Alysse Aallyn

Category: #InnerLife

  • #DreamTherapy – Dream Journaling with Alysse Aallyn

    Medicine – Do you dream of hospitals? Doctors? Shamen? Magic pills? Do you ache and shiver? Are you afraid? One of society’s proudest boasts is our seemingly magical ability to cure illness, or at least palliate its effects. Your dreams say you yearn for healing, that you recognize you need help.

    Challenge – How do we develop the confidence to choose the “right diagnosis” for what ails us? When do we request a “second opinion?” How can we stay on the “right” course, or even assess the “rightness” of any course, considering all our past mistakes? We need “heart strengthening.” Listen to your heart. What do we wish to ask? Who do we wish to be? Where are we trying to go?

    Danger – Can we tell the difference between a “strengthening” or “harming” path? TV pharmaceutical ads list grisly side effects for pills tackling vague malaise. How can we overlook these? Perhaps the ultimate “danger” is ignoring the warnings our malaise gives. What does “I want to be young again” really mean? We are all mortal. We have just so much time left to plan. To “become”.

    Lucid Healing – A lot of research indicates that when we ask for healing in a dream, we exponentially increase our chances of it happening. In your Dream Journal, set an intention. Write out exactly what you want to happen.

    Dream Therapy – Is there any reason you can imagine why your psyche would cling to this pain, this illness? Are you ready to release this demon? Before you go to sleep, settle the intention in your mind. Imagine you are burning the pages of your dream journal and those words rise up, written in fire and imprint themselves into your body. In the morning, when you wake up, think and write about your immediate feelings and memories. Repeat as necessary!

    Opportunity – Some people are more confident following an “experts recommend” course exactly, others adapt and customize as they go to achieve a path that feels more personally designed. I look for joy. Joy is the moment when planets and moments all click into alignment and we feel we accepted as a beloved child of the universe. Let’s unclog our ears, remove the plank from our vision and simplify our world to recapture the moments of joy experienced in childhood. Hunger, confusion and uncertainty were part of it, but a trusted loving, guiding force rescued us over and over again, prompting us to respond with a love as generous as we can summon.

    Models & Mentors – “Hugging is good medicine”
    – Karen Salmansohn

    “Medicine is the art of amusing the patient while nature cures the disease” – Voltaire

    “Medicines cure diseases, but only doctors can cure patients” – C.J. Jung

    “Medicine cures doubt as well as disease” – Karl Marx

    “The arts are as essential to everyone’s lives as clean food and fresh air”
    – Renee Phillips

    Mantra -“I open”.

    Meditation –

    #Haiku: The Doctor Says It’s All Your Fault

    Barbed –
    Snarled –
    Scorned –
    Swollen –
    Parasitic –
    Infant desire
    Destroys its
    Host

  • #DreamTherapy – Dream Journaling with Alysse Aallyn

    Earth – Resources –Do you dream of wealth? Storehouses of goodies? Digging in the earth and finding treasure? Gold at the end of the rainbow? These are “resource” dreams. In DreamTherapy, the “Earth” represents resources because Earth is the source ofeverything mortal that is valuable to us. Where we are born determines the very language we will use to quantify, remember and share our world.

      You are a Wealthy Heir – We are all born into fabulous possibility. However the fear ofemptiness and the dread of exclusion also start immediately. Focus on the wealth we DON’T have prevents us from identifying the resources we already possess now. Lucid dreaming can help us here. We will dream our way to understanding.

      Challenge – Open your Dream Journal. Let’s figure out what we’ve got going for us. Health? Youth? Sight? Hearing? Intelligence? Talents? Love? Education? Family? Community? Faith? Roof over head? Food on Table? Money coming in? People we candepend on? Is there a patch of sky where we can see the stars? Is there a patch of ground where we can see the flowers?

      Danger – There’s no question all these benefits can be improved upon. They are also subject to depredation, depreciation and degradation. It is a positive force to desire improvements, but it is dangerous to turn “wants” into rage.

      Opportunity – Often the one difference between happiness and misery is gratitude. Are you grateful for all you have been given? Do you feel lucky or fortunate in any way? To put things in perspective, lottery winners one year out are usually NOT AS HAPPY as those who have been in a serious accident one year previous!  Obviously, the secret is perspective. The lottery winners thought a pile of money would “solve” everything, the accident sufferers thought they were destroyed forever. Lottery winners learned how wrong they were about what they needed, while accident sufferers were focused on what they still had and what new caring relationships came into their lives. Begin to cultivate apractice of gratitude. It starts with a “Thank You.”

      Models & Mentors – “Preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.” – Carl Sagan

      “I only feel angry when I see waste, people throwing away things we could use” – Mother Teresa

      “Earth provides enough to satisfy everyone’s need but not everyone’s greed” – Mahatma Gandhi

      “The Earth has music for those who listen” – Shakespeare

      “Earth sustains us and we must sustain her”

      – Chief Dan George

      Mantra – “I thrive”

      Meditation –

      #Haiku: Resentment vs Gratitude

      Look back

      Bitter

      Maims

      Deforms;

      Gratitude

      Welcomes –

      Future

      Gift exchange

    1. #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

          Peace – Serenity – The Power of Happy Dreams – Do you have a mental happy place to retreat to whenever you need a psychic lift?  It doesn’t even need to be a place you’ve ever actually been for you to dream about it. Multiverse proponents would argue that you’ve already been there. Do your dreams involve beaches, vacation, relaxation, memories of happy times when you hadnothing to do but enjoy yourself and revel in the moment?

          Happy Dreams are prophecies of all the peace and serenity that await us, greeting us whenwe first came into the world.

          Peace is Possible. Serenity is an Idea. Most of us are familiar with the “serenity prayer”  written by theologian Reinhold Niebuhr:

          “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference, living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; taking this world as it is and not as I would have it; trusting that You will make all things right.”

          It’s possible to maintain serenity, even when things are awful. The Serenity Prayer works as aninoculation against pointless worry, which is seen as “borrowing trouble.”

          Challenge – Like meditation, serenity is a mental state that takes practice. Take out your your Dream Journal.Make a list of your most pressing concerns. Can you do anything about any of them today? If so,appoint a time when you will take a step towards resolving this concern. If you can’t do anything aboutit, put it forcefully out of your mind. Imagine your worries as a bunch of balloons. Now let them go, one by one. Put each useless worry on a piece of paper and burn them slowly, each by each. Give yourself a“mantra”; a word or phrase you find comforting and centering, and repeat it out loud to yourself. St. Julian of Norwich recommended: ”All things will be well”, Coué offered, “Every day, in every way I amgetting better and better”, some yoga enthusiasts chant a simple “Om.” You can use a phrase from yourown past said to you by a Beloved Person – “now you’ll be fine” “You’re safe” “You’re perfect”“Everything’s all right”or the tried and true: “I love you.” My favorite is from Revelation: “Every tear wiped away.”

          Danger – We are all worried about missing something, or someone. Often that “centering person”, that reassuring person from our past is not just the one who gave us the relaxation code, but is also the one who told us what to worry about: ie.”Make sure all the locks are locked” “Have you done yourhomework?” There certainly are things to be concerned about (“Are you registered to vote?”) but there are plenty of worries we CAN’T help with. Return to the serenity prayer and start weeding out – onpaper – your Justifiable Concrns. One of the best things about Anxiety – and I mean this – is it offers anopportunity to ask for help. Yes, I say “opportunity”! Because life is  all about RELATIONSHIPS. Soworries offer us a unique chance to forge a meaningful, worthwhile relaionship with Someone Else. Who? It depends. Get ready to experiment. As with every other relationship in your life, yourrequirements, tolerance, communication goals are unique. Many people want to speak to a professional– therapist or life coach – and plenty of professionals out there are auditioning for a little – or a lot – ofyour hard-earned cash. An excellent place to start is with Proven Gurus like Tolle Eckhart or Pema Chodon who can be accessed from any library. See what you think. Evaluate their assistance. Inquirefurther.

          Opportunity – This is a perfect moment to harness the power of lucid dreaming. Lucid dreams are INTENTIONAL. Imagine that! You could go to that happy place ANY TIME you needed it and, best of all, use your night time rest as an arena and your “happy place” as a vessel to anchor your subconscious. We have worries we don’t even know about yet! But we also have powerful forces onour side. Practice sleeping to “special music” with a mental picture of your “happy place.” Aaah.

          Models & Mentors – “Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.” – The Dalai Lama

          “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.” – Reinhold Niebuhr

          “Serenity of spirit and turbulence of action make up the sum of life”

          – Vita Sackville-West

          “Enjoy the peace of nature and declutter your inner world” – Amit Ray

          Meditation –

          #Haiku: Wealth

          Peace to dream

          Play to share

          Health to dance

          Worlds to

          Explore

          Joy to

          Extend

        2. #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

        3. #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

            REGRET – Many anxiety dreams are about regret.  When we try to impartially study our dream content, the moods flood in, rocking our precarious stability.  Why are people so afraid of lookinginside? Because of Regret, that’s why. The things we’ve already done that we can never change. Seemingly hopeless sorrow builds – now we are helpless, we hate ourselves and we can’t fix anything. We are in for a bad, cold, frigid winter of discontent.

              YOU CAN LIGHTEN YOUR OWN LOAD – No one can do it but you. When you serve as prosecutorin your own life – guess what? – that’s not fair. Fundamental Attribution Error is people blamingindividuals for actions that were the result of systems; mass decisions or circumstances over which theyhad no actual control. Look into it, if you want to. (Sometimes we need to.) Or you can just forgive yourself and move on. After all, we’ve got the future to think of.

              CHALLENGE – Let’s get out our Dream Journal. What would you change NOW? How doyou WANT to change? Forgive yourself. You were held hostage by fortune (we all were)and you went full-on Stockholm Syndrome and identified with your attackers and tried toplease them. (We all did. It’s called Society.) Now you’re madder at yourself than you areat them. Forgive yourself. We’re starting a new life. One where it’s US who’s in charge.

              DANGER – You’re in another part of the forest. Surprise! This wasn’t the plan but here you are. TheDanger is always that you’ll give up. Surrender. Don’t. You can easily see from every fairy tale andhero’s journey you’ve ever studied that now we’re getting to the Good Part. By testing your muscle, youGROW your muscle. If your muscle is never tested, it withers. So let’s go!

              OPPORTUNITY – We don’t know everything. Even Jesus demonstrated surprise about the way thingsturned out. Be gentle as a dove, he advised, but wily as a serpent. Serpents can get out of anything. (Aska herpetologist.) And so can you. It’s just a bigger world than we knew – both inner and outer – so getmapping. I guarantee you – IT GETS BETTER.

              Models & Mentors –  “I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than the things I haven’t done.”

              – Lucille Ball

              “There are no regrets in life, only lessons.” – Jennifer Aniston

              “We have only one life, and the second life begins the moment we realize that fact” – Confucius

              “I was designed by my Creator to not only feel pain and love but to become whole inside it. I am a Warrior” –Glennon Doyle

              “Autumn, the year’s last, loveliest smile” – William Cullen Bryant

              MEDITATION –

              #Haiku: Regret

              Coulda

              Woulda

              Shoulda

              Didn’t. Now you

              Wish

              Things

              Different.

              Clean slate.

              Write.

            1. Dream Group – Dream Journaling with Alysse Aallyn

              DREAM CONTENT – RELAX – Take a deep breath as you face the content of your dreams.  

                YOU HAVE INNER RESOURCES – FOCUS your power by closing your eyes and – relaxing. Are youafraid you might fall asleep? So much the better – we need these dreams to be our map and guide.Dreaming of hot summers, beach, umbrellas, ocean, sand? You are longing for a “getaway” and the verybest and most refreshing vacation is to disappear inside yourself. Let’s learn to “see” with that Third Eye– the Wisdom Eye. Like every effort, it takes not just concentration but practice.

                DREAMS OF REAL EVENTS –  Is your brain flipping through its memories, disguising them, trying to make sense of them or imagining horrific detours? These are anxiety dreams. You fear that the causality of existence is basically nonsensical and cruel. The cure? Develop a “human flourishing” worldview. Use your models and mentors to investigate the requirements of life enhancement. What about love? When your dreams fear it doesn’t exist, you need to develop loving relationships in your daytime life.

                DREAMS OF FICTIONAL EVENTS – Are you trying to process fiction read about and seen (often dystopian). Your shy heart is shocked to its core and your inexperienced brain is trying to make sense of it. But we know much online fiction is a race to the bottom, trying again and again to go over the top.

                PRACTICE SELF-CARE – Prioritize your well-being. If you spend four hours a day watching or playing nonsensical vitriolic junk, you should spend equal time on your improvement and self-soothing regimens. Think of it. EQUAL TIME. Obviously you need to start developing self-care regimens that are way more pleasurable than passive viewing.

                CHALLENGE – Check your immortal soul. Don’t think you have one? No wonder you’re scared, if you reduce yourself to chaff like yesterday’s lawn clippings!  You are certainly aware that all of human history has been devoted to exploring whether we have souls, where they come from and what happens to them. Probably you like – everyone –  is turned off by the idea that in order to have a soul you need to follow some religion’s requirements, laid down for you by its boss.

                But seriously, think about it. If part of yourself is immortal, with supernatural capabilities, doesn’t it, by definition, exist OUTSIDE all that stuff? Who put them in charge? If your immortal soul is the freest part of you, set it free indeed.  Use your imagination to imagine THOSE possibilities, instead of scaring yourself almost to death. And then – relax. 

                Inside yourself is you find everyone you have ever known, everyone you have ever loved, is there. Ifthat’s a tough one – and I know it’s making you gulp – here’s one tougher – everyone you ever WILLknow is in there too. You can learn to reach forwards as well as back. No, it doesn’t come immediately. But the exciting news is – you have all the time in the world.

                DANGER – You fear you will lose yourself. The worst fear is that you have no self to lose. You areyoung at this, and fresh, naïve and simple. A beginner. Accept that power. It is a wonderful thing whenthe baby begins to see. But what about Evil?  Isn’t that a thing? If I have Everything inside, then don’t Ihave Evil, too. And the mystic answer is Yes. But it can’t hurt you if you don the armor. The armor isLove, and I recommend you begin to study the subject. It isn’t strong enough yet, but you can strengthenit by Will. You must educate your will.

                OPPORTUNITY – You realize now that our dreams are forcing a choice – it really comes down to thatone thing – you must choose between Evil or Love. Evil promises it will “get the job done”, it will offer“special” unique opportunities, single you out for goodies, bring you hostages and slaves. But here’s theFact about Evil – it breaks all its promises because IT BREAKS YOU. Love promises Eternity and Joy,and it takes effort. It takes discernment, knowledge, commitment and growth. Love asks you to enter aprocess. Evil says you can just “take”, or even lie inert and be showered with benefits. One choice makes you beautiful, an athlete of the Soul, the other makes you hideously ugly, a blot that sucks in lightand depresses all who look at it.  Will you make mistakes? Inevitably. But we have been assured by the greatest minds of all time that we cannot lose. So, relax. 

                Models & Mentors: “Everything you want is on the other side of fear” – Jack Canfield

                “What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you become” – Buddha

                “You can’t stop the waves but you can learn how to surf” – Jon Kabat-Zinn

                “It takes courage to say yes to rest and play in a world where exhaustion is a status symbol” – Brene Brown

                ‘You are the silent watcher of your thoughts. You are the stillness beneath the mental noise. You are the joy beneath the love and pain” – Eckhart Tolle

              1. Dream Group – Dream Journaling with Alysse Aallyn

                THE GODDESS – POWER

                  DO YOU DREAM OF MAGIC?  Magical people, animals, happenings? It is the purview of dreams to manifest supernatural happenings. The Goddess represents the power – the force – to get things doneand to bend unfriendly circumstances to your desire and will. If dreams are wishes, this is understandable, because isn’t that what we all want – a little magic?

                  BEHIND THE WISH, LIES THE FEAR – Do we long to be the 8-ball, to control the 8-ball or to be under the 8-ball? Don’t we fear all these at the same time?

                  RECOGNIZE YOUR POWER – You are iconic. The Goddess suggests your yearning to discover theinherent magic that is especially, irreplaceably You. You have a power no one else has, incorporated inyour being, your possibilities, your desires and your memories.  This takes a lifetime to accept becausewe all fantasize being Someone Else and experiencing existence through the armor of Having only an Outside instead of just the very vulnerable Inside in which we all feel imprisoned. Your dreams bring allthese passions together as psychic poetry, elucidating what you think you want, what you hope you wantand what you are afraid you want. The ultimate magic is to seize conscious control of this potent powersource. Invite the Dream.

                  CHALLENGE OF THE DREAM – The challenge is to truly connect with others, reveal our worldInside, and avoid blasting their apparently impenetrable Outside with our terror, our longing and ourfear.

                  DREAM DANGERS – We must never take hostages and we must never become a hostage. Freedom is afine line to walk. If we wish to reach out, we must treat others with respect and claim like respect forourselves. Accept your dreams as “experiments”; do not fear them but learn to look at them, impartially, as messages from the Other World. Allow them to take you where you need to go.

                  DREAM OPPORTUNITIES – There will be stumbles and terrors aplenty, also successes that LOOKlike stumbles and terrors, but which we only realize on reflection were real leaps forward. This is whywe must carefully assess our daily efforts without being harsh with ourselves. You are your own MostBeloved Child. Speak gently to yourself as you would to a most treasured child.. It is not selfish tocommit to this belief, it is simply placing the oxygen mask over your own face FIRST so that you canadminister this life-saving force to others. Find someone with whom you can share your dream journey,without fear or judgment. This connection will teach us everything we need to know about how toconnect with others. Explore Models and Mentors – this is how we learn.

                  “I awoke to find the rest of the world still asleep” – Leonardo Da Vinci

                  “Marvelous the dream and great the terror: we must treasure the dream no matter the terror.” – Anonymous, The Epic of Gilgamesh

                  “In dreams we betray ourselves

                  In betrayal we discover ourselves

                  In self-discovery we lose our innocence

                  In loss of innocence we gain knowledge

                  In knowledge we gain wisdom

                  In wisdom we recover innocence.”

                  -Brother Antoninus 

                  MEDITATION –

                  #Haiku: The Goddess

                  Manifest your

                  Brave,

                  Burnished; brutalized

                  Carapace.

                  Gaze.  Accept.

                  Love.