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| Embracing the Holy |
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Has
Anything Similar Happened to You?
By Tracy Stone, August 2006 |
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| Thinking about the many events in store for the day, I hurriedly load my stuff into the car, when the unrelated thought of 'umbrella' occurs to me. 'Nonsense!' is my response. 'It's sunny - no rain in the forecast. Besides I'm really late and it's upstairs.' |  |
| But I've learned to listen to the quiet unbidden voice over the loudly rational(izing) one. So upstairs I go to my den, where I keep the door closed to prevent my cat from eating and spitting up the only live plants allowed in the house. As I pop the door open, out jets a panicked cat. I get chills realizing I had mistakenly locked him into this room and would not have been home again for 10 hours. Thankful that trauma was avoided; I grab the umbrella with a sigh of relief and carry on with my day. | |
| Unwinding later that evening, I reflect that just as forecasted, it never did rain. My rational mind was right. But of course that wasn't the point. | |
| The above may be an example of intuition, but it also an example of how dreamwork can benefit us in our lives. By listening to the seemingly preposterous imagery that 'occurs' to us in a dream, we in fact tune into a greater truth that we can consciously partner with even if we don't understand the why or the how. | |
| But isn't this also an example of our spiritual path? Or at least our spiritual yearning? To feel partnered with a presence and power greater than us, yet intimately connected to our ordinary, daily experiences of life? So it is through understanding our dreams we can feel companioned with a consciousness that promotes a greater awareness of our deeper truth and living each day from that authentic self. | |
| Both require an ability to suspend the rational, to enter the mystery of the unknown - territory of faith and trust. Unlike the lead-in example, life may not always give us such immediate feedback for our faithful action. Dreamwork however provides us a more frequent example of such a guiding presence in our lives. This in turn bolsters our ability to hear and trust that small, inner voice in other life situations. | |
| How often have you dismissed a dream as gibberish, 'only' a dream, or "I don't dream,' or 'I know what it meant - it's obvious!' | |
| The invitation of dreamwork is to enter the mystery of being present with the Whole without having to label it but to delight in the humor, honesty and wisdom of something far greater than each of us can understand. Much like the parable of 7 blind men each feeling a different part of an elephant, in a dream group we each share our truth about the dream. Together we not only get a fuller picture but we feel companioned on our journey - by each other and by the symbolic messages given directly to each of us from a source that can heal us and move us to greater wholeness, peace and union. The trick is deciphering the message and what it means for us. | |
| This is where a dream group is most helpful. Not that others know better than we do, but others can assist us by providing a safe container to explore the imagery, to listen us into discovery, and to celebrate the 'aha' experience of witnessing mystery in action. Dream group members become the face, laughter and voice of the Presence through which we decode God's personalized messages of healing and guidance. | |
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| If you'd like to know more about dreams or spiritual dreamwork, I invite you to attend one or more of the upcoming events listed in this newsletter or call me, Tracy Stone at 503-629-5257, for any future workshops or dream groups. | |
| Intro
to Dreams & Spirituality Tues. November 14, 2006 7 - 9PM $30 - Dreams & Spiritual Direction (limited to enrollees in 'Embracing the Holy' - Nov. 7) |
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©
2006-2010 Urban Spirituality Center and Diversity as Gift
