With suffering comes change.
My friend, a renowned Tai Chi master and I were discussing whether there is meaning in suffering. I quoted Mencius: "When great responsibility is about to befall one, life appears to confound all undertakings. Thereby it stimulates the mind, toughens the nature and improves all deficiencies."
Unllike a deity, whimsically deciding to test our endurance, Taoism captures the evolutionary thrust of nature that is simply seeking the best of what it might be. Appreciating nature's tremendous power to renew itself, we discover that this same power is within us.
He offered the following quotes in return: "Those who have suffered know much which is denied to the continuously healthy: and those who have been exalted - have realized truths which are out of the reach of those who lead quiet, equable lives." Finding peace in quiet is an illusion.
"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorius triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat." This sounds like a Bushism, yet it reminds me of Gabriel Gibran's poem about Love: "But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure, then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor, into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears." With suffering comes growth.
A forest fire burns away old growth to prepare for the new. The same pollution that causes ocean temperatures to rise is often washed away in the very hurricanes that are generated.
Mohmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president blames the US for market collapse, while Bush blames Iran for terrorism. Yet, both are the voice of injustices that can no longer be swept under the carpet.
Black Elk would say: “You have noticed that truth comes into this world with two faces. One is sad with suffering, and the other laughs; but it is the same face, laughing or weeping. When people are already in despair, maybe the laughing is better for them; and when they feel too good and are too sure of being safe, maybe the weeping face is better.” Laughter, tears, the pursuit of change always breaks our defenses to remind us that we are natural creatures in a world that is endlessly changing.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Dream Posts Week of 9-15-2008
Q:
I dreamed that I was trying to use the bathroom, but the walls didn't give me any privacy.
A:
In some situation this week, you may have 'relieved' yourself of your normal sense of 'privacy.' Perhaps a situation required that you reveal some vulnerable aspect of yourself as you moved toward intimacy with another. 'Relieving yourself in public' is a common dream that occurs during periods when you open up to share your true feelings, desires and vulnerabilities.
Q:
In my dream, I was on a schoolbus that crashed. It was on its side and as I crawled out, I remember how the tires were still spinning.
A:
The schoolbus brings two ideas together. Dreaming of a transportation vehicle represents your current motivation or drive to move forward. Being driven as a passenger suggests that you are not necessarily 'in control' of where you are going. Since it was a 'school' bus, it brings forward images of following the group or how you were taught to go the 'right way.' It crashed as a symbol of how following the group will not lead to a sense of fulfillment. Seeing the tires spinning is the same as recognizing that your wheels are turning without getting you anywhere. Transportation dreams are common when you are exploring your direction and motivation. The imagery that you found to be most insignificant in the dream needs to be explored for more clues as to where you need to focus. Where was the bus going? Who were the passengers? Why did it crash?
I dreamed that I was trying to use the bathroom, but the walls didn't give me any privacy.
A:
In some situation this week, you may have 'relieved' yourself of your normal sense of 'privacy.' Perhaps a situation required that you reveal some vulnerable aspect of yourself as you moved toward intimacy with another. 'Relieving yourself in public' is a common dream that occurs during periods when you open up to share your true feelings, desires and vulnerabilities.
Q:
In my dream, I was on a schoolbus that crashed. It was on its side and as I crawled out, I remember how the tires were still spinning.
A:
The schoolbus brings two ideas together. Dreaming of a transportation vehicle represents your current motivation or drive to move forward. Being driven as a passenger suggests that you are not necessarily 'in control' of where you are going. Since it was a 'school' bus, it brings forward images of following the group or how you were taught to go the 'right way.' It crashed as a symbol of how following the group will not lead to a sense of fulfillment. Seeing the tires spinning is the same as recognizing that your wheels are turning without getting you anywhere. Transportation dreams are common when you are exploring your direction and motivation. The imagery that you found to be most insignificant in the dream needs to be explored for more clues as to where you need to focus. Where was the bus going? Who were the passengers? Why did it crash?
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Why We Dream
I was lucky to have grown up in the woods and valleys of Ohio. I spent my childhood outdoors and now I live in the Sierras, where I hike in the most magnificent mountains and forests on earth. No matter what has ever happened in my life, nature has always been my redeemer.
I am inspired to uncover how the power of nature touches us at a deep and profound level. It reinvigorate a sense of the spiritual each time we recognize how we are natural creatures in a natural world and are intricately interwoven into its search for a better way. Nature is relentless in its ability to overcome any barriers to its forward progress.
This same power is inside of us and is active during dreaming.
As a child, I wrote poetry, music and interpreted the dreams of my friends and family. Poetry was my religion and gave me a special connection to the more holistic side of life. As a symbologist, I have spent my life researching the common metaphors appearing in the dreams of individuals and in the myths and art of civilization.
We spend two thirds of our lives building the belief structures that are disassembled during the one third of our lives spent sleeping. In many ways, dreams seem to rehash some of our more difficult experiences, although therapists use dreams to uncover clues to help a client understand how they have become stuck. If the experience we are rehashing was meaningless, we wouldn't have dreamt about it.
Dreaming reveals how unhappiness is merely the hunger pain for change.
I feel like I have accomplished many things in my life, but inspiring others toward greater heights has been my most rewarding profession. As a dream analyst, I guide others in understanding this profound inner guidance.
We are the hero of a nightly adventure that allows us to activate self knowledge and direction in life. Dreaming reveals how some part of us seems to know us better than we know ourselves.
The omnicient ability to see the way forward, which seems beyond our reach in daily life, becomes the plot and story lines of our dreams. The heroes of our ancient tales traverse exotic landscapes to uncover the treasures that will reveal both, their identity and destiny. In the same way, we are the sleeping hero who is given the clues that will awaken us to our destiny.
Post your dream as a comment or contact me and I will interpret it anonymously. Or, for more information, visit the dream dictionary in my website.
I am inspired to uncover how the power of nature touches us at a deep and profound level. It reinvigorate a sense of the spiritual each time we recognize how we are natural creatures in a natural world and are intricately interwoven into its search for a better way. Nature is relentless in its ability to overcome any barriers to its forward progress.
This same power is inside of us and is active during dreaming.
As a child, I wrote poetry, music and interpreted the dreams of my friends and family. Poetry was my religion and gave me a special connection to the more holistic side of life. As a symbologist, I have spent my life researching the common metaphors appearing in the dreams of individuals and in the myths and art of civilization.
We spend two thirds of our lives building the belief structures that are disassembled during the one third of our lives spent sleeping. In many ways, dreams seem to rehash some of our more difficult experiences, although therapists use dreams to uncover clues to help a client understand how they have become stuck. If the experience we are rehashing was meaningless, we wouldn't have dreamt about it.
Dreaming reveals how unhappiness is merely the hunger pain for change.
I feel like I have accomplished many things in my life, but inspiring others toward greater heights has been my most rewarding profession. As a dream analyst, I guide others in understanding this profound inner guidance.
We are the hero of a nightly adventure that allows us to activate self knowledge and direction in life. Dreaming reveals how some part of us seems to know us better than we know ourselves.
The omnicient ability to see the way forward, which seems beyond our reach in daily life, becomes the plot and story lines of our dreams. The heroes of our ancient tales traverse exotic landscapes to uncover the treasures that will reveal both, their identity and destiny. In the same way, we are the sleeping hero who is given the clues that will awaken us to our destiny.
Post your dream as a comment or contact me and I will interpret it anonymously. Or, for more information, visit the dream dictionary in my website.
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