Dream Sharing – Awaken the Sacred Dream

The Fate and Destiny of Wild Women

Our recent Wild Woman, Blue Moon, Spring Retreat 2018 in Southern Oklahoma, was in it’s 5th year of offering safe and sacred space for nature getaways for women. We are each held deeply by dreams, shamanic journeys, ceremony and the wilderness of our inner and outer realities. This year was a deeply touching and profoundly moving experience with the newly formed bonds between SisterStars made from our group of 14 women. Some came from as far as Colorado, to take part in this weekend with other Wild Women to howl with the Blue Moon! I was very blessed to be supported by this weekend by Victoria Anna, who is a very gifted healer and shamanic movement facilitator, and also the immensely talented sound healer and music artist, Savanna de Valle. Our next Wild Woman Fall gathering is slated for the weekend of October 26-28 of 2018. If you would like more information about the next retreat or future retreats please let me know.

I have invited Victoria as a guest blogger, to share her reflections from our weekend retreat.

Wild Women’s Spring Retreat 2018 – Reflection

by Victoria Anna (Zsuzsi)

Walking the grounds on the first day of arrival at the Wild Women’s Dreaming Retreat, my visceral memories of freedom begun to emerge. I was still half way in the structured material world, capturing a few photos, then I chose to put my phone away for the rest of the weekend. I’m glad I did.

With 14 women we entered a well held ceremonial space, journeying into our active dreaming world by Dream Teacher, Valley Reed. Guided by the sound of the drum, we brought messages and guidance back to our waking life for each other. As we shared in our circle of women, and journeyed over and over, ventured deeper and deeper, very rich tapestry emerged that called for being worked with. The sound of the drum penetrated deep. We entered portals to other worlds, our bodies at rest, yet we soared in adventures.

Each night we incubated an intention of inquiry for our dreams to reveal more insight. Each morning, as we all gathered for breakfast, we shared what came though and marveled in the mystery.

We spent plenty of time outdoors as well, taking personal vision quests to collect symbolic items. Walking through the forest singing or laying down by the water, the vastness of nature held many treasures, opening and widening our senses.

We then embodied our dreaming presence as a group, with a guided shamanic movement practice. The facilitated journey led us into experiencing physically “stepping in” to our waking dream, while periodically “pausing, to recognize and to be recognized”, as we integrated our presence with all, through our breath.

“Shamanic Movement Practice”- Photo Credit – Valley Reed 2018

At twilight, we walked the labyrinth towards the tree of life, taking every step winding inwards as a representational journey of fate. Arriving by the Tree of Life, we shifted, thereafter, every step winding outwards, now walking the path of our destiny. Accompanied by the sounds of the cello the strings passionately came alive. Filled the air with palpable essence, powerful visions coming through. What is it that our soul is asking us to do?

“Twilight Labyrinth” – Photo Credit; Victoria Anna 2018

During our evening fire ceremony, we offered our give-aways to let go, drumming to hold space for one another, we then danced our visions into the Full Moon. Gold Lotus Elixirs were there to support our journey, whether it was to find forgiveness, gratitude or to call in clarity. The resonance of crystals connected us to Earth and the Heavens, humbly aligning with our soul’s destiny.

The next morning, we offered our gratitude and prayers by holding a sacred water ceremony. We each took part in singing The Grand Invocation mantra for healing our planet’s history. The sacred waters of many rivers collected and held as one, from the jar poured into the fresh spring water pond, now blessing this one. From the pond some water transferred back to gather with the sacred waters from all around the world, we each held the jar to our heart, to receive healing, open portals and to let messages in. Water is its own portal, water holds ancient wisdom, water transmits messages – water heals through intention, remembering prayers of many generations.

“Sacred Water Healer” with Victoria Anna, Photo Credit; Valley Reed 2018

We finished our retreat by walking back to our lodge to the sound of the drum. We joined to sing and celebrate. Then, we split off to laugh and play. We shared many hugs before we got on the road, a bit worn out, just enough to feel that some structures have been torn apart. Now, to integrate our journey, I find myself the next day sharing stories, journaling, breathing out in nature.

I am immensely grateful for this transformation that occurred, to refresh, to renew and to come into alignment walking my purpose, becoming more embodied and aware of the gifts that come through from my healing. I’m so touched by this experience of sharing space with other women, reminding me of our strength and ingrained ancient wisdom within.

I’m feeling so blessed for being invited as a contributor, holding ceremonial space and guiding our group shamanic movement practice in nature, as well as holding the water ceremony alongside Valley Reed, our organizer & main shamanic facilitator. I’m grateful for sharing this experience with Savanna de Valle who has infused our experience with her authentic cello sound bath and her untamed fiery youthful expressiveness. We had a circle of women of 3 life stages: the Mother, the Maiden, and the Crone. Grateful to be with all expressions and learning the wisdom from All.

Smiling now, having taken my shower after this weekend, feeling clean again, I’m plugging my phone back to reflect and post. This weekend was short, but at the same an unforgettable experience of being launched through portals of time travel, meeting ourselves within this multiverse.

Women, we part, but the web we have woven lives long. I look forward to keeping in touch and following one another’s journeys as we venture on! With overflowing love, I now go to sleep. Maybe we, you just never know, meet in another dream.

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Victoria Anna (Zsuzsi) –

Victoria is a lover of dance, poetry and nature. Her interest in indigenous shamanism/ dreamwork has enticed her to study in what ways dance/movement can become an integral part of entering portals into other realms. She explores movement from multiple perspectives as a form of art, psychosomatic journey, gateway to dream states and as a tool for integrating profound experiences of transformation. She has traveled the world for personal growth, professional training and teaching. She has taught numerous workshops and contributed to retreats that explore consciousness, other realms, spirituality and embodied connection.

Victoria touches people’s lives in many ways: She is the founder of Embodied Art of Life – Personal Development and Transformational Life coaching (through Astrology, Somatic Movement Practice, Nature, Art, Creative Expression, Writing); healing practitioner of Aguahara – An aquatic journey back to Self – Aquatic sessions in a private pool; founder of Gold Lotus Elixirs – crystal-infused elixirs for intentional life; and the founder of Integrated Conscious Leadership – corporate mindfulness and team building group workshops informed by somatic psychology, behavioral neuroscience and body-mind centered practices.

Contact:

EmbodiedArtOfLife@gmail.com

Embodiment Research and Movement Exploration

Aguahara – An aquatic journey back to Self

Gold Lotus Elixirs – facebook page

www.goldlotuselixirs.com

How to Grow Your Dreams

Dreams can become seeds of what wants to grow through us into the waking world. Sometimes the dream stalking us is our own power wanting to be born through the openness of the heart or the truth and beauty of our voice. Sometimes what is stalking your every footstep is justice, demanding our leadership toward more solidarity, equality and community.

Perhaps the dreams whispering in your ear, are the Earth herself. She calls you to remember your birthright as a sacred being among many other plants and creatures upon earth, air and water. She calls us back to her creative source to learn how to honor her once again, and remember what we each came here to do. This is an awakening of the sacred dream

The Dream Sister Lodge had their annual Spring Women’s Retreat recently in Oklahoma. A sacred circle of women growing their dreams and creating a community of sacred sisterhood through dream sharing, sacred ceremony, shamanic journeying, dream theater, earth based wisdom, play and laughter! Our circle grows ever stronger in connection with the power of sisterhood and discovery of the wild divine feminine.

The first gathering came together in the Fall of 2014 when seeds of intention were planted and met by even more care and nurturing from other sisters drawn to share in sacred space. Our sacred sisterhood continues to grow with Monthly Women’s Wisdom New Moon Circles in Dallas, Texas and annual retreats in the Spring and the Fall in Oklahoma. Each retreat seems deeper and more powerful than the last, and each brings new sisters into the circle, while the continuing threads of sisterhood and friendship continue to grow and blossom from old friends and new.

When we catch a bright dream in our journal with all her energy, feeling, color and detail, we can grow and nurture this dream consciously to blossom into the waking world. We water it with our feelings, and intuition and while drawing down the moon energy of the other worlds. The dream realms are the real world and the place where the waking world gets created. The waking world is the shadow world and we must marry it with our dreams brought to life through the sunlight of our heart and actions. Make sure the ground is tended and the soil is fertile through planting a dream into the ground of our intentions, while weeding out any negative thoughts, doubts or behaviors.

When you plant the garden of your dreams, you will want to dig deep within yourself to get to the really rich soil of soul. It is good to invite others to share in the vision of what you intend to grow, so that you can to draw like minded dreamers and helpers like hummingbirds, bees and butterfly to help pollinate and spread the seeds of your vision. Dream sharing offers the opportunity for a dreaming community to grow, where we can learn to share in the same dream and help it grow through shared effort and interaction. Nothing is ever really ours until we can give it away. Beauty is meant to be shared, and not kept for ourselves or get stuck competing against one another for the most sunshine! Let your dream seeds burst forth into the world and join the rest of creation in this Season of Spring!

Photo credit – Valley Reed. Above Left – Dream Seeds created and planted by Dream Sisters at the Crescent Moon Lodge in Rattan Oklahoma Spring Retreat. Above Middle – Dream Theater with Mother Lioness Caren Thompson birthing her cubs Alice Gilbert (left) and Lynn Walters (right) behind stand Lori Belcher, Jesse Roberts and Sarina Harz. Lower Left – Dream Sisters Alice Gilbert and Jesse Roberts mixing it up with the magic of mud to plant wildflower seeds of intention and planting big dreams! Our next Dream Sister Fall Retreat will be in Sept. or Oct. for more info visit www.chrysalishealingarts.org

The Dream Girl and the Green Man

This is a story from a dream I had recently, while up in the beautiful forests of Washington state. I was there attending a Dream Teacher Training with Robert Moss with dream teachers from across the area. We were able to perform a magical dream theater exploration together and open up the dialogue between the Dream Girl and the Green Man, and this is their story.

The Dream Girl and the Green Man

I am walking through the forest at night in my dreaming to be with the trees. I find that as I walk toward one tree it begins to become larger and grow taller, and taller, until I realize I have wondered into an enchanted forest. I too, grow in awareness with the tree and find myself growing very high into the sky. I look to the tree as we grow together and see that it has become a tree man with a face. I look down below and can see a tiny little me standing on the ground looking up at the magical tree. The Green Man calls out below, “Why are you so angry with me?” in a bellowing voice.

The little me is in a magical pink dress standing so very tiny under the giant tree and frightened by the loud angry voice of the Green Man. She is not aware of being angry toward the tree. She would like to know rather why the tree sounds so angry with her? She looks to her left, and finds a giant, magical, blue dragonfly ready to take her on a journey through the enchanted forest of her dreams, but she is too afraid. She does not feel safe in this place with the angry tree. My larger self tries to encourage her to take the risk and ride with the dragonfly, but she won’t budge. We decide to talk to the Green Man in order to get a bigger perspective on this dilemma. The little girl asks the Green Man, “Why do you sound so angry?” and he explains, “Because you humans are cutting down the forests and destroying my kind!” The little girl explains, “But I love trees, that is why I came to explore the forest in the middle of the night.” (When she should have been in bed.) She was glad she knew how to step out of her physical body asleep in her bed, and explore her world with her dreaming body and not get in any trouble. She did not expect the forest to be such a scary place. The forest has always been a safe and peaceful place where she has felt most at home in her waking life.

The Green Man tells the dream girl, “Please take your love of the trees out into the world and ask people to stop cutting down the trees!” She agrees to help, she does not want to see the trees go away, or the magic they hold. The Green Man asks, Are you ready to explore the enchanted forest on the giant dragonfly?” and she responds, “Yes! Definitely yes!” She climbs on the dragonfly’s back and takes off into the dark night sky. Her dreams will take her on countless adventures meeting with all manner of creatures inside the enchanted forest. The End.

Many wonderful dream teachers who came for the training are committed to help grow a dreaming community. This dream exhorts us all to seek out the magic of our dreams and become speakers for the Earth. Through dream sharing we can learn to share not only our dreams, but also how to share the Earth together.

Respecting the dreamer and the dream

In the tradition of many indigenous peoples dream sharing is central to the survival and renewal of the tribe. Sharing dreams with another is a sacred space, and should be approached with honor and respect for the dreamer and the dream.

When sharing dreams either in a group, or with another individual, it is important to remember that the dreamer knows most closely what the real message the dream is trying to relay.

The process of sharing dreams may reveal new insights and energy into the dream but it must be offered in an atmosphere of respect. Dream dictionaries and dream interpretors don’t have more insight into the language of the your dreams than you. When you share your dream with someone be sure they don’t try to tell you what your dream means as if they were the expert on your life. This dissempowers both you and the potential your dream has for you.

Dreams can offer many levels of meaning, and keeping a dream journal provides more opportunity to return to your dream time and again for deeper exploration. It is not so much how many dreams that you catch that are important when keeping a dream journal, it is what you do with the material that make up your dream archives. In sharing the dreams that you catch with another individual you create an opportunity to honor the dream, and also honor yourself as a dreamer, as well as those whom you choose to share your dream. Dream sharing is in the ancient tradition of story telling and it is how bards, sages, and healers, passed on wisdom to their people. This sharing process binds us together with wisdom and the connection of community. We have to often relied on books to inform us of our past and our future when we have this wonderful resource of unlimited creative intelligence that can be shared with one another. In the current modern culture of science and intellect, the act of dream sharing and story telling has become a dying art and the fabric of our culture has become dull and frayed. The current culture in America is bound in a dark cult of war, violence, materialism and racism based on fear and ignorance.

Dreamers are being called to create a new way of living and creating a culture of peace. We must return to the ways of a dreaming culture so that our creative intelligence will once again be in service to life and living instead of the motives of profit, death, and destruction. Many of our brightest creative minds are in the service of militant aims in developing ever more lethal and diabolical weapons while the world faces global environmental problems, hunger and poverty, and widespread disease.

Dream sharing strengthens our connection to the web of life. We are interdependant and interwoven in this web of life and the dreams that we catch will help us find our place in this magical tapestry of life.

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