I, Ya, Yay

Let's talk about Ego.  Thanks to the teachings of contemporaries like Eckhart Tolle, one of Oprah's wunderkinds, we are becoming more aware of that pesky part of us.  The Beatles sang about it: "I, Me, Me, Mine." Ancient mystics have long known that the part of us that's eternal can't afford to completely identify with the physical experience of the soul because that experience is so temporary and fraught with fuck ups.

Yet, there are many, many people who get stuck in that physical ego identified existence and it can lead to some dismal human choices.  Those who are identified with eternity weigh their choices based on the long term good for all, as well as the short term good for me.  We keep having to live it till we get it right and the currency of the universe is Love.  Love is much bigger than Hallmark, romantic conventions or money.  Love is courage.  In French, "coeur" is heart.  That's why I say that dreams give us the courage to live from our hearts.  They connect us to our eternal soul.

Anytime we choose to love in the face of hate, to contribute as well as receive, we extend our consciousness both forward and back in time, into lifetimes we've lived and lives we'll be living.  What clogs everything up is hate.  Hate and fear, fear and hate. We're here to do something in the name of Love.  We each will die; we each will live on, perhaps to incarnate physically again.  Perhaps we choose. As I appear to be here now, I have to ask myself; what am I here to learn?  What am I here to do?  How can I more precisely align with my authentic self while I'm here?

The good news is that for over a century, Spirit has been sweeping humanity and waking us from the lethargy of false paradigms like patriarchy.  I know that dreams and the dream channels are a huge part of this revolution; that's what I love to share with you on Lita Dreaming.  We are being invited to tune in to the bigger picture.  Yes, we'll each die but we aren't extinguished.  We go on, and on, and on, and on.  So an obvious question to me is what shall I do Now?

It appears to me that I chose, as the Chinese curse goes, an interesting time to incarnate again.  The most colossal ego America has ever seen is running on the presumption that everybody loves a bully and he, in particular, can do no wrong.  He could shoot someone on a posh NYC street and still get elected.  Wow!  So who votes for Mr. All-Ego?  Mini-egos?

As Tolle loves to point out, the ego is insane.  Jung taught that if the ego becomes rigid and the person completely identifies with it, they are in the grip of whatever the unconscious sends their way.  Without the awareness of something bigger than ego/I and without the ability to dialogue with our own larger Self, a person loses the opportunity for spiritual growth that incarnation offers.  They can also make physical life extremely unpleasant for others because they see themselves as an isolated I instead of a spirit Being, whole, eternal, connected to All That Is.  The I sees no need to share, connect, understand or love because it can dominate with all the opposite forces; yet, as Wicca puts it, what goes around comes around.  Jesus stated this universal law as, do unto others as you would have them do to you.

So, what values will fuel our vote?  Are we citizens with civic responsibility or consumers looking for the best deal for ourselves, too bad about anything else?  Are we aware of our own spiritual responsibility to use this life for service as well as for gain?  Do we know that we are free from all but our own inner dictums and that dreams are our way to Skype Home?  Can we get outside of our little thinking ego personalities with its likes and opinions and connect to our hearts?  What is the best possible scenario for our future, our children's future and the future of all the world's peoples?  What will we be able to tell our loved ones on the other side about our lives, why we lived them as we did and how we feel about it all once we cross over?

I cringe every time I hear some minimally informed person proclaim they will vote for this man because he's so good in business, he knows how to "deal."  Wow, that's not even true.  Over and over, reliable sources have reported his bankruptcies, his broken promises and betrayals of honor and trust,  Trump university, beefsteaks, casinos, on and on.  He claims he'll bring jobs back and has outsourced his clothing line to the Mexican people he reviles. But, at this moment in time, he's not the real focus of my concern. It's us, the citizens of this great nation.  What is it we dream? Is it a dream worthy of eternity?  I hope so.

To Be or Not To Be...or to Always Be

“To be…or not to be”, those infamous words spoken by the befuddled prince of plays, weigh the pros and cons of living vs. dying;.  Here’s a translation of Hamlet's famed soliloquy from the Shakespeare:-) to remind you.

 
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“The question is: is it better to be alive or dead? Is it nobler to put up with all the nasty things that luck throws your way, or to fight against all those troubles by simply putting an end to them once and for all? Dying, sleeping—that’s all dying is—a sleep that ends all the heartache and shocks that life on earth gives us—that’s an achievement to wish for. To die, to sleep—to sleep, maybe to dream. Ah, but there’s the catch: in death’s sleep who knows what kind of dreams might come, after we’ve put the noise and commotion of life behind us. That’s certainly something to worry about. That’s the consideration that makes us stretch out our sufferings so long.”

Shakespeare’s insight into death and dreaming in these famous lines is uncanny. Hamlet is caught up in the dualism that plagues patriarchal paradigms, you’re either this or that, dead or alive. Today, the doors of consciousness and inner space are blown wide open by gifted pioneers in every science and spirituality; the paradigms that bound our patriarchal ancestors don’t bind us now, unless we choose to be bound.  Belief in our time doesn't require "blind faith." Once when Carl Jung, that great pioneer of psyche, was asked about his belief in God, he replied,  "Believe? I don't believe.  I know."

How did he know? Through direct experience of his own consciousness outside the body, through dreaming, visions and his signature contribution, synchronicity.  He was raised a minister’s son and became a doctor in the pioneer field of psychology, as ruled then by Sigmund Freud.  He rebelled against SF’s materialistic dogma about the human psyche and spoke of the soul. Robert Moss dubs him a shaman of the west, or as Jung himself jested, he was a witch doctor for Europeans. 

Since Jung, many have continued to explore the inner realms, and many have come full circle, to acknowledge that much of what we’re discovering, we’re re-discovering.  History is the story as told by the conqueror and the conquerors were very, very wrong.  Many ancient and indigenous cultures were treated as primitive, savage, tribal, uncivilized, heathen and ungodly by white, patriarchal, western European "civilizations" who believed bloody conquest was their God given right, as they fought for Him.

Think of the bloodshed and cruelties in the name of righteous religions that still rain on the faithful and unfaithful alike.   Religious laws, strictures and competing divinities are responsible for such an unnatural percentage of the world’s pain that we ought to stop and think more about what we really want from our religions.  If it’s love and peace, religion might not be your best bet.  The us vs. them mentality that won’t back down and needs to win at all costs makes the human experience into a football match.  Ancient earth religions offered a much deeper spirituality, All is One. The divine which we call by different names can be experienced personally in dreams, visions, meditation and in nature.  Consciousness or soul or whatever we end up calling it, doesn’t die and may visit this earth plane many times, by choice, perhaps with some passion to fulfill.

The consciousness revolution of our time points to a new awareness of reality that is completely organic.  It’s like having a belly button to the inside where the cord is never cut.  There is no free fall forever. Gruesome as death can be in the physical, (birth is also an immense physical challenge), across the bridge of death, the gates of Love are open and we’re greeted and seen as we most need to be. 

This isn’t faith, this is the story told by innumerable women and men, in all walks of life, around the world, who’ve crossed the boundaries in some way.  The growing literature being produced by respected professionals in the fields of psychology and medicine, as well as by first-hand "experiencers" of near death, out of body travels, dreaming and after death communication leaves doubt of after death survival to only the most entrenched.

The implication for Hamlet, for instance, might then be that suicide or not, he will still have to deal with the circumstances and choices that are hanging him up, in the physical or in any dimension that follows the physical.  He might just want to be a regular guy, party with Horatio and marry Ophelia, but no, here’s his father’s ghost demanding revenge and telling him way more than he really wants to know.  So, he’s stuck thinking only he can solve this problem and that his only choice is to give up all his joy and fulfill what’s expected of him.

Let’s take Hamlet out of his torment and put him in a parallel universe, perhaps in the present, where his choice is much broader.  We live forever, Hamlet; your father and his brother will eventually face each other, so help your father find his way on the other side and ask yourself: what have I come to do in this life? Where is my joy? If my joy is in justice, then I will fight for it openly and call to account whom I choose. Joy isn’t always a belly laugh, it’s however it feels to be completely centered in your own being and purpose, sure of the great beyond without the wagging fingers of “god-betweens”. 

To be, to really, really be…as much as I can, as loving as I can, with gentleness and kindness for all, is the quest that brought my soul to this plane of existence.  To each, his or her own quest, but all quests lead to Home and dreaming is a sure road back and forth, a gift to explore.  Religion asks you to follow blindly.  Your dreams offer you experience of “spiritual” realities before you cross into them again at death.  If you fear your dreams, a common experience in our toxic psychic and physical environments, there are many ways to find your way back in them. 

The question of our times is not to be or not to be.  It’s what should I do while I’m still here? What made me want to come here in the first place?  What do I want to take with me?  What can I do better? What will make me happiest as I look back on my life? What do I want to happen in the thought responsive realms I will be living in next? What do I want to happen here? What matters most to me?

Active Dreaming Is It.

Last Tuesday I called in to Robert Moss's monthly "Way of the Dreamer" radio show on HealthyLife.Net to share with him and with Active Dreaming enthusiasts from around the world why I love using Active Dreaming, the dreamplay practice that Robert created in the mid-eighties and has fine tuned ever since.  I also wanted to share my plans for The World Day of Active Dreaming (WDAD) I told you about for May 10th, 2014.

Here's the interview - the program of January 14, 2014.  Robert talks about the WDAD event and takes calls from five Active Dreaming teachers and practitioners from around the world.  My conversation with him starts at 33:53, but if you have time to listen to the whole show, it's well worth it.

At the beginning of the program, Robert reminds us about the intention Active Dreaming teachers voice in every dream circle around the world:  "we come together in a sacred and loving way, to honor our dreams and the powers that speak to us in dreams, to live our best dreams and to bring the gifts of dreaming and dream healing to those around us, in our world, in our time."  We have been dreaming this dream of a dreaming society together for over two decades.  Inspired by Robert's prolific writing, teaching and speaking about Active Dreaming, the community of Active Dreamers is multiplying, birthing new groups around the world.  Since the early days, Robert's vision has been about creating a dreaming community, a society that once again holds dreaming in great esteem. WDAD is an excellent way to show that this dream is happening NOW. Active Dreaming is global.  Community events happening at the same time around the world will heighten the energy that is manifesting as this renewed connection to our ancient birthright of dreaming.

The first caller, Ana Maria Stefanescu, speaking from Romania to Robert, shares her vision of dreaming as a journey to the heart and tells us she's planning a workshop on 5/10 focused on this theme.  She also shares a wonderful example of what Robert calls, dream archeology, in a dream where she meets her Romanian ancestors and describes beautifully in an article Robert posted recently on his blog.  It reminds me of the many times my Lucumi ancestors have visited me in dreams and how we've honored and danced the Orishas.  My exit strategy at death, which I envisioned in a dream, includes the sound of their drums.

Next came a wonderful AD teacher, hospice worker and artist from CA, Valerie McCarney.  I'm not sure how to link directly to this, but Robert posted on WDAD's FB page December 18, 2013 an article by her, "Dreams that Comfort and Heal", that is a wonderfully powerful illustration of how dreams prepare and midwife us through death, as I just mentioned.  The painting she posted with her amazing stories "Ice Cold Blue Day," is a haunting picture of a tree in winter that speaks to her sensitivity and artistic talent at once.   Valerie also sparked a neat idea about "flash cards" we can hand out with the Lightning Dreaming steps printed on them, something wallet sized.

The third caller, Susan Morgan is a teaching colleague in the Active Dreaming community of CT.  Susan is a veteran Active Dreaming teacher who teaches in many venues around the state, famously at the Dragon's Egg in Mystic.  Susan said there were many bear sightings in the dreams she's hearing lately.  In one group journey I led recently, we all went into hibernation to the dreaming place that bears go.  I had the most wonderful journey as a teenage brown bear getting to hibernate with the adults for the first time instead of having to be in the nursery wing of the caves.  I went out of my body in my deep sleep and danced as Ursula in the night sky.  My joy knew no bounds.

Fourth was me.  I took the opportunity to remind Robert just how good a teaching tool the DVD series we did together is; besides shameless self-promotion, it's true.  If you're going to teach this method, the introduction to Active Dreaming taught by Robert in person in these programs is invaluable.  He agrees.  I also took the opportunity to commend him and the other dreamers who came up with the idea of WDAD; focusing this much strong dream energy on one day is bound to have some wonderful results.  I got a kick out of Robert teasing me about my succinct endorsement of Active Dreaming; after studying and practicing many dream work approaches, Active Dreaming is it, I said.  But, you already know I feel that way, if you read my blog.

Robert's last caller was Savannah Caitlin from Vancouver, Canada.  She presented a great idea for encouraging dream work as a random act of kindness.  A great community service in her area is the "take a book/leave a book program".  I've seen pictures of amazing kiosk designs all around the world for this kind of community perk.  Savannah thought leaving some inexpensive journals set up to use for AD and perhaps one of Robert's books would be a great way to kick-start greater community interest and dream awareness.  She also got me thinking about what tools should go into a "dream healer's" doctor bag.  In a dream she had, she saw each new certified teacher at a teacher training with Robert receiving a teacher's kit in the final ceremonies; in each bag is a small stuffed animal, each unique to the particular dreamer, an animal companion or guardian that reminds me of Phillip Pullman's animal daemons in the "Golden Compass."

A teacher commencement kit, I love the idea.  Did I mention what powerful resources and essential tools for teachers "The Way of the Dreamer with Robert Moss" and "Wings for the Journey" are?    Oh, I did, sorry.  Here's a link, though.

It seems fitting that the first international day of Active Dreaming is launched in the year of the horse; the carrier of dream messages, fast as the wind, between the worlds. WDAD has already generated great excitement among practitioners of AD.  I'm looking forward to the planning and the event; I know it's going to be everything we dream it to be.  Robert will be talking with many more AD practitioners in the upcoming programs and I'll keep you posted on what I discover.

May your best dreams come true.

One Comment to Share

Here's what a friend emailed me right after I made my first post, "Dreams Pave the Way for Life"; she gave me permission to post it.

Dear Adelita,
I took these photos the night my Mom passed and sent them to my sister, so we could share in the vigil. It was the full moon, "Mourning Moon", November 2nd (All Souls Day). I remember how bright it was...and I had the sense that my Mom was on her journey that night. So much so, that I created a ritual for her to help her find her way. I set out her photo on the table, as well as the photos of her Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, Great Grandma and Grandpa and Great Aunts and deceased friends, whose photos I could find, who were waiting for her to arrive. I thought it would help her feel welcome and safe. I lit some candles and then had a sudden urge to call her room. The hospice nurse answered and said she would call me with an update shortly. It was 8PM. Fifteen minutes later, my sister called with the news that she had passed at the exact time I had called. My brother was there with her, playing her favorite music.

The dream you wrote about in your blog was so much like what transpired that night. I really feel as though the moon was her guide that night.