The Dreaming

Accessing the Eternal through Creativity

In the cosmology of the Aboriginal Australian's, "The Dreaming" is the ancient, eternal dwelling-place of the ancestors (Hume, 2004). The Dreaming is a metaphysical location that exists in another dimension, free from the restrictions and limitations of our 3D world - a source that we can visit, again and again.  It is the place of creation from where our entire reality was moulded by our powerful ancestors endowed with mystical abilities far beyond our own (Hume, 2004).  We are able to make contact with The Dreaming through our own personal dreams, trance states, music, dance, and through generating a creative state of flow in our consciousness (Hume, 2004).

Like the Aboriginal artists who craft their cosmic paintings from visions seen in their dreams, we too can receive information from The Dreaming that can inspire and catalyze our creativity. Hume explains how the act of creativity can open the doorway to The Dreaming, "When your mind is tuned in and directed . . . you are in an ancient state of mind; time stands still, because your mind is in a state where time does not count. It's not like dreaming seeing things in your sleep. Ancient time is no time" (Hume, 2004, pg. 255). Because The Dreaming exists free of time, when we access this dimension, we liberate ourselves from linear time and enter the space of the eternal, much like we find in a psychedelic experience or through a dedicated practice of meditation. Artists and athletes are able to access this expanded state of consciousness through an ability to become totally absorbed in a concentrated, embodied task. Hume states, 

...Flow is the sensation of acting with total involvement, where one is in control but there is little distinction between self and environment or between past, present, and future. Flow is experienced as a unified flowing from one moment to the next. Self-consciousness is eliminated while action and awareness are tightly and reflexively intertwined, merging together, and there can be a sense of self-transcendence (Csikszentmihalyi 1988, 365). For example, an individual who is totally absorbed in the activity at hand (rock climbing, listening to music, or being totally absorbed in a ritual performance) can experience a merging of action and awareness. In flow, objective clock time loses significance. Indeed, a common feature of flow experiences is a distorted sense of time— hours seem to pass by in minutes, or a few seconds may stretch out into what seems infinity. Whenever a person learns to experience flow in a given activity, just starting to get involved in that activity will promote the possibility of experiencing flow.

The practice of creation through painting, writing, or crafting in any form is a portal into a spiritual state of the eternal. The Aboriginal artists know this well, and are able to seamlessly fuse their dreamstates with their waking consciousness in order to produce their beautiful, unique pieces of art. 

Reference

Hume L. (March 2004). Accessing the eternal: Dreaming "the dreaming" and ceremonial performance. Zygon, 39(1), 237-258.

Painting by, Nellie Marks Nakamarra, "Water Dreaming at Kalipinypa" https://japingkaaboriginalart.com/collections/artwork-under-1500/