Dreamtime

"‘Dreamtime’ - which Australians experience in sleep and in moments of vision - is timeless and ‘everywhen’. It forms a stable backdrop to ordinary life, which is dominated by death, flux, the endless succession of events, and the cycle of the seasons. Dreamtime is inhabited by the Ancestors - powerful, archetypal beings who taught humans the skills that are essential to their lives, such as hunting, war, sex, weaving and basket-making. … It is only when he experiences this mystical unity with dreamtime that life has meaning.” - A Short History of Myth, Karen Armstrong

For as long as I can remember, I have guarded my sleep. Meaning I protect it as if it were gold. I realize now that this was a wise decision that was probably in response to the phase of insomnia I experienced in college. There were weeks without sleep. This precipitated much anxiety and led me to take yoga at the college gym. These moments of strife have a way of shifting our lives, if we are willing. Are you willing?

I attended UCSD for college and was in Warren college. UCSD has six colleges within one university. It is meant to model Cambridge and Oxford, I think. I selected Warren college because there was no language requirements. My intentions were clear and rather in a silo or cutoff: I was there to study science and be a doctor. “If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans”, (Woody Allen). In hindsight, this was a divisive move that created a schism in my being, which I am only now reconciling.

In recent weeks, I have been deeply interested in archetypes and myth. My interest in archetypes is a long time coming after reading and working through Caroline Myss’ work on this. However, myth is new and surprising to me. My interest led me to ask for book recommendations and right now I am reading Karen Armstrong’s Short History of Myth. It’s fabulous and is bridging these parts of myself that were severed. When selected a college at UCSD, Revelle college was last on my list, because they require a Humanities series. My eighteen year old self did not value the Humanities - why on Earth would Humanities matter? The irony is that one of UCSF’s application questions in 2008 was, “Define the human condition.” I did what any twenty-something would, I Googled it and clicked the Wikipedia article. I was accepted to UCSF.

Fast forward eleven years, I am in Zurich for work. Sleep evades me and so I am writing this blog post. Being in Zurich for less than twenty four hours has already left quite an impression on me. There is history year and the lives lived and living feel palpable. This is a mature country and the USA is still maturing. The food has depth and richness of flavor and texture. The Swiss do not much appreciate Americans and that is okay. I understand. It is 2:34 am on Jan 9, 2019 here in Zurich. I will post this. I will listen to a Michael Stone meditation and then hope to drift into dreamtime.