Dream Harvesting®: Purification

by Anyes Cartry

It is said that Asclepius, son of Apollo, practiced Dreamwork as a method of healing at his temple in Epidaurus. People seeking healing had to take a ritual bath before entering the sanctuary to cleanse body and soul.
 
As you prepare for our workshop, it’s important that you approach Dream Harvesting® in the same manner.
 
Rituals are powerful. They enable our soma, the physical dimension of our being, to capture our intention through deeds and actions enacted in the physical world that translate the direction of our mind (intention).
 
Approaching the dream world requires a certain amount of reverence, or respect. If you ask somebody a question you don’t turn your back to them, or hopefully you don’t swipe your phone and read something else while they are answering you. You make space by choosing a place propitious for conversation (not too noisy or crowded) and you listen, not only with your auditory sense, but with all your being (your posture, your eyes reading body language, and even your sense of smell…)
 
Dreams help us live our lives to the fullest extent and encompass more than the ego - the limited part of us that gives us a sense of identity as we face the external world.
 
Dreams connect us with our Self, which encompasses the unconscious - that is, everything outside of the direct awareness of the mind (somatic experiences, spiritual experiences, feelings and emotions, and more…) Dreams often express what can’t be expressed verbally (through words, which are only one kind of symbol.)
 
To prepare oneself to this symbolic expression it’s important to cleanse the doors of perception.  That is, to cleanse all our senses including what has been called a “sixth sense” (intuition).

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Practically, it is important to disconnect from your phone, social media, news, and all, for at least 30 minutes before you go to sleep. During these 30 minutes, feel your physical body, connect with your breathing, and allow your mind to quiet down and distance itself from the world of information, which is especially busy, demanding, and even disturbing in this time.

 
Ask yourself what is an important question for you in this time of your life, this week, this day. Then ask your dream world for an answer during the night. Ask as you would ask your most trusted friend for their most genuine insight.  Just like that.

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