dreaming and meditating...

Are you a meditator? Are you a dreamer?  Have you thought of these as two mutually exclusive practices?  Sitting in silence on the meditation cushion versus feeling into the images that is the invitation of the dream.  

Those skills we develop on the zafu, learning to return to the breath...learning to be with whatever arises...learning to not veer off into story, into reaction...offer tremendous support as we learn to feel the myriad feelings that occur in our dreams.  Those images and feelings that come to us in our dreams can be taken to the zafu, supported by the container that has developed the capacity to stay with what arises...the capacity to welcome all that arises…to trust the healing wisdom of the feelings that want to be felt…that need to be felt...and to feel them all the way through.

Both practices, dreamwork and meditation, are invitations to return to our self, our true self...our soul.  Neither is an easy nor a quick fix.  That is why they are called practices not perfections. They are each slowly deepening genuine paths that offer us the opportunity to heal into wholeness.  When dreamwork and meditation are practiced together, they support each other...and us...to develop an inner trust and confidence as we make our descent home. 

Mary Jo Heyen is a Natural Dreamwork Practitioner working with clients throughout the country and abroad in person, phone or Skype. Learn more about her work with dreams at  www.maryjoheyen.com or www.thenaturaldream.com.