Editor's Note: This is the sixteenth of a projected series of 26 articles in which Allen Aslan Heart will pass along the spiritual wisdom found in the stories behind his dream catchers. Like many others, Mr. Heart feels that the time has come when we must get our spiritual and ecological acts together if we are to survive and evolve.

Dream Within A Dream: The Hidden Power Of Dreams

by Allen Aslan Heart/White Eagle Soaring

Dreams are a fundamental facet of the life of the traditional Aniishinabeg. Dreaming is associated with the development of power and wisdom. Each young man seeks a vision that will direct his life. Over one thousand years ago when the Aniishinabeg were living by the great salt water, the Atlantic Ocean, they were visited by seven prophets. The first told them that they must leave the homes of their ancestors to travel west to a place where food grows on water and that they would find an island shaped like a turtle at the beginning of their journey and at the end. When a young woman dreamed of facing the setting sun as she stood on the back of a turtle, her husband took her to the elders to tell her story. They found this island in the St. Lawrence River near the present city of Montreal. The Sacred Megis shell, a cowrie, rose up out of the waters to confirm that they were correctly following the path of spirit. The second prophet said that they would lose their way and begin to forget the purpose of their journey. A little boy would show them the way. Over a hundred years later, when they were living on the eastern shore of Lake Huron they did lose their way. Many years later a little boy dreamed of walking across a lake on stepping stones. His parents brought him to the elders to tell of his dream. The people retraced their path and this time they found a series of islands that allowed them to cross the huge freshwater sea by canoe. Again the Sacred Megis shell rose up out of the water to assure them that they had found the right path.

Dreams are not always easy to interpret. Too often people only look at the obvious story in the dream and interpret a shallow, pointless message. It is necessary to look deep within the dream to see the true meaning, the lessons being taught by the Spiritkeepers for our spiritual growth and development.

Dream-within-a-dream – Deep inside your dreams are the hidden dreams of your true self. Dreams from the inner realms find their way through the dreams of the outer world to reveal who you really are. Your shadow self and your positive self guide your journey, for you learn from both the shadow and the light. In many Native American traditions the coyote is the teacher – trick or treat. Sometimes we resist the learning opportunity, so Coyote becomes the trickster. Then we will learn in spite of ourselves. Coyote will trip us, make us stumble, allow us to make fools of ourselves, play games with us, tease and toy with us, and laugh. We will dance with Coyote until we learn to Dance the Spirals.

“Will they learn in time? They are destroying themselves and the Earth Mother! They have torn the fabric of the Web of Life! The Spirals are far out of balance!”

“We must trust that the One, the Source, is truly wise. There is purpose in allowing such deviations as these. When they discover that they can be powerful without domination or destruction, there will be a great joy in All That Is .”

“Their industry poisons all parts of the planet. They even make food that kills slowly enough to be permitted by their laws.”

“Many problems are hidden from them by their stubbornness and arrogance, but mostly by not being aware of their connection with the One and to each other. They are blind and deaf to the destruction and death that surrounds them. This shadow will guide them, trip them, trick them until they return to the Path of Truth and Beauty to experience the One. Once again they will remember the Original Instructions to Dance the Spiral and Sing the Songs. You will see.”

“Must they learn to walk the Path of Truth and Beauty only by tripping and falling repeatedly?”

“That is the way most of them will learn. Yet they can learn through their dreams. It is a moment in their lives that they become aware of their connection to the One. Some will dismiss their dreams as silly or mere mental processing of psychological problems. Yet the power is available to them to learn wisdom in their dreams. Some have been Dreaming the Spiral and holding together the Web with their Song and Dance. Many more may join them soon – if the Dream Dancer discovers Who he is and the dream he is to dance.”

So….be light.

©Copyright 2002 Allen Aslan Heart