Alysse Aallyn

Category: #Fate

  • #DreamTherapy – Dream Journaling with Alysse Aallyn

    Marriage – Partnership – Dreaming about weddings? Love, proposals, marriage? About The One that got Away? Dreaming about partnership enterprises in general – video gaming, tennis – where an Ideal Partner/Helper’s got your back? It’s very difficult to make it through life without a partner. We’ve got friends who come and go, sometimes special ones, but they’ve got obligations of their own. What if we had a Perfect Friend who made our Best Life their priority? What if we were not only willing to do the same for them but to promise this in public?

      Everybody Deserves Somebody – We come into adulthood with strong memories of familial dependence. We are all attracted to caretaking behaviors and easily seduced by promises to read our minds and give us what we really want – (even if we don’t know what it is ourselves.) Then we discover Desire. Not only for bodies, but for Persons, Lives, Individualities. Other people are a spice, other people are a medicine for everything our lives appear to be lacking. What if we could combine all our needs together in one appetizing package?

      Challenge – We rarely ask our friends to change their lives for us. They are VERY rarely willing to do so. But a partner is someone to actively plan a life with. You get to talk through all the Wants, the Possibles, the Fears. Heady stuff! The challenge is to know Yourself well enough to make any sort of honest statements about who you are, who you CAN be and who you want to be.

      Danger – A substantial number of partnerships fail. We all know this but we keep trying. Then there are the partnerships that evolve into Something Else, a Financial, Real Estate or Caregiving unit that is very necessary but also pretty far from what we originally had in mind. Our challenge is – can we know and be known? Can we evolve with another soul to a higher plane? Can we find our Soulmate? Does such a creature exist? Disappointment and betrayal are all too often the outcomes.

      Opportunity – Soulmates DO exist! And they DO evolve. We WILL change our lives for each other and they will change, blend, merge with us. Any interaction with another requires communication, boundaries, honesty, planning and “rules”. I put rules in quotes because a good partner keeps “transforming” the game and we keep transforming ourselves to meet it. The best way to honestly know yourself is to keep conscious, subconscious and unconscious in alignment. Purposeful dreaming – questioning the subconscious, confronting the unconscious and learning from the collective unconscious – is the best way to do that!

      Models & Mentors – “It’s not lack of love but lack of friendship that makes for unhappy marriages” – Friedrich Nietzsche

      “What counts in making a happy marriage is not compatibility but how you deal with incompatibility” – Leo Tolstoy

      “A happy marriage is a long conversation which always seems too short”
      – Andre Maurois

      “The secret of a happy marriage is finding the right person. You know they’re the right person if you want to be with them all the time” – Julia Child

      Mantra – “I love”

      Meditation –

      #Haiku: Marriage

      Alone we perish
      Jointly immortal
      Heaven is
      Joy maximized

    1. #DreamTherapy – Dream Journaling with Alysse Aallyn

      The Sun – Truth – Do you dream of a fully lit landscape? Are you basking in warm rays or are you trapped in skin-scorching light? As the Sun sheds light & heat it represents Truth.  It also sheds light on our efforts to locate, explain and exploit that mysterious force.

        You Are a Truth Teller and a Truth Diviner – Truth is complex. Dream are incontestably“real” but do they represent Truth? Can something be true on day and untrue the next?(see Ambivalence.) Is the storytelling child narrating “the truth”? Are myths true? Is the Bible true? Yes to all these questions. But No, also. Because the most important fact about truth is that, like us, it evolves. You easily recognize this in your own life. Something that was true of you twenty years ago is no longer true. You have changed. 

        Evolving Truth – Understandably, in a climate like this, people thirst for Unchanging Truth, and there are a few of these. Benjamin Franklin offered Death and Taxes, Jesus said evil can’t win, and Buddha said life itself is an illusion. The important factor in all this is Us – humanity. We are the eyes that think, the brain that evaluates, the mind that remembers. You are developing skills – Truth Seeking, Truth Telling and Truth Divining– and you are developing definitions. Congratulate yourself. Support yourself and otherson this noblest of enterprises. Because to die in the Truth is to pass eternally into the Light. You are literally making yourself worthy of immortality.

        Challenge – It’s so relaxing when you finally see the Truth. Suddenly you’re in the gulfstream, swimming WITH the tide! This is why fans love mystery stories  – they explain what was REALLY going on and you see all past events in a new light with a new understanding. Our daily life seems to request of us one hideous compromise after another until we wake up one morning feeling that we are lying to everybody – ourselves included.  Your challenge – should you accept it – is to bring your life more in harmonywith what you currently know to be true, all the while seeking a higher elevation of TheTruth.

        Danger – Nobody likes a hard-ass. Is your quest for truth turning you into a rigid, mean-spirited drill sergeant? I used to be authoritatively told by academic bosses that the mysteries I loved weren’t any good, that no way was Raymond Chandler as good as John Steinbeck. Worse, Jane Austen wasn’t as good as Philip Roth! Ugh! I did appreciate that what was “true” for them was NOT true for me but unfortunately for me, THEY did not appreciate that. So, be humble. You can never see (or reveal) all of the Truth. And it will evolve (as hopefully, you will) until you die and in my cosmology, are “perfected” and received into Bliss. You don’t have to believe in Bliss, by the way. Bliss believes in you.

        Opportunity – It’s probably dawned on you at this point that Truth, like everything funand worth doing, is a PROCESS. Welcome aboard! We’re all passengers on this exciting thrill-ride! So buckle up! Assemble a team! Get out your journal! Begin!

        Models & Mentors – “The truth will set you free. But not until it is finished with you.” – David Foster Wallace

        “In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act” – George Orwell

        “Speaking your truth is the most powerful tool you have” – Oprah Winfrey

        “Truth is like the Sun. You can shut it out for a while, but it ain’t going away”

        – Elvis Presley

        Mantra – “I see”

        Meditation –

        #Haiku: Truth

        Truth is all things

        That happened

        Closely shadowed by

        All things

        That didn’t

      1. #Dream Therapy – Dream Journaling with Alysse Aallyn

        Winter – Dormancy –


        What’s happening when nothing’s happening?

          DREAMS – Why isn’t it spring yet? Sometimes the blossom withers. Why? Your dreams remain lively, so, let’s consult them. Do you dream of endless sleep? Deep snows? Hibernation? Do you identify with the drowsy bear and the sleepy sloth?

          Now’s the Time – This is the sacred moment before a burst of creativity. You are gathering your forces. Compare it to a pregnancy. Things are happening, but so slowly and deeply you are not aware of them, with the result that you may feel confused and frustrated. Instead, revel in this burgeoning becoming in the midst of sleepy peace.

          Challenge – We cultivate our desires without pushing our extracting them. We curate our sensations. Spin through pictures of animals – what jumps out? Who is speaking to you? What are they saying? Wat are you afraid of and why? Make notes and collect images. A collage creates a deeper, more resonant picture. Sometimes it’s all in the eyes.

          Danger – In sleep we are entirely vulnerable and we have cultural and historic reason to fear that state. Guard your dormancy with supportive beings, with sleep music, with healing rituals. The triple-locked doors, the blackout-curtained windows, the silenced devices protect us in our chosen nest. This is “think-time” not “party-time.” We will create a “protective spell.” Don a bracelet of “worry beads”, then summon your happiest memories and tell them by touch, eyes closed, one by one. Send every ounce of your remembered love and joy out into the universe with a command to come back to you a hundred times. A thousand times so that your love can spill over and be shared with all you touch, near and far.

          Opportunity – You create yourself. The fetus of this pregnancy is YOU. In every dreamy hibernation second you are rebuilding yourself, adding visions, promoting fresh understandings and positive interpretations. Life offers us the chances of joy and misery – use your consciousness to accept this tool and allow dream-time and prep-time to penetrate ever deeper into your subconscious, to the unconscious, and down down down, deepest of all, to the collective unconscious where we recall in our bones and teeth and cells everything that has ever happened to every living thing as if it happened to us. This is the source of all imagination and creativity, accessible to you in your dream state.

          MANTRA
          “I dream deep”

          #HAIKU : Dormant

          Embrace the cold,
          Without regret,
          Secrets kept.
          Sharp, white;
          Freshening
          Sleep.

        1. #Dream Therapy – Dream Journaling with Alysse Aallyn

          Dreams – Imagination-

          Let’s learn to enjoy our dreams, to look forward to dreaming. I like waking up in the early dawn because when I go back to sleep I can set an intention for dreaming – all the best dreams (and the most memorable ones) happen at the very end of sleep while you are coming up through the lawyers of sub- to semi consciousness.

          Lucid Dreaming – Is when the dreamer realizes it’s a dream. Dreamers often use their lucidity to “manage” the dream – and that’s an important step – but don’t forget we’re here ultimately to find out what the dream is trying to tell us.

          Remember – You’re the Pilot – Do you long for caretaking? Are you eager to give over the reins of your life to someone else? If so, your dreams are likely to become scary, unmanageable and unsatisfying. It is time for you to take charge of your power – you are in control of your own brain.

          Challenge – Open your Dream Journal. Date it, and write, “I want to dream about…” Fill in the blank. Be as detailed and specific as you want to be. It is perfectly OK to allow your waking mind to construct desirable dreams – great works of art got their start in just this way! You may hear a voice… someone from the past who discouraged your “day-dreaming” and wanted you to focus on your work, on the present and on them. Explore this memory fearlessly. It is not rejecting or “hating on” that person to disagree with them – there are certainly times when the priority is to focus on other things – but right now you are exploring your own brain and testing out its powers. Clearly that’s an important and necessary project. Gently take control from this Remembered Forbidder and say, “This is my time now. I am in charge.”

          Danger – We all know the cautionary tale of Scary Guy Who Live for Video Games and Doesn’t Have a Life. Do you fear the power of dreams and the pleasures of daydreaming will suck you away from Real World Competence? They won’t – as long as you are reality centered. Some people dream of different outcomes, things that are impossible – instead of finding workable avenues of growth and advancement. Positive dreaming deepens and enhances, doesn’t evade reality. It’s just that reality is so much wilder – and we are so much more powerful than we can credit!

          Opportunity – Here’s a chance to reveal your True Self. It’s OK to be scared – it won’t harm you to recall the helplessness and confusion you felt in childhood so long as you also remember the joys of accessing power – swimming, bike riding, sports, lovemaking, dance, joint projects, creation of all types. These are models for your future. Some of us believe this growth goes on and on – even after death.

          Models & Mentors – “I dream things that never were and I say, “Why Not?” – George Bernard Shaw

          “A dreamer finds his way by moonlight…sees dawn before the rest of the world.” – Oscar Wilde

          ‘You have within you the strength, the patience and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world”
          – Harriet Tubman

          “I’ve had dreams, and I’ve had nightmares. I overcame the nightmares because of my dreams.” – Jonas Salk

          Mantra – “All things are possible”

          Meditation –

          #Haiku: Imagination

          Dreams bloom
          Across brain; sinking
          Sands of wakefulness
          Glaze;
          Leave behind
          Pearl

        2. #DreamTherapy – Dream Journaling with Alysse Aallyn

          Duality – Ambivalence –


          What Kind of Nightmare Is This ? We dream about things we don’t want and people we aren’t. Strong feminists dream of rape, vegetarians dream of meat, pacifists dream of fighting. It’s confusing. What gives?

            Language Isn’t Subtle Enough to Explain You – Your personality contains all feelings, all thoughts, all ideas, rippling through you in a vast subconscious well. Your unconscious connects with the “collective unconscious” of other peoples – dead, alive, even fictional. Why isn’t “hate-love” a word? You experience that regularly. How about “fear-attraction”? Common! What I’m suggesting is that we need to accept the fact that a “personality” is a dynamism, not a slogan. Ambivalence is natural. It’s healthy.

            Challenge – Facing this might seem the toughest part, but it isn’t for artists, who routinely “play” along their edge, peeking over it and imagining life on the other side. Art is the best way to express this, an enormous relief since it’s non-committal. Of course you’ll have to face the surprise of your relatives when your work becomes public: “Where did THAT come from?” But if truth be told, we’ve always been surprised to be related to these people.

            Danger – Society seeks to label and stigmatize. We need to explore our fear but we are afraid of becoming our fear. A simple safe word can’t work when people – bankers, politicians, therapists, employers – are so fundamentally untrustworthy. That is why our identification of ourselves as Brave Explorers is so vital. The vastness of our potential cannot be controlled by language. We will never be butterflies pinned down in a museum box for the instruction/curiosity of others.

            Opportunity – Appreciate your self. Don’t slam the door on yourself too soon. Sometimes the worst labeler, the most determined jailor, is Us. We are deeply afraid of wandering in the forest and losing the way to get home safe. But Brave Explorers carry Home within them. As Nelson Mandela used to quote from his prison cell, if we are the captains of our souls we can be the masters of our fates. We can learn to tolerate a little ambiguity/uncertainty/ambivalence. (Henley.)

            Models & Mentors – “It seems we are capable of immense love and loyalty and as capable of deceit and atrocity. It is this shocking ambivalence that makes us unique.” – John Scott

            “Ambivalence is a wonderful tune to dance to. It has a rhythm all its own.”
            – Erica Jong

            “The Simpsons is about alienation and the ambivalence of living with a family who you love but drives you crazy”
            – Matt Groening

            “Poetry is the home of ambiguity, ambivalence and uncertainty.” – Billy Collins

            Mantra – “I am Everything”

            Meditation –

            #Haiku: Contemplate Duality

            Causation;
            Polarity;
            Suspicious distrust;
            Embrace
            Growth process

          1. #Dream Therapy – Dream Journaling With Alysse Aallyn

            The Shadow – Dissonance –

            Dreaming of reversals? Sudden surprises or a creeping sense of unease? Upsets? Do you wake with a sense of having forgotten something important you almost understood? Feeling lost?

              Some dreams just leave us unsettled, feeling “weird”. Something touched us, but we are of a divided mind as to whether it was pleasant or not.

              You Are A Sensitive Instrument registering seismic shifts and deep tectonic disturbances below the threshold of consciousness. Remember, what we call “consciousness” is many-layered. Beneath your conscious is your subconscious – the things you’ve put out of mind.. Below that is your unconscious –the things you don’t know you know – it is the unconscious that is accessible to us in dreams.

              The Subconscious is noisy, like a neglected child. It will occupy all your attention if you let it. But the Unconscious is a lot more interesting. Something always IS “going on” OUTSIDE YOURSELF and you are alert to the many warning signals! This can be exhausting. We have been dreaming of relaxation, peace and quiet, the clear blue sky with not a single cloud, and here are all these depthless mutterings.

              And there’s a deeper layer yet! The collective unconscious connects us to other people, living and dead, the memories of your relatives, of history itself.

              Challenge – We are not going to get rid of our spidey senses and we must refuse to numb, ignore or inflate them. The key to intelligent management of dissonance is to think of the world as an orchestra playing a symphony. The more able we are to distinguish the varied instruments and musical lines the more we will appreciate and enjoy the experience. Balance is always key. In this cacophony, YOU are the important one. We accept all the levels of consciousness without fear; they will not control us. They are asking us to control them. We will schedule regular periods of rest and renewal where we put problems far away from mind and give thanks for this body, this moment, this sense of appreciation and wonder.

              Danger – Avoid a “bunker mentality.” The universe has many bunkers, but is bigger than any single one. We cultivate a hierarchy of response. Get out of bed in the middle of the night for a fire alarm, not a phone notification. Don’t allow yourself to ever feel helpless but seek out advice and encouragement from others who understand a healthy growth process. All of us live in groups, curate your group to promote intelligent awareness in an atmosphere of hope. Dissonance is never doom.

              Opportunity – We each have a chance to spend our night on the watchtower, but you don’t need to spend every night there. Consider dissonance an invitation to maturity. We are putting away childish things. The sky is NOT falling, however the climate is under legitimate scientific threat. Strategize ways to band together to take useful action. This is an opportunity to show self-love, as well as love for the group, the environment, the world and the future. Open your Dream Journal. The attitude, “I care about you so I’m going to take care of you” keeps us sensitive to the message of Universal Love that is waiting to embrace us.

              Models & Mentors – Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to fads, trends and popular opinion”
              – Jack Kerouac

              “Better to fail in originality than succeed in imitation”
              – Herman Melville

              “If you don’t fit in, you’re probably doing the right thing” – Henry David Thoreau

              “Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth”

              – John F. Kennedy

              Mantra – “I Hear You”

              Meditation –

              Haiku: Dissonance

              Nonsense;
              Clues disappeared
              Fragmenting circle
              Unsolvable
              Mystery

            1. #DreamTherapy – Dream Journaling with Alysse Aallyn

              Synchronicity – Education –

                Dreaming of longed for events?  Ultimate fulfillment? These are the kinds of dreams we are unwilling to wake up from, long, glorious parties of perfect happiness where everything seems to be unfolding exactly the way it should. Synchronous events are harmonious, asif the universe is a vast perfectly working clockwork machine.  These are “longing for security” dreams.

                What Provides Security?  Facts. Maps. Charts. Dictionaries. Understanding machines,systems, attribution and calibration – all the subjects of the educational process. This isthe reason we spend the first twenty plus years of our lives in instructive settings.

                Our Biggest Psychological Mistake – We take it personally (“God is against me!”) rather than understanding the systems behind disaster (soil depletion, germ theory, ozone destruction, overcrowding, nutritional deficiency, etc.) It’s called “fundamental attribution error.”

                You Can Learn – In fact you are a fierce absorber or knowledge. Advertisers know this, asdo the designers of games and entertainment generally. We adore self-educating mazes.

                Challenge – Open up that Dream Journal.  Assemble your Dream Buddies. We need todesign a life long learning plan that benefits US, not one that puts our hard earnedmoney in someone else’s pocket.

                Danger – we are seduceable. We get tired, we long for reinforcements and approval. Wejust want to put our feet up.

                Opportunity – But we are smart! Our self-designed goal system must contain refreshmentand renewal breaks. Most importantly, we will be needing a buddy as we go through thesystem, and a spiritual guru who provably has our best interests at heart.

                Models & Mentors – “Education is the key to unlocking the world. It is the passport to freedom.” – Oprah Winfrey

                “Learning never exhausts the mind.” – Leonardo da Vinci

                “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world” – Nelson Mandela

                “Tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today” – Malcolm X

                Today’s Mantra – “I love to learn”

                Meditation –

                #Haiku: Higher Education

                Go on,

                Splurge!

                Throw yourself at

                Knowledge!

                Nothing to lose but

                Ignorance…

              1. #DreamTherapy – Dream Journaling with Alysse Aallyn

                The Lovers – Alliances –

                Do you dream of love, sex, connection? Hand-holding, hugging, family celebrations? You are searchingfor Alliances. An alliance is symbiotic, good for both sides of the equation. To reach out, you must firstdecide motive (“I Could Use a Friend” vs “I’m Looking For Romantic Connection”) and that you areWORTHY of connection. This last one is tricky because we are all looking to others for validation.  Thisis the source of many “imposter” dreams where we find ourselves naked in front of the entire class,unprepared on Test Day.

                Open Your Dream Journal – Make a list of what you want in a friend/lover, then make a list of what you are prepared to give. The lists shouldn’t be unbalanced! Are you a “giver” or a “taker”? Neither can ever be satisfied, because the music of the spheres is all about rhythm and balance.

                Learn the Steps – There is much talk of “love languages”. The man who comes and digs an unsightly hole in your front yard may be awkwardly tendering a gift. The woman who doesn’t mention you’ve been talking all night with spinach in your teeth is also trying to do “something nice.”  But in each case, the ultimate effect may feel “hostile” to the recipient.

                There’s No Substitute for Communication – If you are hoping to communicate interest without revealing yourself you are bound for confusion and disappointment. But relax; it turns out the process of communication – trying to figure out and express who you are – is satisfyingly absorbing. It always makes you feel better, even when you meet a person who “weaponizes” honesty.

                How Can That Be? – Learning to recognize Exploiters is Two-Thirds of the Game. Exploiters probe for weakness, searching for hostages. We don’t want to end up as someone else’s meal.

                We can’t get through this alone, and we don’t want to. Luckily, we are surrounded by other humans,struggling, just like us.  If we pledge to help each other, we can dispatch terror and celebrate joy! Comforting! But how can we tell the difference between Builders and Exploiters?

                Danger  – When someone is trying to destroy your self-esteem, recognize this. Even if it comes in theguise of “friendship” this person is an enemy. This is not what  friends are for. When someone is tryingto “capture” you, i.e. limit and control your possibilities and behavior, that person is a hostage-takerlooking for slaves. NOT a friend.

                Challenge – what are friends for? Friends are honest: “I just don’t like that dress but maybe it’s me.”Friends are forgiving, ‘I’m sorry, I was having a bad day. I know you’re sorry, too.”  Friends  are fun,“Let’s cheer ourselves up.” Friends are helpful: “Let’s figure a way out of this.” Are you honest,forgiving,  fun-loving and helpful? You’re ready to be a friend.

                Opportunity – Friends are a mirror in which we see ourselves. We can experiment with possibilities, wecan expand our reach.  Our intelligence is doubled, as well as our efforts.  Our sorrows are halved andour ideas are increased exponentially.  Reach out! You’re getting better at the game every time you try.

                Models & Mentors – “You are my sun, my moon and all my stars”

                – e.e. cummings

                “All that we love deeply becomes a part of us” – Helen Keller

                “Love makes your soul crawl out of its hiding place” – Zora Neale Hurston

                “Love is not proud or boastful, keeps no record of past mistakes – love rejoices in the truth” –

                II Corinthians

                “Laugh as much as you breathe, love as long as you live” – Rumi

                Meditation –

                #Haiku: The Lovers – Alliances

                Entangled

                Pair;

                Four winged

                Angel flying

                Back to back:

                Unbeatable

              2. #Dream Therapy – Dream Journaling with Alysse Aallyn

                Conflict – Do you dream of danger? Natural disasters like storms, volcanoes and flooding?  Do you dream of war, of robbery, home invasion? Or do you dream about your loved one’s face turning bitter and their words cutting sharply?  Conflict is inevitable.  It is necessary – birth pangs seem terrifying and sex can look like war. In dreams we rehearse our fears until some of us fear to dream.

                  You are a Force Field.  You are a magnet for desire, change, for evolution itself. This comes byvirtue of being born, assuming your physical incarnational state. Others may tell you to standback, take your place in line or wait your turn but your appearance into this chaotic universetriggered no such guarantee. We are here to learn to use our power.

                  CHALLENGE – Force stirs up resistance.  Actions create re-action as we swing back and forth inour determination and direction. We clash and crash.  Sometimes we regret it bitterly, “why did Ido that?”  Sometimes we fear loss or harm so much we are immobilized.  The challenge is toassume your stride, elucidate your goals and plan a direction. Get out your dream Journal. Consult your dream buddies.

                  DANGER – It’s all too easy to make others fear you. The one with the biggest weapon THINKShe wins every fight. But what looks like compliance to you could be revolution – you will betoppled and lose your heart’s desire.

                  OPPORTUNITY – Learning to use conflict constructively and creatively is a Superpower.  Otherpeople are force fields, too. If there is any way to blend these powers and head in the samedirection, we will be invincible. 

                  Models & Mentors –  “I used to tell myself, boy, if you can survive this, you can survive anything” – Tom Lichtenberg

                  “Laughter is the proof that our tragedies don’t define us. Laughter is the survivor’s language” – Josh James

                  “Cancer didn’t bring me to my knees, it brought me to my feet”

                  – Michael Douglas

                  “If you want to awaken humanity, awaken yourself. If you want to eliminate suffering, eliminate what is negative in yourself. Your gift to the world is our self-transformation.” – Lao Tzu

                  MEDITATION –

                  #Haiku: The Storm

                  Battle mode:

                  Sludge

                  Rears up

                  Eyes bug

                  Mouth gapes

                  Shrieks

                  “No!”

                  Anticipates

                  “Yes”

                1. Dream Group Dream Journaling with Alysse Aallyn

                  Loss & Suffering – Sometimes dreams are an escape from the unbelievable horror of existence. In that case, they are our art form, and we must curate them to prepare a bearable future.

                  Ugly World – every religion and philosophical system has to account for the misery we see around us -storms, flood, volcanos, disease, human frustration an animal predation. Do your dream explore inner and outer pain? How much is fear, how much is anxiety, how much is collective unconscious and shared human history? We fear everyone CAN’T be happy at once. How do we educate ourselves to surf this intolerable dilemma? Let’s get out our Dream Journals.

                  What’s the happiest dream you’ve ever had? Why? – How could it even more satisfyingly responsive to your present crisis?

                  Lucid Dreaming –  Is dreaming when you’re aware of it. it’s trying to guide the dream and use it to replenish your spirit. Your psyche is accessible in dreams to those you choose to include. What spirits do you invite?

                  Pain is Joy’s Shadow – Joy is an excess of feeling and so is suffering. When we long to “numb out”, we numb everything. If we live our lives in fear, we avoid the potential excitement of holding breath on the edge of discovery.

                  Challenge – What would become of us if we allowed ourselves to feel it all? Poets feel they must indulge – artist of all kinds explore and expand the edges of perception and assessment. Possible philosophical coping mechanisms can be Buddhist – “It’s all illusion” “Practice taming the wild mind” or religious –  “Suffering brings us closer to God in developing compassion for all creation” and “Birth pangs are necessary to bring new life.” Any way we can keep our mind and soul responsive and deepening benefits the whole planet. Cultivate Dream Partners. Share your dreams with them.

                  Danger – Too much suffering breeds helplessness. Our angel needs to recover from her burns and acquire some new feathers. If we stop even trying to better our human situation we attract predators to such easy prey.  Even worse, we become predators ourselves, bragging to the godless that we are the new potentates. Cruelty breeds endless cruelty. There must be a way to step off this treadmill – there’s enough suffering going around without manufacturing more.

                  Opportunity – Imagination itself comes from discomfort, even misery. We see a need to expand our mental repertoire, to magically increase the very dimensions of thought that seem to imprison us. As a species we have broken through this many times. There must be further epiphanies awaiting. How does this apply to you? Ask your dreams. Open and relax your mind.  Keep track of your dreams in your journal – not just actual dreams, but your thought possibilities in reflection. What if you could not fail? Turn to your dream partners for ideas. Who are we really? Who could we become?

                  Models & Mentors – “You will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered”

                  – Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

                  “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard”

                  – A.A. Milne

                  “Only people who are capable of loving strongly can suffer such deep sorrow, but this same necessity of loving serves to counteract their grief and heal them”

                  – Leo Tolstoy

                  “What we once loved we can never lose for it becomes a part of us” – Helen Keller

                  “Death is not the greatest loss in life, the greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live”  – Norman Cousins

                  Meditation –

                  #Haiku: Acceptance without Exception

                  Join us!

                  Compassion

                  Greets

                  Suffering;

                  Blends;

                  Evaporates

                  Tears

                  Gently.