There is no magic formula to living a genuine spiritual life. No adequate map that charts the exact terrain–we each walk into the mystery of our lives–blind, unable to see the future that will unfold.

We don’t know what we will encounter when we turn our attention inward during meditation (especially long periods of meditation like retreat). We don’t know what is waiting in the unconscious to rise up into awareness–what parts of ourselves, our family karma or the world’s–that is looking to be healed and integrated in our growing heart.

Exploring Dream Images, Growth Edges, Setting Boundaries and Lion Energy

The images that appear in dreams can be potent allies. Sometimes representing energies that we have disowned or abandoned. Image is the voice of the unconscious.

What are you letting lie fallow, what edges are flirting with you through this night-time foray in the world of color and light, what characters seem to haunt or seduce your imagination?

A ritual act can be as simple as placing your hands palm to palm, kissing the earth or looking up at the Sun. A ritual can last as long as an exhale, the strike of a match, the time it takes to proclaim the syllable AH! And then there are more elaborate rituals, like a daily meditation practice, or making bows and prayers at a particular time of the day. With mindfulness and attention preparing a meal can become a ritual, eating a meal can be too! So can going for a walk, having sex, commuting and doing chores around the house.

Dreaming is this mysterious night-time process, that begs our attention if we are interested in healing, transformation or awakening arts.

Our dreams are our most intimate mental impressions. They come through wordless, loaded with delicious imagery, symbols, feelings and movement.

Dreams have a way of amplifying our neuroses, and I say this with the utmost respect and intrigue. Who are these dreams meant for? Who is dreaming these night-time dreams?

The climate crisis asks us to confront the basic existential questions, who are we? What are we? Why are we here? What is life? What are we doing with this life? It also asks us to feel. Part of being human is loss. We are all initiated into the human soul through loss. As we learn we don’t always get what we want, as we grieve the loss of loved ones--died too early, unexpected and sometimes in ways we can’t understand or justify…