I am listening to two beautiful and powerful audio programs, THE POWER OF SLOW, by  Carl Honore and SABBATH by Wayne Muller (www.soundstrue.com).  Both of these programs address the frantic pace of this culture we live in that is addicted to speed, multi-tasking, busy-ness, consumerism and mindless pop culture. We are all in it, and many of us are exhausted and “moving forward” so fast, or spinning right where we are but “getting” nowhere truly satisfying . We often feel on automatic pilot having lost touch with our Center,  yet  longing to STOP,PAUSE, LISTEN, and REST  long enough to re-define  and savour what is true  and treasured in out lives.

I mention this in connection with DREAMS, having directed our monthly Dreams and Inner Healing  Retreat Day this past Sunday (a small and intimate group this time around) which incorporated  silence, a meditation by Celtic poet John’ODonohue, reflective sharing and personal updating, followed by an afternoon of  listening to and working on a dream of each participant. The day was slow, deep and transformational…a time apart from anything experienced during the ordinary work week. 

It required all of us to commit to taking this time away as a kind of Sabbath (on the Sabbath too!) for refreshment, renewal, prayer and pondering. It called upon us to to take seriously the communication that comes through our nightly dreams from our Deep and Authentic Self and the exquisite promptings of Soul and the Divine. Within this monthly Dream Circle,  as we deeply share these marvelous, intriguing, sometimes funny, sometimes un-nerving nightly stories that seem to write themselves on their own right  out of our psyches, we are amazed and delighted always, and always we are changed, transformed, guided into the next chapter of our lives that bring a new aliveness and authenticity.

It requires a commitment to yourself to pay attention to your dreams, whether or not you have a Circle or Spiritual Advisor with whom to work.  That commitment requires the awareness to implement the practice of SLOW when waking up in order to capture the dream, which WILL evaporate faster than the morning mists as you pop out of bed to get going, check your e-mail, listen to the morning news and enter the whirlwind pace of the dominant culture.

It is handy to have a notebook or an index card and pen next to your bed to at least jot down a few words that will act like anchors to ground the dream in your consciousness, and around which the dream will fill out later when you have a chance to be still. For those of you who have the luxury to emerge from sleep slowly and languidly, writing the dream while you are still emerging from the mists of the night will gift you with a treasure of immeasurable wisdom and guidance.

It must be noted however, that aside from living in a FAST culture and consciousness, that there are people who ARE  Dreamers, and there are people for whom the dream is not an ongoing part of their experience. The invitation is two-fold…if you ARE a Dreamer, do honour the dreams that come through you…they WANT to be captured and of service to you! If  you are a person who does not remember your dreams, but might like to…please know that many times dreams are not remembered because the Culture does not provide a space, a time or attention to them as a source of wisdom….often, just talking about dreams or reading a post on them, such as this, will invite your awareness to be alert to the possibility that a special Dream is just waiting and longing to pop through your consciousness to talk with you! 

Slow Down! Capture the Dreams of your Heart! Savour and live with Veriditas!    You will be blessed! Christine, greeningspirit