Mark

Whichever one works.

Babylace94, In the Maker tradition we work on self healing first because clearing old wounds needs to be done to help one achieve balance and power. Without it, one sees and works through a filter of altered perception that limits your effectiveness. There are many ways to self heal. If you haven't already I would suggest the recapitulation practice as outlined on this site. If you use other methods of self-healing then I would have you go into your meditative state with the intention of clearly seeing what is causing the blockage and then applying your healing method. When you start to feel the breathing issue, then hold it, sit with it until you get an impression of what is causing it. It might not be very clear at first so I would focus first on any emotions that you get from it. If using the recapitulation exercise, sit with that emotion, and then start the recap. Just focus on the emotion. Keep your awareness on it and you should start to see the connections to that emotion from the tightness in breathing. Those connections should lead you towards the hub or kernel of the issue. You may need to practice the recapitulation a few times on more "mundane" things just to get the hang of it down before trying it on this issue. The theory is that all wounds (emotional, physical, relational, etc.) are "stored" in your energy until you heal them. This feeling of breathing blockage is certainly one of those. Take your time with it. Don't try to force it out. Let it "come out" as you work with it. It might be a few minutes, hours, days, or even weeks but given enough effort and attention it will be healed. If you do start working with the recap as we call it, let us know if you have any difficulties or issues. Its an interesting process that can lead you in ways you might not expect. Hope that helps. Mark

Hello Looks-to-Ravens, I think that stories and the experiences you are relating with them do change over time simply because you change. As you do the impact of the original experience may not be as important to you several months or years later. Its like the idiom, "you can never enter the same river twice". So while some stories for you can hold tremendous power for a long time your relationship with it changes. You just have new lessons to learn. Now, those stories could still be powerful for others as examples or guideposts for them. Hope that is helpful. Mark

I'm not sure the two things are directly related. You got scared. It was either because of something that was actually there or your mind made you think there was something there. Since meditation and journeying are at least somewhat similar in nature (neither are in the mind's realm) perhaps your mind has asserted itself and is using that experience to "block" your journeying. What I would do to get back on track is to find a place where you feel totally and completely safe to do your journeying at least until it comes back to you. Also, don't force it. Just allow it happen even if it takes a while.

Well done!

MorgusHroud, Its hard to answer this question with a simple yes or no. Dreaming stones work through your intent, an agreement between you and the stone, and your dreaming energy. If you tumble your stone it may affect how well it works, it may not. I would tend not to polish it but if you work with your stone, talk to it, see if it would still work afterwards, it may be okay. I would only wonder why you wanted to tumble it in the first place? Is it for vanity (i.e. so it looks nice) or because you think its supposed to be polished (because all the rock shop stones are polished). Those reasons may not fall in line with the overall agreement/intent you have with the stone. If, however, you are polishing it to help its performance because there is something you sense/feel/see that would make it work better then, go ahead and polish it. I don't think there would be any real bad consequences from polishing it. It just might not work as well for you afterwards. If you do go ahead with the polishing, write back and let us know how it affected it. Mark

In the Maker tradition we see that everything is brought into this world and moved via intent. We don't see it as having love or any other emotion. It is just intent. As with many things in this world the adjectives and emotions used to describe the universe are put there by humans who are very emotional creatures.

My journey was chaotic and winding. It started to make sense and became more clear once I started self-healing and using intent. The recapitulation as described on our site is a great place to start. As far as your "structure" I think what is most important is what it means to you. Often times those kinds of images directly relate to you and may not mean much to anybody else. Sit with it. Where does it strike you? How does it make you feel? What else comes up?

There is a saying out there. "When the student is ready the teacher will appear." Look at the resources here on this sight and see if they "fit" for you. If not, keep looking. If so, great.

Welcome Iam, I think many people here can relate to your story. I, for one, never really fit in for most of my life although I did a damned good impersonation of a person who was trying to do just that. I understand that feeling of loneliness and not being in sync with today's society. It didn't look like you were looking for advice so I will just say I hope you can find something here to help you. Mark

Cheeseheads unite!

Hi Hahamonkey, I've only worked with lucid dreaming for a short time in my life and from my experiences I always found that when I woke up in this reality no matter how many "layers" I was in my awake side would take over. What I have found to be even more valuable for me is bring dreaming energy into the wake side and use it while during the day. Things got even more interesting when I started doing that. The lucid dreaming stuff was fun but I never really was able to utilize it in a functional way for the work I want to do shamanically speaking. Mark

No, not me. But it does look like something I would make.

Hello Ghosts of Zane, I am sorry to hear about your nightmares. I used to have nightmares as well - not as many as you seem to be having but they were scary and frustrating nonetheless. I can't say that there was an easy answer for helping me with my dreams. But over the course of several years I was able to get a better handle on them and now I never have nightmares. There were two things that seem to help me the most. First, I actively started working with my dreams. I researched all I could on them and eventually I set an intent before going to sleep that I would gain control of my dreams and face my fears. Second, I actively started to use self healing techniques. I used several from a form of meditation to some shamanic techniques. The most powerful of the self healing techniques I used was the recapitulation. Here is an article that is on our site that explains it: http://www.shamanscave.com/self-healing/the-recapitulation Neither of these things are what I would call quick fixes. It will take time but your relationship with your dreaming energy should change if you apply these techniques. I would also suggest getting angry with your nightmares. Before you go to sleep say to yourself, "I will not let my dreams scare me." or "I will get angry at my nightmares if they occur." This may help you to gain a bit of control over them. I'm sorry I don't have any better answer for you. Sometimes these types of things aren't easy to solve. I will check back often to see if there is any change with your dreaming. Please write back with any questions or if there is a change with your dreams either positive or negative. Mark

Hi Julia, Welcome to the cave! I have a couple of articles that may help you a bit. It doesn't necessarily talk specifically about who the Makers are but it will give a taste, a flavor of what it means to be a Maker. Of course, I am sure you will have more questions which is fine. Ask away. http://www.shamanscave.com/contemporary-shamanism/ancestor-and-teacher http://www.shamanscave.com/contemporary-shamanism/contemporary-shamanism Hope this helps. Again, Welcome. Mark

Welcome to the Shamanscave Dreaming forum. Discuss your dreams and dreaming adventures here. I look forward to hearing from you. Mark "You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will live as one." - John Lennon "All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream" - Edgar Allan Poe