the Dreamtime,
or, place of Medicine Dreams,
a shaman's workplace
anyone familiar with me knows
or, place of Medicine Dreams,
a shaman's workplace
anyone familiar with me knows
that i do my medicine work in a place i learned of as the Dreamtime --
some academics studying shamanism call this place "non-ordinary reality" or NOR,
as opposed to "ordinary reality" or OR --
access to this place is culturally informed and can be quite detailed and complicated,
so that while this one might jump into water and swim through to the other side,
another keeps it simple and wanders off to a special place -
shamanic drumming provides the transportation for some,
while others might access the Dreamtime through maybe, isochronic tones or binaural beats
Actually the method of access is not as important
as is to understand that the Dreamtime, or NOR, or 'trance,'
are all terms for the same place, a place to which we all have access -
but because our perception of this place is culturally informed,
each acquisition practice looks different from the other -
but that's just an illusion because the only true difference in the experience
is that we all come in through different doors ... that's all --
'ever hear the story of the elephant and the blind men?
same story here only replace the elephant with the Dreamtime
so then where is this place called the Dreamtime?
well, it is that place between sleeping and waking, the access to which we all pass by twice a day -
well, it is that place between sleeping and waking, the access to which we all pass by twice a day -
we’re most ‘conscious’ of this place when we are first waking from sleep or, as we’re falling asleep,
when our last conscious thoughts pass through this place --
thing is, some of us have learned to linger
(see note, below, about how to do that)
(see note, below, about how to do that)
😉
this space between sleep and awake is a ‘portal’ of sorts –
we all instinctively know about this portal … it’s actually an emergency route home
which we access quite naturally when we are most in need –
trauma, exhaustion, illness, shock, etc.
trauma, exhaustion, illness, shock, etc.
it's not a mystical place -
sleep scientists know this place by its theta brain waves –
sleep scientists know this place by its theta brain waves –
walkers like me learn to hover at those theta waves
so that conscious entrance into the Dreamtime becomes second nature
as a Dreamtime worker, while most are sleeping, i am in another 'place' -
how do i know this?
well, for one thing sometimes Dreamtime work requires its own version of physical exertion,
i know this because i wake up achy and sore, at first not knowing why,
but then movement throughout the next day will jog recall of the previous night’s activities -
and yes, to the naysayers, there's a very big difference
between the Dreamtime and normal sleeping/dreaming
between the Dreamtime and normal sleeping/dreaming
basically, some component of Dreamtime activities manifests in daily life …
read that last line again because it describes the commonality
which runs through global demographics of shamanism, and it is not culturally informed ...
read that last line again because it describes the commonality
which runs through global demographics of shamanism, and it is not culturally informed ...
some component of Dreamtime activities manifests in daily life --
whether it’s knowledge brought back to heal, or physical evidence of a Dreamtime experience,
something from the Dreamtime manifests in ordinary reality -
i'll use myself as an example:
when i was living in the Pacific Northwest,
i was bitten on the leg by a deadly poisonous brown recluse.
at the ER i was told that they had no antidote,
that the only course of treatment was antibiotics,
even though they knew antibiotics wouldn't work,
but it was all they had, i was told -
i was bitten on the leg by a deadly poisonous brown recluse.
at the ER i was told that they had no antidote,
that the only course of treatment was antibiotics,
even though they knew antibiotics wouldn't work,
but it was all they had, i was told -
a couple years before this,
i had lost a friend to a brown recluse bite
so i knew firsthand of their deadliness -
with little help from mainstream medicine,
i took my dilemma into the Dreamtime,
i had lost a friend to a brown recluse bite
so i knew firsthand of their deadliness -
with little help from mainstream medicine,
i took my dilemma into the Dreamtime,
and in addition to being instructed on making/using
a poultice of holy basil and MSM,
(Methylsulfonylmethane, a chemical that naturally occurs in the body),
(Methylsulfonylmethane, a chemical that naturally occurs in the body),
further treatment was administered by Grandmother Spider
with a single bite to each of my eyelids -
and guess what?
and guess what?
next morning each eyelid sported a single, centered bite …brown recluse bites are infamously necrotic,
and can be deadly,
but after treatment according to Dreamtime instructions,
today there is no scar anywhere from the ordeal ...
and can be deadly,
but after treatment according to Dreamtime instructions,
today there is no scar anywhere from the ordeal ...
here’s another example of manifestation into ordinary reality
i did Dreamtime work for a client who had commissioned gifts
for mother and daughter Wampanoags,
for mother and daughter Wampanoags,
grieving the loss of their 20-something son/brother -
mum really struggled, seeking peace at seances and with spiritualists
and for her my friend had chosen an aromatherapy necklace/diffuser …
for the record, i had no skymap information for this transaction
as i packaged up the gifts for shipment,
on impulse i tucked an amethyst nugget inside the diffuser –
intellect reasoned, amethyst is a powerful healing stone,
but i'd find out later something else was going on...
but i'd find out later something else was going on...
Later when my client stopped by to pick up her order, i told her
that i thought the gemstone was from the woman’s son,
based on bits and pieces of a dream that had begun to come through to me.
based on bits and pieces of a dream that had begun to come through to me.
My suspicions were confirmed when the client reported
that the amethyst turned out to be sister's birth stone -
a much comforting sign to both mother and sister
a much comforting sign to both mother and sister
now certainly, the amethyst birthstone, like the eyelid spider bites,
could be ‘coincidence’ and the ‘memories’ fabricated –
i will grant that to all the naysayers …
but not without adding this:
experience speaks otherwise to me
because this kind of thing happens a lot
in my world
in my world
-NHT
©2015, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021
a helpful tip for dream journal keepers …
when you are waking up and find yourself in that pre-movement place described above, consciously remain still even as you are waking – it is in this stillness that you will most easily recall your dreams – pre-movement allows all dreams to remain crystal clear in memory – this is because until you move, most of ‘you’ is still in the Dreamtime where your ‘dreams’ are - once you move, the shift back into the body is almost instantaneous