The Power of Story

Robert Moss just released what he called his favorite of his numerous books on dreaming, "The Boy Who Died and Came Back: Adventures of a Dream Archaeologist in the Multiverse." I agree with him, it’s my new favorite, too.  Let me tell you why, but let me first say, I’m not quite finished. I’m two thirds done, but I’ve got a lot to say, already. 

Robert is a master storyteller. The book speaks to me of the power of each life story, across time. He tells his own story and invites us to tell ours, even if just to ourselves.  How? In our dreams, our big stories are hunting us”, as Robert likes to say.  Joseph Campbell puts it like this: Myth is the collective dream, dream is the personal myth. 

Once we become conscious to the fact that we are dreaming ourselves into being, once we learn to dream well, we can write our own stories into the future and heal the bitter stories from the past, whether in this lifetime, healing the wounded child within, or addressing a past life experience that might be lingering overlong.  We can find ourselves and heal ourselves through dreaming.

Fascinating examples from his own and other dreamer’s lives weave this exciting dream primer together.  I find myself putting the book down, closing my eyes and checking the dreamways he presents for myself.  Maybe that’s why I’m not done after two days; it’s a very fast read, unless you stop to experiment.  I’m not bothered though, because the results have been great so far.  Following his examples, I’ve opened new dimensions of my own multiverse and am more excited than ever about Active Dreaming.

Robert writes about his childhood encounters with death, what today would be called NDEs, but in those days were known as “he died and came back” which sheds light on his title. One of the most powerful tools he’s developed in Active Dreaming is what he calls “soul recovery” as opposed to “soul retrieval” which requires a shaman.  Robert writes in his book, “Dreaming the Soul Back Home” that each of us can be our own shaman by living parallel lives in waking and in dreaming.  In this beautiful new book, he shows us how these teachings came to him, how he lived what he’s teaching.

I recall how dreams have been maps I’ve used to travel the roads of my waking world. One very Big Dream from my twenties is titled, “Let Me Tell You My Story.” To live consciously, with heart and mindfulness in the multiverse of experience that dreaming allows is to live in the waking world full of wonder, curiosity, joy, courage and hope.  To know yourself is to know your own story and to create it as you go.

As a long time student of Robert’s, I know that one of the central focuses of his work is resurrecting the Art of Dying for our modern Western society.  Making death your ally is an ancient teaching and one that he writes about and teaches frequently in his workshops. This book takes you “Through the Moongate” and into the multiverse; it lights the way in the cultural darkness that is our Western heritage to the possibilities that await us once we learn we are infinite spiritual beings living in these finite physical shells, but living with a purpose, a story, a contract we came to fulfill.  Robert shows us how his dreams led him to this knowledge and how our own dreams can enlighten us.

Here's the endorsement you see on the cover from Dr. Raymond Moody, a renowned pioneer of NDE studies:

Robert Moss' extraordinary life story, told with beauty and passion, confirms that there is life after life and will inspire all who read it to transcend the fear of death and live richer deeper lives."

I feel that many Roberts wrote this book, in an integrated and conscious way, but in a real sense.  There’s nothing plodding about the narrative; it’s at times playful, at others poignant and revealing of one of those selves, it’s always entertaining and often evokes wonder and curiosity. 

I know from my own experience, so much of what I’ve read in this book is true and I can’t wait to give the new stuff a try.  This is a book that opens doors and invites us to get to know ourselves in the most intimate way possible, on a soul level.  In his discussion of meeting his Higher Self, Older Self, Double in Heaven, as the Yoruba put it, he invites us to encounter our own in dreams and dream journeying.  By sharing his own path, he invites us to embark with more zest, gusto and certainty on our own.

I can’t leave out how much I enjoy the wonderful “archeological” information that the scholar Robert always provides in his work.  This book is resplendent with historical and mythic dream information.  My fact gathering self delights in highlighting all his wonderful references, couched in story and myth in such a way as to capture my curiosity mightily.  As a student of all things interesting, I love this.

When I finish the book, I know I’ll be the wiser dreamer and dream teacher. I’ll re-read it immediately, more slowly.  I recommend this book to absolutely anyone, whether you’re a frequent dreamer or not.  If you find yourself incredulous, give it a try yourself before you let your ego tell you flight is impossible.  We live in a multiverse, perhaps living parallel lives happening all at once outside of our puny concept of time.  Robert didn’t make this up; modern physicists are discussing the exact same thing. Brian Greene, the well known physicist to the lay folk, has a new book titled: The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos. 

In this book, Robert holds out many exciting possibilities for dreamers to try in dreaming and waking dimensions, because the story of how he did it is so compelling. I'm sure I'll have more to say about it in future posts.

Don't forget to mark your calendars for May 10th, The World Day of Active Dreaming.