| Dreaming
for Peace
By Rosemary Watts
©
2002
for more
info click on any quilt peace
PURPOSE:
To inspire,
through example, how dreams can be a tool for creating greater
awareness and experience of peace. Join others in creating “a
piece of peace,” by adding your vision of peace prompted
by your nightly dreams.
Dreaming
for Peace:
At a time when the world is reacting to the events of 9-11 (01),
most of us wonder what we might do to make a positive difference.
I asked myself, “What can I do? How might my own dreams lead
to healing, understanding, and taking action that might have a positive
impact?” Having been involved in a dreaming for peace project
in 1987 through the “US-Soviet Dream Bridge,” I wanted
to use a similar dreaming intention to help connect others to the
power of dreaming in creating greater peace in the world. I had
first-hand experience of the power of dreams and the connection
possible simply by going to sleep. Universal symbols of peace, specific
guidance on ways to establish peace, and the higher wisdom showing
how to experience peace within are all accessible in dreams. I knew
that dreams could lead us all in creating greater peace in the world.
In my personal dream group, we began to intentionally dream for
peace. We used a group-created visualized peace mandala as an anchor
for the group’s dreaming intentions. In addition, throughout
the fall of 2001, I urged everyone I knew to begin intentionally
dreaming for peace. Many important insights were gained and we seemed
directed to dive deeper into the dreams for further guidance. By
January 2002, I had (literally) dreamed a class that would guide
a group to step through the next doorway to dream for peace. The
next step was to move into the realm of lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming
is becoming consciously aware within the dream that you are dreaming.
If we could become more conscious within the dream, perhaps this
could translate into more conscious awareness in our daily lives
in order to experience greater peace in the world. A group of fifteen
gathered to participate in this challenge. These dreamers had taken
most of my previous classes and were well-versed in discovering
great truths within dreams. Over two-and-a-half months, we explored
the various levels of peace (internal personal peace, external personal
peace, collective or community peace, and world peace), discussed
conflicts and how best to resolve them, and used our dreams to dive
deeply into these matters.
Two of my own dreams inspired a group activity that we all agreed
to create: a Dreaming for Peace Quilt.
"A
Tapestry for Peace" 12-27-01
"I dream that dreams are collected from a year's time period,
all focused on and for peace. Square quilt pieces of these
peace dream images are put together on a tapestry, with
the background being a picture of the earth. There is a
border of colorful cloth with lessons, learned from the
dreams, printed on them."
"Lucid Dreaming Peace Quilt" 1-23-02
"I hear 'We Can Be Kind' playing. (This is a beautiful song,
written by David Friedman, that I had been singing for about
a year.) Hearing this song makes me become slightly lucid.
I see before me a shallow pool. It is night. There is a
full moon. On the other side of this pool are steps leading
up to a majestic temple. The pillars are white and glowing
in the moonlight. I begin to walk across the water toward
the pillars, barely skimming my feet on the water. This
is another clue that I am dreaming, as I don't normally
walk on water. I am barefoot and in flowing, white priestess
robes. It feels and looks like an ancient Greek temple.
I seem to float up the stairs to the entrance of this mighty
temple. I can see more light emanating from within. I walk
through this portal entrance and become fully lucid. The
temple is completely open - no walls, no ceiling. The radiant
night sky filled with stars and the glowing moon shine down
on me. I am in a dream temple! I look for my dreaming partners.
They are there, smiling at me. I look around and see my
whole lucid dreaming group, all in a circle, all in flowing,
white robes. I sense there are many others I cannot see,
but who are also lucid dreamers. Are we all dreaming for
peace? We light the candle of the one holding a candle next
to us until the whole circle is filled with glowing candlelight.
We chant together, "Peace is in me. Peace
is with me. Peace flows through
me. I AM PEACE." It is powerful. I sense
we are all just light bodies now, glowing and radiating
in harmony. Something catches my eye and I turn to see hundreds
of peace quilts and peace tapestries hanging all around,
suspended in air. These are waves of peace billowing out
to the world. We are making a difference!"
|
 Our
Dreaming Peace Quilt is a magnificent manifestation of the wisdom
shared in the dreamtime. By bringing together the dreaming power
of our group into a creative project, we feel we have begun a
powerful peace project that is and will continue to have a positive
impact. As we begin to share this quilt in our community, we would
like to inspire you to create your own peace tapestry and dreaming
quilts. This is a way in which we can dream for peace, together
bringing dream experiences into a visual creative form, talk about
and share our own peace experiences and the areas of conflict
with which we struggle, and create a communal experience that
focuses attention on creating greater peace in the world. Dreaming
for peace is a wonderful avenue for exploring and expressing what
we all would like to manifest: Peace and harmony on the personal,
collective and world levels.
For
more information, please click on "Peace Quilt
in Your Area."
LUCID
DREAMING FOR PEACE
Our Group's Intention Led by Rosemary Watts,
Dreams Unlimited
(314) 432-7909
Dreaming for
Peace Affirmation:
Peace is IN me.
Peace is WITH me.
Peace flows THROUGH me.
I AM PEACE
·
Peace is in me.
Peace begins inside of me. Internal personal peace. I need to attend
to any form of personal inner conflict, and come to some type of
resolution in order not to take my own personal pain, past, and
sense of outside expectations into the world. This means that I
will do whatever I can, on my own, through the use of exercises,
books, and tools, including additional classes, groups, or therapy,
in order to "clean up my stuff." I see the world as my mirror and
recognize that these reflections are an opportunity to acknowledge,
embrace, and integrate these aspects into my Self. I create my own
reality, and understand that I am responsible for my own actions
and reactions. Period. I take personal responsibility.
· Peace is with me.
Peace is a part of my daily life. External personal peace. Not only
do I recognize others as my mirrors, but I realize that they are
my teachers. I choose to see not only that we are all One, but I
recognize and honor the Divinity in each person, animal, and element
on this planet. I see the beauty, Light, and Divine essence in each
person, even if my ego wants to label them as something else. I
choose to see the deeper truth and act with full integrity. I choose
to act with kindness, respect, and compassion. I choose to respond
with clear consciousness and know that my intention, as well as
my own actions and reactions, have a long-term affect and effect.
I realize that life is about choice and I bring my choices into
greater consciousness every day. I am not trying to deny or repress
the full range of my emotions and experiences, but choose to express
myself with others in a positive, mutually empowering way. I choose
to "work my stuff" on my own, consciously choosing not to "dump"
on others, especially those who "trigger" me. No matter how anyone
else responds or acts, I continue to choose from this Higher Wisdom.
I take the path of peace; I walk my talk.
· Peace flows through me.
Peace is able to move through me as I act as a channel for its expression.
Community peace. As I practice peace, within me and in my daily
personal relationships and encounters, I then can move this behavior
and energy into the greater community around me. Random acts of
kindness, expressions of gratitude, and blessing others in any way
possible are naturally expressed. Instead of road rage, I choose
peace and allow that frustration in traffic to dissolve. I focus
on pleasant music, chant soothing sounds, or visualize a rainbow
of peace protecting my car. Instead of sarcastic, mean or snippy
responses, I choose to say a blessing or my peace affirmation, and
choose kind expressions in word and deed. Instead of trying to maintain
my own personal ego status in a community setting, I choose to honor
others around me. I try to live more fully the Golden Rule: Treat
others as I desire to be treated. Understanding that peace is a
ripple effect that can create greater peace in the world, I choose
to be and live in harmony. I continue to recognize that challenges
are learning opportunities and choose to respond to these challenges
with love, peace, and kindness. Personal integrity is expressed
more fully through me in my community and I see the ripple of positive
energy my choices can create.
· I am peace.
It begins and ends with me, and my experience and expression of
peace. Desiring greater peace in me, with my personal relationships,
in my community, and wanting this to be more fully experienced in
the greater world, I recognize that I can become involved. World
peace. I choose to express myself politically, by voting, by emailing,
calling or writing my representatives, and by taking an active stance
in any way possible. I no longer sit passively by, complaining about
the state of the world and politics, but choose to become involved
in whatever way feels appropriate for me. This does not mean that
I demand others see it "my way," but choose to be involved, with
peace in my heart, leading by positive actions. I continue to dream
intentionally, with lucidity, for peace on the planet. I read books
and other materials that will amplify my understanding of conflict
and resolution, peace, and harmony in relationships. I understand,
with compassion, that there are many different expressions and understanding
of Divinity. I choose to recognize this Divinity in all its forms.
I accept diversity and understand that each person, culture, language,
religion, perspective, and background adds to the beauty and complexity
of our planet. Through the use of tools such as affirmations, visualization,
meditation, prayer, chanting, and dreamwork, I can take my ideals
for a planet living in peace and harmony and bring it back home
... to me. As I breathe out, I remember the personal, collective,
and world levels, and breathe in, coming back to myself. Ultimately,
peace is a personal path and I choose to do whatever I can to live
and express peace. It is my choice and I choose peace.
HOW
TO GET THE PEACE QUILT IN YOUR AREA
Let your school, church, temple, or organization host the
Dreaming Peace Quilt.
To maximize
the effect of the Quilt's intention, choose from the following list:
* Display the Dreaming Peace Quilt (must be in a tall space, due
to the Quilt's size, 9' X 9' on its own freestanding frame)
* Display the Dreaming Peace Quilt, hear the story of how it was
created and listen to the message of the song, "We Can Be Kind."
* Display the Dreaming Peace Quilt and allow children to participate
by drawing their own Picture of Peace (which will be added to the
traveling notebook of children's pictures).
To enhance
the display of the Dreaming Peace Quilt, choose from these dream
lectures and workshops:
* A 1 hour lecture about the basics of dreams (how, when, and why
we dream, dreaming styles, and how to remember your dreams) and
intial guidelines for intentionally Dreaming for Peace.
* A 2½ hour workshop about the power of dreams, dream incubation
techniques, and specific guidelines for intentionally Dreaming for
Peace...for individuals, families, and small groups.
| *
2½ hour workshop designed for parents and children concurrently: |
| |
**Parents:
given specific dream techniques and guidelines; how to work
with their children's dreams, including how to transform nightmares
and empower children through positive dream enhancements. |
| |
**Children:
given a safe, playful environment to explore their dreams and
design their own peace-inviting dreamscapes. |
| |
** Both
parents and children will be given specific dream exercises
to enhance their family dream experiences |
* A 2½ hour and/or full-day dream intensive training for teachers
on how to tap into the power of peace through children's dreams.
The workshop will teach the basics about dreams, how to empower
children through the transformation of nightmares, and how to cultivate
peace dreams.
The training will include specific guidelines on how to create classroom,
grade, or school-wide peace quilts or tapestries.
| This
workshop can be further enhanced through: |
| |
*
In-class Peace Quilt workshops with the children.
* An evening workshop for parents on how to dream as a family
for peace.
* A workshop to create a "sister school" and /or foreign student
Peace Quilt Exchange, creating Peace Pen Pals, furthering the
dialogue for peace between different people. |
USEFUL
RESOURCES
For
more information about Dreaming for Peace visit these websites:
World Dreams Peace Bridge (http://www.worlddreamspeacebridge.org/)
Dream Network Journal (http://www.dreamnetwork.net/)
The Peace Company (http://www.thepeacecompany.com/)
Books:
-The Courage for Peace, by Louise Diamond (Conari Press, Berkeley,
CA)
-The Peace Book: 108 Simple Ways to Create a More Peaceful World
by Louise Diamond
(2001, The Peace Company, Bristol, VT)
-Creating True Peace, by Thich Nhat Hanh (2003, Free Press, NY)
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