Woke from an epic long dream about hiding out in the forest with a crew of folks. We were living in caves underground and trying to protect the forest from a company that was coming in to destroy it for the "natural resources". The trees but also the caves were somehow valuable to them. There was much sneaking around in the woods and tensely hiding out while they came in to look for us.
Finally it was obvious that our stand was meaningless to them and they began to move in with their equipment. We decided to come out of hiding to negotiate. I tried to convince the head dude on the project not to destroy one particular cave I'd been tending because it was sacred to us. He told me he'd think about it but that it lie in the perfect spot to build his house.
We left and came back a bit later and already bulldozers had cut roads through the forest and were starting to take trees down. I was wrecked, seething with anger, so devastated. There were some kids playing, children of the workers; they were dancing around and singing silly songs. They were so excited about the plans the adults had shared with them that the forest was to become an amusement park and residential neighborhood. I sat down and had a heart-to-heart conversation with one of the kids about what was actually happening, about what the trees and the caves and all the web of life in the forest meant, how long it had taken for this place to reach its present balance and what destruction was being wrought at the hands of their parents and this company. This kid became very upset and decided they really wanted the forest to be preserved. They went to go tell their parents how they felt.
Then I returned to one of the sacred caves. Our folks were gathered around telling stories, legends of the area about the land and the critters that had lived there since the beginning of time. We talked about the multi-species forest spirit who was ancient and resided in those particular woods. Someone said that particular cave was protected by a rattlesnake. Just then she woke and slithered out. Immediately she struck and ate the cat of one of the workers who was there with us..........
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This is far from the first dream I've had of environmental catastrophe of various kinds and magnitude. Since I began to more consciously open myself to the voices of the beings in this world (human and mostly the non-human), the message has become deafening. I still get caught up in my own self-involved stories plenty of the time. I am understanding how, just like television and other mainstream media and all forms of rampant consumerism (which I choose not to participate in as much as possible) serve as distractions, so can my own self involvement when it prevents me from keeping these truths in sight. How can I positively transform myself into being more fully myself and sharing my gifts with the world? How may I further this quest to gain skills in living in a way that is not harmful but considerate and honoring of all life? This does not mean not taking, it does mean attending to HOW I take and where I give back. How do I share the knowledge that I hold of the consequences of our collective actions in ways that can be heard and digested? I hear in this dream the metaphor or literal message of "speaking to the children" (or the childlike parts of us) and allowing the gatekeepers and messengers (like the rattlesnake) do their work.
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