A reader writes, “When you are talking about “inner work” does that suggest that I should go see a vampire or horror movie? Throughout my life I have avoided such things because I had the idea that I didn’t need to put any of that in my mind.
One day my 5th-grade teacher asked the girls in our class to follow her to the auditorium. We had no idea why. There we joined the other girls our age, and, after a brief introduction from one of the teachers, watched a Disney-esque film about the birds and bees.
After years of near-obsessive inner work I’ve given myself permission to relax a bit. Sometimes weeks go by before I record and work on a new dream. But when I do I’m always rewarded with a cornucopia of insights and meaning. Following is the first dream I’ve analyzed since the one about individuation I posted nearly two months ago.
Inner work causes gradual changes in our inner and outer lives. When an important change has occurred, the Self may send a “big” dream to let us know our work is paying off and to furnish the energy and motivation to continue. Following are some symbols we might expect to see in these dreams.
Lately the prospect of an upcoming high school reunion has stirred up some forgotten memories. Like most girls I read the teen magazines and advice columns. A big issue then was popularity and all the articles said the same thing: “Be yourself.” That always frustrated me. I had no idea what it meant, no clue who I was.
My third-grade grandsons were given an assignment to write about the most beautiful place in nature they can imagine. Jake has wonderful memories of a special winter day in the Smoky Mountains. He drew the picture you see here. This is his story:
In my last post I wrote about the rewards of parenting and grandparenting and promised to share two essays written by my twin grandsons who are in the third grade this year. This is Connor’s. The assignment was to describe the most beautiful place in nature he could imagine.
Like most parents, we began investing in our grandchildren’s futures long before they were born. Now they attend a school which likewise actively prioritizes children’s well-being, parental involvement, intergenerational communication and shared responsibility for each other and our Mother Earth.
My readers are teaching me that others don’t automatically make the same connections I take for granted, and that sometimes I need to clarify their practical applications. So I’d like to share a recent interaction with a reader who is helping me see how to do this.
In Hinduism this shape is called the yoni, a stylized vulva used in religious art and as a maternity charm to celebrate and invoke the Great Mother’s creative, life-giving fertility.
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