Keep Them Near...

A few weeks ago, I had a really strange dream, followed by a similar dream a few days ago. In the first dream, I'm at my Grandma Preston's house, a place where all my weird-sometimes frightening dreams occur. In my dream, I'm running from what seems to be a person at first, but ends up being a snake. It catches up to me and I get bit twice on my right hand, the first time right below my knuckles and the second time above the wrist. I can remember very vividly and in complete detail the point of contact between the jaw of the snake and my right hand - from the unlock of jaw to the penetration of its fangs. With each bite, I dare not move, avoiding any further pain. Its almost like I don't fight it, surrendering to it in a way. Instead I begin meditating, waiting for it to exhaust and eventually unlock its death grip from my hand. It hurt, but again, I never attempted to fight back. My reactions are all thought - I think of how to escape but it's almost like it reads my mind because its talking back to me, telling me I can run but I know he'll just follow me again. And he does follow me after I attempt to trick him and run, biting me that second time. I wake up scared.

Then, a few days ago I had a dream that the same snake bit me at the wrist. It all played out the same, the point of teeth puncturing and all. This time, I see blood drawn and I attempt to pry its jaws open to release myself - then it says, "Just let me, you know you'll just end up doing it to yourself eventually". This dream was shorter, but it all remains clear in my mind for days.

I'm Navajo and as Navajo culture and belief would have it, snakes are not a good sign. We don't touch them, avoid looking at them, and there can be several explanations for any encounter we might have with them. I've heard people say that if you see them, someone is plotting against you and sending bad energy your way. Also, I've heard that it can mean someone is talking with "a forked-tongue" about you, also known as someone talking behind your back. After the first dream, these things came to mind right away when I woke up. I couldn't stop thinking about how it was so determined to get my right hand, and it scared me a bit because these hands are my "tools" for creativity, especially my right beading hand. I also felt a bit uneasy about the idea that I had conversation with the snake, almost like I knew who it was - like a familiar voice. So you can imagine how much I started to scare myself, thinking about who it could be.

The days following that initial dream brought a few strange messages from people of my past – I questioned if they were the snake. I attempted to relate little things about those encounters with those two people to my dream. I even went as far as thinking the snake was my sub conscience talking to me but I didn't really even feel that was it. I even came upon a bead design that I had sketched out in June, that when rotated 180 degrees, freakishly resembled the eyes of that snake. By this time, I decided I was really starting to scare myself so I literally had to tell my brain to stop taking it further with thoughts of what the dreams could mean. I smudged and put some food out for whatever it was that could be visiting me; thanking it for the message, and letting it know it could leave.

I was good real quick, even now; I know that by blogging about it, I've squashed whatever might have scared me about those dreams. I don't feel anything negative, but you see, that takes training of the thought. I realize that dreams like that can be taken two ways, good or bad, it all just depends on the energy you give back to it - this is true for anything in life. I think now on it and realize that in both dreams, the snake's venom was never an issue - I was never disabled or slowed by it. I had fear - yes, but I wasn't slowed down in my dreams, I was okay. This led me to the thinking that everyone has to be their OWN good medicine. Your own inner medicine lies within you refusing the poison of others, by always keeping positive in thought. Those positive thoughts ARE your good medicine - keep them near :-)

Be blessed...