pool. Poor little bee; she struggled hopelessly. 

I decided I simply had to figure out a way to get the bee out of the pool and back on dry land.  I didn't want to risk further damaging the bee’s already wet and soggy wings by attempting to scoop her out of the water with my hands, so I decided to offer the bee my noodle as a life-raft.  

No sooner had I introduced the noodle to the bee, she jumped right aboard and quickly found her way to the part of the noodle that protruded safely beyond the water’s reach.   I was amazed.  The bee got it! She instantly knew that this was her way out to safety and grabbed the opportunity to survive.  

Once she was safely out of the water, on top of the noodle, the bee stood perfectly still for what seemed an eternity.  Sensing that the bee may have been stunned a bit by her near-death experience, I quickly moved the bee to the side of the pool and gently tapped the noodle to release her to solid ground. 

Safely on the ground, the bee began to move her legs to her antenna and, what appeared to me, back to her mouth in rapid and repetitive movements. It dawned on me that the bee was attempting to dry off her antenna.  After a few minutes of this non-stop activity, the bee simply flew away. 

The whole experience reminded me of what I know to be true in my dreams: everything is conscious and alive with information.  This little bee was a smart cookie, don’t you think? She certainly knew enough to save her own life.  

After swimming, I went home to search the internet to learn more about bees and their habits, in particular their method of drying their antennae off.  Sure enough, I found what I was searching for.  I learned that bees often dry themselves off in the exact way I witnessed this bee doing.  Who knew?  Additionally, my research revealed that bees also clean themselves in a similar way they dry their antennae. Bees are extraordinarily clean insects; they detest dust and dirt and prefer a tidy, bacteria-free hive.

The next day, believe it or not, my trusty noodle and I saved yet another bee from drowning in the pool.  Yes, I feel happy about my “bee and me” experiences.  In fact, my experiences remind me of another intriguing bee story; but for now, I will let that story bee.

If you are interested in learning how bees dry themselves off, here is a link to watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3isTvP3dc8

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The Dukha, are an ancient tribe of people, whose way of life is “guided by shamans and shaped by dreams and tradition.”  

The Dukha live close to the earth, living a nomadic life style.   Much like Native American Indians who were sustained by buffalo, the Dukha are sustained by reindeer and live in tepees.

The Dukha possess an innate, ancient knowledge of nature and, consequently, the shamans who guide the Dukha way of life are known to be very powerful.    

You might wonder, “What is a Shaman?”  As Robert Moss writes, “First and last, the shaman is a dreamer.”   A shaman is a gifted healer, who receives his/her calling and training in the Dreamtime. In fact, a shaman uses his dreams in intentional ways.  Shamans work and travel in non-ordinary reality via conscious dream journeys, for specific purposes.   For example, a shaman may incubate a dream for a particular patient in order to diagnose an illness and receive guidance on how to treat the illness.  A shaman also works to retrieve lost souls and to help the recently departed to find their road to the after-life.

Although shamans work in non-ordinary reality, their work has practical effects in everyday reality – their work has real meaning to the people, whose lives are made whole by shamanic healing techniques.  Recently, I watched a movie titled: The Horse Boy: A father’s quest to heal his son by Rupert Isaacson.  I thought I would share this movie with you because it demonstrates how the work of shamans (and their use of conscious dream journeys) can have real effects in the lives of ordinary people – in this case, an ordinary family, whose lives have been shattered by autism. 

The Horse Boy is the extraordinary story of a father, who travels on horseback with his wife and autistic son, Rowan, to meet the shamans of Mongolia and specifically, the Shamans of the Reindeer People, in hopes that these powerful spiritual leaders might free Rowan from the worst effects of his autism:  withdrawal from social contact, relentless, screaming temper tantrums, and inability to be potty trained. 

It isn't easy to watch Rowan's suffering; however, without giving too much away, the movie is absolutely worth watching, right up until the very last moment.    

References: 

http://www.mongolia-travel-guide.com/reindeer-people.html

https://www.facebook.com/notes/robert-moss/shamans-as-dreamers/509148659138207   

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marshall-fine/movie-review-ithe-horse-b_b_305942.html

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FUNNY, STRANGE, AND SURPRISING DREAM WORD CHALLENGE: Share your funny, strange, and surprising dream words right here on this thread: 

Dreams can be very entertaining and educational when they present you with words that expand your everyday vocabulary. Strange, funny, and surprising dream words are opportunities to new adventures, ideas, and experiences. 

I recall one dream that presented me with the word DESIDERIO. I decided to follow my dream word by taking a Google Trip: First, I uncovered its meaning: "DESIDERIO is a masculine name with origins in Spanish and Portuguese (meaning longing) and Italian (meaning desire)." Then, I focused on the words "longing and desire." I watched the words "longing and desire" as they played out in my everyday, waking life through synchronicity and coincidence. 

As I followed my dream word in my waking life, it guided me to a Shamanic Astrologer, who provided me with many personal insights into the reasons why I am compelled to study and to teach dreamwork. By following my dream word, I had uncovered the source of my desire and longing. 

There are other creative ways to work with your funny, strange, and surprising dream words; You can write a poem or a story about your dream word. Of course, you can play word detective like I did and follow your dream word to other places, people, cultures, other times, and even other worlds. 

HAVE FUN! In the spirit of the challenge, I dreamed last night of the funny word TRUEGETTE. So, I think I will write a short poem based on this funny dreamword. I'll be back . . . Oh. . that makes me think of the movie, TRUE LIES. . . I wonder if that is a clue? 

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