The Walrus Dream

I can not remember when this dream came to me. It has returned vividly after a long time. In the dream I was walking across a great sea of ice. There was a hole. Up out of the ice ocean appeared the head of a walrus, large with its moustache, curved white teeth and piercing eyes. The walrus gave me a necklace It was made of round stones of many colors. Reading about the dreaming of walrus spirit for the Inuit: “Shamans tell us that Walrus Spirit is the keeper of ancient knowledge and wisdom. His large body reminds us of seeing the bigger picture.”( (https://www.karhuntalo.com/blog/2022/7/18/the-walrus-medicine-the-messenger-of-the-arctic-ocean).

I saw only his large head. No words were spoken. What was in deep waters emerged into consciousness. I have been exploring the complex myth of Sedna for a storytelling Immersion (see below). I was given a gift, again, by recollection. Throughout my life as a storyteller, there are tales that I have not sought. Rather, they have called me and I have learned to respond with surprising consequence. Always, there is a thread of necessity inside the story, a message, or clue about the times in which we are living.

Writer Karhun Taro said, “For people with strong connection with nature, it is never a coincidence, why a certain animal, bird, or any other natural being appears into our lives. It is possible, that it can carry a deeper message and significance for our days. With a playful and joyful spirit, let me suggest … possible aspects of “the walrus medicine”: (the aspects are suggested by Karhun Talo. I write in each one, for my readers).

Return to Nature - I am living in a city. My windows overlook Broadway that was once an Iroquois sacred processional road. No single sign of what existed before remains. But in a fenced in garden by the old church on the corner, strawberries that flowered profusely in the time of the road, push their way up from below, hardly noticed except by birds and occasional neighbors. For years the landscape artist of the Church attempted to plant a tree nearby. The trees never lasted. Until a new gardener planted an apple tree. It rooted deep into the soil and producesdfruit. The robins that hide in the carved crevices of the church spire alight on the branches showing off their red bellies. The filed of strawberries is said to have grown beside an apple orchard.

Rest in Natural Peace - The unbearable sorrow of our world at pushes us beyond the acceptable boundary of sanity. Globally, unleashing more and more cruelty, violence, bias, fear, and virus. Yet, what can not be destroyed (as ancient myth informs us) is the source of life herself. How do we liberate that inconceivable realm within each of us? What I was taught is that resting natural presence ,regardless of circumstances, listening deeply to what we can not comprehend and connecting from the heart with others is the means. That access renders us connected with nature and with unseen forces that we are told by indigenous peoples are always watching us. At the cash register at Marshall’s purchasing journals, - that down the street are priced at $38 but in Marshall’s were $10 - the woman across from me at the register yawned. “I am tired,” she said. “I am tired as well, I responded, “I seem not to be able to sleep an entire night, waking sometimes three or four times.’ “Yes, that is the same for me,” she remarked. “I suspect it is the world,” She sighed. “I think so as well.” “We have changed too much. The suffering is awful.” She put her hand on the table between us. I placed my hand on hers. Perhaps only a few seconds passed,as torn wires grew active with the light of kindness. I walked away. Then, turned. She looked at me through walrus eyes.

Just Be Yourself - In the park on the way home, I check on the birds and look for a woman with dyed red braids from Kenya who sells African clothing and jewelry. We always chat, “I am expanding my business,” she said pointing to Masai necklaces on a new display beside the clothing rack. “Beautiful,” In Zaziibar every morning I walked two miles along the ocean to a little beach town where Masai women made and sold jewelry. I loved choosing colors and hanging out watching earrings being made. I savored the moment when little silver circles were added, dangling. I said to my friend, “I have enough earrings for several life times. I could bring them and you could sell them.” We laughed heartily in the crazy secret way that women who love to shop and to dream of tribal life, find solace. I thought of a Tibetan teacher who remarked during a talk that he desired a red Cadillac parked on the street. A young man grew furious ;accused him of not being spiritual because of his desire. The Rinpoche said “I desired the car, but I am not attached to it or even want it” Suddenly the difference between grasping desire and the passion of attraction, surfaced. The young man left in a self confabulated huff.

(From an Inuit Shaman’s recorded by Rasmussen)
“And yet, there is only one great thing.
The only thing to live to see in huts and on journeys.
The great day that dawns.
And the light that fills the world.”

We are in this Together - This is not to be forgotten. Remembering the walrus. In imagination, there is no border between the dreaming, the unseen and the every day world. Communicating, speaking, words sounding, we discover have always been together.
with love, Laura (c2024LSimms)