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.  

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.

A Wish for Each of You

"I Can Hear the Angels"
Shapeshifter
Podsafe Audio

What Do Dreams Mean?

Last night, I was looking through past journals for dreams featuring a particular character, a dream practice I really enjoy.  To make this kind of search easier, I've created monthly title pages for the front of each month’s entries in any particular year.  I’ve posted before about how I like to use three ring notebooks with dividers sectioning each month to create my journals because it allows for additional material to go in at any time, making it easy for me to add to past entries. So in front of every month's entry is a page titled, for example, January 2012 and then a list of dream titles and dates, like: 1-21 "My Pet Gorilla." As I go through older journals, If I get to a title and don’t remember the dream, I turn to that page and scan the dream narrative for recognition. Sometimes, a dream I don't remember pops out with the force and energy of a present dream; it's just the dream I need at the moment.

So it was that last night, I read a dream I hadn't remembered dreaming. I read my notes on the dream and the synchronicities that surrounded it that I'd recorded and realized I've grown with the help of this dream; this dream opened a door to greater awareness for me.  I don’t feel that way anymore, those things don’t weigh me down any longer, and it’s because of playing with and honoring the dream that I arrived at this new juncture on the road to inner peace. 

A dream dialogue is a life long safety net; it’s access to my own higher consciousness, to my guides and friends in dream dimensions.

Granted there’s the occasional bogey-person in the wardrobe. I’ve had many dreams that, as I like to say, have scared the pajamas off me.  I recently came across an account of a dream re-entry I recorded about two dreams I apparently didn't write down because I didn't like them.  I titled the re-entry journey, "Two Really Bad Guys." Reading the entry, I recalled the way I’d honored and practiced with the dreams, but I very much regret that I didn’t write the dream narratives down.  I’ve seldom experienced a nightmare that didn’t open an important door to self-exploration and understanding, so here are two opportunities I chickened out of preserving.  

I make a major exception to how I'd approach nightmares when it comes to Post Traumatic Stress dreams that are, to me, the psyche screaming with the pain of images seared on its visual screen by waking world nightmare experiences.  I believe PTSD dreams can be faced and used for healing with the gentlest, wisest of help.  It's different, however, when I'm facing a non-post traumatic stress nightmare which challenges me to brave up, go back in with whatever allies I need and find out what it's about.  Two really bad guys can turn out to be important messengers, guides or even transform into guardian angels when confronted and understood.

A dreamers understanding of personal dreams increases as the relationship to dreams deepens. Meaning evolves out of familiarity and respect, as in any relationship. Journaling dreams helps you follow your own path to your own center.  It’s like being in love, once you discover that relationship to your dreaming self, it’s not a task to write down the messages and experiences of that dimension.

There are two things I hear a lot from people who find dreaming a puzzlement: "I had this weird dream." and "What does it mean?"  The first one’s not so bad; the second leaves me  looking like a deer in the headlights back at the person.

Weird when applied to dreams is a relative term.  Of course, it’s weird; all waking reality rules are suspended. You’re in a dimension where you can fly like a bird and keep yourself safe by using your imagination to help create a good outcome.  If you judge the dream world by waking world standards, then it all seems weird and nonsensical.  Learn the language and the culture of dream realities and you change your experience of dreaming; just as knowing about the people, the language and the culture of foreign countries improves your chances of having a great experience visiting there.

But, “What does it mean?” 

Only the dreamer knows the meaning of the dream; I’d like to hear that question changed to “If this was your dream, what thoughts and insights would come to your mind?”  Then I’d know that the dreamer realizes I have no “answers” for them, I’ve just been invited to participate in the magic of the dream as a fellow dreamer.

I know people don’t mean to abdicate their power when they ask the “what does it mean” question. I know that many people in our culture haven’t yet developed a relationship to their own inner experience through dreaming, so I do understand it’s a normal question, but I don’t usually understand my own dreams immediately.  Meaning is an evolution, it unfolds over time between the dreamer and the dream; it takes pondering.

Keeping dream journals helps me map my way in life. Often when I review my dreams, my conscious mind catches up with my unconscious, or my dumber self catches up with my smarter one. I ponder dreams and let their message emerge as I live my waking life with my dream in mind.  This was Carl Jung's approach to a dreaming practice; he believed that if you pondered a dream, lived with it for a while, almost always, something will come of it. 

When someone says, “I know what that dream is about”, I might suggest that dreams seldom just present what we already know.  There’s a wonderful element of irony, the trickster and the unexpected in dream messages, so even if I get an obvious message, I’m always open for the surprise message it might also convey, once I've reflected on it for a while.

Dreamplay is a doorway to the Self; ancient and modern indigenous cultures have always recognized this and created dreaming practices for making those nightly journeys.  It’s time we in the West reach the hundredth monkey stage with dreaming.  Claiming our individual human psychic independence through the practice of dreaming would create a sea change for collective humanity, one dreamer at a time. 

Robert Moss, author and creator of Active Dreaming, has proposed to the ever growing number of Active Dreamers he has trained around the world that we honor our work by celebrating The World Day of Active Dreaming on May 10th, 2014.  Each of us who practices Active Dreaming will organize some sharing event in our community to honor this day and the practice of dreaming.  

I'm in, so I'll be letting you know how this comes together when it does.  

Projections

We live in a wonderful age!  I know things seem to be going to hell in a hand -basket, but the amount of revolutionary thinking exploding onto the human screen is exhilarating.   Do we save the planet?  Do we destroy this incomparable biosphere?  I don’t know.  Oh, goddess, I hope not.  But all I can do is evolve.  

For so very long my favorite word has been paradigm.  I heard on some intellectual circuits that paradigm is dead and we should use meme instead.  Sorry, I like paradigm.  The word evokes an image of the boundaries I’ve drawn around my reality.  I believe this and this must not be challenged.  Good luck with that.  Paradigms are meant to be re-drawn ; that’s evolution.

Listening to some of our great contemporary spiritual  teachers , I have to count myself lucky.   We are exhorted daily by the media to worry about the economy and about our survival, but these teachers are reminding us that there is much more to our experience on this planet, or in this dimension of reality, than how much money we can make.  What can you take with you, especially if you know for sure that this “life” experience is but a chapter in our book?

What I can take with me is the evolution of my consciousness.  What does it mean to be conscious?  If you haven’t read Eckhart Tolle’s “The Power of Now” and “A New Earth”,  I very highly recommend these as a solid answer to this question.   But just about every mystical or martial teaching around the world is based on this principle; honing awareness on the present moment, something that is aided by focus on the breath, is crucial.  The mind, the drunken monkey as the Buddhists call it, is a detriment to our well-being, our sense of balance.   The Ego, says Tolle, is insane, driven insane by the constant messaging of negative, anxious or fearful thoughts  in the mind.  Being  is more important than Ego, as I like to put it, there’s more to me than meets the I. 

Jung, that wonderful old witch doctor, as he called himself, developed a powerful, if a bit esoteric, paradigm for the psyche of a person.  Central to his thinking is that each person must develop an open dialogue between the Ego, the center of consciousness, and the Self, the center of the unconscious.   He held a firm conviction that  our psychic affairs are far more important than our wordly ones, in fact, that when we remain unaware of the transpersonal nature of the unconscious, and so ignore it, we project all our blind beliefs into the world and create the mess we find ourselves in.  So, as he put it, “The world hangs by a thread, and that thread is the psyche of man.” (If he were writing today, I'm sure he'd use more inclusive language.)

What  excites me so very much is that by connecting us with the multi-dimensional experiences of the unconscious, dreaming teaches us to be more conscious  in our waking life.  A dream practice is a very royal road to expanded consciousness.

Projection is an unconscious need we fulfill.  I feel unlovely or, a man might feel unmanly, so I fall in “love” with someone other than my husband/wife,  (without deep love and respect, familiarity often breeds contempt)  and have a torrid affair.  Long story short, it all blows up into a frightful relational mess, until I examine my own story, my waking life, and ask, “What part of fulfilling this story did I play?” If we pay attention, our dreams will tell us in no uncertain terms, but in a way that inspires us to move forward, not wallow in shame or guilt.  Collective projections are probably the scariest: mobs, fans, religious fanaticisms of all sorts.  These lead to blood shed that leaves us reeling, but as that old joke says, “In an avalanche, no one snowflake feels responsible.”

Withdrawing projection, individual and collective,  is a huge psychological accomplishment. Taking responsibility for my own life story, how it plays out and accepting its outcome as A-okay, that’s the summit of individuation.  It’s enlightenment.   It’s a step-by-step, day-by-day process; there’s no arriving at enlightenment, there’s only the immediate living of it.  Being, not Ego. must drive the bus.  Or, since the Ego, to feel strong must feel in control, I entertain the metaphor that the Ego is the chauffer of my limo, but the Self, sipping champagne in the back seat, is the one who says where we’re going.

Withdrawing projections isn’t all that complicated.  I like to remind myself of Gandalf’s final words to Bilbo in “The Hobbit”, when puffed up with the success of his adventures, Bilbo gives his opinions on the prophecies.  Gandalf says to him:

  

“Surely you don't disbelieve the prophecies, because you had a hand in bringing them about yourself? You don't really suppose, do you, that all your adventures and escapes were managed by mere luck, just for your sole benefit? You are a very fine person, Mr. Baggins, and I am very fond of you, but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all.”

To me this means, I’m part of this human story, but I’m not the whole story.  You who are other than me, have your own part to play in this story.  If our paths cross and we partner for our mutual good, let it always be in mutual respect and affection. If we don't see "I to I", then let us give each other the space to evolve as our personal timing dictates.

When people get very angry at each other, especially people who’ve previously “loved” one another, maybe married, they project like gangbusters all their hurt and disappointment on to each other. ET (Eckhart Tolle) explains this as each person projecting their own pain body on to another or others, because this also happens on a collective level in mob insanity, violence and war.  Tolle believes that we are at a watershed moment; however, that humanity is taking great leaps in the expansion of consciousness, self-awareness and withdrawal of projection.  He believes it’s happening because, as Jung predicted, if we don’t evolve into a non-egoic paradigm, we’ll bring the whole house of cards of material form down with us.  So, owning one’s own shadow is a major accomplishment on the road to individuation, and withdrawing the negative projections we have is one task in integrating the shadow and creating a better world. 

To echo ET again, some things are very hard to grasp in words and with our left brains, but we project on to others because it fulfills an unconscious need, one we have never acknowledged to ourselves.  The only way we can catch projection is when we shine the light of consciousness, the Observer, not the Ego, on to our behaviors and life situations. Of course, dreams open the doors to the rooms we must air; they present us with the images and clues we need to trace our way home.

I find this topic fascinating and tracing my own shadow through my thoughts, words, deeds and dreams extremely rewarding.  It’s not “patrolling” for negative behavior.  The shadow is not necessarily bad or dark, certainly not evil.  It’s the repressed, rejected or too painful to deal with bits of our personal history along with all our karmic stuff. Befriending a shadow aspect can bring great rewards.

The Ego projects. The Self observes, recognizes and balances the Ego.  The Ego needs a story, the drama, and often feels life-threatened.  The Self knows its own divinity, its own immortality, something the Ego must fathom in order to be strong. Dreams give us the resources, the counsel and guidance we need to achieve this breakthrough; and once enough of us do, we can dream a new dream collectively with the power to save our planet for future generations of divine little fellows, like each of us is.

If you want to awaken all of humanity, then awaken all of yourself.

If you want to eliminate the suffering in the world,

then eliminate all that is dark and negative in yourself.

Truly, the greatest gift you have to give is that of

                         your own self-transformation."    ~ Lao Tzu

Leave Mama a Note

Leave Mama a Note is the title of my dream; in it, me and three companions have been bunking out at a house I lived in from time to time with my parents, during my college years. To avoid my mother, we’re up and ready to leave before dawn with our backpacks and provisions. I'm not comfortable with that; I feel I owe her communication and I should leave a note.

A small dream, perhaps, but it wouldn’t let go of my imagination; it kept popping up in consciousness, and each time, I felt the certainty that I should leave Mama a note.  My dream wasn't finished.

In my dream, when we left pre-dawn in a rush because we heard her footsteps padding upstairs, we turned left and headed up the street.  In waking life, I never went up that way, since in the suburban no- sidewalk neighborhood I lived in, friends, work and stores all involved turning right. In my dream, we headed up the hill that was our street to the left and found that it ended in a wooded dead end.

I recently had the great pleasure of spending time with my dear brother and sister-in-law in those youthful parts of the country; each traveling to get there there for a family reunion picnic.  My bro and I were driving around town doing errands to help out, so I asked him  to drive to the street we lived on when we had that house.  After we checked out the house, I asked him to go up the hill.  I felt a little disappointed as the street ends in a T with houses facing the street, but as he approached the road ahead, I saw it on the right, my dream locale, a wooded dead end.

Active Dreaming teaches that dreams require action; "What are you going to do to honor this dream?” is how Robert Moss has phrased it.

The first step, after writing it down, was the opportunity to visit my dream locale. It's synchronistic that  I was able to do so soon after the dream, since it's a distance away.  Another wonderful dream synchronicity is finding the wooded area I never knew was there.  Far seeing or clairvoyance is common in dreams, though things often have some distortion; like in my dream, the dead end is front and center, not to the right, which may well bear some pondering.  What is it my dream wants me to see that's right in front of me?  I think I'll go back in a dream re-entry to this locale and take a look in the woods.

There was one more thing I knew I had to do to honor this dream; write Mama that note.  Of course, I wrote in Spanish as that’s the language we always spoke before she crossed over. 

The trick to imaginal work is to do it fast, without letting your left brain get a hold of it.  I wrote rapidly, without pre-thought.  When I finished, I felt the words as a balm for my soul and a deeper connection with my Mom.  What I said really needed saying, to her, to me; I feel very grateful for the gift this dream gave me. I'll keep the note with the dream in my journal for when I need to read it again.

Following the thread of a dream through waking life is one of the great entertainments of a dream practice.  Re-entering dreams, dialoguing with dream characters, playing synchronicity games with the universe, there are so many ways of imagining what more a dream can offer me. It's even a great practice for those moments I find myself inadvertently waiting; I can turn waiting into daydreaming. 

Probably the #1 question I get from beginners, after they tell me a dream, is “What does it mean?”  Only the dreamer can answer that; the deeper you go in your dreaming, the easier that becomes.   

When the Dead Come Visit

My husband’s younger brother died unexpectedly last week; while Jim was down south taking care of the funeral arrangements with his sisters, standing outside the hotel he saw a luna moth on the tree.  Luna moths are pretty rare sightings, as far as I can tell.  They are the most lovely creatures of the night I know. 

Yesterday, during a dream workshop I was leading, one of the participants told me a story of how her grandmother always said she wanted to transform to a butterfly when she died.  This makes good sense as butterfly is a classic symbol of the transformation of the soul in death because of the catepillar, chrysalis, butterfly existence they have.  The Greek word we chose as the name of our video production company, Psyche, means soul and butterfly.  Well, at her grandmother’s funeral, at the gravesite, her sister nudged her and pointed out a beautiful butterfly flying near the grave and said, "Here’s Gram."

Yesterday evening my husband called me and told me about the luna moth and sent me the picture he took of it.  We talked about how maybe it was Charlie visiting.

Today walking on the beach, trying to be present and open to the beauty around me and not stuck in the jabberwocky of thoughts in my head, (Thanks ET for all your excellent teaching.) I caught snatches of a conversation between a couple headed the other way.  I caught the words “funeral” and “ladybug” spoken by the woman as they approached me, then I caught more of her words as we intersected, “How does a lady bug show up in the car when we’re driving down 95?”  He says “Do you think it’s symbolic...?” the last words I hear as they move out of earshot.

I felt that thrill of recognition, three’s a charm.  Three times in a row, someone is comforted by the appearance of a beautiful butterfly or insect at the very moment when it counts, experiencing the loss of a dear loved one.  Maybe because insects have such short little life spans, the departed get to speak their comfort through them and then move on, leaving that beautiful image for their loved ones to share forevermore.

I pay my respects to Charlie in this post. Your brother loves you; thanks for comforting him just when he needs it the most.  May you travel to your desired home and may Love and Light guide you.

I also want to re-emphasize how natural it is for spirit to speak in symbol and dreams.  Just because someone tells you it’s all bullshit, don’t let that stop you from paying attention and seeing for yourself if this is true.  I ask myself if the person who is dissuading me with intellectual arguments has any dreaming experience; also, if this is a happy person?  If they have neither of these qualities, I tend to find their claims dubious.

I have a collection of visitation dreams told to me by men, women and children.  It’s probably the most frequently remembered dream by those who don't keep journals; usually remembered in vivid detail years later.  Wish fulfillment?  Do you really like Freud?  Ask yourself, what would Carl Jung say?  Most renoun dream teachers today, (Robert Moss, William Buhlman, Patricia Garfield) devote a great deal of attention to dreaming as an art of mid-wifing the transition of each person from the physical to the energy or spirit dimensions.  Listening to these stories is among the most beautiful experiences I have teaching Active Dreaming.  Dreaming is an amazing bridge between life and death, if only we hadn’t been made into scaredy kitties, (my apologies to my cats) by our religions, our out of control left brained, scientific paradigm or Hollywood.  Dreams have been tagged “of the devil”, just biological, mechanical, necessary but irrelavent and then we’ve got freddy krueger, ugh!

Yes, you’ve got to have some gumption to develop a dream practice, but as soon as you start, you get hooked.  Why?  Because it works.  Dreaming is a bridge, a lifeline for the soul.