What is truly meaningful in our dreams and in our waking lives? How do we find resonance in dreams that seem vague, disturbing, incoherent or unpleasant? We all experience a range of frequencies of dreams and dream-like states every day and night. Some of these experiences are beautiful and breathtaking, but some are difficult to appreciate, and many are not particularly moving or memorable. How do we “tune in” to the ground of our collective being that is perfectly and uniquely expressed in each moment of dream experience?
-Kirsten Backstrom (from “The Dream’s Way”)
Pilgrimage can open the way to the dream world, and dreams can open the way to a spiritual path, but walking and dreaming must both unfold on their own terms. When I walked the Camino de Santiago last year, I knew I was in for an adventure, and that I would be well outside my comfort zone—but I didn’t know how I would handle the experience, and what my dreams had in store for me…
At the recent 2016 Psiber-Dreaming Conference (an exciting international on-line event that explores the outer reaches of dreamwork and dream studies), I offered a presentation called “The Dream’s Way: Resonance in Dream Experiences on the Camino de Santiago .”
Please Click on the Photo, to read this presentation:
Hi Kirsten,
I am so glad you and Jean Raffa have discovered one another. You are both such wise souls. I appreciate the way you ‘walk’ the dream, a combination of dream – tending, shamanism, synchronicity and vulnerability. That sums up the alchemical ingredients you need for spiritual growth. Thanks for your wonderful contribution to the psiberfourum, I really enjoyed your presence there last September.
Thank you, Susanne—and the same to you! Your contributions to the dreamwork community always resonate with me, and I’m really grateful that you’re there. I love the words you chose: dream-tending, shamanism, synchronicity and vulnerability—Yes! You’ve seen into the heart of this. Blessings…
Hi Kirsten,
Thank you for this excellent piece. I enjoyed it very much, especially for your honesty and subtle weaving of waking and dreaming experiences. But most of all for the insight you express so eloquently in the concluding paragraph: that the ultimate goal of waking and dreaming life is what the Buddhists describe as “Joyful participation in the sorrows of the world.” Letting go of expectations to achieve that kind of resonance in every moment is the pilgrimage of a lifetime, isn’t it? It’s certainly one I struggle through on a regular basis.
I also want to thank you again for your thoughtful comments on my blog, Matrignosis recently, and to let you know that in case you haven’t seen it, my latest post was inspired by them. Here’s the link: https://jeanraffa.wordpress.com/2017/02/07/what-do-our-relationships-have-to-do-with-spiritual-enlightenment/ I hope you enjoy them.
Jeanie
Thank you, Jeanie. I’ve only recently discovered Matrignosis, and love your work—and am looking forward to reading the most recent post (later today, I hope)! Sending my gratitude, and blessings on all that you are doing.