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On
February 29, author Alberto
Villoldo, PhD will be at East West to talk about his latest book, Courageous
Dreaming: How Shamans
Dream the World into
Being.
To
Reserve Tickets,
Please
Call 800-909-6161
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by
Alberto
Villoldo,
PhD
The
following
is a
chapter
from
the latest
book
(due
for release
in late
February,
2008)
by Alberto
Villoldo,
renowned
shaman,
psychologist,
medical
anthropologist
and bestselling
author.
This
new book,
entitled Courageous
Dreaming:
How Shamans
Dream
the World
into
Being, will
be among
the topics
of discussion
when
Dr. Villoldo
joins
us at
East
West
on February
29.
We
are what
we think.
Everything
we are
arises
from
our thoughts.
With
our thinking
we create
the world.
--Buddha
Whether
you realize
it or
not,
we are
all dreaming
the world
into
being.
What
we're
engaging
in is
not the
sleeping
dream
we're
familiar
with,
but the
waking
dream
we craft
with
our eyes
open.
When
we're
unaware
that
we all
share
the power
to co-create
reality
with
the help
of the
Universe
itself,
that
power
slips
away
from
us and
our dream
turns
into
a nightmare.
We begin
to feel
we're
the victims
of an
unknown
and frightening
creation
that
we're
unable
to influence
or change.
Events
seem
to control
us and
trap
us. The
only
way to
end this
dreadful
reality
is to
awaken
to the
fact
that
it, too,
is a
dream,
and recognize
our ability
to write
a better
story,
one that
the Universe
will
work
with
us to
manifest.
The nature
of the
cosmos
is such
that
whatever
dream
you have
about
yourself
and the
world
will
become
reality.
As soon
as you
awaken
to your
power
to dream,
you begin
to flex
the muscles
of your
courage.
Then
you can
dream
bravely:
letting
go of
your
limiting
beliefs
and pushing
past
your
fears.
You can
begin
to create
truly
original
dreams
that
germinate
in your
soul
and bear
fruit
in your
life.
Courageous dreaming allows you to create from the source, the quantum soup of the Universe where everything exists in a latent or potential state. Physicists understand that in the quantum world nothing is "real" until it is observed. The distinct packets of energy known as "quanta" (which consist of particles of matter as well as light) are neither "here" nor "there"; in a sense, they are everywhere in space-time until you or I decide to observe them. When we take note of them, we tease them out of the web of infinite possibilities and collapse them into an event that exists while we witness it. These energy "quanta" like to link up with each other once they've selected a particular form of manifestation. As soon as they manifest, reality becomes fixed: A particle is "here" instead of possibly everywhere.
But quantum
events
do not
occur
in the
laboratory
only.
They
also
happen
inside
our brain,
on this
page,
and everywhere
around
us. Even
if they
are separated
by millions
of miles,
or by
days
or weeks,
these
quanta
of energy
remain
intimately
linked,
so that
if you
interact
with
one,
you affect
the entire
system
that
this
energy
is part
of. When
you access
any part
of the
dream,
the great
matrix
of energy,
you can
change
reality
and alter
the entire
dream.
Modern
physics
is describing
what
the ancient
wisdomkeepers
of the
Americas
have
long
known.
These
shamans,
known
as the
Earthkeepers,
say that
we are
dreaming
the world
into
being
through
the very
act of
witnessing
it. Scientists
believe
that
we are
only
able
to do
this
in the
very
small,
subatomic
world.
Shamans
understand
that
we also
dream
the larger
world
that
we experience
with
our senses.
Like
the Aborigines,
the Earthkeepers
live
in a
world
where
the dreamtime
has not
been
pushed
into
the domain
of sleep
like
it has
for us.
They
know
that
all of
creation
arises
from,
and returns
to, this
dreamtime.
The dreamtime,
the creative
matrix,
does
not exist
in a
place
outside
of us.
Rather,
it infuses
all matter
and energy,
connecting
every
creature,
every
rock,
every
star,
and every
ray of
light
or bit
of cosmic
dust.
The power
to dream
is the
power
to participate
in creation
itself.
For the
Earthkeepers,
dreaming
reality
is not
only
an ability
but a
duty,
one we
must
perform
with
grace
and love
so that
our grandchildren
will
inherit
a world
where
they
can live
in peace
and abundance.
We went
into
extraordinary
detail
to dream
our universe
into
being.
Immediately
after
the Big
Bang,
99.99
percent
of all
matter
and antimatter
in the
cosmos
went
on to
annihilate
each
other.
The stars
and galaxies
that
we see
around
us are
that
minute
portion
of matter
that
remained.
Had the
ratio
of matter
to space
in the
Universe
changed
by even
one-billionth
of a
percent,
the laws
of physics
that
permit
life
to emerge
would
not have
been
possible.
The Big
Bang
had to
be so
finely
tuned,
so perfectly
orchestrated
and calculated,
as to
produce
only
1 part
of matter
in 10
to the
50th
power
of stardust.
This
is 10
followed
by 50
zeroes,
no more
and no
less.
That
this
occurred
purely
by chance
is possible
only
if we
contemplate
the existence
of a
very
large
number
of universes
in the
cosmos,
where
an improbable
event
such
as the
creation
of our
own universe
would
have
been
plausible!
What's
even
more
baffling
is the
fine
tuning
of the
parameters
of the
universe
that
occurred,
particularly
here
on the
surface
of the
earth,
which
has maintained
a perfect
temperature
balance
between
the freezing
and boiling
point
of water
for more
than
a billion
years.
The unlikeliness
of these
ratios
that
permit
life
to appear
suggest
the presence
of an
intelligent
force.
The Earthkeepers
call
this
the Infinite
Source,
or Infinity.
The shamans
I have
studied
with
in the
Andes
and the
Amazon
believe
that
we can
only
access
the power
of this
force
by raising
our level
of consciousness.
When
we do
so, we
become
aware
that
we're
like
a drop
of water
in a
vast,
divine
ocean,
distinct
yet immersed
in something
much
larger
than
ourselves.
It's
only
when
we experience
our connection
to Infinity
that
we're
able
to dream
powerfully.
In fact,
it's
our sense
of separation
from
Infinity
that
makes
us become
trapped
in a
nightmare
in the
first
place.
If this
sounds
like
circular
thinking,
you are
right.
Which
came
first,
the nightmare
or the
sense
of separation
from
Infinity?
The answer
is that
they
occur
simultaneously.
To end
the nightmare,
to reclaim
our power
of dreaming
reality
and craft
a better
reality,
we need
more
than
an intellectual
understanding
of how
this
process
works.
We need
to have
a visceral
understanding
of our
dreaming
power
and experience
it in
every
cell
of our
body.
In fact,
the intellectual
understanding
of our
ability
to create
reality
mimics
but forestalls
the kind
of dreaming
we're
capable
of. If
we don't
get beyond
mere
intellectual
understanding
of this
concept,
we'll
end up
lowering
the bar
and creating
a far
less
glorious
and beautiful
experience
of the
world
than
we're
capable
of crafting.
With
a visceral
understanding
of our
power
to dream,
we recognize
that
we can
share
this
experience
of Infinity
right
here,
right
now,
and stop
feeling
disassociated
and disconnected.
It takes courage to taste Infinity. According to Greek mythology, the gods swiftly punished any mortal who dared to ascend Olympus and taste divine power. Yet they ultimately rewarded those who had the courage to step into their realm, such as Hercules and Psyche. Similarly, in Judeo-Christian lore, when Adam and Eve had disobeyed God and eaten of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, making us become like God, the Lord threw them out of the Garden of Eden "lest he [mankind] put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever, and become as one of us." Despite this original sin of humanity, we are promised a chance to dwell in Heaven at the end of time, where we can be reunited with our Creator.
Once
you experience
dreaming,
you realize
that
everything
in your
life
is unfolding
with
perfect
synchronicity.
Events
may not
be working
out the
way you
would
like,
but within
the scheme
of your
life,
things
happen
in superlative
harmony.
You miss
your
train
on your
way to
work
the day
that
terrorists
strike
the World
Trade
Center
and survive,
as happened
to a
student
of mine.
Or, your
child
tells
you he
has been
accepted
to the
college
of his
choice
the same
week
you get
the promotion
you've
wanted.
Moreover,
when
you experience
dreaming,
you discover
that
your
problems
are no
longer
overwhelming
you or
defining
your
life.
While
the difficulties
in your
life
feel
very
real,
you always
have
the choice
to create
a heroic
story
about
your
relationship
to them
instead
of a
disempowering
tale
of suffering.
You'll
recognize
that
you can
stop
being
a victim,
or trying
to fix
the world
all on
your
own,
or feeling
vindictive
toward
those
who harmed
you.
You'll
see that
your
life
is exactly
as it
should
be right
now,
and you'll
be able
to let
go of
all the
stories
that
keep
you feeling
trapped
and unhappy,
and venting
in your
therapist's
office.
You'll
begin
to practice
dreaming
the world
into
being,
and everything
will
change.
The Earthkeepers believe that the world is real, but only because you are dreaming it into being. But dreaming the world requires an act of courage. When we lack courage, we have to settle for the world that is being dreamed by our culture or by our genes. We feel we have to settle for the nightmare. To dream courageously, you must be willing to use your heart. Otherwise, your dream will stall at the level of emotions, and of thinking too much, planning too much, and worrying endlessly. Then your dream will turn into a nightmare or a mere daydream, trapping you or drifting away while you wonder, "What happened?"
I remember
one of
my early
trips
to the
Amazon.
I was
then
a young
anthropologist
investigating
the healing
practices
of the
shamans
of the
rainforest.
I had
decided
to use
myself
as a
subject.
I explained
to the
jungle
medicine
man that,
as a
child,
I had
fled
my country
of birth
because
of a
communist
revolution.
I had
seen
bloodshed
in the
streets,
and been
terrified
by gunfire
in the
night.
Since
then,
I had
suffered
from
recurring
nightmares
in which
armed
men would
force
their
way into
my home
and take
away
my loved
ones.
I was
in my
late
twenties,
and had
been
unable
to enter
into
a lasting
relationship
for fear
I would
lose
the person
I loved,
just
like
in my
nightmare.
During
one healing
ceremony,
the shaman
explained
to me
that
like
everyone,
I can
either
have
what
I want,
or the
reasons
why I
can't.
"You are too enamored of your story," the old man said to me. "Until you dare to dream a different dream, all you will have will be the nightmare." That evening, he showed me how I could craft a different story for myself, one in which I had been tempered by adversity, and in which my experiences had taught me to have compassion for others who were suffering.
"The first step to dream a new dream is to create a new story, in which you are not playing the part of the victim," he explained.
Then
he helped
me to
realize
that
I was
not only
dreaming
my life,
but I
was also
dreaming
the entire
cosmos
into
being,
just
as it
was dreaming
me.
Although
your
mind
resists
it, the
fact
is that
you have
a choice
between
having
the life
you want
or having
the reasons
you can't
have
that
life.
You can
have
joy and
peace,
or you
can have
that
big black
bag full
of all
the sorrowful
incidents
and accidents
that
happened
to you
in your
childhood
or in
your
last
relationship.
You can
have
your
wounds
or you
can have
your
glory.
You can
live
the life
of a
victim,
burdened
by the
traumas
of your
past,
or you
can live
the life
of a
hero,
but you
can't
do both.
If you
want
to feel
empowered,
you need
to make
a conscious
decision
to dream
a sacred
dream
and practice
courage.
Courageous
dreaming
happens
at a
state
of perception
that
the Earthkeepers
refer
to as
the level
of hummingbird.
The hummingbird
is an
archetype
for the
heroic
journeyer
whose
purpose
is to
fly toward
spiritual
maturity.
Like
any traveler,
you will
inevitably
take
some
wrong
turns,
but each
time
you return
to the
recognition
that
you are
dreaming
your
reality,
you will
deepen
your
understanding
of the
journey
and feel
more
committed
to it.
You'll
be able
to embrace
the ever-shifting
landscape
around
you with
equanimity
and a
sense
of humor,
and even
experience
grace.
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