A Complicated Dream, Three

A Complicated Dream, Three

In the Dreamer’s dream of nature there is no duality, no separation into self and other, no conflict, aggression, or destruction. In the dream of nature, when a predator kills and eats an animal, it is not “us” against “them.” In nature, all is “us.’ A slow, sick, or injured animal is provided to predators for the benefit of all. The health of the herd is maintained as the predator feeds its family. The dream of nature is a complex web of mutuality in which each part supports the other.

This is the most important difference between the dream of man and the dream of nature: nature dreams of unity and bliss, while man dreams of isolation and violence. Humans need unity and bliss to maintain their health of spirit. The dualistic dream starves the spirit and gives rise to the gamut of illnesses of body and soul. The job of medicine, then, is to nourish the spirit by bringing people into the source of wellbeing – the dream of nature.

Nature is dreamed by the gods. The gods are dreamed by God. To commune with nature is to commune with the Devine, so healing is truly a religious rite with healer as priest.

Let’s say a patient consults me with a concern about a respiratory infection. I do not try to kill microorganisms in her lungs. In fact, I ignore her symptoms entirely, because I know there is no “them” to fight against. It’s all “us” trying to work through something for the benefit of this woman.

So what is trying to be worked through here? I speak with the woman and find she has stifled her grief over the death of her sister. What should have been discharged through weeping has lodged in her lungs and made her susceptible to infection. Why has she stifled her grief? She suffers under the illusion that she is weak and worthless. She secretly fears that if she allowed her grief to surface, she would dissolve in the tide of her tears.

Just as the stones are dreamed into existence by the stone god and the rain by the rain god, so each plant is dreamed into being by the god or spirit of the species. I have entered the dreams of many plants, and now I select one who dreams of inner strength. I ask the spirit of this plant to include my patient in its dreaming. Immediately the woman notices a feeling peace, accompanied by ineffable sadness. Without knowing why, she bursts into tears.

By the time she reaches home after our appointment, she is weeping uncontrollably. This continues for two days, interrupted only by spasms of coughing that produce thick, old mucus. By the time the weeping stops, her respiratory infection has cleared. More important, she now enters a rich new experience of herself and her life.

Plant Spirit Medicine

Eliot Cowan