Healing Dreams a Shamanic Interpretation
I awoke to feel the sun shining on my face, I was in my own bed but I was also returning from a very deep dream. I closed my eyes again and drifted back into the quickly fading images and memory of where I had just been. I had just been flying and I was an eagle, it all seemed so second nature, so natural to be me and to be an eagle. I had been in an expanded state of consciousness that allowed me to perceive a greater experience of myself. As an Eagle I could see I was not fully engaged in my own life, I was staggering, unfocused, and unmotivated by life itself. As I looked upon myself I saw the man on earth that was missing pieces of his greater self, a person who limited himself to a life of such limited perception. I had compassion love and joy in my experience as an eagle and all of life seemed so very precious. I knew of nothing other than being this eagle, to see such a bigger divine picture and to fly with power, grace and determination, to focus on the work I was given and to enjoy the process of doing it in every moment I experienced. I remember so vividly these feelings as my task was to search for missing pieces of my own soul, flying and gathering through dimensions not limited by time and space and returning them to my human form, each time lifting him up and bringing a light to his eyes. I could see human nature from both a new simplistic and animalistic perspective and I could see how I was limiting myself choosing to downplay my very existence!
The interpretation of dreams as a shaman is as profound and real as is the awareness from an awakened state. Both the real world and the dream world, are a part of who we are, and both have effects on our physical existence. Many native cultures, shaman and healers see the dream world as an extension of the physical world, offering profound experiences, spiritual lessons, and growth opportunities for or the greater self.
Slowly opening my eyes the sun light was bright and warm as it filled the room. I felt my physical body the real world yet I still in some ways felt as though I could see through the eyes of the Eagle. As much as I wanted to hang on to this profound perspective, my vision and feelings were closing in on the worldly patterns that had become habitual in my life. I felt sad, I felt like crying, like screaming with Joy, like wagging my tail, even though I didn’t have one. Here I was again in the physical world, yet not everything of the dream was gone, I could recall the experience yet differently and with a new sense of optimism. I knew even though I was not able to be the eagle, I was able to see some of the lessons from the dream. I knew there was a choice, a choice to engage in life, to embrace who I was, to let go of the many judgments that played into the experience of lack, fear, and shadow that clouded my life.
Dreams can be experienced in various levels of consciousness, some can be vivid and clear, while others can be confusing, non interpretable, or quickly fade away. They can provide vital clues to healers and shaman in the diagnosis and treatment of illness or injuries. Dreaming by many cultures and indigenous people is a way to commune directly with guides and spirit. Many cultures believe the soul leaves the body each night as we dream, and some believe if the dreamer were suddenly awakened the soul may not be able to return to the body.
In my dream it all seemed so clear, so easy and focused, so effortless, loving, and all encompassing. Everything was ok although I could see I was out of place, as if a small jigsaw puzzle had spilled and a happy child was picking up the pieces and putting them in place. I believe something happened, something shifted, and something was returned to me to lift a burden off my shoulders that I never needed to carry. Life is a natural joy, a gift, to be who you are yet somehow this perception gets distorted and leads to path of feeling unfulfilled, unworthy and unaware of who we really are.