The Dragon Whisperer

by Camilla Sollum

The art of Dreaming while awake and aware can open many doors and help us see from all points of view. We have talked much about the bats that live in the caves of our inner landscape – those beliefs and agreements that keep us from evolving. I have done some work in the past with the symbols of the dragon or vampire that represent the mental program, and that work has helped me to greatly reduce self-judgment.

The other night, I decided to do a little Dreaming before falling asleep. I decided to investigate the cave itself, because of a recent event that had brought up some intense fear in me. I had a health scare which put me in the hospital for a few days. I thought I was having a heart attack, which gave me the chance to see my fear of death. It turned out that I was fine – no heart attack – but while I was lying in the hospital waiting to hear the results of all my tests, I thought about dying.

I decided to go into the inner landscape of my mind to see what was lurking there and to confront my fear. I closed my eyes and imagined going down deep into my self. I immediately entered a dark, burned-out looking place. Everything was a grayish brown color and I could smell a damp, smoky odor. There wasn’t much to see except an endless empty expanse of burned trees and jagged rocks. After walking a short distance, I saw a huge dragon chained to a rock. It was very emaciated, with ugly, washed-out color and a sad demeanor. It seemed to be defeated rather than dangerous, even though it was breathing fire and making a lot of threatening movements towards me. I saw no other living thing. I felt a great compassion for this magnificent chained beast – entirely alone in a dead and empty landscape. In spite of my intense fear, I removed the chain from the rock and began to lead the dragon out of the cave. I was determined to free it and take it outside into the fresh air. At first it seemed reluctant and stayed back behind me, resisting my forward movement. It seemed just as afraid as I was, but it did not try to injure me.

I decided to use the healing techniques of the Dog Whisperer along with the Toltec tools I have acquired to calm both of our fears. I gave up my stories about dragons and how dangerous they were. I stopped for a few moments and stood tall and relaxed and become calm. I used my hands and voice to take command and calm the dragon. When I could see the animal had surrendered and was relaxed, I urged it to come beside me and we walked towards the entrance of the cave together. We emerged from the cave into a cool night full of stars and moonlight. The air was joyously fresh after the fetid atmosphere in the cave. We both took a deep breath. We walked on together, enjoying the night, and I noticed that as we walked the dragon was changing. Color was returning to its scaly skin and its golden eyes were glowing. The most interesting change was that it was getting smaller with each step.

Going into Dreaming that night, I remember feeling ashamed that I was afraid of death and I judged myself for my fear. The vision or story I created in the Dreaming session could be interpreted in many ways. For me, it seemed to say that surrender and trust would overcome fear. Acknowledging the fear and guiding it into consciousness step by step, restored and released me. I was happy that I could free this dragon, a symbol of the fear I did not want to face, and bring it out of its hiding place and into the fresh air of awareness.

This has marked the beginning of my healing. From now on, it is just a matter putting faith into action in all moments. Faith is having absolute belief in me. And the infinite and eternal truth of me, like Life, never dies.