I am on a big lush land owned by me and my wife. We have it as a nature preserve, regeneration project, and grow food there through food forests and vegetable gardens. It’s somewhere in North-America, maybe the North-East of the US.
A group of neighbors are visiting, about fifteen people mostly young(ish) adults. They have an intentional community combining farming and spirituality, and tell us that they are about to relocate to England. I am surprised I didn’t know about them since we are neighbors and doing very similar things. My wife knew about them and have had contact with them.
I notice my memory and cognition doesn’t work very well, and mention to my wife that it’s difficult for me to socialize as much as before for that reason.
I also imagine they do more formalized spiritual practices, and notice that I am more interested in fluid and organic explorations these days. (Informed by all the structured practices I have done in the past.)
One of them begin a free movement exploration. I join in, and go into a deep process where I relive – viscerally and through movement and images – the evolutionary process of our ancestors starting with single celled organisms and up through the generations. I enjoy it a lot.
We then sit outside in chairs where we used to have a café and talk and enjoy ourselves. I notice I will miss them a lot.
This was a quite strong dream, a small “big dream” that stayed with me for a long time.
WAKING LIFE CONNECTIONS
This land is very similar to our waking-life land in the Andes mountains in size and intention, just located further north and more lush.
The intentional community is similar to Lost Valley in Oregon and other communities I have had connections with and love. (I love the idea behind it and when it functions well and even sometimes the messiness of it since the intention behind is good.)
My wife knew about them and I didn’t, which is similar to my experience with our land in the Andes mountains. Since my Spanish is not yet very good, she tends to know a lot more about what’s going on than I do.
My thought about structured practices mirrors my waking life these days. I am more interested in a more fluid and organic exploration, and just being and living my life. One of them starts just such a more fluid and visceral exploration, I join in, and enjoy it a lot. I was obviously wrong in my assumptions about their approach.
Why the visceral exploration of the evolution of our ancestors? It’s something I have always been drawn to and connected with. I was fascinated by it from early childhood, and later found and loved ways to explore it. (Systems views, Deep Ecology, eco-spirituality, Big History, the Universe Story, the Epic of Evolution, and Joanna Macy’s practices to reconnect.)
I have the same memory and cognitive problems in my waking life as in this dream. It’s partly from CFS and partly a long-term effect from when I had covid last year. This summer, I have felt it has changed how I interact with people and I have been more self-conscious about it.
I will miss the community, which mirrors that I miss these types of communities in my waking life. The place where I live in the Andes mountains has some of the characteristics of an intentional community since it’s quite small and there are many there working on regeneration, sustainable food production, yoga, meditation, and so on. I want and plan to be more engaged and involved in this community.
One of the people in the group was Devon which I knew somewhat in waking life. She was involved in these kinds of things in Oregon and I knew her through that loose community of like-minded people. I wonder if that has to do with the community moving to England, perhaps to Devon? (I lived in Devon for six months some years ago and loved the communities I found there and the combination of earthy spirituality and taking care of nature.)
These are some of the connections with my waking life.
ALL ME
If I see the dream as all me, what do I find?
The land represents something I am protecting and taking care of in myself, and which is lush and nourishing.
I may miss my inner intentional community since I have been more focused on practical everyday things the last few weeks. (Getting a house ready for sale.) I have limited energy, so I have set aside inner work and my inner community. The dream may remind me that I enjoy my inner community and miss that connection.
Why was I not aware of the intentional community? Is it because I haven’t focused on it – “forgotten” it – for a few weeks now? Maybe the feminine side of me keeps being aware of it, while I consciously set it aside?
What does it mean that the community is moving? Why England? I am not sure.
I will be with the dream more and see what comes up.
INITIAL NOTES
Dream
- on a big piece of lush land owned by me and Ale
- Seemed to be somewhere in North America
- Visit by a group, mostly 20s and 30s
- They have a local community mixing farming and mindfulness
- They are about to move, to England
- I am surprised I didn’t know about them
- Ale knew about them
- I notice my memory doesn’t work so well, notice it gets in the way of socializing, don’t socialize as much as before
- I am very aware of my poor memory and that my brain is not working so well
- I notice i am not so interested in organized explorations and formalized practices, what I am interested in is exploring more spontaneously what’s here
- They do a kind of free movement play
- I join and go into a very deep process, relive / experience the life of my ancestors, from early single celled organisms and through the generations and the evolutionary process, enjoy it a lot
- I am aware that I want to do more mindfulness, meditation etc but not so organized, more fluid and natural
- Realize I am going to miss this community full of vitality and enthusiasm
- Devon from Eugene is one of them
….
So what does this dream reflect in me? Why did this community relocate to England? Something in me is shifting and moving. I am not sure about much more right now and will stay with this dream and see what comes up.
….
If I see the dream as reflecting parts of me, what do I find?