The Sorcerer's Dream
By: Alysa Braceau (Dreamshield)
Published: April 12, 2010
Format: Paperback, 294 pages
ISBN-10: 1609101561
ISBN-13: 978-1609101565
Publisher: Booklocker.com, Inc.
"But nothing appealed to me more than the adventures of the sorcerer's apprentices", writes journalist, spiritual healer and dreamer Alysa Braceau (Dreamshield), in her extraordinary and deeply personal book The Sorcerer's Dream. The author takes the reader along on her incredible personal journey as an apprentice woman sorcerer, dreamer, and healer in the the deepest and most profound Native-American traditions.
Dreamshield, who discovers her name in dreamtime, shares her sorcerer training sessions with her guide Running Deer, or Vidar as he is named in the Western style. The author must shed her modern Western and technological worldview, to embrace the shadowy world of dreaming. In that plane of thought, what is commonly thought of as reality blends into the surreal dream world. For Dreamshield, moving from the modern first reality, to the second reality of creation, is a challenge to be faced and overcome. Along the way, the author must meet her true inner self in the dream world, and then emerge in the second reality as a woman sorcerer. The second reality represents a release from the limitations of modern life, and the discovery of the total self.
Alysa Braceau "Dreamshield" (photo left) explores the teachings of Carlos Castaneda, and other teachers of traditional shamanism and magic, under the guidance of Running Deer. Even in the heart of modern Amsterdam, Dreamshield feels and dreams the world of creation and the inner journey toward her real self. As the author gains knowledge, and becomes more aware of the power of dreaming, she becomes more aware of the role of the self, and her personal understanding resulting from accepting the dreaming. The second reality isn't always inviting or a friendly place for the author. Instead, she must meet and overcome the challenges presented to her, as she confronts herself and the forces of the dreaming. Along the way, Dreamshield drops the supposed certainties of the modern, technological world, and discovers the timeless truths of the inner life.
For me, the power of the book is how Alysa Braceau "Dreamshield" shares her journey to self understanding through dreaming and dream time. Her story is very personal, and as a result is very powerful. She describes her successes and failures, and her resistance to acceptance of her true self. For Dreamshield, recognizing the two realities of our everyday material world, and the unknown and unlimited world of dreaming, was a transformational event. When she let go of the material world of modern life, and embraced dreaming, she was able to discover her true and total self. In the tradition of teachers like Carlos Castaneda, and mythologists like Joseph Campbell, Dreamshield demonstrates the power and relevance of shamanism and becoming a sorcerer and dreamer in the modern world. The author includes her lessons and techniques to help guide the reader on a personal inner journey through dreaming and entering the second reality. Combined with Dreamshield's experiences, and Running Deer's teachings, the reader can share the power of the dreaming along with the author.
I highly recommend the paradigm and complacency shattering book The Sorcerer's Dream by Alysa Braceau "Dreamshield", to anyone seeking an approachable guide to the Native American traditions of dreaming, sorcery, and shamanism, and how they relate to the modern world. The author demonstrates that the skills are timeless as she shares the challenges of her initiation into the age old traditions. The wisdom and self knowledge achieved, and understood by Dreamshield, makes her inner journey a must read for anyone seeking wisdom and discovering their total self.
Read the wonderful dreamlike and often surreal book The Sorcerer's Dream by Alysa Braceau "Dreamshield", and delve into the ancient wisdom of the Native American shamans, with all of the wonderful and timeless magic, personal visions, and dreaming. The reader will discover personal truths, along with the author, as a richer understanding of dreaming and the second reality become part of one's life. The book is personal, profound and deeply moving. It as an inner journey and quest not to be missed.
