My lucid dream includes a fear induced reality check that I've been using lately and have been asking others to test because it seems that the dreams of others are usually frightening. The reality check is: Intense fear = reality check. The lucid dream follows.
I attended a massive conference in a city beside a large river. It was a multicultural meeting and different nations all gathered on an island in the river. In the centre of the island stood a massive tree. Everyone circled it. I noticed that the river water rose steadily. I informed the conference of the potential threat.
One group began drumming a deep, heartbeat-like thudding. Another began dancing and singing a ceremony. Then another group began. Then another. They all performed their respective earth honoring ceremonies simultaneously. It was a chaotic and amazing to experience. I was waved to join in but didn't have anything useful to offer to the gathering.
Instead, I went through the city warning of the impending flood. I found a child crying and alone. I took her hand and we walked through the city crying warning. Most already knew the city was sinking and fled. Many were the children and pets left behind. I gathered them to me and we continued on.
As water spilled into the streets I turned and looked at all the children in tow. "What am I doing? I can't take care of all of them... where do I even begin?" Some of the children began to cry. "Am I crazy?" I asked of them. Most answered, "No." I regained a shred of composure, "I know this is scary..." I said, to validate their (and my) feelings, "but we'll find a way out."
Talking about fear made me think of how I recently told someone to reality check when feeling very afraid because we rarely feel so afraid in waking life. I was plenty afraid at that moment, afraid I'd let all the kids down, so I reality checked. "Of course, I'm dreaming!" the thought exploded in my mind.
I became worried because it seemed the ceremonies weren't stopping the flood. "Was this a message from my sub conscious to myself?" I wondered. I wanted to decipher the message but then the thought came, "You don't have to figure it out now... later. Figure it out later. Save the kids".
"Hey!" I exclaimed, trying to seem excited and happy, "Would you believe that I know magic?" The kids nodded. "If you close your eyes and say HOCUS POCUS you will pop back home, all safe and sound with your family." The kids tried it and all of them, except one, popped back home. I asked the straggler girl - Eksa:ah- why she didn't hocus pocus. She told me her family was dead. I nodded and welcomed her to come with me. We ran into the tallest building and went to the top floor. The room we found was creepy with red leather walls and black dungeon-like looking furniture. "What the hell are you?" I asked the room. I waited for an answer, but none came. Me and Eksa:ah went out onto the balcony. From our vantage point we could see the ceremony on the island and also see that the water was still rising.
Here, I wondered if I should just exit this messy dream and find a new one. I didn't actually have to fix this situation, did I? They are all only dream characters after all, they will be okay. To test my lucid control level, I levitated a couple of things and turned a tv inside out. Momentarily I wondered if it was possible to turn a dream character inside out. I squashed that thought and I repeated, "Peace, power, principals," until morbid thoughts fell away.
A thought came suddenly. I actually did know some ceremony songs. I taught them to Eksa:ah, who picked them up instantly. "You sing those songs to tend the earth. I'll tend the water," I instructed. Eksa:ah belted out the first song as she sat cross legged in the corner of the balcony. I stood mid balcony and held my hands up in a butterfly-like position. I fluttered my hands as if it were a butterfly rising up high into the sky. I repeated this over and over as the little girl sang. The water in the streets began to foam and then the foam turned into an explosion of various colors of butterflies. They fluttered high into the sky and vanished.
We kept up our performance until the water level had receded to normal. "We've done it! We save the earth!" I proclaimed and helped Eksa:ah up off of the balcony floor. We did a happy dance and then went for the apartment door to leave. I ripped the door open and there stood a massive bulk of hairy man. "What the hell are you doing in my house?" his voice boomed.
I answered honestly, "Performing ceremonies."
"WHAT?" he yelled, as if we'd just said the most offensive thing ever in the history of offending people. I felt a confrontation was inevitable and prepared to fight. Suddenly I realized I'd forgotten this was a dream. I reality checked to be sure. Yes, still dreaming, and said, "Everything is okay. Wehnihsri:yo wa'ne." I grabbed Eksa:ah's hand and we ran to the balcony. Jump? Fly? Make the building shrink? Or, I could try something I read about a long time ago. I stared intently on the ceremony tree in the distance, willing myself to be there. And without a hitch me and Eksa:ah were suddenly on ceremony island in the midst of hundreds of people all performing their ceremonies. It seemed frenzied at first but I realized all of it revolved around the grounding heartbeat-like pulse of the drums. Me and Eksa:ah danced within the ceremony circle. At some point, the little girl merged into the ceremony and I didn't see her again.
This was a very healing dream for me on so many levels and the world did feel renewed when I awoke from this experience.
This article was released in issue from
March 2021
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