Dreaming

Westerners look at dreaming as a mental ability which occurs during REM sleep. They approach their dreams with the help of symbolism and although they have access to science and the possibility to explore this topic much deeper than any of their predecessors there’s less known on dreaming today than there were over 2000 years ago.

Now – how sad is that?

Indigenous people understand dreaming as a phenomenon which occurs when the body is in a calm state or when the lungs and heart are synchronized. This is why drumming and breathing are important tools (so to speak) in the art of shamanic dreaming. Dreaming has long been a mystery and yet, dreamers from all walks of this earth have explored this realm and arrived to the understanding of some common wisdom. I tend to refer to dreaming communities more so than scientists when it comes to the study of dreaming. Alleged primitive cultures have more experience when it comes to living with dreams than today’s modern society. For individuals like me who are passionate about the topic there’s lots to learn from those who commit themselves to the dream time 24 hours a day.

In the last 4,000 years, history shows that communities of dreamers were often a threat to the state and hence, were exterminated. Since dreams can predict the future; give power to dreamers to travel long distances out of their own territory without the risk of getting killed; and allow dreamers to speak to the dead – the power of dreaming can be the ultimate weapon to a budding empire. At the same time, it can also be its downfall. Fear is often the greatest obstacle in the discovery of mystery.

I have been studying and exploring indigenous dreaming for over 20 years. It wasn’t a personal choice at first since I was born with a strong ability to dream. I remember dreams as far back as infancy (6 months old). During my adolescence dreaming was more difficult than in childhood. I tended to struggle with some of the imagery and the messages. Guilt, shame, regret and jealousy were often twisted into my dreams or what I used to call “nightmares.” I decided to learn more about dreaming in order to survive my dreaming experience and then, later “to strive in my life.” In time, I learnt to become disciplined and to use dreaming as a daily tool. Today, I teach on the topic of indigenous dreaming and show that dreaming isn’t about the mind playing tricks on us hoping that we’ll unravel the riddle. Dreaming is a human ability that once helped our ancestors survive in the wild and evolve into the industrial geniuses of today.

If you have any questions on dreaming – don’t hesitate to ask.

LISA