Summary
Last month, I described a series of coincidences that guided me to participate in a workshop called “Reclaiming the Ancient Dreamways” led by Robert Moss. On the first full day of the workshop, I met a red-brown fox in waking life who became my dream guide for the rest of the week. Each coincidence became a stepping stone, leading me deeper and deeper into relationship with my ancestors and their tragic, yet hopeful, story.
Like coincidences, which are events that coincide, dreams can help us find deeper meaning and answers to many of life’s dilemmas. Sleeping dreams, however, frequently lead to more questions than immediate answers. Reentering dreams is a satisfying way to gather more information.
The Dream
A few months ago I dreamed I was standing at the bottom of a lush green hill. The sky was perfectly blue and the weather warm. Up the hill and to my right were the remains of ancient Greco-Roman ruins. Up the hill and to my left was a nineteenth century Lutheran Seminary with a clock on the exterior brick wall. The crumbling ruins fascinated me and I eagerly set out to walk up the hill. The journey promised to be good, but just as I took my first step, I woke up.
The images of ruins and the brick building filtered through my mind for weeks. I caught myself on many occasions wondering, “What was that all about? If only I could reenter the dream and find out what was behind those ruins and brick exterior!” During my workshop at Esalen, I finally had the opportunity not only to reenter my dream, but also to explore it with a dream partner.
Reentering a Dream: How To
Reentering a dream is easy. Anyone can do it. Dreams can be reentered alone, with a partner or a group of people. When traveling the dreamscape with others, more people are available to assist in the exploration of the dream terrain. The journey can help to unearth potentially useful information that provides the dreamer with tools for deepening self-awareness, decision making, creative expression, etc.
Various methods can be used to reenter a dream. I prefer to reenter with the help of a soft drum beat. You can drum for yourself, or have someone drum for you, or use a drumming CD purchased through a bookseller. A shaker or rattle can also be used. The drum serves many purposes, one of which is to drown out the noises from everyday reality so the dreamer can focus exclusively on the dream journey.
Exploring the Seminary and Greco Roman Ruins
I reentered my dream with Aubrey, a woman I met at the workshop. After explaining the details of my dream, Aubrey asked clarifying questions so she could envision my dreamscape as clearly as possible. Once I told her my intention for our journey, which was simply to explore the various buildings in my dream, we settled into physically comfortable positions.
Robert Moss, the workshop leader, started drumming with a consistent rhythm. Aubrey and I silently entered our respective versions of the imaginal dreamscape and started walking up the hill. The fox I’d met in waking life appeared unexpectedly and ran in front of me, guiding the way. College-aged students milled about, and a few faculty members strolled by. The ancient Greco-Roman ruins and nineteenth century Lutheran seminary were exactly as I’d remembered them. The sun was warm and the sky was blue. The dream journey had begun.
Aubrey and I each experienced our own version of the dream. After fifteen minutes, the drumming stopped. We slowly came back to “ordinary” reality and discussed our individual experiences. My intention was to enter the Lutheran Seminary first, then the Greco-Roman ruins. When I entered the Lutheran seminary, I took an elevator to a basement. The scene was confusing to me. I couldn’t figure out where I was or why I was there.
In Aubrey’s version of the dream, Aubrey saw me in a basement and she sensed I was feeling confused. She saw me talking to a man, which I had done in my version of the dream. She did, however, picture a scene I did not see. While still on the main level, Aubrey saw American Indians meeting with my ancestors and sharing in a Pow-wow meant for healing the ties between both lineages.
Aubrey knew almost nothing about me. She did not know that when I was a senior at a Lutheran college I had a spiritual awakening that propelled me into research about earth-based traditions, shamanism and dreams. She did not know that I had participated in traditional Lakota pipe ceremonies or sweat lodges when I was in my twenties. She did not know my ancestors were colonialists who engaged in battle with the Wampanoag and Nipmuc Indians during the King Philip’s War.
I felt that, even though I had not seen the Pow-wow in my journey, Aubrey’s experience was a significant key to an unfolding story. Her vision was another coincidence I came to understand a few days later after a dream journey into the land of the departed where I met my ancestor Jonathan Padelford and his Mohawk or Wampanoag companion.
After Aubrey and I discussed the Lutheran Seminary, we compared notes on what had happened to each of us in the Greco-Roman ruins. We had a parallel experience of walking into a women’s sacred space. I witnessed an Athenian ritual with drumming and healing. Aubrey saw a woman’s ritual and healing ceremony. The details were strikingly similar, and even though there were differences, the experiences were so similar, I no longer remember which details were mine and which were hers. I left the Greco-Roman ruins feeling a call to help revitalize ancient rites and ceremonies.
Reentering my dream, “Ancient Greco-Roman Ruins and the Lutheran Seminary” helped me connect with a deep soul calling to honor the ancient ways and help heal my ancestral lineage. The ancestors continue to speak to me through my dreams and coincidences. They are stirring up the winds of change and demanding a revitalization of the ancient ways - the way of the earth, the way of spirit, the way of deep, soulful connection to all that is.
RESOURCES:
If you are interested in doing dream reentry, I recommend Dreamgates: An Explorer’s Guide to the Worlds of Soul, Imagination, and Life Beyond Death by Robert Moss.