”In our Western culture the outer world seems to have little place for the symbolic wisdom of our dreams. The demands of our everyday life draw a heavy curtain that obscures our endless inner horizons. As we awaken into a regulated world of time and space the scent of the soul is forgotten,” writes Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, and this, he notes, is a very unfortunate development. The author lectures on Sufism, dreamwork, and Jungian psychology and is the author of twelve books, including The Circle of Love.
Even though our culture puts a low value on the inner world, many people find nurturance for their souls in the realm of dreams. Vaughan-Lee is convinced that small groups can “function both as a support for individuals making an inner journey and as a container of spiritual energy. In his tradition, the Naqshbandi Sufi path, dreamwork is honored and regularly practiced. Groups offer a safe haven for those who believe that the values of the inner world are precious.
In this helpful resource, Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee explores dimensions of the homeward journey, the opening of the heart, the purpose of pain, and the potencies of love. In Sufism, inner transformation is not accomplished by the self. Al-Hallaj sums it up: “Now the Lord is with them in every alteration, / Performing an unimaginable work in them hour after hour. / If they only knew they would not withdraw from Him even for the space of a wink. / For He does not withdraw from them at any time.”
The Beloved is the great transformer who works wonders within us, especially when we become “chalices of emptiness,” as Vaughan-Lee puts it. This paperback provides a handy overview of how the Sufi finds in dreams treasures much greater than the cultural dreams of affluence and success.
