The Hidden Treasures of Dreaming - Spirit of Ma'at

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Why then do we undervalue this twin side of ourselves? If we are right-handed, wouldwe ever think of cutting off the left arm, simply because it is not as useful as the right?Who is it that tells us our right brain is not useful?The answer, of course, is: the left brain! Having claimed our attention, the left brainrefuses to relinquish its prerogative. It tells us that the cognitions of the right brain aredreams, and that dreams are mere fantasy. But are they?Dreaming and FantasyBefore we go on to describe the forgotten powers of dreaming, we must dispel thenotion that dreaming and fantasy are one and the same. The left brain, being willful,aggressive, and competitive, sets itself goals that it proceeds to realize. Fantasy is theleft brain's way of twisting our true dreaming to its own purposes.For example, we might fantasize that our boss is fired for stealing money from thecompany, and, lo and behold, we are offered his job! Fantasy is self-serving. Ourclaims, expectations, desires, longings, and resentments color the fantasy and itsoutcome.True dreaming is free of such conniving. Instead, it responses playfully, like a childdoes. Presented with a grimace, it will stick its tongue out. Presented with a beautifulwoman, it will light up with a wondrous smell or a beatific landscape. Dreamingresponds to what it perceives, not simplistically, not foolishly, but in a manner that isdirect, spontaneous, and creative.We will call this responsive dreaming ''Active Imagination.''The ''Health Foods'' of RelatednessImagine an infant deprived at an early age of its mother. It cries and cries -- andcontinues to cry into adulthood.What do we feed it? Words. ''Talking cures.'' Unfortunately, however, talking curesaffect only the mind. They cannot affect the poor body, still longing for the soft touch ofa mother's caressing hands, the sweet sound of her cooing, the luminosity of her eyesand smile.Words only wrap the unfortunate story of loss more securely around the suffering body.They cannot cure the body of its hunger. Only through ''in-forming'' the right brain --using Active Imagination to feed it lived experiences, the embodied relationships, thesustenance it so desperately needs -- only this way can the void of patterning beaddressed. By in-forming the right brain through the Active Imagination, the twistedconfigurations patterned by early lack can be unraveled and reconfigured.
How can we in-form the right brain through Active Imagination? How does this actuallywork?To begin with, through the therapist or other helper, the right brain instantly picks up thesound of the listening ear, the look of the loving eyes, the feel of the hand that caressesthe body, or even its proximity. Half the work of healing is done by attentive presence,caring, or touch.Even at a distance, the right brain is wired like a radio, picking up the shape of thesecaring frequencies. We experience this phenomenon in our daily life, when we think ofsomeone, only to find them calling us in the next hour or day. The vision of that person'sface and the emotion generated in our right brain sends a localized signal to the otherperson in the same way that tuning to a radio station will cause specific sounds andcontent to be received. Resonance to subtle thought and feeling is the hallmark of theright brain.Personally Attending to Our PainsBecause of the right brain's ability to pick up sustenance as described above, we do notneed to wait in order to feed ourselves the healthy food of relatedness! Others, inattending to us, may stimulate our responsiveness. But we can attend to ourselves inthe same way. In fact, being always in our bodies, we can do this even more powerfullythan anyone else. All it takes is turning our senses inward to harken to our own needs.Where do we start? With our bodies. At first, we start this re-patterning of theconfigurations of lack by attending to our body's pains and discomforts. When wecontract against our pain, trying to distance ourselves from it, we are feeding the patternof lack. When we conquer our natural impulse to run away and instead begin to feed ourright brain the experiences, the subtle energies, the sustenance our body seeks, we canreverse the negative patterning and create healing.Here's how to do this:Attending to Your PainClose your eyes, breathe out slowly three times counting from three back to one. Seethe "1" tall, clear, and very bright.Now, turning your eyes inward -- inside your body -- let your vision travel down to thearea of the physical, emotional, or mental pain. Allow yourself to be in-formed by thepain: What does it look like? What color is it? Does it smell? Does it have a texture ora sound? Is it hot or cold? Inflamed or dull? Wet or dry? Describe to yourselfeverything you ''see'' about your pain.
Page 1 and 2: In Search of Ancient KnowledgeThe k
Page 3: That the treasure lies inside ourse
Page 7 and 8: Here is how to go about it:Attendin

The Hidden Treasures of Dreaming - Spirit of Ma'at

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?