Dreams Are Prayers

 In my dreams, I cross boundaries and connect with forms of prayer and spirituality outside my ordinary experience.These poems were written in the wake of such dreams. In one dream, I travel to meet with the Dalai Lama, but don’t to stay with him. In the other dream, I am wandering through ancient ruins near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.At the Foot of the BuddhaLast night I dreamt I wore luxurious robes of green silk tied with a yellow tassel and that my head was shaven.Barefoot, I carried incense through a golden hall, with red wood beams, and laid down at the foot of the Buddha.I got high on citrus peels and rose petals, then surrendered to the peaty floor.A Tibetan Lama sat beside me.He told me my footsteps woke him:I went back to sleep.Bread and AshIn my dream I become a discipleAnd travel to JerusalemI walk among fallen pillarsof a temple that wasthe center of the earth.Behind the Holy of Holies I finda loaf of bread covered in ashNext to a lampthat has never stopped burningI sit down in that placeand never get up.I am still there burning,Tasting bread and ash.Keren Vishny is a Natural Dreamwork Practitioner and teacher with many years experience working with dreams in the body. Keren is a regular practitioner of Qi Gong, and a student of Eva Wong in the Limitless Gate(Xiantianwujimen) lineage. Keren is certified in Mind-Body Medicine and Zero-Balancing and has completed the Body-Soul Rhythms® training offered by the Marion Woodman Foundation. She works with dreamers across the US as well as internationally. Her website is www.kerenvishny.com. Learn more about her work on the About Us page.