Chicana Dreamer

I went for a walk along the water near sundown as is customary for me. I was feeling discouraged with the Dream Circle; I’d gotten a cancellation from a new student, and so far, I wasn’t sure it was going to fly this session–one of my students moved away, another is out of town due to her mother’s death . . .

The water was agitated with white caps and short choppy waves beating against the rocks, but there was a calm with light still reflecting the blue sky into the bay. At the tip of the peninsula in Tiburon, California, there’s a rock a short distance from shore around which a platform was built and a foot bridge connects it to land; this is Elephant Rock. I like to go there to let the wind clean my aura, and get a new perspective on things. Sky, and the setting sun behind Mt. Tamalpais create a stunning serene atmosphere at that time of day. As I approached the bridge, I was puzzled by a persistent worried sound of a bird, and thought perhaps a baby was waiting for its mother to return to the nest with food. When I got to the platform, I looked for the source of concern. My own desperation and helplessness mounted as I saw the waves toss about a poor little creature furiously. I’m not sure what type of bird it was, but it could have been a black heron, birds I’ve seen in the area. He was out of his element under the deck of a three-story house that extended over the water, definitely not accessible if there could be any help. Twice he tried to lift himself out, but he kept falling back. As I darted my eyes around looking for a solution, the thought came to mind: Give it Reiki. I began with the first symbol. My efforts seemed so futile standing on that platform. So, I said to it, “Come on. Fly, you can do it.” To my amazement, he began to rise out of the water, wobbly, looking surprised himself. With mouth agape, I observed as his feeble attempts to rise seemed about to fail, and gradually, he got the wind under his wings. He began to rise. He flew toward me, tenuously rising higher, wavering, still squawking with alarm. He turned his direction and flew above the house, and out of sight. Soon his peep faded, and he was gone.

I stood there for several minutes unable to take in what I had just witnessed. A part of me wanted to deny this little wonder of nature had just happened, but the memory of my emotional response to the heron’s cry for help was testament in itself to me that something extraordinary had indeed just occurred. I looked in the direction of the setting sun, the blue was darker and deeper, the evening stars were slowly appearing, and the quiet of the area was marked by the absence of the sound of a black heron in distress.

When I was a girl in hot, dusty, Stockton, California in the 1950’s, my father often came to breakfast with a report of his dreams. I remember the morning he arrived at the table looking rather agitated. “Soñé de una vivora que no me dejaba pasar el camino,” he reported to my mother. “A terrifying snake wouldn’t let me cross a road. I froze and couldn’t move.” Mother listened and thought for a moment,

“Is that all?” She asked. “Why didn’t you pray? You should have prayed, and asked for God’s help!” She insisted.

“I was paralyzed; I couldn’t move, and I couldn’t think,” he repeated.

He just laughed at her, and she exaggerated her dismay at his ignorance with a nudge on his shoulder.

Of course, now, fifty or sixty years later, we are learning the invaluable lessons of focused concentration. Thanks to the movie, “What the ..(Bleep).. Do We Know?” it’s fairly common knowledge that even water has the capacity to respond to positive or negative thought forms. This suggests that in dreams it’s even more important to exercise choice on what messages we will respond to from the subconscious mind.

In our Dream Circle starting September 9, 2011, we will direct our attention to the symbols and Dream Guides that smooth the progress of manifesting our heart’s yearning. In the coming weeks in this blog, I will be discussing in greater detail how our dreams influence our creativity and how we can take steps to engage the Muse within to benefit our goals and visions for our lives. The popular ‘law of attraction’ works when we align our subconscious with our desires.

Some preliminary steps need to be taken before we navigate the depths: First let’s address the separation between sleeping and waking that interferes with our ability to communicate with the Feminine, the Divine, that are at the deeper levels of our consciousness. In my book Corn Woman Sings . . . I often liken this separation to a curtain that needs to be intentionally pulled back, or worn out to such a frazzle that the threadbare remains literally crumble and fall.

My definition of Awakening, so that you can understand what this upcoming Dream Circle holds at its central core, is that we be so focused there is no curtain. With our eyes open or shut, we are aware of the Truth; the Truth that runs like a laser beam throughout our consciousness is the fire that alights our activities with the splendor and wonder of our true Likeness of the Feminine and power of creativity. This is the lamp we want to guide our paths. Our minds must be as direct as the rays of the sun that light our world.

We need the consciousness that banishes the thought of sacrifice or punishment or sin from our minds to bring us to the altar of Strength, Wisdom, and Innocence; Where our consciousness and awareness of the Divine travel on the same beam of light, as opposed to being static and stagnant in darkness waiting for the spark from a beam of light that may or may not ever arrive. We need our efforts to be in communion with the Divine, where we are ever present in the Moment; where Power is at our fingertips, the tip of our tongue, and instant healing is the norm.

To have such power of discernment and creativity, we must labor at traveling between dimensions so that the curtain finally drops. We provide this all-important task the single mindedness it merits when we choose to become awake in our dreams. When Destiny calls, we must be prepared.

However in the past I have shrunk from Awareness, I now commit to being present and letting the Divine be the lantern for my life. I step aside and let Its Light shine upon my mind, to be used for Its intents and purposes.

Next week, we’ll talk more about the ways that Dream Awareness helps us garner power and clarity for our creative and spiritual aspirations.

Recently a friend gave me a copy of Edmund J. Bourne’s book, Global Shift. I find that he’s basically bringing the same message I convey in Corn Woman Sings: that the universe reflects a more complex paradigm than is agreed on by Westerners, but he takes it one step further to discuss how findings in science are showing that science itself needs to evolve into a model that includes spiritual values. That’s all I will say about his book, because it covers a wide range of topics. As I’ve been reading the book, it helps me understand why I’ve been such an outsider, because the Western cultures have pulled away from a paradigm that reflects spirituality. I thought I would reflect on how I approach healing and the choices I make in caring for my health.

Three accidents in three consecutive years. I couldn’t help but ask the obvious question, what am I doing that’s producing the same result, a push directly into the center of my back. It’s been a month since the last swift kick in the rear of my car. At first it appeared that my body was fine, but as time has passed, I’ve become aware of the crushing blow to my energy field and its impact on my muscular structure. For me, my body does not end at the outer layer of skin. Rather, I see my body as porous matter with an energy field around it that connects it to other energy fields, including all of nature, the sky, other planets.

In the early 1980’s, I studied some of the research that was coming out of U.C. San Francisco Medical Center on the connection between mind and body, and have since discovered that if you want to know about the condition of a patient’s body, study the energy field (often called the aura) of the patient. Oriental medicine has this down to a fine science/art when it comes to understanding the external magnetic field and the health of a patient, but it goes far beyond the body and connects to all that is natural and alive with consciousness. So, I chose to do acupuncture to examine what in my thought structure is causing this drama in my waking experience.

I work with David Kitts, an acupuncturist whose work is based on Soul Structure Healing.™ After weeks of treatments loosening the muscles, particularly around my spine, we made time to explore the psychic elements that are contributing to the accidents themselves. (What happened in the session is very complicated to attempt to describe, so I will keep the story short and to the point. But, you can visit his website for more information and an in-depth explanation of his philosophy and training.) The problem, it turned out, resides in a past life that ties in with an experience of a distorted spine and power as a healer. Somehow I got stuck in the dynamic of power I had in my community and the belief that I needed the disfigurement to maintain the power. But, it went deeper than that—I was seeing the disfigurement as part of my destiny, which caused confusion. As he worked with my energy field, I focused on relaxing muscles. I heard popping, and felt a remarkable letting go on the right side of my spine. The day after treatment, I had a sense that chunks of debris were psychically falling off a protective invisible oval bubble which was also re-shaping itself around my body. I rested most of the day, and late in the afternoon met clients, and held our dream circle. By the end of the evening, I felt like the processes had slowed down. The third day with a certainty and faith I hadn’t noticed before I saw clearly that there is only one real challenge I have in this lifetime.. My life feels so simple; I’ve been scattering my energy in areas that didn’t feel right, and they weren’t even that important to me—I was doing them because I thought I should.

Click here for his website:

To translate what all this implies—the trauma of the impact of the accident, the past life, the confusion with destiny—whether we see a multidimensional universe, believe in reincarnation, or experience the past as a thought form lurking in the depths of our subconscious, there is another way of exploring our health and reaching for wholeness that goes beyond our common beliefs. Science does need to catch up with indigenous cultures to incorporate a more expansive, complex universe, as Global Shift also suggests. Mystics, artists, healers and traditional religions have known this other reality from time immemorial. It’s nice to see how we can live our beliefs and be healed by trusting what we know beyond the physical senses. People may poke fun because they don’t see what we see. The truth is, we live in a mysterious universe.

Thanks for stopping by.
Peace,
Ellie

I’ve had a little Honda Civic EX. I got all the bells and whistles for it. When I bought it ten years ago, it was the pride and joy of my life. Recently, I noticed that I was subtly becoming critical of it; still a cute car, good gas mileage, no problems—a couple nicks here and there, but something kept gnawing at me, “Newer car. Newer car.” So, guess what happened! That’s right; it got totaled—a swift whack in the rear by an impatient driver, and it was over.

I continue to be awed by the levels of loss, the influence of the waking world, and our adjustment to changes in the heart. Here is a dream about Cheryl (mentioned in Mictlantecuhtli Visits Twice) and Dale (mentioned in A Life Passing), and my notes on the dream that made me realize how loss of loved ones can be intertwined with many aspects of our lives. It also made me ask the question, what consciousness am I courting?

“I’m driving down a street and see that a woman is removing photographs from a fireplace mantle. She realizes I’ve caught her in the act of stealing, but she’s waiting for me to take my eyes off her, as though her stopping would camouflage the deed—sort of like a deer freezing its movement to blend with the environment. I’m wondering what she’s doing and keep watching her, but traffic moves and soon she’s out of sight. Details are hazy, because when I go around a corner, it’s as though I’ve only walked into a part of my house. I am waiting for a friend I haven’t seen for some time. Cheryl arrives and Dale is waiting for us in the living room. I haven’t recognized them as departed from this earth; I’m glad to be talking to them and hearing about their travels, because it’s been some time since I’ve seen them. In her playfulness she shows me her new life: a joyful radiant state of mind that is dazzling to the senses. I get the sensations in my being and we laugh uproariously at how delightful these feelings are. It’s as though she’s given me a taste of chocolate malt that she loves, and takes it back with a mischievous glint in her eyes. As much as I miss her, I can’t but rejoice in her freedom and know what awaits me when I’m ready to leave this world. I prepare a room for her with a comfortable bed and white linens and comforter. She can come back to visit whenever she wants.”

This dreams seems to be mixed up with the accident I had on 3-17-11, where I slow down in traffic on Sir Francis Drake Blvd. near Cheryl’s house and I look in the rearview mirror. The car is coming at a fairly high speed. I am at a traffic light (the same spot where I see the woman in the dream) and pull into the intersection to avoid the hit. But the point of the dream is the message Cheryl imparts to help me accept the deaths of my loved ones. Cheryl and I had talked about her coming back to tell me what it was like, and here she is!

Grief was overwhelming me, my attachment to them, the attachment to my car; add to this, transition into my senior years and the assessment of my life at this stage. I couldn’t help but recognize the consciousness I’d been courting: Regret over some of my efforts, sadness, longing, depression, gratitude, relief, up one minute, down the next. I missed the car as well. So, I asked myself, what god am I serving; in what world am I? The visceral experience of their new consciousness changes my view of what’s true: They are happy where they are. That’s good reason to celebrate. I can rejoice with them, be magnanimous, and let go.

Love,
Ellie

Rain, today. The trees outside my window stand with droplets of water like tiny bubbles resting on their bare branches. The sky is a heavy gray, and there is no wind. Only the black birds “conversating” with one another are heard outside. All in all, a lovely early spring day.

The past weeks have been intense. I descended into hell as the cycle of grief gripped my soul for the second time since late November. My mind grabbed at something it thought was real–the past that appears to have been a travesty upon the native cultures, but as I felt the anguish of loss, I realized that my feelings were merely looking for a source at which to point the finger. When I examined the feelings under the microscope of meditation, I realized I could find anything to blame for the fire within. I had to just sit with it and invite the pain of loss and be with it until it burned itself out.

I’ve written about my brother-in-law’s death, but I haven’t mentioned my friend of twenty-five years with whom I spent many an hour in the past year as her scope of life narrowed toward a wheel chair and finally her final rest. In my dream, Going to Tlalocan (1995), which is featured in my website, my friend is mentioned as “CS.”

Here is the link if you would like to see it or read it again. In life she was one of the greatest sources of comfort to thousands, myself included. In the dream I stop at a cafeteria on my way down the East side of the pyramid, and come upon my friends from the Center for Attitudinal Healing. My mentor JJ hears my voice and comes over to see me and says, “I heard you were having trouble sleeping and I found something gentle to help you rest.” I take the seeds and continue on my way. Fifteen years later, the scene played itself out with a slight twist–I give my friend the seeds to help her rest. In the weeks leading up to her death, she experienced tremendous pain from cancer of the bone. I was one of the last people to be with her while she was still conscious. Her husband, son, JJ and friends from the Center gathered around her in her final hours.

As I write, I pause a moment to remember her and think how much I miss her. In my last moments with her, I sat very early in the morning of November 21, 2010, a day very much like today, in her home at the foot of Mt. Tamalpais, holding her hand in meditation as she lay in bed, exchanging blessings with her.

Parting is sweet sorrow.
Ellie

By Natalie Hinahara (2011)

My husband and I just returned from a memorial service for a brother on the Druckrey side of the family, Dale Melvin Druckrey. Loss will always bring me to my knees, but being with family was comforting and allowed for the cleansing that only tears and love can bring.

Loss puts things in perspective. I had been asking myself if there is truth to the saying “Religion is the opiate of the masses.” I’ve been in a process of transformation, but loss cuts through the noise of the mind. For me, loss doesn’t let me kid myself; I either love or I don’t exist. Family brought that to the surface, and even though I felt restless and lost, I saw that there can be no other emotion.

Also, I’ve continued my research, and it’s been pretty intense. Trying to integrate what happened in our history, and how it affects us today. In the 1500′s most of the countries of Europe went into a frenzy trying to get to the riches of the Americas. The effects linger to this day. They benefited, we lost a way of life. Potosi, a city in Peru had a huge silver mine, which the Spanish crown pilfered for 300 years by enslaving the Natives. 300 years. That’s intense. Then I see the incarceration rates and that our young men of color are over-represented in that population, it’s heartbreaking. Something is wrong. Very wrong.

So, I keep looking for the possibilities open to us. What way of life, philosophy, approach can save us as a culture, as a race? And, here’s what I found: We have two nieces just graduating, Gabrielle Hinahara, from college, and Natalie Hinahara from high school. I see them striving to create what’s real for them: Love, Community, caring for Mother Earth, making a difference. The portrait of Dale was done by Natalie, a creative spirit that enjoys doing art with her fingers, pens, pencils, brushes. At this stage in her life, she has a remarkable volume of work. Gabrielle is waiting to hear from a project on sustainable farming.

They are the next generation. Our generation may leave its footprints, but the next generation needs a new way of being in the world. So, it’s up to us to support and encourage their endeavors. One way of doing this is by example. Going inward, digging, and finding the true vein of gold. My (Course in Miracles) lesson today is “I can change all thoughts that hurt.” I can? This is the crux of my dilemma–hating what happened, how the devastation has continued through the centuries, and finding a way of living in harmony and peace.

How do I find peace? How do I plant seeds of peace instead of restlessness, disturbance and dissatisfaction?

“Loss is not loss when properly perceived. Pain is impossible. There is no grief with any cause at all. And suffering of any kind is nothing but a dream. This is the truth, at first to be but said and then repeated many times, and next to be accepted as but partly true, with many reservations. Then to be considered seriously more and more, and finally accepted as the truth. I can elect to change all thoughts that hurt. And I would go beyond these words today, and past all reservations, and arrive at full acceptance of the truth in them.” (#284, p. 439)

Dale made some interesting choices at various points in his life, and in the end that’s what his life reflected: A simple life of living in harmony with nature, a loving marriage, friends and family that love him. And lots of beautiful sweet memories doing what he loved in the outdoors.

The pursuit of consciousness is an ancient practice of all religions. Dreams helped the Ancient Ones find deeper meaning in daily life. They recognized nothing earthly brings satisfaction; But, Truth does. Love does. I believe that’s where the authentic life is found. Isn’t it happiness and peace that we seek?

May you be happy, may we be happy, may all beings be happy, may I be happy.
Ellie

For a few hours a day, I get to spend my time with children with disabilities. During that time the day revolves around their schedules in school, science, math, P.E., etc. Simultaneously, there is the element of assisting the children complete their tasks and interact with others appropriately. The adults in charge expend most of their energy guiding the children through the process of learning how to conduct their days in the various situations and get along with other children. However, as easy as this may sound, there is a fine art to getting children to do what is expected of them and still enable them to glean from the experience the lesson that’s presented. Bringing a child to understanding is a very slow process because they have their own ideas–their own paradigm for looking at the world.

When it comes to dreaming and the Old Paradigm, there isn’t much difference between the adults and the children. It’s hard to let go of preconceived notions about reality.

So, what is self-will? In a child self-will is sometimes tolerable to adults. A child needs to learn to share, get along with others, and to listen. But, as I look around the adults, they’re still saying, “This is mine. This is mine, and this is mine.” They often don’t know how to step back and observe. They don’t often share. And, very frequently, they have to win.

What is surrender? Usually, life itself teaches us how to surrender. Losing a loved one takes away the other half of the clapping hand. There’s nothing there to lean on. Careers have been wonderful teachers lately. We lose a job, and suddenly we are stripped of title and buying power, and, occasionally, even shelter. In that void, we free-fall, and, hopefully, call out for The Mother, The Father. Here enters Duality and Surrender/Transcendence.

12-23-10 – Dream

I’m at a park/like community, and I decide that we will have a potluck dinner. People immediately begin to arrive with an abundance of food. I’ve reserved a bar-b-q pit for the occasion, and there are men standing around the pit cooking the meat. A woman is demonstrating how she will display the dish she has brought, and she’s like a Martha Stewart moving her hands over the top of her casserole. Automatically, the arrangement of the casserole changes and looks very attractive with ripples of cream in the bowl. She repeats the motion of her hands and again, the food is neatly arranged in the bowl. It looks so easy, but is it?

A woman arrives with a pile of blankets for people to sit on the floor. There seems to be so much ease in meeting the needs of the guests. I see a woman leaving with blankets and sleeping bags, and I ask her if they are hers. I see she’s Asian or Hawaiian, and immediately, I decide that it’s inappropriate of me to be asking such a question. I let her know she needs not answer and that I don’t need to know. I am amazed at how quickly and easily the gathering came together. The abundance was just astonishing.

Notes:

Everything seemed so easy in the dream. Food appeared effortlessly, blankets, comfort appeared out of nowhere. So, if I translate the “east” into my waking state, It’s the ease in which I am playing the piano, and trust that my fingers will automatically go where they need to go. Let go and move on.

The same is true with my writing. It seems to me we need truth in the material plane as well as the spiritual. Judging by the program When Worlds Collide, mentioned in my last entry (Who’s In Charge?) we need to know the truth in all worlds. Know which world you are in. What your beliefs are, and what you are willing to rely on. The Ancient Ones were right on target. Keep digging into your dreams to find the truth. Remember who you are and live from those memories of the culture. Truth lives in the stories you’ve heard from the Ancient Ones. The Old, Old Creation Stories La Virgen, Quetzalcoatl, She Who Made the Stars. Look for Magic; Look for Light; Listen for Music in your dreams and Dance. Truth is hidden in the spaces of breath, silence and beauty. It yearns to be in relationship with You.

Sweet Dreams,
Ellie

Years ago, maybe the 1960′s or ’70′s, there was a bumper sticker that read, “Question Authority.” The idea was revolutionary. It came at a time when we were demonstrating against the Vietnam war, students were developing a voice in the course of study, politics, consciousness, and generally, we were disturbing the peaceful slumber of the 1950′s. The bumper sticker spoke directly to the then new generation.

Let’s assume that we’re at my kitchen table, nothing is set; there’s plenty of room for new ideas, and food for thought. Let’s look at prevailing thoughts that make up our belief systems of who we think we are. Rather than taking potshots as prevailing theories, politics or religion, I’m going to look into traditions that have helped people thrive in the face of adversity.

There’s a word in the Navaho language, hozo which defines the challenges of the world and offers a way of being for the individual and the community. In essence hozo means truth, beauty, balance and harmony with all of nature. Painful things can happen, but it’s up to the individual (and the community) to be conscious of their actions and avoid falling into the pit of harm. I bring up this thought to challenge the idea of sin or the messages we received as a child from society and our families of origin. This is the task before us–to refute the belief that we are inherently bad, damaged, inadequate.

Here is a link that shows us an answer to psychological homelessness. This is a program that shows what Europe gained in coming to the Americas. Try this on for size to see what it feels like to have a more balanced history. Who are we as a people. Native/Spaniard. Keep transcending to get to the essence of our spiritual nature.

I’m a fan of quantum physics–I like to watch programs about it, but I can’t say that I am truly versed–Brian Greene talks about new discoveries in the nature of reality at the invisible level in his book The Elegant Universe. Scientists have found that there is such a thing as multiplicity, multidimensionality, consciousness. Nova has a program written by him called “The Elegant Universe,” here is a link that explains in simple terms and pictures what science says about reality. I’m convinced and have been for many, many years that reality is found in our dreams:

This is why I contend that dreams should be examined to fully understand the nature of our being. It’s in the power of our thoughts that we manifest the beauty and balance of our creativity. We have been bombarded with so many false notions of who we are that the “elegance” of our true nature goes by undetected. The Ancient Ones believed in multiplicity, multidimensionality, the power of repetition, and that’s why they committed to excellence in exploring the nature of consciousness. It’s available to us now, and we have the opportunity every night to pick and choose what we believe and come to know the truth about ourselves.

We need to wake up and become what we’re fully capable of becoming. If not now, when? (this phrase comes from one of my dreams, by the way). Believe me, it’s imperative that you question authority.

Don’t take any wooden nickels!
Ellie

On September 17, we (three artists, producer, and I) unveiled a dvd on Dreams. I was waiting for the photos from the art gallery to post them on the blog. I’ll see what’s up (again). We had the honor of having Don Jose Ramirez from the State of Jalisco, Mexico, and we had some beautiful picturess. His visit felt orchestrated by the Ancestors, for he gave a blessing upon the project and my work in particular. We had the event at the Room Art Gallery in San Rafael, and had about 50 people in attendance–artists, friends, family. Still people came from as far as Nevada, SoCal, the Central Valley of CA, and of course different parts of Mexico.

Also, the following night, Don Jose held a fire ceremony in Pescadero under the almost full moon and clear starry sky. Every time I look up at the moon, I think of that evening still, and I am sure it will continue burning for many a year to come. The messages I received reverberate within me and provide an expanded view of the worlds I see. Looking into the night sky the stars spoke to me and I cannot deny the validity of what I know and what I learned. (I’m talking in code, here, I know. As early as it is here (now 7:30 am, Monday) I’m in a “doing” mode and unable to access the feelings.) But, I just wanted to come back to the blog and let you know what I’ve been doing and that I’m still around.

The journey of writing and producing a dvd on the subject of dreams and artists as mystics has been very affirming for the work reflected in this website. For a fast minute I thought I wanted to take up making dvd’s, but for the time being, I’m sticking to writing and consulting/lecturing on dreams as a path of transformation.

I’ve also continued to work on a second book which takes our dreams into examining past lives and the stories that dwell within us. I’ve taken one dream guide and given him voice. I had no direction for him, so imagine my surprise when he began to tell his version of the Aztec Great Migration South. The formal investigation took me into some of the writings, but this definitely on a more personal level. I’m enjoying writing it. And, I can’t wait to bring it out in the open. I’m thinking about putting excerpts of it into the blog.

On November 5, 2010, we’re starting a new Dream Circle for Artists. Please contact me for more information if you’d like to attend. The dream circle meets in San Rafael, CA. We do meditation and movement exercises to connect with the dream, and weave dream events into our waking life. Exploring with the dream then translates into added creativity. People love it, and if you’re on a path of self-discovery, creativity and destiny (which I know you are or you wouldn’t be here), I know you would love joining the group. I keep the groups small to maintain safety for members, as well as intimacy.

I suppose I’ve waited long enough for the photos, and I should get back to the business of keeping up the blog.

I’ll be back shortly,
Sweet Dreams,
EBD

I’ve yet to meet someone who has not dealt with duality–that precious gift of opposites and contradictions we face in life. What we believe about our past defines who we think we are, and thus begins the dance with Duality. But hold on, there’s more: Shape Shifting is an option.

Granted, once we begin to work with consciousness, we are apt to find thoughts, feelings, fear, and other such emotions amplified. But the point is to remember that nothing is ever fixed–everything, and I do mean, everything–is always in a state of flux. In my dream circles students begin by thinking a current situation is fixed. It’s as though we must go to the edge of our reality and step off the precipice before we can see that, in fact, nothing is written across the sky forever. A student identified a mattress he carried on board a dream airplane as his ego. In class he dealt with a futon, clumsy, cumbersome, unwieldy, and became frustrated. The lightheartedness in the group helped him consider the possibility that discarding the “mattress” might be a viable possibility. The idea didn’t come easily because in the waking state it is difficult to let go of feelings that protect us–self-righteousness, indignation must be protected or we think we’ve lost a battle.

Traditionally, shape shifting in the early Native cultures was considered being able to change oneself to another species, from human to owl or other form. I’ve heard from reliable sources that there are still some who can change themselves into something other than human, but generaly the consciousness has changed and we no longer “believe” in such phenomenon–for waking time, that is. The scientific mind is too strong now, but, even so, there are other ways that we can practice amazing shape shifts. In Corn Woman Sings: A Medicine Woman’s Dream Map I discuss this in greater detail. Here, I am referring to awareness in our dreams and waking that enables us to transcend the accepted norm and delve into consciousness as it is believed in the Western World.

Shape Shifting is a state of being wherein we, in essence, step lightly from rainbow to rainbow and travel easily and effortlessly through thoughts that could make us earthbound. We can let go of beliefs that bind us to the heavy and dense world; yet, shape shifting in our dreams is no easy feat. Dreams being the seat of reality, we shape shift there first, and bring the consciousness with us to apply to the waking world.

We could elect to see shape shifting as a test, like the student with the mattress, and be willing to travel through life lightly. Life is a dream, be willing to err on the side of compassion for yourself and others; let go for an instant of your tight grip on an idea and change right before people’s eyes. In my book, that’s real shape shifting. No medicines, no mind altering is necessary; just an instantaneous decision to let go of right and wrong in both the dreaming and the waking time.

Happy Trails,
EBD