Some books I tend to fall right into. The author is immediately credible, my heart is engaged. The message is genuine. In reviewing these books, I almost don’t have to read every word; I just do because I am enriched by the author’s contribution. I savor and value every word. With Moss' latest contribution to the dream literature, Dreamways of the Iroquois, I wanted to feel that way. I wanted to believe in his work, his writings, his message and his vision and hopes, his true and deep belief in the possibility and potential of dreaming, but his ego kept getting in the way. I kept reading, hoping the information would be new, that depth would creep in, and that the writing would begin to click the way it does in a good book. I continued to hope that the author’s egocentricity would fall away and allow the messages from the dreamtime to speak on their own behalf. Despite his best efforts, Moss failed to accomplish these tasks. I believe that this failure clouded the message of this book. This is quite a sad thing indeed. Who else but Moss would conduct a workshop and use his own dreams to illustrate the technique he is trying to teach?!
Perhaps I am cynical, though. Had I encountered Island Woman or had the amazing visitations and dreams, both sleeping and waking, that Moss did; if those synchronicities had occurred in my life; and if I began dreaming in an ancient language that turned out to be Iroquois, I might feel chosen and special too. I might well have been puffed with self importance. Yet these pathways do exist, and I applaud his efforts and diligence in transmitting this information, these vital dreamways to other worlds and other times, so that they are not irretrievably lost. Whether he chose the Iroquois path, that of the Santeria, or of the Kogi or other indigenous peoples, Moss has traveled and learned a lot.
The book is an odd mixture in four parts. Part one consists of Moss’s personal story of leaving his success-filled life and the spontaneous dreaming that seemed to spring from the land itself. Mythistory comprises part 2, dreamed, not channeled, information from various time travels and shamanic journeys, retelling the creation myth, the stories of Sky Woman, Hiawatha and the battling light and dark Twins. Moss states that he has lived and dreamed these stories, but omits what that means exactly. As with most of this book, we take it on faith, believing in the power and truth of dreams. Part 3 delivers the wisdom of Island Woman in her own voice. She reminds us that we have souls and how desperately important that is in today’s often apathetic world. She tells us that dreams require action and that we can travel forward or back in time in our dreams. We are reminded that we have power animals and of the potential for power to be used in service to either the dark or the light. Part 4 brings the ancient dreamways to our daily lives, Moss’s Shaman at the breakfast table, so to speak. In this section of the book, he outlines what he terms Lightning Dreamwork, a quick and easy way to extract essence from a dream. Soul loss, dreaming for others, dream journals, dream theater, creating dream talismans and dream poetry are all discussed. We are shown ways to bring the images and messages contained in our dreams into full use, as medicine for us individually and as a troubled culture.
If you love dreams and dreaming, if you already or are ready to believe in their power, potential, and possibility to transport you across time and space, to be precognitive, to demonstrate pathways to healing and other worlds; if you have ever wanted to shed the corporate shuffle and live from your heart, and if you can compassionately forgive and read through an author’s egoist inflation, then this book is certainly for you. Moss’s desire to “help rebirth a dreaming culture” is important. His passion for using dreams for healing both personally and collectively is an intent worth holding and nurturing. As global consciousness is brought to higher levels and we choose to listen and learn from our dreams, we must remember that they are a divine language that we share, not only between human beings, but with the animal and natural worlds as well.
