KAJAMA.COM NEWSLETTER

An Excerpt from Rituals of the Soul by Kori Hahn

I am a dreamer, and just as John Lennon said, I know I’m not the only one. Since I was a little girl, I have always found myself passionately pulled to try new things. In high school, I dreamed of playing the guitar like Sheryl Crow. In college, I imagined traveling the world with only a simple backpack. And now, in my late thirties, my heart yearns to feel as calm and cool as the Dalai Lama always appears to be.

Many people have told me that my dreams are a way of running away from my reality, and for years I considered this a truth, but now I realize that dreams are merely a fun way our soul gives us to learn our life lessons. Your dreams are illuminating the life path your soul wants you to take.

The reason you are here in your specific human body is to feel your dreams and act on them. From the moment of your conception, your soul picked you (and the skin you wear) because you are absolutely perfect for the purpose and mission your soul wants you to experience.

There are 7.6 billion other people here on Earth. Since most of us humans are designed fairly similarly, what makes us each truly authentic are our particular fiery passions and whatever it is that makes our hearts skip a beat. We all have unique things that make us tick, that bring us excitement and inspiration. For some people this may be music or writing; for others, it might be a particular sport or perhaps creating a successful career. There is no limit to the things we are passionate about. What do you do just because you love it?

This wild part of you that craves accomplishing certain things is your soul begging you to grow. If you feel that you were not born to spend 75 percent of your life working at a job you hate or staying in a marriage that keeps you bored or angry, this is your soul asking you for change. If you are looking for a sign to finally start making the changes you want to see in your life, perhaps that looking itself is the sign you need.

Every year, the bar-tailed godwit migrates from Alaska to New Zealand on a journey that takes approximately nine days, the longest known nonstop flight of any bird on the entire planet. Just like the godwit, every animal here on Earth is meant to take grand adventures that might at first feel daunting and scary but are such an important part of our life journey. The purpose of our human life is to commit to our soul’s magnetic migrations — to listen for the guidance of our soul, our intuition, and then act on it.

In humans, this instinctive calling from within often comes to us in our dreams. Dreams offer us guidance along our personal migration route, just as the caribou, the whales, the butterflies, and many species of birds — including the godwit — have their own internal migration guidance system. Our individual journeys are as unique to us as the ridges on our thumbs.

You are born to be wild; this couldn’t be more obvious. You are here to live out the wild adventures your soul is constantly calling you toward, because these heart passions guide you to grow and evolve in specific ways along your spiritual path.

Intuition
Dreams are just one of many ways intuition speaks to us. Our dreams often appear on the quietest of nights, like a northern star in a dark desert sky. At least, this is how my intuitive messages have come to me. When I stop all the doing and becoming in order to simply listen, in these moments my dreams always demand my attention.

The renowned Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung defined intuition as “our perception via the unconscious” and went on to explain that perception using our senses — sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch — is only a starting point. In fact, we bring forth ideas, images, possibilities, and/or ways out of a blocked situation by a process that is mostly unconscious. Scientifically, intuition is viewed as knowledge in the absence of analytical reasoning or logic.

Intuition is our way of perceiving the world through the lens of our soul, not from our mind or our expectations. Intuitive messages come from a place deeper in our consciousness than the thinking mind. You cannot think your way to an intuitive decision; intuition can be felt only through excitement, curiosity, and passion — your unexplainable urges. When a spark of a wild idea or a crazy dream comes to you and fills your mind with delight for what could be, you are receiving messages from your soul.

Our intuition is a soft-spoken, subtle voice whispering from the deepest, most subconscious place within. When we first start to tune in to it, intuition sounds remarkably faint, which is probably why so many people often ignore it. The more fluent we train ourselves to be in this language of soul whisperings, the louder and clearer it becomes.


Kori Hahn is the author of Rituals of the Soul and founder of a community gathering place called the Santosha Society, which is dedicated to travel, surfing, and the soulful. She hosts numerous trips around the world for hundreds of women who study Ayurveda, yoga, meditation, and all things related to soul growth, knowledge, and fulfillment. Visit her online at www.SantoshaSociety.com.

Excerpted from the book from Rituals of the Soul. Copyright ©2021 by Kori Hahn. Printed with permission from New World Library.

I'm a happily married woman with two beautiful little girls. I have been married for seven years now, and although on the outside I seem like a very together person, I'm very confused in my mind and heart. A few years before I got married, I met an awesome guy and we quickly fell in love. As we live thousands of miles apart, we've never had a long-term relationship, and we ended up with other people. Ever since we met, however, I dream about him at least weekly, and sometimes two or three nights in a row. I feel stupid and awful because I have a loving husband and a beautiful life, like somehow I'm not being totally loyal to my spouse. I'm very irritated that I can't stop having these romantic dreams. The romance in these dreams is very intense. They're not sexual - instead, the feeling is joy that we can finally be together. Sometimes we even cry of happiness together. I'm wondering if we're soul mates and I should have moved to be with him long ago. Did I make a mistake? Do you think he's having the same dreams? Should I see a shrink? I'm so ashamed about these dreams. Thanks so much for you help.

Astrea:

Most of the people I know have dreams about the one that got away. I don't mean to make light of your feelings about your dreams, but we're wise to remember that they ARE dreams, and what you do in your dreams isn't disloyal at all.

Since you say this person was always long distance and never really in your life on a full-time basis, it's easy for your subconscious to paint a picture of him as the perfect guy you always wanted, even though I know you love your husband and your daughters.

Here's an interesting thing about dreaming of a person from our past, especially someone we've been built up into some fabulous ideal: usually it means we wish the partners we love and live with were more like that person. Basically, we wish we could feel the simple joy with our partner that we feel with the Dream Guy.

We project false characteristics and illusionary attitudes on the Dream Guy because we don't really know him and we don't have to live with him day after day when we're awake. Those Dream Guys never get mad, always pay rapt attention to us, and make us feel safe.

Then when we're awake and our own husbands make us feel wonderful, it's natural to feel a bit GUILTY. Quit it - just quit it. You can enjoy your happy family AND your dreams. You didn't make a mistake here; this guy probably was a possible soul mate for you, but you have a better match in real life now.

There is certainly nothing in this situation for which you should feel any guilt or shame. This Dream Guy is a symbol of a perfect person, not the perfect man for you. People in dreams don't always stand for the same person in real life.

There is nothing shameful about dreaming of a perfect person. Just because he has your friend's face and voice and mannerisms in your dream doesn't make him that person in the flesh. I think you should pay attention to what makes you happy about him in your dreams so you can work those qualities into your waking life.

I am the wrong psychic to ask about the ultimate soul mate because I know that we have more than one. We all have choices; it's what we do with the love we find that is important. To me, soul mates are any two people who have grown together over many years with a lot of caring and understanding.

Your husband and your girls are NOT mistakes! Your real life will feel rewarding and fulfilling if you choose to see it that way.

*****

Susyn:

Life is an amazing journey. When we encounter people who touch us deeply, even years later, we can be sure there is a higher purpose behind that connection.

We come into this world with a set destiny and road to travel, so it can be unsettling if we feel that we are missing or have missed something important to our hearts and souls. I can assure you that if someone is supposed to be a part of your life, they will be - when the time is right.

I'm betting that your destiny was to fall in love with your husband and have your two beautiful daughters. Your friend also has other people to influence, learn from, and fulfill his destiny with.

I'm certain that he holds you in his heart and mind in the same manner you do him, and that somewhere down the road, you'll reconnect again. You'll be two very different people after the life lessons you've experienced, which will determine how this meeting will go.

You may discover that he is not the ideal person for you, or that many of the feelings and idealistic ideas you carry about him were mere projection. Often we are haunted by past relationships simply because they represent a time when we were different people - perhaps more innocent, trusting or open.

On the other hand, you could discover that the connection is as powerful as ever, and that the Universe is working to bring you back together.

The important thing to keep in mind is that your attention should be focused on the present. When you experience these thoughts and dreams, acknowledge them, bless them, and send them on their way with a simple prayer, such as, I was blessed to have this person in my life, and if it is meant to be, I would be happy to have him in my life again.

Oftentimes these dreams and thoughts haunt us because instead of acknowledging them and letting them pass through, we tend to feel guilty, afraid or unsure. The more we try to bury them, the more they will return in an effort to get our attention.

When they come again, stop and try to see the metaphysical messages they are offering. Instead of wondering if he is the same or feels the same, ask yourself this question: Am I the same person I was back then? If not, is there something you can change now to regain those qualities again?

Once you take these dreams and focus them back on your current life, you will recognize the spiritual messages they are offering you.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.